154 



JOUENAL OP HOETICULTtJEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ Fobruai-y a4, 1876. 



being "without the Caetle," aud its gardener's weekly pay 

 wa8 " twopence halfpeuriy." 



We eball at a futnre peason pnblieh Bome notes on the pre- 

 sent gardening at WindEor Castle. 



HEATING SMALL GREENHOUSES. 



Of late years Bcme ecterprieicg firms in obedience to the 

 demands for tmall greethouees, forcing hon^ee, plant-pro- 

 tectors, &e,, snitable for amateurs of limited means, have 

 obligirgly adveitised these strnctares, giving full dimensions 

 with the coft of the whole including the necessary staging and 

 pathway. All thfpo improvements have come about within 

 the laft twelve or fifteen years, and many of your readers will 

 inow how to appreciate their value. At the time I mention, 

 the erecting of a small greenhoute was a much more trouble- 

 some affair than at present, being attended with so many dis- 

 appointments. One certainly might ascertain the cost of the 

 greenhouse iteelf, and possibly decide to have one if his means 

 would permit, but when it was brought home he found out 

 that what he innocently supposed to be part and parcel of the 

 structure — viz., the staging and shelving, had been overlooked 

 iri the estimate by the practical builder, and the unpractical 

 amateur had to dip his hand further into his already shrunken 

 pocket to pay for these indispensable extras — a little par- 

 ticular that might possibly have deterred him from making 

 the attempt to possess a greenhouse at all had the builder 

 put him in possetsion of all the facts at the start. But happily 

 this is no longer the case. One can now know exactly what 

 the cost will be, delivered at the nearest railway station. 



But now corrmence the troubles of the modern amateur. 

 He can know from the advertising columns of " our Journal " 

 what the cost of a house will be, of any dimensions that his 

 meanrfwill permit him to adopt. But what he cannot discover 

 from the same source is, how much it will cost him to heat it 

 tffVctually with hot water pipes. 



Now, if it pays horticultural builders to advertise— and it 

 must do, or the adveitifemeufs would not continue to appear — 

 full and cxect particulars of the prices of the article they deal 

 in, it surely would pay the horticultural engineer to do the 

 same. The builder tells us he will supply a structure from 

 10 feet by 7 or 8 feet, to any length, width, or height we wish 

 to have at a given cost, and delivered complete ready for 

 work. Tbi3 is definite and satisfactory. Giving the eiDgineer 

 credit for as much enterprise as the builder, one would 

 naturally expect him to follow suit, and advertise that he 

 would heat these structures of given dimensions for so much, 

 either to adapt them for cool greenhouses or to enable their 

 purchasers to giow winter Cucumbers in them; in fact, to 

 use them as forcing houses, stating the price in full. They, 

 of course, know how many feet and sizes of pipe are necessary 

 to beat a given length of house for a given purpose, also the 

 kind of boiler (either gaa or fuel) sufficient to do the work in a 

 fairly satisfactory manner. Let them state these particulars, 

 and people can then choose for themselves, without going to 

 the trouble of writing for estimates. It is not enough to say 

 that a boiler can be had from 50s. to G0.<. upwards. This is no 

 information at all for the uninitiated. It is even of little use it 

 it were stated how many feet of pipe it would heat. What the 

 amateur wants to know is how much pipe and what boiler will 

 lieat a house of a certain size, and how much it will cost him. 

 Certainly plain and reasonable questions. This is written 

 solely in the interest of amateurs in horticulture — a very 

 numerous class, and for whose sake I should be very glad to 

 see my suggestions carried out as far as is practicable. — T. L. C. 



TOUNG VERSUS OLD TEEES. 

 Mucn as has been said c.f late in favour of old trees, more 

 especially of old forest trees ; something is also due on the other 

 side, for I have known many a leaning to old favourites carried 

 too far, and an after-generation had just cause to complain. 

 Even an old-tree hobby may be ridden too hard, as when a too 

 great liking to trees forbids their being duly and timely 

 thinned ; tbe issue is then the reverse of creditable, and the 

 pood appearancn of the trees is irretrievably gone, especially if 

 they be of the Pinus tribe. Deciduous trees will struggle, and 

 in fome measure come round a little, but Firs never do so: 

 hence the propriety of timely thinning them in plantations 

 where a well-furniehed bottom is the object. Offences of 

 omission are quite as common as those of commission in the 

 management of ornamental timber trees, not that I am an 



advocate for much pruning — the less, in fact, the better ; but 

 judicious and timely thinning of young growing trees is as 

 much a duty as the cutting of the old trees is a fault. 



I should like to see young trees planted more freely. Many 

 proprietors of domains feel a just pride in their noble trees, 

 but would seem to forget that ihey have only a limited exist- 

 ence. Trees which give importance to parka and grounds can- 

 not last for ever, yet but little is done to replace them. Where 

 the space hardly allows of a greater number of trees than 

 already exists, I would not hesitate to advise the taking-away 

 now and then of an old worn-out tree where it can be dis- 

 pensed with without injury to the general effect, and replacing 

 it with a young one ; not, of course, in the same spot, but 

 somewhere in the grounds where it may seem wanted. I fear 

 there are many parks aud estates in which there is a lack of 

 trees of from ten to twenty or thirty years of age, while very old 

 trees are plentiful enough. 



I sometimes think the rule or law said to exist in Japan, that 

 for every tree that is cut down there must be another planted, 

 might well be acted upon here. One cannot but regret the 

 worship of utilitarianism which is frequently exhibited by 

 those who fell trees freely but plant them reluctantly. Be 

 assured there will come a day in which the fine old trees which 

 are now bo much prized will no longer fulfil their offices, and 

 the proprietors of the present day will be reproached by the 

 generation then in occupation for not planting trees at the 

 proper time, forgetting, or possibly not guessing that it was 

 respect for the trees now in existence that prevented it being 

 done. I hope, therefore, that the cry, " ! spare the tree," 

 may not be carried too far, but that even a little sacrifice of 

 present appearance may, if necessary, be made, and a few old 

 trees, favourites though they be, migtit be cut down to be re- 

 placed by young trees that will be wanted many long jeura 

 hence. As we have inherited much in this respect from our 

 ancestors, is it not reasonable that we should bequeath some- 

 thing in turn to those who will come after us, by occasionally 

 planting a few trees? 



In performing the proper thinning or cutting-down of old 

 to make way for young trees some judgment is, of course, 

 necessary, or mistakes may be made. Plantations of Scotch 

 or Spruce Fir that have stood unthinned for a number of 

 years must be very sparingly thinned at first, and not at 

 all, or but very little, on tbe windward side, and especially if 

 in a very exposed position. I remember some years ago 

 seeing an example, showing the evil effects of not adhering to 

 this, on a plantation crowning one of the heights of a chalk 

 hill in Surrey. Someone had advised an opening to be made 

 to obtain a view to some place of eminence in the distance, 

 which was done the required width ; but the wind rushed in 

 and increased the width of that opening in a frightfully ugly 

 manner, clearing whole rods of ground of the trees, much to 

 the mortification of the proprietor. I believe it was many 

 years before the remaining trees regained anything like a decent 

 condition. Such accidents or mistakes are not uncommon, 

 and I mention this to prevent others of a like kind occurring. 

 My final advice is to thin plantations judiciously and provide 

 for the failure of old by planting young trees, or some parks 

 will in a few years be denuded of timber. — J. Koeson. 



CHAPTERS ON INSECTS FOE GARDENERS. 



No. 6. 



My last communication closed with some remarks on midges, 

 introducing also to the gardener the familiar insects known as 

 gnats. I may appropriately refer to their history and habits ; 

 for gnats also, like the midges, are visitants to gardens — not 

 merely visitants in some instances, since they are often born 

 and bred within the garden precincts. In many suburban 

 gardens it is customary to collect rain water and store it in 

 tubs and tanks ; or in other gardens, rain water not being 

 handy, river or well water is kept until it becomes soft. These 

 receptacles, if uncovered, are sought out by female gnats, which 

 have a liking for still water; and I have heard gardeners 

 blamed for having (unconsciuuelj) gnat-nurseries on their 

 premises, thus multiplying our tormentors in the summer 

 season. But then, again, people have argued that a few square 

 yards of water in or close to a garden are of utility, serving to 

 drown a good number of insects both by day and by night. 



The singular life history of the larva of the common gnat 

 has been already referred to in this journal, and it may serve 

 as a sample of the economy of the Culicidie. The feathery 

 palpi and antenne, aud the proboscis extended in front, enable 



