28 OBSERVATIONS ON WHITNEY'S PREPARED CALICO, &C. 



the flower garden, arid for striking Dahlias, and other cuttings under. 

 To shade and shelter beds and stages of florist flowers ; and for many 

 other purposes it will be useful to the florist, as it is a good protec- 

 tion, and the light it admits is not so strong as to fade the colours. 

 For covering frames in the shape of hand-glasses ; for propagating 

 under out of doors through the summer months, for this purpose they 

 are preferable to glass ; there is many ready ways to form these kind 

 of frames, and they will soon suggest themselves to any one that sets 

 about it. 



The kitchen gardener may use this material for raising early 

 Potatoes, Salading, &c. ; for raising seeds that require protection, as 

 well as for Cucumber and Melon frames, if not very early in the 

 season ; for the last purpose it should be as transparent as possible ; 

 and I must observe that the lights should, in all cases, have the 

 greatest degree of elevation, or pitch of the roof, that reason will 

 admit, so that it may dry quickly after rain ; and air should be given 

 every favourable opportunity to dry the condensed vapour of the 

 under surface, otherwise fungus will begin to grow, and decay soon 

 follow. This material may also be used for protecting the blossoms 

 of wall trees, but after they have been covered for several days, or 

 perhaps weeks, with such a covering, much greater caution is 

 required in removing them than is generally taken, and it should, by 

 no means, be done at once ; but I have not room to say more of this 

 at present. To use it for any of the purposes I have named will not 

 be expensive to those who wish to try it, and then they will be able to 

 form their own judgment as to what further use it may be applied to. 



These few remarks fall far short of doing justice to the merits of 

 Mr. Whitney's invention ; but T think Mr. W. deserves, at least, the 

 good-will of all who are interested in gardening, for the interest he 

 has taken in endeavouring to carry out his invention, whereby to 

 place in the hands of those who had it not before, the means of 

 spending their leisure hours in such a favourite amusement, and 

 also extending it to those who were already engaged in it : under 

 these feelings I have great pleasure in contributing my testimony, of 

 what I have seen of it, to the pages of your most useful publication. 

 Mr. Shaw says so little of his treatment to his tree after he erected 

 the covering, that I cannot say what was most likely to be the cause 

 of his failure ; but if he did not make use of the syringe freely every 



