550 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



afternoon to eight o'clock in the morning — for 

 the first week will he sufficient ; that is, ranging 

 to about 40°, gradually raising the temperature 

 during the three following weeks to 42° as a 

 minimum, and in warm sunshine allowing it to 

 rise during the middle of the day to 52°, admit- 

 ting air freely all the while. Shut up early in 

 the afternoon, so as to enclose as much solar 

 heat as possible, thereby lessening the demand 

 upon the furnace, which should be regulated 

 with great precision, particularly during the 

 night, for it were better the night temperature 

 fall a degree or even two under the above mini- 

 mum than exceed it to that extent. During 

 the fifth and sixth week the minimum by fire- 

 heat may be elevated to 45°, but the maximum 

 of such heat should, during the day, be kept at 

 or rather under 48°, while that of solar effect 

 should be by ventilation restrained to 55°, and 

 so kept until the trees are in bloom. During 

 the period while the blossom is fully expanded, 

 and while the fruit is setting gradually, raise 

 the fire-heat to 48° and 52", as the maximum 

 and minimum, admitting all the while a free 

 and genial ventilation, but avoiding cold drafts 

 of air; and for preventing accidents arising from 

 this cause, if subterranean ventilation is not 

 provided for, as so abundantly shown in vol. i., 

 then the air admitted through the front or side 

 windows should be made to pass through thin 

 canvass screens, to break its force and cause a 

 more equal diffusion of it throughout the house. 

 Small openings, and many of them, will be found 

 of advantage at this stage, which is the most 

 precarious in forcing these fruits. During the 

 setting of the fruit, air should be sensibly felt, 

 not in gusts, but in gentle zephyrs throughout 

 every part of the house; and if this is attended 

 to with a steady night and day temperature, as 

 stated above, with the necessary amount of 

 moisture at the roots, and a proper hygrometric 

 state of atmosphere, there will be no fear of 

 success even with these reputed ill-setting fruits. 



Water, when applied either to the roots or 

 branches, should never be less than equal to the 



temperature of the house, and indeed that 

 applied to the former should be 5° or 10° 

 warmer. Air at so early a season can very 

 seldom be admitted with safety direct from the 

 external atmosphere; hence the great importance 

 of bringing it in in underground drains, causing 

 it to pass over the tanks or hot-water pipes, or 

 sifting it through canvass screens, so as to break 

 its force or elevate it to the internal temperature. 



Watering. — From the day the trees are 

 brought into the house, or should they be per- 

 manent occupants of it, syringing should be 

 daily attended to until the blossoms begin to 

 expand, at which period it should be suspended 

 until the fruit is set. After this it should be 

 resumed with a view to clear the trees of the 

 decaying blossoms, refresh the foliage, and 

 suppress insects. Avoid too much water at the 

 roots during the period of the fruit's setting, 

 but at the same time avoid an opposite course, 

 either of which would be equally detrimental. 

 After the fruit has stoned and the flesh begins 

 to swell, give more copious root-waterings, and 

 if of a fertilising nature so much the better. 



There is no doubt that the day is not far 

 distant when we will have orchard or fruit 

 houses upon a very large scale, and it is probable 

 that such hardy trees as the plum and cherry 

 will be grown in a portable state, to admit of 

 their being placed in the open air after their 

 fruit is gathered. The vine, peach, and apricot 

 may be found to require such protection at all 

 times, to enable them in cold countries to ripen 

 their wood, and the fig may remain a permanent 

 tenant on account of its producing more than 

 one crop per annum. Mr Rivers has shown 

 very satisfactorily what can be done on a small 

 scale and in very economical structures; and his 

 arguments and success in pot-culture strengthen 

 an opinion we have long entertained, that the 

 control we have over the roots by his process 

 will lead to results that planting out and annual 

 root-pruning can never realise in the case of 

 such trees as these, when subjected to artificial 

 excitement. 



