Angnet 2b, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTXJUE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK. 



143 



With regaa-d to the draught of the flue, as " G. A." justly 

 remarks, a boiler fii-e ought to be perfectly under control, 

 and a good draught ought to be secm-ed by sufficient height 

 and breadth of chimney. But then there should also be 

 the power to regulate that draught, for a gi'eat deal depends 

 on that power, chiefly as regards economising fuel, but also 

 for the safety of the plants. 



A boOer constructed on the pilnciples I have suggested 

 may at fii-st sight appear complicated, but I do not think 

 it can be more so than pipe-boilers generally, or that it can 

 not be made as strong and dm-able ; nor is there any reason 

 why it could not be adapted to heat buildings of various 

 sizes, and be made larger or smaller as required. Cer- 

 tainly I think it will present a surface of water to the action 

 of the fire both direct and indii-ect, that will make it capable 

 of doing a vast amount of work at a comparatively small 

 consumption of fuel. 



I woidd rather give my experience of what has been done 

 than merely endeavour to explain what might be done ; 

 and so I will take this opportunity of stating what I know 

 of a boiler, concei-ning which, as far as I have seen, others 

 have had but little to say — that invented by Mr. Messenger 

 of Loughborough. One that I have the management of is, 

 I beliefve, about 4 feet long, 3 feet high, and 2 feet wide 

 outside, the whole being enclosed in brickwork. This is the 

 neai'est guess I can make, for I have no means of taking an 

 accurate measurement. The boiler is composed of pipes 

 which are three-sided and laid horizontally, thi'ee on each 

 side of the fii'e, and a layer of seven over it, and another 

 layer of six or seven over that. This arrangement presents 

 the whole, or nearly the whole, surface of water in the 

 boiler to the direct action of the fire; and this siu'face of 

 water is necessarily very large in proportion to the size of 

 the boiler, the furnace-bars also being hollow and forming part 

 of the boiler. The fire plays about and between these pipes, 

 and is vei-y much dispersed : consequently a large propor- 

 tion of the heat is intercepted. The only fault I find 

 with the aii-angement is the constant attention requii-ed in 

 keeping clean, for the space allowed between the pipes is 

 very nan'ow, and a small accumulation of soot will stop the 

 di-aught ; but this cleaning is but the work of five minutes 

 each day when the boiler is in full work. It wiH be seen 

 that, supposing each triangular pipe is 4 feet long and 

 4 inches wide at the base, it follows that each pipe presents 

 4 feet of surface to the fire ; and there being twenty of these, 

 there will be 80 feet of surface exclusive of the furnace-bars. 

 The fire is also perfectly under control ; for with good fuel, 

 a clear flue, and a rapid fall of water, it is possible to get 

 up the heat in an incredibly short space of time ; and by 

 shutting up the ashpit-door and closing the damper a shovel- 

 fol of fuel will keep alight the whole day. 



As near as I can understand there are two thousand feet 

 of pipe attached to this boiler, nearly all of which is foui-- 

 inch. Although the whole of it is not required to be heated 

 except in case of frost, still the boiler wiU heat the whole 

 and that effectively, and, as near as I can judge, at no 

 greater consumption of fuel than I have used to heat 120 feet 

 of pipe by means of a saddle boUer. By turning a valve the 

 flow of hot water is stopped, but the return is still avail- 

 able, and the pressui'e of cold water is in no way diminished. 

 This is no small matter for various reasons, but chiefly on 

 account of economy in fuel and water. 



In conclusion, I would say a word with regard to fuel. 

 While living in the neighbourhood of London, I seldom 

 ever bm-ned coals either in a boOer furnace, or in a common 

 flue : I have mostly been in the habit of bui-ning coke, and 

 very often have burned nothing but cinders. The New- 

 castle coals which are bui-ned in domestic grates turn to 

 cinders, and these when sifted make an excellent fuel for the 

 furnace. Those who bum coal in the furnace use what they 

 call inland coals, and these burn to a white ash, which is 

 unlike the ash of the sea coal. In Staffordshire people 

 burn coal in the parlour grate, and slack in the furnace. 

 This answers very well, but the soot and smoke it makes will 

 soon clog up a flue, and render constant sweeping necessary. 

 — F. Chitty. 



County of Kildajie Hoeticulturai, Exhibition. — Our 

 readers will perceive by an advertisement in another column 



that a Horticultural Exhibition in connection with the Kil- 

 dare Agricultural Society is to be held at Naas on Septem- 

 ber 1st. Numerous prizes are offered for flowers, fruits, 

 vegetables, &c., amounting to more than JEIOO. 



HEATING A SMALL PROPAGATING-HOUSE. 



I AM about to put up a small span-roofed propagating- 

 house for early use, say in the middle of January. WiU you 

 give me a Httle advice on the subject ? The house will be 

 20 feet long and 7i wide, inside measure. There will be a 

 path through the middle, and on one side will be a bed of 

 2J feet in width for plunging pots of cuttings in, and on the 

 other a stage for the cuttings when potted. Under the bed 

 I purpose having a trough made, I suppose of cement, and 

 having the pipes laid in it, so as to be covered with water. 

 How am I to make the tank watertight ? I am told that a 

 pipe passing through brickwork forming a tank will, when 

 Ueated, expand and cause a leakage. How is this to be pre- 

 vented ? What width and depth should the trough be, and 

 what size the pipes — a flow and retm-n of course i" and then 

 what size should the pipes be for toi> heat ? 



Added to this house wiU be a pit 40 feet long and about 



4 wide, to which I purpose having a continuation of piping 

 from the house. ShoiUd the piping be of the same size as 

 that in the house, the object being merely to exclude frost 

 from the beginning of March ? 



Perhaps you wUl be good enough to say what kind of 

 boiler wiU be best adapted to my purpose. Some recom- 

 mend a saddle, some a tubidar one, some one thing, and 

 some another. Have you any knowledge of Eiddell's Patent 

 Slow Combustion Boiler ? It seems to be simple in its con- 

 struction, and it is said by the patentee to have several very 

 desirable qualities, such as I'equiring little fuel and attention, 

 no expense in setting, and that it can be so easily regulated 

 as fauly to entitle it to the name given it. The patentee of 

 this boiler has, to me, a novel plan of connecting hot-water 

 pipes. At the ends of the pipes are flanges — made square. 

 These are drawn together and secured with four screws and 

 nuts. At the junction of the pipes there is a ring or collar 

 of something like gutta-percha or some such material of 

 an apparently elastic property, which renders the pipes per- 

 fectly watertight, so it is said. Perhaps you have seen the 

 plan and can speak of its mei-its or defects. A more simple 

 mode than this of putting together and removing pipes 

 cannot well be devised. If the plan is effectual it deserves 

 to be made known ; and it would be well to make it known 

 if it is not effectual, so that the public may not be deceived 

 and disappointed. — C. S. E. 



[First, as inspects the tank, the fear of expansion is next 

 to groundless. There is more danger of leakage from build- 

 ing on an insecure foundation. The tank shovUd consist of 

 brick well wetted, laid in cement, and a layer of cement all 

 over. The tank for the place should be 2 feet wide and 



5 inches deep. Were we disposed to be economical, we 

 would dispense with pipes through it, and make the tank 

 into a flow and return by a division down the middle and 

 an opening at the end. We presume you mean covering 

 with slate. We find no fault with the pipes through the 

 tank except for economy. It is certain that with the pipes 

 there you are sui-e of bottom heat, even if you have a leak- 

 age, and that is not bkely if your foundation is good, and 

 the cement good and used the instant it is made. 



For such a place we have recommended a small wooden 

 tank, or box, elevated on piers or battens, so as to give room 

 beneath for many things. The simplest plan we have met 

 with was a wooden trough 22 feet wide and 6\ inches deep, 

 divided down the middle. It had a space for water Sj inches 

 deep, and was covered above with thin house slate, and thus 

 about 3 inches were left for setting or plunging small pro- 

 pagating-pots. 



For such a tank as youi's two three-inch pipes will be 

 ample. If the brick sides of the tank are exposed, three 

 thi-ee-inch pipes wiU do for top heat; I'ut if not exposed 

 much, you ought to have three four-inch pipes for early 

 work. It is bad economy to have pipes excessively hot. If 

 the water in them is rai-ely above IGO' to 180° all the better. 

 Of course, if all your pipes ai-e close, vrith afr-pipes at the 

 highest point, the mere level, if all above the boiler, is of 



