556 



DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION. 



fastened to the ridge of the house. The 

 other double of the line, when pulled 

 down, winds up the pole, which takes 

 along with it the canvass, rolling itself 

 round the pole in its progress upwards — 

 the whole operation of shading or un- 

 shading being performed in less than a 

 minute. A double line of saddle-girth 

 is fastened to the ridge of the house, and 

 also to the end of the pole, which gives 

 the revolving motion to the latter. For 

 lean-to houses, one sheet of shading is 

 sufficient ; but for span-roofs, a separate 

 sheet and pole is necessary for each side. 

 For houses with the old-fashioned rafters, 

 no precaution will be required for pre- 

 serving the glass from being broken by 

 the weight of the canvass, even should it 

 be used of thick sailcloth for resisting 

 cold, as the rollers will move upon the 

 upper sides of the rafters, and so run 

 clear of the glass. But for houses, as 

 now often constructed, without deep 

 rafters, it will be necessary to place from 

 top to bottom of the roof, and at distances 

 of 6 or 8 feet apart, temporary pieces of 

 wood, upon which the roller may run. 



§ 6. — ESPALIER RAILINGS. 



In former times every garden had its 

 espalier rails, which were considered 

 appendages as necessary as the walls 

 themselves, for the production of various 

 kinds of fruit, deemed rather too delicate 

 to ripen properly on standards, and ex- 

 cluded from the walls for want of room. 

 Opinions have been at variance for some 

 years as to the advantages or disadvan- 

 tages of such a mode of training; and 

 the older mode has been returned to, in 

 many instances, after having been con- 

 demned and exploded for more than 

 half a century — namely, dwarf standards 

 or buzzelars. 



Espalier rails, when well covered with 

 trees, no doubt produce abundant crops 

 of fruit ; and they have also another 

 advantage in places where general order 

 and high keeping are not fully carried 

 out. They form blinds or screens, by 

 which the quarters of the garden are 

 hidden ; and if the walks, edgings, and 

 border between them and the espalier be 

 kept in trim order, the superficial visitor 



concludes that the whole place is in ex- 

 cellent keeping. 



Of authors on gardening who have 

 pronounced opinions on their merits, we 

 may mention that M'Phail condemns 

 them, while Nicol, Marshall, Neill, Aber- 

 crombie, Loudon, Rogers, &c, approve of 

 them. " Besides the value of their fruit," 

 says Loudon, " they form a sort of coun- 

 terpart to the trees on the walls, and add 

 much to the general effect of the garden, 

 by increasing the appearance of design, 

 and much to its beauty in detail, by the 

 variety of their blossoms in spring and 

 their fruit in autumn." Our own opinion 

 is, that they are valuable in cold and ex- 

 posed situations, preventing the fruit 

 from being blown off by winds, presenting 

 one surface at least as well to the sun as 

 if the trees were grown against a wall, 

 but without the advantage of radiated 

 or reflected heat, occupying, when placed 

 vertically, much less space than stan- 

 dards ; while they both form blinds to 

 hide the coarser kitchen garden crops, 

 and afford shelter to those of a more 

 delicate nature. 



The almost total disregard of elegance 

 in design in the construction of espalier 

 railings, has no doubt tended to their dis- 

 repute. Why this should be it is hard to 

 conjecture, seeing we have so many speci- 

 mens constantly before us in the elegant 

 and architectural railings with which 

 every town and city abounds ; for, in fact, 

 an iron espalier rail can be considered as 

 differing but little from these. The speci- 

 men books of wire-workers and ironmon- 

 gers supply abundant examples, and the 

 cost can be ascertained from them either 

 by the ton or by the extent in feet. 



Formerly espalier railings were con- 

 structed of timber. If they were made 

 of the mere thinnings of the young plan- 

 tations, they had almost yearly to be re- 

 placed ; while if made of better material, 

 and well finished off, they became an 

 expensive affair. Cast-iron superseded 

 wood; and malleable-iron uprights and 

 strong wire have in turn been introduced 

 to set aside this. 



Of cast-iron rails, the annexed, figs. 

 791 and 792, may be given as examples. 

 The uprights in both are set in blocks of 

 stone, are 9 feet apart, and are If inches 

 square at the bottom, slightly tapering up- 

 wards, and finishing, in the one case, in a 



