August 15, 1805. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



129 



Biittiior's ycUow or Ijady Sontbaiuptoirs. liirni is a valuabln late 

 blttclc Bigarreau of meiUum size, somowhat larger than lioUo Agatht', 

 with which in its latonoss it forms a j^ooil t'i)in|iauioii. It hangs till 

 tho oud of August and bcgiuuiug of St-jitf mber, is a profuso bearer, 

 and a fiuo bitu Cherry. This was awiirdetl a tirst-i-lasa certiiieate. 

 Late M'hitc Jfvarf is also a small lato liigarreau of a pale colour. 

 about tho same sizu as Rival and BtUo Agatho, but iiifurior in flavour 

 to both. 



Mr. Rivers also sent a poi-tiou of a bunch of Duchess of Buccloneh 

 (irapc to show, as Mr. Rivers stated in his coiuniuuieatiou, that the 

 Iitirnos of this variety are subject to crauk and rot, wliilu the White 

 Froutigau iu tho sumo house exhibits no such tendency. Mr. 

 Rivers sent, also, fruit of Williams's Favourite Apple, an American 

 variety. 



Messrs. Garaway & Sous, Bristol, oxhibitod a seedling Ridgo Cu- 

 cumber, which received a first-class certificate. The fniit "was from 

 16 to 18 inches long, and were remark .'bly tine specimens of out-door 

 culture. 



Messrs. Osboru it Son, of Fulham, sent branches of Prunu-i padus 

 fructu-rubro in fruit, and Uaultheria ybalion in fruit. 



THE RIPENING OF OUT-DOOR FIGS. 



The ripp Pig noticed by " H." (page 91), is thus explained. 

 In the axil of each leaf is fovmeil a fruit. As winter approaches 

 these fruits are seen of various sizes, from nearly full-grown 

 specimens on the lower part of the shoot, to the size of a pin's 

 point at tho upper extremity. The more advanced are lulled 

 by the frost. The smaller survive. It is generally said that if 

 under the size of a hazel nut they are secure — i.e., with moderate 

 protection. 



It win thus be seen that the security with which an embryo 

 Fig passes through the winter is inversely as its size. If, under 

 favourable circumstances, one a little larger than usual passes 

 through the winter unscathed, of course it ripens earlier. Such 

 was the Fig noticed by " H." In my garden, far north of 

 Undercliff, I had a similar Fig on the Ist of August, and in a 

 previous year had one on the 31st of July. 



I was at Bonchurch last June, but had not the entree of Dr. 

 Leeson's grounds. Those Fig trees, however, which I saw in 

 the Undercliff, were remarkably void of fruit. With natural 

 advantages apparently" far superior to Tarring, I was surprised 

 to find the produce so inferior in quantity. — (i. S. 



Seeing it stated at page 91, that " H., Ventmr,'' had on the 

 21th ult., gathered and eaten a fully ripe Fig from a tree in the 

 grounds of Dr. Leeson, at Bonchurch, as fine as he or she had 

 oaten iu Jersey at the end of August, I may mention that I 

 had sent me on the '26th ult. (two days later than the above 

 d.ate), a pair of ripe Figs as fine and luscious as ever were eaten. 

 They came with the dairy produce which is sent every morning 

 from the farm of our worthy manor bailiff, and on Saturday 

 the 29tli, they were followed by a basket of the same — splen- 

 did, bursting, pm-ple fellows, " a b.aniiuet for the gods." Not 

 taking notes of these things, I was not aware that it was at 

 all out of the usual course. If earlier than usual it is probably 

 owing to the very fine summer we have had. At all events we 

 have not had to wait until the end of August for our ripe Figs 

 this year. I know the tree well from which these Figs were 

 gathered, and I believe all the care that is taken of it is to prop 

 up the branches. — A. T., Noirmont, Jersci/. 



HEATING AND VENTILATING A GREENHOUSE. 



In my former home I used to look after the garden, but we 

 had a gardener who, of course, took his own way ; now, I find 

 myself with a large vegetable garden, a lawn, and flower-beds, 

 I have made a porch, and have a greenhouse in course of 

 construction. The garden is all in my own hands, with a boy 

 for constant work, an itinerant gardener occasionallj", and the 

 men from my husband's farm when I w-aut them. 



What I particularly want to know is, how to heat the green- 

 house':' It measures 18 feet by 12, adjoins the house, faces 

 the west, and has a south end, but that is rather blocked up by 

 farm buildings within 20 feet or more. It is span-roofed, iwith 

 fixed sashes and rather slight rafters, as described iu " Green- 

 houses for the Many," the door is iu the middle of the front, 

 and thei'c arc three sashes on each side of it, all of which open, 

 being hinged from the top. The-re is a potting-room at the 

 back of the greenhouse, but not high enough I imagine to have 



ventilators into it, as the wall only rises as far as the beginning 

 of the span-roof of the greenhouse. A door opens from the 

 greenhouse into this potting-room, which door is at the back, 

 close to the south end. Shall I jmt ventilators in the south 

 end at the top of it ? The roof, south cud, and west ti'ont are 

 all glass except the 2* -feet brick wall. 



My second question is about heatiug. I was going to have a 

 portable stove ; but as the north end adjoins the house, and has 

 at its back a fireplace where a fire is ke]>t almost constantly, 

 even iu siunmcr, it would bo easy to put in a boiler and hot- 

 water pipes, and it seems to me that it would be a good plan 

 to run these pipes only round <)ne end — that is to say, from the 

 boiler under a corner stage at the west, and along the front 

 shelf as far as the door, and back again to the boiler, then 

 again from the boiler to the east corner, perhaps in a rockery 

 for stove Ferns, and along half the east side under a shelf, and 

 back to the boiler. 



It appears to me that over my boiler I could have a place for 

 propagating, that my warmed front shelf, which I could make 

 a box or tray, would do for Gardenias, C'rloxinias. &c., and the 

 other and darker side would grow Ferns, &c. Then, I think, 

 the centre stand, south shelf, and half the western shelf would 

 grow Geraniums, &c., and I have an idea that I might by 

 moving them have Vines in pots. 



Being an invalid and not able to drive or go about, I can 

 give more attention to my plants than other people, and I also 

 turn my maids into under-gardeuers ! I should say, that I 

 mean to have against tho 2 j -feet brick wall of the south end of 

 the greenhouse, a cold pit for storing bedding plants, &c. Will 

 it do in that position ? — 0. D. 



[We can well enter into all your little troubles and diffi- 

 culties, as, independently of the extra claims to notice, as being 

 somewhat of an invalid, you occupy just one of those posi- 

 tions in which we would wish to be serviceable if we could. 

 We are certain that aU your attempts to improve yom- garden, 

 if you prudently do not overwork yourself, wiU not only im- 

 Ijrove your health, but vastly increase the comforts of yom* 

 home. We have known men of rather sedentary habits, hard- 

 thinking, intellectual men, who lived and procured the means 

 for their family to live, by the hard work of the brain, who, 

 after suffering dreadfully from neuralgia and various nervous 

 affections, that made them appear iu their studies as if they had 

 taken farewell of their senses, after trying everything else, found 

 complete relief and freedom from distracting pains through 

 working in the garden. One of these gentlemen told us that 

 his garden had been his great physician. " Whenever I feel 

 the least signs of the hyps, the sure forerumier of the tic, 

 neuralgia, &e., I shut up books and papers and off to my gar- 

 den, and delve, hoe, rake, &c., as if my living depended on it ; 

 and now, since I have taken a regular spell night and morning, I 

 have been able to say adieu to my kind worthy physician. I 

 am sure there is a fund of health in the fresh-turned earth, and 

 the balmy air of early morn." We have told and told of such 

 cases, until many friends, male and female, have had reason to 

 tell us since, " Ah ! the garden was our best doctor." So may 

 it prove to our correspondent. 



Only the other w^eek we discanted on the causes that natu- 

 rally rendered so many of our farmers careless about their 

 gardens, especiaUy the ornamental department, and that where 

 appearances were very different, these appearances generally 

 might be traced to ovu: best friends the ladies. Now, here, as 

 if to corroborate our words, is a lady, a wife of only five 

 months' standing, keenly attentive no doubt to her household 

 duties, and yet resolved to make use of her newly-acquired 

 powers and opportunities tb manage her large garden herself, 

 w-ith the help of a boy constantly, a jobbing gardener at times, 

 and men from her husband's farm when she wants them. 

 Now to the questions. 



1. As to ventilatiny the house. As all the front sashes are 

 made to move, we would, as you propose, have a part of the 

 south end made to open — say a triangle of some 2 feet at base, 

 and the same in height to the apex, and just beneath that 

 point two or three small squares made to move would have the 

 same eft'ect. These in a common greenhouse might be fastened 

 open night and day from the middle of May to the middle of 

 October. Between these two periods they would have to be 

 regulated according to the heat of the weather, keeping in mind 

 that in cold weather iu winter the ventilation would be safer 

 by such openings than by the front sashes, and especially in 

 the south part of the house, where you propose having no 

 heating medium. So much for the south end. Now, if you 

 had a space to open on the north end of 3-our span, though not 



