GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



113 



for coal, ashes, &c. : a supply of the for- 

 mer may be laid in at once to last a 

 month, and a general clearance of the 

 latter may take place at the same time. 

 The tunnel d, through which the main 

 flue runs, is sufficiently capacious — being 

 7 feet wide by 7 feet high — to form a pas- 

 sage from the exterior to the vault, 

 through which the operations of attend- 

 ance are carried on, the fuel brought in, 

 and the ashes removed. Through this 

 passage, which is enclosed with a door at 

 the extreme end, as well as through three 

 under-ground drains, placed under the 

 three other principal walks, a supply of 

 air is admitted to assist combustion in 

 the furnaces; which, when heated, by cir- 

 culating through the vault, passes through 

 the grating above into the centre of the 

 building. 



Having so far described this structure, 

 it remains for us to say something regard- 

 ing the uses to which it may be applied. 



A garden of this extent and cost may 

 be expected to afford the owner both gra- 

 tification and profit. The arrangement 

 in such a case should be of the mixed 

 style — that is, such as to afford fruit, 

 flowers, and vegetables in perfection, and 

 at those seasons when they cannot be had 

 otherwise. 



The borders, therefore, that run parallel 

 with the walks we would dedicate to 

 flowers, a great portion of which may be 

 in pots plunged in the ground ; while others 

 of the more popular kinds, such as gera- 

 niums, heliotropes, pole and standard ten- 

 der roses, fuchsias, and similar free-flower- 

 ing plants, may be planted in the free 

 border, as they will continue to flower 

 for years with very little intermission. 

 Plants requiring shade may also be placed 

 here, such as Russian violets, lily of the 

 valley, &c, in a portable state. Indeed 

 with such an extent of borders, a perpe- 

 tual display of flowers may be kept up. 

 Or, instead of dividing the whole by 

 straight walks, the interior may be laid 

 out in the flower-garden style, the only 

 objection to which would be its interfer- 

 ing with the direction of the pipes. This, 

 however, could be remedied by carrying 

 the hot water under ground, and dis- 

 charging it into large metallic cisterns, 

 which could be covered with stages for 

 plants, or otherwise hid ; while, at the 

 same time, in addition to the heat radi- 



VOL. I. 



ated from the vases, abundance of tem- 

 perature could be secured, and many 

 plants brought nearer to the glass. Close 

 to the columns, through the interior of 

 the house, we would plant vines and figs, 

 which, particularly the former, would 

 produce abundance of fruit at seasons 

 when it is otherwise scarce. Branches 

 of them might be trained under the ridges 

 and gutters with good effect, as well as 

 along the suspension bars. Peaches, 

 plums, apricots, cherries, <fcc, may be 

 grown in large tubs or boxes, and made 

 to produce fruit when it could not be 

 had in the open air. Early varieties of 

 gooseberries, currants, and raspberries, 

 could be forwarded. The better kinds of 

 strawberries could be accelerated two or 

 three months before their natural season, 

 and the Alpine varieties, by apeculiar mode 

 of treatment, be kept in fruit nearly all 

 the winter. Oranges, lemons, tomatoes, and 

 citrons would reach perfection, and some 

 of the extra tropical fruits also be ripened. 



Of vegetables, we may mention peas, 

 kidney beans, cauliflower, scarlet runners, 

 young potatoes, salads of all kinds, &c, 

 which could be had throughout the year. 



So far as regards trees, like peaches, 

 plums, apricots, and cherries, which re- 

 quire a season of rest, they should be in 

 a portable state, so that they may be 

 taken out when their wood is ripe. Vines 

 and figs, natives of warmer climates, may 

 remain permanently within. The roof 

 may also be partly covered with creeping 

 plants of an ornamental kind, so trained 

 as to create little shade for those that 

 grow under them. 



From our calculations, &c, as to the 

 proposed erection we have described, and 

 with those improvements upon it that the 

 intelligence of gardeners may yet suggest, 

 we believe that it would be much cheaper to 

 cover in a whole garden in this way at once, 

 than to build walls, and to erect a variety 

 of separate hothouses, pits, &c. It may 

 be said that in such a garden the tem- 

 perature would be throughout the same ; 

 but this is easily remedied, as portable 

 glass partitions can be employed to parti- 

 tion off any portions which it may be de- 

 sired to keep at a higher temperature. 

 For example, a glance at the ground-plan 

 in our Plate will show that either of the 

 four quarters, into which the space is 

 divided, may be partitioned off, or the 



p 



