THE ORCHARD-HOUSE. 



77 



to arrange them in the following manner. Place 

 Figs where they can have the benefit of the most 

 heat, then follow with Peaches and Nectaiines, 

 Apricots, Plums, Cherries, and Pears. Let the 

 tallest trees occupy the centre of the house, arrange 

 the bushes along the sides, and place the Straw- 

 berries on the shelves or side tables. The latter, 

 prior to being taken in, should be cleansed, well 

 rammed, watered with lime-water to destroy worms, 

 and top-dixssed with equal parts of rich loam and 

 rotten manure. The dis- 

 tance from tree to tree need 



not exceed three feet the 

 first year ; in small narrow 

 houses they may stand 

 closer, but in large struc- 

 tures like Fig. 2, where it 

 is necessar}^ to get in 

 amongst them, nothing will 

 be gained by overcrowding. 

 They should not, certainly 

 during the first season, be 

 placed on the surface of 

 rich borders, otherwise the 

 roots ^yill leave the pots 

 and find their way down- 

 wards, when the growths 

 will become gross, watery, 

 and sparely set with blos- 

 som-buds. Moreover, the 

 inducement to fill the pots 

 with fibrous roots will no 

 longer prevail, the compost 

 will become sour, and the 

 trees will receive a ^dolent 

 check when those truant 

 roots are severed in the 

 autumn. Neglect of this 

 important matter du.ring 

 the time the trees are in 



course of formation has led to many failures, when 

 the system instead of the management has been 

 condemned. 



To steer clear of this danger, let each pot be 

 placed upon two bricks or tiles, a space being left 

 between the bricks for the outlet of water. The 

 latter will then pass away freely, healthy roots will 

 take full possession of the closely-rammed compost, 

 and the growths will be short- jointed, floriferous, 

 and well ripened by the end of September. 



As detailed management of the house will be fully 

 entered into in the second or fruiting year, it will 

 not be necessary to prolong this section by giving it 

 at this stage. Therefore, the end of September 

 having arrived. Plums, Pears, and Cherries from 



Fig. 7 —Bush Tree (Lord Napier Nectarine) 



Nectarines which have not borne fruit, may be 

 placed out of doors, where they can be properly 

 supplied with water, and receive the benefit of 

 autumnal rains. But on no account must the roots 

 be allowed to become dri/, otherwise the trees, being 

 now furnished with flower-buds, will most certainly 

 cast them when they ought to be expanding in the 

 spring. 



To relieve the amateur, for whom these pages are 

 written, from doubt upon the performance of the 

 operations to which atten- 

 tion will be given in the 

 succeeding papers, it may 

 be well to say that rich 

 top-dressings, which play 

 such an important part in 

 the pot-culture not only 

 of fruit-trees but of every- 

 thing, will not be required 

 the first or preparatory 

 year. Neither will it be 

 necessary or advisable to 

 pot or re-pot any of the 

 trees, at least those which 

 are of home -make, and 

 have been grown in eleven 

 and twelve-inch pots. If 

 the pots are unusually full 

 of spongioles so much the 

 better ; this condition will 

 be what the tyro who fol- 

 lows these directions may 

 expect ; but instead of cast- 

 ing away the bird in hand 

 by re-potting, let him drop 

 all such pot-bound trees 

 into clean empty pots just 

 large enough to receive 

 them when he houses them 

 in the month of Januar3\ 

 Indeed, it is an excellent plan to place every orchard- 

 house tree in a second pot with an enlarged aperture, 

 not only to economise watering through the dog- 

 days, but to protect the thousands of roots which 

 ought to be clustering round the sides, if the trees a're 

 to produce fruit in quantity and quality worthy of our 

 time. In neat well-kept places the pots used for this 

 purpose should be clean or new, and of uniform size ; 

 or, better still, the handsome and cheap terra-cotta 

 vases manufactured by IMatthews, of Weston-super- 

 Mare, and others, are specially designed for this 

 use in conservatories. Such vases can be used with 

 or 'without the saucers for pot fruit-trees, and are 

 invaluable for hiding the pots of specimen Chrysan- 

 themums when the orchard-house is transformed 



which the fruit has been gathered, also Peaches and into a conservatory through the winter. 



