274 Construction of Fruit Corridors. 



and heat comes from the south, or at any rate from that half of 

 the compass southward of east and west ; the little that comes 

 from the other half I am content to lose, in order the more effec- 

 tually to secure the services of the main supply : therefore, in 

 place of the present plain south wall, I would beg leave to 

 introduce a sort of shelter, such as is used at the railway sta- 

 tions, and which I may term the fruit corridor, being a row of 

 high pillars in front of a low south wall, with a substantial lean- 

 to- roof, and the inside nicely lath and plastered; along the 

 centre of the border thus roofed stand the trees or plants, and 

 the trellis on which they are trained. It will easily be seen, 

 therefore, that the fruit border is thus roofed from the effects of 

 frost and chilling rains, and thereby converted, if not into a 

 hotbed, at least into a warm bed, warmer than the other beds in 

 the garden that are left to the mercy of the elements ; this, 

 then, is one point of immense importance already gained over 

 common walls. 



Our sharpest cutting winds generally come from the northern 

 half of the compass, that is to say, from the north-east and north- 

 west; and from these points also we have the torrents of cold 

 rain, and the great body of the snow and hail, so injurious to 

 the early blossoms. Now, when the north side is roofed, all 

 these fall harmlessly beyond the tender blossoms, foliage, and 

 fruit of the trees on the trellis, and the delicate spongioles in the 

 the earth ; and these organs, be it remembered, are the most 

 vital and vulnerable parts of the tree, therefore, the slightest 

 protection to them is no mean point gained ; especially when 

 the results of recent experiments with the fig and other trees are 

 considered, which have perfectly convinced me that the excess 

 of cold rain in our climate does more injury to our fruit trees 

 than has ever been accredited to it, and is second only to our late 

 spring frosts in robbing our orchards. By withholding water 

 from a fig plant in a pot, a person may, as it were, command it to 

 fruit : for, after the plant has made about five leaves or joints of 

 young wood, let the water be gradually withheld from it till 

 the sap by exposure to the sun gets properly elaborated (which 

 will be in four or five weeks, with plenty of sun and heat, and 

 only just as much water as will keep the leaves from falling off or 

 turning yellow), and it will not fail to show fruit in the axil of every 

 leaf; which fruits, of course, afterwards require the plant to be 

 watered, and the ordinary treatment, to mature them, On the 

 other hand, let any one give a fig plant always plenty of water, 

 that is, let him keep the soil about his fig roots as moist as gar- 

 den soil generally is in the open air in winter, and I warrant he 

 will look in vain for anything but leaves on that fig tree. I 

 mention the fig tree for the sake of the grossness of its habit, 

 as any one may more readily convince themselves of the accuracy 



