1868 . ] 
REMARKS ON CLIMBING PLANTS. 
118 
soil, heated as it must be to a high temperature by bright unintermitted sun¬ 
shine, and by showers of more than tepid warmth, driven into strata of rich 
maiden earth. Contrast this with the best of the sunken unheated borders 
of our exotic stoves, and the low range of temperature existing therein in 
the month of March, when climbers of this class are starting into active 
growth, and note if the conditions are not extremely adverse to their suc¬ 
cessful cultivation. 
Allow me, then, to suggest a mode of treating strictly Tropical Climbers, 
by which they will be ’ brought under a far more genial regime •—a mode 
which will necessitate such arrangements in our stoves as will not fail to 
be appreciated by the other inmates thereof. I am not going to propound 
any new theory, or start anything original, for doubtless such arrange¬ 
ments as I am about to describe are met with already in some places. "What 
I wish to suggest is, that large pits should be built within the area of all 
plant-stoves, precisely similar to those which are formed for the growth of 
Pines, but not such as to curtail the necessary space for pathways, or to 
discommode the pedestrian in any way. Hollow-sided brick walls, some 
6 to 7 feet deep, make a good pit; the bottom of which, after a thorough 
drainage has been secured, should receive little less than a foot of old mortar 
rubbish, broken bricks, &c., made solid by being thoroughly and evenly 
rammed down. Upon this the soil suitable to the kinds of plants to be 
introduced, should be placed firmly, to the thickness of about 8 feet. A ridge 
of this same compost should be brought up to within a foot of the kerb sur¬ 
rounding the pit, at those points where creepers are to be planted. Always 
take care, however, to have a thickness of from 6 to 8 inches of soil between 
the fermenting material, and the principal mass of roots. The best heating 
material for such a purpose is tan. At the stage at which we have arrived 
the pit should be filled up with this material to something like a foot above 
the kerb; and this body of tan must be allowed to ferment until the 
maximum heat is reduced to 95°. Then will be the time to plant out the 
creepers into the prepared soil, and this we will suppose to be done in early 
spring; afterwards well water them in, and secure them to the most artistic 
trellis-work which suggests itself as suitable to the form and requirements 
of the house. i 
When it becomes necessary to renew the heat in this body of fermenting 
material (which with the mass I have recommended would not be absolutely 
needed until the following spring), it will only be necessary to remove the 
most decayed portion of the old tan nearest the top, and to add sufficient 
new tan to insure, by thorough admixture with the old, a similar heat to 
that recommended above. This heat should not be materially exceeded, 
as the roots buried below have to be kept in mind. Other materials, such 
as leaves or sweetened stable-litter, may be brought into use; but these 
