It is little I can do in this matter; yet, believing
that the culture of these plants will be as general shortly as the
culture of pelargoniums under glass--and firmly convinced that he who
hastens that day is a real benefactor to his kind--I am most anxious to
do what lies in my power. Considering the means by which this end may be
won, it appears necessary above all to avoid boring the student. He
should be led to feel how charming is the business in hand even while
engaged with prosaic details; and it seems to me, after some thought,
that the sketch of a grand orchid nursery will best serve our purpose
for the moment. There I can show at once processes and results, passing
at a step as it were from the granary into the harvest-field, from the
workshop to the finished and glorious production.
"An orchid farm" is no extravagant description of the establishment at
St. Albans. There alone in Europe, so far as I know, three acres of
ground are occupied by orchids exclusively. It is possible that larger
houses might be found--everything is possible; but such are devoted more
or less to a variety of plants, and the departments are not all
gathered beneath one roof. I confess, for my own part, a hatred of
references. They interrupt the writer, and they distract the reader. At
the place I have chosen to illustrate our theme, one has but to cross a
corridor from any of the working quarters to reach the showroom.
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