THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 16, 1860. 
39 
in The Cottage Gardener last spring, and we have been astonished at the 
rate they grow in it. AVe shallnever use another morsel of peat for Ferns. 
We have a couple of the nosegay Fern, Adiantum cuneatum, which 
duchesses have in all their flower-glasses through the winter. They were 
out of thumb pots in April last, and now they are of the size of a wedding 
present, and actually so disposed of, and all from this cocoa-nut refuse. 
Geranium Cuttings (A Young Beginner).— You do not tell us what your 
conveniences are; but supposing that you have merely your window, we. 
would let all the cuttings alone until March. You may give them a iittle 
manure water to give strength, and need not crowd them, as the pots may 
stand a little bit apart. In fine weather, and especially when the heat of 
the room is 1 ather warm and dry, which it will be if there is a fire in frosty 
weather, the sprinkling the leaves will not only keep them clean, but 
keep them cool and moist, and lessen evaporation. This will often be more 
beneficial than deluging at the roots. You seem to have been studying the 
subject, and we wish you success. By the end of February the sun will 
have gained power, and your young plants will be more likely to succeed 
when transferred to single small pots, and well-aired heated soil. 
Arum cbinitum (TF. TF. B .).—It is a very old half-hardy plant from the 
islands in the Mediterranean, requiring exactly the same treatment as 
Cyclamen persicum while growing and when at rest. 
Heating a Greenhouse soon to be Removed (T. P.).—Get a middle- 
sized, upright, round, iron stove about three feet in height, and from ten 
to twelve inches in diameter, and place it about the middle of the house, 
with a metal tube to go through the roof, or through the back wall, securely 
luted at the joints. If the stove is fiat on the top all the better, and set on 
it a round vessel some four or six inches deep filled with water. Use good 
coke for burning, and when cleaning out bars and ash-pit use a little water 
for keeping down dust. Do not trust to any stove without a chimney or 
pipe to take off smoke, &c., in some way or other. 
Oxalis Bowiei (A. S'. P.I.— No Campanula was ever callefl Bowiana, or 
else you were thinking of one thing, and writing about another. But we 
think we know the real plant which you intended to ask about. Was it 
not Oxalis Bowiei 1 Of course it was, and a most lovely and very sump¬ 
tuous bed for late summer, and a long autumn it makes to those who grow 
it properly. Naturally, it begins to grow with the Amaryllises, and dies 
down in June like them ; but it will endure to be made to rest from No¬ 
vember to April; to begin to grow them in pots, of course; to be bedded 
out by the end of May, when its large, soft, succulent, Trefoil-looking 
leaves will soon spread out and cover the whole soil, then flower-stalks up 
from the roots, and no end of flowers till October, every flower nearly as 
large as a shilling piece, and mostly' as flat, and of the richest tint of 
brilliant rose, with a little carmine in it. Like Gazania splendens, when 
the sun is on this Bowiei, there is nothing of the same tint in the flower 
garden which will come near it in richness of effect. You can have it in 
any of the nurseries in Norfolk, and over that county. 
Ether Residuum. —Another correspondent, “ It. F. S.,” wishes to 
know “ where it can bought at the cheapest rate.” 
Ferns for a Ward’s Case ( Overdessel ).— F’or this case (four feet by 
two feet) employ small plants of the Aspidium filix-mas, and A. angulare, 
to be removed by-and-by when they' overgrow the space, together with 
Polypodium vulgare, Scolopendrium vulgare, Asplenium trichomanes. and 
A. adiantum nigrum, are the best of the kinds you enumerate for a 
Wardian Case of four feet by 7 two feet. They will all grow in a mixture of 
equal parts turfy peat and mellow loam blended with about a sixth part of 
the whole of silver sand. The drainage must be complete. “The most 
reliable authority, and the most useful for botanical purposes,” of the 
works you mention, is Moore’s “Nature-printed Ferns,” octavo edition, 
published by Bradbury & Evans, and y'cu will find Moore’s “ Handbook of 
British Ferns,” latest edition, a very useful companion in addition. 
Preserving Cut Flowers ( A Constant Reader ). — AVe cannot say 
whether or not the charcoal may be used a second time, that can be learned 
by experience; but if it should not, it is a substance of so little cost that the 
expense of renewal would be very trifling. The account says the stalks 
should be immersed in the charcoal, and therefore we suppose it to be 
correct; but if you try the experiment you will soon know all about it 
Removing a Box Edging (R. S. E.).—AVere the old and high Box edge 
ours, we would cut off a good part of the top of the edgerow, clear away 
any dead parts below, remove a little of the surface soil, top dress with 
fresh loam and leaf mould, and if the soil was at all dry give a good water¬ 
ing. This moving away of part of the top and top dressing will cause the 
main stems to be.more charged with concentrated sap than they' otherwise 
would be. AVe then leave all alone until the end of April, when we would 
cut and regulate to the desired shape. If done earlier the young growth 
might be bleached by frost. The bare stems at bottom will the most likely 
break all over afresh, and the warmer the top of the edge is left the more I 
likely will they do so. As a general rule, Box should he trimmed about | 
April or May, for if done earlier they are apt from frost to look brown all 
the summer. AVe do not think you have any reason to plant new Box. 
AVe have known old unsightly plants renovated from the above treatment. 
Poultry and Rabbit Dung (S. S.).— This mixture is very well suited j 
to your stiff loamy soil. Those who talk about its being “ too hot and ' 
rank to be dug in,” do not accept as authorities. AVherever you are in- ; 
tending to plant Cabbageworts, or about the borders where your Roses and j 
Hollyhocks are, you may very safely apply the compost. If your “muck 
nit” were watertight, the drainage would be one of the best of liquid 
i manures applied undiluted to Rhubarb, Asparagus, Sea-kale, Cabbages, 
1 ind Lettuces. . . 
f Heating by Arnott’s Stove (A Devonshire Suosmbcr).—Yon wilt 
find rather full particulars of making and heating by Arnott’s brick stoves, 
!whether placed inside or outside of the house, in the “ Orchard-house,” by 
VIr. Rivers. The economy 7 of such stoves consists chiefly in their being 
placed inside the house to be heated. This would not answer particularly 
veil in an elegant house, communicating with the drawing-room. AVe 
ihould rather refer you to Mr. Hazard, for the particular information you 
equire. AA r e have seldom used the Polmaise plan except as an auxiliary. 
Ye can see nothing economical in adopting it in such a case as yours, as 
he drains would be pretty well as expensive as small flues. AVith the 
I ,round sinking so far as four feet below the level of the greenhouse floor, 
here is every opportunity for having a small furnace there, without sinking 
or a stokehole. From such a furnace a small flue could enter at the 
orner, and go round the middle of the house, under the centre stage, 
eturning to a small chimney above the furnace. If the floor of the house 
as not already finished, we would take a small flue round underneath the 
pathway 7 . The flue we should bottom with a tile or slate from the sides, 
with two bricks on edge, seven inches apart, cover with a thin slate, but 
tile for a yard from the furnace. Place a thin layer of plaster on the slates, 
and then cover with ten to twelve-inch square tiles, on a level with the 
floor. No heating medium would thus be seen. The pathwould be always 
dry and comfortable in winter, and there would be plenty of heat; and, 
although the flue was level all round, there would be a good draught if 
the bottom of the flue was tw 7 o feet and a half higher than the bottom of 
the small furnace, and the small chimney was as high as the back of the 
greenhouse. To avoid smoke, coke should be used, after employing a 
handful of small coal to light with. The bricks would merely want to be 
set in good firm mortar, and no plastering inside. If the pathways were 
likely to be scampered much over by frolicsome children, two bricks, or 
even three bricks on bed, would be better than two bricks on edge, though 
the latter will be strong enough in ordinary cases. If the flues were 
to be above ground, it would be most economical to have them in the centre 
of the hou-e to avoid the doorway ; and these might be hard-burned nine- 
inch drain tiles, using bricks for four feet from furnace. After seeing many 
mode*, the under-floor plan is what we should adopt in such a case as 
yours, leaving Polmaise alone. Y'cu may get hints for internal arrange¬ 
ment from answers to another correspondent. 
Hor Poles (Idem). —About two inches in diameter is the usual size. 
If much larger they would be needlessly dearer and more unmanageable. 
The first year's poles need not be more than six feet high, but twelve feet 
high are afterwards required. About 500 fresh poles per acre are required 
annually to keep up the stock, and replace those rendered unserviceable 
by breakage and decay. . 
Camellias on Back of Yinery (IFI L.). —Supposing your house to 
remain as it is, with the stage at the back, the house would be much im¬ 
proved by turning the present front stage into a flat table, or with a stage 
falling equally to the back and front paths. If you moved the back stage 
altogether, such an arrangement would be desirable, or when you walk 
along the back path, you will have only the back of the stage to look at. A 
large greenhouse belonging to a friend has been so altered the other day, 
and the back wall planted with Camellias. The Camellias are always green, 
and the stage sloping to the back in a liipped-roof like yours is kept gay 
with plants in bloom, whilst the plants that are growing and coming into 
bloom are kept chiefly on the south side. The Camellias are always green, 
under the shade of the A'ines, and altering the front stage will give them 
more light in winter and spring. If scarce of room two feet and a half 
wide would do for the border, and instead of sinking too deep the plants 
would thrive better if the border was six or nine inches above the path¬ 
way, kept up by a slate or board. See that drainage is secured. 
Oaken Arch (L. G.).- —Your Oak which is so arched as to enable you 
to plant the top in the ground, will, probably, emit roots at the top, if 
firmly retained in the soil so as not to be wind-shaken. 
Training Pyramidal Pear Tree (A. R. If.). —It would require a 
pamphlet to give all the information you require. Buy Rivers’^Minia¬ 
ture Fruit Garden,” it contains all particulars about pyramidal training. 
Name of Tree ( W. X. TF.).—The leaves are from i he Prunus padus, or 
Bird Cherry. Their red tint is very ornamental at this season. 
Names of Pears (II. S. IF.).-1. Not known. 2. AVinter Nelis. 3, 
Beurrd Diel. 4. Gansel’s Bergamot. 5. Ckaumontel. 9, Beurre d’Arem- 
berg. 12. Marie Louise. 16. AVilliams’s Bon Chretien. 19. Beurre de 
Ranee. (T. Turner).— It is the Eyewood, but a small specimen. , 
Names of Fruits (JII. A.).—Your Grape is the Frankcnthal. (S. 71.). 
—2. Nonsuch. 4. Coe’s Golden Drop. 9. Pearson’s Plate. 10 Emperor 
Alexander. 12. AValtham Abbey Seedling. 13 and 14. Duchess Olden- 
burgh. 15. AVhite Ingestre. 16. Hollandbury. 17. Russet Nonpareil. 
Names of others unknown. It is always difficult to discriminate fiuit 
when in an unripe state. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
WORCESTER POULTRY" SHOW. 
For some years past we have liad to record that the above 
/as held iu the Corn Exchange, and we had to praise the build- 
ig for the purpose. This year there was a change: commerce 
ave way before the fine arts, the Music Hall exchanged the notes 
f the large organ for the crowing of cocks, and the kettle drums, 
lie only other musical instruments that remained in the orchestra, 
'ere mute. The hoarse notes of the giant Geese of the present 
ay are loud enough for anything. 
Although not perhaps so light as the former building, yet 
bis was better than very many we have seen. It is square, lofty, 
,'ell lmlited from the top, and ventilated without being exposed 
o draughts. The arrangements were good, and it was necessary 
hey should be, as the pens entered completely filled the Hall, 
laving only such space as was necessary between them, lhe 
awls were placed in rows at a convenient height, surmounted 
li some instances by Pigeons, in others by the smaller breeds, 
s Game and other Bantams. The bottom rows of cages were 
enanted only by Ducks, Geese and Turkeys. 
The entries were more numerous than they have ever been; 
nd the improvement was not confined to this—there Avas also 
reat progress in quality. It is hardly too much to say that the 
bsence of indifferent specimens was more remarkable than usual, 
nd that this notoriouslv had season had either been partial m 
ts operation, or it had been overcome by the knowledge and 
lainstnking of most of our principal amateurs. 
The classes open with Game, and Bo. 1 showed a goodly 
rray This class enjoyed the privilege of selection by Mr. Kerr, 
f the China Works ‘in this town, for the extra prize be last year 
