ENG 



210 



ENG 



whichever mode is adopted for this 

 concluding operation. 



A very excellent mode is to spread 

 over the surface of the bed about an 

 inch in depth of pit-sand, and covering 

 each plant with a small pot made of 

 earthenware, painted both within and 

 on the outside to exclude the wet — that 

 worst hindrance of blanching. To avoid 

 this, the pots should be taken off daily 

 for a quarter of an hour, and their in- 

 sides wiped dry. A common garden-pot 

 will do if the hole be closely stopped; 

 but a sea-kale pot in miniature, is to 

 be preferred ; and if made of zinc or 

 other metal, it would be better, because 

 not porous and admissive of moisture. — 

 Juhnson''s Gard. Almanack. 



To obtain Seed. — The finest and 

 soundest plants should be selected of 

 the lastplantation, and which most agree 

 with the characteristics of the respect- 

 ive varieties. For a small family three 

 or four plants of each variety will pro- 

 duce sufficient. These should be taken 

 in March, and planted beneath a south 

 fence, about a foot from it and eighteen 

 inches apart. As the flower-stem ad- 

 vances it should be fastened to a stake; 

 or, if they are placed beneath palings, 



by a string, to be gathered 

 Fi'T. 37. as the seed upon it ripens r 



for if none are gathered 



T until the whole plant is 

 changing colour, the first 

 jg, ripened and best seed will 

 have scattered and be lost, 

 so wide is the difference 

 of time between the seve- 

 ral branches of the same 

 plant ripening their seed. 

 Each branch must be laid, 

 as it is cut, upon a cloth in 

 the sun ; and when per- 

 fectly dry, the seed beaten 

 out, cleansed, and stored. 



ENGINE. This name is 

 applied to many contriv- 

 ances for supplying water 

 to platUs. 



1. The pump-syringe, or 

 syringe-engine, (Fig. 37), 

 can be supplied with water 

 from a common bucket, 

 from which it sucks the 

 water tiirough a perforat- 

 ed base. The handle is 

 sometimes made to work 

 like that of the common 

 pump. 



2. The barrow watering-engine (Fig. 

 38) is represented in the figure below. 

 It will throw the jet of water to a dis- 

 tance of forty or fifty feet, or somewhat 

 less if a rose is upon the end of the de- 

 livery-pipe. It holds from twenty to 

 thirty gallons of water; but may be 

 made, with a leather-hose attached, to 

 communicate with a pond or other 

 reservoir of water. 



Fig. 38. 



3. The curved barrel-engine (Fig. 39) 

 is excellent; for the barrel, piston-rods, 

 &c., being so constructed as to be turned 

 on a lathe, they are so accurate that 

 there is the least possible loss of power, 

 either from unnecessary friction or from 

 an imperfect vacuum. 



Fig. 39. 



Another garden engine of still greater 

 power, is illustrated by the annexed 

 drawing (Fig. 40) ; it is somewhat more 

 costly than those in general use, but 

 may be used for a variety of purposes, 

 and in some cases might be used to 



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