September 80, 1886. 1 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
293 
and one that canies great weight in the selection of a boiler, is 
that they do not require a very large or deep stokehole, and only 
a moderate amount of bricks in comparison with what are needed 
to set many other boilers. 
Conical Boilers.— These may very propei-ly be termed 
“anybody’s’’ boilers, for they are made by many well-known 
firms of boiler makers. They vary slightly in shape, but the 
principle of construction throughout is the same. Some are 
cast and others rivetted. The whole are wider at the base than 
the top; in fact, they gradually taper from the base upwards. 
They are fed at the top or near that position. The water space 
is all round the fire. A small portion of the flue, with a valve to 
regulate the draught, is cast to these boilers ready for placing in 
the chimney, which can be either of brick or various sized cast 
pipes, according to the size of the boiler or the convenience of 
each individual. The flow pipe leaves the boiler near the top and 
the returns enter near the base. These boilers are portable and do 
not require a single brick in seating them, for the ashpit is cast to 
the boiler, and therefore are invaluable for many localities and 
also for warming public buildings. There is, comparatively 
Fig. 45. 
speaking, no dust from them, and if desirable they can be fixed 
in the kitchen to heat conservatories or greenhouses attached to 
dwellings. They are quick heating and at the same time 
thoroughly economical, for when once tilled with fuel the damper 
can be regulated so that the fire will last for many hours without 
attention. There boilers will burn any kind of fuel, but coke or 
cinders from the dwelling house is best for them. There are no 
complications that are likely to prove bewildering to amateurs, 
or those having only a small structure to heat. All things con¬ 
sidered, it would be difficult to employ a better boiler for heating 
small houses. Some are arranged with a coil inside, which adds 
materially to the heating power. 
Upright Tubulars. —The forms of these boilers are as 
numerous as in any of the sections that have been referred to. 
The majority, especially those that are made with two or three 
sets one above the other, require very deep stokeholes and are 
not suitable for all places. They have, however, been fixed in 
numerous instances and most highly approved by those who have 
worked them. I am informed on most reliable authority that 
these vertical tubulai’s are most powerful when once the water 
has been heated and circulation commenced. The same authority, 
who presides over one of the most extensive gardening establish¬ 
ments in England, is working two of Messrs. J. Weeks & Co.’s 
large tubular boilers, and considers them to be the most powerful 
and economical large boilers that he has used. One of the 
greatest faults that attach to these boilers is the choking of the 
space between the two sections of tubes where two rows of tubes 
form the boiler. The best provision is not made for cleaning 
them, and great care is needed, for if they become choked by 
cinders and ashes the boilers lose much power and are most 
liable to break. Fortunately, however, these large boilers are 
made in three sections, one above the others, and if a tube fails 
it can be replaced without the destruction of the whole boiler 
This was not formerly the case, for when a tube gave way the 
boiler was useless and a new one had to be supplied} Some are 
still made on this principle, and in the selection of a reliable 
boiler should be avoided. There are new forms of vertical tubular 
boilers that do not require such deep stokeholes. The tubes in 
several instances are V shaped and exjose a large upright surface 
to the action of the fire. My experience with upright tubulars 
has been somewhat limited, and therefore shall refrain from 
saying anything farther about them.— Wm. Bardney. 
(To be continued.) 
EARLY FLOWERING BULBS. 
Being in one of those establishments where the family only 
stay a portion of the year, we always fry to have as many flowers 
as possible during the time they are here, and as that is from the 
beginning of October until the middle of January, early bulbs 
which will flower with certainty and do not require much forcing 
are invaluable to us. My reason for objecting to bulbs which 
require hard forcing to bring them well into bloom is that our 
houses and forcing pits are old-fashioned and rather deficient of 
heat, so that the plants would fail to flower at the desired time. 
This, however, need not be much regretted (although it is cer¬ 
tainly often an inconvenience), as the bulbs we grow, and of 
which I write now, are only such as may be successfully cultivated 
by amateurs and all who have only moderate appliances. Early 
bulbs we find most useful, as they flower freely, have showy and 
fragrant blossoms, and form a most valuable addition to all other 
flowers. In variety they are not so abundant as spring-flowering 
bulbs, but they are fairly numerous, and amongst the first to 
demand attention are the 
Roman Hyacinths. —These are undoubtedly the most useful 
of all easily forced early flowering bulbs. They might be had in 
flower at Christmas by window culture, and when forced on by a 
little heat in a pit or house in October they may be blossomed in 
quantity in November and onwards. We force many hundreds 
of them, and they invariably give the highest satisfaction to all. 
We pot 100 or 200 at a time, and have them coming on in succes¬ 
sion. The first were potted on September 1st, and others will be 
potted in every three weeks until Christmas. The compost used 
for them consists of loam, sand, and half-decayed manure, there 
being two parts of the former to one of each of the latter. Six- 
inch pots are chiefly used, and from five to eight bulbs are put 
into each. The pots are well drained, and they are then filled 
loosely with the soil, the bulbs being rammed into this and then 
made firm. When finished only the crown is seen above the soil, 
and they are immediately placed in cool frames and covered with 
finely sifted ashes to the depth of 8 inches. A light is placed 
over them when it is too wet, and here they remain until the 
growths have become 2 inches or so in height. They will grow 
this length in three or four weeks, and then they are taken out 
and placed in the light where the temperature is from 55° to 65°, 
and they come into bloom in from three to four weeks, the time 
altogether from the one first potted until they a>e in full blossom 
not exceeding eight weeks. Some dealers offer very cheap bulbs, 
but the best are not included amongst these, as really good bulbs 
can only be bought at the best prices, and in the end they are 
much the cheapest and most satisfactory. I have proved 
repeatedly that the cheapest Roman bulbs are the smaller sizes, 
and I have had hundreds of them produce one spike only, whereas 
the very best invariably bear two good spikes of flowers and not 
infrequently three, and in this way I never found any profit in 
cheap bulbs. The large bulbs force more freely and are more 
massive in their development. 
Tulips. —We have tried many of these, but now confine our¬ 
selves to the Due Yan Thol section, and amongst these the 
easiest to force is the scarlet variety. It takes a fortnight longer 
to come into bloom than the Roman Hyacinths, but it is most 
useful and attractive, as the flowers are brilliant scarlet, and they 
brighten up either a greenhouse or a room in a very pleasing 
manner during the dark days of December or any other of the 
winter months. The vermilion, white, and yellow varieties in this 
section are also excellent, but they are more shy in flowering 
until after the turn of the year, and I cannot recommend them 
to be grown generally to bloom either before or at Christmas. 
The double Due Yan Thols are useless for early flowering. Brutus, 
a deep red, the white Pottebakker, and the Tournesols have also 
been tried for early work, but they did not succeed. In culture 
they require the same attention as the Hyacinths. Indeed they 
are potted in the same soil and plunged under the same ashes ; 
but they have generally to be left under these a fortnight longer 
than the Romans. The bulbs are a little smaller, too, and from 
six to eight of them may be put into a 5-inch pot. Last year 
some of the bulbs we had under the name of Due "V an Tbol 
turned out to be a much later variety. This was a serious disap¬ 
pointment to us. 
