January 6, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



nearest to them, and if there were not a free drainage for the 

 moisture all the ice would soon be melted, as nothing does this 

 so effectually and quickly as the vapour of water. Now with a 

 body of G inches of confined air between the two walls I do not 

 believe that the ice would melt away so much at the sides, 

 and therefore, if I had an inner wall as well a3 an outer one, 

 I should not like to remove the inner one. 



With this drawback, however, our ice house does its work 

 so well, that, if making a new one, were I much tied by econo- 

 mical reasons, I have a little doubt, if I had the house large 

 enough, whether I would insist on the inner wall; though, if 

 the extra bricks and labour were no object, I should certainly 

 have the double wall with the space between for enclosed air. 

 This is a subject well worthy the attention of correspondents 

 who may have had experience in this direction. 



I think that some time ago I stated that I had long ceased 

 to use salt for making the ice more compact and cold, though I 

 am unable to give, even to myself, very satisfactory reasons 

 for thus acting. Here, too, for your scientific readers is a fine 

 opportunity for telling us why salted ice keeps worse than un- 

 salted ice. In other words, how is it that ice close at 32° keeps 

 better than ice much colder ? This, of course, would open a 

 still wider question, Does unsalted ice keep better ? And I 

 have no more definite answer to give than that I believe the 

 fresh ice keeps better. 



I gave up everything like straw-packing at the sides, and 

 straw-covering on the surface, from finding that nothing melted 

 ice sooner than a damp, close atmosphere. There is just one 

 ease in which I would use dry straw for a surfacing — that is, 

 when the ice well is used for keeping things in it ; and again, 

 when on opening the house a vapour or mist issues from it, 

 that vapour being one of the best of all melters. In such a 

 case I would have small openings to let the vapour escape, 

 and would cover the surface of the ice with dry straw fre- 

 quently renewed. Besides these general matters in all small 

 houses, the good keeping of the ice will greatly depend on the 

 compactness of the mass, and therefore the more broken and 

 pounded the better, as the more air enclosed with the ice the 

 sooner it will melt. As I have been little troubled with vapour 

 in the ice well, I rarely use straw now for covering the surface. 

 A few years ago I put a layer of earth all over the outside 

 mound to the depth of nearly 1 foot, and the ice has kept better 

 since. If I could do it, I would cover all the mound with a 

 coating of tar, afterwards with gravel rolled or beaten into it, 

 and then rabbits and rats would not be able to burrow in it. 

 As it is, I have no doubt that rabbits make their runs as far as 

 the wall and round it, and therefore allow the heated air of 

 summer to penetrate to within a short distance of the ice, 

 and this would soon be ruinous in a small house. — R. F. 



THE PELARGONIUM AS A WALL PLANT. 



Without entering into the merits of particular varieties of 

 the Pelargonium for covering the back walls of plant houses, 

 the remarks of llr. Record (see page 379 of last volume) recall 

 to my memory circumstances which occurred many years ago. 



Well, then, I may say my earliest recollections of the Pelar- 

 gonium, then called Geranium, as a plant covering the back 

 and end wall of a greenhouse of some pretensions in its day, 

 date back to the time when the passing', of the first reform bill 

 was attracting much attention. I think it was in Jlay, 1831, 

 that a large plant of a Scarlet Pelargonium, called, if my 

 memory be right, the Brighton Hero, some improvement on 

 Waterloo, an older variety, had been allowed to ramble and 

 grow so as almost to force its way through the glass roof, as 

 well as to intrude on other plants. It was, therefore, deter- 

 mined to cut this plant in, and a large basketful of shoots or 

 cuttings, a foot long or more, was taken off, and it was deter- 

 mined to see if I!- •;•• would grow out of doors and do any good. 

 Striking cuttings i it of doors, I may observe, had been prac- 

 tised before that time, but in this case it was thought they 

 might, perhaps, b come plants and flower the same season ; 

 and these expectations were fulfilled, for the season being warm 

 they did grow and '.lower — not so early, of course, as Pelargo- 

 niums, each with a root, but they did flower in a way that 

 showed that with a little extra start in spring a very good result 

 might be obtained, for they fully occupied the bed they were in 

 by the middle ct September. I believe they were planted 

 amongst a number of standards, at that time regarded some- 

 what as novelties. 



But to return to the Pelargonium as a wall plant. Generally 

 it looks badly every year about February, but gradually comes 



round again, and its robust character entitles it to more atten- 

 tion as a wall plant than it often receives. It is difficult to 

 enter into the merits ef particular kinds, as so many contin- 

 gencies may operate to give an undue advantage, or the reverse, 

 to some particular plant. I was much impressed with the im- 

 portance of not too hastily passing judgment on the merits of 

 particular plants from a case that came under my own observa- 

 tion the past summer. Having occasion to plant a number of 

 Pelargoniums in four separate lots, but in proximity to each 

 other, I chose two of the best known and most popular of the 

 Nosegay class, and two of other kinds, planting them all at the 

 same time, and in positions in every way alike, the number of 

 each variety not being less than five hundred plants. Nearly 

 all succeeded well, but there were periods during the summer in 

 which anyone asked to choose the best would have selected 

 three out of the four in succession, and at one time the fourth 

 was equal to one which might have been selected. Now, from 

 this it is evident that the brilliant service at a particular time 

 in variety which we may call No. 1, was equalled by that of 

 No. 2 at another time, while No. 3 followed in due course, so 

 that the conclusion the fact directs us to, is not to be too hasty, 

 either in our commendations or the contrary, but to take long 

 services as our criterion of merit, and on this principle no one 

 visiting a garden only once during a season is capable of giving 

 an opinion. — J. Robson. 



HORTICULTURE IN VICTORIA. 



We have received the annual report of the Horticultural So- 

 ciety of Victoria, from which it appears that gardening, and 

 especially fruit culture, are prosecuted in that far distant 

 colony with a vigour which we in this country have little 

 knowledge of. From the report before us we learn that the 

 Society, like our own at home, though doing a great and useful 

 work, has its difficulties to contend with. While doing its best 

 to enrich the commercial resources of the colony, and con- 

 tributing to the improvement of the tastes and pleasures of the 

 community, it has not that support given to it to enable the 

 President and Committee to carry out all they desire to do. 

 The following extract reads very like home experiences. After 

 expressing a great desire to hold monthly meetings, so that 

 the horticultural objects of different seasons might be ex- 

 hibited, the report proceeds — 



"The Society at present has not been able to attain this de- 

 sirable end for the colony, as the exhibitions are at all times a 

 heavy drain on its funds ; the amount paid in prizes seldom 

 being covered by the receipts. Besides, the shows are held at 

 great cost, and involve the Committee in much personal labour 

 and anxiety ; and to increase their number would be to require 

 paid superintendence, the duties having hitherto always been 

 honorarily performed." 



It will convey a pretty good idea of the importance attached 

 to horticultural subjects by the Society, when we note the 

 extent of its collection of fruit trees, which the report states is 

 scarcely excelled out of Europe. It embraces — 



389 Apples, of which 160 have been proved. 



261 Pears „ 33 „ 



33 Peaches , 18 



8 Nectarines 4 „ 



80 Cherries „ 39 , 



84 Plums „ 43 „ 



38 Apricots , 28 „ 



136 Grapes „ 84 



34 Oranges (and others of the Citrus family). 



32 Figs, of which 6 have been proved. 



32 Strawberries, of which . . 26 „ 



and collections of other less important fruits. 



The following extract is one conveying information of the 

 greatest importance equally to us at home as to the colonists, 

 and it furnishes such an example of the wonderful vitality of 

 vegetable life, as may be put to good account: — 



"Last year the Committee reported the reception of a case 

 of fruit-tree cuttings from the Royal Horticultural Society's 

 Gardens at Chiswick. These cuttings were grafted last season, 

 and the Committee now report that notwithstanding the severe 

 drought of last summer, a large number of th6 varieties have 

 succeeded, and of these, scions are this year (1869) available for 

 further stock. The success of this experiment induced the 

 Committee to request a further consignment. The cuttings 

 here alluded to were taken from the trees growing in the 

 Chiswick Gardens in the pruning season of 1867 (October) ; 

 they were shipped by the 'Anglesey,' in December, and arrived 



