THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



37 



centre of the ground plan ; this will leave 

 a border on each side four feet nine inches 

 wide, and form a path at the same time. 

 The front border need not be raised, as 

 the trees in two or three years will require 

 all the head-room they can have, but the 

 back border should be raised about 

 eighteen inches above the surface, sup- 

 ported by the brick or boarded edge to 

 the path, for the sides of the path must 

 be supported with boards or four-inch 

 brickwork. It will be found a great im- 

 provement (for which I am indebted to a 

 friend) to divide the back border into two 

 terraces by raising the back half twelve or 

 fourteen inches, building a four-inch brick 

 wall, and filling in with earth, so that the 

 back row of trees is elevated, and thus 

 escapes any shade given by the front row ; 

 the effect also is very good. Now, as 

 everything depends on these borders — for 

 there must be no benches and no shelves 

 — care must be taken to make theu* sur- 

 face loose and open ; loose materials, such 

 as lime rubbish from old walls, and road 

 sand, mixed with manure, may be laid on 

 them about four inches deep ; they may 

 then be forked over to about nine inches 

 in depth, well mixing the above materials 

 with the soil : you thus have two borders 

 not too far from the glass, and on which 

 your orchard will thrive admirably. It 

 will appear odd to read about trees thriv- 

 ing on instead oi in a border; but when I 

 explain that this is to be an orchard in 

 pots, it will not seem so contrary to our 

 xisual garden culture. 



" It will be seen, I think, by the descrip- 

 tion I have given, that the lean-to orchard- 

 house is merely a low greenhouse with its 

 roof sloping to the south or south-west, 

 such as may be seen in many of our small 

 villa gardens ; only, instead of having a 

 path in the centre and a bench on each 

 side for the flower-pots to stand on, it has 

 a sunken path and a border of earth on 

 each side, on which fruit-ti-ees in pots are 

 to be placed. The following rough section 

 will perhaps convey an idea of this struc- 

 ture and its use : 



" I now propose to give a sketch and 

 description of a span-roofed house a little 

 wider and cheaper. A house of this form 

 is more agreeable as a promenade, and I 

 think the trees are attended to with more 

 facility. But unless placed in a warm 

 sheltered garden, peaches and nectarines 

 do not ripen quite so early in it as in a 

 lean-to house. I think, however, it has a 

 more agreeable look, and I must confess a 

 preference to it. The following is a sec- 

 tion of what I shall call the 



SMALL SPAN-KOOPED OECHAED-HOTJSE. 



SECTION OF THE SMALL SPAN-ROOFED ORCHAED- 

 HOUSE. 



a, a. Shutters on hinges, 12 inches wide, one on 

 each side. The upper edges should be 1 foot from 

 the eaves. 



h. Ridfje board. 



c. Shutter over the door. 



Height at sides, 4 feet ; at centre to ridge, 

 8 feet ; width, 14 feet ; rafters, 8 feet in 

 length, 3 inches by If, placed 20 inches 

 apart ; posts of oak, 5 inches by 3,* 5 feet 

 apart ; plates, 3 inches by 2 ; central path, 

 2 feet 6 inches wide. The borders in this 

 description of house need not be raised, 

 but the path may be sunk two or three 

 inches, and each side sloped so as not to 

 crumble into it ; the expense of a brick 

 edging is thus saved. The borders should 

 have a di'essing of manure and sand, or 

 manure and burnt earth, — in short of any 

 loose materials, — and be well forked over 

 and mixed to six or nine inches in depth. 

 " Two rows of trees may be placed on 

 each border thus : 



@ ® ® 



three feet from stem to stem, so that the 

 sun may shine on every leaf. This is most 

 essential; for I have occasionally had 

 some of my peaches deficient in flavour, 

 and, on examination, have always found 



* Oak posts of this size, I find, on referring to 

 the wooden tombs in the churchyard, last from 50 

 to 60 years. 



