240 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 25, 1866. 



SECOND CROP OF FIGS RIPENING ON 

 STANDARDS IN THE OPEN AIR. 

 I have to-day (Sept. [14th), gathered from a small standard 

 tree four ripe autumn Figs, and at least a dozen more are 

 colouring upon that and other trees. The Figs are not more 

 than half the size of the spring Figs — that is, they are as long, 

 hut have not swelled, and this seems to be the only difference 

 between them and the spring crop. I have many dozens as 

 large, but not yet showing any tendency to colour, except at 

 the eyes. At the end of last winter I had about nine dozen of 

 last autumn's Figs on my trees, all of which looked very pro- 

 mising, and most of them would probably have ripened but for 

 the unfavourable spring, and in particular the heavy easterly 

 winds, which destroyed them all. If we have a fair allowance 

 of sun during the next month or six weeks, I shall hope to 

 have many more fit to gather. Small as those I have referred 

 to are, they are as large as Figs from Nice, for which I have 

 been asked 2'<7. each in the Paris markets in August.- — H., 

 Vcntnor. 



A BLUE BEDDING GERANIUM. 



Mr. Robson's suggestions at page 205 of the present volume, 

 may induce some of your readers to seek for the philosopher's 

 stone amongst bedding plants, in the shape of a blue Gera- 

 nium, and I should be sorry to cool the enthusiasm of any 

 zealous hybridist who may have that object in view ; but, as I 

 believe, records of failures are not unusually stepping-stones 

 to success, and although my non-success in attempting to 

 cross bedding Pelargoniums with Geranium pratense may not 

 help to put other enthusiasts in the right road to gain their 

 point, it may tend to keep them from going in a wrong track. 



In the years 1857 and 18S8 I endeavoured to fertilise Pelar- 

 goniums Boule de Neige, Queen, Kingsbury Pet, and Prince of 

 Orange with the pollen of Geranium pratense. I repeated the 

 experiment several times and under different circumstances, 

 but succeeded only in obtaining two or three seeds which pro- 

 duced plants bearing no resemblance whatever to pratense ; 

 these seeds were doubtless the result of pollen from some of 

 the bedding varieties having accidentally gained access to the 

 flowers experimented on. I also tried to cross-fertilise the 

 flowers of a potted plant of G. pratense with some of the 

 bedding Pelargoniums, but did not succeed in obtaining a 

 single seed. I made similar futile attempts with the spotted 

 (show) varieties. I do not recollect ever having tried Geranium 

 sylvaticmn, but I endeavoured on one occasion to intercross 

 both the bedding and spotted Pelargoniums with Geranium 

 Robertianum, and the results, I regret to say, only added to 

 my long list of failures. 



I think, therefore, your readers will do well to look in another 

 direction for a blue bedder, for although I tried these experi- 

 ments eight or nine years ago, further experience and con- 

 sideration satisfy me that it will be utterly useless to expect a 

 cross between these varieties, or, as I ought, perhaps, rather to 

 say, a hybrid between the bedding and show varieties of Pelar- 

 goniums and the indigenous Geraniums. — Thomas Laxton. 



FRUITING-HOUSE SLIGHTLY HEATED- 

 DOUBLE GLAZING. 



I am about to build a small fruiting-house 20 feet long by 9J 

 in the clear. The ground will have to be excavated to the 

 depth of 2 feet. The back wall will be 10 feet high, a brick 

 and a half thick ; the front 5 feet high, 3 feet brick and 2 feet 

 glass for ventilation ; rafters, 12 feet ; ventilators in the back 

 wall. I intend to pave the whole inside to keep out the rats, 

 as there is a brook just by, and they are very numerous. 



I do njt particularly want the house, as I have a small green- 

 house, the flue of which runs into the kitchen chimney and 

 causes it to smoke, so that I must alter the flue by carrying it 

 into the garden, and making a chimney for it in that situation ; 

 and the idea struck me that I would cover in this space by 

 building a small house over it, and have sufficient heat in the 

 winter from the greenhouse tire for bedding Geraniums, fruit 

 trees, or early vegetables. Do you think I do right by paving 

 the whole of the bottom ? I intend having a door at each end 

 for ventilation, a path along the middle 2j feet wide, the flue 

 on one side of the path, with brick-on-edge work on it to bring 

 it up to a level with the front wall — namely, 3 feet. On the 



other side of the path there will also be a wall of brick 3 feet 

 in height, so that a person walking along will have on either 

 side of him brickwork a yard high. The spaces between the 

 front wall and back wall to the brickwork at the sides of the 

 path will leave a bed on each side of about 2 J feet wide, the front 

 one for seeds or plants, the back one for fruit trees against the 

 wall and trees in pots. In the bed next the flue I purpose plac- 

 ing large draining-pipes with their open ends against the flue, 

 so as to carry the heat under the bed, putting rubble on the top, 

 and then the mould ; the other bed to be filled with rubble and 

 mould. 



The most difficult part, however, which I have to contend 

 with is the double glazing of the roof. In a late Number of 

 the Journal a gentleman attempted to explain the modus oper- 

 andi, but I do not understand it, nor does my carpenter. 

 Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain it to me. My 

 greenhouse is covered with rough plate ; would that do as well 

 for an orchard-house with single glazing ? Is the angle right 

 for an orchard-house — 10 feet high at back and 5 feet in front ? 

 — F. T. 



[A flue taken from a greenhouse into a kitchen chimney will 

 be apt to make the chimney smoke if the kitchen fire be not 

 kept constantly in use, and if the flue do not enter the chim- 

 ney some 8 or 10 feet from the fireplace. We see no objection 

 to the paving of the bottom of the house, provided you have 

 enough soil above for the trees against the back wall as well as 

 in pots. For such a cool house slightly heated we should have 

 preferred the flue in the middle of the house, and forming 

 part of the path. If this could not be done we would have the 

 side of the flue as part of the three-feet wall that keeps the bed 

 from the pathway. With this done, the tiles yon speak of con- 

 nected with the side of the flue, and the rough rubble beneath 

 the bed, your front bed will be very useful for raising seeds, 

 early vegetables, Sec, whilst the back unheated bed would be 

 cooler for the roots of the trees. 



We perceive no reason why for such a cool house you should 

 think of double glazing at all. The double glass is chiefly 

 useful where a regular and high temperature is wanted. In 

 practice, though more expensive, it is well to have the outer 

 roof moveable. The plan to which you refer, we presume is 

 that of Mr. Dawson at page 46, extracted from the " Scottish 

 Gardener." We are not surprised that you do not quite under- 

 stand the description, as on first reading it we did not under- 

 stand it ourselves, and it would be well if Mr. Dawson were to 

 explain more fully his plan of making the rafter. Meanwhile, 

 we think the altering of one word in the last line of the first 

 column will help, with a little explanation, to make all clear to 

 you. That word is " wide." We would change it to 1J inch 

 " deep." Then, supposing that for a 20-feet length of rafter 

 Mr. Dawson has wood cut out the right length, 54 inches deep, 

 and 31 inches wide, these pieces he cuts down into two rafters 

 weather-board fashion, so that each when cut, and allowing for 

 working, will be nearly the above 5J inches deep, 2j inches wide 

 at the top, and half an inch wide at the bottom. Of course 

 these rafters must be so fixed back and front on the roof, that 

 the middle of the half-inch width at bottom may be in the same 

 vertical line as the middle of the 2} -inch width at top. Thus 

 we have the size of the rafter 5 1 inches deep, 2.4 inches wide at 

 top. and half an inch wide, at bottom, but no rebates for the 

 glass. Well, then, for the inner rebates for inner glass, measure 



3 inches down from the top of the rafter, and 



fix on each side pieces of wood 1J inch deep, t I if 



not wide, and half an inch wide at top, and 



tapering to nothing at the lower end, this half 



inch acting as a rebate for the inner glass. 



Then for the outer glass, fix on the centre of the 



top of the rafter slips of wood three-quarters of -*-~\\ 



an inch deep and 14 inch wide, and this leaves 



half an inch on each side for the top rebates 



for receiving the glass. We are doubtful if i, i, Rebates 



such rafters without support would be strong naUedon.^ 



enough for double glass, bat on that we are not called to decide. 



The angle of your house will do, but the roof will be rather 

 flat. Rough plate glass would do for the roof; and for a 

 12-feet rafter, if you give up the idea of a double roof, you 

 could not do better than choose 12-feet battens, 3 inches thick 

 and 8 or 9 inches wide, which, cut twice on the square, will 

 give you rafters nearly li inch wide, and nearly 4 or 44. inches 

 deep. Tack on the top of (he rafter a piece three-quarters of 

 an inch square, and you will have rebates on each side — that 

 is, if you do not have rebates cut at once. Mr. Dawson'S- 

 rafters will look neater inside.] 



