The Lady's Country Companion; Or, How to Enjoy a Country Life RationallyLoudon, Mrs. (Jane)
General
The Lady's Country Companion; Or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally
Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Cooking; Country life; Home economics
As it is of the greatest importance to the health of the plants to have
the soil in a conservatory well drained, many persons form the beds by
excavating pits of the proper size, about two feet and a half deep, and
put at the bottom a layer of brick-bats, stones, and other materials
for drainage, about six inches thick. On this is deposited a thin layer
of coarse rough gravel; and on the gravel a layer of rich mould, which
should be about two feet thick in the centre of the bed, where the
largest shrubs are to be planted, and shelving off to about sixteen or
eighteen inches at the sides next the walks. All the sashes should be
made to open, and there ought to be large glass doors in front, which
should generally stand open during the day in summer, in order to admit
as much air as possible.
In some places a movable frame is contrived for a conservatory, into
which sashes fit in winter, and which, in severe weather, is covered
with tarpauling, made to pull down, like a blind, from a roller along
the ridge of the roof; the whole frame being so contrived as to be
entirely removed in summer. The upright posts of this frame are let
into holes in the ground, like the posts in a drying-ground, so that
when the posts are taken out, the holes may be stopped up with wooden
plugs with rings attached; and the roof and horizontal pieces fit into
each other, and into the uprights, the whole being kept firm by bolts.
When a conservatory of this kind is to be removed for the summer, the
side sashes and doors are taken away first, generally about the middle
or end of April. A week or ten days after, the sashes of the roof are
taken off, but the frame and tarpauling are left in case of spring
frosts; and, when all danger from these is over, the whole of the
framework is removed, and the orange trees, camellias, and other exotic
trees that have been planted in the conservatory, appear to be growing
in the open air.
The _orangery_ is often contrived so as to be used as a kind of
living-room during summer, as it is only intended for the reception
of the orange trees, and other plants belonging to the genus Citrus,
during winter. The trees are generally grown in large tubs and boxes,
in a rich loamy soil, and are set out in the open air during summer,
when they require but little care, provided they are frequently
watered over the leaves, though they do not like much water to their
roots. When young plants are raised from seed, they seldom flower till
they have been budded or grafted from an old tree. Orange trees are
generally put in the open air in May, and kept there till September or
October; and they are very seldom shifted. They require scarcely any
light or water during winter, and no heat beyond what is necessary to
protect them from the frost.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account