January 20, 1SG3. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



53 



PEOTECTION FOE HOTBED EEAMES. 



A few months ago I saw advertised, " machines for making 

 6traw matting," to protect frames, &c. As much has lately 

 been said in The Journal of Horticulture on this subject, I 

 should be glad to know whether any of your subscribers have 

 tried it. I should say it would answer. My own plan is this — 

 Two Russian mats covered on one side with waterproof calico, 

 and stitched round the edges with twine ; these are made the 

 size of the glasses, and a light wooden shutter covers the whole. 

 The shutter keeps all dry — the great point. I find this answers 

 perfectly on a cold pit. — A. R., Bromley. 



[We have not tried the patent mode. About a year ago 

 Mr. Fish described a homely machine for making strong straw 

 matting ; but in wet weather the mats were very heavy to move. 

 We prefer them fastened to frames the size of the sashes. The 

 mode of making them was also described. If the expense of cover- 

 ing them with a waterproofed material was gone to, these straw 

 covers would be very good. We do not see the use of water- 

 proofed calico on the mats, and light wooden covers too. That 

 would be like eating bread, butter, and cheese in slices, all of 

 equal thickness, at the same time. We do not think there is 

 anything equal to wooden shutters, with straw or Russian mats, 

 or any warm material below. A thin, flexible, waterproof 

 covering to keep all dry, would be valuable, especially when 

 hands are scarce, as it takes two to move most kindB of frame- 

 coverings.] 



OENAMENTAL ELOWEE-STANDS. 



So much attention has been devoted to decorative art, 

 that it is by no means surprising to find it prominent in ~ 



those departments of social economy with which the cul- : A 



ture or enjoyment of flowers is more especially connected. 

 Flowers, too, and those of the choicest kinds, of all hues, 

 and of the most delicate perfumes, are in these days 

 brought so far within reach of all who find any enjoyment 

 in the refinements and luxuries of civilised life, that not 

 only in the garden and greenhouse, but in the parlour 

 and boudoir, they become almost necessary ornaments. 



The accompanying figures show some of the ways in which 

 art and nature, under the form of vases and flowers may be 

 brought into intimate association in the sphere just alluded to. 

 They are from designs by A. Aglio, Esq., jun., and are intended 

 to be constructed in terra cotta, or zinc, on a large scale, for 

 terrace gardens, halls, and similar situations, where they are to 

 be filled with ornamental plants in the growing state ; or they 

 may be made in porcelain, or any fine material, as stands for cut 

 flowers, or smaller plants suitable for in-door-decoration. 



The sketch above is of a vase intended chiefly for the table or 

 boudoir, and to be constructed of coloured glass, porcelain, or 

 the finer earthenwares, either plain or with the ornamentation 

 coloured. When filled with cut flowers, these should be arranged 

 amongst fine green moss, kept continually damp, and may or 

 may not be covered by a bell-glass. In addition to the central 

 stand, this vase has the three supporters continued upwards into a 

 kind of cornucopia to hold smaller flowers, and they may be ap- 

 propriated each to hold a small plant of some elegant Fern. For 

 these purposes, the size may range from 18 inches to 2 feet in 

 diameter. This design may be made of larger size, 3 to 4 feet 

 in diameter, and of zinc or terra cotta, for out-door use, where 

 it may be employed with much appropriateness in detached 



terrace gardens, or in situations where vases of summer-flowering 

 plants are required. 



_ The larger design is intended for the double purpose of cul- 

 tivating a few very choice Ferns in the upright vase, covered by 

 the bell-glass, whilst the stand in which it is placed is to be kept 



JiSiL 





filled with cut flowers. The supporting figures hold cornucopias' 

 which are intended to take some very choice flower, such as a 

 fine Moss Rose, a Camellia, a fine sprig of Fuchsia, &e. The 

 lower stand may, if preferred, be planted with Lyeopodiums — ■ 

 L. denticulatum being preferable for this purpose. The diameter 

 of the stand may be conveniently from 2£ to 3 feet, and the 

 diameter of the vase 1 foot ; the height about 3 feet. It may 

 be made of glass, porcelain, terra cotta, or metal ; or the figures- 

 alone may be of metal. Colour may be appropriated for the 

 figures and ornamentation. 



When vases of this kind are employed for the growth of 

 living plants, the first consideration is proper drainage ; there 

 must be no stagnant water. This being the case it would be 

 preferable to use the centre vase for growing plants, and allow 

 this to drain into the lower one, which could be employed for 

 out flowers. The next point is soil : this should be turfy peat, 

 with plenty of sand intermixed, the mass resting on a thick layer 

 of broken crocks for drainage. Then the plants, if in a living- 

 room, must be constantly covered with a bell-glass ; and enough 

 water must be given to keep the soil and atmosphere moist, but 

 not saturated. — {Gardeners' Magazine of Botany.) 



DISTEESSED WOEKINGMEN' BOTANISTS OF 

 LANCASHIRE. 



The many kind donations I have received from time to time 

 from your readers has enabled me to cheer many hearts here, 

 and some who were accustomed in times past to take a three or 

 four days trip into Derbyshire, or other parts favourable to 

 Mosses, when the weather permitted, at a Christmas time, have 

 not been denied a part of their usual hunt after Mosses this year, 

 thanks to the liberality of the readers of The Journal of Hor- 

 ticulture. 



There is a slight improvement in trade. Roger Schofield has 

 had from one to two and a half days per week of work for the 

 past four weeks, and John Whitehead has gone on five days pep 

 week last Monday ; but will have hard work and little pay until 

 a better quality of cotton can be had. Two others have a little 

 more work, but the rest are as they have been for a long time. 



