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THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— July 8, 1856. 
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comfort, anil no more. Now, I should be glad to know, first, 
what height you would recommend ; secondly, breadth of 
border; thirdly, quantity of hot-water 4 inch piping re¬ 
quired ; fourthly, whether I could not have two boilers to the 
same furnace, so that I could heat both houses with one fire ; 
and, also, whether some substitute for valves could not be 
used, so that the water from the boilers could both flow into 
one house if thought advisable, only to work one at first, 
and vice versa. 
“ The border I intend to place inside, but have been told 
that if I take the Vines up one side and down the other they 
will only hear on the part going down. Is this so ? or 
would you advise me to train them horizontally? The aspect 
can only be south. I should have preferred it east and west, 
but have not room. 
I thought of taking the hot water from the boilers, first 
of all, into a cistern with supply-pipes leading to both houses. 
1 could then, by plugging up one pipe, send it into the other; 
or I might have a division in the cistern, which would com¬ 
pletely separate them when requisite. Having Rivers’ 
boilers by me, I wish to use them if possible.—H. C.” 
[We do not clearly understand you. If you had marked 
down the parallelogram shape of your ground by four lines, 
and inside of that placed the position of your present and 
contemplated houses, wo should have seen in a moment 
what you propose, and been better able to advise you. For 
instance, on tho 110 feet wall you have a range of eighty 
feet facing the south, and ten feet wide. Opposite these a 
span-roof, seventeen feet distance, so long, and twenty-one 
feet from the wall on the north side. Now, as the width of 
the range is ten feet, and the width between it and the 
span is seventeen feet, that would make twenty-seven feet 
instead of twenty-one, so that we really do not know the 
position of your houses. With a width of space of fifty- 
two feet in all, we do not see why your span-roofed houses 
might not be made short enough to face east and west, and 
you might have in miniature an edition of the houses at 
Lord Panmure’s noticed the other week. A span roof, one 
side facing the north and the other the south, we would not 
prefer, for forcing purposes, to a lean-to, and the advantage 
of extra light from the north will be neutralised by the 
extra cold and extra expense for fuel. 
Now for your questions as to the proposed house. Were 
the height of the back wall of a lean-to an objection, we 
would prefer, under the circumstances, a wall of five feet in 
height or so at the back, and a short hipped-roof of glass, 
say three feet, to meet the longer front sashes in a ridge- 
board. Then beneath that hipped-roof we should have a path¬ 
way of three feet in width, and in front of that the Vine 
border, the front wall being about one foot above tho sur¬ 
rounding gsound. This would give a fair slope for early 
forcing. According to your plan, supposing the path is in the 
centre, you ought to have for Vines eight or nine feet at the 
least to the ridge-board. 2. You would require at least two 
pipes round the house. 3. It would be better to sink the 
pathway considerably, in preference to sinking the inside of 
the house much, and, consequently, having a border much 
below the surrounding soil, which would make draining 
difficult and expensive. If tho walk is in the centre, there 
coidcl be a border on each side, and the walk would help to 
secure drainage. Supposing the walk to be three feet wide, 
there would be four and a half feet on each side, quite wide 
enough for the purpose with top-dressing. We would, how¬ 
ever, prefer the walk nearer tho north side, so as to have 
the border on the south side alone; but it does not matter 
much if the roof is not densely covered with foliage. 4. 
Horizontal training answers well. When Vines are trained 
down there is a tendency to sliort-jointeduess ; but you need 
not fear that the Vines will be fruitful there only, if the 
maturation of the wood is properly attended to. 5. There 
would be no advantage in having two boilers to one furnace. 
In large establishments it would often be desirable to 
have two boilers and two furnaces for one series of heating, 
to be used in extreme cases or accidents. In your case, 
so far as we understand it, the simplest mode would be to 
take the flow-pipe to an open cistern, from thence take as 
many flow-pipes as you want to heat houses, and have a 
wooden plug for each, to shut in or take out as necessary. 
All the finest made, oxpeusive plugs and stop cocks in the 
world will not answer better, if common judgment is used.] 
DEPRIVING BEES OF HONEY.—GREEN CENTRE 
IN ROSES.—HARDY EVERGREENS. 
“ Might any honey be taken this year from a hive which 
swarmed on tho 3rd of June? The bees have already filled 
a box a foot square with comb. The hive from which this 
! swarm came swarmed again on the 14th, and appears ready 
to swarm soon again. Should two more small swarms issue 
from it, and that it is wished to unite them to a strong hive, 
how can they be stupefied with safety? and, above all, how 
I can the queen be discovered amongst the mass of bees ? 
Last year a swarm was chloroformed, and it was impossible 
: to discover the queen, though next day she was found dead on 
the white cloth, when the bees which revived had returned to 
: the hive. Eventually all the bees died, so I fear to try 
1 chloroform again; and in Ireland I do not know if the 
fungus proper to use is easily procured. What is the best 
way to protect wooden hives in winter? Would it do to place 
them in a sheltered corner of a walled garden ? or should 
! they be quite shut up or fed ? 
“ Is there any way to prevent the green centre in Roses ? 
Several which have been budded show it, and it quite spoils 
; them. 
' “ riease name some hardy Evergreens which would bear a 
sharp east wind in an exposed situation, and which sorts 
are tho quickest of growth to protect flower-beds from east 
winds. —A Subscriber.” 
[Take the box from your hive as soon as the combs are 
filled with honey ; but as your stock has swarmed twice, and 
you expect two more flights, you had better replace tho bees 
in the stock instead of uniting them to another strong hive. 
, See what was said in our last on replacing swarms. 
! Chloroform lias a bad elfect on bees, making them sick 
and eject honey. Smoke from the fungus majits, or large 
; puff-ball, is the safest and quickest plan of stupefying them. 
If you cannot procure the fungus in Ireland try a friend in 
England, or apply to some of the London dealers in novel 
bee-hives. The dry fungus, being soft and light, may be 
pressed down and sent cheap by post. 
Protect your wooden hives from damp in a sheltered 
corner free from the drip of trees. As a rule, however, good 
summer quarters are good winter ones. Also, let the bees 
have their liberty, and feed them if required. 
The green centre in Roses is a common occurrence in some 
seasons, and is a development of the fact that double Roses, 
though beautiful, are only monsters produced from single 
ones ; anil when their centres, or rather, fructifying parts 
become green, it is only a plainer proof of their monstrosity. 
We know of no cure; you can only hope that the next blooms 
i may come perfect. 
There are few good hardy Evergreens that can stand sharp 
east winds in spring, not even the common Laurel. We 
have found, however, none better than the varieties of 
Hollies, Tree Box, common Arbor Vi ties, Portugal Laurels, 
and Evergreen Privets.} 
L1NUM GllAND1FLORUM 11UBRUM. 
I have read with great interest the remarks made from 
I time to time in The Cottage Gardener respecting the 
culture of the Linum yrandijiorum. I think you are quite 
wrong in saying you disbelieve your correspondent in staling 
that all his seeds came up. I bought a packet from 
Bendle’s, which I sowed in April, which, I should think, all 
came up, for 1 have twenty-one nice plants, some six inches 
I high, and I have given away nearly as many. I would 
I willingly have given you my system of management if I 
thought it would have been acceptable. I am very anxious 
to bloom it, as it is so highly spoken of.—W. II. Wright, 
Bollon-le-Moors. 
[Let us know all about it after it has bloomed.—E d. C. G.] 
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