Apkil 15. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
53 
together is, after all, a common-plaee affair; filling a stand 
with pretty flowers is not enough ; the stand itself must he 
pretty and ornamental: accordingly it is decorated with 
Everlastings in such a way as to represent so many wild 
flowers, and yet be in perfect keeping with the principles of 
such constructions. I shall send you, at some future time, 
a few designs in this way ; at present, I enclose a sketch of 
a single flower, such as is commonly seen on different de¬ 
scriptions of rustic work here. The stalk and leaves are 
made of common cane; but when that is not to be had, 
willow, lilac, or ash twigs, would be good enough; only it is 
necessary to be careful not to split them in nailing. The 
petals of the flower are formed of fir-cone scales ; sometimes ! 
the half of a small larch cone is stuck on at the centre ; but 
in the present case, a circle of white wood is shown, with 
angular rays of the same material at regular distances. 
Whether this is intended for a Rose, a Camellia, or a 
Dahlia, I cannot undertake to decide; and, perhaps, such a 
point may not be of much importance; but it is very effective 
in a group of others neatly fixed to the side of a flower- 
stund or corbeille. These ornaments are always varnished, 
and not unfrequently the whole of the work receives a coat¬ 
ing. It is necessary to cut off so much of the lower ends of 
the scales, which may be either glued or nailed to the wood. 
There is in ornaments of this kind plenty of work for 
diligent young hands; and in the country there can be no 
lack of materials.—P. F. K., Paris. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
HEATING DIFFERENT HOUSES FROM A 
WEEKS' BOILER. 
“ I have a conservatory and a vinery in connection, heated 
by one of Weeks’ upright tubular boilers, which is situate i 
in a back shed, nearly between the two houses. The supply- 
cistern is directly opposite the boiler, but inside the vinery, 
in the corner next the conservatory, in which cistern origi- 
j nate the pipes which heat the two houses, 
i “ It is now contemplated to erect another low span-roofed 
house at the eud of the vinery, for growing Cucumbers, &c., 
| in winter, and Melons in summer. 
“ I want to know if it is practicable to join to this boiler a 
flow-and-return main pipe for heating this new house ; and, 
if so, whether a proper command could be had of top and 
bottom-heat, by branches from the main pipe after it had 
entered the house ? And, by the same rule, connecting the 
: top and bottom return pipes; thereby necessitating only 
| one flow-and-return between the boiler and house. And 
whether the different flowings would be more effectually 
secured by the main pipe having a shut end in the house ? 
“ And, in consequence of the supply-cistern being in the 
vinery, a considerable amount of unnecessary heat would 
be constantly in attendance. Would not another supply- 
cistern erected in the shed above the boiler remedy this 
evil ? And would it bo necessary to linve the two cisterns 
exactly on a level, to secure perfect flow in all three houses 
at once, when necessary ?—J. S., Hammersmith.” 
[As you have got a Weeks’ boiler, and are no great dis¬ 
tance from that firm, would it not be advisable to have a 
five minutes’chat over the circumstance? There will not 
be the least difficulty in having a separate flow-and-return- 
pipe, and a separate cistern for the new house, placed on 
the same level as the other, and where it will be most con- | 
venient for you; nor can there be a doubt, that for a main 
; flow-and-return in the new house, according to the heat ap- I 
| plied, you will get as much top and bottom-heat as you 
choose, but if nothing of the kind lias been contemplated 
when the boiler was set, so as to leave a flow-and return 
socket arm out, but plugged, you would have to make alte¬ 
rations at the boiler, attended with trouble and expense. 
All this, or nearly all, would be avoided, by taking a flow- 
pipe from the cistern you already have, and then the return- 
pipe could be joined near tho boiler to the main return-pipe 
there. We see little harm in all the unnecessary heat radi- ' 
ating from the cistern in the vinery, when not particularly 
wanted there, as I presume, in winter. But the heat will be 
there when you heat the conservatory, at aDy rate. By-and- 
by you may find that you want to keep something in the 
vinery, even in winter. All the heat from the cistern can 
do no harm, and if you open a sash and let it escape, it will i 
not be more lost than it would be by having the cistern in 
the back shed. Though seeing the propriety of heating the 
main house separately, yet we are so convinced that a little 
heat in the vinery would not be hurtful at any time, that 
instead of taking the connecting pipes by any other route, 
we would, if convenient, take them through the vinery. 
Should you wish to heat a back shed with them, that is 
another affair. It would bo a pity to lose it altogether.] 
STRAWBERRY TLANTS ROTTING OFF. 
“ Some Strawberries the other day were put on a shelf in 
a stove kept at 60°, near the glass, and with feeders (or 
pans) under them. A great number of them have rotted j 
off just above the soil, and those that remain (they are in j 
