HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 297 



No fire heat is employed, indeed no means have been provided in the 

 fruiting house for applying it ; and yet, with the exception of the Stanwick 

 Nectarines, and one or two of the latest Peaches, all have ripened most sat- 

 isfactorily, the fruit — owing to the health of the trees and foliage, and the 

 abundance of ventilation which is afforded — being large, juicy, highly colored 

 and, as a matter course, of extremely good flavor. Such as have not yet 

 ripened, Mr. Rivers intends putting into another house, in which a little 

 fire-heat will be applied just to gently accelerate their maturity. 



One of Mr. Rivers' orchard houses, also a span-roofed one — instead of 

 having boarded sides and ends, with means of giving plenty of air, for that 

 is much insisted on in this kind of culture — has the sides, one a Yew hedge 

 the other Siberian Arbor-vitoe. It is 12 ft. wide, 3 ft. high at the sides, 6J 

 feet high in the centre, with a sunken path 2 ft. wide, 1 foot deep, and bor- 

 ders on each side 5 ft. wide. An improvement, however, on this, Mr. Rivers 

 thinks, will be one of the following dimensions — 12 ft. wide, 4 ft. high at 

 the sides, 8 ft. high in the centre, borders 4 ft. 8 ins. wide, sunken path in 

 the centre, 2 ft. 4 ins. wide, and 8 or 10 ins. deep ; this, with a well-clipped 

 hedge of Yew or Siberian Arbor-vitce on each side, will ripen such Peaches 

 as Royal George, Noblesse, and Grosse Mignonne, about a fortnight after 

 their usual period of ripening, and give Apricots, Cherries, and Plums (more 

 especially the late sorts, which shrivel on the trees), in the highest perfec- 

 tion. Owing to the constant percolation of air through the hedges, no in- 

 jury ever occurs from ventilation (as is too often the case) being forgotton 

 in hot weather ; but with syringing and water the trees are always in fine health. 

 The situation for such houses should not be too much exposed in windy sit- 

 uations, for then too much air may perhaps be admitted for ripening fruit. 

 Peaches and Nectarines, however, appear to succeed perfectly in a house 

 made of good deal boards, and the latter well painted with Carson's anti- 

 corrosive paint, will last good a long time. It has been found, however, 

 that, in the case of lean-to houses against a Beech hedge, the cutting north- 

 east winds which pass through the latter in spring are too much for the 

 trees, and, therefore, the few earlier put up houses which Mr. Rivers has on 

 this plan have had painted canvas put along their back walls or hedges, 

 half the height of the latter. This has been found to answer perfectly, 

 and it may be worthy of mention to show the effect good ventilation has in 

 keeping off the mildew and red spider, that when the canvas covered all the 

 back or hedge, these pests made their appearance ; but as soon as half the 

 canvas was removed, and air freely readmitted, they disappeared. 



Gard. Chron. 



