70 STRUCTURES ADAPTED TO PARTICULAR PURPOSES. 



than if the structure was composed of a single house of the size 

 of the three. 



In building a range of hot-houses on these principles, say one 

 hundred feet long, we would arrange them in the order rep- 

 resented in the opposite cut, Fig. 22, showing three houses 

 united into a neat and compact range. The centre division, 

 which is more elevated than the others, may be used as an 

 orangery, or camellia house ; or for growing figs, planting the 

 trees in the centre bed and growing them as common dwarfs, 

 which is the best way of growing figs, their strong and uncom- 

 pliable branches being unsuited for training on the common 

 trellises of a vinery, neither do they fruit so well as when 

 allowed to grow like a dwarf pear-tree. 



These dimensions are also advantageous on account of the 

 trees that are to be grown in them, as different kinds of trees 

 require different kinds of treatment, as well as different degrees 

 of heat, air, and moisture. Each kind of tree can have the 

 treatment which is most conducive to health and fruitfulness, 

 without infringing on the peculiar conditions required by the 

 others. 



Where a large quantity of fruit is required, the houses for its 

 production must, of course, be upon a larger scale. We men- 

 tion this, as very absurd ideas are frequently entertained by 

 individuals regarding the producing capacity of vines, etc., in 

 houses, being ignorant of the quantity that healthy trees can 

 bear without inflicting a permanent injury. 



If it be desired, the centre compartment of this range may be 

 converted into a green-house, by placing a stage along the mid- 

 dle of the house, and a front shelf two feet, wide along the front 

 nearly level with the building of the parapet wall, leaving a 

 sufficient space between the shelf and the stage for a pathway. 

 The plan of placing the green-house in the centre, between 

 the fruit-houses, is very common. The plans of modern archi- 

 tects are somewhat different from those of the last century, 

 in which we generally find the green-house a part of the cul- 

 inary department, either in the middle, or in a corner of the 

 kitchen garden. In fact, little can be said in favor of placing 

 the green-house or plant-stove among the fruit-houses, except 



