4 ORCHARD-HOUSES. 



built at a half or third of what it would have cost 

 some little time ago. The readers of " The Cot- 

 tage Gardener" may recollect, that Mr. Rivers 

 stated his large house, covering about 2400 feet 

 square, cost 140, or Is. 2d. per foot square of 

 ground covered. This house is built on oak posts 

 set in the ground, and is without raised beds, 

 paved walks, or indeed any description of brick- 

 work whatever. I have just built a house of which 

 the frontispiece is a view of the interior. The 

 figure at page 45 represents the exterior. It covers 

 2700 feet square, with 18 inches of brickwork 

 above the surface; the walks are paved with 

 black and buff quarries, the bricks laid in Port- 

 land cement, and the whole finished in a style fit 

 for any garden, at a cost of 230, or about Is. Sd. 

 a square foot of ground covered. It is therefore 

 unnecessary to have an ugly orchard-house to 

 obtain a cheap one, or one that depends on 

 wooden posts set in the ground for its stability. 

 An orchard-house should not be less than 20 feet, 

 nor more than 30 feet in width. No fire being 

 used to keep out frost, a wide house, containing 

 a large body of air, will cool more slowly than a 

 rrow one; and plants blooming in a 20-feet 



