il44 



JOURNAL or HORTIGULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAItDENEK. 



[ August 35, lass. 



less conseq^uence. These levels, however, must be kejjt in 

 view, if you mean to heat the 40-feet pit from this house. 

 Your simplest phm would be to place the border, if practi- 

 cable, between the two places, and take heat as required for 

 either place hy valves, or take the fiow-pipe into a cistern 

 higher than any of the pipes to be heated, and fi-om thence 

 take a flow for toj), another for tank in the propagating- 

 house, and one for the pit, to bo regulated by plugs as 

 dlesirabie. If your pit were 6 feet wide, two tlu-ee-inch pipes 

 would do all you require, and you cannot well have less for 

 a four-feet pit — ^that is, 80 or 90 feet in all. 



Any of the simplest boilers will do all you want. We 

 believe EiddeU's to be very good, but we take all high re- 

 commendations with a little reserve. We have worked in 

 our time most of the kinds of boilei-s advertised in these 

 columns, and we find them all good if well set and well 

 managed. If we have a prejudice, it is for tubular or conical 

 boilers ; but we do not forget, that in the largest estabUsh- 

 ments and imder the greatest gardeners, there is a general 

 tendency to a return to some modification of the old saddle- 

 ■back. We decline, therefore, authoritatively to say what 

 "boiler is best, and much prefer that om- readers would exercise 

 then- own judgment. 



We have not seen the flange spoken of in use, but we 

 have no doubt it -btU answer. We have repeatedly detailed 

 how Mr. Lane and other proprietors of large establishments 

 use Portland cement for fonuing the joints, which so far as 

 first cost and iiltimate economy is concerned we consider far 

 preferable to ii-on filings and sal-ammoniac. Where large 

 fires are used we would prefer the joints close to the boiler 

 to be iron.— E. F.] 



HINTS TO AMATEUES ON THE USE OF 

 SOOT AS A LIQUID MANUEE, 



While the materials for liquid manures are often diffi- 

 cult to procure by the amateur gardener, and ti-equently 

 tedious ill their proparation, injurious in their application, 

 or oft'eusive in theh' smeU, soot sufiicient for the pm-pose is 

 almost everywhere at hand, and in a few hours can be pre- 

 pared for use ; and if amateur gardeners were more geuera,lly 

 aware that no manures can be taken up in a state of solidity 

 by plants as food, and that they can only absorb them in a 

 gaseous or liquid state, and to which state all solid mamu-es 

 a.pplied to plants must be previously reduced before any 

 benefit can be derived fi-om them by the plant, they would 

 in many cases facilitate the process by using them' in a 

 .liquid state. Sir Humphry Davy characterises soot as a 

 powerful manure, possessing ammoniacal salt, empyi-eu- 

 matic oil, and charcoal, which is capable of being rendered 

 soluble by the action of oxygen: consequently, when soot 

 is dissolved in water there is no waste, while if sown by 

 hand in a dry state, a great portion of its ammonia, which 

 is one of its active ingredients, is volatilised, and is tlissi- 

 pated in the atmosphere. Soot when used as liquid manm'e 

 gives vigour to the plant without grossness, and impai-ts a 

 healthy gi'eeu to the foliage without the least chance of 

 injury to the plant. In fact, watering a sickly plant with a 

 weak solution of soot water is the surest and safest means 

 of restoring it to health. 



In preparing soot water it is only necessary to tlu-ow a 

 few handfuls of ft-esh soot into a pail of water, and aiter 

 stin-ing it up to leave the mixture for a few houi-s to settle. 

 and when the liquid has become clear, it is fit for use, and 

 can be given once a-week in summer without the least risk 

 of injm-y to the ijlants, whether in pots or in the open 

 ground. — Geop-ge Otokdon, A.L.S. 



Gladiolus Disease. — I see in your Jom-nal of tlie 11th 

 inst. you mention the disease in collections of GlatUoli near 

 London. I find the same in many of mine here (Aberdeen), 

 and have been puzzled what to apply as a ciu-e. The flower 

 does not seem in the least afi'ccted by it ; but the leaves of 

 several are entirely gone, while others are perfectly fresh 

 and ga-een. — A Eeadeb. 



described by one of your recent coiTespondents. It is very 

 curious that some roots of a patch planted at the i)roper 

 time have never vegetated. They remain in the ground 

 apparently fresh and fiwn, but without any further signs ol 

 life. When Tulips or Hyacinths thus fail to gi-ow they 

 speedily die and become rotten. Has the fii-mer tissue of 

 the Gladiolus bulb greater power to resist decay ? or will 

 these donnant roots awake into life next spriag ? Should 

 they be taken up or left in the ground to take their chance ? 

 — B. J. S. 



■ The disease which so much resembles the Potato disease 

 is universal among the Gladiolus tribe. It was correctly 



CLEE.EENWELL FLOWEE SHOW. 



This annual Show of plants and flowers belonging' to 

 the working chisses and children of ClerkenweU was held 

 on the 19th and 20tli inst. in the schoolroom of the Lamb 

 and Flag Eagged School, ClerkenweU Gi-reen, and was in 

 eveiy respect a most interesting and successful Bxliibi- 

 tion. It differs somewhat from the other exhibitions of 

 the sort which have been held in London, inasmuch as its 

 pi-incipal aim seems to be to encourage the cidtivation of 

 plants by cliOdren. Most liberal prizes are, however, offered 

 for competition among adults, and pai'ticidarly among work- 

 ing men ; but the fact of the prizes in the latter class being 

 offered for coDections of six plants necessitates the number 

 of exhibitors being very small indeed. We must, however, 

 remark that the six Fuchsias which won the first prize in 

 this class were exceedingly fine plants, and hatl evidently 

 been gi'own by a man to whom the cultivation of plants was 

 no novelty, and the same might be said of the winner of the 

 second prize. The children's plants, however, formed the 

 greater part of the Show, and were to us much the most 

 interesting part of it. We veiy much doubt if it could be 

 possible for better plants to be exhibited by children living 

 in such a neighbourhood. What struck us most was the 

 remarkable cleanliness of every single specimen exhibited. 

 We did not see one dusty or du'ty leaf in the whole collec- 

 tion, which clearly shows that some one has impressed upon 

 the youthful exhibitors the gi-eat necessity of wasliing their 

 plants in order to keep them in good health. 



Among the other plants exhibited were Apple, Plum, and 

 Orange trees. Ferns, and one or two very nice plants of 

 Coleus Verschaff'elti. Prizes were also offered for cut flowers 

 grown by the exhibitors ; but, as might be expected, there 

 was no very keen competition in this class. The first prize 

 was won by a very tastily-aiTanged i^an fiiU of Fuchsia and 

 Ageratum blossoms edged mth ViU'iegated Mint. Several 

 kind patrons had sent bouquets of flowers, wliich were on 

 sale for the benefit of the schools, and Mr. Cutbush, of 

 Highgate, had sent some which were most beautiful and 

 most tempting. In the evening of the second day Mr. 

 Bodkin, who is another inhabitant of Highgate, attended 

 and gave away the prizes. When we mention that these 

 latter were awai-ded by Mr. Broome, Mr. Dale, and Mr. 

 Gordon, eveiy one will be satisfied that there was no cause 

 for grambling. 



And now we will take the opportunity of making one or 

 two suggestions, which we are sure ^vill be taken in good 

 part by the promoters of the ClerkenweU Flower Show, who 

 evidently take such veiy great pains to seciu'e success. 



In the first place we would suggest that the plants which 

 win prizes should be more prominently noticed. We found 

 it quite impossible in most instances to ascertain which 

 were the i>rize plants, as the card which ought to have been 

 placed conspicuously in front of the pot was olten lying in 

 the jiot on its face. We think these p-ize-cai-ds should be 

 rather ornamental than otherwise, as they are much trea- 

 sured by the successful exhibitoi-s. 



Looking at the number of plants exhibited, we think it 

 would be beneficial to foi-m the different sorts of plants into 

 different classes, and not to let plants which are so very 

 dissimilar ixs the LobeUa and Fuchsia compete with one 

 another. 



We oamiot help thinking that the good effects of the Flower 

 Show would be much more widely extended if more prizes 

 were offered for single specimens, and fewer for coUections. 

 We iind fr-om experience that the poor do not keep " col- 

 lections " of plants, and we must begin liy adapting our 

 classes to the exhibitors. 



In other respects we think it would have been impossible 



