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17—1845.] 
THE GARDENERS' 
CHRONICLE. 
267 
Tl HE EXHIBITIONS OF PLANTS, FLOWERS, 
and FRUIT, in the Gardens of the ROYAL BOTANIC 
SOCIETY, Inner Circle, Regent’s Park, will be held this season 
in the New Conservatory, on Wednesdays May 20, June 3, and 
July 1.—Tickets may be obtained at the gardens by presenting 
an order from a fellow or member, price 4s, each, un 9; 
E RENCHAY, NEAR BRISTOL, 
- The late residence of Mrs. Tuckett, deceased. 
For SALE by PRIVATE CONTRACT, a very convenient 
FAMILY MANSION, containing spacious dining and drawing- 
rooms, library, hall, and kitchens, on the ground floor; six 
best bed-rooms, and three servants’ rooms, on the first floor; 
well arranged offices, Stabling for four horses, and Coach and 
Gig-houses; with an ornamental Garden. roduetive 
Kitchen-garden. The whole abundantly supplied with both 
The Premises may be viewed by tickets, to be obtained of 
Josera Davis, &mall-street, Bristol, and of whom the price, 
and further particulars, may be obtained, ; 
Frenchay is a delightful village, 4j miles from Bristol, 6 
i from Clifton and Henbw nd one hour’s ride from Bath, 
RIES, GREAT BERKHAMPSTEAD, HERTS. 
RS NE anp SON’S splendid CINERARIA 
“SUPERB BLUE,” which fully maintains its original 
excellence, is now ready for sending out—by post, 5s. ; large, 
blooming plants, 7s. 6d. È 
FUCHSIA, “MRS. LANE,” which was exhibited and proved 
last year, will be sent out first on the 11th of May next, and all 
orders received and to be ree willbe executed according: 
to priority. Price 10s. 6d. 
i atalos bi 
E AND STOVE PLANTS. 
W N and CO., Nurserymen, being 
the possessors of a large and healthy stock of the above 
Plants, comprising the rarest and most beautiful in cultivation, 
beg to offer them on the very reasonable terms quoted in their 
Advertisement in the first page of the Gardeners’ Chronicle of 
the 18th instant, to which they beg to refer for particular: 
danger of snch ventilation as this that gardeners 
have concluded that a close, moist atmosphere is 
indispensable to Vines when in flower—a singular 
mistake which we fully disposed of some years ago. 
Some time since we had intended to address our- 
selves to this subject (see p. 99), but tho revival 
of the Potato question and other matters so crowded 
our columns that ventilation was given to the wind. 
We must new endeavour to make up for our lost 
time. 
If we did not hate new words, we should be half 
inclined to expunge ventilation from the language 
of gardening, and to substitute zephyration or some 
such gentle epithet. We shall, however, content 
ourselves with distinguishing ventilation from 
aération, the latter a legitimate word in actual use; 
defining ventilation as the process of letting the 
external air at once into a forcing-house, and 
aération as the act of keeping the atmosphere of a 
forciug-housein motion by currents of warmed fresh 
air. 
Thé importance of AERATION cannot be over- 
estimated. it is ihe one thing which now requires 
to be secured, in order to render Our artificial cli- 
mates natural. Why it is so advantageous we nave 
on a former oceasion endeavoured to show. A 
man’s reason, indeed, must tell him that a plant 
condemned to pass its life in a still atmosphere is 
like nothing so much as a criminal set fast in an 
everlasting pillory. In order to secure motion in 
Ie. TES 
Cross Lanes Nursery, Bedale, Yorkshire. 
THE NEW “MAMMOTH” BROCCOLI OF 1846. — 
ILLIAM MAY, F.H.S., begs to refer to his former 
iption of this splendid B 
In Manches- 
wert 
.B.—This is the proper season for its being sown. The trade 
Supplied. 
The Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 1846. 
MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOL; 
LOWING WEEKS. 
no 
} Horticultural (Anniversary). 
Fav, — May 14 Boraniea o. E PA. 
Monpay, — 4—Entomologic] ` — + BM. 
Toss,  — -sf Hordcultural 2 + aew 
Sarunpay, — 9—Horticultural Gardens” iP 
COUNTRY SHOWS. 
Norfolk: and: Norwich Horticultural Society. 
ottingham Horticultural, 
Perthshire Horticultural, 
6—Heartsease,? 
‘Wauorrepay, April 2 
Fripay, May 
Wopxuspay,, — 
Witt those gentlemen who are so shocked at 
the Pormaise plan of heating, and who so confi- 
dently foretell its universal failure, be so good as 
tead attentively a letter in another column from 
Mr. Daviss, of Wavertree ? They will now find 
that what we have always asserted could be done 
‘Has been done ; and not by an enthusiastic amateur, 
of whom practical men profess so great a dread, 
ut by a nurseryman, for his trade purposes. A 
double pit 42 feet long has been thus heated 
for four pounds six shillings, 
Such being the case we decline inserting any 
further cavillings about the matter ; unless, indeed, 
Some one is able to show that Mr. Daves’ state- 
ment is untrue ; which those who know his respect- 
‘ability will not be very easily led to believe. 
When a man builds a foreing-house, he settles 
carefully the slope of the roof, the nature and di- 
tection of the heating apparatus, the material for 
us shelves and floors, the quality of his glass, the 
Size of the squares, and the depth of their laps. 
Whether the door shall. be at the end or side, and 
the whereab of the stoke-hole. are other points 
How, then, are. we to: ac- 
of grave deliberation. 
Count for the almost universal neglect of the most 
Important part of all—ruz VENTILATION ? 
3 t no, we wrong the builders of forcing-houses ; 
i not neglect ventilation ; on the contrary, 
ey provide for it copiously. "They make the roof- 
Sashes slide, and the side windows unfold, and the 
oorway alone administers no i iderable doses 
of wind. In fact, the ventilation, if by that term is 
Meant the Zetting in of wind,is in nowise deficient. 
i Ut unfortunately this is not precisely what plants 
a Mire; "They want in-draughts neither of hot dry 
lrin the dog days, nor of ice-cold breezes in the 
OHNE Both hot and cold air act like water ; the 
€ scalds, the other freezes. It is because of the 
"milk if the surface of the sponge were. continually 
the veget kingdom, currents of air are made 
to do the work of the muscles, limbs, and volition 
of animals. It is not at all improbable that, in 
addition to the mechanical effect of motion in assist- 
ing the propulsion of the sap, it may be important 
that the stratum of air in contact with the leaves of 
plants should be incessantly shifted, in order to 
enable them to procure an adequate supply of 
food ; for we find that water in motion feeds them 
better than that which is stagnant. Leaves are 
continually abstracting from the air the very mi- 
nute quantity of carbonic acid which it contains. 
When the air moves quickly over their surface, 
fresh supplies of that food are incessantly presented 
to it, and tbe operation of abstraction may be 
facilitated ; while, on the contrary, if the air is stag- 
nant, the absorption of carbonic acid may be very 
much slower. Just as would be the case if a great 
sponge filled with milk were to be placed in mere 
contact with a man's mouth.; he would be a long time 
in sucking out its contents if the. sponge: were im- 
movable, but he would soon possess. himself of the 
shifting. 
Perspiration.is another vegetable function, which 
must be maintained in healthy action, The quan- 
tity of water that flies off from the surface of a 
plant will, ceteris. paribus, be determined by the 
rapidity of the motion of air passing over its surface. 
In an absolutely still air perspiration will be reduced 
to its minimum, and it will increase, within certain 
limits, in proportion to the quickness with which 
the air sweeps over it. Thisis no doubt the reason 
why in Vineries which let in air at every lap, of 
glass, and with the side-doors constantly open, the 
Grapes acquire such excellence, and keep so long : 
as is the case with Mr. Groner Crawsuay’s famous 
December fruit. 
If the motion of air is thus favourable to the two 
great operations of feeding and perspiring, we shall 
find that it is equally needed day and night; for 
perspiration goes on principally during daylight, 
and feeding in the hours of darkness. A good 
system of aeration must then be constantly in action. 
How to secure that is the great Horticultural 
problem which now remains to be solved; and to 
which we would most especially draw the attention 
of our readers, 
We cannot anticipate any difficulty in the matter ; 
for a variety of means suggest themselves, the 
moment the question is considered. Such aération 
as we propose has, in fact, been secured in different 
ways b many persons, although such plans have 
attracted little attention in consequence of their real 
importance not being understood. 
One of the earliest and simplest was that of the 
late President of the Horticultural Society. By 
passing pipes, open at each end, through the heat- 
ing materials of a hotbed, one end being in the in- 
terior of the frame, and the other exposed to the 
open air, he succeeded in constantly renewing the 
atmosphere of the frame, and in keeping the leaves 
in motion, with, as he tells us, the happiest effect. 
Mr. Witttams, of Pitmaston, has pursued another 
course. He keeps the south end of his Melon- 
frame open to the outward air night and day, excep 
that it is covered over with a screen of “ fly-wire” 
painted black, and continued in the inclination of 
the roof. This screen receives the rays of the sun 
heats the air that passes between its interstices. By 
raising the sashes at the back, a very powerful eur- 
rent of air is established ; the thermometer ranges 
from 80° to 90° below the leaves in a sunny day, 
and in short the “ atmosphere is as hot as is expe- 
rienced in the southern parts of Italy, with al- 
most as much ventilation as if growing 1n the open 
air"—See Journal of Horticultural Society, vol. i, 
page 43. 7 : 
The plan of Mr. Wittiams might be modified by 
such a contrivance as is shown in the following sec- 
tion. Let A B represent a section 
of a front wall, or wooden frame ; 
C, ahole; D E F,a screen of zine 
or iron, painted black, nailed to it 
in front. It is obvious that when 
the sun shines on the black plate, 
D E, it will rapidly heat, and com- 
municate its temperature to the air 
below it; the latter would imme- 
diately pass through C, and with a 
force proportioned to the elevation 
~ ofits temperature. 
In the last number of the * Journal of the Horti- 
cultural Society,” Mr.THomas Moore has proposed 
a very Simple method, which we now reprint, o 
aérating a Cueumoez house, heated by tanks. 
“Ina little book* on the cm. 7° of the Cucumber, 
ublished in 1844, I recommended the waz?"?8 paie 
external air before admitting it to the plants, by a p.®? 
which will be explained by the annexed diagram (A). 
“The main point which this plan was intended to 
secure was:this: that the cold air should pass directly 
over the-surface of the heated. water in a tank provided 
for’supplying bottom-heat to the Cucumber plants ; and 
by passing over this surface, it was. supposed that it 
would not only be warmed, but so far charged with 
moisture as not to abstract any from the succulent 
foliage and stems. of the plants, but rather to furnish 
them with a source whence they themselves might draw 
part of their supply. This plan was entirely uncon- 
nected with any scheme for securiug motion without ad- 
mitting'the external air; but it is obvious that both 
might be combined, as in the following diagram (B), 
which. also. rep an, imp upon the 
original. plan. 
* In this arrangement it will be seen that the cold ex- 
ternal air is supposed to pass through a heated cham- 
ber Separate from the tank, but admitting of communi- 
cation for the purpose of supplying moisture if necessary. 
Thusthe external air may be warmed either with or 
without being moistened before it reaches the plants 
inside the houses; or the moisture may be directly ad- 
mitted from the tanks by other means, in the exact 
quantity required at any particular stage of growth. 
The advantage gained-by this plan is a greater command 
from 10 4. M. to 3 Pp. m., all summer long; it be- 
comes heated to 80° or 100°, and consequently 
* Theory and. practice applied to. the Cultivation of the Cu- 
cumber in the winter season, 
