102 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  4,  1904. 
Peach  House  at  Wilton. 
It  is  always  satisfactory  to  possess  good  fruit  houses,  but  fail¬ 
ing  that  the  next  best  thing  to  the  gardener’s  mind  is  to  hear 
or  read  of  them,  and  it  is  for  these  reasons  that  we  print  the 
following  notes  from  a  Jmirnal  reader,  together  with  an  illus¬ 
tration.  deferring  to  Wilton,  he  says:— “The  range,  which 
inclu'des  divisions  foi'  Peaches  and  late  Grapes,  must  rank  amongst 
the  most  complete  and  best  in  the  kingdom.  It  is  200ft  long, 
back  wall  12ft  high,  fi'ont  of  the  house  7ft,  height  to  the  ridge 
about  15ft,  angle  of  roof  37deg.  The  back  wall  contains  an 
air  passage  with  perforated  ventilators  at  the  top  on  the  out¬ 
side,  and  at  the  bottom  in  the  inside  of  the  house.  Provision 
is  also  made  for  a  supply  of  heated  air  in  front,  apart  from 
the  ordinary  method  of  ventilation,  which  is  abundantly  pro¬ 
vided  for  both  by  the  front  lights  and  on  both  sides  of  the 
ridge,  the  whole  worked  by  continuous 
crank  movement  with  the  greatest  ease. 
Rafters  9in  by  2in  are  placed  5ft  apart, 
and  crossing  them  at  right  angles  are 
2Jin  by  l^in  purlins,  to  which  the  glass 
is  attached.  The  glass  covers  the  entire 
woodwork,  the  squares  being  fixed  by  a 
method  which,  after  studying  most  other.s, 
Mr.  Challis  devised  for  himself.  It  is 
extremely  simple  and  absolutely 
strong,  the  roof  drip-proof  but 
not  air-proof.  A  square  can  be 
removed  in  a  moment  from  any 
portion  of  the  roof  and  re¬ 
placed.  This  is  done 
from  the  inside,  so 
there  is  no  diflSculty 
in  the  matter  of 
repairs. 
ground  to  the  roof,  also  over  the  doors  and  path  to  the  back 
wall,  which  also  is  wired  and  covered  with  trees.  The  vertical 
trellises  are  5ft  apart — that  is,  one  under  each  rafter,  and  the 
light  iron  columns  that  supiiort  the  roof  act  also  as  supports  to 
the  trellises  next  the  walk.  In  one  instance  a  double  roAV  of 
trees  is  formed  across  the  border,  the  space  between  the  trees 
being  about  a  foot,  and  experience  has  shown  that  practically 
twice  the  quantity  of  fruit  is  obtained  by  this  arrangement,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  addition  of  a  second  row  has  not  impaired 
the  producing  power  of  the  first.  This  is  a  distinct  gain,  and 
it  is  certain  that  if  IMr.  Challis  were  erecting  another  Peach 
house  similarly  large  and  light,  provision  would  be  made  for 
having  double  rows  of  trees  across  the  border ;  indeed,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  some  scheme  will  be  devised  for  having  them 
now,  the  difficulty  being  to  secure  the  edge  of  the  trellis  firmly 
next  the  path,  as  obviously  the  second  ro-w  could  not  be  in 
line  with  the  supimrting  column  under  each  rafter. 
RATED 
TlLATaC? 
pcRr 
OUTSIDE 
HOT  AIR 
Peach  House  at  Wilton. 
“  The  glass  is  fixed  in  copper  slips  that  are  secured  to  the 
purlins  by  nails  of  the  same  metal ;  two  clips  to  each  pane  of 
24in  by  18in,  the  laps  of  the  glass  being  immediately  over  the 
purlins.  The  clips  are  punched,  slight  elevated  points  being 
thus  formed  on  the  opposite  side.  On  these  the  glass  rests, 
hence  a  free  passage  is  afforded  for  any  condensed  moisture  to 
trickle  through  and  on  to  the  square  below,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  follows  that  the  space  for  the  exit  of  moisture  is  avail¬ 
able  for  the  ingress  of  air.  In  a  roof  thus  glazed  there  is  small 
chance  of  the  foliage  of  trees  or  Vines  scorching,  and  the  pro¬ 
bability  is  similarly  remote  of  the  space  between  the  laps  being 
filled  with  water  or  ice,  Avhich  in  the  one  case  seals  the  roof, 
and  in  the  other  is  liable  to  cause  breakage  of  the  glass.  The 
strength  of  this  system  of  glazing  was  accidentally  tested.  A 
span-roofed  Rose  house  was  being  covered.  One  side  was  done 
when  a  violent  storm  rose.  Although  the  Avind,  Avhich  uprooted 
trees,  blew  directly  on  the  under  side  of  the  glazed  portion  for 
hours,  not  a  square  was  transfixed,  and  the  safety  of  the  method 
AA’as  established. 
“  The  Peach  house  is  trellised  aci’oss  the  border  from  the 
“  Given  a  light  roof  this  is  unquestionably  the  best  method 
of  arrangement  and  planting  a  tolerably  large  Peach  house,  as 
not  only  can  the  back  Avail  be  covered  Avith  fruitful  trees,  but 
the  trellis  surface  is  much  greater  than  by  the  common  form 
of  arching  over  the  border  or  training  the  trees  under  the  roof 
after  the  manner  of  Vines.  By  the  single  cross  trellises  and 
the  occupation  of  space  overhead,  Mr.  Challis  has  ascertained 
that  he  obtains  three  and  a  half  times  the  bearing  surface  over 
that  afforded  by  an  ordinary  curvilinear  trellis  formed  over  the 
border ;  and  Avith  a  double  roAV  of  trees  the  surface  Avould  be  pro¬ 
portionally  increased.  The  gain  Avould,  of  course,  not  be  so  great 
in  loAv  and  narroAv  houses ;  but  the  economical  plan  to  adopt  by 
those  who  desire  the  greatest  amount  of  produce  for  their  outlay 
is  to  erect  Ai  ide  and  lofty  structures  as  light  as  possible.  But 
Avhat  of  the  trees  in  the  house  under  notice?  They  had  been 
planted  three  years,  and  every  inch  of  the  trellises  Avas  covered. 
Only  twice  before  have  I  seen  such  rapid  groAvth — once  at 
Wortley,  young  trees  groAvn  by  Mr.  Simpson  under  glass;  and 
previously  at  Oldlands,  Avith  trees  on  an  open  wall  groAvn  by 
Mr.  Luckhurst,  and  in  all  three  instances  the  fruit  produced  by 
