340 



FRUIT-HOUSES. 



ried up within, parallel to the front wall 

 of the house, and about 12 inches from 

 it, and a little higher, in order that the 

 front sashes, when taken out of their pro- 

 per place and set upon it, may fill up the 

 increased space caused by the upward 

 slope of the roof. The vines being taken 

 from the rafters, are laid horizontally 

 along the front, and exposed to the open 

 air, but not fully, as they have the pro- 

 tection of part of the roof above, as well 

 as a slight heat from the pipes — all of 

 which is an advantage to them. Another 

 modification was long exemplified in the 

 pine-stoves in the kitchen garden at Ken- 

 sington Palace, now no longer existing. 

 The vines planted in the back passage, 

 and trained to the back wall, and over 

 the passage along the roof, were com- 

 pletely wintered by drawing down the top 

 sashes about 3 feet — that is, the breadth 

 of the walk — and setting hot-bed sashes, 

 not otherwise in use, and boards on the 

 top of the back wall of the pit, and so 

 forming a partition between the pine 

 plants in it and the passage behind. 



The Bamford Hall pine-stove is upon 

 the span-roofed principle. This is not, 

 however, the only peculiarity in its con- 

 struction. It is 25 feet in length and 15 

 feet wide, having a 3-feet walk or passage 

 round the interior. The other details 

 will be better understood by quoting Mr 

 Cherry's description, as given by him in 

 " The Gardeners' Chronicle." We should, 

 however, premise by stating, that the 

 sides of the roof are unequal — the front 

 rafters being 11 feet long, and the back 

 ones 6 feet ; by which we understand 

 that the longer side of the front faces the 

 south. "It is fitted up with a shelf at 

 the back, 3 feet from the glass, and with 

 another in the front, five feet from the 

 glass. The front of the house is 6 feet 

 high above the walk, and the upper por- 

 tion is glazed to the depth of 4 feet. At 

 both ends of the house, there is a flight of 

 six steps from the front walk to the back 

 one, which is on a level with the front of 

 the pit. The latter stands in the centre 

 of the house, its slope corresponding 

 with that of the roof ; but instead of 

 being heated with bark in the ordinary 

 manner, the roots of the plants are 

 warmed by means of hot-water pipes 

 passing beneath them. For this purpose, 

 the pit is surmounted by a boarded stage, 



containing four shelves, with openings in 

 them, to receive the pine pots up to the 

 rims. Each shelf is 2 feet in width, and 

 capable of containing nine plants. The 

 hot-water pipes in the pit, and those which 

 warm the house, are on the same level, 

 and communicate with each other, so that 

 only one fire is required. These pipes 

 are all dished, for the purpose of holding 

 water to create steam. The dishes in the 

 pit are filled by means of 1-inch leaden 

 pipes, one end of which comes through 

 the stage ; and these are filled twice every 

 day with hot water. There are also six 

 small 1-inch iron pipes, about 18 inches 

 long, which stand upright, and are screw- 

 ed into the main-pipes under the stage. 

 The tops of these you can open or close, 

 according as more or less moisture is re- 

 quired." The pots used for fruiting plants 

 " are 11 inches wide inside at top, 6 inches 

 wide at the bottom, and 16 inches deep, 

 with a good strong rim 1 inch wide, made 

 quite flat (on the under side we pre- 

 sume) to fit close to the stage." The 

 pipes are provided with throttle-valves, 

 by which means the circulation may be 

 stopped, and the atmospheric heat thrown 

 into the bottom heat — at least, such is 

 Mr Cherry's opinion. We, however, 

 question if more heat is in reality thrown 

 into the bottom-heat pipes by this means. 

 The bottom heat is said to be easily kept 

 up, by these means, to 90° or 95°. We 

 learn, also, by this communication, that 

 young pine plants are grown upon the 

 same principle. 



Niverfs pinery and vinery combined. — 

 This structure is the design of N. Mven, 



