338 



London Nurseries. 



The Gaelic Schools in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland amount to 

 eighty, and are attended by five thousand scholars. Many of" the scholars 

 are grown up persons, and not a few are advanced in life; but, notwith- 

 standing this, many of them have acquired the art of reading v.'iih fluency 

 in three months. When the Gaelic School Society commenced its labours, 

 there were not fewer than 1 50,000 persons capable of instruction yet 

 unable to read in any language whatever. {Evan. Mag., March, 1829.) 



Venei^ahle Orange Tree. — Your extract from the Journal of the Bristol 

 Nursery Librarif Society, under the above head, in Gard. Mag., No. XIV., 

 has been copied into it from the Journal of the Tour of a Deputation of the 

 Caledonian Horticidtural Society throitgh France, Sec, where you will find 

 a more full account of it, p»41 ] . — Jo/m Ferme. Haddington, Sept. 23. 1828. 



IRELAND. 



Counsellor West's Curvilinear Iron Sash-bar Hot-house, lately erected in 

 the neighbourhood of Dublin, is, perhaps, the most beautiful thing of the sort 

 in the united kingdom. I am surprised that your correspondent Mr. Fraser 

 has not sent you some account of it. The hot-water system of heating is 

 making rapid progress in this country, and succeeds perfectly. Messrs. 

 Bailey of London, who put up Mr. West's hot-house, I believe, were the 

 first to introduce it in Ireland. — J. H. Feb. 16. 



Draining Bogs. — A very interesting work of this kind is likely to be 

 soon undertaken. There is a chain of three lakes in Galway, very near one 

 another. Lough Corrib, Lough Mask, and Lough Corra. By cutting a gal- 

 lery 3,000 feet (ij miles) long, through a limestone rock between the first 

 and second of these lakes, an interior navigation of 50 miles can be opened 

 up, and 16,500 acres of land, now all under water, will be drained. The 

 costs of the gallery are estimated at 50,000/., and the value of the land to 

 be gained at 550,000/. {Scotsman.) 



Education. — At the Anniversary Meeting of the London Hibernian So- 

 eiety, April 25., it appeared that, during the past year, " the schools have 

 increased from 1,046 to 1,552; and the scholars now enrolled, to 76,444. 

 These schools are distributed in the four provinces, but chiefly in Con- 

 naught. {Times, May 5.) 



Art. IV. The London Nurseries. 



Mr. Knight's Exotic Mcrsery, King's Road, April 21. — Two varieties 

 of iJhodod^ndron arboreum have lately been in flower here in the large 

 curvilinear conservatory, also several species of -Acacia, and some new 

 seedling camellias, raised by Mr. Knight. The jet of water in the large 

 cast-iron vase {Jg. 78.), placed in 

 the middle of this conservator}', 

 produces a very brilliant efTect; and, 

 by keeping the air moist, promotes 

 the health of the plants, and the 

 diffusion of their different perfumes. 

 It is worthy of remark, that not a 

 single pane of glass in this iron 

 house has been broken since its erec- 

 tion four years ago (Vol. I. p. 249.), 

 and that during the last winter, when 





