110 APPLICATION OB PRINCIPLES. 



Mr. Christie Duff procured flowers in abundance from 

 ISTympheea rubra, caerulea, and odorata,by placing them 

 in a cistern in a pine stove upon the end flues, where 

 the fire enters and escapes ; or by plunging them into 

 tan-beds in pine houses, varying in temperature from 

 80" to 100°. {Hort. Trans., vii. 286.) Very lately, 

 Mr. Sylvester, of Chorley, in Lancashire, obtained fine 

 flowers from Nelumbium luteum, by paying attention 

 to the temperature of water. When he kept the 

 latter at 85°, the plants grew vigorously, and were in 

 perfect health, but flowerless ; but by lowering it to 

 70°-75°, which more nearly approaches the heat to 

 which the plant is naturally accustomed, the magnifi- 

 cent blossoms were produced and succeeded by seeds ; 

 the red Nelumbium, however, which inhabits countries 

 with a greater summer heat than the yellow, at the 

 same time suffered by this lowering of temperature, 

 none of its blossom buds having been able to unfold. 

 {Boi. Mag., xiii. n. s. t. 3753.) The water of rice 

 fields, in which the red Nelumbium flourishes, was 

 seen by Meyen at 113°, at Lantao, in China, (117). 



An opinion has, nevertheless, been entertained, that 

 bottom heat is useless ; there is in the Horticultural 

 Transactions (vol. iii. 288,) a paper to show that it is 

 injurious ; and the authority of Mr. Knight has been 

 referred to in support of the opinion, in consequence 

 of that great horticulturist having expressed a belief 

 that the " bark-bed is worse than useless." {Hort. 

 Trans., iv. 73.) But Mr. Knight repeatedly disavowed 

 entertaining any such sentiments. In one place, he 

 stated that the temperature of the air of the stoves iu 



