THE STOVE. 



7 



stove attains by daily watering, will be suitable to several species 

 of that class of plants. Almost all mosses fit lor this purpose 

 prefer a damp shady situation ; and it is surprising to see how 

 luxuriantly some of them, that are natives of the regions of 

 almost perpetual snow, will flourish in a moist stove, where 

 the temperature is seldom below 60 degrees. Towards the 

 front, where the sun has most influence, various species of 

 Cenomyce, particularly C. rangiferina, will retain its natural 

 colour for a long time, and form a beautiful contrast with the 

 darker hues of those that are behind. Stove-plants require a 

 great portion of water, and during winter much trouble and 

 inconvenience will be occasioned, if provision be not made for 

 having a supply of that indispensable element conveniently at 

 hand ; and as the water with which they are at all times to be 

 supplied should be nearly equal to the minimum temperature 

 of the house, a cistern should be so contrived as to have in 

 it at all times an abundant supply. The most eligible situation 

 for such a cistern, we presume, is over the furnace, in the 

 shed behind, which should be supplied by a pipe from the 

 reservoirs appended to the garden. Cisterns for this pur- 

 pose may be of lead or cast-iron, as being always supplied 

 with water accordingly as it is drawn off for use, cannot be 

 injured if they be made of either material. A pipe with a 

 stop-cock should be introduced from the cistern into the house, 

 so that the cultivator may be supplied with the greater 

 convenience ; and as the fires are seldom extinguished during 

 cold weather, a sufficient supply of warm water can be always 

 readily obtained. 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE DRY-STOVE. 



In the construction of the dry stove, it is not essentially 

 necessary that it be different from that which has been already 

 described for the cultivation of moist-stove plants, further than 

 that, instead of the bed on which the plants are placed in the 

 latter, a stage be substituted in the former for their reception. 

 The plants which form the great bulk of dry-stove collections 

 are succulents, and many of them exceedingly slow in growth, 

 some not attaining a greater height in a century than that of 

 many moist-stove plants in the period of a month. Being 



