THE 
FORCING GARDEN. 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
As a rule our natural fruits come at a time when they 
are not very much wanted. In hot countries they ripen 
in time to meet the real wants of the inhabitants ; but 
in a country like England most fruits, or at least the 
bulk of them, ripen late, when the heat of the summer 
is over. To meet this state of things much has‘ been 
done of late years in the way of growing them under 
glass, and a great deal of this desirable manner of culti- 
vating them is due to that popular and successful fruit- 
tree grower, the late Mr. Rivers, who has written so 
much on the subject. 
There are, popularly speaking, three modes of grow- 
ing fruits—viz. the original one, consisting of open-air 
culture; the second is by means of the cold orchard 
house ; and the third by subjecting the trees to artificial 
heat, that is, applying heat by means of hot water, flues, 
or stoves; and at the present time even gas stoves are 
recommended, but this last method will I fear prove not 
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