From the Fifth London Edition, 1858.

A Few Words Of Preface And Apology To The First Edition

It has been, and is, too often the custom of writers on horticulture and agriculture, to write first and practice afterwards, - in other words, to promulgate a pretty theory, and then reduce it to practice: I have not been "to this manner given," for in this, as well as in other instances, I have reduced my practice to writing. The method of culture given in the following pages, has been to me a pleasant relaxation from the cares of an extensive business; and I feel convinced that it may be made equally agreeable to a numerous class of busy men, who make their gardens a source of untiring, quiet enjoyment.

It is very probable that some who may be tempted to read the following pages will feel surprised that I have made a separate publication on so trifling a subject, when so many horticultural periodicals are open to those who cannot write a large book. They may say, "Why not occupy a few columns in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' or a few pages in the 'Cottage Gardener?"' My motive must be my apology.

For many years our parish church, from causes not proper to be mentioned here, was in a fearfully dilapidated state: a partial repair has rescued it from serious consequences; still, much more is required. A hint from one warmly and actively interested in its restoration has induced me to dedicate the profits resulting from this little publication towards such a sacred and, I trust, praiseworthy object. I hope not to be misunderstood. It is not ostentation that has tempted me to this; no love of fame, but purely the wish to disseminate a taste for refined horticultural pursuits, and a hope that I, a humble agent, may be, through this, enabled to contribute a trifle towards the restoration of the church of my forefathers, and, I trust, of my children's children.

The Same To The Fifth Edition

When I ventured to publish the first edition of this little work, I scarcely dared to hope that it would meet with a reception so favorable, and fulfil so quickly the purpose to which it was dedicated. Orchard houses are now familiar things: hundreds are rising up all over the face of the country: no garden structures have! ever so rapidly advanced in popularity. That they deserve to be popular I am more than ever convinced; and I cannot help feeling grateful that, through the exercise of my humble literary ability, so much good, because so much intellectual pleasure, has been derived from this new mode of cultivating fruit trees. In the following pages it will be seen that the idea has not "grown with my growth," - for I am old and grey-headed, - but rather with my age.

We are, however, as yet only children in orchard-house culture. Every moderate sized garden in England - more particularly in the North - and in Scotland, will, in the course of a few years, have its orchard house. They will glisten on highland and lowland, and gladden many a garden-lover with their genial climate and varied produce.

In the present edition it will be seen that I recommend top-dressing to be done in the autumn, instead of in spring, as heretofore. I have found this to be by far the most eligible season; for, if done too late in spring, it is liable to make the. trees shed their blossoms without setting fruit. With apricots, this is more particularly likely to occur. Potted trees, when top-dressed in autumn, commence at once to form fresh roots, which in spring are ready to fulfil their office in supporting the young fruit. Very recently, some cultivators have recommended trees to be shifted and re-pottsd annually: when they become large, this is a work of much trouble. I can say with confidence, there is no occasion to do this. My finest trees have now been seven years in the same pots; they bore last season large crops of very fine fruit, and are now full of promise, being covered with blossom-Jbuds on short, well-ripened, healthy shoots.

The Orchard House

It was, I think, in the year 1849, that, being very fond of figs, I attempted to grow them in pots in one of my vineries; but finding they required more room than I could spare, I sought for some method by which I could overcome the difficulty. The pots I used, I ought to state, were not placed on benches, but on raised borders, for I had adopted the sunken paths and raised borders for many years, to avoid the expense of the usual benches of wood. The roots made their way through the aperture at the bottom of the pots, and the plants thus, even in comparatively small pots, obtained enough of vigor to support a crop of fruit. After the crop was gathered, the pots were gently turned up on one side, and the roots cut off with a knife, water was withheld, and the plants were soon at rest with well-ripened shoots. The following spring they were top-dressed with manure, and again placed on the border; but an idea occurred to me to give more room for the emission of roots by enlarging the aperture at the bottom of the pots: this I at once put in practice, with the most favorable results.

I then reasoned, if figs in pots can be made to bear a crop of fruit by thus giving them extra nourishment during the summer, why should not peaches, nectarines, apricots, vines, plums, cherries, and pears, be managed in the same way? They can be; and I have now much pleasure in giving the simple method by which all these choice fruits can be grown on dwarf bushes in pots, with a certainty of a crop every season. I hope to see the day when hundreds and thousands of our small gardens will be furnished with cheap fruit-tree houses.

Glass, timber, and bricks, are now comparatively cheap; for sheet-glass that, when first brought into notice cost 2s. per foot, can now be bought at 2d. per foot; so we can build cheap houses, which, without the assistance of artificial heat, will give us, in average seasons, the climate of the southwest of France, - without the liability to injury from spring frosts, from which all temperate climates, both in Europe and America, at times suffer so severely. Let us now see how nearly glass structures without fire-heat will approximate to the climate of France in one of its most temperate districts, - viz., Angers.