JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
October  V'6.  189ft 
350 
the  great  difference  between  the  new  and  comparatively  untried 
and  the  old  and  well-known  method.  In  the  former  the  roots  are 
confined  within  the  closest  limits,  and  there  is  the  frequent  repotting 
and  consequent  root  disturbance,  not  to  speak  of  the  many  and  small 
trees,  none  keeping  out  the  light,  or  the  continual  watering  in  the 
growing  season  ;  in  the  latter  there  is  the  almost  unlimited  root  room, 
the  infrequent  root  disturbance,  the  watering  in  occasional  heavy 
doses,  and  the  few  trees,  each  covering  a  large  surface  of  the  available 
glass,  or  wall,  and  darkening  the  house  to  the  detriment  of  any  other 
occupant. 
I  have  to  confess  that  until  a  few  years  ago  I  was  amongst  the 
many  who  looked  upon  the  writings  of  the  late  Mr.  Rivers  as  very  good 
in  theory  but  not  so  sound  in  practice,  but  as  soon  as  I  began  to  test  the 
system  experimentally,  I  was  converted  to  the  contrary  view,  and  as 
year  by  year  my  opportunities  of  adopting  it  have  increased,  my 
opinion  in  its  favour  has  been  strengthened.  My  experience  of  this 
mode  of  culture  extends  over  some  few  years;  we  have  eight  divisions 
heie  now  devoted  to  fruit  trees  in  pots,  and  from  very  small  beginnings 
in  1894,  the  number  of  trees  has  year  by  year  increased  until  we  now 
have  about  1000  fruiting  annually,  Peaches,  Nectarines,  Cherries, 
Plums  (see  representation  of  The  Czar  on  page  353),  Apples,  Pears, 
and  Figs,  so  that  I  am  quite  justified  in  forming  a  definite  opinion. 
I  have  proved  the  system  to  my  entire  satisfaction.  In  what  follows 
nothing  will  be  stated  that  has  not  come  within  the  compass  of  my 
own  practice  or  immediate  observation. 
It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild,  himself  an 
enthusiastic  lover  of  gardening,  and  in  possession  of  a  good  knowledge 
of  the  practical  details  of  the  subject,  that  I  first  entered  upon  this 
system  of  fruit  growing.  Mr.  de  Rothschild  had  noted  the  fine 
displays  that  have  on  so  many  occasions  been  made  by  Messrs. 
T.  Rivers  &  Son  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  annual  exhibi¬ 
tion  in  the  Temple  Gardens.  He  saw  that  there  must  be  some  merit 
in  the  system,  and  he  left  it  to  me  to  work  out  as  well  as  possible  for 
our  purposes  here. 
By  an  orchard  house  in  its  most  primitive  form  we  should  under¬ 
stand  a  large  wooden  shed  with  a  glass  roof,  and  perhaps  a  little  glass 
on  one  or  more  sides,  but  with  no  provision  for  heating.  Even  this  is 
a  very  valuable  adjunct  to  fruit  culture,  on  account  of  the  protection 
it  affords  in  the  spring  and  summer,  and  by  means  of  it  good  crops  of 
Plums,  for  example,  would  be  insured  on  almost  every  tree  in  any 
season.  If  only  a  little  heat  can  be  afforded,  just  sufficient  to  keep 
out  the  fro3t,  it  is  of  course  a  great  advantage,  as  the  orchard  house 
can  then  be  used  for  wintering  plants  that  will  not  withstand  the 
frost.  Of  course  the  orchard  house  that  we  see  nowadays  is 
a  great  advance  on  the  original  type.  It  is  generally  wide,  long 
and  lofty,  very  light,  and  provided  with  extensive  ventilating 
apparatus ;  but  an  elaborate  and  expensive  building  is  quite 
unnecessary. 
The  construction  should  be  as  simple  as  possible.  Ours  are  very 
plain,  well-built  structures,  so  placed  and  arranged  as  to  receive  the 
maximum  of  light  and  sunshine.  They  are  all  constructed  on  the 
span-roof  principle  (never  adopt  the  half-span  roof  for  an  orchard 
house  if  it  can  possibly  be  avoided).  Some  are  18  feet  wide,  others 
are  24.  The  former  have  a  pathway  through  the  middle,  and  are 
9  feet  6  inches  in  height  at  the  centre,  falling  to  4  feet  3  inches  at  the 
sides  ;  the  latter  have  two  pathways,  one  on  either  side,  and  are 
10  feet  9  inches  in  height  at  the  centre,  5  feet  at  the  sides.  Only  one 
size  of  glass  is  used  on  the  roof;  each  piece  is  20  inches  wide  and 
15  deep.  Rather  less  than  half  of  the  entire  height  of  the  sides  is  of 
glass.  Below  the  glass  the  sides  are  of  wood,  excepting  the  three  or 
four  courses  of  brickwork  that  form  the  foundation.  Part  of  this 
wood  is  in  the  form  of  large  ventilators  running  the  whole  length  and 
width  of  the  structure,  opening  simultaneously  with  one  motion,  and 
hinged  below,  thus  opening  from  above,  outwards,  turning  round  an 
axis  just  above  the  upper  course  of  bricks. 
This  system  is  found  to  work  splendidly.  It  causes  the  air  to 
descend  on  entering,  and  the  cold  air  as  it  comes  in  gets  warmed  to  a 
certain  extent  through  the  proximity  of  the  hot- water  pipes,  which  are 
arranged  round.the  sides  of  the  structure  in  such  a  way  that  this  air 
must  pass  near  them.  The  top  ventilation  does  not  extend  the  whole 
length,  but  occurs  at  equal  intervals,  occupying  about  one-fifth  of  the 
total  length  in  all. 
Although  the  mode  of  construction  is  in  most  respects  the  same 
in  each  orchard  house,  the  arrangement  of  the  hot-water  piping  is 
d  ifferent  in  the  structures  of  different  size.  In  the  larger  ones  the 
pipes  are  all  laid  on  the  ground,  but  in  the  smaller  the  outer  pipes  are 
arranged  one  above  the  other  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  ventilators. 
In  addition  to  the  details  mentioned  hitherto,  each  range  is  provided 
wish  a  rain-water  tank  of  large  capacity,  which  Collects  the  water 
from  the  roof. 
A  gocd  house,  adequately  provided  with  heating  apparatus,  can  be 
used  for  many  other  purposes  than  that  for  which  this  type  of  building 
was  originally  intended — the  insuring  of  annual  crops,  where 
frequently  they  would  be  either  partial  or  non-existent  on  account 
of  spring  frosts,  in  the  case  of  fruits  that  can  be  successfully  ripened 
out  of  doors  in  favourable  localities.  For  example,  the  early  forcing 
of  Peaches  and  Nectarines  is  now  carried  on  in  them  with  excellent 
results,  which  promise  to  have  a  far-reaching  influence  on  the  more 
orthodox  methods  of  culture  at  present  in  vogue.  Not  only  can  they 
be  used  for  the  early  forcing  of  fruit  trees  of  many  kinds,  but  a  second 
crop  can  always  be  obtained  in  the  same  house  by  bringing  in  a  fresh 
stock  of  trees  from  other  houses  where  they  have  been  grown  at  close 
quarters  with  one  another  during  the  earlier  stages,  as  soon  as  those 
that  have  been  forced  have  been  removed  outside  when  the  last  of  the 
early  fruits  have  been  gathered.  This  is  a  powerful  reason  why  orchard 
houses  with  pot  trees  should  be  preferred  to  large  trained  trees  put  out 
in  permanent  positions,  when  a  continuity  of  fruit  is  required. - 
Jas.  Hudson,  Gunnersb&ry  House,  Acton. 
(To  be  continued.) 
PROPOSED  NATIONAL  GRAPE  TROPHY. 
The  proposition  of  Mr.  Buchanan  (page  272)  with  reference  to  a 
national  Grape  challenge  cup,  would,  I  believe,  receive  the  hearty 
support  of  Grape  growers,  if,  as  Mr.  Buchanan  suggests,  liberal  money 
prizes  were  offered  in  addition  to  the  trophy  to  meet  out  of  pocket 
expenses,  which,  with  Grape  showing,  I  find  a  serious  item.  By 
including  Shrewsbury,  with  the  Royal  Caledonian  and  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Societies,  additional  interest  would  be  taken  in  the  competition. 
I  fear  that  we  must  not  look  for  much  support  from  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,  judging  by  the  manner  in  which  the  Grape  prizes 
were  cut  down  at  the  recent  Palace  Show.  I  shall  look  for  Shrewsbury 
to  lead  the  way. — Wm.  Taylor,  Tewkesbury  Lodge ,  Forest  Hill. 
Respecting  the  national  challenge  cup  for  Grapes,  and  speaking 
from  an  acquaintanceship  with  exhibitors  of  thirty-six  years  standing, 
.1  must  sav  that  I  do  not  think  there  would  be  much  competition  after 
the  first  year  or  two,  as  gardeners  usually  say  the  larger  classes  are- 
for  two  or  three  exhibitors.  I  do  not  expect  there  would  be  many  of 
the  great  Grape  growers  exhibit  in  Scotland  from  England  or  vice- 
versa. — T.  Bannerman,  Blithfield,  Rugeley. 
The  proposal  for  a  national  cup  for  Grapes  I  think  an  excellent  idea. 
Why  not  have  a  cup  to  be  won  in  one  year  at  Edinburgh,  Shrewsbury, 
and  the  Crystal  Palace  successively,  the  exhibitor  who  gained  tho 
highest  number  of  marks  to  be  the  winner  ?  I  do  not  at  all  agree 
with  the  plan  of  having  to  win  a  cup,  say  for  two  years,  before  it  is- 
your  property.  I  think  it  ought  always  to  be  decided  in  one  year, 
for  many  reasons.  Why  not  try  and  get  up  such  a  cup?  I  armsure 
you  have  sufficient  influence  to  do  so.  All  three  Societies  would  no- 
doubt  help,  for  it  would  be  of  great  interest  and  an  attraction  to  any 
of  the  shows.  Many  gardeners  would,  I  feel  sure,  subscribe  to  such  a 
friendly  contest.  I  for  one  should  be  glad  to  add  my  mite. 
James  Smith,  Mentmore,  Leighton  Buzzard. 
I  think  the  suggestion  for  a  national  cup  a  very  good  one,  but  to 
have  the  competition  at  the  Crystal  Palace  and  Edinburgh,  as  proposed 
by  Mr.  Adnitt,  under  the  management  of  the  Royal  Plorticulturab 
Societies  of  England  and  Edinburgh.  I  should  like  to  see  a  friendly 
