21S 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 1. 
most vital importance to tliat class of produce which 
some are pleased to say forms the criterion by which 
good or bad cultivation may be known. Whether this 
be entirely true or not, wo do not here pretend to say; 
assuredly it is partly so, as the more a plant is forwarded 
or hastened on, so as to arrive at that maturity we call 
ripeness, at an earlier period than it otherwise would, 
the more it becomes an object of artificial treatment, 
and consequently the more credit is due to the means 
taken to preserve it in health, vigour, and perfection; 
and, as every one knows that heat and light are the two 
principal agents by which a satisfactory result is accom¬ 
plished, let us see in which way the latter of these is 
affected by the means now adopted to secure the former; 
as every one must know that glass is used not as an 
agent of light, which the best of it partly excludes, but 
as a covering which confines the imparted heat with 
the least possible diminution of that other all-important 
element “ light.” 
If this doctrine holds good in all cases, it would 
appear that the description of glass which admits the 
unobstructed rays of the sun with the greatest facility 
must be the best for the welfare of all plants enjoying 
the sunshine of their native places: by this we mean 
that all plants, from tropical or even continental coun¬ 
tries of the same latitude with our own, where the un¬ 
clouded summer’s sun shines on them for days or weeks 
together, ought never to suffer from receiving too much 
in this country ; yet they certainly do suffer, and that 
to an extent that calls for every inquiry as to whether it 
is anything inherent in the sun’s rays, as we have them; 
or whether those rays be not altered in their properties 
before they reach the plant in question. That the latter 
is the case we fully believe, and will here endeavour to 
state our reasons for that belief. 
It is a well-established fact that the heat and light we 
derive from the sun is imparted to us in parallel rays of 
more or less intensity, according to the state of the 
atmosphere through which they force their way, as also 
whether they fall obliquely on the body on which they 
act. Now, this mode of applying warmth to the earth 
differs widely from the best regulated heated contrivance 
that human ingenuity can devise; the heat from the 
latter ascending, instead of descending, is more likely 
to try every chink in the roof or upper portion of the 
structure to effect its escape, rather than commingle 
with the earth or bed forming the floor of the house. 
But we are digressing, and must return to our text; 
and as we have accompanied the sun’s rays to where 
they alight on a glass roof, let us see in what way they 
are likely to be altered in their transmission through 
the transparent substance which forms the roof of a 
forcing bouse. This is an important question, as altered 
they certainly are in many (if not all) cases, and to 
such an extent do they differ in some instances as to 
be next to ruinous to all plants cultivated beneath some 
kinds of glass, unless particular care be taken to coun¬ 
teract their baneful influences : and much of this is due 
to the article “ glass.” 
Some years ago, when the removal of the duty on glass 
| took place, the increased demand for that article for a 
time kept up its price beyond its just value. By-and- 
by, however, the supply became equal to the demand, 
and prices receded, but not until a large quantity of a 
very inferior kind had found its way into the English 
market from our enterprising Belgic and German 
neighbours, and no inconsiderable quantity of this 
j spurious article was also supplied by our own manu¬ 
facturers, tempted, as they were, by being able for a 
time to sell everything they could make. But the 
day of reckoning came, and long and loud were the 
I complaints made against the badness of the new- 
| fashioned sheet-glass, as it was called; this, of course, 
led to the introduction of a better article, but those 
who had the misfortune to use the inferior kind, felt ! 
but little consoled at being told they must ventilate j 
more freely, in order to avoid bad consequences. Now, 
though we do not affirm that all the evils attributed to 
sheet glass arise from its bad quality, yet we believe it 
often does. The wavy, undulating surface it presents, 
acting as so many lenses, is sure to cause more or less 
injury to the plants, or parts of plants, on which such 
focuses play; as it may be fairly inferred, that all convex j 
surfaces on the glass exposed to the sun’s rays, are just 
so many lenses, not, perhaps, true in their action, yet 
sufficiently so to be hurtful to a great extent, while the 
concave, or depressed portions, are scarcely less so, di¬ 
verting as they do the parallel rays of the sun into a 
fan-shaped direction, they are sure to come in contact 
with those of others, and the result is, their united 
action is too much for the tender foliage of such a cli¬ 
mate to endure with impunity, and blotched or scorched 
leaves are the consequence. This is more especially 
the case if the means of ventilation be not sufficiently 
ample or properly attended to, as a neglect of a very 
few minutes makes a great change in the atmosphere of 
a pit containing, perhaps, only a very few cubical feet 
of air, and a tolerable large area of glass surface, un¬ 
broken by overlaps or other means, whereby air so 
often found its way into the structure of former days. : 
Now, we all know the extreme hurt which pits and 
frames are subject to, whose cubical contents are only 
meagre; and we believe it is this sudden change of 
temperature which, when very careful attention is not 
bestowed on them, is the cause of the most of the | 
misfortunes that befall the inmates of such a place, i 
We, therefore, urge on the correspondent (whose case J 
we now try to throw some light upon) to be sure and j 
give air with great caution, and never to allow his | 
melon pit to get overheated, as the tender foliage of 
that plant cannot brook such treatment as to live un¬ 
scathed in an atmosphere not much below a cooking 
heat. The high state of excitement then suffered is 
sure to he hurtful, if not fatal, to the object under¬ 
going it. This, of course, relates to the purer kind 
of sheet glass, glazed in long squares, and as air-tight 
as can be made ; this is apart entirely from burning, 
which is caused, as we have said, as much by bad 
glass as any kind of indifferent treatment; but the 
results of both are loss of health on the part of the 
plants so placed, only the one is the action of an unduly 
heated atmosphere, the other the collection of rays to 
one or more points of action; but w T e find our space is 
occupied, and must leave the remainder of this subject 
until another week. J. Robsox. 
A MOTHER’S LESSON. 
By the Editor of “ The Cottage Lamp." 
The same person who gave us the valuable anecdote of 
the “Fool’s pence,” mentioned another circumstance, which 
may interest and benefit some of my readers, as proving how 
surely punishment follows guilt; and how often, too, the | 
punishment is so exactly like the guilt in kind, that we cannot 
help seeing and feeling that the one springs from, and belongs 
to the other; so that one cannot say, “ Oh, this misfortune has \ 
nothing to do with my conduct, it is quite another thing, and 
springs from another cause.” It is a great blessing when 
the lesson is so plain that “ he may run that readetliand 
if we looked closer than we do at what passes around us, we 
should see many things that are very plain indeed, if our 
eyes and hearts were not shut against them. 
The mother of the excellent man who told us the anecdote 
was a wise and good parent; and if we may judge by the 
large family who have all done well and prosperously, her | 
lessons were listened to and blessed. It was her custom to 
address her family, particularly, upon every subject and 
event that taught a useful and edifying lesson, and the time ! 
she chose for this interesting duty was when they were all 
