June 2, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



397 



the Committee were a seedling Strawberry from Mr. Turner, of 

 Slough, called President ; and a seedling Pine Apple from Mr. 

 Stevenson, gardener to the Earl of Durham, Lambton Castle. 

 The Strawberry President promises to be a variety ot first-rate 

 excellence ; for although the fruit was, as a matter of course, at 

 this season produced from forced plants, the flavour was so good 

 as to warrant the belief that it will later in the season, and when 

 produced from the open ground, be very much better. The 

 fruit is large, varying from conical to cockscomb-shaped, and 

 considerably furrowed. The skin is scarlet. "When well grown 

 we conceive it will be little if at all inferior in appearance to 

 Sir Charles Napier, while the flavour is infinitely superior 

 The flesh is firm with a rich pine flavour, and with a pleasant 

 briskness. Later in the season we hope to hear greater things 

 of it. 



The seedling Pine Apple of Mr. Stevenson is a very tall, 

 conical-shaped fruit, of the colour and with the pip of the Mont- 

 serrat, from which it was raised. Judging from the specimen 

 exhibited, the shape is undesirable, from being so long and small. 

 The flesh is not so solid as it might be, but is tender and though 

 of excellent flavour ia not superior to either the Queen or Mont- 

 serrat. Mr. Stevenson, we believe, has still a large number of 

 seedlings which we hope some day to see, and which we trust 

 will prove of superior qualifications. 



Mr. Challis, gardener to Lady Herbert, "Wilton House, Salis- 

 bury, sent eight or ten fruit of a handsome-looking round-netted 

 green Melon, which were ail grown on the same plant, and hence 

 called " Prolific ; " but whether from the great crop or from the 

 fruit being too long cut, it was deficient in flavour. It has all 

 the properties of an excellent Melon, provided that particular 

 point can be improved. 



Mr. James Taylor, Hickleton, near Doncaster, sent a dish of 

 good Figs ; a large, oval, cream-coloured Melon, which was not 

 in conditions aid a brace of fine Cucumbers. 



Mr. Drummond, gardener to Mrs. Allnutt, Clapham Com- 

 mon, sent a splendid basket of Mushrooms that elicited con- 

 siderable notice. 



Mr. Mobbs, gardener to W. B. P. Tyringham, Esq., Newport 

 Pagnell, sent fruit of the seedling Apples exhibited at the last 

 Meeting of the Committee ; and Mr. Taylor, Temple Newsham, 

 Leeds, Bent two smooth-leaved Cayenne and one Black Prince 

 Pines. 



Mr. Barnwell, gardener to H. Mills, Esq., Bisterne Park, 

 Ringwood, sent a collection of vegetables, and excellent dishes 

 of Oscar and Keens' Seedling Strawberries, besides a collection 

 of vegetables. 



THE CONTEOVEBSY ON HEATING GLASS 

 STETJCTTJEES. 



I hate to thank Mr. Major, of Cromwell House, for his com- 

 munication on the subject of heating hothouses described at 

 page 330, as well as for his kind invitation to show me the mode 

 in which it is done. I also 'beg to thank some other gentlemen 

 for their communications on the same subject — even those who 

 differ from me are equally entitled to my thanks, and I should 

 have acknowledged their courtesies before but from unavoid- 

 able circumstances. 



I am glad to see that a correspondent whose communication 

 I quoted when I last wrote on the subject of " Hot Water versus 

 Flubs (or vice versa), has replied to some queries made by Mr. 

 Thomson on the cost of the flue, and the straightforward way 

 in which he has done so leaves nothing for me to explain on the 

 subject. 



One thing, however, I would advocate in heating matters — 

 whether by the flue or by hot water, it is best to have the job 

 well done. I do not by that mean to recommend extravagant 

 and costly workmanship, but simply work well and efficiently 

 completed. 



I have in a former chapter stated my views on the matter of 

 heating, and need hardly repeat that when one house only is to 

 be warmed — say sufficiently to keep out frost and maintain a 

 temperature of 40° — it will, in most cases, be most economical to 

 put up an ordinary flue ; but when there is a series of houses to 

 be heated, and in some of them a minimum of 60° is to be main- 

 tained, it is better in this case to adopt hot water. Mr. Thom- 

 son, however, has shown that the latter is not so expensive an 

 affair, while " E." has shown that flue-heating is still much less. 

 Without going into details, I expect that most parties who have 



put up glass houses will have found the heating affair a much 

 more expensive one than is shown in either of the communi- 

 cations. I have no doubt but both estimates are correct, but 

 they may, nevertheless, be both below the actual cost of what 

 other structures similarly planned were heated for. 



Mr. Thomson assuredly must be wrong in affirming that 

 hot-water pipes can be erected as cheaply as a flue ; (or one- 

 half the expense of the latter must be included in that of hot 

 water. The fumade-bars, door, and framework, as well as 

 register-door and the chimney, must be the same in both, or, 

 perhaps, the hot-water apparatus will require a somewhat more 

 expensive one. Now, the remaining portion of the flue can- 

 not assuredly cost so much as a boiler and the necessary quantity 

 of piping. 



1 am sorry I cannot give the exact items of expenditure in an 

 efficient hot-water apparatus ; but I know of an instance in which 

 upwards of £60 was paid for the apparatus required for heating 

 a Pine-pit 85 feet long and 12 feet broad, and this sum did not 

 include any part of the brickwork, or excavation, &c, for the fire- 

 place. 



Now, compare this with a flue-heated greenhouse here, in 

 which the smoke travels along cement pipes of 12 inches 

 diameter, and which have done duty for five years without any 

 cleaning; whatever. The cost of the pipes at first was Is. Id. 

 per foot for Roman cement ones ; and, I believe, Is. Gd. per foot 

 run for those of Portland cement, and thev, being in thirty -inch, 

 lengths fitting together with very little trouble, merely rested on 

 small brick foundations of 4J-inch work at the joints, the pipes 

 being just clear of the ground. A brick flue was used at the 

 corners, but it is likely that corner-pipes could be had ; but 

 the advantages of a brick flue at the corners enable the flue 

 to be swept when necessary by merely removing the covering- 

 tile. I leave others to calculate the respective cost of the two 

 modes. 



I have no doubt the boiler of Mr. Major is a good one, but I 

 do not exactly understand its construction. I have seen a sort 

 of a cylinder boiler standing alone without any connection with 

 brickwork, excepting that an iron chimney from it led into a 

 brick one on the wall. I believe this did its work pretty well ; 

 but as the boiler was in a back shed, it did as much towards 

 heating that shed as it did in heating the glass house it was 

 intended to do. I find, however, I must reserve my further 

 notices on heating until anotk^r opportunity. — J. Robson'. 



GEEENHOUSE GAEDENING IN A SMOKY 

 ATMOSPHEEE. 



A Subscriber will feel much obliged for the names of any 

 plants whereby she may insure good flowers throughout the 

 winter in a lean-to greenhouse, S.W. aspect, 27 feet long and 

 10 feet wide, heated by a flue. There are six good Vines in it, 

 which are considered secondary to flowers. No man or boy i3 

 kept, but a man from a nursery helps occasionally. The lady is 

 her own gardener, and has derived all her knowledge, which is 

 very limited as yet, from that valuable work The Cottaqe Gae- 

 Dekee, the rules in which she follows strictly, but the flowers 

 are small and poor compared to those she desires to have. There 

 is no power of placing the plants out of doors, although sur- 

 rounded by a large garden of grass and evergreens, for copper, 

 patent fuel, and brick smokes constantly prevail. She has good 

 composts for the plants, and uses guano and water with great 

 care twice a-week. The plants already in the greenhouse are — 

 Geraniums, Fuchsias, Cacti, Crassulas, Acacias, Heaths, Azaleas, 

 Roses (Moss), Calceolarias, Cinerarias, Heliotrope (large tree). 

 Passion-Flower covers one side. 



[It is against you not being able to put some of your plants 

 out in summer. "We would recommend six of the hardiest 

 Camellias, including the double white ; six Bpacris, of various 

 colours ; two Coronilla glauca ; two Cytisus raeemosus ; and 

 two Cytisus Atkinsonii, a dwarf yellow; Cinerarias from seeds 

 sown now, or slips or divisions in a week or two ; four Salvia 

 fulgens, well stopped until the end of August, and with plenty 

 of pot-room ; and the same of Salvia gesnerasflora, not so much 

 stopped ; and two or three plants of Fuchsia serratilolia ; and 

 the same of Daphne indica and iudica rubra, with Hyacinths, 

 Tulips, Narcissus, Crocuses, &c, potted as early as you can get 

 them, and these might be forwarded by being kept in a warm 

 cupboard in the kitohen untU well rooted.] 



