210 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 19. 
“ May I have a door out of the stock-hole into the hot¬ 
house, if well-made ? 
“ What kind of fuel should he used ?—An Old Sub¬ 
scriber.” 
[See an article to-day, by Mr. Fish. A nine-foot rafter 
will give you an elevation of about four feet above the half 
flat; and that will be enough, though the roof will be some¬ 
what flat. The bars we should like to be at least three by 
two inches. Five iron pillars will be sufficient. The mode 
of giving air is admirable; and you will have enough, unless 
in extra bright weather, when you could open the door. 
The sheet-glass will do—quite strong enough for your bars. 
Should you think of twenty ounces to be safe from hail, you 
must increase the size of the sash bars. The saddle-boiler 
will do. There is no occasion for having much space for 
water at the crown of the boiler—a few inches will do as 
well as ever so much. If there i3 to be much work, we 
would prefer a brick higher from the bars to the crown of 
the boiler. We have no doubt of your ripening Muscats on 
the south side of the house, but have doubts as to the Ham- 
bro's on the north side. A span-roofed house for Grapes 
we should like to stand north and south, so as to have an 
east and west side. The flow and return pipe must go all 
round, and should be four-inch pipe. From the position of 
the stock-hole, you cannot heat the greenhouse without 
heating the forcing house, unless you take pipes to it direct 
from the boiler through the ground to the greenhouse, and 
thus so far lose heat. If you placed your stock-hole between 
them, you could heat either one separately at pleasure. 
Hartley’s ribbed glass would look best in such a position 
—and there are many varieties of it; other rough glass 
would do, but would look coarse. Crown glass would 
answer—daubed slightly with glue and whitening, and 
washed off in winter, as mentioned to-day. 
It will be very useful to have a door out of the stock-hole 
into the house ; and if there is a shed over it, it would be a 
useful place for working and potting in bad weather. Care 
must be taken that no dust gets into the house. If the 
boiler is well set, and at the height mentioned, you may 
burn anything burnable. If smoke is objectionable, you 
must tbink of coke and Welsh coal.] 
JOSLIN’S ST. ALBAN’S GRAPE. 
“I have a Vinery here, half of which is planted with the 
Joslin's St. Alban’s Grape, and the other half Black 
Hamburgh. The family inform me, that there never has 
been a bunch of the Joslin’s St. Alban's fruit for using, 
owing to their bursting in the ripening. Perhaps you will 
be kind enough to inform me, in an early number of The 
Cottage Gardener, how I am to proceed so as to remedy 
the evil as much as possible ? and also the sorts of vegetables 
to crop the Vinery borders with, to take the smallest 
amount of nourishment from the Vines ?—T. M.” 
[We have had considerable experience, unfortunately, 
with this, or a similar Grape. We could have succeeded 
pretty well could we have secured the necessary means of 
success; and these, in our opinion, are, removing, by the 
time the Grapes are half-swelled, every plant from the 
house that wants watering. Keeping a dry atmosphere 
about the Grapes. Giving them air, night and day, without 
injuriously lowering the temperature ; and in all wet weather 
placing sashes over the ground containing the roots, to 
prevent it being soaked, especially after the last swelling of 
the berries is proceeding. Moisture in the house, a close 
atmosphere, or a moderate degree of rain at the roots at 
that period, will crack the berries to a certainty. We never 
mean to grow this Grape again until we can give it a small 
greenhouse to itself, and secure to it the conditions we have 
particularised. Where these have been secured, the berries 
were of a surpassing flavour and uncracked. 
The best mode of cropping Vine-borders is to leave them 
uncropped. The next best is, any light summer crop of 
short duration.] 
ASPECT FOR A MIXED GREENHOUSE AND 
VINERY. 
“Wishing to build a small Greenhouse to be used both for 
Vines and Flowers, Ishall be obliged by your answering the 
enclosed question as a guide. 
“ Which position would be the best fora Greenhouse, that 
facing S.S.E., or that facing W.S.W. ? 
“ What Vines would you recommend under such circum¬ 
stances ; bearing in mind, I intend having hot-water pipes to 
keep the plants in winter? 
“ It must be a lean-to roof.—V xneflower.” 
[We think it signifies very little which position your 
Greenhouse occupies of the two mentioned, though for 
Vines we would prefer W.S.W. We would not, however, 
place the house in a corner, if it could be avoided, but in 
the centre of either of the respective walls. Give glass 
ends to the Greenhouse, and thus you will obtain more light, 
which will tell alike on plants and Vines. The best Vines 
for such a house are the Black Hamburgh, West’s St. Peter, 
and Royal Muscadine, and one Dutch Sweet Water, at the 
warmest end of the house. This last-named Vine will yield 
you Grapes a month before the rest.] 
VENTILATORS AND GLASS FOR A SMALL 
GREENHOUSE. 
“ Will you inform me what ventilators are best for a lean- 
to Greenhouse, on the rafter (without sashes) system, and 
about the cost of them ? Please also inform me if you 
prefer Hartley's Patent to clear glass for roofing a green¬ 
house ; and if so, why ? And if you prefer clear, please 
advise me whether to use sheet, crown, or plate-glass. Also, 
what sort of ventilators are best for the brickwork in the 
front and sides of the house.—W. F. G." 
[For a very neat house, small, neat sashes, nine inches 
wide, and of a length to go between two rafters—say 
eighteen inches or thirty-six inches, according to the width 
of one or two,—look best. Wooden ones would do just as 
well, only they don’t look so well. They are best hung on 
pivots. Some such houses have a double ridge-board strung 
above the ridge, and the airing boards are placed in the 
middle of the house beneath them. Being horizontal when 
in their places hung on pivots, a string makes them vertical, 
or just as little as you like; and thus there is free air with¬ 
out wet. The advantage of Hartley’s Patent Glass is, that 
it saves shading, excluding so far the heating rays, and yet 
admitting enough of the light-giving ones. We are satis¬ 
fied with British Plate, though we must speak the truth 
about Hartley’s, so far as we know. For an ornamental 
house, we prefer Crown for the fronts and ends, unless there 
are reasons for having it shaded or libbed. Wooden venti¬ 
lators are best for the front. Any size will do,—eighteen 
inches by twelve is a good one: they should open opposite 
to, or close to, the heating medium. Close wire over the 
opening inside would prevent the entrance of vermin.] 
IS THE ARUM MACULATUM, WHEN DRIED, 
INJURIOUS TO ANIMALS? 
“ Will you inform me if the presence of the wild Arum, 
(“Lords and Ladies,” as the plant is called by children) 
amongst mowing grass, will make the hay poisonous for 
cows and horses ? This grass grows in an orchard of 
Apple-trees, and is very luxuriant, though rather too yellow 
with Buttercups, riease inform me, at the same time, what 
would be the best plan to get rid of the Arum.— A'Constant 
Reader, Stroud." 
[Arums and other Arads abound with acrid poison, as 
well as with the most wholesome food. Our own “ Lords 
and Ladies,” Cuckoo Pint or Wake Robin (A. maculatum), 
is among the number. A great part of the Sago which is 
sold in London is made from the roots of this very plant. 
It is often called Portland Sago, from the circumstance that 
the people in the Islo of Portland eat largely of it, and 
manufacture it for the London market. Moreover, the 
