60 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



ing medium. The case is filled in the 

 morning with boiling water from a large 

 tin kettle taken off the kitchen fire. Be- 

 fore bed-time, this is drawn off by a tap, 

 and refilled from the kettle. A young 

 girl does this work. I can keep up thus 

 an average temperature of 70 3 to 75 J . Of 

 course the heat would be increased by les- 

 sening the flannel and filling oftener. But 

 I have not found it necessary. On cold 

 nights the heat has gone down to 6CT. 

 To remedy this, I use the simplest lamp 

 possible. It is a wine-glass, half full of 

 water and half full of oil, bearing one of 

 the German floating wicks (of which two 

 or three hundred may be had for a shil- 

 ling). It will burn twelve hours, and 

 keep the heat in the case itself at a quite 

 sufficient height. If more heat were re- 

 quisite, two floats might be used. But I 

 have found one Co all I required in the 

 coldest of our spring nights, and in a room 

 where there never was a fire. The number 



of folds of flannel may be modified at will. 

 The more there are, the less the tempera- 

 ture, but the longer kept up ; but always 

 the bottom and sides of the case should 

 be more packed than the top. 



I am so satisfied with the working 01 

 this system, that I shall resort to no other. 

 The trouble is not more than trimming a 

 lamp twice a-day ; the cost hardly appre- 

 ciable ; it would be measured by the cost 

 of a tin kettle once in three or four years. 

 The method is so inartificial that it requires 

 neither nicety nor care. A young girl 

 does all the work for me. As soon as 

 there is room at the kitchen fire, the 

 kettle is put on ; when it boils, it is sub- 

 stituted, through a pipe and funnel, for the 

 water just drawn off. All that is required 

 is just to ask if the work has been done, to 

 avoid slips of memory, The result is 

 uniform and satisfactory. 



Hugh Foed Bacon. 



The Vicarage, Castleton, Sheffield. 



THE "TROP.EOLUM" TOM THUMB SGABLET AND 

 " OENOTHERA DRUMMONDII NANA." 



The observations in your last number by 

 " C. B. K., Ireland," on the merits of the 

 Tropreolum Tom Thumb, and the de- 

 merits of the CEnothera Drummondii nana, 

 have surprised many of the readers of the 

 Floral Woeld. He remarks, that in the 

 Tropseolum, "orange does not predominate, 

 as was feared it would," and that the 

 " Oenothera Drummondii nana has proved 

 a decided failure." Both these assertions 

 are directly opposite to what has been 

 proved in this neighbourhood, and the re- 

 maiks of the Editor, which immediately 

 follow, are quite in accordance with our 

 views. The Oenothera above-named was 

 used extensively in the gardens of Con- 

 dover Park, Salop, which were truly mag- 

 nificent )a?t season, and were most gene- 

 rously thrown open to the public once 

 a- week, by the proprietor — an example we 

 could wish to see followed by most coun- 

 try gentlemen who have in their power 

 such a recreation to afford all lovers of the 

 Floeal Woeld. The Oenothera nearly 

 surrounded one portion of the gardens, 

 and formed a brilliant belt of yellow, giv- 

 ing a charming and distinct outline to the 

 boundary of the grounds. The Tropa?o- 

 lum scarlet (?) was also used in the same 

 gardens, and the shade of orange was so 

 apparent that very little difference could 



be detected between it and the old bright 

 orange-scarlet nasturtium which we have 

 seen growing rampant over trellis-work, 

 years gone by. The only novelty in it, 

 and its chief recommendation is, its dwarf 

 habit and its profusion of bloom, and 

 when edged with Lobelia formosa forms a 

 very showy bed ; but to use it as a 

 substitute for either Scarlet geranium or 

 Scarlet verbena, we should be sorry, in- 

 deed, to be driven to such an extremity. 

 The rich soil of the Emerald Isle may pos- 

 sibly give a brilliancy to the flower, but 

 this is very improbable ; should it be the 

 case, we trust your correspondent will 

 take advantage of so favourable a climate, 

 and make the most of it. We should 

 much regret to see the time when any at- 

 tempt should be made in this country to 

 give it a place in preference to our old fa- 

 vourite the Scarlet geranium. 



R. T. E. 

 Sh/rewsbwry, Feh. 3. 

 [We said Tom Thumb would have a 

 strong tint of orange in his face long be- 

 fore we had him in bloom, because botani- 

 cal analogies are against a true scarlet ever 

 coming from the race. (See F. W. vol. ii. 

 p, 119.) The dwarf GEnothera is a va- 

 luable thing where the soil suits it.] 



