JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January C, 1M0. 



recommendable to try the effect of root-pruning ; shortening 

 the large roots but by no means the top, unless the roots have 

 been very severely dealt with, which should not be. The object 

 of root-pruning is to reduce the means of supply, which it is 

 assumed is greater than the plant requires. If both roots and 

 top are reduced at the same time the balance is not disturbed, 

 and the action is still the same. Wood of moderate growth is 

 generally the most fruitful, and that ought to be the aim of tho 

 cultivator. Gross shoots should not be allowed to grow, but be 

 pinched and checked in their young state ; but if gross it is the 

 worst practice possible to cut them out or cut them hard hack, 

 the common practice — as by these means they only grow stronger 

 and stronger, with less and less chance of fruit every year. It 

 is better, indeed, to leave trees to Nature's way than to prune 

 as our correspondent has done. Trees on walls, however, 

 having a formal, a confined existence, must be pruned to keep 

 them within certain limits, and this had better be effected by 

 skilful pinching of the growing shoots in summer and moderate 

 root-pruning in winter. — Eos.] 



NEW DOUBLE ZONAL PELARGONIUM. 

 VICTOIRE DE LYON. 



I am indebted to II. Jean Sisley, of Lyons, for a copy of the 

 French gardening periodical, " L'Horticulteur Francais," for 

 November, and extract from it the following Dotice of a new 

 double Zonal Peiargonium from the pen of M. Henri Beurier. 



" At the last horticultural exhibition at Lyons, the numerous 

 groups of Pelargoniums with double flowers were remarkable, as 

 usual, from the freshness of their blooms. But one above al! 

 attracted particularly the attention of amateurs, who could 

 hardly determine whether it was really a Pelargonium that was 

 before them. This Pelargonium possesses a colour so different 

 from that of the varieties obtained up to this time, that I dare 

 affirm, without fear of contradiction, it is not to be found even 

 amongst the single-flowered varieties. The Jury, appreciating 

 so great a result, did not hesitate one moment, and a medal of 

 the first class was the proper reward for the assiduous researches 

 and the perseverance of the fortunate raiser, II. Jean Sisley, 

 an amateur as earnest as successful. 



"The double Zonal Pelargonium Victoire de Lyon has a 

 grand appearance. The foliage is of a beautiful green, a little 

 shaded, and very faintly zoned. The flowers are of medium 

 size, very double, and, the most important point of all, of a 

 beautiful colour — pure and lively crimson. As everyone knows, 

 since the first appearance of the really double Pelargoniums, 

 the production of M. Victor Lemoine, of Nancy, in 1865, the 

 colours of these charming flowers have little varied ; it is always 

 a lively red or rose. The varieties obtained since have shown 

 a difference of colour scarcely to be recognised, especially by 

 amateurs. Therefore the obtaining of a Pelargonium of a 

 colour so different from the older varieties, and at the same 

 time of a very rich colour, could not but be heartily appreciated 

 by all those interested in horticulture, whoever they might be. 

 This colour, so entirely new, permits us to hope that horticul- 

 turists and amateurs, stimulated by this success, will search 

 more ardently and find still fresh shades of colour. And who 

 knows but that the white itself — the white as impossible to 

 get amongst the double-flowered Pelargoniums as the blue 

 Dahlia — the white, I say, may soon make its appearance? 

 M. Jean Sisley has transferred this Pelargonium and two others 

 of the same colour, but somewhat lighter, to 31. Ale'gatiere, in 

 whose collection they were exhibited at the last horticultural 

 exhibition in September. He hopes to send them out in the 

 ensuing 'pring, and I am sure they will be extremely sought 

 after." And so says — D.,.Deal. 



OBTAINING MOIST HEAT. 



A lettee from Mr. RobEon, which lately appeared in your 

 Journal, and some further remarks of your own, on the subject 

 of heating greenhouses by flues of earthen pipes, induce me 

 to bring under your notice a plan which I have recently 

 adopted for generating moist heat, and by which, I think, this 

 object can be attained much more economically than by the 

 usual method of hot-water pipes and tanks. 



Into a span-roofed orchard-house vinery, 30 feet by 17, I 

 have introduced a flue of common 6-inch draining-pipes. This 

 flue passes from an outside furnace, along the centre of the 

 house, to a point 4 feet distant from the entrance-door at the 

 opposite end. At this point it is received into a box con- 



structed of brick-on-edge. 1 foot square by 2 feet in height, 

 covered by a flooring-tile laid in Portland cement. From this 

 box a second line of pipes is returned above the first line and 

 passes into a chimney-flue over the furnace. The pipes rest 

 upon 4»-inch brick partitions, 18 inches in length and 2 feet 

 apart. The joints are made air-tight by common mortar 

 staffed under the collars. The lower tier of pipes for a distance 

 of 10 feet nearest the furnace I have covered with coarse 

 woollen cloth. This cloth is wetted by the common garden- 

 pot, and by this means, with a moderate fire in the furnace, 

 any reasonable amount of moist air may be obtained. When 

 a sufficient quantity of moisture is diffused over the house the 

 woollen cloth is allowed to dry, and the evaporation is stopped. 

 Means are provided for cleaning the pipes by an opening easily 

 made in the face of the return-box, and by a corresponding 

 opening to the outside from the chimney-flue, directly opposite 

 the upper tier of pipes. 



Now, it will occur to many of your readers, as it did to 

 myself, that these pipes are too weak to resist the amount of 

 heat which may occasionally be produced by a strong draught 

 in the furnace. To meet any evil cons-equences which might 

 arise from this cause, I provided fire-brick to construct a 

 square flue for a space of 4 or 6 feet from the furnace ; and I 

 have also provided a 6-inch iron pipe of similar length, with a 

 damper inserted in it, that this remedy may be applied if 

 thought preferable to the other plan. Eut as the draught in my 

 flue is steady and moderate, the earthen pipes have not hitherto 

 failed, and I am satisfied that with common discretion on the 

 part of the stoker they will stand any degree of heat which 

 can be required to protect plants from frost. If a higher tem- 

 perature is required for purposes of forcing, it would obviously 

 be expedient to employ stronger pipes constructed of the 

 material recommended by Mr. Robson. — S. 31. 



[We must approve of all that you say, as we have so fre- 

 quently urged the importauce in all such pipe flues, first of 

 having a flue of brick of 3 or 4 feet from the furnace ; and, 

 secondly, having a square brick box at all corners, so that the 

 flue can be easily cleaned without disturbing the pipes. Even 

 in brick flues it would be of great advantage to have places to 

 open without breaking in on the flues. For merely keeping 

 out frost your pipes will do very well. With only one pipe 

 passing through the house it would require to be larger. As 

 you use two pipes, a flow and return, we wish to direct the 

 attention of our readers to your having the hottest pipe lowest. 

 Your covering the lower pipe for the distance you slate with 

 coarse woollen cloth is better for securing vapour than the 

 moss, as referred to by a correspondent lately ; but in such a 

 house as yours, unless the weather be very dry and cold, you 

 will not have to trouble much about atmospheric moisture. — 

 Eds.] 



COLLECTING AND STORING ICE. 



To be without ice is, in most country families, something as 

 bad as to be without Parsley or Onions. On the pond neareBt 

 to our ice house the ice during the recent frost was but thin, 

 before the snow covered it all over fully 2 inches deep, and that 

 I well knew would greatly retard the thickening of the ice 

 rapidly. That object, however, was gained. Ice nearly 2 inches 

 thick was soon secured by getting rid of the snow by making 

 holes, and with a long-handed jet sailing the snow with water, 

 so that the frost could act without having to penetrate the pro- 

 tecting snow. Our ice house is of a good size, one of the old- 

 fashioned egg-shaped wells, and I am not so particular as I 

 would be were the house smaller, or if an ice heap were made 

 out of doors. For many years, though the wall is only single 

 instead of double, I have used nothing along with the ice in 

 the shape of straw, salting, kc. It is merely rammed tolerably 

 close together, and in this respect I would be moro particular 

 if the place were smaller. 



I understand that originally there was a double wall, with 

 an open space between, but the inner wall had been removed 

 before my time, for what reason I never could learn. I would 

 have been sorry to meddle with it, as closely-confined air is one 

 of the best of non-conductors. Though the house has several 

 times on an emergency held out for the greater part of two 

 years, yet in the first summer, by midsummer, and especially 

 by September, there will be a vacant space between the ice and 

 the wall, particularly on the more sunny side of the house, and 

 that vacancy will increase as long as the ice remains. This is, 

 no doubt, entirely owing to the warmth of the surrounding 

 ground heating the walls, and they in their turn melt the ice 



