SI9 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTDBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ January 30, 1868. 



by the wind or borne to the ground by their own weight ; the 

 censequence is that one-third of the sprouts is rendered use- 

 less and unfit for sale, whereas if grown in the way I recom- 

 mend not a sprout need be spoiled, and all are rendered sale- 

 able. Besides, for a gentleman's garden, when we take into 

 consideration the neat appearance of a plantation of Brussels 

 •Sprouts grown as described above, I think I may safely call 

 the attention of cultivators of this useful vegetable to the 

 system of culture I have described, well Imowing that the result 

 to be gained v.-iU more than repay them for the additional 

 trouble they may he put to. — J. Wills. 



CULTURE OF LAPAGERIA ROSEA. 



Lapaoeeia rosea is one of the finest greenhouse climbers in 

 aultivation, and, what adds to its value, it flowers during the 

 winter mouths, when almost any flower is welcome. It is, 

 however, not so universally gi-own as it deserves to be, and 

 when it is to be found in collections of plants it is not always 

 in such good health as desirable. A few years ago plants of it 

 were expensive, it being generally propagated by layering ; but 

 now seeds are ripened in the London nurseries, and hundreds 

 of seedlings are raised. This is a much preferable way of 

 propagation. Plants can now be purchased at half a crown 

 each — a price which places it within the reach of the most 

 humble cultivator of greenhouse plants. 



I shall suppose that a small plant has been obtained, and 

 that it is growing in a 60-sized pot. It ought to be placed at 

 once in the warmest part of the greenhouse, for although it is 

 a greenhouse plant, it will do with more heat and less air than 

 most. I have cultivated Lapagerias in the plant stove, but I 

 do not recommend stove culture for them, as the plant is more 

 liable to be attacked by parasites. That most difiicult to 

 dislodge after it has gained any degree of ascendency is the 

 mealy bug. of which the strips of matting that the shoots have 

 been tied-in with are favourite hiding places, and the ties 

 must all be undone that the plant may be washed, much 

 damage resulting to the plant during the operation. In the 

 stove it is also liable to the attacks of thrips, which can easily 

 be destroyed by smoking with tobacco, and the sort I find 

 most effectual is shag, at Ss. Gd. per lb., which is cheaper than 

 most tobacco paper at Is. 6d. I have also found that in a stove 

 neither the flowers nor leaves exhibit the same bright healthy 

 appearance which they have when the plant is growing in a 

 greenheuse temperature. 



"When the plants are well established in 60-sized pots they 

 ought to be shifted at once into pots 6 inches in diameter, in- 

 side measure, taking care that plenty of drainage is placed 

 carefully in the pot first, and over the drainage a little rough 

 tm'fy peat, from which the finer particles have been sifted. 

 The materials in which the plants are to be potted ought to be 

 tntfy peat torn to pieces instead of being chopped up with a 

 spade, and used without any admixture, except some silver 

 sand if the peat is deficient in sand, which some sorts of peat 

 require, and of which others contain enough naturally. The 

 addition of a little charcoal is also sometimes beneficial. 



The Lapageria requires plenty of water during the growing 

 season, but it can be overwatered ; and if the material in 

 which it is potted becomes sour, either from careless watering 

 or bad peat, it will soon become unhealthy. There are some 

 sorts of peat which retain the water until they are converted into 

 a soapy mass, from which every particle of fibre will have 

 disappeared ; and if a handful is taken up and squeezed, 

 the inky water will ooze out between the fingers. In peat of 

 this sort no plant wiU thrive, hence the importance of select- 

 ing good peat ; if on squeezing it in the hand it leaves a stain 

 it may be safely rejected as unsuitable for any gardening pur- 

 pose. 



The Lapageria is a slow-growing plant, and will not make 

 much progress the first year; but in twelve months, if the 

 pot is full of roots, it may be shifted into a 9 or 10-inch pot, 

 and when it has filled that size with roots, which may be in 

 twelve months more, it may be shifted into any size ranging 

 from 12 to IS inches, and a trellis must be provided for it. 

 That which I admire the most is one I have seen in use for 

 the purpoce at Messrs. Veitch's, of Chelsea, and which is 

 somewhat umbrella-shaped. The shoots are trained up what 

 may be called the handle of the umbrella, and under and 

 around the framework. They ought to be trained so that the 

 greater part of the flowers may hang from the outer circle, 

 and in this way the plant has a most charming effect. 



I have proved from experience that the Lapageria sneeeeds 

 well when cultivated in pots, hut it does equally well, if a 

 suitable position can be obtained for it, when planted out in 

 the greenhouse or conservatory. A border ought to be pre- 

 pared for it by excavating the soil to the depth of 3 feet, 

 placing at the bottom of the border 1 foot of broken bricks, 

 and over these a layer of turfy peat with the grass side down- 

 wards, filling up with the same material as previously recom- 

 mended for pot culture, only using it rougher. The lumps 

 of charcoal should be from the size of a pigeon's egg to that of 

 a man's clenched fist. Treated in this way it will grow freely, 

 and will require little attention, except training the shoots, 

 not allowing them to twist round wires. It is also much 

 benefited by being occasionally syringed during the stimmer 

 months. — J. Douglas. 



HEATING BY STO^^S. 

 I, AS well as other readers, feel indebted to " J. W." for his 

 interesting article on stoves for small greenhouses, vineries, 

 and other structures, more especially as many who have small 

 houses are deterred from using them, by many reported failures 

 of those who have tried them, and given them up because they 

 found the simple management too troublesome. I have fre- 

 quently stated that for small or even moderate-sized single 

 houses there is no mode of heating that will compare with the 

 stove, as respects economy of fuel. I do not even object to an 

 iron stove, but I would like these two conditions to be fulfilled : 

 First, the stove should be so large as to have the firebox lined 

 with firebrick, and an open space for fire of 8 or mere inches 

 square ; this box to stand an inch or two free of the sides of 

 the stove. Secondly, the top should be flat, or level, so as to 

 receive a vessel of water. 



" J. W.'s " plan seems to combine most of the good points of 

 the iron stove and the brick stove. There is just one point on 

 which I should like to have a little more information, and that 

 is the length of time the arch of sheet iron {d. in the section), 

 may be supposed to last. I am sure that " J. W." will give 

 his assistance here, especially when I assure him that even 

 from my own correspondence such a mode of heating small 

 places is very much considered by those who are able to afford 

 no other mode of heating. From my own experience all plate 

 iron exposed directly to the fire very soon burns out. When ii'on 

 stoves are used in chui-ches and chapels, and sheet-iron pipes 

 are used to carry off the products of combustion, two or three 

 new pieces are generally required every winter. In this case 

 the smoke and soot as well as the fire eat into the metal, and 

 there would be little or no soot on the arched plate in the section 

 on page 28. True, the plate could be easily replaced, but it 

 would be as well to have an idea of its probable duration. 



I have not a doubt but that the plan answers admirably; and 

 it will save the smoke pipe being seen when it can be taken 

 into a back wall, but 1 do not think the heat will be so equally 

 difl'used as when the stove is near the front, or the middle, 

 instead of the back of the house. Other circumstances, how- 

 ever, being favourable, I would prefer even a little larger stove 

 against the back wall of the house, as it interferes less with 

 the internal arrangements. 



In the desire for simplicity, the iron casing may even be too 

 complex for some who would like a mellower heat than can be 

 obtained from an iron stove, without extra care and trouble, 

 unless the firebox is free of the sides of the stove. For their 

 sakes, without in the least depreciating the plan of " J. W.," 

 — quite the reverse — I would say, that they will succeed by 

 following his plan of a firebrick firebox, &c., substituting brick 

 for the sand and iron, carrying the walls up square, and having 

 a plate of iron one-half to three-quarters of an inch thick over 

 the top. This may be let into the bricks with a sand joint all 

 round. If I wished to be particular I would here borrow from 

 " J. W.," and do just what we do with an old iron stove — have 

 a piece of sheet iron over the top, resting at least on 2 or 

 3 inches of the brickwork, and therefore all that larger than 

 the opening above the fireplace, on this place from 1 to 

 2 inches of sand, and the heavier plate — say, from a quarter to 

 half an inch thick, above that. In this way, merely by moving 

 the upper loose plate, and taking off the sand, the interior of 

 the stove could be examined at any time. 



By such a simple mode, and that also so well followed out by 

 " J. W.," the principle of the Arnott's stove, whether of iron or 

 formed of brick, is so tar departed from that after the heat from 

 the fire has come in contact with the top of the stove, there is 



