92 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



greatest of earthly blessings — a sound mind in a sound body, and both en- 

 joyed in contentment and domestic peace. Do our wealthier readers, and 

 the clergy especially, see herein a reason why they should act upon the 

 hint given by Mr. Broome, and, by taking an interest in the prosperity of 

 the societies in their own districts, render substantial aid in this great 

 work of self- culture, of which floral societies are one good and promising 

 siim ? 



Tiffany will not utterly supersede glass, but it will extend materially the 

 range of horticultural resources, and enable thousands, who are not pos- 

 sessed of sufficient means for the erection of ordinaiy garden structures, to 

 enjoy the formation and management of collections of choice plants that 

 need some amount of protection from the severities of our climate. The 

 mere cost of glass is not the only impediment to its use in places kept by 

 humble people. To use glass, there must be good carpentry, good brick- 

 walls, and a certain completeness about the structures that of necessity 

 makes them expensive. Tiffany is so light that the merest skeleton of a 

 structure is sufficient to carry it ; and, for roses, tender fruits, and every 

 kind of garden- stock which needs partial protection only, it answers not 

 only as well, but better. We have just received a parcel of tiffany from 

 Mr. Shaw, of Prince's Street, Manchester, which is to be used in tbe 

 structure of an experimental house, and the weight of the eight pieces, 

 containing eighty square yards, is twenty-eight pounds, and the cost of car- 

 riage to London only two shillings. The interesting communication from 

 Mr. Standish, of Bagshot, which appears in another page, explains, in con- 

 tinuation of the article we published last month, the principles on which 

 this light textile fabric is to be appropriated in lieu of glass for plant- 

 houses. Though we have all been familiar with this material as the best 

 that could be used for shading and for protecting the bloom of wall-trees, 

 it is Mr. Standish's happy lot to become the poor man's friend, and show 

 how certain departments of horticulture may be pursued with its aid at an 

 outlay so small as to be truly nominal. Long ago, in the pages of " Garden 

 Favourites," we suggested the construction of temporary canvas-houses for 

 blooming pot-roses and chrysanthemums, the fierce summer sun and the 

 sudden autumn frost being adverse to the success of exhibitors of these 

 classes of flowers. We had only the shadow of the truth, Mr. Standish 

 has grasped the substance ; and growers of chrysanthemums will do well to 

 avail themselves of the facilities afforded by tiffany-houses to insure a safe 

 passage through such weather as visited us last autumn, to the ruin of the 

 majority of the flowers everywhere. Mr. Standish is one of the most ex- 

 tensive and most successful growers of rhododendrons, vines, and half- 

 hardy hard-wooded plants, and his testimony is sufficient to place this 

 question entirely beyond the region of probabilities. He has, moreover, 

 proved the certainty of the method diiring a winter of unexampled severity 

 and continuance. 



As some of our readers who use tiffany for shading may imagine they 

 foresee some mechanical difficulties in the way, we will endeavour to antici- 

 pate at least some of the correspondence likely to arise, by stating that, 

 when stretched quite tight and tacked down with list during dry weather, 

 tiffany does not contract or tear itself away from the tacks on being subse- 

 quently wetted by rain. Neither does it "belly" or " sag," if supported 



