April 7, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



257 



and for the sake of those who may not see it entire, the follow- 

 ing extract from the speech of Lord Palmerston is well worthy 

 of a place in The Jounnal of Hobticultuke, where it is sure 

 to come before great numbers of young professionals. — R. F. 



" You are all of you, probably, destined to some one particular profession, 

 make everything that belongs to that profession the object of your intense 

 and prefcrent study; but do not on that account omit acquiring general 

 information on other matters whenever opportunities may present them- 

 selves to you for doing so. Whatever the profession a man may enter into 

 he will perform the duties of that profession better by having general 

 knowledge, and that generality of knowledge will not interfere with the 

 successful study of the particular line which he determines to enter. Do 

 not be discouraged by people who say. It is absurd to have a smattering of 

 different things; 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.' A little know- 

 ledge is better than no knowledge at all. Learn a little of everything of 

 which you can learn anything, it will be useful to you hereafter; though it 

 may not be in your own line, it will be the foundation on which you buildup 

 as you go along through life. But bear one thing in mind— be not content 

 with rcgatd to many things with mere rudimentary information, but what 

 little you know, know it well. Do not accept a jingle of words for reality of 

 things ; go to fundamental principles; know acutately that which you are 

 desirous of knowing, and, however little that may be, depend upon it 

 that upon that basis you will be more able to build Up the future super- 

 structure," tie. 



BOILEBS. 



The mere fact that there are so many kinds of boilers made 

 and advertised proves that few meet with general approval, and 

 also that there must be a great difference in opinion as to what 

 is required. The only idea which appears to be patent to all 

 boiler-makers is to present as large a heating surface to the 

 action of the fire as possible, and this, all will allow, is a most 

 important one. 



I will give my idea of what is requisite to make a perfect 

 boiler, and if those who have had Btill more experience will do 

 the same some information will be the result. 



The points I should insist upon are— 1st, That the boiler be 

 made of cast-iron, having proved that wrought-iron ones soon 

 rust through ; 2ndly, That it should present as large a surface 

 as possible to the action of the fire ; 3rdly, That the return- 

 pipe enter the lowest part of the boiler, and in entering shall 

 not pass through any brickwork whatever ; 4thly, That the inside 

 of the boiler be easily examined and cleaned ; 5thly, That the 

 furnace be calculated to burn any kind of fuel ; 6thly, That there 

 should be room for a good body of fuel under the boiler. 



With regard to the third point, in my opinion a most impor- 

 tant one, I have seen only one boiler— that of Mr. McNab, of 

 Edinburgh — which in this respect appears to be made on a 

 correct principle. If a boiler be surrounded by a mass of brick- 

 work, and the return-pipe pass through it, it must happen that 

 the circulation will be impeded as the bricks become heated. 

 The bottom of the return-pipe being much hotter than the water 

 returning to the boiler a return current is set up, and the general 

 circulation interfered with. I have lately seen a boiler pulled 

 down that from this cause would not work at all, but thereturn- 

 pipe in this case passed through a great thickness of hot brickwork. 



There are so many boilers made the inside of which cannot be 

 got at, that my fourth point must be generally considered quite 

 unimportant, and perhaps, if nothing but clean soft water is 

 ever used it is not absolutely necessary ; but who can be quite 

 sure no one will ever use hard water with or without his eon- 

 sent ? There are many boilers only calculated to burn coke or 

 the best large coal ; a boiler of this description must be an in- 

 tolerable nuisance to a man who can procure good cobbles at 

 half the price of coal, or whose cook will not burn up the alack. 

 With regard to the last point, it will be found much more 

 economical to have a good body of hot fuel if the draughts are 

 under control than to be always poking the fire and mending 

 it up, besides requiring iess attention at night. 



I feel convinced when gardeners have settled what are the 

 requisites of a perfect boiler one will be made much better than 

 any now in use.— J. R. Peakson, Chilwell. 



MESSES. A. HENDERSON & CO.'S HYACINTH 

 SHOW. 

 This month, as usual, the Lapageria-house at the Pino Apple 

 Place Nursery i9 gay with a choice assortment of Hyacinths and 

 other early flowers ;* and though, owing to the past year having 

 been unfavourable to the bulbs, some of the spikes are scarcely 

 equal to those shown in previous seasons, the display is well 

 'Worth inspection. 



The stage in the centre of the house is filled up in the middle 

 with young Araucarias excelsa and Cunninghami, two nice 

 plants of Araucaria Bidwilli being placed one at each end ; and 

 round the centre of green foliage thus formed, and which serves 

 to set off the flowers to advantage, the Hyacinths are ranged 

 in three rows. The whole of the pots are mossed over, 

 and surrounding the whole is an edging of Isolepis gracilis. 

 The side stages are likewise filled with Hyacinths and early 

 Tulips, and from the roof are suspended six baskets filled with 

 Hyacinths edged with Isolepis gracilis and having Ivy wreathed 

 round the outside. Near the entrance is a very large basket of 

 Hyacinths in bands of white, blue, and red, arranged on a 

 conical eminence and surrounded by Golden Fleece Geranium 

 and Isolepis, the whole producing a striking effect. The opposite 

 end of the house is occupied by a bank of Epacrises, among 

 which Viscountess Hill is a pretty crimson variety. 



Of the Hyacinths the following are some of the best : — 

 Single Whites. — Lord Gray, a very fine waxy white; Madame 

 Van der Hoop ; Mont Blanc ; Kichardson, waxy blush, very 

 fine ; and Tubiflora. 



Single Med. — Beranger, deep red ; Charlotte Marianne, striped ; 

 Diebitz Sabalskanski ; Herstelde Vreede, bright pink, fine ; 

 Lina ; Mrs. Beecher Stowe ; and Solfaterre, brilliant orange 

 scarlet. 



Single Blue. — Bleu Mourant, Charles Dickens, Couronne de 

 Celle, Emicus, Grand Lilas, Grande Vidette, Keizer Ferdinand, 

 Orondates, Prince of Saxe Weimer, Kobin3on (nemophila blue, 

 tinged with with lilac on inside, very pretty), and William the 

 First. 



Double Bed. — Bouquet Royal ; Comtesse de la Coate, dark 

 rose ; Duke of Wellington, and Panorama. 



Double White. — Anna Maria; La Tour d'Auvergne; and 

 Triumph Blaudina, blush, with pink eye. 



Double Blue. — Mignonne de Dryfhout, pale blue ; Paarlboot ; 

 Pasquin ; Sir John Franklin, marbled blue ; and Tan Speyk. 



Blacks. — General Havelock ; La Nuit ; Mimosa ; Prince 

 Albert ; and Uncle Tom, a good dark purple. 



Of new sorts, Bouquet Constant, deep red with paler edges ; 

 Baron Rothschild, crimson ; Jenny Lind, pale rose with pink 

 stripe ; Princess Charlotte, rosy pink ; are all good single 

 varieties ; whilst Petronella Cornellia is a pretty double blush 

 with pink stripes, and PaBBe Mabopolasser a very fine single 

 violet blue. 



Among the Tulips Golden Standard had the leaves edged with 

 white ; and of the others, Grand Due, Keizerskroon, Vermilion, 

 Brilliant, and Thomas Moore, were the most striking. 



Several fine varieties of Narcissus were likewise shown, of 

 which Luna is a splendid double white and orange with very 

 large flowers; Malakoff, a fine pure yellow; and Amiable 

 Bouquet, a very large white with yellow cup. 



SHADING FERNERIES— FLUE-HEATING. 



In " G. A.'a " article in your Number of the 17th inst. I can 

 see Bomething useful as well as ornamental ; but I think some 

 shading may be found more under control than paint on glass. 

 Still, as " G. A." states it is for a permanency, I cannot find so 

 much fault. I, however, wish to point out one or two drawbacks 

 to its general use. 



Firstly, Paint, labour, &c, could not well be done carefully 

 under Gd. per square yard. Secondly, Its being put on a little 

 too thickly will occasion great expense of money and time to 

 replace it with a thinner coat. Thirdly, In winter the more 

 light obtained the better ; but the paint is still on, and cannot 

 be removed without being washed with soda and water, costing 

 as much to take it off as it cost to put it on. Fourthly, Paint 

 when put on in that style is apt to flake within a year when 

 exposed to a very hot sun and much rain, owing to the want of 

 union with the glass. 



Now, what we require is something with which to wash glass 

 with the least expenditure, and producing greater benefit, and 

 with less evils to contend against — something, for example, as 

 may be readily removed when required, so as to be used not 

 only for ferneries, but also stoves, greenhouses, and pits, and I 

 will now offer my opinion as to what this should be. 



If we place a small quantity of unslacked lime in a quart of 

 milk, we shall find a substitute for paint on glass : it will give a 

 beautiful Bhading, which can easily be put on more thickly,,or 

 done away with on the first wet day, or on being syringed and 



