334 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 15, 1335. 
what kind of structure is most suitable for growing certain crops 
in the most satisfactory manner, and also be able to form an esti¬ 
mate of the value of materials, so as to enable him to have struc¬ 
tures erected in the most economical manner consistent with 
stability. He ought to be able to state concisely the kind of house, 
the material it is to be constructed of, the ventilation essential, and 
heating surface required ; in fact, give a ground plan and section to 
scale, with general specification of requirements embodying his 
employer's instructions. If he cannot proceed that far, then I 
grant he has no right to be consulted in the matter. 
Horticultural structures are of various kinds, which I shall pass 
briefly in review, to which certain principles apply. First, what¬ 
ever the structure may be it should be impervious to wet; second, 
cold air should be prevented from entering, and warm air from 
within escaping as much as possible ; third, the means of ventila¬ 
tion must be ample ; and fourth, the fullest admission of light 
secured, which will be the last treated of when we come to the 
details of construction. 
The great factor in the growth of vegetation is light—solar 
light and heat—about which it is only necessary to observe that 
in passing through glass the rays of light lose much of their force 
as regards the vegetation on which they act, and the distance the 
plants or foliage is from the glass still further diminishes the energy 
of the solar rays. The intensity of the action of the solar rays 
depends on the angle at which the rays fall upon the surface of the 
glass, and which is known as the angle of elevation. This angle 
is now but little taken into account in the construction of fruit 
and plant houses. The chief thing now considered is an angle of 
elevation that will insure the throwing off of wet outside, and pre¬ 
vent drip inside ; but it is well not to lose sight of the fact that 
when the sun’s rays fall perpendicularly upon the glass very few 
rays are reflected, and when they fall upon it in a very oblique 
direction more rays are reflected than pass through it ; consequently 
we get nearly all the sun heat by one and lose them by the other. 
Although much has been made of the angle of incidence, with our 
improved mode of applying artificial heat it need not enter much 
into the consideration of the horticulturist. Nevertheless, it is 
important that the heat in any structure should be distributed as 
equally as possible throughout the whole of the interior. The 
higher the pitch of the roof the greater the accumulation of 
heat in the upper part of the angle, and the lower the pitch 
the less the difference in the temparature of the house at the top or 
bottom. For these and other considerations it becomes advisable to 
keep the slope of the roof as low as is consistent with the admission 
of light and the free escape of rain ; also to protect the interior 
from drip. For general purposes an angle of 35° to 40° is suitable, 
and very generally applicable, from which there need not be any 
deviation, unless in the case of houses lemployed for early forcing, 
when a sharper pitch on account of light, and quite as much for 
preventing accumulations of moisture on the glass outside or inside, 
yet this need not be more than 45°—a sharp pitch indeed, and 
quite enough for any plant to be forced during winter in our 
climate. — Cl. Abbey. 
(To be continued.) 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
Chrysanthemum Societies’ Schedules.— Several of these 
are still coming to hand, and this week we have received the 
following:—The Brixton Hill, Streatham, and Clapham will 
hold their show on November 4th and 5th, the usual classes 
being provided. The Richmond Society will hold a Chrysan¬ 
themum show this year on November 5th and 6th, in Castle 
Hotel, when good prizes will be awarded in forty-eight classes. 
In one class three very substantial prizes are offered—namely, 
£10, £6, and £4, for forty-eight blooms, distinct, twenty-four 
Japanese and twenty-four incurved. These should induce some 
of the best growers to enter, and close competition may be 
expected. The Kingston Show—one of the events of the season 
—will take place on November 10th and lltli, when the third 
champion challenge vase will be placed in competition for the 
second time, the winner last year being Mr. Molyneux, gardener 
to W. H. Myers, Esq., Bishop’s Waltham, who will no doubt do 
his best to repeat his success this year, but it is rumoured that 
he may expect a formidable opponent to contest the honours 
with him. In the other classes the customary liberal prizes are 
offered. The second Huddersfield Exhibition will be held on 
November 13th and 14th, in the Town Hall, prizes being pro¬ 
vided in thirty-seven classes, the principal that for forty-eight 
varieties, twenty-four Japanese, and the same number of in¬ 
curved, the prizes consisting of £10, £7, and £4. The Win¬ 
chester Show opens on the 17th of the same month. The North¬ 
ampton Show on the 18th, and at both numerous prizes will be 
given for cut blooms, plants, fruit and vegetables. 
Chrysanthemums at the Inner Temple. —The extensive 
collection under the charge of Mr. Newton is this season 
promising unusually well, the growth being strong but not too 
luxuriant, while the buds are clean and swelling evenly. The 
show house at the lower portion of the Inner Temple Gardens, 
close to the Thames Embankment, is devoted to them, and the 
exhibition will probably, by the liberality of the benchers, be 
opened to the public at the end of this month. Many of the 
new varieties are represented, and visitors will have a good 
opportunity of judging their respective merits as compared with 
the older and proved sorts. 
New Yarieties of Chrysanthemums. —The continental 
growers are still sending out large numbers of new Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, and unfortunately these are not all so distinct as they 
ought to be. It seems as if they do not test them sufficiently 
before placing them in commerce, and in consequence when 
they are tried here many are discarded as worthless. Numbers 
will be submitted this season for certificates as usual, particu¬ 
larly amongst the Japanese, and it behoves those tribunals 
before which they are placed to exercise considerable caution 
before honouring them. There is an opinion that in the last 
two or three years certificates have been granted too freely, and 
the result is that some varieties upon further trial have not 
proved worthy of the award they received. The Floral Committee 
of the National Chrysanthemum Society will undoubtedly be 
doing valuable work if t’aey restrict their certificates to really 
meritorious varieties, and this we may rely they will do. Chrys¬ 
anthemum growers will then know what new varieties they can 
safely purchase to add to their collections.—B. C. 
Chrysanthemums and the Frosts. —I have been looking 
for reports in the Journal of damage by the frosts of the 26th, 
27th, and 28th of September, when the thermometer registered 
26 1 each night. I have never noticed bedding Pelai-goniums com¬ 
pletely killed so early before ; of coui-se the more tender plants, 
such as Dahlias, are often cut off early. I am afraid some of 
our Chrysanthemum buds were injured. I have examined some 
of the side buds near the terminal one of some that had not been 
disbudded, and have found them quite blackened through. What 
effect will this have on crown buds that are much larger and 
more exposed, having no foliage close to them F—J. L. B., 
Leicester. 
Are Chrysanthemums Semi-Aquatic Plants ?—All know 
how partial Chrysanthemums are to moisture at the roots, but 
this query is suggested by the following circumstance. I planted 
a number of my own seedlings in front of a south Wall, 
ported some of Mrs. George Rundle and Cnllingfordi, and 
planted similarly an equal number. The cantalever, or eave 
shoots, commenced to leak in one spot over those named, espe¬ 
cially Cullingfordi. 1 regretted this, as I had but one potted 
and one planted, being still new. It is two months since the leak 
commenced, and one of each has been almost continuously 
saturated. Instead of dying they seem to luxuriate in the 
moisture, and are much before those ordinarily treated of the 
same varieties. The foliage is rich, dark, and glossy, and the 
buds most promising; hence the inquiry.—W. J. Murphy 
Clonmel. 
TRENTHAM BLACK AND ALNWICK SEEDLING 
GRAPES. 
I think you are quite right in your reply to Mr. Mclndoe’s 
question with regard to the above two Grapes. The Grape which 
I know by the name of Trentham Black, coming from a reliable 
source, has no resemblance to Alnwick Seedling, and it exactly 
answers the description you give of the true variety. The bunches 
are very long, rather loose, and (with me at least) a large per¬ 
centage of small or stoneless berries. The berries are large, round, 
and colour well, and ripen a few days later than the Hamburghs. 
It is a very strong grower, producing large, dark green, leathery 
leaves, which turn yellow when ripe—not blotched red, like 
Alnwick Seedling, and the under side of the leaf is quite smooth, 
while that of Alnwick Seedling is downy. It is evident Mr. 
Mclndoe has not got the true Trentham Black, and it would be 
rather strange if all the three Vines—Trentham Black, Alnwick 
Seedling, and John Downie—should prove to be the same.—A 
Sussex Grape-Grower. 
I should think there are no two Grapes more unlike than 
these. First of all, having for some four years seen Trentham 
Black at home and noted its characters well, I can never forget the 
sight it presented in the narrow upright glass cases as grown by the 
