THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— September 23,1856. 451 
or any other country. I would urge this the more par¬ 
ticularly, because, whatever may be thought of the 
singular, aud, perhaps, unique structure at the top of 
the mount called the Rosary, it is not likely that tho 
lincst Roses would long continue in bloom there from 
exposure to wind alone—a thing the managers seem 
to be well aware of from two facts: the lirst, that 
with tho exception of the climbers and a surrounding 
belt of Roses, the beds in the interior are as yet devoted 
to bedding-plants ; and, secondly, because most of these 
bods are considerably sunk, so that whatever is placed 
in them, if not too high, will not catch the force of the 
wind. In this long glazed entrance tho best Roses 
would be just at home ; and though large plants would 
be required to make a show at first, I believe that even 
in this respect Rose growers and exhibitors would bo 
glad to lend a helping hand. 
Convenience and Unity of Expression. —Having, 
when last at the Palace, felt some little difficulty in 
managing my chop without beiug squeezed and trampled 
on, I was glad to see, in mounting the stairs, two such 
nice places set apart for third-class refreshments. There 
is not an equal improvement for second-class folks at 
tho south cud of the building, behind tho court of 
queens and kings. It is not sufficiently shut off from 
the building to meet an Englishman’s ideas of dining 
comfortably. It is true the main entrance is not through 
it as formerly, but beyond it, a little on the east side; 
but, as a consequence of this, the visitor enters the 
splendid nave sideways, and loses tho grand first im¬ 
pression of entering at one end through tho court re¬ 
ferred to. Had the archway in the centre of that court 
been five times -as large, the main entrance through it, 
and everything in front of it removed that obstructed 
tho view'of the splendid aquarium, with its crystal 
fountain, and the creepers and banging baskets of the 
nave, a grand first impression would have been pro¬ 
duced, which is now partly lost by the side-entrance. 
Here are placed groups illustrative of natural history, 
representing the varieties of our own species, the 
animals most common to the defiuod region, and the 
plants most abundant there,—a most happy and useful 
idea, but demanding far more space than is here allotted 
to it. It would he difficult, even in the vastness of the 
Palace, to give a correct idea of the scenery, vegetation, 
and tho mode of life of tho inhabitants of such distant 
countries; but something might be done more effectually 
by more space, assisted by painting: dissolving views 
of anything of that sort could be managed; or looking 
through magnifying glasses, on the principle of the 
penny peep-shows. The latter would be a grand thing 
for the youngsters, and though the suggestion may 
appear childish to great minds, I must say that I have 
a more vivid conception of certaiu battlo-fields and 
cities on the Continent from these penny peep-shows, 
when 1 was a boy, than from all the reading and illustra¬ 
tion that have come in my way since. Re this as it may, 
however artificial we know these mounds of vegetation, 
formed of roots and rocks, to be, we also know that art 
is employed to make them look naturally, and that 
lienee the plants growing out of the soil, and the moss 
creeping and the Ferns banging over the stone or rock, 
are just as they ought to be ; but until we learn that 
plants in these, countries grow naturally in pots, then 
each of tho hundreds that are stuck in tho holes and 
crevices of such mounds, where tho pots might easily 
he concealed by moss, &c., but are not, is just a break 
down of the naturalness of the idea sought to be com¬ 
municated, aud a jarring interference with unity of 
expression. 
The sarno principle applies to other parts of the 
building, where, iu close proximity to plants growing 
beautifully in beds, is placed a group of plants in pots. 
If such are necessary for filling up, &c., they should 
have a place for themselves. Beautiful as the large 
basins of flowers looked by the sides of the aquarium, 
their beauty.would have been enhanced if, by looking 
down nt them, no pots wore seem Even a small 
sprinkling of moss, independently of the appearance, 
would soon pay for itself in the lessening of evaporation 
from tho soil. Public societies are different from private 
establishments, and can never bo offended with honest, 
even though mistaken criticism, especially when, as in 
tho present case, without, I believe, arrogating to itself 
any such distinctiou, it is no less true that the Crystal 
Palace is, to a great extent already, and destined to be 
still more, the groat arbiter in all tilings relating to 
refined taste in floriculture. 
Plants near to and distant from the Glass. —This 
is a matter of every-day importance, and to be regulated 
in practice greatly by tho nature of the house in which 
the plants are grown. With the mere glass roof of a 
pit, with the roof, and, perhaps, a part of tho front and 
ends of a lean-to house of glass, the ever-recurring 
advice, “Keep the plants near the glass,” was a very 
proper one, more especially if tho plants were not turned 
frequently, and there wero such things as creepers on 
the roof to intercept and diffuse the light. The drawing 
and spindling of plants so much complained of were not 
owing so much to distance from the glass as to these 
shading and intercepting media, and to tho fact of the 
light being presented chiefly on one side. I have 
several times incidentally directed attention to this 
matter. But for subjects that could not well be delayed, 
I would have chronicled how Mr. Thompson, late of 
Wrotham Park, some time now of Dalkeith Palace, had 
a collection of as pretty stubby young Geranium plants 
as I ever witnessed last May, set upon a level platform 
at a good distance from the glass. In noticing Weeks’ 
one-boiler system, I also adverted to nice plants of 
Geraniums on a span stage in a span-roofed house; the 
plants, so far as I recollect, being something like four 
feet from the glass. In this case glass, and, conse¬ 
quently, light were presented to the plants on all sides. 
The advantages of standing the plants at a considerable 
distance from tho glass, when tho circumstances will 
admit of it, are chiefly two:—In summer there is little 
necessity for shading, because the heating rays that 
would he injurious are well diffused before reaching the 
plants. The second is that, by having such an amount 
of atmosphere above them, the plants are less liable to 
ho influenced by sudden frosts. 
Whoever has any doubts on those matters should go 
to tho Crystal Palace. Even in tho Pompeian Court and 
tho most gorgeous Court of the Alhambra plants are 
flourishing, though I do not know how loug they may 
have Leon planted or plunged there ; hut along the whole 
of the nave it would hardly be possible to find plants 
flourishing better, though it must be some scores of feet 
from the sides of the building and courts, &c., interven¬ 
ing, and 1 do not know how many scores of feet from the 
roof. Water-Lilies in the aquarium were just in their 
element. Fuchsias were fine, and threatening to mount 
up some day to the top of the highest pillars. Gera¬ 
niums had ns fine a colour as if grown iu the open air. 
Rhododendrons wero beautifully green, and set with 
flower-buds; and Camellias had fine green foliage, and 
were full of flower-buds on short-jointed wood, just as if 
tho tops had been within a few inches of a glass roof. 
Creepers and hanging haslcets had no signs of being parti¬ 
cularly elongated, and if the tropical part showed, if any¬ 
thing, less vigorous health than the more temperate part, 
I should trace it to a little deficiency of heat, rather 
than deficiency of light. It may thus be considered es¬ 
tablished beyond doubt, that provided light reaches a 
plant on all sides, the mere distance at which it stands 
from glass is a matter of comparatively small importance. 
Gentlemen who delight iu well-grown plants and elegant 
