166 JSTotes on JVurseries and Private Gardens, 



princij)a]]y used as a stove; the glazed end of the present struc- 

 ture Avill form the partition between the two. This is as it 

 should be. We are convinced that no person who has a taste 

 for plants, and has the means to gratify such a taste, would con- 

 tent himself with a green-house alone, — there are so many splen- 

 did shrubs which need a higher temperature than that at which 

 green-houses are kept, that he who would possess them can only 

 do so with the aid of a stove. The singular family of cactuses 

 require more than the heat of ordinary green-houses to have them 

 flourish and display their blossoms in perfection: were all the 

 species and varieties to be seen in bloom at once, we are almost 

 persuaded that structures would be erected for their cultivation 

 alone: the only reason why they are so little appreciated is, 

 that in our cold and damp green-houses they scarcely ever dis- 

 play their gorgeous blooms, and they are, therefore, considered 

 as useless plants. A green-house, strictly speaking, is but a 

 place for the preservation of plants, and~ iH>t ior the growth of 

 them; and the idea which some persons have, that all sorts and 

 kinds may be grown in them, is entirely erroneous. It is owing 

 to this one cause that we frequently hear complaints of the difH- 

 culty of cultivating some particular species or ^•ariety. But to 

 return from this digression: Mr. Perry's conservatory and stove 

 together, when completed, will be, as indeed it now is, one of 

 the most beautiful structures that has ever been erected, and will 

 reflect great credit upon its liberal and gentlemanly proprietor. 

 We had intended to have requested of Mr. Perry the liberty of 

 taking a plan for our Magazine, for insertion, the ensuing summer; 

 but as we shall give that of Mr. Becar's, if we have his consent, 

 we shall put off that of Mr. Perry's until he shall have completed 

 his contemplated addition of a stove. It would give us great 

 pleasure to see some such similar structures in the vicinity of 

 Boston; and we confidently hope that some gentlemen who have 

 the taste, as well as ample means to do so, will cause such 

 to be erected. 



Mr. McNamara, Mr. Perry's gardener, appears to understand 

 his profession; and the healthy appearance of the plants, though 

 many of them had not been planted out long, attested his good 

 management. We had almost forgot to mention Mr. McNa- 

 mara's mode of keeping his dahlias: the tubers, after they are 

 dug up in the fall, are carried to a dry room for a few days; they 

 are then committed to a dry cellar underneath the conservatory, 

 (one end of the latter being considerably elevated above the 

 ground, owing to its gradual descent from the mansion,) and 

 placed upon trellised shelves; this allows of a free circulation of 

 air around and underneath them, and they retain their firmness in 

 an extraordinary degree. This mode also prevents the rotting 

 of the stems, which often carrries off a whole collection, the 



