CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



the open ground, as well as to obtain grapes, &c. 

 without the expense of vineries. By the after- 

 explained peculiar management adopted by Mr 

 Rivers, a crop of fruit may be realised in course 

 of a year or two after planting, and this is a great 

 point, inasmuch as it enables the amateur to reap 

 a speedy harvest ; for it has long been a standing 

 adage in gardening, that ' those who plant pears 

 plant for their heirs.' 



Mr Rivers thus describes his 'glass-roofed 

 sheds :' Their length may be from ten feet to one 

 hundred or more, according to means and space ; 

 but their breadth and height must be according 

 to the following dimensions : Suppose the struc- 

 ture is to be thirty feet long; a ground-plan, 

 thirty feet long and twelve wide, must be marked 

 out ; then ten posts or studs of oak or good yellow 

 deal, four inches by three, and nine feet in length, 

 must be fixed two feet in the ground firmly, the 

 ground-ends being previously charred to the 

 extent of two feet four inches from the bottom : 

 this back-line of studs will thus stand seven feet 

 in height clear from the surface. For the front- 

 wall, ten studs four feet long must be inserted i 

 feet in the ground, so that they stand two feet six 

 inches clear from the surface : on these studs, 

 both at front and back, must be nailed a plate 

 four inches by "2.\ inches, on which the rafters are 

 to rest : the studs are thus far arranged into two 

 lines. The rafters are fourteen feet long, and four 

 by two inches in thickness, placed with the narrow 

 surface upwards. To spare the trouble of 'plough- 

 ing,' to make the rebate for the glass, which is 

 great labour and waste of material, a slip of -inch 

 board, fths of an inch wide, is nailed on the upper 

 side of each rafter exactly in the centre ; this will 

 leave |ths of an inch on each side for the glass to 

 rest on not too much for glass twenty inches 

 wide. The rafters are now fitted on the plates at 

 top and bottom ; they must never be mortised, 

 but let in at top by cutting out a piece, and sloped 

 off at bottom. To receive the glass at the top of 

 the rafters, a piece of f-inch deal-board, six inches 

 wide, must be nailed along the top to the end of 

 each rafter, so as to be even with the surface, and 

 in this should be a groove to receive the upper 

 end of each piece of glass ; at the bottom, a piece 

 of board, one inch thick and six inches wide, must 

 be let in for the glass to rest on, and to carry off 

 the water. We have thus a sloping roof, seven 

 feet three inches high at back, and two feet nine 

 inches in front The glass used is i6-oz. British 



Back of Orchard-house. 



sheet, costing about 2%d. to 3^. per foot, and the 

 best size of pane is twenty by twelve inches, the 

 panes being placed crosswise, so that the rafters 

 must be about twenty inches asunder. On and 



592 



outside the back-studs, i-inch boards must be 

 nailed, well seasoned, so that they do not shrink 

 too much, and painted white or stone colour. In 

 the back-wall, sliding-shutters, -2\ feet by one foot, 

 in grooves, must be formed for complete venti- 

 lation two close to the roof, and two about 

 eighteen inches from it, as in the preceding sketch. 

 The front has also ^-inch boards nailed on out- 

 side the studs ; one of them the upper one to 

 be on hinges, so as to let down ; and thus air is 

 given throughout the whole length of the house. 

 The building is now completed, but its low 

 dimensions do not admit the builder. It is there- 

 fore necessary to form a foot-path by making a 

 trench 2\ feet wide and two feet deep in the centre 

 of the ground-plan, which will leave a raised 

 border on either side, four feet nine inches wide ; 

 the sides of the border may be supported by 



Section of Orchard-house. 



boards or brickwork. The border is to be made 

 loose and open by a mixture of cinders, lime- 

 rubbish, broken bricks, &c. and is enriched by 

 manure. The pots containing the tiny fruit-trees 

 are placed on the surface of the borders, and the 

 foliage is thus near the glass. The roots make 

 their way through the apertures in the bottom of 

 the pots, which are enlarged for that purpose, and 

 the plants thus, even in small pots, attain enough 

 of vigour to support a crop of fruit. After the 

 fruit is gathered, the pots are raised slightly on 

 one side, and the protruding roots cut off with a 

 knife; and the plants soon go to rest for the 

 winter. It will be seen that the principle is to 

 permit the plant to feed in the rich border by 

 means of its protruded roots, while the fruit is 

 being matured ; while any tendency to luxuriance 

 is checked by the removal of these roots in 

 autumn. The trees are thus kept of convenient 

 size and in a very healthy bearing condition. 

 Trees adapted for this method are kept for sale in 

 pots in all the larger nurseries ; and for ample 

 details of cultivating the different sorts, we would 

 refer to Mr Rivers's pamphlet. This system 

 renders the fruit-trees portable ; and such trees 

 now occasionally appear at horticultural exhi- 

 bitions, while they also present a novel feature in 

 the dessert. ' What can be more gratifying than 

 bushes of Moor-park or peach apricots, studded 

 with their golden fruit, arranged on the sideboard 

 of the dining-room, or the same of peaches, 

 nectarines, plums, cherries, and grapes?' 





