ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights circumstances accompanying John Claudius Loudon's interest in artificial climates and the attempt to build one. Scientific practices of observation, the hypothetical modelling of phenomena and forming of deduction whereby Loudon charted the amount of visible light passing through various glazing systems were applied to an entire range of factors governing plant vitality. Intrigued by the vital processes exhibited by living species, eighteenth-century vegetalists were led to invent novel experiments to measure their effects. Loudon was equally concerned to establish a methodological rigour for his work as a landscape gardener, architectural critic and glasshouse designer. The language of forms and functions, of purposes, fitness and utility that fills the Encyclopaedia of Gardening links the fascination with artificial climates in Loudon's day with a broader appreciation of the environment. The allure of artificial climates was in part made possible by developments in science and technology, but also by circumstances that encouraged inventiveness in identifying, then satisfying, life's necessities.
