484 



JOUENAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ December 12, 18«5. 



the IntematioDal Exhibition of 1866 ; and that Professor De 

 Candolle, of Geneva, has accepted the office of PrcBident of the 

 Congress, to which he was unanimously ele«ttd at the last 

 meeting of the Executive Committee. 



BOILERS. 

 I AM glad that " H." has followed up the remarks of our 

 aide correspondent " E. F." hy detailing his experience with 

 boilers, and I hope that others will adopt the same course. 

 Although differing from " H." in the opinion he entertains 

 as to fixed boilers, I am by no means sure that I am not in 

 the wrong. It seems certain that perfection has not been 

 reached in any boiler yet in use, and I am doubtful whether 

 we must not go back to some of the early forms if good service 

 and general utility be wanted. The boUers which we have 

 here at work are "the conical, tubular, saddle of two or three 

 designs, and another not described in the general lists of such 

 apparatus, and for simplicity of feeding and working the saddle 

 boiler is the favourite. I do not mean to say but that the 



tubular boiler does its work with quite as little fuel, perhaps 

 less, but this is difficult to ascertain, as they do not heat equal 

 quantities of pipe ; but the fireplace will hold any description 

 of fuel, and that is a consideration not to be undervalued. I 

 confess that I have not had any practical experience with 

 boilers standing out from the brickwork, but I cannot dispel 

 from my mind the impression that they are better adapted ts 

 heat the shed or place in which they stand than the line of pipet 

 with which they are connected, by reason of so much heao 

 escaping from the boiler or its casing. Those, however, who 

 have tried such boilers for heating a moderately large quantity 

 of piping will be better able to inform us, and certainly the 

 subject deserves every attention. — J. Eobsos. 



Li5iB IS THE Soil for Orchard-house Trees. — Although, as 

 Mr. Elvers suggests, calcareous matter may be beneficial to 

 stoue fruits, it appears to be bj- no means necessary, from the 

 fact that a friend grows Peaches, Plums, Ac, in great abundance 

 and excellence without having a particle of chalk or lime in 

 the soil used. — A. E. 



CULTIVATION OF 

 1 SEKD you a photograph of a cluster of Limes and a portion 

 of the case in which the plant is giowing. also a rough plan of 

 the case, its dimensions, and a few plain practical remarks 

 upon the culture of this beautiful and highly desirable fruit. 

 As you will readilv perceive, nothing can be more simple than 

 the'method which we adopt. The case is attached to the end 

 of a common greenhouse, and the Lime, which is planted out, 

 is trained upon a plain 

 lozenge-shaped galvanised 

 wire trellis affixed to the 

 wall, which is merely a con- 

 tinuation of the wall against 

 which the greenhouse is 

 erected. This trellis affords 

 great facilities for arrang- 

 ing the flexible shoots sym- 

 metrically upon it, instead 

 of nailing them against the 

 wall, and nothing can ex- 

 ceed the unique and beauti- 

 ful appearance of the case, 

 covered as the plant always 

 is with blossoms, green 

 fruit in all their stages of 

 development, and clusters 

 of bright golden fruit at 

 full maturity. No artificial 

 heat is supplied by hot- 

 water pipes or otherwise in 

 the case itself, but an end 

 sash of the gi-eenhouse, be- 

 fore alluded to, is thrown 

 open so as to admit the 

 passage of warm air into 

 the case when the weather 

 is very severe ; but, unless 

 there is a prevalence of 

 frost, this heat is not ad- 

 mitted, as the cool, steady, 

 rather humid atmosphere 

 of the case is much more 

 congenial to the health of 

 the plant than if recourse 

 were constantly had to the 

 warmth derivable from the 

 gieenhouse. 



The border inside the 

 case was excavated to the 



depth of 3 feet, and filled up first with rubble drainage, 

 such as brickbats, &c., to the depth of 9 inches ; then good 

 sound turf, cut from a pasture field, was laid one sod thick 

 neatly upon the top of the rubble, grass side downwards, and 

 nponthe sods was placed a compost of good sound turfy loam, 

 •well decayed dung, leaf mould, nnd coarse sand or grit in about 

 equal quantities, the whole chopped roughly and blended to- 

 gether, but on no account sifted or beaten fine. On this soO, 



THE LIME. CITRUS LIMETTA, IN THE EXETER NURSERY. 



inside the case, is placed a common wooden treUis for walking 

 such as is commonly used in vineries and Peach-houses ; 



this is highly desirable, for it prevents the soil from becoming 

 close and sodden, and keeps the border free and open. 



The Lime having been thus planted requires to be very can- 

 tiously watered at first, but as soon as the roots have worked 

 into tiie congenial siJfl, and vigorous shoots are produced, a li- 

 beral supply of water should 

 he given, and the whole plant 

 syringed occasionally in tha 

 evening ; free admission of 

 air during the day is also 

 requisite. When the wirs 

 trellis is well covered the 

 plant will commence bear- 

 ing abundantly, and water 

 must be administered co- 

 piously, which, as the bor- 

 der is well drained, will 

 impart health and vigour to 

 the plant, and the soil must 

 never be permitted to be- 

 come thoroughly dry. Thie 

 point should be well looked 

 to, for nothing is so perni- 

 cious to the general well- 

 doing of the Lime as per- 

 mitting tlie roots to get 

 into this condition ; occa- 

 sional supplies of liquid 

 manure in a very diluted 

 state may also be benefi- 

 cially given during the 

 spring, summer, and au- 

 tumn, not oftener, how- 

 ever, than about once a 

 fortnight. I have alluded 

 to syringing the Lime — 

 this, however, should not 

 be done during the time 

 the plant is in blossom, as 

 that process woidd damage 

 the fertilising quality of 

 the poUen, and thus pre 

 vent the fruit from settiu 

 freely. 



Without going back to 

 the mythic gardens of the 

 with the dragon guarding the golden fruit — 

 Aiireaquo Hc?peridum servans fulgeiitin mnla." 

 various species and varieties of the Citrus family have, with the 

 glorious appearance and the refreshing health-bestowing quali- 

 ties of their beautiful fruit, for ages attracted the universal at- 

 tention of mankind : and the Orange, the Citron, and the Lemon, 

 with their numerous varieties, are now, and have long been, 

 appropriate ornaments in aU gardens possessing any preten- 



Hespcrides, 



