. The book of the garden. Gardening. PITS HEATED BY HOT WATER, &c. 455 tically, communicating with the chamber below, and provided with proper stoppers to allow heat to ascend into the atmo- sphere of the pits. These may be placed in two rows along the pit, at the distance of 6 feet apart, as the heat passing through their sides, even when their ori- fices are stopped, would greatly tend to heat the soil in the beds, and not materially interfere with the roots of the plants. The pits should be provided with port- able rafters and glazed sashes, on the span-roofed principle, leaving the wal
. The book of the garden. Gardening. PITS HEATED BY HOT WATER, &c. 455 tically, communicating with the chamber below, and provided with proper stoppers to allow heat to ascend into the atmo- sphere of the pits. These may be placed in two rows along the pit, at the distance of 6 feet apart, as the heat passing through their sides, even when their ori- fices are stopped, would greatly tend to heat the soil in the beds, and not materially interfere with the roots of the plants. The pits should be provided with port- able rafters and glazed sashes, on the span-roofed principle, leaving the wall- plates, which should be of cast-iron, to remain permanently on the walls for their protection. Wooden shutters are nearly now as expensive as glass sashes. The advantages of the latter over the former are very great; and it is the more advis- able that these should be used, as they wTould only be required for that set of pits which was to be forced during the current season; and as that season is of short duration, they could be usefully employed for other purposes. We think that, by such a mode of heating, a more certain result might be expected; and as the water, after the forcing season had passed, could be withdrawn, by allowing the boiler to discharge itself into a drain, the pipes would last for years in a work- ing state. The depth of soil we would allow for the roots of the asparagus would be 2 feet; but that should be of the most fertile description possible, aided, during the growing season, by copious waterings of highly enriched liquid manure. Trentham melon and pine pits, fig. 640.— Pits upon the principle here exhibited. exist to a large extent in the gardens at Trentham, and, under the very judicious management of their inventor, Mr Flem- ing, have been found admirably suited to the culture of both melons and pines. Atmospheric heat is secured by a 4-inch hot-water pipe, which traverses the whole length at the level g, returning along the front at h, when it
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectgardening, bookyear18
