ESPALIER RAILINGS. 



559 



completely secured from the attacks of 

 birds, and fat the same time so conve- 

 niently gathered from the inside. Nor 

 are these the only advantages such an 

 espalier possesses. It forms a cool shaded 

 promenade during summer; and, if so 

 required, might be a good mode of com- 

 munication between one part of the garden 

 or grounds and another, the surrounding 

 objects being shut out whenever the sides 

 of the espalier are covered. The whole 

 floor within should be gravelled over, and 

 rendered perfectly dry by drainage. Such 

 an espalier, however, should always be 

 well exposed to the sun; and, for the 

 same reason as that given for span-roofed 

 hothouses, it should run from north to 

 south, and be sufficiently removed from 

 tall trees or buildings, to prevent their 

 shadow falling on the trees, at least from 

 the first of March till the end of October. 

 It may be suggested by some to construct 

 this espalier of iron : we prefer timber, as 

 being a non-conductor of cold, as well as 

 for economy in erection. If the uprights 

 be, say 6 inches in diameter at bottom, 

 and set on not in blocks of squared stone, 

 standing 12 inches above the surface, the 

 whole will last for many years. 



Curvilinear espalier railing has of late 

 years become very general ; and, for 

 certain purposes, and under certain cir- 

 cumstances, has its advantages. Could 

 we satisfy ourselves that no bad conse- 

 quences arise from the conduction of 

 cold, we would give it our unqualified 

 approbation. 



The annexed fig. 797 represents one of 

 these. The uprights should be at least 

 ^ 8 feet in 



Fl S- 79 '- height, set 



in blocks of 

 stone, and 

 strengthen, 

 ed with 

 spurs or 

 struts, as 

 shown in 

 the figure. 

 If perfor- 

 ated with 

 holes 8 or 



10 inches apart, according to the kind of 

 trees to be trained over them, then wires 

 drawn through, tightened t and secured 

 at the ends, will make a durable and 

 strong trellis. 



not be great — say 4 feet for the minimum. 

 They afford shady walks in summer, and, 

 with a very simple contrivance, may be 

 covered in spring, to protect the blos- 

 soms — an advantage standard trees are 

 seldom capable of having afforded them. 

 This mode of training trees has been 

 adopted at Trentham and elsewhere ex- 

 tensively. 



Many years ago our attention was 

 directed to pears trained on inclined 

 wooden trellises, both on the Continent 

 and in various parts of Britain. We 

 thought them inferior to perpendicular 

 ones, as they covered so much ground, 

 and because we observed many of the 

 pears hanging from their under sides, 

 and hence shaded from the sun. The 

 same objection, but of course to a some- 

 what more limited extent, may be urged 

 against curvilinear ones, and also against 

 such as are represented in fig. 798. 



Fig. 798. 



Their breadth within need 



It would, no doubt, be a great im- 

 provement upon horizontal and inclined 

 espaliers, and such as are not in- 

 tended to have walking space under- 

 neath, and would bring them nearer in 

 utility to a wall — between which and 

 the open standard they may be said to 

 form the connecting link — if the spaces 

 below them were filled up with dry ma- 

 terial, and covered over within 6 inches 

 of the bars either with paving bricks, 

 tiles, or slates. The solar heat that 

 would pass through between the branches 

 in spring, and the leaves in summer, 

 would, instead of passing downwards and 

 being absorbed by the soil, be arrested in 

 its progress during the day by any of 

 these materials, and be given out again, 

 by reflection or radiation, to the trees. 

 A small volume of atmospheric air, en- 

 closed as it were between the trees and 

 the covering under . them, would become 

 considerably heated — a circumstance that 

 never can take place if the rays of heat 

 are allowed to pass directly downwards. 



In the case of fig. 798, the trees should 

 be planted at the back part, and trained 



