This house is just now an object of considerable interest to fruit-cultivators, and its condition demands that a notice of it should be given in this form. It stands like an oasis amid the dismantled and wrecked appearances around it, caused by the recent abandonment of a portion of the ground; and Mr A. F. Barron, the superintendent of the Chis-wick Gardens, deserves much praise for preserving some of the glories of the past of these famed gardens in such a cheering aspect as this house presents.

The house is a light, commodious, and somewhat new erection, about 100 feet in length from north to south by 30 feet in width, the height corresponding to the latter. It is of a broad span form, with a walk 5 feet in width down the centre, and two side-walks running parallel with it, which are continued round the house. On either side of the main walk are broad borders in which the trees are planted out, and round the house is another border 5 feet in width. A series of wooden uprights, placed at intervals along the outside verge of the two central borders, serve to support the roof, without in any way giving the interior of the house a heavy appearance, or obstructing the view. The usually monotonous appearance of the interior of many of our large fruit-houses is in this instance admirably neutralised by means of narrow bands of pale-blue paint running in an upward direction on the main supports and rafters of the building: just enough to give the house a light and elegant appearance. Ventilation is provided for in the ridge of the roof, by means of a wooden flat on either side which opens outwards in a raised form not unlike the outspread wings of a bird.

This is worked by a simple and easily-managed contrivance, which, without being elaborate and expensive, answers admirably, and is both cheap and good. The outside walls are composed of one-half boarding and one-half glazed lights, and when an abundance of air is required, all or any of these can be opened outwards at the bottom, being fixed by hinges at the top. So much, then, for the structural arrangements of this house.

On the main borders all the trees are planted out. There is a line of standard Peaches and Plums on 6-foot stems, planted along the middle 10 feet apart, the Peaches predominating; and on either side of these a line of pyramid Peaches and Nectarines, from 4 to 5 feet in height, planted opposite to each other, and so coming in the angles of the central row of standards. This arrangement is similar on both borders. Next the central walk, and on either side of it, stands a line of Peaches and Nectarines in pots, which rests partly on the border and partly on the walk - nice small pyramid and bush trees in excellent condition. These are placed here temporarily, and when the planted-out trees make more head growth they will have to be furnished with new quarters. The outside border on the west has Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums in pots - nice bush pyramids; on the east side Apricots and Plums of a similar character. At the south end of the house stands two splendid standard Plums in pots on 6-foot stems; at the north end a very fine standard Mulberry with a large head having quite a mass of rich luscious fruit finer in quality than that grown in the open air, and a standard Apricot also, both on 6-foot stems and growing in pots.

There is considerable variety in the sorts of fruits grown, as in the main they are for the purpose of proof and comparison. Good crops of excellent quality are the invariable rule. Of Peaches there are of the earlier kinds Early York, Grosse Mignonne, Bellegarde, and Royal George, as representing the standard early varieties. Of Nectarines, Pitmaston Orange and Hunt's Tawny in fruit now. Of Plums now fit for table, Jefferson's (one of the standards at the north end of the house is this variety, and a peck of fine fruit might be gathered from it, though the tree has been cultivated in pots for the past ten years) Greengage, Standard of England, a beautiful dark-purple Plum - the two standard Plums in pots at the south end of the house repre-sent this variety. One of the earliest is M'Laughlin's Gage, a beautiful fruit of the character of a large golden Gage of very fine quality; while Coe's Golden Drop, which neither bears as a standard nor ripens well in the open air when so grown, is to be seen here in fine condition.

The principal variety of Apricot is Moor Park.

Against each rafter on either side of the house a Vine has been planted on the border inside; and as there are ten rafters on either side, there are thus twenty Vines. These are planted as much to give the interior of the roof of the house a furnished and elegant inner roofing, and so supply a green garniture overhead, and take off from the otherwise prominent obliqueness of appearance the unfurnished roof would possess. On no account will these Vines be so suffered to make growth as that they should shade the trees; a single rod will be allowed to each rafter, bearing tempting fruit. Black Hamburg, Black Prince, and other hardy sorts are so planted - varieties that will ripen in a cool house. Against the two rows of uprights, also, pot-Vines are planted, but for temporary rather than for permanent effect. Nevertheless they aid in imparting a furnished appearance to the house. The pot-plants round the sides of the house simply stand on the border, and are not planted out as in the case of the central beds.

The soil of these central beds is as hard as it is possible to make it, and is kept thoroughly saturated with water as the trees make growth. The border is something like 30 inches in depth, and one-half of this is formed of lime-rubbish and chalk for a free drainage - the remainder with a good suitable soil. The trees round the side borders have their pots plunged in leaves during the winter, which is an excellent check on evaporation, and this remains till the fruit ripens. If it be objected that it has a "littery" appearance, Mr Barron has well demonstrated how snug and orderly it can be kept with a very little attention.

The trees in pots are repeatedly top-dressed with rotten manure, loam, and burnt ashes, which, raised up about an inch round the rim of the pot, gives a kind of shallow basin. There is no stint of water when it is requisite to be applied, and once or twice a-week some manure-water is given. The trees are syringed twice a-day - at morning and at evening - and are kept clean by the occasional use of Pooley's tobacco-powder, applied with a small dredger, and dusted over the shoots when wet. The shoots are kept pinched in very closely.

Some of the trees have been in pots for a space of ten years. During the winter the roots are examined, and those requiring more root-room are transferred to bigger pots; those not requiring a shift have some of the soil shaken from the roots if it be sour, and are repotted. The biggest trees were only in pots 16 inches in diameter. There is no doubt about it, judging from what can be seen here, that fruit as tender in the flesh, and as nicely flavoured as possible, can be obtained from plants grown in pots in this fashion, if the trees are not allowed to carry a heavy but simply a reasonable crop. R. D.