278 



JOUKNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ September 28, 1876. 



crops grew rapidly, and the result is, we have a crop the like 

 of which we have not had since 1847, the year of the great 

 failure. Oar crop is abundant. The flavour is excellent. The 

 ■tubers are free from disease. It is a novel sight for the young 

 folks to see whole fields as green and healthy as possible at 

 this date, 19th of September. The elder people tell me they 

 have not seen it thus since before the years of 1846-47. I 

 hope your readers will enjoy to read about Paddy having such 

 a plentiful supply of his favourite dish (Murphies). — B. G., 

 •Co. Down. 



CULTURE OF THE SOFTWOODED ERICAS. 



At no season of the year are flowering plants held in so 

 much esteem as during the winter and spring months. The 

 softwooded Ericas are amongst the foremost in attractiveness 

 during those periods, but are Eeldom seen in good condition 

 in private places, which is generally in consequence of the 

 plants not being cut-back freely. They should be cut to within 

 12 or 3 inches of the current year's growth in the case of old 

 plants. 



The present is the beBt time to raise a stock of these plants 

 from cuttings. Select the cuttings, of which there is an abun- 

 dance on well-ripened shoots of the present season's growth, 

 and take them off with a heel, and insert them in 32-size 

 pots which have previously been filled to within 2 inches of 

 the top with crocks. In preparing the pots place a little rough 

 peat over the crocks and fill-up with sandy peat, pressing the 

 soil down very firmly, which is of great importance, with some 

 silver sand on the top. After inserting the cuttings place the 

 pots in a cold frame and plunge them in cocoa-nnt fibre, 

 keeping the frame very close and carefully shaded from sun. 

 There they may remain till they are rooted ; or if there is con- 

 venience, place them, after they have been in the frame a 

 fortnight, where they may receive a slight bottom heat, in 

 which they will strike more readily. After the cuttings are 

 rooted pot them off singly into small 60's, and keep them 

 rather close for a week or two until they are established. Pay 

 great attention to stopping, or the plants will become leggy. In 

 September discontinue the stopping unless one or so of the 

 shoots are taking more lead than the others. At Christmas 

 they must be repotted into 48's, using rough peat with a sixth 

 •part of sand added, keeping them in a cold frame, and venti- 

 late freely until the following May, at which time place them 

 out in the open air until there is danger of frost. They must 

 never be allowed to become dry at the roots, or else they will 

 he a failure. After they have done blooming cut them well 

 ■back and treat as young plants. 



Erica caffra nana, gracilis autumnalis, gracilis vernalis, 

 hyemalis, Syndriana, Wilmoreana, and colorans are the prin- 

 cipal varieties. — A. Y. 



GATES AND STILES. 



One can hardly travel a few miles anywhere in the country 

 -without seeing gates of bad construction — gates which do not 

 stand up to their work. This is most observable in field gates, 

 but is not confined to them. Some of the elaborately orna- 

 mented entrance gates and lodge gateB exhibit the same want 

 of principle in their construction. We do not refer to some 

 of those quaintly ornamented gates which are pleaBing to the 

 eye, although it may fail to perceive any proper principle of 

 construction at first sight, for in these gates there is a skeleton 

 framework, which is designed with due regard to the true 

 principles of construction, but which is hidden by the more 

 prominent ornamontal parts. These are works of art about 

 -which there can be nothing false ; but we refer to gates put 

 together upon no principle — thrown together, as it were, by 

 guess-work, as if the constructors would trust to chance that 

 the gates would stand up. 



But the principles of construction are various, and a know- 

 ledge of them does not come by intuition ; they are found 

 when sought for, like all other principles of art and soience. 



The framing of all gates, whether plain field gates or orna- 

 mental entrance gates, should have reference to the suitability 

 of the various materials to resist the various kinds of strain 

 brought upon eaoh piece by the suspension of the unsupported 

 parts. Thus the heel-post is wholly supported, and its dimen- 

 sions are disposed with reference to the mortices and bolt 

 holes to be cut in it, and not upon strains to be brought upon 

 it. The dimensions of the head post are considered in the 

 same way, there being no strain upon it. The bars, however, 



and the braces are subject to strains of various kinds. The 

 bars resist a cross strain which is brought upon them by their 

 own weight and by that of the head-posts, and by any acci- 

 dental load, and the braces resist compressive and tensile 

 strains accordingly as they are disposed as struts or ties. 



The straps of the top bar resist a tensile strain. The hooks 

 resist a shearing strain, but their shanks are subject to different 

 strains — that of the top hook resisting a tensile strain, and 

 that of the bottom hook a compressive strain. Thus the shank 

 of the bottom hook need not have a screwed end and nut, as 

 that of the top hook must have, nor need it even pass through 

 the gate-post, for it may be driven in as a spike ; but it must 

 have a shoulder, which must abut solidly against the gate-post, 

 while the shank of the top hook need not have a shoulder, but 

 it must be fastened at the back of the gate-post either by a 



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Figs. 87 and 38. 



screwed end and nut or by a cotter, and in either case there 

 should be a washer-plate to afford a greater bearing surface 

 against the wood and prevent indentation. 



The top and bottom hooks and straps are seen in figs. 37 

 and 38. 



Fig. 38 also shows the bottom of the gate-post resting upon 

 a broad and thick sill, the foot being spiked thereto with a 

 long jagged spike, and the post being strutted therefrom by a 

 strut 4 inches by 4 let into the sill with a shoulder, and spiked 

 thereto, and spiked also to the gate-post, against which.it 

 abuts with a square shoulder. 



A bolt with screwed end and nut is better than a jagged 

 spike, although this is often used instead of a bolt and nut. 

 The action and the strains are as follows : — The weight of the 

 gate tends to pull over the top of the gate-post ; the pressure is 

 then transferred, through the post and the strut, to the toe of 

 the sill, tending to turn upon it as a centre, which tendenoy is 

 resisted by the weight of the post and by the weight of earth 

 upon the projecting end of the sill at the back of the post. It 

 is therefore very necessary that the earth at the back of the 



