CHERRY, FIG, PLUM, AND APRICOT HOUSES. 



357 



means its motion is easily acted upon by 

 a screw, turning the axle to which it is at- 

 tached; and as this axle extends the 

 whole length of the house, the movement 

 is effected from end to end. 



The windows, which form the sides of 

 this house, are moved simultaneously, 

 being hung on pivots at top and bottom, 

 opening outwards, but all from the north- 

 ern side, so as to prevent the entrance of 

 cold winds. This movement is effected 

 by means of levers, acted upon by a 

 screw at one end of the house, which is 

 on the termination of a square bar of 

 iron extending the whole length of the 

 structure, and working through brass 

 rollers fixed upon the sill. Iron levers, 

 working on pivots at their junction with 

 the bar, are attached to it, as well as by 

 joints to the bottom rail of the windows. 



By turning the screw in one direction, 

 the square bar slides forward and opens 

 the windows, which turn on a ball-and- 

 socket joint at the same time, to such an 

 extent as may be desired. 



To render the top ventilation more 

 convenient, an upright rod of iron is 

 attached to the one which extends along 

 the ridge, and brought down by the side 

 of the door at the end of the house, so as 

 to be easily reached. This is furnished 

 with a crank handle, which, acting on a 

 worm at the lower end of this rod, 

 moves a curved lever at top attached to 

 the lid, and opens and shuts the latter 

 instantaneously, either to its full extent 

 or otherwise. A set screw, as in the side 

 windows, keeps it at any elevation re- 

 quired. 



This house is 50 feet in length, 1 6 feet 

 wide, and 10^ feet in height. The front 

 windows are 4 feet high, and a stone 

 pavement passage runs through the 

 middle from end to end, in which the 

 doors are placed : on each side of this 

 passage the trees in large pots are ar- 

 ranged. We have shown the passage 

 running round the sides of the house to 

 admit of trees of larger size being placed 

 in the centre. 



A house of the same form and dimen- 

 sions stands at some distance from this, 

 for later crops, (vide ground-plan of Frog- 

 more gardens, Plate X.) 



Fig. 495 is an external view of this 

 very elegant structure, to which we have 

 taken the liberty of adding a system of 



ventilation along the middle of the side 

 walls, and which, we would propose, 



Fig. 495. 



should be constructed and made to move 

 upon the principle laid down in our last 

 subject, for the reasons there given. 



Regarding the position of the trees in 

 such houses, our own opinion is, that 

 they ought all to be in a portable state, 

 so that they may be taken out or in at 

 pleasure. Every practical man knows, 

 from repeated experience, how uncertain 

 a set of these fruits is — therefore, if the 

 trees be planted out permanently, the 

 whole season may be lost ; whereas, if a 

 stock be kept in tubs, boxes, or large 

 pots, in the quarters of the reserve gar- 

 den, trees that may fail to set their fruit 

 in the house can be taken out, and their 

 places supplied with others. Such is the 

 practice of many of those who force these 

 fruits for the London market ; and from 

 no better source can we gather correct 

 information. 



Many have succeeded in forcing these 

 kinds of fruits by merely covering esta- 

 blished trees on the garden walls with 

 portable wooden frames covered with glass 

 sashes, which are removed when the crop 

 was gathered. Such walls, when the fruit 

 was required early, were fined ; when fruit 

 was wanted only a week or two before 

 the natural season, the solar heat was 

 found sufficient. Portable span-roofed 

 houses for cherries and plums, when these 

 are not required to be early forced, may 

 be erected in any well exposed part of a 

 garden, and the trees planted perma- 

 nently out in them, because the wood of 

 these will ripen sufficiently without arti- 

 ficial heat. Such, however, is not the 

 case with apricots and figs grown as 

 standards, especially in Scotland and the 

 north of England — hence it follows that 

 they must be always trained to walls ; 

 and whatever covering may be placed 

 over them, when so circumstanced, must 

 be of the lean-to form. In both cases, 



