36 THE FRUIT GARDEN. [JAN. 



Every autumn, after pruning the trees, the borders must be dig- 

 ged carefully one spade deep. 



It must be remarked, that the trees in these frames, or houses, 

 if annually forced, are not so durable nor plentiful bearers, as those 

 in the full air j therefore, when you shall see any become weak, 

 sickly, or bad bearers, others should be ready in training, or pro- 

 cured from the nurseries, to plant in their stead ; and in this no 

 time should be lost. 



But to continue the same trees more effectually in health, and in 

 a bearing state, some have a double portion of walling and framing 

 planted, but more particularly that of the first described fire-heat 

 frame, which is sometimes contrived to move or slide along from 

 one place to another, for one frame-work and glasses to serve two 

 portions of walling, so that being alternately worked, one part one 

 year, the other the year after, each portion of trees will have a 

 year of rest in their natural growth, and will succeed each other in 

 due order for forcing, whereby the health and vigour of the trees 

 will be better supported, and each year a greater crop of fruit may 

 be expected, than if the same trees were successively forced every 

 ysar. 



Hot-walls are ranges of brick or stone walling, fronted with glass- 

 work, inclosing a space of several feet width, and furnished with in- 

 ternal fire-flues, &c. wholly for forcing fruit-trees to early produc- 

 tion. 



These hot-walls or fire-walls generally range east and west, to 

 front the full sun ; having the sunny or south-side defended with a 

 frame-work of glass ; the whole length and height inclosing a 

 space, cither of but moderate width, four or five to six or eight feet, 

 for one row of trees behind, trained in the wall-tree order, and ex- 

 tended twenty or thirty, to forty, fifty, or a hundred feet length ; or 

 of more capacious width of ten, twelve, to fifteen feet and moderate 

 length, in the forcing-house manner, to admit of a range of trained 

 trees behind, and others of lower growth forward ; and, in either or 

 both of which, having internal flues for fire-heat next the main 

 wall, and continued round along towards the front, or sometimes 

 ranged longitudinally along the middle space, if no bark-pit is al- 

 lotted in that part, for a bark-bed, &c. as some of these departments, 

 under the denomination of hot-walls, have the front inclosure of 

 glass-work, of sufficient height to admit of forming an internal pit, 

 four, to five or six feet wide, the length of the erection ; in which 

 to make a bark-bed, or sometimes a dung hot-bed, or occasionally 

 dung below, and tan-bark above, to assist, in conjunction with the 

 fire heat of the flues, in warming the internal air ; and each depart- 

 ment, in either method, has a border of good mellow, loamy, or 

 other substantial fertile earth, of proper width next the main 

 wall, in which to plant the requisite sorts of trees ; or, where no 

 bark-bed, the whole bottom space is of good earth, either a narrow 

 inclosure of glass of four to five or six feet, to have only a range of 

 trees next the wall, the trees trained as wall-trees, or espaliers ; or 



