10 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
OUR LATE PEACH-HOUSE, AND WHAT LED TO IT. 
Up to the autumn of 1860, the wall which now forms the back of our late 
Peach-house was covered with Fig trees, which were killed down to the 
ground on the 25th of December of that year, when so many fruit trees, 
Pines, and even old Oaks and Cedars of Lebanon shared the same fate. 
My employer asked me what could be done to make the best use of the 
wall, as it would be the work of years to cover it again with Figs ; and I 
suggested to cover it with glass and plant it with Peaches and Nectarines. The 
building was commenced the following May, and planted for the summer with 
Cucumbers and Tomatoes, trained on the trellis put up for the Peach trees; 
these with a few Melons and some climbing plants trained in the same way 
gave the house a very gay appearance, as well as added to the interest of it. 
The Cucumbers and Tomatoes did remarkably well; but not so the Melons, 
which set their fruit well and grew to a large size, but failed to ripen without 
the bottom heat, so beneficial to them and many other plants. 
In the autumn of the same year the soil inside the house was trenched two 
spits deep and well manured from an old hotbed ; and three-inch drain-pipes 
were laid the whole length of the house, along the front, 6 inches lower than 
the soil was moved, and a layer of turf placed over the pipes, the grass being 
downwards to prevent the soil getting into them. These conducted into a 
tank 6 feet deep placed outside of the house. This and the troughing which 
was put along the front of the house and led into the same tank, conveyed the 
rain water that falls on the house to the tank—an arrangement which should 
always be made, as it is a great saving of labour, and rain water is far preferable 
for watering. 
The dimensions of the house and its cost I hope may interest some of the 
readers of the Florist and Pomologist. It is 46 feet long, 8 feet wide, 
12 feet at the back, and 5 feet in the front, 3 feet of which are glass, and 2 feet 
boarded. The top board nearest the glass is 11 inches wide and opens the whole 
length of the house. The top is ventilated by flaps raised upwards by an iron 
rod to each flap, and which are fastened to an iron bracket in the back wall. 
Each flap is 40 inches long, two out of every three of the top squares can be 
raised. This I find good ventilation, as the trees have been free from red spider 
up to the present day. The house is glazed with 16-oz. glass, 20 inches by 15, 
and the cost of the whole including the Peach and Nectarine trees did not 
exceed £37. 
The back wall is trellised; the wires are put on strips of deal 2 inches thick. 
This gives room for the foliage of the trees, and gives more play for the syringe, 
without which it would be impossible to keep down red spider, thrips, &c. 
The centre of the house has a trellis 3 feet 6 inches high, 5 feet from the back 
wall, and 3 feet from the front. The sorts on the dwarf trellis are—1 Bellegarde 
Peach, 1 Acton Scot ditto, 1 Newington Nectarine, 2 Yiolette Hative. One of 
these was sent for a Walburton Peach to my great disappointment. On the 
back wall the sorts are—1 Noblesse Peach, standard-trained ; 1 Downton Nec¬ 
tarine, dwarf; 1 Sal way Peach, standard; 1 Late Admirable Peach, dwarf; 
1 Hunt’s Tawny Nectarine, standard. There are ten trees all three years 
planted. All have borne a heavy crop of fruit this year, and most of them 
did so last year; the fruit large, of good flavour, and well coloured. The 
Salway Peach I have an idea is not so sufficiently known as it deserves to be. 
I find Mr. Ingram showed some fine fruit of it at Kensington in October. I 
sent the last of the Salway Peaches to the Hall last year on the 10th of Novem¬ 
ber. At the present day, November 7th, we have two dozen of fine fruit by us, 
six are still on the tree, so there can be no mistake about November Peaches. 
