September S, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



07 



and rouud the sides, at 2 feet high, a zinc trough 20 inches 

 wide and 4 inches deep, to hold sand, in which plants for pro- 

 pagation and planting-out are placed ; and at 7 feet from the 

 ground a shelf 12 inches wide runs round for Strawberries or 

 other plants. 



A smaller house and gas-heated is this :— The length of the 

 house {iiijs. 62 and 63) is 17 feet 6 inches, breadth 7 feet 6 inches, 

 divided into three compartments by brickwork, the end one just 

 iarge enough to hold a small open hot-water tank about 18 inches 



of gas in twenty-four hours (value 3d.) the temperature under 

 the platform and also that of the soil is 80' and 75' in the two 

 divisions respectively, and the use of a larger burner raises 

 these figures to 110° and 100'. 



Bunsen's burner {fuj. 04) is simply a contrivance by which 

 the gas is mixed with an excess of air before it is burned, so 

 as to insure perfect combustion. It gives only a pale blue 

 flame, but intense heat. Were the heat applied directly by a 

 flue or pipe instead of by hot water the economy would be far 



D D_ 



E I 1 



A B 



CD • D 



D O I 



Fig. 62. 



A, Pipe. I 



B, BoardB. 

 0, Soil. I 



square, from which a single set of 3-inoh pipes runs round the 

 whole length of the frame. ■)»!;» 



The tank is set on a little brick chamber containing the gas- 

 burner attached by an indiarubber tube, and a zinc pipe serves 

 to carry off the products of combustion. 



The pipes are boarded over with rough 2-inch boards, on 

 which there is from 9 inches to 1 foot of soil, so that the heat 

 £3 almost entirely confined to the bottom. Each compartment 



Fig. 6S. 



)O0, 



Oiooqc 



Q 



greater. For an amateur the convenience of turning on the 

 gas in a winter's night and feeUng safe till morning is valuable. 



|o 



Fig. 64.— Bunsen'b burner, height 6 inches. 



&, Gas-pipe, the jet iasaing at e. 

 B, Holes to admit excess of air. 

 c, Apertures in the circular rim at 



which the gas is lighted. 

 P, Circular lid or plate, which is slid 



on one side wlien it is preferred 



to light the gas at the top. 



is'provided, however, with two wooden tubes, 6 inches square, 

 communicating between the space below the boards and the 

 sAi above the soil, these being covered by wooden caps, by the 



When the plate d closes the aperture 

 at the top the flame issues from 

 the holes c in a crown, as be- 

 neath. When it is left open the 

 flame rises in a straight jet of 

 pale blue. 



removal of which more or less heat may be allowed to rise up 

 to the surface. With a small burner consoming about 80 feet 



NOVELTIES IN THE BOYAL GARDENS, KEW. 



On the Eockwork there is a nice patch of the charming 

 Nertera depressa. It is thickly studded with berries like those 

 of Solauum Capsicastrum reduced to the size of small peas. 

 Though cultivated for the last five years, it seems only now 

 to be receiving the favour it deserves. It is a native of bleak 

 antarctic mountains, and, notwithstanding, grows rapidly and 

 well in a forcing pit during the spring of the year, and may then 

 be increased to any extent by means of the creeping rooting 

 stems. In summer it does well in cold frames. It is known 

 to some as N. scapanioides, which name was given by Lange 

 in his seed catalogue of 1868. N. depressa is the oldest, and 

 should therefore be upheld. It is found on the Andes from 

 Cape Horn to New Grenada, on the island of Tristan d'Acnnha, 

 and in New Zealand and Tasmania. Gaura Lindheimeri is 

 very pretty. It has a light appearance, grows about 2 feet 

 high ; the stems are slender, and terminate in racemes of white 

 flowers. Euphorbia amygdaloides variegata appears to be of 

 some value ; it has several branches, forming a neat tuft of 

 prettily-variegated foliage. Pentstemon antirrhioides is very 

 distinct from other cultivated species ; its habit is shrubby, of 

 stiff twigs with small glossy leaves, and it has yellow flowers. 



Zygopetalum maxillare is in flower in the Orchid house ; its 

 chief beauty resides in the rich blue lip. The new Cypripedium 

 Eoezli is showing flower. 



A variegated form of Azara integrifolia, which originated at 

 Kew, is planted on the waU of the new range. It is of much 

 beauty when growing freely, and appears likely to stand mild 

 winters with wall protection. The leaves are orbicular or obo- 

 vate, and the variegation is pale yellow disposed in a similar 

 way to Euonymus. A. integrifolia is "native in groves at 

 Conception in Chih." 



ffinothera serrulata is a new annual, flowering in the Herba- 

 ceous ground. It has wiry stems and lanceolate leaves. The 

 flowers are yellow, and freely produced ; they remain open for 

 several days. It grows about a foot high, and appears worth 

 cultivation. Cleome heptaphylla is very showy ; it has viscid 

 digitate leaves, and large purple flowers in terminal racemes. 

 Datura meteloides is one of the best of the annual members of 

 the genus. The flowers are large, and tinged with violet. 



In the Temperate house are a few plants of Solanum raee- 

 migerum. It is, perhaps, a form of the Tomato, and is of 

 considerable value cultivated in pots for conservatory decora- 

 tion. In habit it is not coarse. It bears a quantity of fruit in 

 racemes like Red Currants, but much larger. The treatment 

 should be liberal, as the leaves are likely to turn yellow if the 

 roots are much confined. 



A plant of Erythrina Crista-galh is very ornamental in one 

 of the octagons. It is of great value for greenhouse decora- 

 tion at this season from its fine racemes of large scarlet flowers. 



