1879.] HARRISON'S MUSK FOR BEDS. 475 



ous quality imparted to the water by the heat which makes it fly away from 

 the earth. It is an error to suppose that while water at, say, 60° presses down- 

 wards towards its centre of gravity, the same water at, say, 212° has any tend- 

 ency to fly upwards : there is no such tendency : the all-pervading and ever- 

 present law of gravitation applies to all substances in nature in exactly the 

 same way according to their densities, and no substance has the slightest tend- 

 ency to rise of itself, whatever its temperature. 



A cubic foot of water in its solid form, and the same in the form of vapour, 

 is attracted in equal degrees. The law is that "every particle of matter at- 

 tracts every other particle by a force that decreases as the square of the 

 distance increases, and increases as the square of the distance decreases." I 

 trust no one will think this does not apply to the hot-water apparatus.* A 

 proper consideration and understanding of these fundamental laws saves a 

 world of trouble in discussing the matter. What I said about a lighter fluid 

 forcing a heavier uphill really does not need further illustration, but to any 

 doubter I say again, "Come and see." Come and see water at 80° forcing 

 water at 60° uphill. [But why not let the water at 60° go down-hill ?— Ed.] 



Atmospheric air is lighter than water, bulk for bulk, but nevertheless it 

 raises water 34 feet. Atmospheric air is lighter than mercury, but it raises it 

 13 inches. 



1 feel highly honoured indeed by the decision of the stoke-hole affair being 

 left in your (Editor's) hands and mine. We have none of us anything to gain 

 by upholding either false theory or practice, and when called upon I shall be 

 delighted to give a fair and unbiassed opinion on the matter. 



A. D. Makenzie. 



2 Grove Terrace, Edinburgh. 



[We have devoted so much space to this important question, that we must 

 now close this discussion for the present.— Ed.] 



HARRISON'S MUSK FOR BEDS. 



This is a charming plant for pot-culture, and the numbers of it sold 

 in pots are immense, but to see it in its most effective dress it must 

 be seen as a bedding-plant. In brilliancy it eclipses the well-known 

 Viola Perpetual Yellow, and that is saying much for it. Treated ex- 

 actly like Violas as to propagation, and being planted in good holding 

 rich soil, its productiveness of bloom is wonderful. All through the 

 past unfavourable season it has been a mass of bloom. No matter if 

 it be battered for days or weeks with rain, two or tbree hours fair 

 weather restores its brilliancy. It was from seeing it so brilliant at 

 one or two places in England last year, when the weather was hot and 

 dry, that induced us to plant a good many beds of it this year —and 

 nothing in its way could be more satisfactory. Of course, it is all but 

 hardy, if not quite so. At all events, treated just like Violas or Cal- 

 ceolarias, it will do well ; and we are sure that all who want brilliant 

 beds of yellow will not be disappointed if they grow this Musk in 

 good soil. In hungry dry soils it would be well to put a good propor- 

 tion of rotten manure in the beds. All the Mimulus like moist rich soil. 



