THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



35 



15th of August, or not later than the 

 20th, nor earlier than the 10th till you 

 come to fruit. The fourth year is 

 time enough to crop, but prove your 

 sorts by a bunch or two as soon as they 

 offer. Stop all spurs on the spur sys- 

 tem when the vine is in bloom, and 

 not till then ; but choose the long rod 

 if you can manage it, as being a much 

 better system out of door?, and with 

 the long rod you may stop before the 

 bunches as they do hot-house grapes, 

 at the first, second, third, or fourth 

 joint before the bunch, according to 



your room, and if you have more room 

 do not stop till the vine is in bloom. 

 Laterals do as much harm as they do 

 good by shading the wall. I never 

 allow a lateral leaf out of doors, but I 

 only take oft' the leaf and the growing 

 point after two joints are made. Late- 

 rals are indispensable in forcing. Prune 

 any day in October — the sooner the 

 better. Tread your vine-border very 

 hard, and rake it over, and keep it 

 raked in summer to save the ground 

 from cracking A coat of gravel would 

 be better." 



An Old Gardener. 



HEATING BY GAS. 

 I send you a sketch of an arrangement I have adopted for heating a green- 

 house, and which answers to perfection. Some time ago I gained the hint 

 from a gardening journal, and on putting it into practice, I found it advisable to 

 make one or two alterations of importance. The apparatus consists of an 

 iron boiler, a, through which passes a hot air funnel, g. The boiler is sup- 

 plied by a small 



is carried along 

 under a shelf 

 against the back 

 wall, and then out 

 of the house at 

 the other end. On 

 this shelf I have 

 this season forced 

 French beans, and 

 struck cuttings, 

 and it answers well. 

 The only precau- 

 tion necessary is to 

 prevent an accumu- 

 lation of air in the 

 boiler or pipes, and 

 every time the gas 

 is lighted, the stop- 

 cock at c should 

 be opened to allow 

 of its escape. The 

 heat should at 

 first be very slight, 

 and may be in- 

 creased as the cir- 

 culation is estab- 

 lished. A com- 

 pulsory and fre- 

 cp^ent absence from 

 home led me to 

 adopt this plan, 

 having had many losses through not keeping my fire in regularly. Now I 

 find that the house may be left any length of time without fear of' frost, and 

 according to the thermometer and the state of the weather, we can increase or 

 decrease the temperature to a nicety by means of the stopcock which regulates 

 the supply of gas. — [A plan similar to the above was engraved in the Gar- 

 dener's Chronicle about a year ago. — Ed. F. W.] 



pipe from an open 

 cistern in the house, 

 entering the boiler 

 at the bent arrow, 

 The heat is de- 

 rived from a small 

 furnace formed of 

 a circular hoop of 

 iron with a bottom 

 of wire gauze. The 

 furnace is filled 

 with lumps of pu- 

 mice stone, and is 

 supplied with a 

 gas burner placed 

 below the wire 

 gauze, and the gas 

 passes up through 

 the pumice stone 

 and is there lighted. 

 There are two dis- 

 tinct sources of 

 heat, one by the 

 flow pipe, c, which 

 passes round the 

 house and returns 

 to the boiler at d, 

 and the other by 

 means of the hot 

 air pipe, g, which 



