HORTICULTURE. 



201 



can be drawn up or let down along the entire stretch 

 of the wall, by two men, in the course of a minute. These 

 screens are employed only at nixht, or in bad weather ; 

 and chiefly from the end of March to the beginning of 

 May. Blossom thus partially protected is perhaps more 

 tender than if no protection whatever had been given. 

 The screens must therefore l>e continued till ail mk of 

 danger be over ; perhaps till the leaves of the tree be 

 pretty fully expanded, the blossom of several of our 

 fruit-trees preceding the unfolding of these. 



Frames covered with oiled paper have been success 

 fully employed at Grangemuir garden in Fifeshire. The 

 frames are of wood, inch and half square, with cross 

 bars mortised into the side*. To give support to the 

 paper, strong pack-thread is passed over the interstices 

 of the frames, tormina; meshes about nine inches square. 

 Common printing paper is then pasted on : and when 

 quite dry, a coating of boiled linseed oil is bud 

 on both sides of the paper with a painter's brush. These 

 frame* are placed in front of the trees, and made move- 

 able, by contrivances which must vary according to 

 circumstance*. If the slope from the wall be consider- 

 able, a few triangular side frames may be made to fit 

 the spaces. At Grangemuir, the frame* are not put 

 up till the blossoms be pretty well exp-mded; till which 

 tune they are not very apt to suffer from spring frost* 

 or hail showers. In this way, it may be remarked, 

 there i* much leaf danger of rendering the blossom de- 

 licate by the covering, than if it were applied at an 

 earlier period. The paper frames, if carefully preserv. 

 cd when not in use, will endure for a good many years, 

 with very slight repair*. 



At Dalkeith garden, in order to break the force of 

 the wind*, screens nude of reeds are projected, at 

 right angle* with the wall, perhaps to the distance 

 of ten feet, and at interval* of thirty or forty feet 

 from each other ; and at the same time Beta wrought 

 with *traw are placed in front of the tree*. These 

 traw neta an very well deserving the attention * gar- 

 deners who may and their wall* too much eipuaul to 



kept at the distance of fifteen or eighteen inches from 

 the tree by means of booked stieka, are sometime* em- 

 ployed ; these may be doubled over, in order to ren- 

 der the interstice* closer. But net* made of coarse 

 woollen yarn or carpet- worsted, are preferable to these. 

 V lladdinfton, in East Loth isn, woollen nets for this 

 purpose are raajmtaetured hi the loom, andean thus be 

 afforded at much law expence. They are woven very 

 thick, the meshes not being larger than to admit the 

 of the finger, even when stretched out. The ad- 

 vantage of woollen yam over flax for thia parJMe i* 



Fruit 

 Garden. 



the freezing of the newly moistened surface, may pre- 

 serve a higher temperature immediately around the 

 plant. " nr 



85. We now proceed to the consideration of the dif- Garden 

 ferent species of fruits cultivated within the walled gar- iruits. 

 den, and the principal varieties of each. The order in 

 which these are treated of, seems to be of little mo- 

 ment : the following arrangement is adopted, partly on 

 account of the importance of the fruits, and partly be- 

 cause of natural alliances: 



Peach, and 1 



Nectarine ; , Amygdalta. 



Almond, 



Apricot. " i 



Plum, Prvnut. 



Cherry, 



Apple, "I 



Pear, > Pynu. 



(Quince, J 



Vine, I'itit. 



Fig, f'icvs. 



Mulberry, Morut. 



M ed lar, Mrtpihu. 



Red Currant, "1 



Black Currant, > Ribet. 



Gooseberry, J 



alien yarn ox 



evidea* ; everj siaall mean brag in eaVct rendered rtsV 

 by the bristlineas of the material, and it* eon- 



tendency to contract ; and from it* aptitude to at- 

 tract and concentrate moisture, such a* cold dews and 

 hoar-frost, the blossom derive* additional security. 

 The** net*, and indaml neta of anv kind, remain on 

 night and day, till the season be sumcientry advanced. 

 To guard igaiaMt the effect* of hoar-frosts falling 

 perpendieukirly, some make a temporary coping of 

 boards, to project a tout or eighteen inches over the 

 tree at the top of the wall. Hitt recommends, that, 

 in what are called black fnttt, the bolder* opposite to 

 the tree* should be watered every night, affirming that 

 he perceived advantage from thk. So it might b. 



luubt wkle from the true rationale when he 

 aacnU-i the good effects to nome Ui inning of the gluti- 



JMire*. tec. Perhaps the latent caloric evolved in 



VOL. XI. FAT I. 



Strawberry, six species, Frataria. 



Some other hardy fruits and nuts, which are planted 

 exterior to the garden, will afterwards be noticed ; as 

 also the pine-apple and the melon, which require a 

 constant high temperature, and the orange, lemon, and 

 shaddock, which are rather inhabitants of the green- 

 house. 



All the common fruit trees and fruit-bearing plants, 

 are extremely well known, both here and on the con- 

 tinent ; any botanical description of them seems there- 

 fore tinacrimaii. The generic and trivial names given 

 by Linns-us shall merely be mentioned, and at the 

 sine time the class and order in his system, and the 

 family in the Natural Method of Juasieu, to which the 

 plant belong*. Occasionally, when it may appear use- 

 ful, some of the foreign nun** of the trees or the fruit* 

 shall be given. 



86. 



O Annex FRUIT*. 

 Peack. 



The JVani trrt is the Amygdaha Ternca of Lin. 

 brlnaging to the class and order Icoundria Mo- 

 ~er Rosaceat of Jnacieu. This 

 divided into two varieties 



by Linnsro* 

 h downy fruit, the s*odt; 2. With smooth fruit, 

 the n-danmt. Pearhes and nectarine* have sometime* 

 occurred on the same tree ; in a few case*, on the same 

 branch ; and one instance is on record, of an indivi- 

 dual fruit partaking of the nature of both. Yet they 

 are generally considered as distinct kinds of fruit, and 

 they shall here be spoken of separately. 



A good peach pos*esf* these qualities : the flesh is 

 firm ; the skin i* thin, of a deep or bright ml colour 

 next the sun, and of a yellowish green next the wall ; 

 the pulp is of a yellowish colour, full of high flavour- 

 ed juice ; the fleshy part thick, and the stone small. 

 Those varieties, the flesh of which separates readily 

 both from the skin and the stone, are the proper ptcha 

 of the French, and are by our gardeners termed //re - 

 Jtoxe*. Those with a lirni He h. to which both the skin 

 and the stone adhere, are the pa\iet of the French, by 

 2c 



