20 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



ture. It is certain that a very considerable amount of beat given 

 oft" by the fuel is absorbed by the limestone or chalk, and conse- 

 quently the fuel Avill have to do double duty, and it remains to be 

 ascertained if that is fully compensated by the subsequent heat of the 

 burning mass, and the value of the resultant lime. What the in- 

 ventor proposes to do is clear enough, but the theory of its profitable- 

 ness is not so. Lime is undoubtedly worth money, and it might with 

 considerable advantage be used in gardens where it has hitherto been 

 a scarce article. But the question is, will it pay to produce it in 

 furnaces employed in heating plant-houses ? The distance of the 

 site of the proposed kiln from the nearest suitable quarry is a matter 

 of some importance. The cost of producing and the actual value of 

 lime on the spot is another matter of importance. Good limestone 

 and chalk are so widly difiuaed that the geographical difficulty will 

 probably disappear wherever there is a thorough determination to 

 adopt the system. It may be desirable to state that, when a suitable 

 rock is selected, the lime obtained by the process ot burning is about 

 the same in bulk as that of the rough stone put into the kiln, but in 

 weight it is about one-half. Or, to put the case mere precisely, the 

 loss in weight will average 45 to 50 per cent., and the loss in bulk 

 only 1 to 3 per cent. The amount of fuel required to burn a given 

 quantity of limestone varies according to the nature of the kiln, 

 but on the average a given cubic measure of coal will calcine four 

 and a-half times the same measure of limestone. 



The system, wet need hardly say, is adapted for those gardens 

 only in which several houses are heated by one boiler, even if it 

 answers the expectations of the inventor. Those who are interested 

 in the matter may obtain further information on application to Mr. 

 Cowan, Dromore, Kenmure, Co. Kerry, Ireland. 



CHOICE DESSEllT PEARS EOR SMALL GARDENS. 



BY WILLIAM COLE, 



Head- Gardener, Ealing Park, Middlesex, W. 



]Sr this communication it is my intention to direct atten- 

 tion to a few of the most important points in the pro- 

 duction of good crops of the finest dessert pears ; and 

 in doing so, I hope to show that the cultivation of the 

 pear is not by any means so difficult as some writers 

 would have us believe. Indeed, there are no difficulties — properly 

 so-called — in the matter ; and in all gardens of sufficient size to 

 afford, accommodation for fruit-trees, a goodly collection of the 

 choicer kinds of desseit pears should be grown. No fruit grown out 

 of doors is better appreciated during the autumn and winter than a 

 di^h of well-ripened pears ; and it may also be added, no fruit will 

 aftord a more ample return, taking all things into consideration, for 

 the necessary labour and space required in its production. 



