SLATE FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES. 
37 
have hitherto been cultivated almost exclusively in wooden boxes, is undoubtedly 
deserving of the first place in treating upon the material ; especially as these have 
been successfully used by the gentleman just named, and have already undergone 
considerable improvement, as the defects of those first made became obvious, and 
increased practice in their construction revealed means of rendering them lighter 
and neater. In their present state they combine most of the advantages which 
have been obtained in wood, without some of the disadvantages of that substance. 
These boxes are square, and may be taken to pieces for the convenience of 
carriage, or to lay by when not in use. The pieces of which the sides consist are 
jointed into each other, and secured by a screw running into an iron nut imbedded 
in the slate. The bottom is let into a groove, at about an inch, or an inch and a 
half from the base of the sides, according to the size, and is perforated by one, or 
several holes, to permit water to pass through. The bottom being thus raised 
from the ground is obviously favourable to drainage, and a means of deterring 
snails and worms from entering through the holes ; and these advantages are 
increased, and a circulation of air at the roots of the plant promoted, by the box 
standing on four small castors screwed to the bottom, which also facilitate their 
removal from place to place. The sides are likewise provided with small inverted 
iron hooks, so that with the aid of two shafts, cut of a convenient size and form 
(like the shafts of a common hand-barrow), and with an iron loop in the middle 
to fix them to the hooks, they may be shifted to a distance with the utmost ease. 
Perhaps the greatest recommendation of this material for boxes is its durability. 
Those who have many large trees in wooden boxes well know T that the continued 
exposure of the inner surface to the action of water and damp soil, is progressively 
effecting a decay, and a speedy one, unless some very durable, and, consequently, 
more expensive wood is employed, which will bring the cost of the respective 
articles much on a par. When painted they are fully as neat as wooden ones. 
An objection may probably here be urged by some, who, knowing the unsuit- 
ableness of the slate in their own vicinity, or that with which they may chance to 
be acquainted, doubt the applicability of such a substance to the manufacture of 
plant-boxes, or its durableness when so applied. The texture and quality of slate, 
however, varies exceedingly, and that found in many districts is undoubtedly 
useless for boxes, inasmuch as it is easily broken and cannot be worked to the 
degree of neatness required for a green-house or conservatory. That employed 
by Mr. Beck is obtained from Bangor, in Wales, and possesses a hardness and 
cohesive strength that admits of being divested of all clumsiness without endanger- 
ing it. 
Although we have only spoken of slate-boxes as serviceable for large plants, 
such as Orange-trees, Rhododendrons, Palms, &c, yet they may also be employed 
for any stove or greenhouse plant of a smaller size, not even excepting Heaths. 
The roots of Orchidacese, moreover, cling to slate with as much tenacity as to the 
most porous brick. Mr. Beck has employed them very largely in the cultivation 
