364 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



verbenas in their cutting-pots die off, and the cinerarias are in- 

 fested with fly, and the camellia buds fall from their stems, and 

 many other equally perplexing losses, all which I could easily name, 

 but it would be occupy iug valuable space, and serve no particular 

 purpose. 



Indispensable as is the use of fire-heat for the exclusion of frost, 

 and to dry up damp, it is nevertheless equally injurious if applied 

 when it is not wanted ; and for such subjects as usually occupy the 

 majority of greenhouses, they are better without it than with it, ex- 

 cept in the case of frost, or a prolonged interval of cold damp 

 weather. Even in these cases there ought to be some discrimination 

 about applying it in an ordinary greenhouse if closed at three o'clock 

 in the afternoon. It should be remembered that from six to ten 

 degrees of frost outside will do little harm to the occupants of the 

 greenhouse; in fact they would endure the thermometer going down 

 to freezing point in the house better than they would a sudden rise 

 in the heat, as the latter calls into speedy action many important 

 organs of the plants, and which are as suddenly arrested in their 

 progress by the fire being left to go out early; and so they get a 

 chill, which if frequently repeated must tend to weaken them, and 

 may sometimes kill them outright. I have heard our Editor say that 

 he has seen his geraniums covered with hoar frost, and the ther- 

 mometer down to 26' in the house, yet no harm was done because of 

 the care taken never to allow rapid changes or great extremes of 

 temperature. 



With all good gardeners it is now an acknowledged fact that 

 greenhouse plants, except for special purposes, do better without 

 fire-heat than with it, when frost can be kept at bay without its aid, 

 and damp expelled by the genial winds of heaven. But from this it 

 must not be inferred that 1 am advocating the discoutinuance of fire- 

 heat, and to leave our plant-houses to the mercy of the elements. 

 Such a course would be madness on my part; but what I want to 

 impress upon the reader's mind is that he should be less liberal in 

 his artificial heat, and that he should study the well-doing of his 

 plants, and not quite so much his own comfort, at every slight ap- 

 pearance of frost. I grant it is very comfortable to make up a fire 

 every afternoon when the wind blows from the east, because then 

 you can go to your own fire, and feel yourself safe if there should 

 come a frost. But what if no frost should come? Would not the 

 plants in your house have been better without the fire, and ought 

 there not to be a regret in the morning that you did not wait till 

 eight or nine o'clock in the evening to see bow it was likely to be ; 

 and that the firing had been uselessly consumed, and the plants 

 positively injured 'i The reader must not think that I am drawing 

 upon my imagination to make out a case to illustrate what 1 want 

 to say, because unhappily there is no need of that. Such instances 

 as I have just tried to relate are of too frequent occurrence, and 

 while they are continued as they are in the present day amongst our 

 villa gardeners I shall continue to crave a short space every year in 

 these pages to remind them of it, with a view to making them 

 brighter ornaments to our profession. 



