1879.1 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



11 



Improved Fire-bars. — Iron tells of a new 

 style of fire-bar devised by an English inventor 

 to secure fuller combustion of fuel. The peculiar 

 feature of their bars is the shape of the spaces 

 left for the air to pass through. These, instead 

 of being straight, are of a wave-shaped form, the 

 convex parts of one bar fitting into the concave 

 parts of the adjoining one, and the proper dis- 

 tance being regulated by the width at the ends 

 in the usual way. Additional oblong air-spaces 

 are also provided, and placed in the spaces be- 

 tween the wave-shaped openings. The under 

 side of the bars is made as thin as possible, so as 

 to give the air ample inlet area; and when they 

 have to be fitted against the sides of boiler-flues, 

 a set of tooth-like projections is cast on to the 

 edge of the outside bars. Any portion of the 

 length of these teeth can easily be cut off" by a 

 hammer and chisel to effect the desired fit. By 

 the use of these bars the inventor claims a large 

 saving in fuel. — Pohjtechnic Review. 



Heati^tg by lamps. — It has often seemed to 

 us practicable to heat bay-windows and plant 

 cabinets quite sufficiently b}- lamps. On this a 

 correspondent of the (rartZen gives her experience: 



"As no one has ventured to reply to "J. L." 

 (p. 275) respecting this subject, perhaps an ama- 

 teur's experience might be useful. My plant 

 house, a lean-to, fifteen feet by nine feet, was 

 kept warm during two Winters by means of a 

 paraffin lamp, costing 17s. 6d., burning petroleum 

 at (at that time) 2s. 3d. the gallon — much less 

 now, I believe. It had a flat base or well about 

 as large over as a dinner plate, an upright 

 iron body, and a domed top pierced with holes. 

 The well was easily filled by a side tube, and the 

 wick, having the charred part cut oft^ occasion- 

 ally, was quickly lighted or extinguished, and in 

 summer the whole affair could be removed. No 

 smell could ever be detected; and what I would 

 like to direct particular attention to is, there was 

 not the slightest sign of blight of any kind dur- 

 ing those two "Winters, and the plants were pre- 

 ceptibly of a brighter tone and crisper than they 

 otherwise would have been. Two faults were 

 noticeable ; firstly, the expense (a Winter's night 

 of twelve or fourteen hours costing 6d. or 8d., as 

 dear, or dearer, than coals); secondly, the power 

 of resisting cold. Rarely could the warmth in- 

 side the house be made to exceed that of the out- 

 side 10* or 12°. Suppose a frost occurred outside 

 registering .30°, the inside temperature would be 

 about 40°. If it has been 20° outside, then the 



inside would have ice over the roof, and the ther- 

 mometer 32°. I therefore, discarded the lamp 

 and tried quite a different kind of heating, the 

 result being extremely interesting, though not, 

 perhaps, sufficiently so for the generality of your 

 readers." 



Rose Cuttings Struck in Heat with the 

 Leaves left on. — This method of propagation 

 is largely practised by professional Rose growers. 

 The operation may be performed from the end 

 of July to the end of September, and even dur- 

 ing the Winter. In certain establishments the 

 propagating house is near the Rose nursery, in 

 which the different varieties are all grouped to- 

 gether. Each plant bears the number belonging 

 to its particular variety in the catalogue, so that 

 the propagator whose duty it is to cut the slips 

 passes from bed to bed, collecting from each of 

 them his bundle of shoots, to which he imme- 

 diately ties the corresponding number in the 

 catalogue. He lastly wraps them in a damp 

 cloth and deposits them in the entrance of the 

 propagating house. This enti'ance is a sort of 

 porch, with a second door, which is built either 

 outside or inside the propagating house, so that 

 the two doors are never open at the same time. 

 It also serves as a kind of workshop, in which 

 all the necessary appliances for propagation by 

 cuttings are kept, such as prepared heath mould, 

 thumb pots of different sizes, a set of punches for 

 numbering the labels, a mallet for striking them, 

 and the lead labels themselves. These labels 

 are cut into the form of a long triangle, the base 

 being one-half inch in width, and the sides one 

 and a half inches in length. The number is 

 struck upside down, on the larger end of the la- 

 bel, which is stuck into the soil with the sharp 

 end downwards. A tray, too, is necessary for 

 carrying the potted cuttings backwards and for- 

 wards. It should be made of Pine, and should 

 measure two feet four inches in length by one 

 foot four inches in width, with edges one and a 

 half inches high on the long sides, and six inches 

 high on the narrow ones. The edges on the nar- 

 row sides are provided with holes, so that they 

 serve for handles for carrying the tray to and fro. 

 The shoots are cut up into slips, each having 

 three leaves and, consequently, three buds; the 

 joint of the lowest slip is allowed to remain on 

 after having been pared with the pruning knife. 

 The shoot is cut at right angles to its axis, about 

 the twentieth of an inch below a bud. The two 

 upper leaves are generally cut off, as they would 



