October 3.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
5 
beneath the apex, the north lights might be confined to 
pots, cuttings, &c., whilst the south portion was occupied 
by cucumbers and melons. As for the interior fittings, 
and the manner in which tho pots are supported, whe¬ 
ther hy a stage, a flat shelf, b, or merely placed on the soil 
of the old cucumber bed, that may be determined hy 
those who erect it, keeping steadily in view the pur¬ 
poses for which it is intended. It need scarcely be re¬ 
marked, that if it were tank heated, it would be, indeed, 
a very complete affair, and it would of course then be 
well to support the false bottom on masonry. In such 
a case, the necessity for using hot manure as a source 
of heat would be done away, and the structure would 
thus admirably suit those who cannot obtain a perma¬ 
nent supply of fermenting materials, or who have other 
uses for them. A pit of this kind might stand in the 
flower-garden without in any way derogating from the 
style of the scenery, and if the north or back could be 
placed near a wall or fence, which constitutes the 
boundary between the flower-garden and the kitchen- 
garden or the court-yard, the fire-hole, if tank heated, 
might be placed on that side, thus leaving everything 
neat and systematic within. 
It will be understood that both north and south lights, 
independently of each other, lift upwards by means of 
binges along the apex, a, of the roof; thus by having an 
iron rod graduated and swung opposite each light, with 
a catch for each in the pit lights, ventilation may be 
accomplished with facility to any degree. Amateurs 
who do not like to come in contact with dirty materials, 
may thus get instant access to any part of the pit with 
ease; and as for the north portion—supposing it to be 
occupied with pot plants—the moderate sized north 
light may be almost lifted with the finger and thumb. 
Hollow walls should hy all means be adopted; they 
are a capital defence against damp, that enemy to 
warmth ; such is known to creep from brick to brick in 
the most iusiduous way by capillary attraction. Hollow 
walls then—well known non-conductors—are averse to 
that speedy counterchange between inner and outer 
temperatures, which in severe periods acts so suddenly 
and so prejudicially. Little more need be said concern¬ 
ing this simple pit; we may now offer a few general 
observations. 
In whatever way pits may be constructed, or frames 
placed, there can be but little doubt that it is, as a gene¬ 
ral maxim, well to place a considerable portion of the 
structure below the ordinary ground level. This is a 
point not sufficiently understood or attended to, and it 
is matter for consideration with all who can understand 
that there are collateral points connected with the 
formation of artificial climates, which ought to form 
; essential parts of the preliminary calculations in such 
matters. J t is still however a question for consideration, 
bow the balance stands between the gain which is made 
by taking low levels, and thus avoiding the great vicis¬ 
situdes occasioned by cutting winds, and the loss which 
may accrue through underground damps. Our opinion 
certainly preponderates in favour of low levels, but then 
we would make a most thorough drainage the ground¬ 
work of the whole proceeding. In this, as in many 
other cases, so much depends on the locality, and the 
facility that exists for getting rid of underground damps, 
i that it is by no means wise in those who take upon 
themselves the task of offering advice, to attempt to lay 
down a set of universal rules under the dignified title 
of principles. It must suffice, on such occasions, to 
trim the lamp anew, and by its light to point to shoals 
and sand-banks, as also to show the way to a quiet road¬ 
stead. We will shortly resuine this subject, which 
j deserves the most attentive consideration. 
R. Errington. 
THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 
Some fifteen years back I used to wonder why every¬ 
body did not grow the then new Tacsonia pinnatistipula, 
but now called the old one, as with me, in the west of 
England, it was one of the best out-door climbers I had 
of the half-hardy race. Erom the end of August to 
Christmas, unless the fore-part of the winter was very 
severe, it used to flower most profusely at every joint of 
the young wood, and the plant was so vigorous and 
healthy that it extended a long way up and down be¬ 
tween the front lights of a conservatory and along the 
top of the upright glass. To keep it clear from the 
glass, so as not to shade the plants inside, we used to 
train one shoot over another, so that in time they formed 
a kind of rope, and the flowers hung down as thickly as 
if they bad been stuck on to see how many the rope 
would hold. I knew, also, that the plant did equally 
well in two more places. It was quite cheap, and there 
were plenty of them in the nurseries; and yet one might 
travel a hundred miles and not see one of them in a 
garden; and when you asked for it, or for the reason 
why such a charming thing was not to be seen, the gar¬ 
dener would turn quite fierce and say, “hang the Tac- 
sonia, and the writers who recommend such rubbish! ” 
I knew very well the Tacsonia would answer to be banged 
in any direction, but should not much fancy to try the 
experiment on the “ writers.” The explanation which 
would follow made it clear enough that this Tacsonia 
was very particular as to the kind of soil in which it 
would do well in; but as we know that two soils may 
look exactly alike, and even give the same results under 
the tests of the operating chemist, and yet be as different 
in their effects on certain kinds of plants as chalk and 
cheese on the palate, there is nothing for it but to try by 
actual experience which plants will suit our garden; and 
I want to lay some stress upon this, as we are too often 
prone to be led away by the results of experiments car- 
ried on by our friends or neighbours; yet to “hang the 
thing” because friend somebody has failed with it, is 
not the best way of going to work; we must break the 
ice and prove for ourselves. 
Since the time referred to 1 have learned that this 
Tacsonia is as much given to sulks as they said—red 
spider and bad leaves going the same journey with it to 
disappointment and vexation—not a healthy shoot in a 
twelvemonth—and for some years I gave up the plant 
altogether. But I have returned to it again with that 
kind of interest one feels for an old schoolfellow, and 
have succeeded; and I would urgently recommend to 
those who have also tried and failed with it, to try it 
once more; for when it does well it is the best of all 
the Tacsonias, with the exception of manicata, which, 
perhaps, is the richest thing among all the Passion- 
worts. This brings me to our dictionary again; for if 
a reader who never beard of a Tacsonia before was 
curious enough to learn what sort of plant it is, if I did 
not call it a passion-wort, how could be know but I was 
alluding to some kind of scarlet runner? or, if I bad 
said that it belonged to the sixteenth class of the Lin- 
usean system, he would not have been much the wiser, 
even if ho had kuown two thirds of the plants in that 
class; for it would be as likely as not that he would 
take the Tacsonia to be a mallow-wort. But almost every¬ 
body knows a passion-flower; and all that do would 
have no difficulty to see with the mind's eye what sort 
of climber 1 have been writing about, when I said it was 
a passion-wort. Here, then, is the grand use of learn¬ 
ing to look on plants in natural-looking groups. Take 
the Daisy-worts — the Gowan-worts of childhood—as 
another instance. Everybody knows a daisy; and 
although the order to which the daisy belongs compre¬ 
hends a greater number of plants than the number of 
all the plants which Linnaeus and his contemporaries 
