838 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May i, 1884. 



'^ New Propagathig House. — I am glad to be able to state that this building is now nearly completed. 

 The roof, eaves, partitions and doors (made by Messrs. Boyd and Sous, of Glasgow) arrived in Colomjjo in 

 the middle of May, but unfortunately two eases containing the main ribs of the roof were not lauded, and 

 we had to wait for them until the ship returned again to Colombo in October, The house is span-roofed, 

 36 feet in length, 15 feet in width, and 9 feet 6 inches high. There is a glass partition in the middle which 

 divides the house into two equal parts. A shelf, two feet wide and 3 feet from the ground, runs all round 

 the sides of the house. A bed, 4 feet 6 inches wide, occupies the centre, and a path, 2 feet 3 inches wide, 

 runs round. 



"The heating apparatus for the propagating bed is a flue which runs from a stoke-hole (7 feet by 

 7 feet) built at the S.S.E. corner underneath the path, into the centre of the bed, along which it passes 

 and comes out underneath the shelf into a chimney at the W.N. VV. corner. The size of the flue is 12 

 inches by 14 inches, and the length from nioutii at stoke-hole to chimney 44 feet. 



"The framework of the house is of the best teakwood. The top roof sashes on either side of the 

 ridge are made to open for ventilation by means of iron rods wiih lever and gearing. Every alternate 

 upright sash in the side is made to open with quadrants. The eaves have moulded cast-iron gutlers The 

 ridge is supported by iron tie rods. The roof is strengthened by iron bars, several between the principal 

 rafters, and supporting the intermediate astragals. All the glass is good 21 oz. sheet. The sides of the 

 propagating hot-beds in the centre of the house are built of brick to a height of 3 feet above the paths and 

 are filled to a convenient level, first wiih rubble over the flue, and then sand above that for plunging the 

 pots in. 



"The partition in the middle of the house will enable us to so regulate the air that we can have one 

 part hotter than the other whenever it is desired. The inside has received three coats of paint, and the 

 fitting up of the shelves, &c., is finished with the exception of one on the right hand side of the second 

 division. All that remains to be done of the outside work is the completion of the buibling of the chimney, 

 the glazing of 36 panes in the roof, the painting of the roof, and the sliiiigling of stoke-hole roof. The first 

 division of the house has been in use for the last mouth, and the young plants placed iu it have already 

 ishowed a very marked improvement. 



" This house su)iplies a much felt want, and in it we shall now be able to raise almost any kind of 

 plants either by seeds or cuttings. 



" Carriage drive and paths. — In the early part of the year the old carriage drive, for a distance of 

 394 yards, was broken up and remade under a layer of rough sand well stamped iu on the top. Four 

 hundred and eighty-eight running yards of turf, 12 inches wide, have been laid down as an edging to each 

 side of the drive. There still remains about 300 yards of this work to be done to complete the edging of old 

 drive. 



" A temporary path, 1 1 2 yards long, has been made leading from the place where the new drive ends 

 to the lower summer arbour. 



" Extension of carriage drive. — The new loop to the carriage drive has been made for a distance 

 of 150 yards. The fall for this distance is at the rate of 1 in 12, which will continue for about three chains 

 further, and then a much easier gradient will be taken for the greater part of the curve back to the old drive 

 near the entiance-gate. Near the begimiing a large cutting, two chains in length, fifteen feet wide, and an 

 average depth of eight feet, had to be made, and tliis, with the sloping of the sides to an angle of 45°, proved 

 rather a heavy piece of work for us. However, all the soil got out from this was required to fill up a gully, 

 a little further on, that we had to cross. 



" A large quMiitily of rock which was in the w.ay had to be blasted. This came in very handy for 

 making the foundation and for metalling Seven hundred and fifty bushels of large stones, varying in lizo 

 from two to three inches in diameter, were first laid along for the foundation, and on this was placed 740 

 bushels of metal of the size used on the public roads, and then 500 bushels of gravelly soil as a binding 

 material was laid on, and over the whole a good sprinkling of river sand. It was then well watered and 

 rammed at three different times. 



" Fernery. — The condition of the fernery has been maintained, and it contiiuies to be much appreciated 

 by visitors. The roots of the jungle trees have, however, again encroached there and filled many of the 

 beds, so that it will be necessary during the coming year to again renew the soil. 



" A new path, 36 yards long, has been made at the lower end of the fernery through the jangle into 

 the main drive, thus aff'ording an outlet to persons visiting the fernery without going back over the same 

 ground. A rock bed has been made at the fernery end of this path, and 200 plants of foreign species of 

 ferns have been planted in it. A quantity of native orchids have been brought iu from the jungle during 

 the year and fastened on the trees, and the greater part of them are now growing freely. 



•' Nurseries. — A strong close fence, 120 yards in length, has been made on the S.E. and W. side of 

 the nursery. A centre path has been made, 6 feet wide ami 100 yards long, and nursery beds, 3 feet wide, at 

 right angles with it on each side. 



" Borders and Shrubberies. — The unsightly hollow near entrance to fernery has been filled up and 



