General Notices. 379 



" As general rules in the erection of farm-houses, it may be observed, that 

 it is always desirable that they should be placed upon a platform or terrace, 

 with a view of keeping the ground floor of the several apartments dry, and 

 consequently rendering them warmer and healthier ; that the chimneys should 

 be placed in the interior walls rather than in the exterior ones, this arrange- 

 ment being better calculated to retain the greatest portion of the heat coming 

 from the fires within the house ; and by the additional heat contained within 

 the central mass of masonry, to make the flues draw better ; and that the 

 ground plan should approach as near as possible to a square, as being that 

 form which is calculated to afford the greatest accommodation with a given 

 amount of expenditure." 



The Grainer's Guide. By Charles Moxon. Large folio. Edinburgh, 1842. 

 This work is illustrated by a number of specimens of imitations of wood 

 and marble, all done by the author himself, and, we may add, exquisitely 

 beautiful. The work will be found of the greatest use to journeymen 

 painters who wish to excel in the art of graining, and to architects and ama- 

 teurs who wish to know what can be effected by this style of art. The 

 author, we are happy to find, has opened an establishment in the metropolis 

 (Bury Street, St. James's) ; and, when we add that he has been for a number 

 .of years the principal assistant of Mr. Hay of Edinburgh, his success may 

 fairly be anticipated. We have seen some of Mr. Moxon's imitations of 

 different kinds of marble, which are exquisitely beautiful, and show what may 

 be done on the walls of halls, corridors, and staircases* 



Art. II. Literary Notices. 



The Amateur Florist, and Guide to the Flower-Garden. By W. P. Ay res, 

 author of a " Treatise on the Cultivation of the Cucumber," will soon appear, 

 price 2s. 6d. 



A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies, by James Backhouse, 

 with 3 maps, 14 etchings, and 700 octavo pages of letterpress, is expected to 

 be ready in the ensuing autumn. Price, to subscribers, 14s. 



A Descriptive Treatise on the Scottish Grasses, illustrated by 130 figures, by 

 R. Parnell, M.D., F.R.S.E., is now in the press. 



MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



Art. I. General Notices. 



Gas-Lime applied to Horticultural Purposes. — It appears to me that this 

 article, which, I believe, may be procured on application to the clerk of the 

 works at any gasometer, for a mere trifle beyond the expense of carting, is not 

 valued as it ought to be, and in but few instances have I seen it made use 

 of; but, from these instances, I feel so thoroughly convinced of the many 

 advantages to be derived from the use of it, that I am anxious to mention 

 a few of the purposes to which it is particularly applicable. 



As manure, when about three years kept and turned, I learn that it is very 

 excellent, being, independently of its fertilising qualities, an excellent cleanser of 

 the soil from destructive vermin of all kinds. In this particular I cannot fully 

 expatiate upon its merits, but trust that, before long, some one of your cor- 

 respondents, who may have a practical knowledge of its application and effects, 

 will kindly commit the same to your pages. 



