1843. >> 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 
Just published, in One Volume 8vo., price 3s. 6d. to Fellows of 
the Society, and 5s. to others, (or postage free, upon receipt of 
a Post-office order, price 5s. to Fellows of the Society, or 6s. 6d, 
to others, 
A CATALOGUE or tur FRUITS CULTIVATED 
in the GARDEN of the HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY or 
LONDON. (Third Edition.) Containing the Names, Synonyms, 
Colour, Size, Form, Quality, Use, Time of Ripening, and many 
other particulars concerning all the most important varicties of 
hardy Fruit cultivated in this country. 
Sold at the House of the Society, 21, Regent-street, and also 
by Loneman and Co., Paternoster-row ; ATCHARD, Picca- 
dilly ; Rrpeway, Piccadilly; Rivinctons, Waterloo-place; and 
by the principal Booksellers in all parts of the Empire. 
few Copies of the Second Edition of this Catalogue may be 
had at the reduced price of 1s, 6d. each. 
The Gardeners’ Cheonicte, 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1848. 
! MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS, 
s, F Horticultural... + 3 Pom 
September 19) yigvicnltural (00 6 7 Pome 
Tuesday, 
Fareham and South-east Hants. 
Country Snows-—September 19.4 sare ye aa, 
— 2% . Norfolk and Norwich. 
21 <{ Hoddesdon Cottagers. 
_- 22. Salt Hill. 
Tux observations on the Tank system of obtaining 
bottom-heat, made by our valued correspondent, 
Mr. Beaton, both last week in his Calendar and in 
a more extended article to-day, will be read with 
great interest, for they are the remarks’ of a man of 
much experience and skill. We are, however, sure 
that he will excuse us for differing from him on one 
point upon which he has strongly insisted, namely, 
the BrOpE CY of employing uncovered hot-water 
gutters, which allow the steam to condense among the 
soil of which the bed they are to heat is composed, 
We have already pointed out what we conceive to 
be the evils of this plan. It is impossible to prevent 
impurities in large quantity falling into the tanks or 
gutters, and it is to be apprehended that they will by 
degrees choke up the boilers ; it is equally impracti- 
cable to hinder the conversion of the soil into mud. 
Mr. Beaton admits the facts; he also recognises the 
force of the first objection ; but he contends that the 
second is untenable and that mere mud is the best 
thing possible for growing Melons and Cucumbers in, 
provided you keep « dry atmosphere over it (Calendar, 
p. 632), Here we are at issue. 
That both the Melon and the Cucumber are capable 
of digesting an unusual quantity of water is most true. 
There is somewhere an account, we believe by Mr. 
Towers, of a Melon plant whose roots found their way 
into a tank of water through some solid masonry, and 
spread in the fluid in all directions. The practice in 
some hot countries, of growing these plants on beds float- 
ing upon the surface of lakes, is familiar to everybody ; 
and therefore it might be true that open tanks convert- 
ing soil into mud will suit the Melon and Cucumber, 
Without its at all following that they would be equally 
advantageous to other plants ; in which case pits thus 
constructed could be employed for nothing else—a 
serious inconvenience in all except very large gardens, 
and no advantage in any. But we doubt whether 
excessive moisture at the roots is advantageous in this 
country, even to the Melon. 
Yn the Theory of Horticulture (p. 121) this question 
has been gone into; and mention is there made of 
certain experiments with the Melon made in the 
garden of the Horticultural Society with reference to 
this very subject. Those experiments all failed. 
Persian varieties of the Melon were grown in baskets of 
earth standing in a tank of water, and they were trained 
under the glass of a curvilinear iron stove, where they 
received all the heat and light they can have in this 
climate. The plants for some time grew vigorously, 
their roots struck into the water in all directions ; but 
some of them rotted at the ground level, and in those 
which bore fruit the produce was quite inferior to 
what would have been obtained under ordinary cir- 
cumstances. Yet in this case the conditions of the 
oating gardens of Cashmere were fulfilled, as far as 
circumstances permit,—but they were not all fulfilled, 
hor can they ever be: the bright light of the East 
was wanting, and the water was stagnant. In a Per- 
sian lake the water is in continual agitation, from many 
causes ; and the intensity of light is such as the eye 
can scarcely bear, while the heat scorches up the skin. 
All these conditions are necessarily wanting in this 
country ; and therefore we submit that the practice of 
Cashmere and Mexico cannot here be imitated with 
advantage. But if we understand Mr. Beaton rightly, 
e prefers the muddy state of the bed where Melons 
are cultivated over open hot-water gutters, because it 
thus approaches the state of Eastern lake-gardens, 
It strikes us that there is another serious objection 
to obtaining wet—we do not say moisture, but wet— 
by conveying it from below: it cannot be regulated, 
Nor can the amount of it be ascertained at any 
time; while, on the contrary, if water is communi- 
cated from above, and proper drainage is provided 
below, no gardener need be ignorant of the state of the 
643 
roots of his plants. And this is, in fact, the practice 
of Persia, whose Melon-grounds are regularly irrigated 
by water let in from above. 
Mr. Beaton attaches importance to the dryness of 
the atmosphere in which Melons are grown, and we 
perfectly agree with him that it should not be wet; 
butif the soil is dry on the surface, and only moistened 
below by condensed steam, we do not understand how 
the red-spider is to be kept down, Mr. Knight, the 
best Melon-grower we ever heard of, found no remedy 
except sprinkling the leaves frequently and lightly 
with warm water. 
For these reasons we adhere to our opinion, that, 
for all purposes, Melon-growing included, it is advis- 
able that the hot-water gutters used for affording 
bottom-heat should be closed up with some kind of 
porous material, either all round or at the sides. And, 
as far as we are at present aware, it will be found that 
if the spaces between the gutters are filled with rough 
materials, such as fragments of bricks and pottery, 
any quantity of water may be communicated to the 
beds by the ordinary modes of watering, where exces- 
sive moisture is desirable, 
Wuen the subsoil in which the drains are to be 
formed is not a compact clay, but a loamy gravel, the 
labour in draining is greater. Loamy gravel is quite 
as impervious to water as clay, but it often lies on a 
sandy stratum which is porous. In this case pits 
may be dug, into which the drains may be conducted, 
and the water will sink down; but if this is not the 
case, tools must be used fit for picking stones, and if 
the gravel crumbles, and no clear channel can be dug 
with the narrow spade, tiles or earthen pipes must be 
used: some of the latter are now made with a very 
small bore, and at a low price. They will answer 
admirably to lay in the narrow drains; and if the 
sides crumble in, the pipes will always carry off the 
water. Some of these pipes are manufactured at the 
low price of 20s. per 1000, 13 inches long. They. are 
not close, but there is a sufficient opening left at the 
joining of the edges, bent round, to let the water in ; 
and they are not likely to choke up soon. The most 
troublesome subsoil to meet with is a running sand, 
full of water, which is frequently the case where the 
boundaries of a stratum of clay approach to those of 
sand and gravel. If the loose sand lies in a small 
compass, some very stiff clay may be first thrown into 
the trench, so as to make an artificial subsoil for the 
drain to be cutin; but if it be extensive, the only 
remedy is to find an outlet for the water accumulated 
in the sand, after which it will become dry and porous, 
and no further draining will be required on that spot. 
But the subsoil, without being a quicksand, may be 
of loose earth, or a marl, which will crumble when 
wet, and thus the drains will not stand. In this case 
pipes are the best remedy, unless you can make a solid 
gutter of concrete, according to the plan of Lord James 
Hay, which we have not yet had an opportunity of 
trying. This, it is said, will traverse a quicksand or 
bog, and carry the water through any soil. 
In many fields of which both soil and subsoil 
appear light, traces may be seen of water having stag- 
nated in winter. The cause of this can always be 
traced readily, by digging holes here and there around 
the wet spots, in spring. If water stands in them for 
any time after rain, draining is required, but not 
always complete thorough-draining. The water in 
this case filters horizontally through the upper soil, 
and meeting with a bank or obstruction, is accumulated 
where the subsoil is impervious, and lies in a kind of 
basin. One large deep drain carried judiciously 
through this basin and the obstructing bank, will lay 
the whole surface dry at a trifling expense; or some 
diverging branches’ may be required to collect the 
water from different small basins. The application 
of the system of thorough-draining on such lands 
would only be expense misapplied, and perhaps render 
the land less productive than it was before. But 
where a loose sand lies on a stiff clay or marl, no 
cultivation can be successful till the subsoil be laid 
quite dry in summer and winter. We find, in conse- 
guence, that it is in such lands that the system of 
under-draining has been practised the longest, and 
been considered as an essential preliminary to all 
good farming. Practice invariably anticipates theory, 
and the application of common seuse by a sensible 
practical man leads to much sounder systems than 
the theories of the most acute philosoplfer, which 
ery often are logically deduced. from “uncertain 
principles. The shrewd, well-informed farmer learns 
more by walking over a field where the crop 
has failed from the land being too dry or too 
wet, than he probably would by reading the most 
reputed system of Agriculture. We are far from dis- 
paraging the labours of those who collect facts and 
record them, judiciously explaining’ the principles 
which these facts establish ; but we defy any man to 
have correct notions on soils and cultivation who has 
not had long experience, and often corrected opinions 
hastily adopted by the inspection of his crop in seasons 
which widely differ—as is so often the case in this 
4 
climate. The same may be applied to draining. It 
is one of the best means of obviating the evils of a 
moist climate: but in some very dry seasons the 
undrained land may have the best crops; and in some 
situations draining may not be necessary, and be a 
useless expenditure. Before any one begins expensive 
improvement, it is prudent to consult some experienced 
practical man, and notallow himself to be led away by the 
wonderful increase of value of some lands produced by 
simply draining them. If your land is dropsical, tap it ; 
but do not draw off the moisture which is conducive 
to health, The same observations apply to subsoil- 
ploughing or trenching. When the subsoil is porous 
or well drained, and the top soil is of a good depth and 
mellow, this last should be stirred to its full depth, 
and a few inches more, to mix some of the subsoil 
with the upper soil, and in the course of time the pro- 
ductive soil will be much deepened. In a few years 
the subsoil or the trenching-plough may go still deeper, 
and the depth of good soil will be much increased. 
But suppose you have six inches of a very moderate 
soil over a stiff yellow or blue clay, however well 
drained, and you. use the subsoil-plough to the depth 
of 14 or 16 inches at once, (which will require six 
horses, at least, even in a favourable season :) you will 
only make a temporary channel in the clay, which will 
close up by the first rains ; and if you examine it the 
year after, no traces of your subsoiling will remain, 
and all your labour and expense will be thrown away. 
Thisis the consequence of applying a useful principle 
injudiciously: but if you only move three or four 
inches of the subsoil, some of the upper soil will be 
washed into the openings made by the subsoil-plough, 
and prevent their closing, while the roots will follow 
the good earth, and be kept moist at that depth. This 
has a reference to the depth of the drains laid in such 
a subsoil: in many cases 14 inches is a sufficient 
depth for the small pipes to be laid, 20 inches for the 
conductors, and 26 for the main drains. The depth 
of these last may be as great as the lie of the land will 
allow, for they have no communication with the sur- 
face, except through the conductors ; but the nearer 
the small collectors are to the surface, and to each 
other, the more perfectly they will dry the land. It 
must, however, be kept in mind that you may over- 
drain, and Jay your land too dry: on a clay subsoil 
this is seldom the case,— JZ. 
BOTTOM-HEAT. 
Art the moment when Mr. Rendle thought his tank- 
system had settled the question of bottom-heat, which 
has been in agitation for the last quarter of a century, it 
appears he has only formed a link which unites the two 
ends of a great chain—thus forming a circle. He is satis- 
fied with a steady bottom-heat, which, passing through 
solid pieces of slate, differs nothing in its properties from 
that obtained by Mr. Forsyth’s primitive Kidlogie system. 
The Gardeners’ Chronicle occupies an intermediate 
station between Mr. Rendle and myself, and recommends 
the use of porous tiles to cover the tanks, so that the heat 
should not altogether be deprived of its moisture: while 
I advocate heat saturated with moisture, with the power 
of converting it into dry heat at pleasure. Now among 
these jarring principles, how are the uninitiated to arrive 
at just conclusions on the subject? I recollect being in 
this predicament ia 1825, between steam and hot water. 
But let us take a rapid glance at the formation of the 
chain, whose ends Mr. Rendle has united :—About 1820, 
the late Mr. Stewart, gardener at Valleyfield, in Fifeshire, 
one of the best gardeners of the day, began to give bottom- 
heat to his Pines, from a chamber heated by a flue, and 
covered close with thin flag-stone—hot water and slate 
coverings not being then thought of. After three years’ 
trial, the advantages of this system were laid before the 
London Horticultural Society, and printed in their 
“ Transactions” (vol. v. 
But the gardening world, like the rest of mankind, 
is slow to adopt improvements, and is sadly put out 
at any new or startling idea, This innovation of bot- 
tom-heat met a host of ridicule and objections on the 
threshold, and was firmly résisted by the advocates of 
tan-beds and dung-linings: a proposition for obtaining 
bottom-heat unaccompanied with moisture, they said, 
could not well be surpassed in absurdity ; and when they 
were told that a layer of sand—placed under the pots 
to receive the drainage, or otherwise watered—would 
supply the necessary moisture, they were panic-struck 
with the idea ;—turning linings for one’s life-time was 
nothing to this trouble. Now we must recollect that 
Mr. Stewart’s plan, thus opposed, differed very little from 
that of Mr. Rendle ; the difference being in the more uni- 
form heat by hot water, and the manual labour of raising 
vapour instead of having it direct from a tank: and if Mr, 
Rendle had proposed his system in those days, it would 
have been sure to have met with strong opposition from 
gardeners of the old school. However, this opposition 
did some good, in so far as it payed the way for, or 
rather gave rise to, a less objectionable mode of obtaining ~ 
bottom-heat, accompanied with the great desideratum of 
moisture—this was steam, discharged into chambers filled 
with stones: steam itself having previously met with a 
“powerful opposition,” (vide M‘Phail, “ Gard. Rem.,” 2d 
ed.) But now, the comparison with dry bottom-heat turned 
the tide in its favour, and it flourished for a time, until the 
element which gave it birth was found to answer better ; 
