REMARKS ON THE CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 13 
a flue, from a fire in the potting-house, and which, I must say, succeeds 
very well; but, in this go-a-head age, I think something new might be 
better, and I have lately read much about ‘“ Polmaise,” &ce. Now, 
I think, I have in my brain a cheap plan of heating by open gutters, 
having hot or warm water continually passing through them, but I do 
not know whether the steam arising might affect the inmates. I am 
aware it would be much more suitable for stove plants and fruits, but, 
I think, it would answer well for a greenhouse, and should feel much 
obliged by having your opinion on the subject. I could easily regulate 
the heat by diminishing or increasing the flow of water in and out of 
the pipes or gutters. 
_ Perhaps, at the same time, you could inform me, through the widely 
spread and read “ Caxsiner,” if Gloxinias and Gesnerias will answer 
in a greenhouse; some gardeners say they will, others that they will 
not, unless forced in a stove. 
Can you tell me when “ Fuchsia spectabilis,” vide Canrner for 
July last, will be offered for sale, and about the price; it is certainly 
a beauty. 
[ What heat is required in a greenhouse is in winter, and at which 
season it must be kept as dry as possible. Any steam admitted is 
injurious, and just to the degree permitted is the evil. We have seen 
it tried in several instances, and some cases the plants, &c., were a 
mass of mildew and rottenness. If you must alter, have the usual hot 
water system of closed pipes, or what is cheaper, Hazard’s Warm Air 
System; for particulars of it, see our Magazine for 1847, pages 257 
and 272. Gloxinias and Gesnerias must, to do well, be brought to a 
flowering state in a higher temperature than a greenhouse usually has. 
A stove or hot-bed frame heat is required. ‘The Fuchsia will be 
offered in spring; we do not know the price. See notice on wrapper 
for the other particulars. } 
REMARKS ON THE CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 
BY A VISITOR. 
Never shall I cease to remember the delight I felt during my first 
visit to that luxurious domain of all that is rare and splendid in the 
vegetable tribes of tropical climes. I landed upon the stone steps 
which conduct the visitor from the waters of the Ganges to the curator’s 
house, and passed up under an over-arching trellis well embowered by 
creeping plants effectually excluding the sunshine, and mingled pro- 
minently among which plants were in abundance of the flowers of a 
gigantic specimen of that most poetical of flowers the night-blooming 
cereus. On either side the path were various species of the most sensitive 
plants, the mimosas, hedysarums, &c. Passing into the lower floor, 
the house (generally uninhabited) I found it stored with chests of 
Assam tea, a produce likely to become one of the most valuable exports 
of India; and descending the stairs met that most excellent man, Dr, 
Wallich, the present curator. We examined together his library, 
