612 



General Notiecs. 



son. We have little doubt that it will soon be so modified as to be worked 

 by ponies, donkeys, or by small steam-engines ; but whether it be or not, 

 it promises, in our opinion, to be one of the greatest boons that science has 

 conferred on the working gardener in our time. We wish we could see as 

 simple, efficient, and cheap machines for cutting grass to be made into hay, 

 and for reaping corn crops. We shall figure the machine for mowing lawns 

 in our next Number. 



Cottam and HaVf.Cs- Cast-iron vertical Tubes, for circulating hot water 

 (j%. 95.), are recommended to gardeners by Mr. Wm. Brown of Norwich, 



93 b. 



as greatly preferable to wrought-iron vertical tubes. We have examined 



them in Winsley Street, and agree with our correspondent that they must 



be much more desirable. The section of the tube is a parallelogram with 



rounded ends, and one tube is joined to another by small vertical cylinders 



(a b). The same writer states that he has tried Fowler's Thermosiphon 



{fig. d^.) on a small scale, and found it answer in a dwarf wall 12 ft. long, 



with the north side of boards, 



and the south side of slate. The 



apparatus, he says, is placed on 



a deal board, and drawn out by 



the end of the wall at pleasure 



The boiler and tube of which he 



has Bent the sketch, will be readily 



understood by turning to Vol. V. 



p. 433. 



A Hand-Engine for watering Trees was some time ago recommended to 



our notice by Mentor. Its object is, to apply tobacco-water or soap-suds 

 to the under-side of the foliage of trees. It may 

 be worked in a common pail, or vessel of any sort ; 

 and the bare inspection of the accompanying sketch 

 {fig. 97.) will enable any syringe manufacturer to 

 supply it. 



A narrow Spade, for thinning out Trees in nur- 

 sery lines, which is in use by Mr. Donald - , » 

 of the Goldsworth nursery, deserves to be '^^ 

 better known. The fruit-tree stocks, for 

 which the nurseries about Woking have been 

 celebrated for more than a century, when 

 first taken off the stools, are planted in rows 

 10 in. apart; and the space between the 

 plants in the rows varies from 1^ in. to 4 in., 

 according to their size and the rapidity of 

 their growth. It often happens that some 

 of these plants grow so much stronger than 

 others, that they require to be thinned 

 out the first autumn after planting ; and 

 for this purpose Mr. Donald's spade 

 (^^.98.) has the following form and di- 

 mensions : — The handle is of the usual 

 length, but the blade is like a long narrow 

 trowel, curved in at the edges, and shar^ 



there; it is 4 in. broad at the tread, antl tapers to 2\ in. at the point. 



