268 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



up ; hired a truck from the North Eastern 

 Railway Company, and had the house 

 and twelve dozen of plants safely carried 

 a distance of sixty miles for 25*. I had it 

 immediately set up here, and since that 

 time I had occasion to remove it to a dif- 

 ferent situation in my garden — a feat 

 which was accomplished by twelve men 

 in a few minutes, without unscrewing a 

 nail. We put three spokes under the base 

 of the house on each side, six spokes in 

 all, and two men at each spoke carried it 

 to its new site with ease and perfect safety. 

 The house is twelve feet long and eight 

 feet wide within ; the side-lights five feet 

 high from the base, and an elevation of 

 roof of three feet, which makes eight feet 

 from the floor to the top of the roof in- 

 side. Two inches are left open between 

 the head of the side-lights and the top 

 beams for ventilation. This is covered 

 from view by the spouts outside, and I 

 have ventilators upon hinges inside to 

 open or shut at pleasure. The under part 

 of the doors are of wood panels, the upper 

 parts glass, which swings upon pivots, and 

 these with the side openings give plenty 

 of ventilation. I have two tables or flower- 

 stands, two and a-half feet wide, laid upon 

 brackets two and a-half feet from the floor, 

 and a three-feet walk up the centre, at the 

 head of which I have a tank which is sup- 

 plied by two small lead pipes from the 

 roof, and from which I have an escape 



pipe to a drain outside, and this box makes 

 a very nice seat. Around the side-posts 

 and end-posts I have ornamental brackets 

 for trailing plants, and I have a slight shelf 

 about four inches wide, about six inches 

 from the top of the side-lights, and another 

 of the same round the base. 



I have prepared soil under the tables 

 for striking cuttings, and here I can stow 

 away a great number of bedding plants 

 during winter. My tables have sides 

 about four inches deep, and I keep about 

 two inches deep of small gravel under the 

 plants, which is both ornamental and use- 

 ful. I have the blinds hung inside, and 

 altogether my little house is very neat, and 

 answers every purpose for which it was 

 intended admirably. I have it heated 

 with hot water, a two-inch pipe, and a 

 boiler to hold about a gallon of water. The 

 boiler is placed at one corner of the house, 

 about a loot uuder the surface, and a tiny 

 flue built over it, and a galvanized iron 

 funnel, four inches diameter, is quite suf- 

 ficient, as I use coke. AVhilst in Newcastle 

 I had the water heated with gas, and a 

 two-inch pipe carried off the smoke. 



Thus, ior a matter of twenty-five 

 pounds, a gentleman can have a green- 

 house sufficient at least for his amusement, 

 and which he can remove as he does his 

 piano. P. K. L. 



Cotliersione, Barnard Castle, 

 Oct. 16. 



EEPORT ON ANNUAL STOCKS 



SHOWS FOlt TItIA.Ii AT CHISWICK BY THE IIORTICl'LTUEAL SOCIETY/. 



A LAitGE number of varieties of this fa- 

 vourite flower (Matthiola annua) was con- 

 tributed for comparison at the garden by the 

 undermentioned seedsmen : — Messrs. Carter 

 and Co., Holborn ; Mr. W. Thompson, Ips- 

 wich ; and Mr. C. Turner, Plough. Those 

 sent by Mr. Thompson beiug mixed varie- 

 ties, though of good quality, are not enume- 

 rated below. 



Notwithstanding the unfavourable season, 

 a very good bloom was obtained. It was 

 found, however, that so little fixity of no- 

 menclature or even of classification had been 

 hitherto attained, that a detailed report would 

 have been altogether useless ; and the com- 

 mittee came to the conclusion that its atten- 

 tion might be most usefully directed towards 

 making an effort to remedy the evils just 

 referred to, by endeavouring to group the 

 various forms into definite sections. The 

 groups that have beeu adopted may, it is 



hoped, be approved and employed by English 

 growers ; and when the groups themselves 

 have become generally recognized, it may be 

 found possible to apply fixed names to such_ 

 individual varieties as are of choice quality, 

 in order to admit of their being recognized 

 and purchased with something like certainty. 

 This, at the present time, it must be con- 

 sidered as almost hopeless to attempt to do. 



The seeds were in this case sown on 

 April 9th in frames. The plants were 

 "pricked out 1 ' and hardened off in the usual 

 way, and were finally planted out for flowering 

 on a prepared south border. They were ex- 

 amined and reported on during the first and 

 second weeks of August, while in the height 

 of their bloom. 



The classification proposed for the various 

 kinds of annual stocks, which were the only 

 ones brought under the notice of the com- 

 mittee, is as follows : — 



