1879.] CHOICE HARDY SPRING FLOWERS. 213 



circulation is correct, and in the closing sentence of his paper says that 

 " That part of the structure which is situated farthest from the boiler will be 

 the hottest, the pipes being at the highest elevation ; " which goes far to prove 

 that a continuous rise in the pipes does not hinder circulation, but the re- 

 verse. The only inference that can be drawn from this sentence is, that 

 the water on its journey from the boiler to the highest and farthest point of 

 the apparatus suffers no diminution, but, on the contrary, increases in tem- 

 perature. This may be so where the apparatus is fitted up on equalised 

 mixed forcing principles. The mixing required to equalise the temperature of 

 the hotter and colder water, and the force required on the part of the equal- 

 ised water to drive the cold water before it uphill, may have the effect of 

 generating heat, so that the water on reaching the point highest and farthest 

 from the boiler maybe hotter than when it left the point on which the fire acts. 

 I think, however, that C. M. is mistaken in thinking so ; but if he can prove 

 that it is so, then, ye inventors of fuel-economising boilers, your occupation 

 is gone, and coal bills will no longer vex the gardener ! For if the water gets 

 hotter after entering the flows, then all that will be required will be a little 

 fuel to start it out of the boiler in the first instance, the mixing and equal- 

 ising will do the remainder. And if the water parts with no heat until it reaches 

 the highest point of the apparatus, as indicated in C. M.'s paper, would it not 

 be best to have this point as near the boiler as possible ? By having it so, the 

 mixing, equalising, and forcing would be reduced to a minimum, and conse- 

 quently a more rapid circulation of the water in the pipes would be the effect. 



J. Hammond. 

 Bhayton Hall. 



CHOICE HARDY SPRING FLOWERS. 



The taste for hardy spring flowers is developing more rapidly than the 

 taste for any other class of hardy flowers. The reasons for this are ob- 

 vious. There is no difficulty experienced in keeping the garden well 

 stocked with flowers during summer and autumn by means of either 

 hardy or tender plants, but in spring we must fall back on the good old- 

 fashioned floral gems of the season, if we would have any delight in our 

 gardens at all during the cold months of spring. To assist in the cul- 

 tivation of the growing taste for these early flowers, I would venture 

 on making a selection of the best of the earlier and later species and 

 varieties, including only such as are most beautiful and easy to manage 

 in any garden. 



Adonis vernalis. — This is the best of the genus to which it belongs. 

 It grows to the height of about 1 foot — the stems being clothed with 

 finely-cut leaves, and terminating in large, bright-yellow flowers, which 

 open in March and April in ordinary seasons, but this season they are 

 fully a month later than usual. A. ape?mina, a closely related form, if 

 not a mere variety, begins to flower as vernalis ceases, and is therefore 

 useful in prolonging the period of flowering in collections that are large 

 enough to admit of two such closely related plants of almost identical 

 features and colour. 



