178 



THE VINERY AT CLINTON POINT. 



manner, with dense foliage from the pot 

 upwards, the flowers are shown to great 

 advantage. 



About the middle of October they may 

 be overhauled, dead leaves picked off, and 

 the pots washed, preparatory to taking them 

 into the green -house. Here they must be 

 placed by themselves in the coldest part of 

 the house. They will now require very 

 little water — merely enough to keep them 

 from flagging, and give a little fresh air 

 every favorable opportunity. 



During winter use no more fire heat than 

 is absolutely necessary. Great harm is 

 often done by keeping a high artificial 

 temperature at this season, especially at 

 night ; and very frequently is the highest 

 artificial heat maintained on those nights 

 when the external temperature is lowest, 

 and the thermometer kept as high as during 

 the day. It is more in accordance with 

 nature, to raise the temperature during the 

 day sufficiently high to allow a diminution 

 of heat during the night, so that the plants 

 may participate in the change. It is during 

 this — their temporary cessation, caused by 

 the absence of light and heat' — that they 

 are enabled to recover their elasticity and 

 vigor, and to replace the loss of gaseous 

 matters, which were given off during the 

 light of the preceding day. Where the 

 house is heated by a hot air flue, it is ne- 



cessary to have troughs of some descrip- 

 tion, filled with water, placed on the covers 

 to modify the aridity of the air by evapora- 

 tion. Hot-water pipes should also have 

 evaporating pans fitted on them, and kept 

 supplied with water ; for although they ra- 

 diate heat at a lower temperature than flues, 

 it is also of a drying nature, and prejudicial 

 to vegetation. A maximum heat of 45 de- 

 grees, and a minimum of 35 degrees, will 

 be amply sufficient for green-house plants 

 during the short days of winter. In the 

 absence of light, it is hurtful to urge any 

 plant to grow by the mere forcing power 

 of heat. Such growth can never be vigor- 

 ous, nor produce satisfactory results. 



As the season advances and the light in- 

 creases, the plants will require more water 

 and air, always avoiding cold cutting winds, 

 admitting air first by the top lights, and 

 keeping the house close during foggy, dense 

 weather. The close growing Heaths are 

 very subject to mildew. This is got rid of 

 by dusting the parts affected with sulphur, 

 and washing them clean with a syringe a 

 day or two afterwards. I have said nothing 

 about their propagation, or raising seed- 

 lings. Should you think it desirable, I 

 will be happy to give my experience on 

 these matters also. 



William Saunders, 

 Gardener to Wm. Bostvuick, Esq. 

 New-Haven, Conn., Aug. 16, 1S49. 



THE VINERY AT CLINTON POINT. 



[see frontispiece.] 



Otm. frontispiece is intended to convey to 

 the reader some idea of the very complete 

 vinery at Clinton Point, the residence of 

 our neighbor, Philip S. Van Rf.nsselaer, 

 Esq., near New-Hamburgh, on ihe Hudson. 

 The effect of this vinery is so excellent, 



and its adaptation to the intended purpose 

 so complete, that we consider it the best 

 model for a curvilinear house that we have 

 yet seen. The general plan is not unlike 

 that of many vineries near Boston ; but in 

 simplicity, and nicety of construction, it 



