Separate Accounts have not been published. 491 



from four to five pecks of fruit annually. The other, whose 

 age is not ascertained, is planted against a north wall; it 

 extends fifty-four feet, and is now beginning to decay. The 

 soil in which these grow is a brown or hazel coloured light 

 loam. Mr. Ayres was not able to ascertain the name of the 

 variety in the garden at Duffield, those at Overton are said 

 to be the Champagne. 



Charles Scrace Dickens, Esq. F. H. S. communicated 

 to the meeting on the 8th of November, a plan which he had 

 adopted for constructing a hot-bed for forcing Cucumbers. 

 Instead of forming a solid bed of dung, as is usually done, he 

 constructs four brick piers, one foot and a half high and nine 

 inches square, to support a two-light frame. Two pieces of 

 timber, four inches square, are laid from pier to pier at back 

 and front ; on these is laid a platform of boards an inch and 

 and a half thick ; these are plastered with neat's dung, which 

 when dry, is covered two inches thick with good mould, and 

 the frame is placed on the piers. Under the centre of each 

 light a bushel of mould is laid, forming a hillock. After this 

 the lights are put on, and linings of hot dung applied all 

 round, the interior space remaining hollow. In two days, 

 the bed is fit for use ; if the heat is found to decrease, a 

 wheelbarrow full of fresh dung is added and shaken up with 

 the linings, and well watered. In order to confine the heat 

 the whole of the linings are plastered with neats' dung, by 

 which means a temperature is obtained of from 75 to 80 

 degrees. A bed which was thus made on the 3rd of Febru- 

 ary, produced on the 30th of March two fine cucumbers mea- 

 suring thirteen inches in length. 



