50 



JOURNAX OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 20. 1870. 



of a moist bottom heat. With a close covering of a tank, or even a dry \ 

 chamber, you can only have moist bottom heat by pouring water among 

 rubble on the top of tho covering. You seem to have doubts about the 

 water in a tank running oyer. If your tauk be water-tight, with merely 

 a division in the middle, and no pipes through it, but merely a flow pipe 

 entering from tbe boiler at one end, and the return opening at the other 

 side of the same end, then the level of the water in the tank would 

 require to be as high as the water in the highest pipe, or the water would 

 find its level; but provided, as you propose, you taku pipes of hot 

 water through the tauk, these pipes in the tank, if higher than the top 

 of the boiler, may bo lower in level than the pipes that go round under 

 yonr shelves, but at the farther end from that where the pipes enter the 

 tank you will need an air-pipe to prevent any accumulation of air, as 

 as a foot or (5 inches of air betweon the columns of water will become as 

 impassable for circulation as if you had jammed up tho pipe with fo 

 much oak or stone. In this case, like auv other vessel, the water will 

 stand at tho level yon wish. We do not know the mode in which you 

 intend to heat these separate houses from one boiler, but as you have a 

 walk round the pit in each vinery, it will be best if your flow and return 

 pipe for each tank pass to the tank underneath the pathway. As 

 stated above, we do not know your plan of heating ; but as the boiler is 

 at one end house of the three, the simplest plan wou'd be to take a flow 

 and return pipe to the farthest house under the ground surface level, and 

 from these main flow and returns you cau take pipes for your tank and 

 for atmospheric heat at tho level that is most desirable in either case. 

 To heat such a tank, whatever it be, you must have two holes, one for a 

 flow and tho other for a return; but these two holes may be 2 inches 

 instead of 4, and joined to 4-inch pipes inside. As your pit is 5£ feet 

 wide, a good size would be 4| feet wide and 6 inches deep, though "from 

 3 to 3h feet would give off much heat. Three 4-iuch pipes would be 

 ample— two flows and one return. You will want a little door opening into 

 the tank, so as to let you know how the water stands in it, so as to cover 

 the pipes. Whatever the tank is made of, the openings for the pipes can 

 be easily secured in the usual way by packing and red lead. When it 

 is desirable to have vapour from the tauk, pipes with plugs may rise 

 through the plunging material, or, what is better, slides may be fixed in 

 the sides of the pit below the covering of the tank, from which the 

 vapour mav be admitted into the atmosphere of the house, cr excluded at 

 pleasure. This will be most easily done if the top of the tank is perforated 

 by having a small chamber over it, or it would be done more easily still 

 by having the tank, say 1(J inches deep, and the water onlv 5 inches deep, 

 and a 3-inch slide above the water level. This will be most easily done 

 when the tank is nearly as wide as the pit. As formerly hinted, keeping 

 in view what is stated as respects levels, it matters not" what is the level 

 of the tank; it maybe on the ground level as respects its base, if of 

 bricks and cement, or raised a little if a trough of iron. With a top 

 perforated or solid, it will be advisable to have a layer of 6 inches of 

 rubble and clean gravel, then earth or pluuging material, and this will 

 leave room enough for earth and pots to be inside the pit. The mere 

 height must be regulated by the plants to be grown. Of course, if a 

 3 or fy-teel tank stands iu a Sj-feet-wiae pit, it should be in the middle. 

 As to the wires for the Vines, one wire should go across the roof for each 

 Vino, and it would be very handy to have one, if Binaller, at each side of 

 it, say 9 to 12 inches from it, to fasten the bearing shoots to as they 

 grow. Thus, three wires for each Vine would be better than one. We 

 prefer trellised paths for inside borders instead of tile flooring, but 

 they will do well enough, and look neat. With the exception of tbe 

 tiled pathway, have all earth between it and the piers. Unless very par- 

 ticular, jou will need no finish for the tiles. Merely lay them on sand or 

 mortar on the firm soil, and sufficiently high to stand the thickness of 

 the tile above the soil. If that did not do, yon could have an edging 

 tile, &c, to run along to form an edging. We' would decidedly make the 

 border np to the pit. From fresh-made ground the tiles may be a littla 

 uneven at first, but they are easily taken up aud levelled if laid on a 

 little sand. 



Oleanders Pruning (Centurion).— The best time to prune Oleanders 

 is in March if they requiro much cutting-back, encouraging them iu about 

 three weeks after pruning with a brick heat and moist atmosphere, water- 

 ing but moderately until the plants have begun to push afresh. If the 

 plants require but little pruning it may he deferred until the iloweriu" is 

 over. To reduce the bleeding keep them rather dry at the root, and use 

 the patent "knotting" as employed by painters. It is the beBt known 

 means of stappmg bleeding. It must be used immediately afterpruning, 

 rubbing the wounds dry. 



Cherries for a South Wall (Idem)^ Warder's Early Black and Early 

 Black Bigarreau would be suitable, double-LT«f ted. as theyou-bt tobe for 

 a low wall. Blue Perdrigon Plum would also succeed," but we should 

 prefer Coe's Golden Drop or Jefferson. 



Lettuces (J/. B.).— In an early number we shall publish an article on 

 those for both summer and winter use. 



Cineramas (Cfm-rariaJ.-The Cinerarias of the present day are far 

 Bupenor to those that were grown fifteen or twenty years ago. As a rule 

 named sorts are more dwarf than seedling plants"; they neither grow so 

 tall, nor can be had so well branched. But suckers of named sorts make 

 yery good plants, and for the continuation of those kinds which from 

 their good form and colour it is desirable to perpetuate are the only safe 

 mode of propagation. For general dec-naive purposes ue prefer seedlim- 

 plants, always prowling teed of a good strain has heeu secured. Seed" 

 lings are bout for early flowering, but both answer well. The small white 

 insects we are unable to accouut for; probably they are feeding on the 

 decaying vegetable matter, or are a result of employing manure or leaf 

 soil only partially decomposed. ^a UUi0 



u^SSFSa*? LE 1 D t *° ^ EEDS ( H - B ->--Theway in which we apply 

 S?h S ■ » f P0W ? e i * t0 Pei1 ?' and 0ther eeeila ' is to dam P tbe seeds 

 Sfi^iiE *i r Shght i ^ riDk ' 1DS of water ' then I' 1 ""* * ^w pinches 



SlS?-it °J, er f ! th ? m ' T- 1 , tllr11 the 90e * s backwards and forwards with a 

 flat stick until their outsides are coloured. When a very little water is 

 used, very little of the red powder will colour the needs. 

 Heating an Orchard House (An Amateur).— Of course, when you 



1 orchard house, you take away its distinctive 



and make it a hothouse. There is no 

 the soil, furthi 



with a heat of 45 \ raising it gradually in ten days to 50 , and in a fort- 

 night more to 66°, and not raising the temperature higher until the 

 plants are in bloom ; then for a short time from 66° to 60°, with a rise 

 from sunshine. When the night temperaturo will stand at from 55 : to 

 60°i you will need no more fire heat. 



Potting Peach, Cherry Trees, Ac. (T. J. M.) —If yon want fruit this 

 summer, then we would say. Do not repot. Make the hole in the bottom 

 of the pot a little larger, and then set it in a larger pot with some soil in 

 the bottom of it. As the pots are now so full of roots, have some zinc or 

 tin rims made— say 2 inches deep, or take some turf, cutting the mere 

 grass as thin as possible, and then taking up what is beneath l.J inch 

 deep. Cut this turf without grass into pieces 2J inches wide, make a rim 

 with that above the rim of the pot, and top dress inside with rich com- 

 post. In lieu of a larger pot to set your pots inside as above, these will 

 not bo wanted, if you can set your pots 2 or 3 inches in the ground. If 

 you pot now there is a great risk of the bloom not setting, or the young 

 fruit dropping. If any of your trees should throw their fruit after letting 

 them alone, as advised above, then you can repot with safety. Those 

 which bear you may repot after gathering the fruit, giving them as much 

 of the autumn as possible to fill the pots with roois. The trees that are 

 not pruned would require pruning buck pretty freely, according to the 

 strength of the shoots, hut taking care to reserve a sufficiency of flower- 

 buds. Try, too, and make sure of a wood-bud to cut back to. In planting 

 your young Vines, we would leave as much wood as would take them up 

 to the wire of the rafter, and leave a couple of buds there ; all the other 

 buds on the shoot downwards had better be rubbed off after planting. 

 In general, of the two buds left, it will be best to retain only the one 

 bud that comes away strongest, or both may be left, and the weaker 

 shoot stopped when It is 18 inches long, the main one being encouraged 

 to grow. 



Central Plant {Carlo).— We have no doubt that Centaurea baby- 

 lonica would suit your purpose. We would recommend as easy to raise 

 and very effective, Zea japonic i variegata for the centre, or if something 

 more tall and majestic were wanted, Zea Caragua, a giant Haize. The 

 first named is very prettv, but in exposed places it is easily discoloured. 

 Then for tho four corner's, but a little farther iu than you show, we would 

 have two plants of Kiciuus Obermanii, and two of Ricinus borbonensis. 

 These are Castor Oil Plants with tine massive foliage, and free growth. 

 If you wished each plant separate, then we would say. Ricinus Obermanii, 

 borbonensis, macrocarpus. aud sanguineus. Such Cannas as discolor, 

 zebrina, Warscewiczii. Krelagei discolor, &c, but these are not so easy to 

 have strong by the middle of May, as the above. The Hemp plant. 

 Cannabis gigantea. would make a good centre. Besides the above, the 

 following would suit— Aralia papyrifera, Chenopodium atriplicis, Melian- 

 thes major, Wigandia caracassana, &c, but the Ricinus will be the most 

 easily brought to a good size. Sow in a hotbed. 



Pitching Tubs (C. IT.).— The insides of the tubs must not be pitched 

 or painted, but left as they are. Tho only good it would do would be pre- 

 venting the wood decaying, but that apparent benefit wou'd be entirely 

 counterbalanced by the injury done the roots by the pitch or paint. Slate 

 tubs are better than wooden'ones, and not only more durable, but there 

 is no fungus, as there sometimes is owing to the decay of the wood of the 

 tubs. We have known wooden tubs lined with slates cut to suit, hut we 

 do not perceive their utility. 



Mushroom Beds (Fungus).— The bed made up about two months ago 

 ought to have produced* by this time, but as you say it was spawned at 

 60°, probably the spawn has not spread ; and that you have no Mushrooms 

 is not surprising as the beds are situated in a cold shed. To have Mush- 

 rooms in winter a temperature of 55 : is necessary. Examine the bed, and 

 if the spawn haB spread you may yet have a good supply of Mnshrooma 

 irom the bed first made up. If the bed be dry a gentle sprinkling with 

 water at 75° would, no doubt, bring them forward. We have known beds 

 late iu bearing ultimately afford excellent crops. It is premature to pro- 

 nounce for or against a bed made five weeks, but you may ascertain 

 whether the spawn has spread or not. Keep the bed well covered with 

 dry hay so as to exclude frost and cold. The plants enclosed are, we 

 think— 1, Goniophlebium stibaurieu'atum, a good basket Fern ; 2, Maiden- 

 hair Fern ; 3, Cyauotis vittata or Tradescantia zebrina. 



Stones for Fernery (Pteris tremula).— The masses used for the 

 fernery in Hyde Park are the melted scorise from some iron-smelting 

 works. We recommend you to inquire at an iron foundry or glass-smelt- 

 ing works. 



Berries of Solanum capsicasteum.— " T. L. C." wishes to be in- 

 formed whether the berries of the Solanum capsicastrum are poisonous ; 

 he has been told by a nurseryman that they are so, and as he has a young 

 family who would have free access to the plants, he wonld be glad to 

 have, no doubt, upon tho subject. Being red wo believe that they are not 

 poisonous, but we shall be obliged by reliable information. 



Names of Fruits (E. C. S.).—\ and 2, Easter Bearre: 3 and 6, No 

 Pins Meuris; 4. Winter Greening; 7, Beurrede Ranee. [A Working Man). 

 —The Pear is Winter Nelifl, and the Apple Beauty of Kent. 



Names of Plants (G. W. B.).— Ruscus aculeatus. It would probably 

 succeed in your Camden Road garden. (A Sub<crih,r).—Yonr " Palm- 

 like plant" is Cyperns alternifolius variegatus. (T. Walker).— We cannot 

 name plants from leaves only. 



bring hot water to 



character of a cool orchard h 



Objection to your plunging your pot: 



i.ujecuuu rov^r plunging your pots in the soil, further thin that you 

 must be careful not to over-water. On this account alone half olunmnff 

 frequently answers better. You may givatbe extra heat to tl .? !^ 1 

 of your house, ?.s soon as you like-say the 1st of February. Commence 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



TRIMMING AND MAK1NG-UP. 



Is there to be no remedy for these practices? Exposure 

 seems to be of no avail. On the occasion of the holding of the 

 Birmingham Show, in 18G8, I attended a meeting of exhibitors 

 on this very subject, whereat a series of resolutions were 

 passed, and a very strong determination evinced ;o put down 

 this gross proceeding. Surely those exhibitors who signed 

 the resolutions will not be behindhand in again raiting their 

 voices, so that some step may be taken to mark their sense of 

 the proceedings of the exhibitor of Pen 201 at the Whitehaven 



