470 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 14, 1871. 



made that melted away from being eovared over with oat straw 

 to a depth of 18 inches. The straw had been imperfectly 

 threshed, and mice and rats so hunted after the grain left, that 

 the rains penetrating by the holes, made the covering damp, set 

 it heating, and the ice soon disappeared. Even when heating 

 does not take place, ice-stacks out of doors are liable to have 

 rat-holes made in the covering, through which the warm air 

 obtains rather too free an entrance. I believe that the heating | 

 of the covering is the chief reason why farmers who have tried i 

 ice-heaps for various purposes, hava so often failed. The cover- I 



ing should be dry and put on twice or thrice instead of all at 

 once. From 24 inches of dry straw or leaves ought to keep- 

 out any heat of our summers. 



Not choosing the position either on a mound or a steep in- 

 cline, so that no water can stand near the ice-heap, is another 

 cause of failure. When once double walls and double roofs, 

 with a space of confined air between them, come to be rightly 

 valued as non-conductors of heat, it will be quite as common 

 to see an ice-house above as below the general surface oi 

 the ground. — R. F. 



PHCENIX DACTYLIFEEA-THE DATE PALM. 



I WISH to draw the particular attention of both amafeurs and 

 gardeners to the merits of this plant, as it is an excellent subject 

 for decorative purposes, independently of the immense benefit 

 which man derives from it. 



The genus Phoenix is distributed over northern Africa and 

 tropical Asia, al- 

 though one or two 

 species seem to have 

 strayed from their 

 original home, be- 

 ing foimd in south- 

 eastern Africa. All 

 the species have long 

 pinnate foliage, the 

 lower pinnaj in some 

 of the species being 

 reduced to mere stout 

 spines. Some have 

 tall and stout stems, 

 whilst others are 

 dwarf, and in some 

 instances stemless. 

 The plant under con- 

 sideration belongs to 

 the arborescent sec- 

 tion, and although 

 numerous varieties 

 are distinguished by 

 the Arabs, and each 

 named after some 

 peculiarity, in every 

 case it is a tall hand- 

 some tree, attaining 

 a height of from 50 to 

 80 feet, bearing an 

 immense quantity of 

 nutritious fruit, and 

 yielding most of the 

 articles of life neces- 

 sary to the Arabs and 

 their domestic ani- 

 mals. 



I have remarked 

 that stating the 

 height which Palms 

 and various other 

 tropical trees attain, 

 often has the effect 

 of deterring many 

 from commenciDg 

 their cultm-e. This 

 is because they ima- 

 gine they cannot 

 accommodate them, 

 quite forgetting that 

 under cultivation it 

 frequently takes very 

 many years before 



the plants reach their greatest altitude. And so it is in this case ; 

 when about three years old the Date Palm is an elegant plant 

 for the dinner-table, and the remarks it e:scites among the 

 guests upon its products and their application might conduce 

 considerably to the entertainment of a number of intelligent 

 persons. Then for an amateur who desires a good window 

 plant, here is Phcenix dactyhfera, which will grow and thrive 

 in a sitting-room, and will always have a cheerful effect. As 

 it increases in size our fair readers may wish to have it removed 

 for something smaller, but it by no means follows that the pl.ant 

 must be discarded. It will form a magnificent ornament for the 



Phcenix dactylifera— the Date Palm. 



hall or the landing upon the top of the staircase during the 

 winter months, and in summer it may be planted, or rather 

 plunged, out of doors in the garden, either as a single specimen 

 on the lawn, or as the centre of a group of broad-foliaged plants, 

 in which positions it will be at home, and very much enhance the 



tropical appearance 

 of the summer gar- 

 den. I must, never- 

 theless, not ignore its 

 beauties as an in-door 

 plant, for , if gro-mi 

 in a stove it affords 

 a pleasing contrast 

 to other subjects — ■ 

 those haying gay 

 flowers, or those 

 whose chief attrac- 

 tion is the orna- 

 mental character of 

 their leaves — and 

 when well grown it 

 is a telling plant 

 either in a collec- 

 tion of Palms or a. 

 mixed collection of 

 stove and greenhouse 

 plants. 



Much more could 

 be said respecting 

 this most interesting 

 Palm, but I must 

 conclude this brief 

 summary with a few 

 remarks upon its cul- 

 tivation, and this ta 

 anyone ha'ving a lit- 

 tle acquaintance with 

 plants will be found 

 of the simplest cha- 

 racter. The soil I 

 prefer for potting is 

 half loam and peat, 

 with a liberal allow- 

 ance of sand, and if 

 a little fine cocoa- 

 nut fibre refuse cac> 

 be added it will ma- 

 terially encourage the 

 roots. Soil such as 

 that described, good 

 drainage, plenty of 

 water, and stove 

 heat, are the leading 

 features of the system 

 I adopt with Date 

 Palms until they are 

 about three years old, 

 at which time they 

 should have assumed their normal state, and be neat little plants, 

 with several of their distinct-looking pinnate leaves fully de- 

 veloped. Some may then be gradually inured to the tempera- 

 ture of the greenhouse, and when this is effected they may be 

 used for window decoration, or any other purpose, in a low 

 temperature, as the taste of the owner may dictate. The others, 

 if required for stove decoration, or if it is essential that they 

 should be grown quickly, may be kept in the hothouse, supplied 

 with an abundance of water, and repotted from time to time as 

 may be necessary. 



I have found that as the lants increase in size it is henefioial 



