1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



263 



ing the fire stated to me that he had lost only one 

 night's rest during the whole winter. The other 

 case I would mention is that of David Deans, 

 Florist, Astoria, L. I. He fired two of Mr. 

 Weathered's boilers for seven months (lacking two 

 days) ; the boilers heated 3,100 ft. of 4-inch pipe, 

 amount of coal consumed 70 tons. These houses 

 were used principally for roses and of course had 

 to be kept at a good heat. I do not wish to take 

 up too much of your space but would like to state 

 that in my opinion most of the greenhouses of 

 to-day are underpiped, florists putting in as little 

 pipe as possible under a mistaken idea of economy. 

 I believe in putting plenty of pipe in a house, in 

 fact sufficient to heat to the desired temperature 

 in any weather without straining; by so doing you 

 will save coal and attention ; of course we must 

 have plenty of boiler. I feel fully assured that 

 a greenhouse heated by hot water, the work 

 being done by good mechanics, will have a system 

 of heat that no steam heater can equal, in ease of 

 management, permanence of temperature, and 

 general wear and tear. 



useful in early fall and spring for heating my 

 propagating bed, which I have on top of the 

 furnace and return flue, by making a small fire 

 and the use of the short flue. 



This plan may not be new to your readers, but 

 it was to me, and I would not be without it for 

 any money so long as I have to heat a greenhouse 

 with flues. 



THE DRAFT OF FLUES. 

 BY HENRY MATERN, SANDUSKY, OHIO. 



I saw in the March number of the Monthly 

 that trouble in starting fires in greenhouses with 

 flues is not over yet. I had my share of it, too ; 

 but by the way I have my flues arranged now, trou- 

 ble is not known, and it is a pleasure to start a fire. 



About four to ten feet from the furnace build a 

 flue on the top of the lower one and back over 

 the furnace into a short chimney. Connect the 

 extreme end of the upper flue with the lower one 

 by a damper between the connections, made of 

 heavy sheet iron, hung on a square frame, which 

 is fitted in between the opening of the upper and 

 lower flue. The damper when dropped will close 

 up the lower- flue and open the upper one, making 

 an almost direct draft for the smoke to pass out. 

 Now you can start your fire ; it will roar. In a 

 short time your coal will be ignited, and furnace 

 and part of the flue well heated. Now raise your 

 damper. I do this by an iron rod on which the 

 damper is fastened. It runs through a hole in the 

 brick and is then bent so that it will stand parallel 

 with the outside of the flue when closed, and is 

 kept up by a weight hung on the extreme end of 

 it. With smoke and gases almost gone, a hot fire 

 in the furnace and part of the flue well heated, 

 there will be circulation through the whole length 

 without any difficulty. I also find this plan very 



HINTS ON NEW AND RARE PLANTS, ETC. 



BY N. ROBERTSON, SUPT. OF GOVERNMENT 

 GROUNDS, OTTAWA, CANADA. 



Besides new plants there are others which may 

 be called rare because they are not frequently 

 seen in collections, although, perhaps, introduced 

 for several years, — because they have not been 

 brought before the public with proper representa- 

 tions, or because intending purchasers fear the 

 getting of inferior or other varieties under the old 

 names. 



In England, at the present time, an inferior 

 palm is being sold for that most beautiful of all 

 palms, as it is said to be, Pritchardia grandis. 

 How very disappointing this comes to be to pur- 

 chasers ! Two years ago I saw Begonia Louis 

 Chretien advertised, and I sent for it. On getting 

 it I saw that it in no way resembled the descrip- 

 tion I had seen of it. This year, in ordering from 

 another party, one was put in that corresponded 

 exactly with what I had read of it, and it well de- 

 serves all that is said about it, being the grandest 

 of all the ornamental foliage begonias yet seen. 

 No one who likes such plants should be without it 

 in their collections. 



Then, again, in the cactus tribe of plants confu- 

 sion reigns supreme. I was anixious to make a 

 I collection of these plants, but after my first, second 

 ! and third attempts I abandoned the idea altogether, 

 : there being such a duplication of sorts under other 

 names. No work of much importance, I believe, 

 I has been as yet published on this tribe of plants, 

 i though it is said one is to be published from 

 Kew, where they have such a fine collection of 

 ] them. People say there is little of interest in 

 ' cactuses, but years ago I made a bed of them 

 to test this. Every one near went to see this bed, 

 I and many lingered long looking and examining 

 those natural curiosities, as they may be termed. 

 But my principal aim is to bring to the notice of 

 plant growers some of those new or rare plants 

 worthy of a place in every collection. Gynura 

 I aurantiaca is a new, distinct and beautiful plant, 

 very attractive ; besides, its easy cultivation brings 

 it within the reach of every one. Peperomia pros- 



