46 DECEMBER. 



rod-iron frames, which are by no means expensive, 

 considering their durability. Unless on the great 

 scale of splendid gardening, supported by unbounded 

 affluence, the floral department, even to excel, should 

 be confined within moderate limits, and if so, the 

 necessary adjuncts, as above mentioned, will not 

 much increase the annual expenditure. Auriculas 

 in pots, and Carnation layers, must now be attended 

 to ; for though they may thrive without extra care, 

 the blossom cannot be expected to succeed so well 

 as with it. The fine stage Auriculas and Carnations 

 should always be kept in pots placed in frames ; 

 every mild day, when fair, the covering should be 

 taken off, or, if the day be wet, it should be so raised 



description than commonly used, are preferable ; and if they are sus- 

 pended at a moderate distance from the bed to be sheltered, they are 

 more effectual than if placed in contact ; and this, I am told, depends 

 on the principle of radiation ; now this principle, as I read in one of 

 those admirable little books of Mr. Rennie, is the spreading, or send- 

 ing off heat, which arises from heat passing from a hot body to a 

 colder one near it ; this spreading of heat takes place between the 

 surface of the ground, and the air ; and when the air is cold, though 

 the soil be warm, it soon loses its heat, and dew or hoar-frost is formed 

 on the grass, by the moisture in the air becoming condensed and 

 frozen at the same time. 



But when the sky is covered by clouds, this radiations and loss of 

 heat, is in a great measure prevented ; and hence, there is no dew or 

 hoar-frost found on a calm cloudy night. On this same principle, 

 garden plants are protected by matting or awning, which stops the 

 heat of the soil from diffusing itself about, and being lost in the air. 



A friend of Mr. Rennie's stretched a cambric handkerchief at six 

 inches above a grass-plat, which was five degrees warmer under the 

 handkerchief, than in any exposed part : my own friend states, that 

 on a frosty night, the difference of heat was four degrees, between the 

 portion covered by a screen, at four inches from the ground, and one 

 in immediate contact with it. 



From both instances we may conclude, that our awning or cover 

 should be at some distance from the flower-bed, and of a light ma- 

 terial ; all this is very interesting, and I believe very true. I know 

 my friend would not mislead me, and I have also the fullest reliance 

 upon Mr. Rennie. 



