126 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 17, 1870. 



have been treated in the following way : — Mr. Robinson, who 

 haa been in possession of the place for about fifty years, acci- 

 dentally discovered the ornamental effect produced by Spruces 

 being topped. He therefore adopted the plan of cutting them 

 off at about half their height when 10 or 12 feet high. Mr. 

 Pearson saw them there in every stage of recovery, until after 

 a few years the point of seotion was no longer visible. 



It is probable that of yonr readers some will not believe this 

 account, others will accept it in a modified form, but none will 

 proceed to treat all their ornamental Spruces in the way sug- 

 gested. I am anxious, however, to know whether any of your 

 readers can confirm it by personal experience. — C. W. D. 



HOT-WATER BOILERS. 



I for one am exceedingly obliged to Mr. Peach for his papers 

 on this subject. There are many things one takes for granted, 

 and never thinks about, much less do we think of calling in 

 question the generally-received opinions npon ihsm. That 

 water could not with any effect be heated from above, seemed 

 to me so self-evident, that I must say I felt quite startled 

 when I heard Mr. Peach's opinion on the subject. When he 

 paid me a visit he was so short a time with me thit he did 

 not enter into reasons, and did little more than say very 

 decidedly that the general opinion was quite erroneous. Now, 

 though I felt he might as a clergyman be in a position Jo 

 speak ex cathedra on some subjects, I thought he was hardly 

 likely to enlighten me on the subject of heating by hot water, 

 as few have had more practical experience than I have had. 

 As to the science of the matter I believed it so simple that 

 I had nothing to learn. Now, I am free to confess this was 

 an entire mistake on my part, which I shared with most persons 

 who thought themselves best informed on everything con- 

 nected with boilers and hot-water apparatus. 



It is quite clear we have not taken into account the dif- 

 ference between water in motion and water at rest. Knowing 

 that water heats by convection, that the hottest particles being 

 the lightest will not descend, it has always been taken for 

 granted, that a flue passing over a boiler acted only as a warm 

 jacket, to prevent the escape of heat, and had little or no effect 

 in warming the mass of water beneath, and in the case of 

 steam boilers, I think this reasoning is correct ; but in a boiler 

 through which water is circulating, it i3 certainly a mistake to 

 suppose the same reasoning applies. We all know that heat 

 radiates downwards; the top of a bciler over which a flue is 

 carried must, therefore, be heated. Now, if the flow-pipe rises, 

 as it ought to do, from the top of the boiler, it is manifest 

 fresh particles of water must be constantly brought in contact 

 with the under surface of the top of the boiler so made hot, 

 and as a matter of course will receive heat as they roll along 

 in contact with it. As they rise in the flow-pipe, others will 

 take their place and be heated in turn. This all appears so 

 self-evident when one thinks upon it, that the Wbnder is we 

 did not all see it before. 



An independent thinker, like Mr. Peach, is a great acqui- 

 sition to " our Journal," and I for one am almost as pleased 

 to be set right, as if the first publication of the idea had been 

 mine — not quite, but nearly so. It is to be hoped he will 

 often favour us with his ideas. If he upsets received notions 

 he must not expect to convince everyone, but I hope he will 

 take it for granted some are willing to be set right. — J. fi. 

 Pearson, Chilwell. 



ESSAYS ON FLORAL CRITICISM. 

 I cannot understand why Col. Scott should have mounted 

 his charger and put his lance in rest to bear me down, because 

 I asked a simple question. On referring, however, to the re- 

 port of the Society's meeting I see that he charged Mr. Godson 

 somewhat in the same manner. I suppose I must set it down 

 to his air militaire. 



1. Col. Scott calls me a severe critic of the construction and 

 action of Floral Committees. Will he be kind enough to tell 

 me when I have ever found fault with the action of the Floral 

 Committee? Its construction and the manner in which it is 

 manipulated by the Council I have written against, and appa- 

 rently with some effect. 



2. Does Col. Scott imagine that the fact of the Council of 

 the Royal Horticultural Society having the examining of the 

 essays is one likely to inspire confidence in the competitors ? 

 If so, he must have grievously mistaken the signs of the times. 



3. Col. Scott requests me, without any " unnecessary in- 



sinuations," to give my opinion on certain points in connection 

 with the subject of his essay. I do not know what he means. 

 I am apt to say what I mean, and not to insinuate. I must 

 therefore decline to answer his question, and shall certainly 

 not now include myself amongst the number of competitors for 

 his prize. — D., Deal. 



BEET-ROOT LAST YEAR. 



At page 113 of " our Journal," the Rev. C. P. Peach solicits 

 the experience of others as regards Beet, and its cultivation 

 during the past year. As with other things, so with Beet, there 

 is a variety of opinions as well as of kinds. Some prefer red 

 Beet, while others prefer crimson Beet. I am an adherent to 

 the latter, and think that crimson Beet is far preferable, and 1 

 believe, in general, more appreciated. 



My experience for last year is, in the last week in April, I 

 sowed Dewar's, Henderson's Pine Apple, and Carter's St. 

 Osyth Beet, on well-prepared moderately rich ground, in rows 

 1 foot apart. When the plants were large enough to trans- 

 plant they were thinned out, leaving the plants in the rows 

 G inches apart. I planted what I wanted, and though we had 

 a very dry summer, by constantly stirring among the plants 

 and keeping them free from weeds, we had a most excellent 

 crop of well-formed roots. Those of Dewar's variety were the 

 most perfect in shape, but I should give the preference to 

 Carter's for colour. The three kinds were pretty equally 

 balanced as regards quantity. . 



Whyte's Black Beet is the deepest crimson Beet I have seen, 

 but it is of very rampant habit, and raiher coarse. It is very 

 apt to run to seed, unless it is late-sown, and then in case of 

 autumn frosts it does not attain perfection with us. It should 

 be grown in poor soil. Carter's and Nuttaii's are useful kinds, 

 and have their admirers, as have many other good kinds ; 

 while some say, "Give me Lindsay's Beet, and you may do 

 what you will with the others." I have had no experience with 

 Beta chilensis ; therefore, I am not in a position to offer an 

 opinion about it. — M. H..,Acklam Hall, 1-Iiddlrsbroughon-Tees. 



In reply to the inquiry made by your correspondent, as 

 regards this root, I have the pleasure to inform you that we 

 were very successful in thi3 crop last summer. The seed was 

 put in on the 9th April, and the plant was dressed with four or 

 five dressings of sewage. The return from half an acre was 

 £28 9s. Id. — Henry J. Morgan, Lodge Farm, Barking, Essex. 



CISSUS PORPHYROPHYLLUS. 



This fine climber is a native of the East Indies, and when 

 grown well I think it is as beautiful as Cissus discolor. It is 

 not so often met with as the last-named, but when grown, as I 

 will describe, it presents a most chaste and attractive appear- 

 ance. 



I have found it valuable for the decoration of the stove ; and 

 on the dinner-table, beneath the chandelier, it is perfection. 



It is rather a slow grower, and has slender stems rooting at 

 the joints, clothed with foliage of a brilliant emerald green in 

 the young stages of growth, changing as it becomes older to a 

 rich purplish green, covered all over the surface with blotches 

 of pale pink. 



Its being a slow grower I consider an advantage, as it is 

 handy to use for the decoration of the dinner-table. 



It requires to be shaded from the rays of the sun ; to have a 

 soil compounded of peat, loam, and leaf mould in equal quan- 

 tities, and a liberal sprinkling of silver sand added. I grow 

 my plants in 5-inch pots, and train them as pyramids about 

 20 inches high. My plan is as follows : — 



I take a 5-inch pot, drain it well, and then fill it with the com- 

 post. I usually put in two plants, one on the opposite side of 

 the pot to the other. When established I take some small rods 

 to form my pyramid, I then place sphagnum moss outside, and 

 fill up with cempost. I build it up neatly to whatever height 

 I require, and then train my plants round that pyramid. It 

 makes a beautiful specimen. — F. P. L. 



Correction or Thermometers.— For the information of your 

 correspondent " Veritas," and probably many more of your 

 readers, respecting the verifying of thermometers, I beg to 

 inform you that the charge for verifying thermometers at Kew 

 is Is. " Veritas " has only to send the thermometer and the 

 stamps addressed to Dr. Stewart, when the instrument will be 



