420 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
M.\p.cii 11. 
consisted of tliree two-feet eartbenwave-pipes, and that 
close to the wall and concealed. Coke was used for fuel, 
and the ligliting being done at night and morning, it 
was rare, indeed, ever to observe a particle of smoke 
from the window. 
9. Hk.xting one House erom another.—“ C. H.” had 
a lean-to greenhouse Vinery, forty feet long, and heated 
by two four-inch pipes along the front, the lowest being 
eighteen inches from the floor. It was desirable to 
have a place for greenhouse plants alone, and six feet 
were taken off" the Vinery, and six feet added for that 
purpose ; a brick-wall below, and a glass division above, 
with door separating the one from the other. Before 
I building the wall the pipes were cut off to the length of 
the Vinery proper, “ and now the frost comes in the 
greenhouse. What am I to do? Get a portable stove, 
or what?” Why not continue the pipes, and separate 
the two divisions by stop-cocks ? Before doing this, as 
the place is so small, have a triangular piece at the apex 
of the division above the door, made to open on hinges. 
In the wall, or lower part of your division, which is a 
brick-wall, cut out a hole, a foot square, or so, opposite 
to but lower in level than the pipes in the Vinery. 
When both these are open, I am pretty sure the heat of 
one house will circulate through the other. In extreme 
cases, the dividing door might also be partly open. 
10. Setting of a Boiler. —“ My boiler and the flow- 
and-return-pipe are nearly all exposed in an open shed. 
Do not I thus lose heat by the fire going too soon up the 
chimney, and the outside of the boiler being exposed?” 
Undoubtedly. Get a bricklayer who can set a wash¬ 
house boiler proj)erly, and be will find means to make 
the heat and smoke come round the outside of the 
boiler before it gets into the chimney. 
11. Cottage Stove versus Flues. — “A Constant 
Reader” has tried a cottage stove in a pit for Cucum¬ 
bers, but the place gets filled w'ith smoke and blacks ; 
and asks advice as to a flue for keeping up a tempera¬ 
ture of 70°. I know but little of what is meant by a 
cottage stove, so many are dignified by that name. 
Have a flue by all means. In tlie pit, in the centre, you 
might have tan, and the flue round. However used, 
you must secure moist heat by evaporation. Cucumbers 
grow’ing in sucli circumstances was largely treated on 
lately. 
12. Piping and Boiler necessary for Pine Pit.— 
This, belonging to “Argentum,” is thirty two feet long, 
by seven feet wide, in four divisions,—plants, some in 
pots, and some planted out, beated by dung-linings, and 
two four-inch earthenware pipes, one passing along the 
side of the pit above, for top-heat, and then returning in 
a chamber beneath the bed for bottom-heat, connected 
with a waterpot-shaped four-gallon boiler, which an¬ 
swers well; but the size of boiler, and quantily of jiipes, 
are w'anted, to beat such a pit suillciently without lin¬ 
ings.” The pipes would require to be doubled, two above 
and two below; and as the earthenware pipe in the 
chamber has sustained the pressure, I do not see why 
two would not be as safe as one. The boiler ought to 
have about four square feet exposed to the fire, and very 
likely the present one will be large enough, and might, 
at least, be fairly tried. The quantity of the water con¬ 
tained is but little in comparison of the surface exposed. 
As there is a short-hipped back roof, it would be as well 
to have the top pipes one on each side. I consider that, 
unless in severe weather, these two would be sufficient 
for top-heat; but to swell Bines in severe weather, in 
winter, a third miglit be necessary. The simplest plan 
would be, just as is now done, take the flue-pipes for 
top-heat, and return them beneath the bed for bottom- 
heat. You must thus heat all the pit at once. If wanted 
to keep the divisions separate, the top and bottom-heat 
must be distinct; and these again divided, as mentioned 
the other week. R. Fish. 
Sale of the Publications of the Horticui.tural 
Society. —This took place on the 7lh of February at 
tlie auction rooms of Mr. Hodgson. A set of tbe 
Society’s Transactions, ten vols, sold for Tl 11s. A set 
of the Society’s sold for ,T1 lls. Tlie Society’s 
Catalogue of Fruits, without the supplement, sold for 
23. jier copy, and ivith the supplement, for 3s. and 2s. 2d. 
per copy. The great bulk of this property, however, 
was in quires, and in this form about seven tons of the 
Transactions sold for 18s. fid. per cwt. The Cojtper 
Plates sold at Is. 2d. per lb.; and the Wood blocks of 
the Journal for T‘21. 
CYPRIPEDIUMS, OR LADIES’ SLIPPER 
PLANTS. 
{Continued from page 218.) 
The culture of the hardy varieties of this interesting 
tribe of plants (a list of which I gave at the above page) 
is, as I remarked before, rather difficult; but, like all 
other difficulties (not impossibilities), it may, by in¬ 
domitable perseverance and due precaution, be over¬ 
come. Now, the first point is, to procure the plants, or 
as many of them as possible. If any curious amateur, 
or gardener—I mean, by curious, one who is fond of 
curious and not-easily-managed plants—is desirous to 
try his skill on the hardy section of Cypripediums, he 
must apply to such nurserymen as are likely to possess 
them ; or such nurserymen should advertise their stock 
of them in The Cottage Gardener. I am certain 
they—the advertisers—would obtain orders if they did ; 
for I know there are more readers of that description 
who subscribe to this work than to any other gardening 
periodical. 
I will suppose, then, that, by one way or other, the 
amateur, or gardener, has obtained a goodly lot of the 
species. The next thing will be, what the cultivator 
requires to grow them with. In tlie first place, he will 
require a one-light or a two-light frame, according to the 
number of plants; the next will be, the proper soil and 
the right-sized pots. Having all these, be will then 
need instructions how to apply them, and the general 
management. 
]. Soil. — The English species is found in low 
thickets, growing in light loam, very much mixed with 
the soil formed by the annual fall and decay of the leaf. 
'J'be North American species, in their wild state, grow 
in a soil formed entirely of decayed vegetable mould, 
mixed with the fibrous roots of ferns and shrubs, and 
also some sand. This soil is thoroughly decomposed, 
so that it conies under our term peat. Hence, cultivators 
in our country have tried and been successful in 
growing them in the following compost, which ap¬ 
proaches as near to their natural soil as possible. 
Compost. —Fibrous peat, taken from a dry moor, in 
which there is a quantity of the roots of ferns and 
heaths. Fibrous loam, taken about three inches deep, 
from an upland pasture, with the grass on it. Leaf- 
mould, formed w'ith the fallen leaves in autumn; 
ehiefly Oak and Beech leaves. These should be laid 
together in a heap, not too thick, and frequently turned, 
for twelve months, by which time they wilt be fit for 
use. These three sorts of soil will form an excellent 
compost for many kinds of plants. They should be 
mixed together, in eipial parts, and a liberal addition of 
sand added, sufficient to give the compost a sandy 
character. In this compost the Cypripediums will 
luxuriate strong, and flower well, when of sufficient 
strength. 
2. Potting. —This operation should be performed in 
spring, just when the buds are breaking. All the hardy 
species are deciduous; that is, the stems and leaves dfe 
