January- 25, 1572. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



<liy northerly ereniug air, which cools the water in them, so 

 tli'at, when at 61° it will iu a few minutes fall to 56% or even 

 lower. But the moisture which exudes through the dish is 

 quickly frozen when the evaporation from the external surface 

 no longer continues radiative ; a more powerful agent then 

 produces the ice in the dishes. 



The quantity of dry straw in the ice beds forms a large mass 

 of a bad conductor of heat, which penetrates but a short way 

 into it dm-ing the day ; and as soon as the sun descends below 

 the horizon, this large and powerfully-radiating surface is 

 Ibrought into action, and affects the water in the thin porous 

 vessels, themselves powerful radiators. The cold thus pro- 

 duced is further increased by the damp night air descending 

 -to the earth's surface, and by the removal of the heating 

 ■cause, which deposits a portion of its moisture upon the 

 now powerfully radiating, and therefore cold, surface of the 

 straw, the water, and the large moist surface of the dishes. 

 ^'heu better radiators of heat were substituted, as glazed, 

 -white, or metallic dishes, the cold was greater, and the ice 

 "Was thicker, and the dishes were heavier in the morning 

 than the common dishes. Any accumulation of heat on 

 their surface from the ' deposit of moisture is prevented 

 by the cold dry north-west airs which slowly pass over the 

 erlishes. The wind quickly dries the ground, and declines to- 

 wards night to moderate airs. The influence of these causes is 

 so powerful that I have seen the mercury in the thermometer 

 placed upon the straw between the dishes descend to 27°, when 

 ■3 feet above the ice pits it was 48°. 



So powerful is the cooling effect of radiation on clear nights 

 in tropical climates, that in very favourable mornings, during 

 the cold season, drops of dew may sometimes be found con- 

 :gealed in Bengal upon the thatched roofs of houses, and upon 

 the exposed leaves of plants. In the'eveniug the cooling pro- 

 cess advances more rapidly than could be supposed by one 

 who has not experienced it himself, and proves the justness of 

 liis feelings by the aid of the thermometer. In the open 

 plain on which the ice is male, I have seen the temperature of 

 the air, 4 feet above the ground, fall 70o° to 57°, in the 

 time the suu took to descend the two last degrees before his 

 setting. 



The tropical rains are succeeded by the cold season, when 

 tho night is cold, the sky qiute clear, and the air becomes a 

 .bad conductor of electricity, from the dry northern winds 

 which then prevail. This is proved by the rapidity with which 

 evaporation proceeds, by the dispersion of clouds, and by the 

 more evident proofs which the hygrometer exhibits. During 

 the cold season vegetation proceeds, and electricity continues 

 to be evolved by hving bodies, and during their decompo- 

 sition. 



These remarks wUl enable us to explain the process by which 

 •the ice is prepared in Bengal. 



1st, The large quantity of dry straw and moist dishes 

 rapidly become cold, by their powerfully radiating surfaces, at 

 the same time that the large body of dry straw strongly attracts 

 positive electricity, and the descending currents of air deposit 

 moisture in the dishes of water. Hence, during a cold and 

 •clear night, with airs from the N.N.W., the cooUng process 

 will advance more rapidly in proportion to the non-electric or 

 attractive nature of tlie body, which with the radiating power 

 •of the surface, regulates the cold and the quantity of dew de- 

 posited upon the body. 



2nd, The high anil dry situation and free exposure of the 

 ice fields to tho sky, and the absence of all causes which could 

 interrupt the influence of the large body of non-electrics, and 

 the extensive surface of powerful radiating substances, suffi- 

 •ciently account for the degree of cold produced in the ice 

 plates ; and 



3rd, The cool, dry north-we:,t au-s slowly pass over the ice 

 ieds, absorbing the accumulation of moisture and of heat, 

 ■which is given off by the liquefying of a large quantity of 

 "water that would otherwise accumulate over the beds ; and, 

 tthus retaining the air clear and dry, allows the full operation 

 .:)f the other causes, particularly radiation. — T. A. Wise. 



[This method of obtaining ice seems to have been practised 



l.y the Israelites in the time of Josephus, for he mentions " the 



a\; which the inhabitants of the country make during the 



nmmer." — (Dr. Bello Jud., iii., 10.) 



It may be useful also to mention that if 1 lb. of sulphuric 



acid (oil of vitriol) is mixed with 1 lb. of water and allowed to 



. become cold, and then 2J lbs. of powdered crystals of sulphate 



of soda (Cilauber's salt) are added, the operation being carried 



ou in a cM place, the temperature of the mixture will sink to 



several degrees below the freezing point of water. The whole 

 costs but a few pence. — Eds.] 



VISIT OF THE EOY.yL HOETICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY TO BIEMINGHAM. 



A PUBLIC meeting was held iu the committee room of the 

 Town Hall, ou the 18th inst., for the appointment of a local 

 committee and makiug other arrangements for promoting the 

 Exhibition of the Royal Horticultural Society in Birmingham 

 iu the mouth of June next. Mr. Aldermau G. B. Lloyd (Ex- 

 Mayor), occupied tho chair. Mr. Marshall, a member of the 

 Society's Coimcil, and Mr. Richards, Assistant Secretary, at- 

 tended as a deputation. 



Mr. T. B. Wright before moving the first resolution, men- 

 tioned that letters of apology for non-attendance had been re- 

 ceived from many gentlemen and gentlemen's gardeners. He 

 said it was very satisfactory to find that so many noblemen's 

 and gentlemen's gardehers were willing to render assistance iu 

 carrying out the undertaking which had brought them together. 

 He had pleasure in moving, that the meeting having heard with 

 much satisfaction that the Council of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society had accepted the invitation to bold their next country 

 meeting in Birmingham ou the 25th, 2fith, 27th, 28th, and 29th 

 June next, pledged itself to co-operate in all the arrangements 

 which might be necessary to promote the success of this its first 

 visit to the district. They had ou two former occasions met iu 

 that room to co-operate with local committees appointed to 

 render the visit of the Royal Agricultural Society to towns not 

 far distant from Bii-mingham as successful as possible. In 1859 

 the Society held its show at Warwick, and in 1871 at Wolver- 

 hampton ; and in both instances the appeal to the town was 

 met in a very liberal manner. On the present occasion Birming- 

 ham was the actual scene of operations, and instead of co-operat- 

 ing with a committee, they w'ere met that day to appoint a 

 local committee which would take the management of all the 

 arrangements of the forthcoming visit. The inhabitants of 

 Birmingham were glad to assist the Royal Agricultural Society, 

 and he was of opinion they would show the same spirit of liber- 

 ality towards the sister Association — the Royal Horticultural 

 Society. On the former occasions to which he referred, the sub- 

 committee merely took in hand the work for the town : but in 

 the present instance their work would be not only in Birming- 

 ham, but in other towns besides, and sufficient evidence would 

 be laid before them to .show that they would have a very wide 

 gathering ground, which, with an exceedingly influential com- 

 mittee, would, he thought, render it pretty certain that the visit 

 of the Society next June would be successfid. He hardly felt it 

 necessary to say anything with regard to the operations of the 

 Society. Some years ago it might, perhaps, have been thought to 

 be aiming a little too high to exercise much influence upon the 

 owners of ordinary gardens ; but the Society had year by year 

 become more and more useful ; and it was a happy thought when 

 the Council determined to hold their shows iu different parts of 

 the country, as that course would not fail to lead to the most 

 satisfactory results with respect to the progress of horticulture. 

 It would be remembered that the Society formerly held its 

 provincial shows at the same time aud place as the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society ; but great difficulties were found to be insepar- 

 able from such an arrangement, principally because many persons 

 found so much to occupy their attention in the grounds of the 

 Royal Agricultural Society that they could not attend the show 

 of the Roval Horticulhrral Society. Last year the first indepen- 

 dent mee'ting of the Royal Horticultiu-al Society w-as held at 

 Nottingham, and was most successful. After its termination 

 some correspondence with regard to the place for the holding of 

 the next meeting took place between the Council and Mr. Quilter, 

 aud the result w-as that the Council determined the next show 

 should be held at Birmingham. Mr. Quilter met the Council in 

 a very liberal manner, and they were satisfied that no better 

 spot than the Lower Grounds, at Aston, could be found ; and 

 that there was no other place in the vicinity of Birmingham 

 where people were hkely to attend in greater numbers. After 

 this year the plans of the Society for the future would, he ex- 

 pected, be permanently decided upon, and arrangements made 

 by which every part of the kingdom would be visited in its turn, 

 aud under these circumstances they might look forward, in six 

 or eight years, to again welcoming the Society to Birmingham. 

 With regard to the arrangements respecting exhibitors and sub- 

 scriptions for admission, these would be made public in due time. 

 They would, he was sure, be found to be on a very Uberal scale. 

 One duty which the local committee would have to discharge 

 would be to raise a fund for providing special prizes to supple- 

 ment those offered by the Society. For all other money subscribed 

 full value would be received. In other places where exhibitions 

 of this kind had been held, a large sum had to be raised in order 

 to put the grounds in proper order. Nothing of the kind would 

 be required in the present instance, for that would beundertaken 

 by Mr. Quilter. From what he knew of the success which had 



