312 



FRUIT-HOUSES. 



were perpendicular. And again, by having 

 the mullions portable, the vines, with 

 care, may be laid down horizontally along 

 the front of the house, on the top of the 

 outer half of the coping, and mullions 

 of the ordinary form substituted — the 

 sashes, unscrewed from the outer edge 

 of the wall-plate, and suspended from 

 the inner side, shutting out the stems 

 of the vines entirely. 



Stafford's vinery for pot-culture — fig. 423. 

 — The practice of cultivating vines in 



Fig. 423. 



large pots has now become somewhat 

 popular. Amongst the first and most 

 successful operators in this way was Mr 

 Stafford, who describes his practice and 

 structure in "The Horticultural Regis- 

 ter " as follows : — " The plan itself will 

 require little explanation, being of very 

 simple construction. The flues (a) under 

 the pit will heat the air-chamber (b) to 

 a very high degree. This heat should 

 always be applied so as to act as a 

 reserve, and be admitted into the house 

 occasionally, as may be required, through 

 apertures in the back and front walls of 

 the pit. The same flues return under the 

 back walk, and likewise in the back wall ; 

 and, from having such a quantity of 

 heated masonry, you may calculate upon 

 a certainty with regard to the heat of the 

 house, let the external air be what it 

 may. I have," he says, " so economised 

 the heat of a house here, that I have often, 

 in the winter months, had no fire for three 

 weeks together, and have always had pine 

 plants at the same time in the house." 

 We think Mr Stafford's retention of heat 

 might be improved by filling the chamber 

 b over and around the flues with small 

 stones, which, when heated, would retain 

 it longer than the air, as at present. " It 

 will be unnecessary," he says, (and what 



I should by no means recommend) "to 

 fill the pit with bark during the time the 

 vine pots stand in it, but they should be 

 placed in rows in the pit, on the back 

 curb and shelf, putting a feeder (or pan) 

 under each pot — as the success will greatly 

 depend on the proper application of 

 water at the different periods of the 

 season. In the front it is intended to 

 have vines to supply the rafters, which 

 might be brought to vegetate some time 

 before the pots were ready to remove ; 

 and by planting them in the border in 

 front of the house, and with apertures to 

 allow the outer air to enter under the 

 partition, the vines will, without diffi- 

 culty, remain torpid till May." 



Burns vinery for pot-culture — fig. 424. 

 — Both Mr Burn of Tottenham Park, and 

 his pupil Mr Sanders of Ted worth, author 

 of a very excellent treatise on the vine, 

 have done wonders in the cultivation of 

 vines in pots; indeed, in all our experience 

 we never saw such muscats, in particular, 



as we have seen at both places. The trans- 

 verse section above shows how the pots 

 are arranged at Tottenham Park. The 

 pots are set in wooden troughs, one of 

 which is placed near the front of the 

 house, and the vines growing in it extend 

 up the roof till they come opposite those 

 placed in the other trough, which is ele- 

 vated above the stone curb. These 

 troughs are 16 inches wide at top, and 

 10 inches deep. The vines in the latter 

 reach the top of the house. The bed in 

 the middle of the house is filled with tree 

 leaves, to ferment and give out heat and 

 moisture. In the construction of the 

 houses, there is nothing particular in 



