106 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[April, 



tropes and Stocks were planted in the same 

 manner, and they did not appear to suffer in 

 the least. Lettuces, however, didn't seem to like 

 their quarters any better than the Roses and 

 Bouvardias. Parsley grew quite as well as if 

 nothing unfavorable touched its roots. I had no 

 satisfiiction from these pits that season, and 

 when summer came round again, I took the first 

 opportunity to remove all traces of what had 

 given me so much trouble, and refitted the 

 frames with hard pine planks; after which I had 

 no trouble. Experience is often a hard teacher, 

 and this mishap taught me that a gardener can- 

 not know too much about anything that relates 

 to his business. 



HEATING WITH HOT WATER. 



BY THUS. OTTAWAY. 



I have had thirty years' practical ex^perience 

 in heating plant houses with fines, steam and hot 

 water, and do not hesitate to say that hot water 

 is by far the best for plant growth. The best 

 boilers are those of Hitchings & Co. and Weathered 

 of all I have had in use. My advice is to u.-^e 

 plenty of pipe for heating to produce healthy 

 plants. I don't like the water to exceed 160 de- 

 grees. My advice is to keep pipes 4 to 6 feet 

 above the boiler, and to connect the feed pipe 

 with the flow, to take away the steam generated 

 in the boiler. Many suppose the hot water 

 drives the cold, but it is just the reverse— it is the 

 balance of power. Cold water being the heavier, 

 the more the pipes are elevated above the boiler 

 tlie quicker the circulation. » 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Floral Decorations at Tunbridge Wells.— 

 The floral decorations at the exhibition of the 

 Tunbridge Wells Horticultural Society, held on 

 the 2nd inst., exhibited a marked improvement 

 upon those of last season, both as regards num- 

 ber of entries and taste in arrangement. In the 

 class for a group of three pieces for table deco- 

 ration (flowers or fruit), strange to say not one 

 group staged contained fruit. The first prize in 

 this class was awarded to Mrs. Seale, London Road, 

 Sevenoaks, for a charmingly-arranged group 

 of three March vases, decorated with white Wa- 

 ter Lilies, scarlet Geraniums, the scarlet spathes 



of the Flamingo plant. Orchids, scarlet Begonias, 

 pale blue Larkspurs, mixed varieties of Ferns and 

 wild Grasses, while from the trumpets trailed 

 long sprays of Lygodium scandens. The arrange- 

 ment of the flowers in these stands was much 

 more effective than that which Mrs. Seale exhib- 

 ited at the Crystal Palace on the 26th of last 

 month; indeed, I quite agree with one of our 

 oldest judges, who, when he saw Mrs. Seale's 

 group of March vases at Tunbridge, said it was 

 the prettiest arrangement he had ever seen. The 

 second prize in this class was awarded to Mrs. G. 

 Smith, Hurstley, for a group of three vases, con- 

 sisting of trumpets rising out of fiat tazzas, the 

 centre piece being the tallest, but had it been 

 about 6 inches taller still it would have been a 

 great improvement. The principal dressing of 

 these stands consisted of blooms of Tacsonia Van 

 Volxemii, sprays of Spirpea and Copper Beech, 

 and light grey-tinted foliage furnished by Cen- 

 taurea and other grey-leaved plants. The third 

 prize in this class was awarded to Mr. John 

 Beech, for an effective group consisting of a March 

 stand for the centre piece, and at each side 

 trumpets rising out of tazzas,all three being dressed 

 with nuich taste. In the cla.ss for a single piece 

 lor table dec()ration the first prize was awarded to 

 Mr. James Bolton for an elegantly-arranged vase, 

 in which Orchids, blue Corn-flowers, Stephanotis, 

 and other flowers and Ferns were charmingly in- 

 termixed. The second prize fell to Mrs. Seale 

 for a March vase, very similar to the others ex- 

 hibited by that lady ; and the third prize w'as 

 awarded to Mr. Fennel for a jiretty design ; and 

 an extra fourth Avas awarded to Mr. G. Hubbard. 

 The hand bouquets were good, nearly all exhib- 

 ited, with few exceptions, being lightly put to- 

 gether, and free from that packed appearance 

 too often to be observed in those exhibited for 

 competition at flower shows; the prizes were 

 awarded (in the order in which the names stand) 

 to Mr. John Staples, Mrs. Staples, Mr. G. Hub- 

 bard, and Mrs. Fennel. For button-hole bou- 

 quets, which were plentiful, the first prize was . 

 awarded to Miss Jane Hollamby, and the second 

 to Mr. R. A. Boesseer. Again, as last season, in 

 the class for arranged groups of wild flowers, 

 there was a keen competition. The first prize 

 was awarded to Miss Cox, the flowei^s in whose 

 stands consisted of Poppies, Dog Daisies, Forget- 

 me-nots, yellow^ Bird's-foot, Trefoil, and Grasses ; 

 the second to Mr. Cliarlcs Noble, for a large-sized 

 March vase, in which, in addition to wild flowers, 

 Grasses were extensively emiiloyed. In the 



