April 20, 1876. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



313 



all the while it advances from its source. There ia of conrae 

 Buoh a oomminRling of the heated with the cooler air, the 

 asoendiog heated air being replaced by an under current of 

 nnheated air to supply its place as to make no difference as 

 shown by a thermometer 3 feet from the heated surface as one 

 at 20 feet, the temperature being solely derived by artificial 

 agency and the atmosphere confined. It is different when 

 natural heat ia added to the artificial : the temperature rises, 

 heat accumulate?, and at the highest part of the house. This 

 is so well known that everybody admits the necessity of 

 top-air-giving before recourse is had to the lower or side 

 ventilators. 



When only a low temperature ia required, the artificial heat 

 being only used to exclude frost or auxiliary to natural heat 

 during the active growth of the plants, it is well to have the 

 hot-weter pipes along the sides or fronts of the structures, 

 and vetUation at the top, air being there first admitted, and 

 afterwards by the front or side lights. There has been ob- 

 jection taken to even this, some going so far as to advocate 

 the admission of side or front before top ventilation, alleging 

 that the egress of heated air is too rapid, the accumulated heat 

 being too suddenly diminished by the influx of cold air. To 

 this doctrine I can see no objection in the case of span-roofed 

 houses. Moderate side ventilation, or even full, may secure air 

 to the structure without the evils of an out-draught of heated 

 and an in-rush of cold air ; but in the ca^e of lean-to's I alto- 

 gether differ from that recommendation, being persuaded that 

 the heat in the main being due to natural agency, it is best 

 parted with where its highest temperature is found. There 

 can be no possible objection to avoid an excess of temperature 

 at the highest part of a span-roofed house by a lantern with 

 side lights. It is not the paseing-out of the heated air, but the 

 rush-in of oold that does the mischief. 



The principle of ventilation is about much the same as 

 regards its distribution as that observed in the disposition of 

 the hot-water pipes. In ventilating the highest part of the 

 structure is available for letting out an excess of accumulated 

 heat or preventing the temperature rising too high, with the 

 addition of side or front lights to open, to be used when the 

 upper ventilation is insufficient. We let out the heat where it 

 ia most when naturally generated, and fix the pipes or means 

 of artificial heat where the greatest cold in even a heat-retain- 

 ing structure is found. It has been so in all cases of heating 

 alike with flues or with hot water — the heat generated at the 

 lowest point, and as invariably let out at the highest. Such is 

 not the case, it need hardly be stated, with natural heat, though 

 it be, nevertheless, certain we have the greatest heat and also 

 extreme of cold at the earth's surface, but the radiation of 

 heat is from all parts alike, its diffusion general, affording an 

 equable temperature without that sudden transition from a 

 close moist atmosphere to freer and drier blasts of cold air 

 alternating with heated air.— G. Abeet. 



BEDDING GERANIUM MRS. HALIBURTON. 



Mast pink varieties have been introduced, and about the 

 best character that could be appended to them ia that they are 

 " improvements on Christine." Few, if any, however, have 

 borne out that character, and Christine is yet used almost as 

 extensively as ever. But it is likely that the good old pink is 

 fairly beat at last, and the variety that will enjuy this honour 

 ia Mrs. Hiliburton. It possesses the free-flowering, short- 

 jointed, hirsute-leaved characteristics of Christine, but is de- 

 cidedly richer and deeper in colour. It is in fact Christine 

 intensified. The flower approaches almost a magenta tinge, 

 and the plant forms a rich and effective bed. Moreover, it is 

 not quite so prone to seed as its progenitor, and is altogether 

 a recommendable variety. Mrs. Haliburton was raised by 

 Mr. Bland, late gardener to Lord Kilmorey, and distributed by 

 Mr. Kinghorn of Sheen Nursery, Richmond, the raiser of 

 Christine, Flower of the Day, and other staple bedding Gera- 

 niums. I saw Mrs. Haliburton in several gardens last year, 

 and in every case it gave great satisfaction. — J. W. B. 



A Tbio of White-ixowered Camellias. — Amongst white 

 Camellias the following are, I think, not bo generally cultivated 

 as their merits deserve — Duchesse de Berri, a beautiful-formed 

 exquisite flower with small foliage ; Montironi, a fine large 

 flower with handsome foliage ; and Mrs. Abby Wilder, an 

 American-raised seedUng of good substance and handaome 

 foliage. These have all flowered well with me this season, and 



I recommend that they be added to all collections of the white- 

 flowered section of this most lovely tribe of plants. —D., Deal. 



TRIAL OF POTATO PLANTERS. 



A TEiAL of Potato-planting machines has taken place, under 

 the auspices of the Highland and Agricultural Society, in 

 fields at Powburn, and on the farms of Liberton Mains, Mid- 

 lothian. The weather was of the most propitious descrip- 

 tion, and there was a considerable turn-out of the members of 

 the Society and gentlemen interested in the experiments. 



There were in all five machines brought forward for trial. 

 Mr. Alexander Guthrie, Craigo, Montrose, had a machine 

 which had already been tried by the Highland and Agricultural 

 Society, but has since been improved by being fitted up with 

 apparatus for expelling superfluous Potatoes from a series of 

 cups fixed to a circular disc, and which are constructed to lift 

 only one Potato at a time. Another improvement consisted in 

 the substitution of two diagonal front wheels, to embrace, as 

 it were, the furrow, instead of one which ran on the top. Fer- 

 guson's patent, manufactured by Mr. Murray, Banff, was a 

 machine constructed on the same principle as the last, with 

 cups for lifting and depositing the Potatoes; but arranged on 

 a different plan and furnished with mechanism of a different 

 device for ejecting the superabundant tubers. Messrs. Pewar 

 and Killas, Dundee, exhibited a machine differing in principle 

 from the above two, and of a very peculiar and ingenious design. 

 The leading feature of this machine was a series of equidistant 

 pincers attached to an endless revolving chain, and controlled 

 by springs, by means of which a Potato was lifted, grasped, 

 carried forward, and, by a clever contrivance, deposited in the 

 drill at regular intervals. The above three machines planted 

 double drills. A machine designed and constructed by Mr. C. 

 Hay, North Merchiston Works, was adapted for sowing only one 

 drill at a time, but was made to be fitted up with an invention 

 for distributing manure. The working part of the machine 

 consisted of a broad diagonal iron disc, the circumference of 

 which (on the flat side) was perforated by a number of holes, 

 these holes on the disc being made to revolve through a heap 

 of Potatoes, carrying one tuber in each, and letting it fall 

 through an aperture in a second disc parallel to the first at 

 its nearest contact with the ground. The next machine was 

 an American invention called Aapinwall's Patent, and was 

 exhibited by Messrs. Robinson &Co., Liverpool. The machine 

 is simple in its construction, and consists of a system of radical 

 revolving spears of peculiar arrangement, which pick up the 

 Potatoes from the hopper and carry them forward to the point 

 of discharge, where they are detached from the spear-points 

 by means of an application of the inclined plane. This 

 machine was a simple drill, but can be made double. Each of 

 the machines were fitted with an appliance for regulating the 

 diatance between each tuber. The trial was commenced in a 

 field near Powburn, where, however, the ground not being 

 prepared for the experiments, the machines were transferred 

 to a field on Liberton Miins. They were here subjected to a 

 series of trials with cut and uncut seed, a number of gentle- 

 men inspecting the work done, which was generally pronounced 

 satisfactory. 



The Judges were Mr. Hutchison, Carlisle; Mr. Swinton, 

 Tester; Mr. Park, Engineer to the Society ; and Mr. Monroe, 

 Fairnington. No decision was come to on the ground. — 

 {Irish Farmers' Oazette.) 



PLANTS FOR PERFUMERY. 



The following extract from Dr. Sehomburgk'a " Flora of 

 South Australia" will answer " A Chltivatok of Herbs :" — 



"If we consider that British India and Earope consume 

 about 150,000 gallons of handkerchief perfume yearly, and that 

 the English revenue for Eau de Cologne alone is about £8000 

 a-year, and that the total revenue for imported perfumes is 

 estimated at about £40,000, and that one great perfume dis- 

 tillery at Cannes, in Franca, uses annually about 140,000 Iba. 

 of Orange blossoms, 20,000 lbs. of Acacia flowers (icacia 

 Farnesiana), 140,000 lbs. of Rose flower-leaves, 32,000 lbs. of 

 Jasmine blossoms, 20,000 lbs. of Tuberoses, together with a 

 great many other sweet herb^, we may judge of the immense 

 quantity of material used for perfumes. Most of the flowers 

 which provide the material for perfumes grow luxuriantly with 

 US — namely. Mignonette, Verbena, Jasmine, Rose, Livender, 

 Acacia Farnesiana, Heliotrope, Rosemary, Peppermint, Violets, 

 Wallflowers, Laurel, and Oranges, from which alone three 



