CONSTRUCTION OF GARDEN WALLS. 105 



the drawing up and down of window- 

 curtains. The canvass being thin, as 

 much light passes through it as through 

 the inferior qualities of glass ; and being 

 at a little distance from the plants, and 

 the whole kept dry by the felt roofing, it 

 has been found that plants have stood the 

 winter under such protection as well as 

 if in an ordinary greenhouse without fire 

 heat. 



The best of all ways of forming conser- 

 vative walls, now that glass is so cheap, 

 would be to have portable structures with 

 glass sashes, to fit up in autumn and re- 

 move in spring. During summer, they 

 could be employed in a variety of ways, 

 of which the ripening of the finer kinds 

 of pears is perhaps not one of the least 

 important. A conservative wall, where 

 the ground is of unequal level, or with a 

 sloping surface, may be constructed as in 

 the annexed diagram, fig. 113. The 



Fig. 113. 



panels formed by the projecting piers 

 should be regulated in lengths according 

 to the rise of the ground, so that the 

 breaks along the top may not be too 

 great. Its height also should be arranged 

 to suit the circumstances of the place, as 

 well as its architectural character. Walls 

 much out of the level cannot be very 

 conveniently heated by flues, but they 

 may be so by hot water, placing the boiler 

 at the lowest point. The piers should 

 terminate in vases, and project from 1 to 

 2 feet, according to the height of the wall; 

 this also should determine their breadth. 

 The coping should be massive, and pro- 

 ject not less than 12 inches. Under the 

 coping, and near its front, should be fas- 

 tened strong rods of wire, upon which the 

 protecting curtains should be hung, run- 

 ning with rings upon the wire rod, so 

 that they may be drawn aside in fine 

 weather, and secured to the piers. Or 

 they may be so arranged as to draw up 

 and remain under the projecting coping. 



VOL. 1. 



If the wall do not exceed 9 or 10 feet in 

 height from the ground to the under side 

 of the coping, a permanent iron rail, with 

 double grooves 1J inch in width and 

 the same in depth, may be laid along its 

 front, and in a line with the outsides of 

 the piers — a corresponding one in wood 

 being fixed to the front of the coping in 

 autumn, and removed again in spring. 

 Between these rails, canvass or felt framed 

 shutters may be placed, which will ex- 

 clude the frost and wet ; and as they, by 

 this arrangement, will readily pass each 

 other — being alternately in different 

 grooves — ventilation and exposure can be 

 readily given to the plants. The border 

 in which the plants are set should be ex- 

 ceedingly dry ; and as a walk, of neces- 

 sity, will pass along the front, their roots 

 getting into it will be no disadvantage, as 

 the less such plants are nourished, and 

 the drier their roots are, the better they 

 will ripen their wood, and consequently 

 stand the winter better. If the situation 

 of the wall is such as to admit of it, both 

 sides may be alike ; and it matters little 

 what aspect it is set to. Should one side 

 face the south, there are plants which 

 prefer that exposure ; while many others 

 will stand on a northern exposure better 

 than on a south one. 



Regarding the style or construction of 

 a conservative wall, the late Mr Loudon 

 very properly observes that it should not 

 be a " common erection, presenting only 

 a flat perpendicular surface and a hori- 

 zontal line. At top, it may have piers 

 at regular distances, terminating in caps 

 surmounted by vases above the height of 

 the wall, but arranged in form and pro- 

 portion so as to harmonise with the con- 

 servatory or house. In the case of a 

 Gothic or Elizabethan building, these 

 piers and their terminating ornaments 

 should of course vary accordingly. In- 

 stead of piers, the face of the wall might 

 be broken by arched recesses ; and while 

 a more delicate kind of plant occupied 

 that part of the wall which formed the 

 back of each recess, a much hardier kind 

 might be trained to the projections be- 

 tween them. 



" Where the style was Gothic, the wall 

 might be covered with a series of piers 

 and intersecting arches ; and if the piers 

 and imposts of the arches were covered 

 with ivy, and the rest of the wall with 



o 



