Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/1000

 97^ COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. severe weather, and in winter ; and as contributing an important architectural feature to the general group of the dwelling-house and offices. There can be no reason why a small house should not have a large conservatory ; because, the first cost once incurred, the expense of keeping up a large one is not much greater than that of a small one ; and more especially, because a large conservatory, unlike a large dining-room or drawing- room, does not imply that the occupant sees much com.pany, or is expected to indulge in an expensive style of living. We shall consider the conservatory in regard to aspect, dimension, modes of growing the plants, construction, mode of heating, and architec- tural style. Our observations shall be brief; because the subject belongs more to Gar- dening than Architecture ; and because it will be found treated of more at length in our intended Encyclopcedia of Landscape- Gardening and Garden Archifecture. 1953. Aspect and Position, The best aspect for a structure in which plants of any kind are to be grown is, in general, the south, or any point between S. S. E. and S. S. W. The chief advantage of a south aspect for large plants, such as those grown in conserva- tories, is the heat gained from the sun's rays in winter and spring ; but where this heat can be supplied by art, and where the economy of fuel is no great object, it matters little what may be the aspect of the conservatory, provided it be not shaded by some other building, or so placed as not to admit of ventilation. The most desirable position, when the conservatory has glass on all sides, is that in which the length of the building is due south and north ; because, as the principal walks in it will be in that direction, the sun will shine on the sides of the trees next the walks, every day whenever it shines, through- out the year. This is an important object to keep in view in laying out the walks in all conservatories ; for it will be observed that, both in them and in shrubberies, those sides of the trees and shrubs which face the north are never so finely clothed with foliage and blossoms as those which face the south, east, or west. For this reason, when the position of a conservatory is east and west, the walk in the middle ought to be much broader than when the position is north and south, in order to admit more free access to the sun's rays. 1 954. Dimensions. The laws of vegetation render it utterly impossible that a small conservatory can ever look well. A conservatory is for the growth of trees and shrubs, not, like a green-house, for mere pelargoniums and other small plants in pots ; and trees and shrubs, to look well, must have room, and especially breadth, to expand themselves. As every conservatory, however narrow, must be at least of the height of the apartments with which it is connected, the width, if not considerably greater than the height, will always occasion the plants within to have an etiolated appearance. Supposing the height of a conservatory to be twelve feet, the width should never be less than eighteen feet ; it being understood, as will be afterwards shown to be essential, that the whole of the roof is to be of glass. 1 955. Mode of growing the Plants. There are two modes of growing plants in con- servatories ; the one is by having them in large tubs, boxes, or pots, as in the case of orangeries, which are properly called orange conservatories ; and the other, by having them planted in the free soil. The first mode has several advantages belonging to it, the principal of which is, that the trees may be removed from the conservatory, when in an unhealthy state, and invigorated in a structure better adapted for their growth. This also is the only mode by which trees can be kept in conservatories with opaque roofs. In conservatories where trees are planted in beds of free soil, they almost invariably grow with much greater vigour than when their roots are confined in tubs or boxes, however large, and the allusion to a shrubbery in the open air is much greater ; the expense is also very considerably less. For conservatories of this description, it is essential that the roof be wholly of glass. Structures, where plants are kept in pots set on stages, are called green-houses ; and, by some, these are preferred to conservatories, as admitting of the display of a greater number of kinds of plants : but as the plants, in this case, are always small, they can never thrive well in houses displaying architectural elevations, from the distance at which the plants must necessarily be from the glass roof; and from the large proportion of opaque material which the construction requires in the front of the edifice. Small plants in pots, in short, can only be well grown in those shed-like glass-roofed structures which belong to kitchen-gardens and nurseries ; and these, in our opinion, are, from the associations connected with them, utterly unfit for combining with architectural forms, so as to compose a whole, with the dwelling-house of a villa. Where the trees in a conservatory are grown in tubs or boxes, these should always be covered with cases exhibiting handsome architectural forms ; such as vases, sarcophagi, &c. ; unless a mode be adopted which is practised in some conservatories in Italy, as at Monza ; and in England, as at Nuneham, near Oxford, of having trenches or pits sunk in the floor of the conservatory, in which the tubs or boxes are placed, with a false cover of boards over them ; this cover being again concealed by turf or moss. Conservatories of orange trees (and these and camellias are among the best conservatory plants) look