THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 
: [Mar. 14, 
alan Antea, they were not remarkable. 
eben, ind tras a tg S from a different vlant; 
Each of the leaves I enm. Eco tolerably Cate 
they can give you, even if they ari. re Gf thair | 
condition, but little idea of the extreme beau, Re 
colours ; some ar» quite white ; some white powdered, 
with deep green spots; some edged ; some of a beautiful 
greenish white have leaves veined with Peach blossom, 
edged with dark green, &c. We know of no red Cab- 
bage within a mile and a half of the spot where the 
parent plant was grown (for they are all of the same 
plant) Is this a common circumstance? If not, tell 
me if this beantiful variety (more fit for a greenhouse 
than a Cabbage garden) ean be preserved.—X. Y. Z 
[This is the neglected variegated Kale, sometimes called 
Ragged Jack, and may be perpetuated by sprouts or 
cuttings of its stem. We agree with you in thinking 
it beautiful.) 
Polmaise. Heating.—1 have perused with attention 
Mr. Meeke’s papers on Polmaise heating, and I cannot 
ayoid the conclusion, that he confounds relations and 
functions which are perfectly distinct in their nature 
and objects, and do not admit of a logical comparison. 
He seems to compare water, as an instrument or means 
of conveying heat, with air; not as air instrumental 
or the means of conveying heat, but as the subject 
which is itself to be warmed. To have instituted a just 
comparison, the terms of it should have been as between 
water inclosed in a metallic pipe or case, as a medium 
for conveying heat to the said pipe, and air similarly 
inelosed for the like purpose of conveying heat to its 
metallic envelope. In either ease the metallic surface 
is the ultimate point at which the heat is given off ; and 
it matters not (so far as the air of the hothouse which 
is to be warmed is concerned) whether the heat has 
been conveyed to the metallic surface through the me- 
dium of water or air, or by the direct action of fire, 
provided the area and temperature of the heated surface 
contact of the air be the same in each 
on is just as active and.effectual from a 
heated through the medium of water, 
as any other medium ; but I cannot see that radiation 
has anything to do with the question of warming the 
air of a hothouse by one method more than another. 
I do not pretend to more than a superficial knowledge 
of the science of heat, but if there is one fact which my 
reading has impressed distinctly on my mind, it is, that 
the temperature of air is not in any notable degree 
directly affected by radiated heat. Heat is radiated from 
the sun to the earth, and the objects are not; and com- 
paring small things with great, heat is radiated from the 
ire of a room, or from the heated surface of a stove, to 
all the solid objects of or in the room; but the air, 
through which the rays of heat are transmitted from 
one object to another at a distance, remains compata- 
tively unaffected by them ; and its own temperature is 
only raised by its particles coming in contact with the 
objects to which heat has been transmitted, and then 
from one particle of air to another by circulating cur- 
rents. But all this is conduction, not radiation ; and 
the precise advantage of the Polmaise system is, that it 
facilitates the conduction of heat among the particles of 
air, by causing a rapid circulation and bringing fresh 
particles of air into momentary contact with the heated 
surface, whether it be the plates of a stove heated by a 
fire or a pipe heated by hot water.—J. H. H. 
Hereman’s Dilutium.—At page 78 of the “Journal 
of the Horticultural Society,” and also in an extract in 
the Chronicle, I perceive that Mr. Hereman’s Dilu- 
tium for destroying the mealy bug had been used in 
the garden of the Society, and that “in a few days after 
its application Mammillaria gracilis died, and all the 
other plants were more or less injured." Surely some 
error must have been eommitted in applying this liquid, 
as I have used it for some time past for various plants 
without any injury,while to every insect which it touches 
it is certain death. Since the account appeared in the 
“Journal,” I have applied it to the tender growing 
shoots of various stove plants, such, for example, as 
Ixoras, Clerodendro: Exostemas, Limonias, and 
several other plants, without washing it off, as Mr. 
Hereman directs, and yet it did no harm. My neigh- 
bour, Mr. W. Barnes, has used it since it was first sent 
out, and though he found it to injure very tender shoots 
if not. washed off in time, he is so convinced of its value 
that he would on no account be without it. The only 
objection which Mr. B. has to it is the expence, but as 
Mr. Hereman now sells as much for 1s. as he formerly 
eharged 5s. for, Mr. B.’s objection is removed. At the 
present time sufficient to dress a. tolerably large collec- 
tion of plan's may be procured for T's., so that no one 
need be without it. For my own part, I consider it in- 
valuable.— V. P. Ayres, Brooklands. 
Cinerarias —A correspondent has suggested the pro- 
priety of offering medals of higher value than are now 
given for Calceolarias at the Horticul Society’s 
exhibitions, on the grounds of their great beauty and 
still further capability of improvement. ave no in- 
tention of detracting from the merits of the Calceolaria 
in recommending the Cineraria as equally worthy of 
favourable consideration by those who arrange the 
schedule of prizes. Few plants are more useful in à 
garden than the Cineraria, for it might be had in bloom 
if desired, during the greatest part of the year, and 
when in bloom there are few plants more showy. Would 
it not, then, be advisable another year to offer medals 
(even if of small value) for the best six Cinerarias of 
distinct and good varieties:—Cineraria. 
Vine Growing without Artificial Heat. 
Asan active 
plants were purchased by their present 
best method of heating greenhouses, I believe I can 
give your Grape-growing readers, at least, some informa- 
tion on the subject ; in whieh I hope to show that the 
fines, Cranes may be matured in this country without 
the said of artifica, oat. I pays Wu each 
AA B LE hu. 4 heated hot-water pipes ; 
abies pain iti both ation of y few loads dr an. 
one house having the IY d Ó E 
The Vines are chiefly Black mac burgh, Black Prince, 
4 not colour to 
and Sweetwater. As the Hamburghs ax 70%; : 
to m isfaction, I tried the iment or arching 
on the Black Prince ; and I think I gained sometmz27 
in colour by the trial. But being still dissatisfied, I 
erected a small glass house on the south-western side of 
the dwelling-h Here Li duced from the garden 
a branch of a Sweetwater, on which I inarched a Black 
Hamburgh. The result was that, in the second year, 
I obtained from this Vine, without artificial heat, 
Grapes not only superior to any in my other houses, 
but which carried the first prize at the last Horticultu- 
ral exhibition at Maidstone last year, against 15 com- 
petitors from some of the best Vineries in that part of 
Kent.—A Subscriber, Bearsted-house. 
The Season.—This day (March 9), I have seen trees 
of the common English Laurel in full flower, and Por- 
tugal Laurels are putting forth their leaves, These 
facts are the more extraordinary, because I never re- 
member a winter during which the greater part of the 
year's growth of wood was not destroyed, most especially 
of theformer species, thus rendering the timeof flowering 
and growth very late in the year. Snowdrops have 
passed away several weeks since ; the Crocuses are 
nearly over. Shoots of climbing Roses are 6 or 8 inches 
long, and on one small] plant are two buds. Pzeonia 
moutan, whieh flowered here the end of last May, is 
in large bud ; Salvia splendens and Grahami have stood 
out unproteeted through the winter, and look well; the 
Fuchsias, generally cut down to the root, are now in 
full leaf to the end of their long stems ; Hyacinths are 
in bloom in the open ground ; Primroses have put up a 
succession of flowers since Christmas ; Honeysuckle, of 
various kinds, is in large bud; and, in shors, this place, 
much exposed, wears the appearance of early May.— 
S.s near Lancaster——By way of further illustration 
of the extraordinary precocity of the present vernal 
season, it will be interesting to know that in an after- 
noon’s walk this day, I perceived the following plants 
in bloom, several of which anticipate, by a full month, 
their usual period of flowering :—Narcissus pseudo- 
Narcissus, Hyacinthus non-seriptus, budding ; Oxalis 
Acetosella, Ruscus aculeatus, Glechoma hederacea, 
Cardamine hirsuta, Draba verra, Sarothamnus Scopa- 
rius, Myosotis collina, Veronica Chamædrys, V. hederi- 
folia, Luzula campestris, Carex præcox, and many 
others. Ranunculus Ficaria, the earliest herald of 
advancing spring, was in bloom Feb. 1; not, however, 
as Wordsworth says : 
Telling tales about the sun 
When we've little warmth or none, 
but whilst we were in the enjoyment of the most agree- 
able temperature. Corydalis claviculata has been 
flowering beautifully throughout the winter, particularly 
in Stopham Hanger, where it has climbed a length of 
4or 5 feet, and is still advancing. “ Blackthorn winter” 
has commenced with us these three weeks, and many a 
Hawthorn hedge is clothed in tender green.—7. A. 
Malleson, Pulborough, Sussex, March 7. 
Manure for Cabbages.—The following hint might be 
acceptable to cottagers and other growers of Cabbages : 
—lInstead of wasting manure in setting the plants, as 
soon as they are well established open as large a hole 
as you can with a Potato-dibble, or any good substitute, 
and fill the opening with soap-suds, chamber-ley, soot, or 
other similar compound brought to the consistence of 
tolerably thick paint, or such as will just pour from a 
watering-pot with the rose off. If a tank of liquid 
manure is at hand, thicken it with soil, sand, sawdust, 
or other available substance ; nothing can be better, 
and certainly nothing so economical, All kinds of Cab- 
bage are greedy of salt in weak solution. Make the 
hole close to, but not to touch the plants. As soon as 
one row is finished, beginning at the first hole, turn a 
portion of the adgacent soil into the hole with your shoe 
or any gardening instrument. One dose, if properly 
administered, will do.—Probatum est, 
Werkty Prices or Poratons per ton, in Covent 
Garden Market, in 1845, and 1846. 
15250 
1845. | 
S n a | 50s. to 80s. |Feb.......... 7| 70s. to 169s, 
15| 50 80 14| 70 . 160 
22) 50 80 | 21 70 160 
March ...... 1| 50 80 | 28| 70 160 
50 90 ||March ...... 7, 70 170 
"y 15| 50 90 || 14) 76 170 
.— Also at the waterside, Southwark. - 
vo E 10 | 55s. to 80. Feb... 505. to 120s 
17| 55 80| 50 120 
24| 55 80 | 50 120 
March ...... 34-55 80 ||March .. ... 2| 60 140 
55. .80| 9|60 140 
Socteties. 
STAMFORD HILL, CLAPTON, & STOKE NEW- 
INGTON GARDENERS’ ASSOCIATION. 
Jan, 19.—Mr. Merry in the ehair.—Mr. CRICHTON, 
gr. to J. Foster, Esq., read a paper on the culture of 
Achimenes and other plants belonging to the natural 
order of Gesnerads. This order Mr. C. stated to con- 
controversy is now occupying your columns as to the 
i 
tain several genera of great interest, five of which, 
namely, Achimenes, Gesnera, Gloxinia, Sinningia, and 
Niphea, he would treat of collectively. Beautiful, says 
Mr. C., as.are the whole of them, the Achimenes are the 
most attractive; their dwarf bushy habit, brilliant 
flowers, and the length of time they continue to bloom, 
render them worthy of our care in cultivating them for 
the greenhouse or conservatory. The species longiflota,. 
grandiflora, pedunculata, rosea, and picta come from 
Guatemala; and coccinea from Jamaica; the other 
four genera are natives of the West Indies and of South 
America. They all like a stove heat, but they may also 
po grown without such convenience, for most of the 
Achnj2enes and several of the Gloxinias will attain a 
high degree of Perfection in a Cucumber-frame. The 
compost I emp:9y 1$ light sandy loam, turfy peat, and 
rotten dung, in equal parts, with a little silver sand 5 
these are mixed well together inthe antumn previously 
to being used, allowing the mixture to remain exposed: 
to the action of the air till wanted, but protected from. 
rain. These plants are all readily propagated from 
under-ground tubers and from leaves ; where the latter 
are preferred they should be inserted in sand and peat 
and covered with a bell-glass, plunging the pots in a 
hotbed; the bell-glass should be wiped dry every day 
until the plants are rooted, when it should be removed 
altogether, and air given to encourage their growth. In 
order to keep up a succession of blooming plants from 
April till the dark months of the succeeding winter, 
some are started at different times in spring, com- 
mencing about the middle of January. The bulbs are 
taken out of the dry soil in which they have been stored, 
and are potted singly (choosing the strongest), in 3-inch 
pots, well drained and filled with the above-mentioned 
soil, placing a little silver sand round each bulb. 
Gloxinias, Gesneras, and others which grow from the 
same bulb every year, are placed in pots just large 
enough to admit of their annual growth. After re- 
ceiving a little water they are placed in a hotbed or 
house where the temperature ranges from 60° at night 
to 70° by day, and the fermenting material in which 
they are plunged from 75° to 80°, not higher, as 
either excess of heat or water at this early stage of 
excitement would be injurious. When the pots be- 
come filled with roots they are shifted at once into 
those in which 'they are to be flowered. The Achimenes 
have the best effect when grown in masses ; this is done 
by taking four plants out of small pots, and planting 
them in a larger one or in a pan, of a foot in diameter 
or so, in proportion to the size required, with 2 or 3 
inches of potsherds in the bottom, to secure perfect 
drainage ; the top as well as the bottom heat is now 
raised to about 80°, keeping up a moist atmosphere : 
the Achimenes are syringed frequently, and air is given 
at every favourable opportunity, and water when neces- 
sary, but the latter with care, as many of the fleshy- 
leaved kinds are easily injured by too much water. 
When small pots are employed liquid manure is given 
twice a week, but never before the roots have com- 
pletely filled the pots ; while growing they are kept as 
near the glass as possible, removing them when in 
bloom to the greenhouse, but taking care not to expose 
them to cold draughts ; shading is sometimes necessary 
to preserve the flowers. For winter-blooming Achi- 
menes pieta, Niphea oblonga, Gesnera zebrina, lateri- 
tia, oblongata and bulbosa, are employed ; but although 
the others are not seen in bloom in the dark months of 
winter, Mr. C. believed them to possess capabilities for 
that purpose, provided a proper course of treatment 
were adopted. After they have done flowering water is 
partially withheld, and when the tops have died down 
the roots are removed to any place free from frost and 
moisture till they are wanted,—Mr. Murry remarked 
that he started the bulbs before he took them out of 
the store pots, he then planted three in a 5-inch pot 
(three of which pots he shifted into a 9-inch pot as soon 
as they were filled with roots); he believed that they. 
might be flowered throughout the whole year.—Mr. 
KENDALL ded pans for Achi He said 
that the best method of propagating Gloxinia was to lay 
the whole leaf under sand, and from it a number of 
plants would be produced.—Mr. Crexrorp disapproved 
of mueh shading or syringing, as both tended to elongate 
the young shoots ; the best specimen of Achimenes he 
had ever seen was grown in a pan. If pots were used 
the soil should be poor and porous, or the plants would 
expend their energy in the formation of tubers.—Mr. 
"TANT remarked, that out of a number of very healthy 
plants of Achimenes grown by him, the only one that 
did produce tubers at all grew in nothing but sand and 
chareoal.—Mr. Wren had always found the different 
kinds of Gesnera to do best in soil rather stiffer than 
what he used for Aehimenes, He never syringed hi 
plants.—Mr. M‘Donap thought the bulbs of Gloxinia 
should not be kept in a low temperature while at rest ; 
he had lost several, and attributed it to the temperature 
of the place, not being above 40°, but had never lost 
any when placed on a shelf in the stove.— W. Sherwood, 
Hon. Secretary. 
3iebíttos. 
Phycologia Britannica, or a History of British Sea-weeds. 
illiam Henry Harvey, M.D. 
Ture Numbers of this beautiful work have now ap- 
peared, with which such of our readers as may not have 
met with it will thank us for making them acquainted. 
The drawings are beautifully executed by the author 
himself on stone, the dissections carefully prepared, and 
the whole account of the species drawn up in such a 
way as cannot fail to ‘be instructive evento those who 
are well acquainted with the subject. The price, too, 
