LONDON. 513 



his servants and other purposes. It forms the largest esta- 

 blishment of the kind, that ever fell under our notice. He 

 has introduced steam into two of his houses, in which he 

 forces early strawberries, grapes, and French beans, to a 

 great extent. In these houses, stages are erected pret- 

 ty near the glass, for supporting the pots. He forces a 

 great many of the Roseberry-strawberry of Aberdeen, and 

 esteems it very much : he also forces several other kinds. 

 He had about 15,000 pots of this plant ready for for- 

 cing, and said he had not been without ripe strawberries 

 for 18 months past. When Mr Grange shall have finish- 

 ed the extensive suite of hot-houses he is now erecting (Oc- 

 tober 1817), and which is to be heated by steam; he in- 

 tends to force peaches, grapes, cherries, figs, pine-apples, 

 jargonelle-pears and apricots. He has also a large ice- 

 house, chiefly above ground, and entirely built of wood. 

 It is divided into three parts, and its roof has much of the 

 figure of a large Dutch barn, approaching to the ground, 

 and thatched 5 or 6 feet thick. When the ice in the first 

 division is consumed, he opens a door into the second, and 

 works through it to the third division. He keeps this for 

 supplying his elegant fruit-shop in Westminster with ice. 

 Mr Grange's green crops were very extensive, some arti- 

 cles occupying 8 and 4 acres each. He was planting out a 

 considerable quantity of endive, on the slope of the banks at 

 the roots of the hedges ; and when he has not enough of 

 these, he throws up others with the sloping face to the 

 south, ; on them he places four rows of tiles, stuck more 

 than half way into the earth, with the convex side to 

 the sun ; a plant of endive is then placed on the opposite 

 side of each. These banks he covers in winter with clip- 

 pings of hedges, or with straw, to protect them from severe 

 frosts. His brocoli and cauliflower were very fine, all from 



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