ESPALIER RAILINGS. 



557 



small urn at the top, which, as the tapering- 

 form prevents its being so readily fitted up 



Fig. 791. 



PTT 



as the uprights, is screwed on when the lat- 

 ter are fixed in their places. In the other, 

 the standards must be cast in the same 



Fig. 792. 



LLLLLLi 



manner. The horizontal bars are 2\ inches 

 broad, and three-quarters of an inch thick. 

 The small upright bars are three-eighths 

 of an inch square, 8| inches apart, and 

 rise with a spear point 5 inches above the 

 upper rail. Every 100 feet in length of 

 such a rail weighs about 1 ton, and may 

 be purchased at from i>10 to £12 per 

 ton, according to the price of iron at the 

 time and place. 



Fig. 793 is another example, in which 



Fig. 793. 



the standards and horizontal bars may be 

 of the same dimensions, while the uprights 

 are well seasoned timber instead of iron. 

 The former, being a non-conductor of cold, 

 would be less apt to induce the injurious 

 effects which ensue from the action of 

 frost on the parts of the branches that 

 come into immediate contact with metallic 

 substances. The upright wooden rails 

 should be fitted loosely into the horizontal 

 rails at the top and bottom, to prevent 

 the lodgment of damp ; and small fillets 

 attached to them, immediately above the 

 lower rail, will keep them sufficiently 

 firm in their places. 



In the erection of espaliers, the bottom 

 horizontal rail should be placed at least 

 12 inches above the surface of the soil, 

 as under that no fruit would be produced ; 

 and by the leaves and branches being kept 

 clear of the ground, a free and healthy cir- 

 culation would be promoted under them. 



Notions of economy have led some to 

 fix their iron espaliers in blocks of wood 

 instead of in stone. This is a great mis- 

 take, because, as the blocks they are set 

 in begin to decay round their outer cir- 

 cumferences, a vacancy is thus formed 

 between them and the ground, which daily 

 increases by the shaking of the rail by 

 wind or other causes ; and, in conse- 

 quence, the rails soon get twisted, so that 

 in a few years they become very unsightly 

 and unsteady. 



Wooden espaliers were, and still are, in 

 use; and, except as regards durability, 

 they are better than iron ones. If the 

 uprights be set on, not in, blocks of stone 

 standing 12 inches above the ground, 

 they will last for many years. All fanciful 

 trellis-work should be avoided, as being 

 less strong than more simple forms, and 

 infinitely more expensive in the erection. 

 Whatever may be said to the contrary, 

 we know from experience that iron rail- 

 ings have been productive of considerable 

 injury to the branches of trees and plants 

 trained upon them ; and as these injurious 

 effects have followed severe frosts, we need 

 hardly say that the cause arises from the 

 rapid conduction of heat from the branches 

 — an effect that never can take place where 

 wood is employed. 



The subjoined fig. 794 will show the 

 principle of a wooden rail of this kind. 

 The uprights should be of oak, 3^ inches 

 square at the bottom, and tapering to 2J 



