JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
March 17, 1881. ] 
excel those of several years past. With reference to the second 
part of “ C. M.’s ” remarks as to the reason why the bulbs do not 
produce as fine blooms the second season ; he will readily under¬ 
stand the cause of this when he is informed that before we receive 
them they have been specially cultivated for several years, during 
which period they are not allowed to bloom. After flowering 
once the strength that has taken years to put in the bulb is 
exhausted. When we consider the size of the blooms produced 
we do not wonder that the bulbs are comparatively worthless for 
another season.—J. H. S. 
NOTES ON BOILERS. 
Mb. Stephen Castle’s questions (page 172) open up a wide 
field for discussion, as scores of people can give evidence in favour 
of, or against, any boiler ever invented, or any arrangement of pipes 
or size of mains. I would first call his and others’ attention to 
the power of the boilers referred to. In looking over the lists of 
two rival makers of the Witley Court form, I find that one gives 
30 inches long by 21 wide and 32 deep outside, as being capable 
of heating 1600 feet of piping, while the other says 800 feet only. 
These discrepancies in describing the power of a boiler lead to 
the larger portion of the failures often described, and also explain 
the contrary experiences of those who have the good fortune to 
have boilers supplied them to work the smaller quantity, or rather 
have had a much larger boiler to work the piping referred to by 
others in their correspondence. In Wright’s, as in other special 
boilers made by one firm only, they are careful to give a much 
lower calculated power, so as to ensure the success of their par¬ 
ticular patent. 
As to the general question of depth of stokehole and economy 
whether in first cost or after consumption of fuel, I do not believe 
there is much difference ; but neither of them can compare for 
speed in getting up heat with other forms where the hot water 
passes direct into the flow pipe without travelling over half the 
boiler to find an outlet and forcing before it a quantity of cool 
water equal to many feet of piping. All flow pipes should rise 
from the bciler without any dip whatever, even if only one house 
is to be heated. A boiler close to its work is the best, as the first 
20 feet in length of pipe must of course be the hottest and give 
off its heat somewhere. A 2-inch main having only one-fourth 
the water contents of a 4-inch is necessarily hotter and quicker 
in imparting its heat, being also of thinner metal, but it cools 
more quickly for the same reasons. Four pipes must give more 
heat than three placed in similar position, as the heat given 
off depends mostly on the larger area exposed ; the water inside 
one flow would be a little hotter naturally than in two flows. 
As to dampers, they are of great use in a chimney, as the fire 
heat will rush up the chimney if left open whether there be a 
supply of air at ashpit or not, especially in frosty weather. I 
should fancy Mr. Castle’s failure to keep his fires going more than 
five hours is due to having the damper too far out, as the fire will 
inevitably die out if no supply of air to it and the other outlet 
wide open. It is simply a question of good stoking and keeping 
sides of boiler clean, so that the fire can act upon it, as a quarter 
of an inch of hard caked soot is about equal in resisting heat to 
that thickness of iron.—B. W. Warhurst. 
CULTURE OF THE COCKSCOMB. 
The Cockscomb is a very useful summer decorative plant, but 
it is not often seen in good condition. The first consideration is 
to procure a good strain, those having good crested flower 
heads being the best, although many prefer large ones, but they 
are often coarse. It does not require a hot-water-heated structure 
to grow them, as they will thrive best in a dung frame. The 
seed should be sown at the present time in a light compost. 
When the young plants obtained are large enough to handle pot 
them off singly into small 60’s, plunge in the frame, and keep 
them close to the glass till they show their flower heads, when 
the plants may be potted into 48’s, using a little decayed cow 
dung with the compost. Keep the frame at a good heat and 
plunge the pots. Continue shifting till the plants are in 16-size 
pots. As the flower heads reach maturity ventilate more freely. 
They only ought to be 15 inches from the rim of the pot to the 
top of the comb, which may range from 24 to 30 inches across. 
I have heard of larger, but have never grown them.—A Floeist. 
To Pbevent the Gooseberby Cateepillar. — Boil some 
white hellebore powder in water and place it in a tub or garden 
engine, adding sufficient boiling water to syringe all the trees ; 
when it is cold apply it on a dry day, to dry on the leaves as soon 
as the trees are in leaf immediately after blooming, and before 
209 
the fruit has grown. One application is sufficient for the season, 
and does not injure the fruit. One pound of white hellebore 
powder is enough for sixty trees, and is best applied with a hand 
syringe. I have tried this plan for years and found it to answer. 
—S. M. Diggles. 
HARDY PLANTS AT DRUMLANRIG. 
“ Perbgrine,” who is better known to gardeners as a peddler 
in satirical observations than as a trustworthy dispenser of useful 
knowledge, has some savoury remarks in a contemporary on my 
recent notes in these pages. The clever cynic cannot conceive 
how I could tell the condition of his fondlings “under 6 inches of 
snow.” This is the pith of his “joke,” and at the risk of robbing 
it of any of its splendour I must give plain facts against “ wild 
imaginings.” As I stated before, “ 6 inches of snow and the ther¬ 
mometer about zero” were experienced on the journey to Scot¬ 
land, but where is it recorded that there was “6 inches of snow 
on the herbaceous border ” at Drumlanrig ? No doubt it would 
have been agreeable to “ Peregrine’s ” purpose if a covering of 
snow had concealed the subjects of his never-failing theme from 
exposing their shortcomings, but unfortunately for him and them 
nothing of the kind was there. Disappointing this will no doubt 
be to such an acute critic as “ Peregrine ; ” but as he evidently has 
a strong ambition to be prominentty identified with the subject, let 
me suggest a few headings under which he might advantageously 
employ his talents. 1st, How is it that if we want to see haidy 
plants cultivated to perfection, and valued and appreciated to 
their full worth, we must go to the gardens of those who have 
least to say about them ? 2nd, Is it fair for any writer who does not 
even possess a presentable collection of hardy plants to taunt men 
who do possess complete collections and grow them well, about 
their want of knowledge of those plants and sympathy respecting 
them ? 3rd, Under what dispensation has one or two gardeners 
been endowed with all the knowledge in the world belonging to 
their calling, and the multitude left without the common faculties 
of seeing, hearing, feeling, or understanding ? Vain “ Peregrine 1 ” 
—Paragon. 
NOTES FROM MY GARDEN IN 1880. 
AURICULAS. 
If in recording my experience with the Gladiolus last year I 
could throw up my cap and shout “ ooray !” I must alter my 
song when I come to think over my Auriculas, and say “ All round 
my hat I wear the green willow ” in the words of a ditty I 
remember in years long ago ; for so unsuccessful have I been, 
although I have grown them for forty years, that I have almost 
made up my mind to abandon their culture. I had no difficulty 
in growing them until the invasion of this abominable pest the 
woolly aphis, and it seems rather too hard that a little thing like 
this should upset one’s culture of a favourite flower. 
The history of this pest is a curious one, but there is no need of 
entering at length into it. Now it was apparently unknown until 
a few years ago, although I have been assured by a grower that 
he remembers it forty years ago, but had never heard of it since 
until a few years ago. When it first appeared it was spoken of 
as a pest which affected the plants most injuriously, that they had 
a very distressed appearance ; but then very few persons had it 
in their collections. When I made my complaint about it I was 
assured that it was nothing of much consequence, that 1 could 
easily get rid of it; and when I stated that I found it not only on 
the Auriculas, but as far as I could see on even the Lettuces and 
Sowthistle, I was calmly told by Mr. Douglas that if a person 
had Sowthistles in his garden he could not expect to grow florists’ 
flowers. Pretty well from a head gardener who has a liberal master 
and gives him plenty of hands ; but at that time Mr. Llewelyn was 
suffering much in the same way in Wales, and brought up some 
specimens of the aphis. Various remedies were suggested—tobacco 
powder, sulphur, and paraffin ; but will not this latter especially 
kill the plants ? Of course you may kill anything by injudicious ap¬ 
plication ; but when talking over it with Mr. Llewelyn in the pre¬ 
sence of Dr. Hogg, Mr. L. said, so far from its injuring the plants 
he thought they rather liked it. The Dr. said he could quite under¬ 
stand that, as it acted as a manure to the plants, giving some of 
those constituents that they require ; but no application seemed 
to be successful. Whether it is that any insects remain in the 
crevices of the roots or the stem of the plant, or whether it is 
another incursion, from without, I know not; but they came again, 
and no washing or anything else seems to avail. Then came a 
change over the spirit of the dream. It was found that there was 
not a collection in the kingdom that had not got it, some more, 
and others in a slight degree. One most successful grower who 
would not buy in any plants, and would not even go to an 
