42 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ Jnly 20, 1871. 



centre, and with crimfon beneath the skin ; it is juicy and 

 brisk, with a slight Apricot flavour. 



In conclusion, the two varieties which form the subject of 

 this article will, I think, be considered by most Strawberry- 

 growers as being improvements on existing kinds, and, as such, 

 deserving of trial both in the open ground and in pots under 

 $!lass, whether forcing or mere forwardingbe the object in view. 

 Notwithstanding what I have stated, I am far from thinking 

 that no further steps in advance can be made in raising new 

 varieties from seed, with the view of obtaining in the long run 

 a Strawberry which shall to the fullest extent come up to that 

 standard of excellence which comoetent judges have laid down 

 for many years. — J. De Jonghe, Brmsels. 



P.S. — I have delayed sending this article till the present 

 time in order to assure myself of the accuracy of my observa- 

 tions. I think English growers who have the two Strawberries 

 referred to will confirm, it they have not already proved, the 

 truth of what I have advanced. — J. De J. 



TANK-HEATED CUCUMBER AND MELON 

 HOUSES. 



EvEETOSE conversant with Cucumber and Melon culture 

 must have noted the greater vigour of the plants in dung-heated 

 beds as compared with plants grown in houses in which hot- 

 water pipes supply the bottom heat. It was suggested some 

 "time ago — I believe first by Mr. Eendle — that bottom heat from 

 a tank of heated water was the nearest approach to the genial 

 ■warmth of fermenting leaves or dung ; for whilst it aiiorded 

 the necessary warmth it was accompanied by vapour, as in the 

 case of fermenting materials, which is essential to successful 

 'plant-growth. Though the principle has met with general 

 approval, the tank system of heating has been adopted to only 

 a limited extent ; and where it has been tried it has after a time 

 fallen into disuse, owing, in a great measure, to the wearing- 

 out of the material employed and the expense of replacing it. 



I am a believer in the system, and see nothing but the ex- 

 pense to hinder its general adoption ; and the cost is not after 

 all very much greater than that of the chamber system of fur- 

 nishing bottom heat, the only difference being making the 

 chamber watertight. 1 have seen tanks of wood and others of 

 zmo, but they soon wear out, and are more costly at iirst than 

 one formed of masonry and cement. 



Fig. Ij.is the ground plan of a span-roofed Cucumber or 



Fig. 1. 



Melon house, as shown by the section, /j*;. 2. The external 

 walls, a, are 14 inches thick, and the internal walls, h, 9 inches, 

 or one brick, thick. These walls should have a good foundation, 

 80^ that they may remain firm. The tank is shown at c ; it 



should have a good foundation of concrete, 6 inches o£ rough 

 stone being placed at the bottom and rammed hard, and on 

 that 2 inches of finer material run with lime, it being best to 

 lay it on after it has been mixed with lime riddlings and made 

 soft. This laid on 2 inches thick and level, sprinkled over with 

 gravel thinly, and rammed firm, will, when it dries, form a 

 good bed for the cement. Some, to prevent sinkiDg, lay with 



bricks and run with cement so as to fill the joints. This is a 

 good plan. When it is dried the tank is cemented about half 

 an inch thick, including the sides, 1 foot up the walls all round 

 as well as at the bottom. In Jifj. 2, d is the cemented bottom, 

 c the tank with the cemented sides. The concrete and cement 

 is 1 foot deep, and the depth of the tank is the same. The 

 tank is covered with flags, or slates will do, the ends resting on 

 the walls, the joints being left open. On these are laid from 

 6 to 9 inches of rubble for drainage, and then the soil e. For 

 giving vapour to the atmosphere there are slides in the walla 

 of the tank next the path ; they are best of iron. Sliding air- 

 bricks answer well ; they may be put in at every 2 feet, and 

 they can be opened or shut at will. 



Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively the ground plan and section 

 of a lean-to house, with a short light at the back. The house 



Fig. 4. 



Fig. 3. 



is similar in all its arrangements to that represented in figs. 1 

 and 2, therefore the same references apply to all. The top 

 heat in fig. 1 is given by four hot-water pipes, two flows and 



returns, one above the other, in 

 the pathway/; whilst in Ag. 4 

 there are two in front (h), and 

 two in the pathway i. 



Now as to the depth of water 

 in the tank. It need not be 

 more than 3 inches, and if the 

 water is to circulate 2 inches 

 will be sufficient ; but as the 

 volume of water is considerable 

 and the circulation in such eases 

 sluggish, it follows that the tem- 

 perature will vary at times con- 

 siderably : hence I consider it 

 preferable to have water suffi- 

 cient to just cover, or barely 

 cover, two 4-inch hot-water pipes, which I would place in each 

 tank, as shown by the dotted lines. The water would of course 

 be deeper than it it wfere intended to circulate, but then we 

 gain a more •uniform temperature and can regulate it to a 

 nicety ; whereas, if it circulates, the water must pass into the 

 boiler ere it can become warmed throughout the extent of the 

 tanks. 



There must be valves on the flowf, so that the water can be 

 made to circulate in the tanks only, or in the pipes in the 

 walks, working them separately or together. Of the boiler I 

 need say nothing. I have had the working of a great many, 

 and have come to the conclusion that there is not much to 

 choose between them ; but I still hold to the tubular class, and 

 have come to look on wrought iron with favour. I thought it 

 something to have a boiler not likely soon to wear out, as one 

 of cast iron, but I find such do wear out as soon as a well-made 

 wrought-iron boiler, whilst the latter for heating quickly is 

 vastly superior to a thick cast-iron boiler. There are tubular 

 boilers which will burn any and every kind of fuel, and they 

 take up no more room than a saddle boiler, and are not fettered 

 by a patent. They are made of wrought iron rivetted together, 

 and the tubes are the reverse of those in tubular boilers gene- 

 rally, the fire being where the water is in others ; in fact the 

 fire goes straight through enclosed by water, and does not run 

 round tubes of water, which only cause the fire to drive more 

 quickly to the chimney. 



Heating by tanks is very important to the horticulturist and 

 but little practised ; I should, therefore, be glad if those inter- 

 ested therein would favour us with their views and experience. 

 — G. Abbey. 



LAYING DOWN BROCCOLI. 



I HAVE given this practice a fair trial, having for the last 

 fourteen years left some plants standing as they grew by way 

 of comparison, and I have found laying the best plan. Out of 

 three hundred Broccoli so treated last winter I did not lose 

 thirty, and out of one hundred left as they grew I lost all but 

 ten. In the winter of 1860-61 I experienced the same result. 



