594? 



Dutch Manner of Forcing, 



being once laid in, nothing is ever done to it till it is taken out ; 

 no linings are made on purpose for keeping up the heat, not 

 much water is required, and in short the routine culture is 

 nearly reduced to covering at nights, shading in bright sun- 

 shine, and giving air. One point of practice only remains to 

 be mentioned ; viz., that when the heat begins to decline, the 

 paper of the frame is torn in pieces, for the frames cannot 

 easily be taken out without injuring the trees, in order to ad- 

 mit the heat to ascend directly from the tan to the leaves and 

 fruit. A thermometer is not kept in these pits by Mr. 

 Nieman ; but, judging from appearances and what he states, 

 the temperature is kept rather lower than in British peach 

 houses. No particular sorts of peach, nectarine, or apricot 

 are preferred for this mode of forcing; but the Double Mon- 

 tagne and Noblesse are considered the best peaches for this 

 purpose. 



Cherries of the May Duke kind are frequently, and plums, 

 apples, and pears, occasionally, forced in Holland in the 

 same manner, and Mr. Nieman informs us with perfect suc- 

 cess. In Holland he generally gathered his first cherries in 

 the second week of April. 



The second Crop of Peaches at Hi/lands is brought forward 

 in a low steep-roofed house {Jig. 142.), about 25 ft. long, 

 8 ft. wide, and 8 ft. high in the highest 

 part. The back and front walls are 

 of brick; and on the external sur- 

 face of the back wall (Jig. 143. a) are 

 trained cherry trees ; on its internal 

 surface (b), peaches, nectarines, or 

 apricots. Within the front wall of 

 this structure (c), a pit is formed 

 for containing a dung-bed, on which strawberries (d), taken 

 143 up with balls or turned out of 



pots, are planted in leaf mould, 

 after the dung and leaves on 

 which they are placed have some- 

 what subsided. The sorts are the 

 Roseberry and Red Alpine, and 

 it is estimated that the produce 

 is double what it would be if the 

 p^ plants were kept in pots. The 

 glass roof of this house is in 

 single sashes (fig. 144.), which 

 are movable, and applicable to 

 various other purposes. This glass is regularly covered every 



