35—1846.] 
THE GARDENERS' 
CHRONICLE, 581 
short chimney about 6 inches high, set on to the side of 
the drain so as to be out of the way, by which the air 
enters without the admission of dirt from the floor. The 
value of this apparatus cannot, perhaps, at this season 
of the year, be fully tested by experience ; but I do not 
anticipate any probability of failure. The flue is wide 
and deep, enclosing a pit which may at will be fitted up 
as a tank, or tan-pit, or sand-bed, or covered air cham- 
ber, and is surrounded by a footpath, except where it 
returns over the arch that issues from the fireplace, 
and passes thence between the cistern and the end of 
the house into the chimney. The two ends and front of 
the house have a wide shelf of flag or wood between the 
paths and wall, and a platform underneath raised a few 
inches above the level of the floor, for pots containing 
Toots which are to remain dry and at rest, I may take 
this opportunity of mentioning that, instead of a shelf 
along about 10 feet of the front from one corner of the 
house, a slender wall having been raised the space be- 
tween it and the front wall was filled with coarse sand 
for pots to stand on. In the corner a pot about a foot 
wide, containing a young plant of Ipomcea seabra, was 
Set along with the rest. The plant rooted into the sand 
and has remained undisturbed four or five years, being 
trained to a wire along the front of the house, on which, 
during the first two years, it flowered abundantly. 
From thence it has been allowed to ;oceupy the wires 
Under all the rafters, and its tuber has swelled to a 
reat size above ground, being more than twice as large 
as the pot could contain. It now presents a perpetual 
Sheet of blossom during moxe than half the year; my 
Bardener says it produces a million of its large flowers 
inthe year; I should say, perhaps, 100,000. I have 
Seen nothing to compare with it for beauty in a house 
Which is kept pretty cool. Bignonia Chamberlayni per- 
aps rivals it iu a damp stove, where it forms an ever- 
lowing screen to the Orchidaceous plants, I was fear- 
ful of the heat arising from the fire-place, construeted as 
Ihave stated, being too strong, and boiling the water 
in the cistern. My aim was therefore to moderate the 
heat at that point; but I find that, from the excellence 
of the draught (which is partly caused by two air-drains 
from behind the house, passing on each side of the ash- 
hole, and rising together into the arched flue where it 
issues from the fire-place, the door of the furnace being 
kept always shut, and also a sliding-door into the ash- 
hole), the perpendicular heat from the fire is not near 
as great as I expected, the heat being hurried forward, 
and I believe the air-chamber would have been more 
powerfully heated, if it had been prolonged and brought 
1n contact with the arched flue as well as the fire-place. 
At present the whole length of the flue becomes almost 
‘equally heated ; and it is evident that no heat is lost. I 
believe that for almost all purposes the union of brick- 
“ue, cisterns, and air-chambers, will be preferable t 
‘ron pipes and boiler. I find square zinc trays, 5 or 6 
Inches deep, and containing water or coarse gravel and 
water, very useful. Plants of the genus Hymenocallis 
thrive even through the whole year, immersed in the 
Water, and others can stand above its level upon pots 
inverted, or on coarse gravel if the space is larger than 
Tequired for aquatics.—W. Herbert, Spofforth, near 
Wetherby_—P.S. No. 1: The above was written some 
Ame ago, and I have since had a strong fire lighted for 
6 hours, to try how the whole apparatus would answer. 
alf an hour after the fire was alight the flue was heated 
almost equally all round the house, and before long it 
Was as hot at the furthest extremity as the old flue used 
to be at the end nearest the furnace ; but the heat that 
issued from the air-chamber was i iderable. Twelve 
hours after the fire had been raked out, the flue was 
throughout its whole length as hot as could be wished, 
except in frost of unusual severity, and a fine genial 
heat issued from under the flag over the cistern, with- 
Out visible steam, but moistening the face of a person 
looking into it, by which it appears that the air cham- 
er did not become sufficiently warmed till its outer 
Sides had had time to become heated ; but, that having 
een once effected, the heat will serve long after the 
fire is extinguished. It seems to me quite evident that 
every object will be thus gained with the least possible 
fuel, I can command any degree of regular moisture 
by zine trays filled with coarse gravel or small stones 
on which pots may stand, more or less water being 
Poured in as found expedient. In consequeuce of the 
excellence of the draught the water does not get hot in 
e cistern, though it will probably heat rather more 
When soot shall have lodged in the flue, but I believe 
the double connection with the supplying cistern 
may not have been necessary. The fire having gone 
completely out before 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, 
to-day (16 hours after its extinction) the entire flue 
had become cold, but a strong moist heat continued 
to issue from the air chamber at the cistern, and 
at the expiration of 26 hours it still yielded warm 
a very sensible to the hand. I attribute this to 
b e thorough heating of the solid mass of brickwork 
tween the arched neck that rises from the fireplace 
Into the bottom of the flue, and the air drains which 
rise by its side to the level of the floor, for that mass 
oun Only give out its heat through the air drains. If 
hey had passed close to the sides of the arched under- 
ound mouth of the flue, the air chamber would have 
[ess more quickly heated, but the heat would not have 
ieee So durable, I stated that two air drains from 
ehind bring air from without along the sides of the 
ash-hole, and rise into the bottom of the arched neck be- 
md the ash-hole, and quicken the draught, but I should 
Ave said, that from the level of the furnace they de- 
Side of the furnace and ash-hole diagon- 
Scend by the 
ally, after which the air rises behind of the 
ash-hole, because the atmospheric air is thus warmed 
should have at midsummer. A sudden frost sets in, 
the trees are stript of their leaves, and the unripened 
before it rises into the flue, and that ma; 
be of some importance to the draught and heating of 
the flue. Nothing can be more satisfactory than the 
result, for it is clear that the air chamber would keep 
moderate frost out of the house long after the extine- 
tion of the fire, and the effect of a constant suction of 
the cooler air of the house returned with a genial and 
moist warmth must be very beneficial. There would 
be no difficulty in adding a boiler to the apparatus I 
have described, by which hot-water pipes might be 
heated for adjoining houses.——P.S. No. 2: I have just 
seen Mr. Meek's papers in the two last Numbers, and 
I perceive that he has also suggested passing the hot 
air over water, of which I was not aware. He appears 
to use a very small vessel, as represented in the figure, 
but as his object is to transmit the hot air to the bot- 
tom of a tan pit, the moisture it may acquire does not 
seem very material. From Mr. Meek’s account in 
your last Paper, it does not appear clearly how much 
inerease of temperature is owing to the furnace, and 
how much to the tan. [Nothing to the tan, or very 
little ; it is too shallow to ferment much, and the tem- 
perature rose immediately after the fire was lighted, the 
tan itself being wetand cold.] In whatever manner the 
warm air shall be used, whether simply disch d into 
nay | wood. d with sap which gets congealed, can 
] g 
only be thrown off in the shape of gum.— JV. Stothard, 
Durdham Down Nursery, Bristol, Aug. 24. 
Mummy Wheat.—A letter which I lately received 
from Sir William Colebrooke, Governor of New Bruns- 
wick, communicates a fact which will, perhaps, surprise 
you, namely, the assumption of a biennial character by 
the celebrated Mummy Wheat brought from the 
inches long, and the stems very strong. On my return 
Frederi 
p 
© 
the house and transfused intoa chamber under a tan bed 
or sand bed supported by hurdles and straw, it appears 
to me equally objectionable to place the fireplace out of 
the house, losing half the heat it could supply, and add- 
ing the expense of an additional building to cover it. If 
a brick flue is not liked in the house, the fireplace can 
nevertheless be placed as mine is, and the smoke carried 
directly back into the chimney in the back, placing the 
air chamber over the whole fire and neck of flue þe- 
tween it and the chimney, and great additional and 
durable heat will be saved, which seems to me to be 
wasted by Mr. Meek’s. It should be recollected that 
the air drains, though not quite as expensive as flues, 
because they need not be so spacious nor so well built, 
oceasion nevertheless a proportionate expense. My 
object is to see how the most advantage can be drawn 
from a given fireplace and consumption of fuel, and I 
say that the air drain system, the cistern, the hot flue, 
and the boiler and pipes, if wished, for another house, 
may be all worked by one fire. It is now a considerable 
time since my alterations have been made, and I am 
satisfied that nothing could be better, except, perhaps, 
the prolongation of the air chamber over the top of the 
neck between the fireplaceand the visible flue, which would 
probably cause a hotter current of air while the fire is 
burning, but less durable after its extinction. The flue 
heats so freely, and with so little fire, that if an inch or 
o | less of water is poured into a zine tray upon it, and in- 
verted pots placed therein, the pots that stand upon 
them when lifted. off feel at bottom as if taken out of a 
very mild hot bed.— JV. H., August 20. 
Fruit- Tree Borders.—l began to make a Peach-tree 
border about six years ago in the following manner :— 
The old soil was taken out to the depth of 3 feet, and 
the bottom made to slope 18 inches into a small drain 
parallel with the border, which was 14 feet wide ; I 
then covered the bottom with slate tiles, making them 
overlap each other a little in the way in which they are 
laid on the roofs of houses; upon the tiles was laid 
about a foot in thickness of rough stones, and over 
these the mould forming the border, which consisted of 
turfy loam without any other mixture (but if it were 
always convenient I should mix a few crushed bones 
with the soil, for the purpose of keeping it free and 
open). After leaving the border for a while to settle, 
the trees were planted on little mounds of earth to 
allow for further settling; their roots were carefully 
spread out, and covered to the depth of 3 or 4 inches ; 
I then dug a trench round each tree a foot wide to the 
depth of the border, and about 4 feet from the trunk of 
the trees; this trench I filled with stones, such as 
are used for building dry walls, laying them as regular 
as I could on the side next the trees; after covering 
them over and levelling the surface of the border, the 
work was completed. During the summer months the 
trees were well mulched and kept free of insects, but 
before autumn commenced the mulching was all cleared 
off and the surface of the border fully exposed to the 
action of the air; at this time I opened the trenches, 
and found that many of the roots had reached the other 
side ; these I carefully turned back, pegging them down 
right and left to the ball of earth, with their points in- 
elining upwards, and filed up the trench again as I 
went along. About the same time the following year I 
treated them in the same way, and probably might have 
done so the third year had they been under my care, 
for when I left them they were in excellent condition ; 
and while they continued so, I should not have given 
them any more width of border until the roots had oc- 
cupied the space between tree and tree. The chief 
object to be always kept in view in the management of 
Peach and Nectarine trees is a thorough ripening of 
the wood ; this point can only be gained by confining 
their roots. I dislike the unnatural practice of cutting 
them back, which, if often repeated, is sure to cause 
them to produce suckers; then, on the other hand, 
what can be expected from trees whose roots are ex- 
posed to an excess of stimulating matter, and left to 
revel without reatraint ; is it not in such trees that we 
find a superfluity of thick, spongy, long-jointed wood, 
with single buds that are of no use? How often do we 
see such trees in mild autumns carried into the middle 
of winter, with all the appearances that a Peach-tree 
n Ihope they will be nearly ripe, and that 
I shall be able to send youa specimen. I am much 
gratified at this success, which has secured a valuable 
production to the country. I shall be glad to receive 
from you any later particulars of the progress of this 
cultivation by Col, Le Couteur, and others at home ; and 
of the estimation in which the Wheat is held in England. 
I cannot resist the impression produced by three years’ 
experience, that this is a winter Wheat, and, if so, not 
a production of the soil of Egypt. Whence did the 
ancient Egyptians draw their supply of this grain? 
Probably, from its size and productivene:s, a supersti- 
tious idea led to the deposit of these grains in the 
mummy-case.” ‘The letter, of which the above is an 
extract, is dated the 13th of last month, at St. Andrew’s, 
New Brunswick.— Wiiliam Hamilton, M.D., Plymouth, 
August 6 
An enormous Radish has been grown by Mr. James 
Elstub, Staineliffe-mill, Betley. It measured 19 inches 
in length, the circumference at the top was 123 inches, 
and at the middle 12 inches. Weight 3 Ibs.— Witness = 
George Gledhill, Staincliffe, Betley. 
Fixing Botanical Specimens.—Strips cut from the mar- 
gins of postage stamp sheets have been recommended for 
this purpose. Some years ago, observing a similar re- 
commendation in some botanical work, I made trial of 
these strips for fixing the sp in my herbarium, 
but found them very unfit for the purpose, being too 
weak to hold specimens of any size, and the gum defi- 
cient in adhesiveness. Their dirty cream colour is also 
a great objection with those having a desire for neat- 
ness. I invariably use stout green paper slips covered 
with a solution of gum arabic. These I find to answer 
admirably. The gum arabic if put on of sufficient con- 
sistency, possesses strength sufficient to hold the plants 
firmly, even although the herbarium be in very active 
use, and the green-coloured strips contrast nicely with 
the white sheets, and the whole looks more lively than 
if the slips and sheets were of one colour. A corres- 
pondent recommended to me narrow silk ribbons for 
the purpose ; but on trial I found the elasticity of these 
prevented them from fixing well to the papers.—Geo. 
Lawson, Doune House, by Cupar, Fifeshire. [The 
best material for rendering paper adhesive is two parts 
gum arabic, one part powdered Tragacanth, one part 
coarse brown sugar, thoroughly dissolved, and applied 
of the thickness of cream.] 
Achi J 1 
p tiful as this family of 
plants is, none of them seems to outvie this variety. In 
habit it is robust and stately, giving it an especial claim 
to attention. I manage it as follows :—After flowering, 
and when the foliage has begun to decay, water is with- 
held, and the plants are kept in a dry situation, out of 
the reach of frost. About the middle of January the 
old soil is shaken from them, and they are planted in 
paus well drained, in a mixture of charcoal broken to 
the size of a nut, turfy peat, and burnt turf „well mixed 
with silver sand. The pans are filled to within about 
an inch of the top, the tubers are laid regularly on, and 
the pans filed up. They are then placed in a warm 
situation in a Vinery near the glass, where in a short 
time the plants make their appearance ; they are then 
transplanted singly into small pots, and as soon as the 
roots appear on the outside of the ball, they are re- 
potted three into a well drained 6.inch pot. As scon 
as the second pair of leaves unfold the top is pinched 
off, and this operation is continued till the plants form 
quite a bush ; the syringe is drawn over them every 
fine evening. About the middle of May they are re- 
moved to the greenhouse, when they soon show flower. 
By following this system no sticks ave required. Thisis 
the best of all the species for the drawing-room; several 
plants that have been in the room for the last three 
weeks have not lost a leaf, and they are studded with a 
profusion of lovely orange flowers —E. S. 3 
Healthy Potatoes produced from Discased Sets.—On 
taking up the crop last autumn, a considerable quantity 
of the worst tubers (which, though so much affected as 
to be easily perforated with the finger, were yet sprout- 
ing at one end) were planted immediately. Others, to 
all appearance even worse than these, were thrown to- 
gether in a heap to rot. During the winter they 
sprouted, and in January many of these were also 
planted. Strange to say, the produce from these roots 
