1873] ON KNOWLEDGE, &c. * 321 



TEMPERATURE OF EORCING- HOUSES. 



May I be permitted a small space to support Mr Simpson's argument 

 on the above subject. We have a vinery here planted with different 

 kinds of Grapes, and one end is occupied by Muscat of Alexandria : 

 but before this year, the said variety could not be got to set well, 

 though the night temperature was kept at 75^, and other methods 

 employed that generally insure success. This year the house was 

 started in the usual way, early in March. All went well until the 

 bunches were coming into flower : at this period we would have raised 

 the night temperature to as nearly as practicable 75°, but to our chagrin 

 a " flaw " presented itself in the boiler, and in consequence of this, they 

 received but very little artificial heat during the whole time they were 

 in flower ; partly owing to the condition of the boiler, and the state of 

 the external atmosphere, the thermometer almost nightly went down 

 below 45^. We had grave doubts about our Muscats, but we made the 

 utmost of solar heat, and syringed freely on bright afternoons, and 

 instead of a failure, we have the finest crop of Grapes the Vines have 

 ever produced. Being one of the rising generation of young gardeners, 

 I would like to conclude by heartily thanking Mr Eurbridge for his 

 words of encouragement at page 275. A. R. G. 



ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTAINED AND ATTAINABLE. 



Of all the belles in the country-side, the Blue Bells of the wood carry 

 the bell for grandeur and effect during what we fondly call the 

 *' merry month of May." No dwarf plant, neither native nor foreign, 

 with which we are familiar, supplies such a beautiful sheet of richest 

 blue as this lovely native of the grove. They generally have their 

 habitat where they are partially shaded and also tolerably sheltered, 

 and therefore do not suffer from the biting north-east winds, which 

 have been so prevalent during last, or indeed during the generality of 

 May months. During last month these Blue Bells have been the 

 finest we have ever seen. Doubtless they imbibed a goodly supply of 

 moisture during the late rainy season, and were thus prepared to send 

 up and sustain a more than usually fine head of bloom. Every one at 

 all capable of appreciating natural beauty must admire these lovely 

 denizens of the grove, especially as sheets of blue are scarce in our 

 modern flower-gardens ; and the thought springs up, how can we ac- 

 complish such an acquisition? Hybridisers and other adepts pretend, 

 and no doubt have done much, to alter and improve both fruits and 

 flowers, but the little accomplished only shows how very much more 

 remains to be done. It may be considered absurd even to imagine 



