December IS, 1863. ] JOTTKNAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



473 



house and in these mounds of sawdust, were Vines in pots, 

 mostly in what are called No. 8-pots, the Vines being trained 

 round three or four stakes ; and though many of the earliest 

 kinds had been partly cut, the Vines averaged from five 

 to eight bunches to each. We counted eight fair-sized 

 bunches on several Black Hambm-ghs ; noticed some very 

 good Buckland Sweetwater; also some fully ripe bunches 

 of the Early Malingre, a very early medium-sized White 

 Grape, well worthy of being more generally grown ; West's 

 St. Peter's, about eight good bunches ; Royal Muscadine, 

 nearly all cleared, but showing that there had been a good 

 crop ; White Frontignan, nice bunches and good berries ; 

 and Prolific Sweetwater, which seems to set fi'eely and 

 thickly. Charlesworth Tokay, Trebbiano, Muscat Troveren 

 (new to las), and Bowood Muscat, set well. Canon HaU 

 Muscat, Tokay, and White Nice were not ripe, showing 

 that they would need more heat and time. We noticed also 

 fiiie berries of Kempsey Alicante, Lady Downes', Trentham 

 Black, and BidwiU's Seedling, resembling, but seemingly 

 earlier than Black Pi-ince. We also observed near this very 

 fine specimens of Comte de Lamy Pear, also the Vicar of 

 Winkfield Peai-, and fine plants in pots of Angelina Bru-dett 

 Phrm ; but Mr. Lane exhibits fruit trees in pots so often 

 that we need not further allude to them here. 



In other houses we noticed great numbers of beautiful 

 Fig plants in pots with good Figs on them, so that there 

 could be no mistake about the sorts ; and several houses, 

 such as the large Pobnaise-heated Eose-house, were filled 

 with thousands of Vines — some treated for fruiting next 

 year, and othei-s standing as thickly as the pots would stand, 

 with wood reaching to the roof and beyond, wood and roots 

 being the chief objects aimed at for mere planting out. 



Go where you will — toBerkhampstead, to Sawbridgeworth, 

 to Cheshunt, to Messrs. Veitch, Lee, Glendinning, Osbom, 

 &c., and take a peeji through the metropolitan, the suburban, 

 and the country nui-series — and young Vines not in thou- 

 sands but millions will meet your gaze. " Where do they all 

 go to ? " is what we feel inclined to exclaim untU we see the 

 vast number of little glass houses rising by the side of even 

 small dwellings, and all wanting their few Vines, not only 

 for the pleasure of eating the fi'uit, but enjoying the many 

 legendary and poetic associations connected with it. We 

 know of nothing that tells more of the progress our country 

 is making in wealth and refinement than the sight of these 

 innumerable Vines, in connection with the fact, that in 

 many of our nurseries the sale is so immense that the pro- 

 prietors have to look sharply after buds for propagating. If 

 we live long enough we shall see the day when in the suburbs 

 of large towns and in the streets of country towns such 

 houses as will Ije tenanted by tradesmen and well-conducted 

 mechanics, will each of them have theu- little greenhouse 

 between or attached, so that in quiet meditative moments 

 their inhabitants may literally "sit under then- Vine and 

 undei- theii' Fig tree." With continued peace and the increase 

 of temperance and prudence, there is nothing to prevent the 

 hardest workers in om- mines, foundries, factories, and work- 

 shops having homes resembling little paradises. 



Passing over all the varied contents of the nurseiy with 

 merely noticing that the Rhododendrons flourish in the 

 natural loam of the grounds at the common, and that among 

 the large quarters of fine Araucarias there are two or three 

 so compact and beautiful as to be worthy of being photo- 

 graphed and engraved, we shall proceed, in answer to many 

 inquiries, to say a few words on the Polmaise and brick-stove 

 heating, and the modes of propagation adopted in some 

 houses buUt since our last visit. 



The large Polmaiso-house is heated as eifectually as it 

 used to be, and without adopting the piinciple thoroughly, 

 it; is partly carried out in most of the arrangements for 

 heating. Thus we formerly described a long house 100 feet 

 in length, built on the steep incline of the ground, as in 



rather deep pathway between them, the beds and the path 

 being on the same slope as the ground. The brick stove is 

 placed at the lower end, b, fig. 3, and a pipe is taken from it 

 for a short distance along and then out at the back wall, as 

 shown in fy. 4. Everything seems to thrive well in this 



Fig. 4. 



fig. 3, A. This house has a peculiar roof as if made of odds 

 and ends, as shown in fig. 4. c and d are two beds with a 



house, and this single brick stove keeps it warm enough for 

 what is wanted. Here there is no regular carrying out of 

 Polmaise, and yet its principle is brought happily into action. 

 The very singular construction of the roof also helps it, as it 

 divides the cun-ents of heated air as they pass along near 

 the glass to the further end, nearly 100 feet, and then the 

 air, falling down as it cools, is brought by the heat of the 

 stove along the path to be heated again and sent along its 

 former course. This circulation will to a certain extent 

 take place in any house however heated, but there can be 

 no question, that the slope of the ground, and consequent 

 slope of roof, the slope of the deep pathway, and the placing 

 of the brick stove at the lowest point, aU unite in making 

 the circulation more uniform and equal. As the stove stands 

 fi-ee of aU walls but its own, the heat from the fuel is freely 

 radiated from all sides. No other plan that we know of 

 could approach this in economy, and the consumption of 

 fuel we can well believe to be very trifling. 



Close to this house the chief novelties were some glass- 

 roofed lean-to sheds, which in addition to providing comfort 

 when working in bad weather-, would be found convenient for 

 storing many plants in winter ; and there were also several 

 beautiful beds of the most popular shrubs arranged accord- 

 ing to their foUage in lines in ribbon fashion, and also some 

 quarters of Yew grafted, 5 feet in height, with the Silver 

 and Golden varieties. 



The largest propagating-house is not more simple than 

 complete and effectual. See .fig. 5. It is 60 feet in length 

 and 20 feet in breadth, and divided lengthwise into three 

 beds by two pathways a little more than 2 feet mde. The 

 house is span-roofed and 10 feet in height to the ridge. The 

 beds are separated from each other by brick waUs, 3 feet in 

 height, at the sides of the pathways. The side betls are 4 feet 

 wide. Each of these is heated by two four-inch pipes in a 

 chamber beneath. That chamber is covered over with slate 

 resting on iron cross-bars. Sand is mostly laid on the slate' 

 for placing or plunging the propagating-pots in. These are 

 covered over by moveable short sashes, represented by the 

 upper line. The wall that separates the bed fi-om the path- 

 way has openings in it alike for heating the atmosphere 

 of the house and securing the circulation of the air. The 

 smaller openings f, at fig. 6, let in the cold au- from the 

 path, and are placed some 2 feet apart. The larger open- 

 ings, G, are furnished with slides, and are placed some 4 or 



more feet apart, so that by them the bottom heat and the 

 atmospheric heat may be regulated at wiU. The dry or 

 moist heat given to the cuttings can be regulated to a nicety 

 by the dry or moist condition of the sand. The centre bed 



