336 



FRUIT-HOUSES. 



whole length of the house, with the hand, 

 by means of a union joint ; and thus the 

 greatest facility is afforded of throwing 

 water like rain over the plants, pathways, 

 or pipes, to produce steam at pleasure. 

 I ought to observe," Mr Glendinning 

 remarks, " that there is a coil of pipe in 

 the boiler, through which the water 

 passes on to the perforated pipe, and thus 

 becomes warmed in its passage. There 

 is another pipe, with a cock, connected 

 with this coil of pipe in the boiler, from 

 whence warm water can be drawn during 

 the winter months, to water the plants." 

 — Glendinning's Practical Hints on the 

 Culture of the Pine. 



Another peculiarity in this house is the 

 opening at / for the admission of cold 

 air from the front passage, through under 

 the back bed, to the area under the back 

 footpath : this air becomes heated from 

 passing over the hot-water pipes at b, and 

 rises through the iron grating e. d d are 

 stone shelves for strawberries, French 

 beans, &c. We think it would be an im- 

 provement on this otherwise excellent 

 pine-house, were cold air admitted 

 through the front wall in the direction of 

 the dotted line by means of iron or earth- 

 enware pipes, whose orifices should be 

 level with the ground surface, or slightly 

 elevated above it. Atmospheric air would 

 thus be drawn down the pipes by reason 

 of the difference of temperature at both 

 ends. A similar arrangement might be 

 made in the back wall, and carried to 

 such an extent as to render ventilation by 

 moving the glass sashes unnecessary. 



Hamilton's improved pine-stove, of which 

 fig. 454 is a section, and fig. 455 a ground- 

 plan. — Mr Hamilton's success in pine 



Fig. 454. 



3 



J 



culture has created a considerable degree 

 of interest, and we believe with a great 

 degree of justice. After a few prelimi- 

 nary remarks as to the advantage of 



span-roofed houses for pines, &c. — in 



which opinion we most cordially agree 



with him— he proceeds to describe his stove 



as follows : 

 Fig. 455. _ u The im _ 



proved stove, 

 as shown in 

 the engrav- 

 ing, is accord- 

 ing to my 

 views, except- 

 ing the lights, 

 which ought 

 to be of equal 

 lengths. The 

 front lights 

 having been 

 previously 

 made for 

 another pur- 

 pose, the roof 

 was therefore 

 made to ac- 

 cord with 

 them." In 

 our figure we 

 have repre- 

 sented them 

 all of the 

 same length. 

 " The front 

 lights incline 

 nearly 6 inches to the foot : this angle 

 causes the condensed moisture to run down 

 the glass. More light is generated by the 

 span- roof, provided there be a sharp 

 angle, by catching more of the sun's rays, 

 which is an important advantage in 

 favour of this roof, particularly in autumn, 

 winter, and spring ; and in summer the 

 sun's rays may be moderated by a slight 

 shade, in the middle of very bright days. 

 Half the house next the boiler is occupied 

 with twenty-six pine plants : they are 

 planted out in a compost, which consists 

 of the refuse of the garden, such as cab- 

 bage, tree, pine, and vine leaves, sweep- 

 ings of walks, &c, to which is added a 

 little old mortar and a few broken sticks, 

 to add to its porosity, with some old pea- 

 wood at the bottom as drainage. This 

 constitutes the compost for the pines, in 

 which they appear to delight ; and they 

 are intended to remain for years undis- 

 turbed, and perfect a succession of fruit. 

 The cultivation of the pine upon the 

 planting-out system is comparatively of 



