20 SITUATION. 



dentalis, which had its leaves entirely destroyed, after they 

 were fully expanded, and are now strewed upon the grass be- 

 neath. This tree, with various others that shared the same 

 fate, stood in a low part of the pleasure ground, beside a lake. 

 Trees of the same species, on higher ground, escaped without 

 injury. 



We have invariably found, in our experience, that plant-houses 

 situated in very low grounds, were cold and damp in winter, 

 and hard upon the more tender kinds of plants. In summer, the 

 atmosphere is generally stagnant and unhealthy, to plants as 

 well as animals. If circumstances, therefore, afford any choice, 

 very low situations should be avoided, as it is more easy, and 

 certainly more profitable, to bring an elevated and airy situation 

 into the condition desired, than it is to obviate the injurious 

 effects of a low one. 



2. Aspect. We find that most people prefer a southern 

 aspect for their hot-houses, i. e., placing the front elevation due 

 south. The absolute propriety of this preference, however, de- 

 serves to be questioned, as experience has taught us that some 

 valuable advantages are gained by placing hot-houses, for the 

 growth of fruits, on a south-eastern aspect. Let it be observed, 

 that we are alluding at present to what is termed lean-to, or 

 shed-roofed houses, i. e., houses having only one sloping side, a 

 kind of structure still generally used for the production of grapes, 

 &c., during the early part of spring, and which are probably 

 better adapted for that purpose than span-roofed houses. In 

 fact, we should prefer a south-eastern aspect for lean-to houses, 

 whether they were intended to grow fruits or flowering plants; 

 for, even in this clear and comparatively cloudless climate, this 

 aspect has advantages which, in our opinion, are not possessed 

 by any other; and, indeed, the greater intensity of the sun's rays 

 at midday here than in England, gives this aspect greater ad- 

 vantages in this country than in any other where the sun is less 

 powerful. The morning sun is more strengthening and exhil- 

 arating to plants than during any other period of the day, and 

 more especially to plants kept in houses without artificial heat ; 

 but the same argument holds good in all houses. We find that 



