TROPICAL FRUIT HOUSE. 



359 



should be near to the door of entrance. 

 And, still further to economise fuel 

 and to give additional heat, the spaces 

 under the footpaths may be (although 

 this is not shown in the section) made 

 into chambers extending the whole length 

 of the house, and their sides built on 

 the hollow-wall principle, to prevent loss 

 of heat by absorption. In these a double 

 set of smoke-flues could be built, through 

 which the smoke and heat which passes 

 the boiler could be made to travel, in- 

 stead of being carried up at once into the 

 walls as elsewhere suggested. The smoke 

 would pass up one of these flues and re- 

 turn by the other, and be finally let into 

 the wall-flues. Indeed, throughout the 

 summer, it might all pass off in that 

 manner. As the furnace is placed at the 

 end of this house, and in the centre of 

 the end, by means of a damper being 

 placed at each side of the furnace, the 

 smoke and heated air could be directed 

 into the flues under the footpath on one 

 side of the house through the day, and 

 into those of the other side at night; and, 

 as the flues and brickwork around would be 

 charged with a very considerable amount 



of heat, that heat would continue to be 

 given out long after the direction of the 

 smoke and heated air had been changed. 



The footpaths should be of iron grat- 

 ing, to allow the heated air to rise into 

 the house; and, to facilitate this, a small 

 supply of cold air might be admitted from 

 over the furnace, to aid in driving out 

 that which is heated in the chambers 

 under the floors. 



Tropical fruits, for their cultivation to 

 perfection in this country, for the most 

 part require a greater degree of light 

 and sun than those we have been in 

 the habit of growing hitherto. There- 

 fore, a house upon the curvilinear prin- 

 ciple, as exemplified in our figure, we con- 

 sider the most eligible for the purpose. 



Attempts have been made in various 

 places in England to cultivate certain of 

 these fruits, and considerable success has 

 attended the experiment. The only house 

 of any size we have seen entirely appro- 

 priated to this purpose is that built a few 

 years ago by the late Duke of Northum- 

 berland at Sion, and in which many of 

 these fruits have attained the greatest 

 perfection. 



