22 



JOUKNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 10, 1866. 



pation. Was it not Sir Joseph Paxton who said, " That gar- 

 dening was the only hobby he knew which, if carried to ex- 

 cess, did no harm ? " 



In this country gentlemen consider their own time of too 

 much value to devote it to the study of gardening, and look 

 upon it as something beneath a gentleman ; it is, therefore, 

 left to the gardener, and he is often only intent on beating his 

 neighbours at the autumn show, and never thinks that the 

 summer is precious time, which should be economised by 

 having previously done all that he could. He, poor fellow, 

 has no hope that extra produce from the garden will improve 

 his position, and as all things act and re-act, it ends in his 

 being looked upon as one of the expenses of housekeeping 

 that must be, and he finds, accordingly, that his trade is one of 

 he worst paid. 



Let me, then, encourage those who think it is worth their 

 while to say, "What man has done, man may do," for the 

 Bun's rays are as warm as ever, and if its heat is " saved," or, 

 here I may use a better term, economised — that is, made to 

 last as long as possible, it will be found that in sunny districts 

 as much heat can be obtained during the summer months as 

 is now "used" in the best heated structures. In Speechly's 

 day, which takes us back to a period when iron pipes were un- 

 used, the best example of a forcing-house was the Dutch — a 

 flued wall 10 feet high, with a glass front 5 feet from the wall 

 at the bottom, and 3 feet from the wall at the top. The two 

 important points here are the nearly-straight glass front to 

 catch all the light, and the small area the flue was expected to 

 heat. Such a house, he says, will enable you to ripen the fruit 

 in May. As the season advances, he adds, your requirements 

 diminish, for the sun will be higher, and therefore the pitch 

 of the roof can be lower, enabling the house to be wider. He 

 also says there is now no longer a necessity for a .glass front, 

 and for walls ; oiled paper put on at night will do, and it will 

 also replace the glass on frames, which can then be used for a 

 better purpose. Miller goes over the same ground and gives 

 the same reasons. When gas was introduced it is related of a 

 shopman, that ho was so pleased as to say it was better than 

 daylight, and would save all the trouble of having windows ; 

 and now pipe heat is so convenient, that many gardeners act 

 as if they thought it was better than sun heat. It cer- 

 tainly is much more regular, and saves the constant care 

 over the ventilators required when the sun heat is permitted 

 to enter. 



We still find a heated glass wall is the best forcing structure ; 

 it is not safe without heat, because it brings on the trees too 

 fast, and is not able to keep the late frosts out ; therefore, after 

 a heated glass wall, a sheeted-up wall is preferred. The Rev. 

 W. F. P.adclyffe, of Okeford Fitzpaine, is very successful with 

 his wall, he sheets the trees over every night, and leaves them 

 so covered en very cold days. By this treatment he not only 

 saves them from the late frosts, but how much radiation does 

 he retain ? Then, will glass walls without heat fail if they 

 have the same careful treatment to retain the heat otherwise 

 lost by radiation ? I think not, and when trees have been for- 

 warded by means of a flued wall, they should be protected by a 

 good sheet, not a mere net, and the thermometer should be 

 closely watched that this heat is not employed when it is not re- 

 quired. The thermometer should be considered by each gar- 

 dener as his best friend. Let those, then, who have such walls, 

 read what Mr. Radclyffe wrote for your pages, give no more heat 

 than is required, syringe with care, shut up early while the 

 sun heat is still in the wall, and I shall be very much sur- 

 prised if they do not find the thermometer indicate that a much 

 higher temperature has been retained than is required, and I 

 am sure they have no need to fear that the crop will end in 

 being ruined with red spider. I will go further than this, and 

 say I have a very strong belief that the attention of the garden- 

 ing world has been so taken up and occupied with the ad- 

 vantages cheap glass has conferred, that south walls have not 

 received their proper notice, and it will be found if due care is 

 taken to retard the trees as long as possible in the spring, so that 

 the snn may have attained some power before what I may call 

 the growth of the crop has commenced, that they will, if the 

 care I have previously advised be taken of them, ripen their 

 fruit as early as similar trees on the back wall of an unheated 

 orchard-house, and quite two weeks before those in any other 

 unheated glass structure. I some time since invited, through 

 your valuable Journal, our orchard-house authorities to join me 

 in trying experiments in this useful field of inquiry, and I hope 

 before the summer is over we may hear some good reports from 

 . some of them, meantime our thanks are duo to Mr. W. F. Rad- 



clyffe, he has preserved his faith in good old plans that have 

 been called slow, and now serves to make mo, for one, wish I 

 bad not run any faster. 



I send you what may interest some, the maxima and mi- 

 nima temperatures for each week during the summer at Storn- 

 oway, where Mr. Rivers says there is a successful unheated 

 orohard-house. It will show how little heat is required. 



Mix 

 Min 



April, 



May. 



Week Week 



ending I ending 

 15122 29 6 13 20 27 



55 56 58 57 

 31 85 35 87 



JUNE. 



July. 



Week 



ending 



3 10 17124 



6264 

 35 40 



75 71 

 1144 



Week 



ending 



118 16 22 29 



65 65 62 

 39 48 41 



August. 



Week 

 ending 



5 1219 



iv, i;; 

 47',42 



September. 



Week 



ending 

 2 9 16 28 30 



64 62 



8845 



54 45 



The highest Maximum 75% and the lowest Minimum SO 3 . 



— G. H. 



ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN BY MR. W. WILSON 

 SAUNDERS. 



On Friday last Mr. W. Wilson Saunders, of Highfleld, 

 Reigate, gave his annual entertainment to the members of the 

 Entomological Society and to several others of his scientific 

 friends. The programme commenced with the mustering of 

 the visitors on the arrival of the 9.10 a.m. train from Charing 

 Cross, who, headed by Mr. Saunders, wended their way through 

 the town and along the road which leads across Reigate Com- 

 mon. Proceeding in that direction they passed Flanchford, 

 and describing a semicircle round the town they reached Sidlow 

 Bridge, where the party refreshed themselves by luncheon. 

 The weather being unsettled and varied by alternate thunder- 

 storms and sunshine, much of the pleasure that generally 

 attends these pleasant excursions was marred. On returning 

 to Reigate at 5 o'clock the party found a large addition to their 

 numbers of those who, prevented by the threatening aspect of 

 the weather, did not arrive till later in the day. But a very 

 important part of the day's performance was yet to be gone 

 through, for in the Town Hall Mr. Saunders had prepared a 

 most sumptuous and elegant entertainment, to which his 

 guests were all invited. Not fewer than 150 gentlemen sat 

 down to this entertainment under the presidency of Mr. 

 Saunders himself, supported on the right by Sir John Lubbock, 

 Bart., Mr. Bennett, of the British Museum, and Mr. George 

 Busk, Zoological Secretary of the Linnamn Society ; and on the 

 left by the Mayor of Reigate, Lieut.-Col. Scott, R.E., Secretary 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society, Professor Westwood, of 

 Oxford, and Mr. Currey, Botanical Secretary to the Linnaan 

 Society. After the loyal toasts, proposed by the Chairman, he 

 gave " The President of the Entomological Society," to which 

 Sir John Lubbock responded in a humorous and clever speech. 

 Mr. Saunders then gave " The Treasurer and Secretary," which 

 were duly responded to by those gentlemen. Then followed 

 " The Royal Society," the parent of all the scientific societies 

 of this country, to" which Mr. Busk replied ; " The Linnffian 

 Society and Mr. Currey;" "The Royal Horticultural Society 

 and Colonel Scott and Dr. Hogg," to which those gentlemen 

 respectively responded ; " The Authorities of the British 

 Museum and Mr. Bennett ; " " The Schools of Science and 

 Professor Westwood," &c. 



All who were present united most cordially in doing justice to 

 the toast of Mr. Wilson Saunders' health, proposed in earnest 

 terms by Sir John Lubbock ; and with a warmth of feeling 

 which every individual could not but feel found a responsive 

 echo in his own breast. 



About half-past eight o'clock the party separated, thanking 

 the generous and kind-hearted patron of all the sciences for a day 

 of infinite pleasure. 



The BniDAi, Bouquet op the Princess Helena was by 

 special permission presented by Messrs. Veitch & Sons, of the 

 Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea. It was composed of Orange 

 Blossom, Myrtle, choice Orchideous flowers, Gardenias, 

 Stephanotis, &c, and elegantly trimmed with real Honiton 

 lace to match the dress. The Myrtle was sent from Osborne 

 by command of Her Majesty, and was taken from plants pro- 

 pagated from that used in the bridal bouquet of H.R.H. the 

 Crown Princess of Prussia. 



