74 Calls at Gardens and JSIurseries. 



an has ii])wanl.s of two Imndrcd seedliiiijs two or throe years oid, TJiereis 

 here a plant ot' tlie P_]nikanthus quiiiqiirflara belonging to the natural order 

 Ericete ; it w;;s imported by Col. Perkins three years since from the ceit^brated 

 establishment of the Messrs. Loddigos, and is the only specinjen in the country ; 

 k cost six guineas. It is just showing its pink buds which hang in |jendu- 

 lous umbels, and will be open in few days. A large speci'p.en of Sirelitzea 

 augusta, also very rare, is growing finely. Eriostemon cuspidatus is throw- 

 ing out its spikes of Itiids. There are tine plants of Edwardsia grandiflora, 

 Teleupea speosissima, Beaumontia deccuss:'ita, &c. Large plants of Azalea 

 ledifolia and indica phsenicea are covered with flower buds; Vallhelmia viri- 

 diflura is coming in flower; three or four varieties of the Acacia are fidl of 

 buds; the finest s|>ecinien of Daphne hybrida we have seen is in Col. Per- 

 kins' collection. The odor of the flowers, with which every branch was 

 covered, is very similar to the Lilac ; it is a plant which should be seen in 

 every greenhouse. 



We entered the Peachery, and we should do injustice to Mr. Cowan, did 

 we not mention his method of training and pruning the Peach. — ^. 



The trees are trained on the back wall, on a wire trellis under the glass, 

 and on a trellis raised half way between the ground and glass. Those lui- 

 der the glass were trained as if the shoots of the peach were as |)lial)le as 

 the vine. One stem was brought \\\) ])erpendicidarly to the top of the front 

 wall ; it here divided oft' into two shoots and each ran along horizontally, 

 being niade stationary by fastening with shreds ; from these horizontal 

 shoots two or three branches were carried up the trellis under each rafter of 

 the house, leaving a distance of about two feet between the brandies under 

 the centre of each light, that the sun may have considerable influence on 

 those trained below. The young shoots were full of blossom buds, and we 

 did not observe scarcely a s[)eck of gum or cruiker on either tree. We 

 intend at some future time to give a plate, descriptive of his method of 

 training. 



From the Peach house we passed into the grapery, on the other side of 

 the greenhouse. This comjjartnient is heat with a hot water a|)paratus in- 

 vented by Mr. Perkins of London, and is the oidy one of the kind we be- 

 lieve which has been in oj)eration in the country. Accidents have however 

 happened to it several times, and once tlie ex])ansion tube has burst; it prob- 

 ably may be owing to not understanding their management ; the pipes are iron 

 antl only an inch bore, and run rountl the house several times. During the 

 severe cold nights of the first of the month when the thermometer was 18 

 deg. below zero, the house was kejit up to sfre?!77/^ue deg. during night, 

 and all through the cold weather it ranged from 65 to 80 degrees. Mr. Cow- 

 an had tied his vines up to the trellis, and the eyes had begun to swell, when 

 an unlucky accident happened — one of the |)ipes burst; Mr. Cowan had to 

 take the vines down immediately and tie them up in straw and mats, where 

 they now remain, — the pi[)es not yet having been repaired. There is no 

 doubt but it is the best method of heating forcing houses yet discovered ; 

 but they require much attention and the gardener some knowledge of the 

 theory of heat, to manage them free from accidents.. 



From the graj)ery we visited the forcing ground, where many improve- 

 ments and additions have been made since last season. Four new pits have 

 been erected on a plan similar to those mentioned at Mr. Cushing's; but 

 instead of a double wall they have only a single one ; the ])its are not iit a 

 range, but are front of one another, at the distance of six feet between each ; 

 this is to leav-^ room to throw in dung all aromid, the heat to enter the bed 

 through pigeon holes in the wall. They are fourteen tifct in length, and are for 

 cucumbers and melons, and for grapes on the coiling system. Mr. CovvSn has 

 cucumbers in the seed leaf, which look very healthy. Jn a small house in the 

 garden heat by a brick flue, some vines have now broke ; and will show fruit 

 in a few weeks ; the roots are outside in the border, which is covered eighteen 



