558 



DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION. 



inches at top. They should be set on stone 

 plinths at least 12 inches above the surface 



Fig. 794. 



plank, 6 inches in breadth, is laid along 

 their tops, and nailed down to them, 

 which keeps them in their place, and at 

 the same time supports -the roof. The 

 latter is also formed of larch rafters, 6 

 feet apart, along which tile laths, 2 inches 

 square, are laid longitudinally. The width 

 of the structure within may be from 6 to 

 10 feet; in the latter case the roof may 

 be supported by uprights, as shown in the 

 sketch. The great advantage of such an 

 ^ espalier is the check the ascending sap 



of the ground, the tops of which plinths 

 should be bevelled off to throw off the 

 rain, as shown in the diagram. An iron 

 dowel, 1 inch in diameter, should be sunk 

 6 inches into the stone plinth, and also 6 

 inches into the base of the wooden up- 

 right, to give stability to the whole ; and, 

 still farther to insure strength, iron straps 

 should be brought up from the stone 

 plinths, and screwed to the uprights, as 

 shown in our figure. 



Fig. 795 exhibits a specimen of a cheap, 

 durable, and elegant espalier railing, con- 

 sisting of wrought-iron uprights 1^ inches 

 square, and 6 feet in height. They are 

 set into large blocks of unhewn stone, 

 sunk in the ground so as not to be seen. 

 The horizontal wires are nearly a quarter 

 of an inch in diameter ; and after being 

 very firmly secured at one end, are made 



Fig. 795. 



to pass through the uprights at about 6 or 

 7 inches apart from each other. They 

 are then tightened up with a nut and 

 screw at the other end. 



Fig. 796 represents a method of training 

 fruit trees, more especially pears, which 

 we first saw in use thirty years ago, in 

 the garden of Bellenden Ker, Esq., St 

 John's Wood. The sides are formed 

 of larch uprights, 7 feet high, and 6 

 feet apart. A wall-plate of 2-inch deal 



sustains when the branches are trained 

 out of the perpendicular, and also the 

 facility with which both the roof and 

 sides can be protected by double nets or 

 canvass during spring, 

 and the fruit preserved 

 from birds by netting 

 during summer and 

 autumn. If standard 

 pearsbe planted at each 

 alternate upright, and 

 the roof only covered 

 by their branches, the 

 sides may be planted 

 with apples or pears 

 trained horizontally, which will fill the 

 whole space sooner than if dwarfs only 

 were planted. This is certainly by far the 

 best mode of training pears, both as re- 

 gards bringing them into an early state 

 of bearing, and also for the preservation 

 of their blossoms during the frosts of 

 spring. Upon a smaller scale, it is also 

 a good method of growing currants, double- 

 bearing raspberries, and the later ripening 

 kinds of gooseberries — as they can be so 



