Ocxobeb’JJS. 
COUNTEY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
53 
of steam, provided the dung inside, and the soil above it, 
were higher than the pigeon-holes, and the soil was 
kept firm and free from cracks round the sides of the 
walls. This is a very economical mode, as respects ma¬ 
nure ; and if the bed is properly built, it long retains the 
heat. When bnilt, however close and firm, or towards 
the end of the season, when it has lost its heat, the 
linings have little influence on the centre of the bed, if 
at all close. To remedy this, layers of faggots may be 
placed amongst the dung when building the bed, or the 
lower part may consist of an open chamber of stones. 
I have found either of these last modes quite eftectual 
in such circumstances. 
3rdly. A third mode for making the most of the heat 
of the manure, was building the walls on piers, or arches, 
some three-and-a-half to four feet apart, and from two 
to two-and-a-half feet in height in front, to two-and- 
a-half or three or more feet behind. A solid bottom was 
made to the bed,—either brick, slate, or stout wooden 
slabs, placed rather open; and conducting matter, such 
as clinkers, brickbats, &c., grouted in between the slabs. 
Under such circumstances, the manure was placed di¬ 
rectly beneath the bed, or partly beneath, and partly at 
the side as a lining; the latter mode being necessary, if 
the place for the dung was placed beneath the ground- 
level, to permit of easy access. The dung, leaves, &c., 
were thus turned and worked as found necessary,— 
the spent removed, and fresh added. The same mode is 
often resorted to, by elevating a common frame on a 
floor, supported by stout posts, and answers very well. 
A combination of this dung-chamber, and an enclosed 
stone-chamber, was sometime ago brought under our no¬ 
tice by— 
2. “A New Subscriber;” to whom only a short re¬ 
ply was given, and a longer promised. We must now 
say something more in detail. His pit, intended chiefly 
for Pines, would answer equally well for Cucumbers, 
Melons, &c.; and there can be no doubt of success,— 
provided, if in these days of hot-water he resolves to 
work perseveringly the dung and leaves at his command. 
From the drawing obligingly given, it would appear 
that the proposed pit is about fourteen feet in length, 
and divided into three compartments,—two lesser ones 
at the ends, and a larger in the middle; the former in¬ 
tended for succession, and the latter for fruiting Pine- 
plants. The pit is sunk about two feet below the ground¬ 
line. From raising of the ground, the back wall is sunk 
nearly double that depth. The width of the pit is about 
six feet; height of the back wall about six feet; front 
wall about four feet. The floor of the bed slopes much 
the same as the glass, being about three-and-a-half feet 
from the base-line at the back, and nearly two feet in 
front. There is a back and front lining to the pit, the 
four-inch outside wall of which rises respectively rather 
higher than the floor of the bed. The outside walls of 
the pit are supported on arches, set on piers three- 
and-a-half feet apart, and seemingly fourteen inches by 
nine. Any young gardener, by making a few lines with his 
pen, can see all this at once, if no engravings are given. 
The linings, and the open chamber, would thus furnish 
the means of heating, and I presume that the linings 
would be shut up with neatly-fitting boards, so that 
when the dung sinks as it decom250ses, the heat would 
still strike against the floor of the bed. This mode, as 
we have seen, is common enough. The peculiarity in 
the “ New Subscriber’s” system is, that the dung does 
not get to the middle of the chamber, because eighteen 
inches from the base of the arches, back and 
front, two four-inch pigeon-holed walls are carried 
longitudinally the whole length of the pit, and as 
high as to reach the flooring. This, it will be seen, 
encloses a space the whole length of the pit, and 
directly in its centre, rather more than two feet in width, 
and this has been partly filled with stones. I would 1 
say, in passing, that I should prefer filling it loosely near 
to the top, and never allowing the pigeon-holes to be 
filled np with decayed manure. Now, it will be seen 
that these two longitudinal inside pigeon-holed walls ' 
increase the first expense ; but, that got over, there can | 
be no question but that they are an advantage, particu- i 
larly in three ways. First, they act as a middle su^^port i 
to the flooring, whatever that may be; secondly, a man j 
standing in or on the lining, to turn the whole of the i 
manure, has only to reach eighteen inches below the I 
arches instead of three feet; and thirdly, the stones will | 
not only retain the heat longer, but their openings will I 
cause a kind of circulation in the heated air. A cheap ! 
centre for such a chambered pit might be made of 
a pyramidal mound of clinkers, stones, &c., firmly 
fastened together, and made smooth at the top to 
support the flooring, by running it into amass there 
with a little concrete. Our correspondent projioses an 
air-flue to allow heat to enter the atmosphere of the 
house. A very simple mode of doing this is by setting 
long house slates on the flooring and sloping against 
the side walls, the lower end being from six to nine 
inches from the wall, and the upper end three or four, 
kept in their place by a brick-bat fixed to keep them 
from cracking, and shut in with a narrow piece of slate, 
or tiles placed lengthwise, and furnished with a round 
hole, with a plug in the centre of each light, to stop, or 
open, at jAeasure. Without something of this kind of 
flue, such a pit offers few advantages over the common 
frame. The ifian, altogether, is ingenious, and will, no 
doubt, answer well, and may be managed with great 
neatness, as no manure need be seen, unless during the 
time when turning and additions are necessary. On 
the whole, however, where manure is in great plenty, and 
neatne.ss no object, and economy in the first con¬ 
struction a matter of much tnoment, I would just as 
soon prefer, for Cucumbers, a five or six feet wide pit, 
built of one brick wide solid walls, and secure bottom 
and top-heat by keeping the linings pi-etty well up to 
the wall plates. When I had much to do with such 
close-walled pits, I used to work my dung there for 
objects requiring it more sweet and decomposed. 
The same correspondent gives a section of a low, wide 
pit, or house, twelve feet, inside measure, width of path 
at back about three feet, and the rest divided equally 
into a chamber of dung next the path, and a chamber 
of stones for the other half of the width in front. A 
floor is placed for the bed of soil, and a narrow opening 
along the back is to let up the heated air from the floor. 
In this case, as well as in that flue lately alluded to ' 
with the slates, it is well to have a kind of second 
flooring, or a space of six or nine inches of open rubble 
placed over the floor, before earth, tan, &c., are put on, 
as then these air-flues that heat the atmosphere of the 
house will get heat from the whole of the floor of the 
pit, instead of a small portion; and whenever bottom- 
heat is more wanted than top-heat, nothing more is 
required than placing the plugs in. 
In such a house, our correspondent proposes growing 
Carrots, Potatoes, French Beans in pots, &c., in spring; 
Cucumbers and Melons in summer, with Vines over¬ 
head. By planting out Melons about the end of April, 
he may do very well, as the Vines wdll be getting on by 
tiien; but much of the success will depend on the 
management of the dung. 1 presume the house is 
short, and that there are openings at the ends to get 
the dung in and out, as it would be rather precarious 
for growing crops to take it in by the passage, though ! 
even pretty well sweetened, 
3.—“ W. W.” wishes to have as many early Cucumbers 
as possible, from eight to ton inches long; wants to 
know the sorts best adapted; whether sowing in the 
middle of February and Keeping the plants in pots to 
the end of March, will, with good treatment, secure fruit ■ 
