274 



THE GAEDENEE'S ASSISTANT. 



owing to the efforts of the late Mr. Thomas 

 Eivers that this branch of modern fruit culture 

 has made such rapid progress during the last 

 thirty years. 



In cold, bleak districts in the neighbourhood 

 of large manufacturing towns, especially in the 

 northern half of the kingdom, where first-class 

 dessert fruit cannot be produced in the open air, 

 Orchard Houses have become a necessity in large 



Fig. 1060.— Section of Span-roofed Orchard House. 



garden establishments, and particularly for the 

 cultivation of such tender fruits as Figs, Oranges, 

 Guavas, &c. 



In the garden at Hutton Hall, Guisboro', in 

 North Yorkshire, there is a span-roofed house 

 150 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet high, 

 running east and west. It serves as a corridor, 

 other houses branching off from it. The hot- 

 water pipes from the boilers to these houses are 

 laid under the floor of the corridor, and from 

 these pipes there is sufficient heat to maintain 

 a moderately warm temperature all the year 

 round, such as Oranges and Figs delight in. 

 The Figs are planted and trained up the south 

 side, and under the roof to the apex; Oranges, 

 &c, on the other side. The varieties suitable 

 for such a house are as follows : — Figs : Brown 

 Turkey (the best of all); this with Negro Largo 

 will produce fruit extending from May to 

 November. Lemons: the Common, Imperial, 

 and Sweet are very good varieties. Oranges: 

 Blood, St. Michael's, Exquisite, Jaffa, Egg, and 

 Silver are all well worth growing. When 

 trained under the roof they bear enormous crops 

 of handsome fruit, giving a beautiful effect, the 

 evergreen leaves and the bright golden fruit 

 making a delightful contrast. 



An Orchard House intended for the culti- 

 vation of such fruits as Cherries, Nectarines, 

 Peaches, and Plums may be either lean-to, 



half -span, or span-roofed; the span-roofed form 

 being preferable (see fig. 1060), as with it the 

 trees get more light and a better circulation of 

 air. Such a house may be of any length, but 

 one, say, 20 feet wide, with a height of 10 or 11 

 feet to the apex of the roof, and 6 feet high at 

 the sides, makes a very suitable house for trees 

 grown in pots. The trees can be removed from 

 the house when the fruit is gathered, and the 

 space utilized for Chrys- 

 anthemums or other 

 plants requiring protec- 

 tion during winter. 



A house of this de- 

 scription requires no 

 borders or paths except 

 for appearance, a path 

 through the middle 

 being perhaps useful for 

 working purposes. The 

 floor should be of con- 

 crete, the pot-trees being 

 raised upon two bricks 

 or some similar contri- 

 vance to allow the water 

 to escape freely. W^here 

 a span-roofed house is not available, a lean-to 

 house against a south wall may be made to serve. 

 The wall can be covered with Peaches or Nec- 

 tarines, planted in a suitably prepared border. 



At Lambton Castle, near Durham, where, 

 owing to obnoxious vapours from chemical 

 works in the neighbourhood, the climate is bad 

 for fruit-trees grown out-of-doors, Mr. Hunter, 

 the gardener, has for many years been a most 

 successful cultivator of Orchard House fruits. 

 Here may be seen two long lean-to houses almost 

 entirely filled with Pear-trees planted along the 

 front and trained up under the roof as cordons, 

 which in autumn present a sight not easily to 

 be forgotten. 



A moderately warm, dry atmosphere all the 

 winter is necessary for the perfect maturation 

 of Oranges, and this will do no harm to Figs 

 while in a dormant state. 



Peaches and Nectarines will in most seasons 

 ripen their fruit fairly well in a cool house, yet 

 in exposed or damp situations they are much 

 benefited by a little assistance from the hot- 

 water pipes. If only a flow and return 4-inch 

 pipe is placed on each side of the house, the 

 heat given off by these will be found most use- 

 ful in early spring when the trees are in blossom, 

 as even with protection of glass without arti- 

 ficial heat a crop cannot be in every season 

 relied on. Long spells of cold, damp weather 



