506 General Notices. 



and, when the lid is placed upon the outer case, of checking the draught of 

 the fire, which is only continued through some small passages cut in the sides 

 of the cylinder. A small opening also communicates with the fire from the 

 outside, through which the former can be stirred when necessary. 



" In a boiler of this kind, many improvements could doubtless be suggested. 

 Mr. Beck is of opinion that a great advantage would be derived by having 

 the boiler, as in Rogers's improved, in the form of a dome above the fire, 

 and by having the latter fed on one side by means of a shelving hopper, 

 covered in, and placed as near as convenient to the top of the apparatus. 



" During the time in which this system has been in working, the water has 

 never been within many degrees of the boiling temperature, yet the ther- 

 mometer within the house has seldom, on the coldest nights, fallen below 60° 

 or 65°. Its great advantages are, that the tank in which the water circulates 

 will, with such modifications as circumstances may require, serve as a stage 

 for plants, either in the centre or round the sides of a house, by which the 

 expense of hot-water pipes will be dispensed with ; and its extreme sim- 

 plicity, which is such that any person situated at a distance from engineers 

 might, with a little ingenuity and the assistance of a carpenter and black- 

 smith, erect an apparatus of his own ; since any boiler which would create a 

 circulation of water would answer as well as the one above described, although 

 it might not be equally economical. We may also state that the atmosphere 

 of the house in which this system is adopted is remarkably pure." (^Gard. 

 Chron., Jan. 14. 1843.) 



"I read with pleasure your notes at p. 19. of the Chronicle respecting a 

 ' new plan of heating,' observed at Mr. Beck's of Isleworth ; and also that 

 you do me the justice to ascribe the originality of its invention to me. As 

 you have now brought it prominently before the public, perhaps a few obser- 

 vations from myself may prove acceptable. 



" It is a plan which can scarcely be recommended too strongly j for, not 

 only is it adapted for the smallest propagating-house, but also for plant 

 structures of the largest size. You have clearly explained the principle of 

 the apparatus to your readers, therefore description from me would be 

 superfluous. My tank or cistern is about 20 ft. long, and 5 ft. broad ; it is 

 situated in the centre of a house, and, except at the end where the boiler is 

 fixed, is surrounded by a walk. The boiler is one of Rogers's, and acts 

 admirably. The depth of the tank is only 6 in., and this is quite sufficient. 

 On the top I have placed large slate slabs, cemented to each other, to prevent 

 a superfluity of steam from escaping into the house. 



" When first I thought of this excellent mode, I imagined that, to keep up 

 a sufficient heat in the house, I should be obliged to retain a constant fire ; 

 but such is not the case. If the fire is lighted for two hours in the morning 

 and evening, it is quite sufficient to maintain a steady and genial bottom heat ; 

 as the large body of water in the reservoir, when once heated, remains warm 

 for a considerable length of time. The thermometer is generally on an average 

 at 65°. 



" In a small house this principle can be adopted for less than 51. ; and in 

 larger ones, at a cost at least one half less than that of hot-water pipes. As you 

 justly remark, a common blacksmith and carpenter are all that are required to 

 put it up. I doubt not but before many years it will be universally adopted 

 by all those who grow pine-apple, melon, cucumber, or even stove and orchi- 

 daceous plants, when we shall find dung, leaves, and other fermenting mate- 

 rials excluded from the pinery and stove, and used only for manures. Even 

 I, who can procure tan and dung at a very low rate, am a saver of at least 

 20/. a year by this discovery ; therefore the saving must be very great in a 

 larger establishment, where hundreds of loads of dung, tan, and leaves are 

 consumed annually. 



" On the 28th of December last the apparatus was set at work, and my 

 foreman commenced propagating dahlias, which are potted and placed on the 

 top of the slates, and surrounded by sawdust. They are now breaking 

 luxuriantly ; hundreds of cuttings are already off", and plunged in sawdust in 



