142 WALLS, ESPALIER-SAILS, AND TRELLIS-WORK. 



house-building and gardening, in the latter art more especially. The 

 only drawback that we know against them is, that the narrow or 

 half-breadth bricks must be made on purpose. For the division 

 walls of a large garden, or for the boundary wall of a small one, 

 such walls with piers projecting eighteen inches or two feet, to enable 

 the walls to be carried to the height of ten or twelve feet, might be 

 economically adopted : the space between the piers ought not to be 

 greater than can be covered by a single tree. The piers are 

 an admirable position for growing cordons upon, which add 

 greatly to the effect, and increase the produce. Conservatory 

 walls may likewise be turned to good account, both as assisting in 

 supporting the temporary copings or glass, and as heightening archi- 

 tectural effect. Walls are almost always built perpendicularly to the 

 horizon, but they have been tried at different degrees of inclination to 

 it, in order to receive the sun's rays at right angles when he is highest 

 in the firmament during summer ; but though some advantage may 

 probably have been obtained from such walls at that season, yet the 

 great loss of heat by radiation during spring and autumn would 

 probably be found greatly to overbalance the gain during summer. 

 Nicol informs us that he constructed many hundred feet of boarded 

 walls which reclined considerably towards the north, in order to pre- 

 sent a better angle to the sun, but he does not inform us of the result ; 

 a German gardener, however, has found advantage from them. (See 

 'Nicol's KaL,' p. 149, and ' Hort. Trans.' vol. iv. p. 140.) Upon the 

 whole, however, walls are better upright. An inclined surface is 

 easily formed by raised banks of earth, which are cheaper and often 

 warmer than walls. 



Wherever the surface of a garden wall is found to be too rough, 

 or is formed of too large stones to admit of conveniently attaching the 

 branches of trees to it by nails and shreds, it becomes necessary to fix 

 to the wall trellis- work of wood or of wire. The laths or wires are 

 generally placed perpendicularly six or eight inches apart, because the 

 branches are generally trained horizontally, or at some angle between 

 horizontal and perpendicular. Wires stretched horizontally, however, 

 and screwed tight, form the most economical description of trellis ; 

 and if occasionally painted, they will last a number of years. Trellis- 

 work of wood is more architectural, and the branches are more readily 

 fixed to them by ties, which are apt to slide along the small wire 

 unless the double operation is performed of first attaching the tie to 

 the wire, and then tying it to the shoot of the tree. The colour both 

 of the wire and woodwork should not differ much from that of the 

 stone of the wall, otherwise it will become too conspicuous. Un- 

 doubtedly the best kind of trellises for walls are those of galvanized 

 wire. 



" If there be any one practice of French horticulturists more worthy 

 of special recommendation to the English fruit-grower than another, it 

 is their improved way of placing wires on walls, or in any position in 

 which it may be desired to neatly train fruit trees. So many have 

 been the failures in British gardens as regards the placing of the wire 



