THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
189 
December 5. 
eleven by three feet. I imagine a tank of tin, or tinned 
iron, would be the most easily heated; or it might be of 
wood.—V erax.” 
[We have no doubt, that a tank of tin, zinc, or galvanised iron, 
some three inches deep, and covered with sand, without any 
divisions, would answer very well, if you have plenty of heat. 
If you make it, however, two feet and a half wide, a division 
of wood or iron along the middle, except a small space in 
the middle, and at the two ends, would not only promote an 
active circulation, but would make it stronger for carrying 
I the weight of sand and pots over it. Instead of the hole 
| above the furnaces, or along with it, we would reduce the 
I thickness to four or six inches, so as to be quite safe from 
smoke. But as you succeed so well with a covering of 
gravel and sand over the flue in the greenhouse, why resort 
to a tank at all ? If you do not allow the water to escape, 
but have a close lid, to be moved only when tiro tank wants 
replenishing, you will just have as dry a heat as if escaping 
from the covering of the furnace. Provided this covering is 
safe, so as to exclude all bad gases and smoke, were we in 
your place, we would cover the space over the furnace with 
brickbats, laid very open and hollow, and we would continue 
that open work, so. as to resemble little flues to the two ends, 
over that we would place rough gravel, then finer, then fine 
sand, for plunging in, leaving an open space, here and there, 
to let the heat up, and pour in water, to secure moisture.] 
RHUBARB FORCING OVER A BARK-BED. 
“ I have some very fine Rhubarb, which I intended to force. 
I have a large lean-to greenhouse, about seventy feet long, 
south aspect, and about twelve feet wide, with two divisions; 
first, twelve feet for a potting-shed, &c.; the next, twenty-two 
feet, has got a large bark-bed, the whole length eight feet 
wide, five feet deep. It will hold six or eight tanner’s cart¬ 
loads of bark. The remainder of the house has a stage for 
pot-plants in the usual manner. I had some thoughts of 
placing the Rhubarb on the bark; but as I have never tried 
any that way, I am afraid it may be too hot when the pit is 
fresh filled. I have it now filled with old; but it is nearly 
exhausted. Will you have the kindness to give your advice, 
as to what heat would be most suitable for it, to get it early 
for market ? The house is heated with hot-water, with a flow 
and return, with a stop-cock at the end of the bark depart¬ 
ment. Could I do anything under the stage of the plant 
department; or would the drip of the pots be an injury ?— 
T. D." 
[If your bark-beds were all fresh, there might be some 
danger of burning the roots of your Rhubarb; but not so 
much as if you mixed the old and the new together. We 
do not think there would be much danger if you placed the 
new at the bottom, and the old on the top. A bottom-heat 
of 70° would not hurt it, with a top heat of from 50° to 60°. 
In case you should be afraid of over much heat, make a 
floor over the bed, with old boards, wattled hurdles, old 
crates, &c., leaving six inches between that and the bed; on 
this, plant your Rhubarb, with as much earth with the roots 
as you can; fill up round your platform, and when the heat 
gets'rather too much, pull away the tan, so as to let a stream 
of air underneath your roots, and keep your house rather 
cool. A vast quantity of Rhubarb may thus be easily 
grown. You would see, the other week, that Mushrooms, 
Endive, Salads, &c., may be grown under the stage of the 
greenhouse, if the drip is prevented by saucers or a water¬ 
proofed covering.] 
ARTIFICIAL HEATH-MOULD OR BOG-EARTII. 
“ I cannot obtain bog-earth under twenty miles. Rho¬ 
dodendrons, Kalmias, &c., consequently fail with me. Is 
there any artificial compost which will fully answer for those 
plants? I have a profusion of leaves every year, deciduous 
Oak, Elm, Sycamore, and Laurels, which rot for the border. 
: Will they answer with sand, or other material ?— Verax.” 
[Well-rotted leaves, say, two or three years old, with a 
! portion of one-year-old among them, with fully one-third of 
j sand, make a good substitute for heath-mould for the plants 
l you mention. If you could add a good portion of marly 
clay, such clay as falls and crumbles when exposed, you 
; could scarcely get a better compost. You would see, in a 
late volume, how splendidly all such plants did at Luton 
Park, in such marly clay alone, after they had been tried 
with other compost, and failed. Mr. Fish says—that the 
plants there are getting quite luxuriant, and rooting 
amazingly. Where heath soil cannot be got, a little clay, 
so as to keep the compost compact, will always be an ad¬ 
vantage.] 
PLANTING VINES IN GREENHOUSE.—PEACHES, 
NECTARINES, AND APRICOTS IN GREENHOUSE. 
“ About a month ago, I purchased a greenhouse, also 
twelve Vines three years old. I took them up from the 
beds, and potted them in large pots, and placed them in my 
cellar, as it would be the end of November before my green¬ 
house will be ready. Would you please say, whether I should 
plant them in the border at once, or keep them' in pots in 
the cellar till spring, and then plant them in the border. 
The following are the sorts :—3 Black Ilambros, 2 Mill 
Hill, and 2 Pope Hambros, 1 White, and 1 Grizly Fron- 
tignac, 3 Muscat of Alexandria. I have room for two 
more. Will West’s St. Peter's be the best; as I see you in¬ 
variably recommend it? My Pines are Montserrat and 
Enville. Can you recommend any better - flavoured ? I 
intend to grow Peaches, Ac., against the back-wall. Will the 
following suit ? or, if not, please say the sorts I should 
procure. In the Tine stove—one Royal George Peach, and 
two Elruge Nectarines. In the greenhouse, one Royal 
George, and one Noblesse Peach, and one Moor Park 
Aymicot.— Troublesome.” 
[Judging that your border is not yet fairly finished, it 
might be advisable to defer planting the Vines until the end 
of February. If they had been planted out before the 
ground was cold, and well covered up afterwards, the roots 
would have been progressing during the winter. If by 
heated soil, hot-waterings and coverings, you can give the 
roots a start of the buds in spring, you will succeed all the 
better. As you seem to have plenty of heating power in 
your Pine-stove, we would almost be tempted to start the 
Vines there about the end of February, and then carefully 
plant them out in the middle of May, taking care, pre¬ 
viously, to air the soil, and to have some warm in 
readiness to place over the roots when disentangled, and 
some warm dung to cover the places. A little time may 
thus be gained, if these niceties are attended to. The Fron- 
tignacs may be placed at the warmest end of the green¬ 
house. The Muscats ditto, in Pine-stove. The West's St. 
Peters , or the Barbarossa, will do for either. A Vine of the 
Dutch Sweet Water, in the stove, would give you very early 
Grapes. If you have no stage in the greenhouse to in¬ 
tercept the light, and your Vines are confined to the rafters, 
Peaches, Ac., would succeed on the back-wall; but we 
cannot advise you to place Peaches in the Pine-stove. Vines, 
or Figs in pots, would answer better.] 
LATE-GROWING LATERALS ON THE VINE. 
“ I have some Vines which have never ceased growing. 
They were set to work about a month or six weeks before 
last Christmas; the laterals still keep green. One or two 
buds at the extremity of one young rod have broken. I 
want to begin to force about the commencement of the new 
year, and it is quite time I had pruned. Will it be safe to 
do so ? There are plenty of good buds left. Shall I prune 
back to the buds, as usual?— Chesterfield.” 
[There is no advantage in having laterals growing so late. 
After these frosty nights, there will be no danger in pruning 
the Vines now, or even much earlier; though it would then, 
and would now, be desirable to keep the house at a low tem¬ 
perature, both before and after—say not above 40°, even if 
you had plants in them. If empty, a few degrees of frost 
will do no harm.] 
STAGE FOR A SPAN-ROOFED GREENHOUSE. 
“ I am about to erect a greenhouse in Nottinghamshire. 
My ground will allow fifteen feet only in width, but as long 
as might be required. T thought to have it a span-roof, nine 
feet at the back, twelve feet in the centre, and six feet four 
inches in front. If you should approve of my suggestion, 
will you please to advise me the best plan for erecting the 
stages ?—Fox.” 
