THE PEACH AND NECTARINE UNDER GLASS. 



33 



upon should' be made of wire strained longitudinally, 

 from six to nine inches apart, and from sixteen to 

 eighteen inches from the glass, commencing at the 

 base of the bottom light and running up to the back 

 wall in medium-sized houses, which, as before ex- 



best for early forcing. In later, 



plained, are the 

 larger, and 

 wider houses, 

 they may be 

 curvilinear as 

 in Fig. 2, an 

 arrangement 

 which some 

 think gives a 

 variety of tem- 

 perature and 

 position to the 

 trees, and con- 

 sequently a bet- 

 ter succession of 

 fruit ; but this 

 is doubtful, as 

 all the trees are 

 further away 

 from the glass, 

 and in conse- 

 quence not so 

 favourably 

 placed for ripen- 

 ing and colour- 

 ing the fruit, 

 without which 

 good flavour 

 cannot be ex- 

 pected. Then 

 again, the lower 

 half of the trees 

 on the back 

 wall being 

 shaded, or alto- 

 gether too far 

 away from solar 

 influence, the 

 number of 

 square feet fully 

 exposed to the 

 sun is only a 



trifle in excess of that obtained from the parallel 

 trellis as in Fig. 1. 



Heating. — Having in preceding papers directed 

 attention to the importance of putting in good boilers 

 and plenty of hot-water pipes, it is unnecessary 

 to again revert to this subject except to state that 

 the pipes should be placed near the front and back 

 walls, and in sufficient quantity to keep up the 

 75 



necessary degree of heat, without, as a rule, making 

 them very hot ; and they should be plentifully fur- 

 nished with evaporating - pans for throwing off 

 atmospheric moisture from the time the houses are 

 started until the fruit is nearly ripe. In the house 

 (Fig. 1) where forcing is commenced in November 



or December, 

 three four-inch 

 pipes along the 

 front, ends, and 

 back will not be 

 too many ; while 

 in Fig. 2, which 

 is wider, four 

 pipes along the 

 front and ends, 

 and two four 

 feet from the 

 back wall, will 

 be sufficient. 



Fig. 3. — Span-roofed House, 

 a, Border ; b, border covered with gravel ; oo, pipes. 



Fig. 4.— Span-roofed House. 

 Path. ; b, border ; c, drainage ; oo, pipes 



The Span- 

 roof (Fig. 3). 

 — Although 

 Peaches can 

 be retarded 

 through their 

 early stages, in 

 lean-to houses, 

 so as to have 

 them ripe in 

 Sept ember, 

 there are many 

 situations in 

 which the span- 

 roof can be con- 

 veniently built 

 for giving fruit 

 through July, 

 August, and 

 SeptemBer. 

 Such houses 

 should be erec- 

 ted with one 

 end facing the 

 north and the 

 other the south.. 



as the trees then get the morning sun on th< 

 east and the afternoon sun on the west side. 

 while it is equally diffused over the whole of the 

 house a little before and after it reaches the meridian. 

 A house of this character was built at Eastnoi 

 some years ago as a winter store for Bays and Aloes, 

 which are taken in after the fruit is gathered and 

 removed about the time it is setting. The sides are 

 perhaps a little higher than is necessary for Peaches 



