417 
HORTICULTURE. 
that a feparate building was moftly thought neceflary for 
each different kind of fruit, he conceived it would be a 
defideratum in this kind of {peculation, to conftruft a hot- 
houfe upon Inch principles and dimenfions as fliould be 
capable of producing all the articles now propagated in 
England in this way, without the neceflity of employing 
different buildings : and at the fame time that it fliould 
poffefs the peculiar advantage of receiving the rays of the 
fun from every point of the compafs, and by this means 
ripen and maturate its fruits fooner and larger than any 
other hot-houfe hitherto erefted. For this ingenious con¬ 
trivance, and for the fecurity of his property therein, Dr. 
Anderfon has obtained his majefty’s letters patent. 
He recommends that the roof of the hot-houfe'fhould 
be flat, inftead of inclined, and made air-tight, to pre¬ 
vent the efcape of hot air; which, from its fuperiorlight- 
nefs, always afcends to the top; and, in the common hot- 
houfes, elcapes between the panes of glafs, which are in 
them lapped over each other. When the air becomes 
over-heated by the exceflive aftion of the fun, the fuper- 
abundant caloric is conveyed by means of a pipe into an 
air-chamber, which is placed over the houfe, while cold 
air is admitted below; and the heated air in the air-cham¬ 
ber is preferved, to be returned, by means of the commu¬ 
nication-pipe, to the hot-houfe, when the operation of the 
night air, or of clouds or cold winds, has cooled the in¬ 
ternal air, and confequently diminilhed its volume. 
The patent hot-heufe here deferibed, which is intended 
to be heated for the greateft part of the year by the fun 
alone, or by means of an Argand lamp, requires no kind 
of mafonry in its conftruftion, and is to be placed in an 
open fituation, detached from every w\all or building. 
The whole ftrufture is to be of glafs, fo as to enjoy the 
benefit of the folar rays from morning till evening, with¬ 
out impediment. When winter renders it neceflary to 
employ culinary fire, Dr. Anderfon endeavours to guard 
againft every poflible lofs of heat; and inftead of flues 
running along a wall, the defeft of which in the econo- 
irrifing of caloric is evident, he advifes that the ftove fliould 
be conftrufted fo that the fmoke may pafs into a fmoke- 
chamber below the houfe, through the floor of which al- 
moft the whole of the generated heat will proceed upwards 
into the region where its influence is required. Some in¬ 
genious contrivances are fuggefted, by the ufe of valves, 
for the tranliniflion and regulation of heat, fimilar in fome 
refpefts to what are recommended by Mr. Loudon. 
Sir Jofeph Banks, with ltill more enlarged ideas of the 
capacious power and utility of hot-houfes, w'ere they em¬ 
ployed to their full extent, reafons as follows on this im¬ 
portant fubjeft. The next generation will in all probabi¬ 
lity ereft hot-houfes of much larger dimenfions than any 
of thofe w'e have hitherto feen propofed, luch as may be 
capable of railing trees of more considerable fize ; they 
will aifo, inftead of heating them with flues, luch as.-we 
ufe, and which wafte in the walls more than half of the 
warmth they receive from the fires that heat them, ufe 
naked tubes of metal filled with ftearn, inllead of fmoke. 
Horticulturists will then be enabled to admit . a proper 
proportion of air to the trees in the feafon of flowering; 
and as we already are aware of the ufe of bees to diltri- 
bute the pollen where wind cannot always be admitted to 
dilperfe it, and of Jhaking the trees when in full bloom, 
to-put the pollen in motion, they will find no difficulty 
in letting the iiiyeft kinds of fruits. Thus, under the 
prog refs now making in horticultural improvements, it 
requires not the gift of prophecy to foretell, that ere long 
the aki and the avocado pear of the Welt Indies, the flat 
peach, the mandarine orange, and the litchi of China, the 
mango, the mangolian, and the durion of the Eaft Indies, 
and.ponibly other valuable fruits, will be frequent at the 
tables of opulent perfonsjn England; and fome of them 
perhaps, in lefs than half a century, be offered for fide on 
every market-day at Coyent.Garden.—See thofe leveral 
fruits under their .generic names in this Encyclopaedia, 
and the correfpondent .Engravings. 
Voj.. X. No. 672. 
Of the GREEN-HOUSE and CONSERVATORY. 
The green-lionfe was unqueftionably the firft kind of 
building contrived for the purpofe of houfing plants; the 
ftyle of which was originally very uncouth, being littie 
more than open flieds, doled with fhutters or folding 
doors at night. In procefs of time, however, they, afi- 
fumed a more pleafing form, by being fronted with glafs; 
but fhefe buildings, by having given way to the conficr- 
vatory, are in general heavy and tafteiefs, unlefs it be fome 
which have been very lately erefted. They were built 
for the reception of oranges, lemons, myrtles, and fome 
other plants which firft found their way into England 
from milder climates. This building had no flues or con¬ 
trivances of any fort for increafmg the natural heat, but 
the air of the room was warmed only by the fun; and til's 
cold kept out very carefully at night, which was all thele 
plants required. 
As to the dimenfions of the green-houfe, fays Mr. Mil¬ 
ler, they muff be proportioned to the number of plants 
the building is to contain; but the depth fliould never be 
greater than the height in the clear, which in (mail or 
middling houfes may be fixteen or eighteen feet, but for 
large ones from twenty to twenty-four feet is a good pro¬ 
portion : for, if the green-houfe be long and too narrow, 
it will have a bad appearance both within and without, 
nor will it-contain fo many plants, if proper room be al¬ 
lowed for palling in front, and at the back of the ftages 
on which the plants are placed ; and on the other hand, 
if the depth of the green-houfe be more than twenty-four 
feet, there muff be more rows of plants placed to rill the 
houfe than can with conveniency be reached in watering 
and cleaning; nor are houfes of too great depth 1b proper 
for keeping plants in health as thofe of a moderate fize. 
The windows in front fliould extend from about one 
foot and a half above the pavement, to within the fame 
diftance of the ceiling, which will admit of a cornice 
round the building over the heads of the windows; As 
it is neceflary to have thefe windows fo long, it will be 
impofiible to make them in proportion as- to their breadth ; 
for, if the falhes be more than feven or eight feet broad, 
they will he troublefome to move up and down, and their 
■ weight will occafion them to decay very quickly. The 
piers between the windows fliould be as narrow as is con- 
fiftent with their Hecefiary ftrength to fupport the roof; 
for which reafon ftone is preferable, or hard well-burnt 
bricks. If thefe piers are made of {tone, they fliould be 
two feet and a half in diameter, worked as columns cy¬ 
lindrical, whereby the rays of the fun will not be ob- 
ftrufted fo much as if they were fquare ; but, if they are 
built of bricks, it will be proper to make them three feet 
in front; and they may be fioped off' towards the infirle 
to admit the lun. If. a tool-houfe be erefted at the back 
of the green-houfe., the back wall need not be more than 
two bricks and a half in thicknefs; but, if not, it muff be 
three bricks or three bricks and a half thick, to keep out 
the froth 
The floor of the green-houfe may be laid with Brenien- 
fquares, Purbeck-ftcne, or broad-tiles; and muff be railed 
two feet above the ground, where the foil is dry; but, if 
the fituation be moil! and fpringy, the floor fliould be 
railed at leaft three feet above the fill-face ; and, if the 
whole be arched with low brick arches under the floor, it 
will be of great fervied in preventing, the damps riling in 
winter, which are often extremely hurtful to the plants, 
efpecially in great thaws, when the air is too cold to be 
admitted into the houfe to take off the damps. Under 
the floor, about one foot from the front, a flue, if defired, 
one foot in width, and two feet in depth, may be carried 
the whole length of the houfe, which may be returned 
again!!: the back wall, and carried up in proper funnels 
adjoining to the tool-houfe, three times over each other, 
by which the fmoke may pals ofi'. The fire-place may be 
at one end of the houfe ; and the door at which the fuel is 
put in as aifo the afli-grate, may be contrived to op< n 
into the tool-houfe, fo that it' may be quite hid from fight, 
5 O and 
