206 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



the best Grapes have been obtained from 

 medium-sized houses, and such as have the front 

 sashes not more than from 2 to 3 feet high. 



In cold and wet districts the form best adapted 

 for all purposes is the lean-to. At Lambton 

 Castle, near Durham, both early and late houses 

 are of this form. In wet districts of the north 

 of England and Scotland Vineries are often 

 built on the lean-to system; and very far north, 



splendid Muscats as regards both finish and 

 flavour have been produced in them, the fine 

 golden colour being obtained by exposing the 

 branches to sunlight. 



Second only in importance to the form of 

 the Vinery is the arrangement of the hot-water 

 pipes. The earliest Vineries ought to be fur 

 nished with a sufficient quantity of piping to 

 maintain a minimum temperature of 70° in a 



y^TW^t 



Fig. 267 —Section of Vinery (Span-roof). 



severe frost, without making the pipes hotter than 

 will allow of the hand being held upon them. 

 A house 1 6 feet wide requires six rows of 4-inch 

 pipes. On each of the flow-pipes there should 

 be a trough to hold water. The pipes must 

 also be arranged so that the heat is well diffused. 

 The best arrangement is to have four rows near 

 the front of the house, about 2 feet from the 

 front wall. The other two rows should be near 

 the back wall. 



The Vineries erected at Clovenfords by Mr. 

 W. Thomson, one of our best Grape-growers, 

 were constructed with a due regard to economy 

 combined with efficiency. A cross section of 

 one of these houses would represent an inverted 

 letter V, the roof being an equal span with a 

 rather sharp angle, and the slope being con- 

 tinued nearly down to the ground, a low up- 

 right sash on each side being introduced for 

 ventilation, and other ventilators being provided 

 in the ridge of the roof. The circulation of air 



is therefore perfect, while the whole system of 

 ventilation may be opened and shut in a few 

 minutes by means of machinery. The houses 

 are each 200 feet long, 24 feet wide, 16 feet 

 high in the centre, and about 3 feet at the sides. 

 They are intended for growing late Grapes to 

 supply the market. 



These houses are constructed without any cen- 

 tral supports, but with cross tie-rods near the 

 apex. The borders are partly inside and partly 

 out. To prevent the undue compression of the 

 former, a trellised footway is laid down along 

 the centre. To facilitate the work of thinning 

 the berries, which is a most tedious but impor- 

 tant operation, two broad battens are laid down, 

 one towards each side of the house, and on 

 these a stage is made to travel by means of 

 four flanged wheels. It would be well if some 

 similar contrivance were more generally adopted, 

 especially in all large Vineries. 



Peach-houses. — Formerly Peach -houses were 



