as practised at Hylands. 



397 



plot, wooden boxes, as sockets for posts (b), are fixed in the 

 ground ; and, when the fruit begins to ripen, a net, of the kind 

 used in pilchard fishing, and made at Bridport, in Dorset- 

 shire, the meshes of 2 in., is drawn over the whole cherry 

 garden, fastened to the top of the wire fence by hooks which 

 are fixed there, and supported from the trees by the props 

 placed in the sockets. These props are 14 ft, high at the 

 sides, and gradually rise to the middle of the garden, and 

 they have blunt heads, in order not to injure the netting. The 

 netting necessary for covering this space, which is 80 ft. by 

 220 ft, is in two pieces, each 100 ft. by 150 ft; it is put on in 

 the following manner : — One piece is spread out immediately 

 within the wire fence, and a number of men with poles carry 

 it over the tops of the trees and posts, after it is fastened to 

 one side ; then they fasten it on the other, and so on till the 

 whole is completed. The separate divisions are then joined 

 together, which thus form one entire netted roof, giving the 

 garden a very singular and yet new and agreeable appear- 

 ance. During rain or dewy evenings the net is tightened, or 

 stretched to its utmost extent (Jig. 147. «), and forms a grand 

 vault over the whole 

 cherry garden (Jig. 148. 

 a) : during sunshine, or 

 when the weather is dry, 

 it is slackened (Jig. 147. 

 Z>), and forms a festoon- 

 ed vault supported by 

 posts. (Jig. 148. b) It 

 is advisable to tan the 

 net every year with oak 

 bark, which adds greatly 

 to its durability. 



Were the object of this cherry garden merely to protect 

 the fruit from birds, training the trees on espaliers, and apply- 



148 . 



ing nets, as is done against walls, would be an easier and 

 cheaper mode ; but the cherry garden at Hylands is intended 

 as a place of enjoyment, where ladies and gentlemen may 

 wander about, and help themselves from the trees and bushes. 

 Growing fruit trees on arched trellises over walks, the sides of 

 such trelliswork being open to admit air to flavour the fruit, 



