140 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[May, 



tering, airing and shading them from the direct 

 rays of the sun require constant attention, and 

 not only attention, but also intelligent fore- 

 thought. 



The walks in the greenhouse and in the open 

 air, are also often neglected. In the greenhouse 

 it is rarely that anything is done to them, where 

 with but slight expense they might be boarded, 

 cemented, or protected in some other way, so 

 as to prevent water from standing in them and 

 making mud-holes. In the open air the walks 

 are almost universally hardened in some way, 

 but the edges are left uncut, weeds are left grow- 

 ing in them, and bits of paper are allowed to 

 remain undisturbed. The same can be said of 

 the lawns, but not to so great an extent, for 

 there has been a marked improvement in this 

 direction within the last few years. It might be 

 appropriate Just here to say a word about label- 

 ing. All labels should be written in a plain, 

 round hand, so that they can be read without 

 difficulty. Plants are often received from well- 

 established firms, which are labeled in such a 

 slovenly manner, that where the name is not 

 familiar it is impossible to decipher it. 



In conclusion, I would state that nothing will 

 add more to the appearance of a garden and its 

 surroundings than strict neatness. Though the 

 failings spoken of above are by no means uni- 

 versal, they prevail enough to make reform de- 

 sirable. It is but justice to add, that with many 

 this is the result of having too much to attend 

 to, and in such cases the employers are to blame. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Lamp Stoves. — For small cabinets,— even 

 small greenhouses in some instances,— lamp 

 stoves would prove effectual heaters, but not 

 much has been done with them. We give the 

 following suggestive hints from the London 

 Journal of Horticulture ."I wish to give pub- 

 licity to the following facts, hoping thereby to 

 draw forth, for my edification and the public 

 generally, the experiences of others of your 

 subscribers. My house is 22 feet long, 11 feet 

 wide, and of a fair height. I wished to be able 

 to keep up the temperature during the cold 

 nights of the past six weeks from 60° to 65° F. 

 I tested the lamp stove three nights where the 

 thermometer stood at 45° F. without the lamp. 

 At the end of twelve hours I could get no more 

 heat during the night out of this lamp stove 

 than 6° above the temperature of the place I 



put it in to test it. It is made by one of the 

 first makers of the day. I trimmed it myself 

 and attended to it personally, and kept it under 

 lock and key. The fourth night of its burning, 

 I lit it at 7 P. M., and only put up the wicks to 

 half their proper height, meaning to increase 

 their height at 10 P. M. I was suddenly called 

 out from dinner by my man ; the house was full 

 of smoke, the wick in a blaze. Fortunately the 

 wind was blowing strong at the time. Both 

 doors and windows being thrown open and the 

 lamp stove removed, the house was immediately 

 cleared, and no harm has resulted, as would 

 have been the case had it been burning benzo- 

 line or paraffine. On examination I found this 

 stove lamp inferior in make and workmanship 

 to the fine lamps by the same maker, of which 

 I have burned seven for two years without acci- 

 dent, breakdown, or smell, using petroleum of 

 the best quality. I should like to hear if anyone 

 has been able to get heat up to 60° or even 55° 

 F. from one of these stoves when the thermom- 

 eter was at freezing point. I should also like 

 to elicit what is the best and cheapest small 

 and effectual heating apparatus for such a house 

 as mine, not wanted for forcing anything." 



Heating Small Conservatories. — The 

 increasing taste for flowers about dwellings 

 calls for better means of heating than has 

 hitherto been effected. Almost all attempts 

 to use the regular house heaters fail ; not be- 

 cause the air from the heater is dry, but because 

 of sulphuretted gases. As these conservatories 

 are only with plants in winter, and are thrown 

 open in summer, separate and permanent heat- 

 ers are undesirable. There is nothing better 

 than a portable hot water boiler ; which could 



be put up in a few minutes, and taken down 

 when not wanted. 



Looking through our advertising colums we 

 note many excellent forms of boilers for large 

 work. Some of them portable, but none that 

 seems just what is needed for these little con- 

 servatories and window attachments; small, 

 effective and cheap. We give the accompanying 

 from an English source, which seems something 



