240 



THE PEACH AND NECTAEINE. 



Ijouglit onoe in a lifetime — ooal every year. Peach houses for forcing 

 should also be well built and closely fitted in every part, so that no heat 

 can readily escape. This is the more needful, as the greater the disparity 

 between the internal and external atmospheres, the greater the danger of 

 the heat ot the house being wasted. Heat is subtle and difficult to confine 

 in any case ; it is far more so when we add to its natural subtlety with such 

 a wide divergence of temperature as, say, 40deg. — SOdeg. inside and 

 lOdeg. out. Unless houses are well built, the loss under such conditions 

 that often occurs in the early forcing of the peach is ruinous. 



Fis. 52. 



/. — Peach Cases. 



Glass-houses for mere protective purposes (Fig. 52) are very appropriately 

 called peach cases. They are mostly erected against walls, and vary in 

 width from 5ft. to 10ft. About 7ft. at bottom may be considered a 

 convenient width. They are sometimes furnished with a row of bush 

 trees in front, and if these are kept low they do little injury to the back 

 wall, and add greatly to the amount of produce ; the majority of peach 

 oases, however, merely inclose the wall, protect the blooms from the 

 frost, and further the growth of the fruits. Such cases placed against 



