302 On the Gardens at Doxortton- Castle. 
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and altogether useless, but to persons of a difTerent character, and 
more especially to ladies,— whose minds are so admirably adapted to 
the investigation and pursuit of pleasures of this nature, — any simple 
discovery which may enhance the attractive splendour of the flower 
o-arden, or be in any ^^'ay an accession to so truly fertile a source 
of intellectual delight, will be hailed as no despicable contribution to 
their edification and amusement. 
Yours, respectfully, 
Marton, near Bawtry, Thomas Short, .Jun. 
iVoy. 31, 1831. 
Article X. — Rejnarks on the Gardens ofT. A. Knight, Esq. 
President of the London Horticultural Society, at Down- 
ton-Castle. By F. H. 8. 
Gentlemen, 
On a visit this Autumn to Downton Castle, onr highly res- 
pected and worthy President was so kind as to show me many of his 
experiments under operation, as v/ell also as to state his experience in 
other things, some of which may be worthy a place in your Register. 
First then. Hot Water, (don't be alarmed, tho' I wish you and Hot 
Water better fi-iends.) Mr. Knight says, Ai^ater heated to the degree 
of 150 will kill any insect on the Pine. His gardener has proved it 
under his own (Mr. Knight's) observation. I understand they were 
watered with a syringe, and repeated two or three times, though Mr. 
Knight has had very little trouble with insects on his Pines, his fruit- 
ing house being a curvilinear. 1 believe, with him, that the insects 
will not increase so readily under a strong light. 
The varieties of Persian Melons were very fine, growing in a small 
house, in pots, placed on the flue in front, and trained up trellis work 
near the glass. The fi-uit of course resting on the trellis. I was sur- 
prised at the weight of one of the fruit 1 lifted up, and have no doubt 
they are much superior in flavour to those grown in dung heat. Mr. 
Knight has holes in the front walls of his Pine and Melon houses, to 
admit air, which coming in near the flue, drives up the heat, and 
causes a circulation of air in the house, ^^•hich passes off near the top of 
the back wall. Of course more heat is required by keeping a constant 
circulation of air. The Melons also, in frames, heated with dung 
linings, have air admitted through the lining up the bed to the fi-ame. 
Mr. Knight's Potatoes were worthy of notice. The crop in the 
fie^l was vei-y strong, planted nearly three feet row from row. Whole 
Potatoes planted, and pretty thick in a row. The soil seemed \ei'y 
