Heatmg Horticultural Buildings. 97 



give a detailed account of the many plans which have been 

 tried, both by scientific and practical men, to remedy the 

 evil. It may, however, be well, before giving my opinion 

 and experience of the following plan, which, 1 imagine, is the 

 full remedy, to direct attention to those systems which were, 

 before the introduction of this, the best we knew of. The 

 old smoke flue, whilst it is well suited for ripening fruits re- 

 quiring artificial heat, is well known to be liable to many 

 serious objections. The drying nature of the heat given off 

 by it, renders it little less than an entire failure. It is scarcely 

 possible to have imagined any thing worse contrived for afibrd- 

 ing a congenial atmosphere to most plants during the growing 

 season, — and it is well known, that unless the joints, &c., 

 are in very good order, noxious gases are given ofl" which are 

 hurtful to vegetable life : indeed, all practical men are aware, 

 that, without an immense amount of care and labor, fine spe- 

 cimen plants, possessing any thing like their natural luxuri- 

 ance and beauty, cannot be grown under this system of heat- 

 mg. 



On this account, the inventive faculties of men, anxious to 

 promote the science of gardening, were called into action, 

 and hence the introduction of hot water circulating in iron 

 pipes. But this system of heating, although a great im- 

 provement upon the old smoke flue, also fails in many re- 

 spects ; indeed, my experience leads me to believe, that the 

 heat afforded by this, is nearly as ill adapted to the growth 

 of plants, as that of the other. I imagine that the difference 

 consists, not in the nature of the heat afforded, but in the ab- 

 sence of noxious gases, which the pipes do not give off" as 

 plentiful as the flue does, and in the heat being more regular, 

 as the latter do not become so much hotter at the part next 

 the fire, as the flue does ; consequently, the one part of the 

 house is equally hot with the other, or nearly so. There is 

 also less danger of overheating a house by this system, so as 

 to materially injure its inmates, than by the other, and pipes 

 likewise occupy much less space, and look much neater than 

 flues. But of these, I presume, I have said enough, and 

 would not have said so much, were it not that my remarks 

 will be useful in noticing the system on which I am about 

 to venture an opinion : 1 mean the tank system. 

 VOL. XI. — NO. in. 13 



