PICTORIAL CULTIVATOR ALMANAC. 
19 
more than a hoard fence. Now let us examine the glass 
roof, for it is here that the cost usually lies. And as 
this cost is not so much in the glass, as in the sliding 
'sashes, all nicely jointed and framed, and the grooved 
Rafters in which they are to slide, Mr. Rivers has cut 
loose from the whole system of sashes, and made the 
entire roof one fixture. Ventilation, which is not to he 
dispensed with, he provides for in a much more effec¬ 
tual manner than the common one, by having hoards, 
Fig 1. _ | 
d. c, both at the front and rear—(either at intervals or 
along the whole line, as may be needful,)—hung upon 
hinges, so as to open outwards, and permit a stream of 
air to pass over through the breadth of the whole house. 
To construct the roof, a strip of timber—what is 
usually called a wale strip—is laid along the top of the 
front and back parts to form a “plate.” To this plate 
are nailed the rafter pieces, about five or six feet apart. 
Across these rafter pieces, light strips, i. e. s, s, s, about 
two inches by one inch, are let in on a level with the top 
of the rafter. Then, along the whole length of the roof, 
in the direction of the rafters, light strips are nailed to 
the bearers, s, s, s. These strips are rebated on the top 
like a common sash-bar, and are of course laid upon the 
roof just far enough apart to receive the glass—say 7 
inches, (if 7 by 9 glass is to be used.) No framing of 
sashes is necessary, and when the whole is glazed, it is 
light, strong, and durable, and is put together so easily, 
that a house 30 or 40 feet long, can be built very quickly. 
The strips that make the sash bars are both sawn and 
rebated at the saw mill; and as many of Mr. R.’s 
houses are built of rough stuff, left unplained, and coat¬ 
ed over with ship-varnisli instead of paint, the construc¬ 
tion is reduced to the minimum of simplicity and ex¬ 
pense. The house we show a section of in fig. 1, is used 
as an early forcing house for grapes and other fruits, 
and the grapes are grown upright in an inside border 
on one side of the walk, while the other side is occupied 
with fruit trees—peaches, nectarines, and figs, in pots, 
laden with fruit. 
For this climate, a variation of this cheap structure 
would be very useful as a vinery without fire heat. In 
this case the border sh uld be made outside of the front 
wall (B), the vines brought under the boarding and 
trained up under the glass, about 8 inches below the 
glass, from front to rear. The sunken walk could 
then be dispensed with, as there would be height enough 
along the back wall—which is seven feet high, for a 
person to walk erect. Such a house would make a 
capital cold vinery at very trifling cost.” 
PYRAMIDAL PEAR TREES. 
A great advantage of pear trees trained as dwarfs, or in 
the form of pyramids, is the little room they occupy in 
limited grounds, and more especially in village gardens. 
They also come sooner into bearing in most instances, 
although this is commonly overrated. The disadvan¬ 
tages are, they require constant and high cultivation, 
which it is not always easy to persuade land-owners, 
with the present high prices of labor in this country, to 
give them; and a still greater amount of attention is 
required to keep them properly pruned, to preserve 
them in the best bearing state and most beautiful 
form. For example, the best shaped dwarf pear tree, 
such as is represented by Fig. 1, requires a thorough 
going-over four times in the year, viz: early in the 
spring in the fust place, to cut back all the leading 
shoots;—then again early 
in summer, all the new 
side shoots must be pinch¬ 
ed off; thirdly, about the 
last of summer, the second 
shoots which have shot out, 
are broken partly off and 
left hanging down all over 
the tree, so as to stop the 
flow of sap gradually, .and 
not so suddenly as breaking 
them off' at once; and 
fourthly, several days after¬ 
wards the whole are re¬ 
moved. This is at least 
the course pursued by 
Cappe, the prince of prim¬ 
ers, in the great Jar din des 
Plantes at Paris. 
Any one may easily esti¬ 
mate the task of thus going _ 
over a tree full of branches^ 
and shoots, four times a ' FigY. 
year, and then may multiply the amount of labor by all 
the trees in the garden. 
We mention this not to 
discourage handsome 
and finished culture, 
but that all may count 
the cost in advance; 
and especially for the 
benefit of .those who 
cannot afford to devote 
five minutes yearly to 
cultivating the soil 
round each tree, or to Fig. 2. 
give it even a triennial priming. Such should not un¬ 
dertake with dwarf trees; but those who are willing to 
devote the attention will be well repaid by the fine 
crops and beautiful appearance of a well managed gar¬ 
den of pyramids. 
Dwarf pears often look badly because their training 
was not begun right—their education was not properly 
comenced. The young one year’s 
shoot must be cut off in the first 
place early in spring, at the point 
shown by the dotted line in Fig. 
2 , so as to leave a stump of eight 
or a dozen buds as in Fig. 8. This 
will throw out new shoots and 
form, by autumn, the two-year 
dwarf or pyramid, Fig. 4. These 
side shoots are again cut back two- 
thirds or more the next spring, so 
as to give the tree a good pyrami¬ 
dal shape; and thus the operation 
is continued, till the mature pyra¬ 
mid is formed as in Fig. 5. Du- 
ring all this time, however, sum¬ 
mer pruning, or pinching off all 
shoots that are pushing beyond 
Fig. 4. 
their 
bounds, must 
proper 
carefully attended to. 
Those who are willing to do ail 
this work con amore, will have handsome pyramids- 
those who regard it as an irksome task, would do better 
never to attempt it. 
LABOR AND ITS PAY. 
The New r -England Farmer gives a good example of the 
successful management of an orchard. When the trees 
were an inch in diameter, manure was applied, and they 
were kept dug around, the circle thus cultivated being 
yearly increased in size as the roots extended in length. 
This circle has now become twelve feet in diameter. 
Chip manure, bones, ashes, and other fertilizing sub¬ 
stances, are often applied. The result of this labor is, 
that the owner obtains yearly large crops of beautiful 
and excellent fruit, and obtains more money from his 
orchard than many farmers do from all sources, al¬ 
though this does not constitute his main business. 
