68 STRUCTURES ADAPTED TO PARTICULAR PURPOSES. 



the stems of vines. Now, with regard to small winter forcing- 

 houses, this may be of some effect ; but in cold summer-houses, 

 i. e., houses intended for growing peaches, grapes, etc., without 

 fire heat, this is of no importance, as the meridian altitude of 

 the sun during summer renders the wall rather beneficial than 

 injurious, by shading the border during the heat of the day. 

 Hence, it is evident that the construction of the house for 

 grape-growing, etc., should be regulated according to the locality, 

 as well as the period of the year at which it is required to ripen 

 the fruit. 



Many have a serious objection to upright fronts, whether of 

 glass or other material, from the undeniable fact that fruit is 

 seldom produced below the angle of the rafter ; and if it is, it 

 never ripens so well as that grown under the perpendicular 

 light, nor is so well-flavored. Upright glass, however, adds so 

 much to the appearance of this kind of building, that it can 

 hardly be dispensed with, even at the sacrifice of a little fruit ; 

 but the latitude here allowed must be kept within certain limits, 

 otherwise the effect produced is worse than if the house had no 

 parapet at all. 



The parapet wall of a peach-house or grapery should never 

 be more than twenty inches or two feet high ; the perpendicular 

 sash above it, three feet more, making the upright front five feet 

 in all. This is, we think, a proper height for structures of the 

 kind here referred to ; and this will be found to give the struc- 

 ture, whatever its longitudinal dimensions, better proportions, 

 and a more handsome appearance, than if these dimensions be 

 either diminished or increased. 



In many private establishments it is much more convenient 

 to have one, two, or more houses, than to have one single 

 house perhaps equal to the length of the whole. We happen 

 to know several persons who prefer erecting houses for grapes 

 and peaches in this way ; and, indeed, it has many advantages 

 over building a large house, especially for private establish- 

 ments of moderate extent, where the whole produce is consumed 

 by the family, because one house may be advanced a month or 

 two before the succeeding one, while the third may be protracted 

 as late as possible, so that the fruit season will be much longei 



