CHAPTER VII 
THE CONSERVATORY (NO. 4) 
The one plant-house at Kew in which horticultural interests pre- 
dominate over purely botanical ones is the Conservatory, known also 
to Kew people as “ The Greenhouse ” and “ No. 4.” Here 
Hous<f Ular n ° a tt em Pt h as t° t> e ma de to keep up a collection. 
Each plant is grown entirely on its merits as a decora- 
tive object. The general aim held in view is to provide, all the year 
round, as gay and varied a display of flowers as possible. It is the 
most popular house in Kew. On Sundays in March and April, which 
are the months when the house is most brilliant in its display, its 
paths are often uncomfortably thronged, and there is frequently a 
crowd at the entrances not unlike that at the pit door of a theatre. 
The house is of cruciform shape, 156 feet long and 22 \ feet wide ; the 
transept is 70 feet long by 35 feet wide. The side shelves, which are 
filled with plants in pots, have a total length of about 360 feet. The 
central area is occupied by plants of larger size, in pots standing on 
the floor. The only portion of the house where plants are growing 
in beds of soil is in the wings. Here are two square plots of earth, 
one filled mainly with camellias, the other with a selection of choice 
flowering shrubs, chiefly Australian. 
Only those conversant with such work can estimate the thought, 
labour, and expense involved in keeping a house of this size bright 
with flowers throughout the year. It is thoroughly 
overhauled once a week, and the plants whose flowers 
are getting past their best, and are no longer worthy 
of their place here, are removed. If they are worth it, they are taken 
back to the private house whence they came, to be grown on again 
for another year. 
The chief difficulty with a house maintained as is this, is to keep 
up a perfect succession of plants in flower. A plethora at one season 
has to be guarded against as much as a shortage at another. Con- 
160 
Its 
Maintenance. 
