236 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 22, 1861. 
and spruce brandies laid along tlie rows will, I think, be all 
right. Cauliflowers (young ones), under glasses, never uncovered 
since they were frozen, and then had some litter thrown over 
them. Lettuces and Endive the same. N ailed a little when the 
sun was bright, pruned orchard trees, cut back Laurels, as the 
ground was so hard for getting everything taken off nicely. In 
mornings and afternoons, turned heaps of soil, made sticks, tied 
mats, and washed pots in a warm place, allowing the pots to 
remain there until thoroughly dry. Put soil into places heated a 
little so as to be mellow and warm for potting, so as if this weather 
continues to be able to pot many things from stove and reserve- 
houses. The thermometer being above freezing on Saturday, 
moved a lot of bedding and other plants from the floor of a pit 
devoted to Pigs, and placed them in the vinery which was 
• cleaned last week, so that the Fig-house may be thoroughly 
washed, cleaned, &c., glass, walls, and all the rest of it. Keep 
putting in a few cuttings as time could be spared, giving them a 
little bottom heat, and where the top heat averages 60°. Some 
Black Prince Strawberries first placed in a frame and then 
removed to a vinery-pit are beginning to show bloom in an 
average temperature of 50°, but owing to the absence of sun¬ 
shine, expect the first flowers to be rather weak. Brought Straw¬ 
berries from a frame into a vinery, where the temperature will 
range from 45° to 50°, and filled the two-light box again with 
Strawberry plants, from under protection where the frost had 
just crusted them a little. There is just a little heat from leaves 
in the frame, and the precaution taken is not of so much im¬ 
portance as if the heat were greater, the precaution that these 
plants do not stand plunged among the leaves, but the pots have 
a hard bottom to stand on—such as a slab or slate, or anything 
of that kind, and then leaves are packed between the pots. The 
object of all this is to gently excite the roots into action ; lut not 
to encourage these roots to go down among the leaves- For late 
crops we would not care so much; but for early crops—say, 
commencing in November, December, or even January, I con¬ 
sider this simple arrangement of very great importance ; as what¬ 
ever, at an early period is apt greatly to encourage mere growth, 
before the flowers are well up will, most likely, gives you leaves 
and no fruit. On the same account the plants moved from the 
frame where the first start has just been given to the roots, will 
stand on narrow shelves, either bare or with the slightest sprinkling 
of moss beneath them. The plants hitherto used are in 48-sized 
pots, which I prefer for the first forcing, as in small pots the 
plants are apt to be first matured. All these plants are with us 
much smaller this year than usual, owing to want of sun and 
heat last year; but I have often had fine crops from plants not 
extra strong and luxuriant. 
It was not these plants, in pots, however, I was thinking about 
when I said, last week, I would have a word about Strawberries, 
but anent those growing out of doors. Many of the best kinds 
are so tender in some places, that they do little good after such a 
winter as this, if not a little protected. A first-rate gard; ner in 
the midland counties told me, as a great secret , that he had a 
rare device for managing all that, and what think you was it ? 
Why earthing them up before winter and letting the buds find 
their way out in the spring! When I have a chance of accepting 
our friend’s invitation, I will make a point of telling all about 
the great secret. Thus far, we have long noticed that rows of 
Strawberries that were cleaned, forked over, and dressed with 
littery dung between the rows in autumn, suffered but little from 
frost, cold, and wet, in comparison of those undressed, or with 
the soil left on the surface as even and hard beat as the autumn 
rains had left it. Every tyro knows that the harder and smoother 
the surface of the ground, the farther the frost will penetrate. 
Now, this autumn, or rather say in November, I found the buds 
of the plants were more exposed than usual, that even the collars 
could be moved, and some of the roots were above ground. The 
ground was too wet to adopt our friend’s plan, but we took a leaf 
out of his book notwithstanding. We had a large heap of 
earth, clay, primings, roots, and weeds, which it would have 
been very unsafe to take to the general rubbish-heap, and this, 
set a-going with the prunings, was thoroughly burned, and then 
several barrowloads were placed along each row, forming a cone 
close to the buds and covering them all except the very points. 
A cone requiring much wet thoroughly to soak, a good safeguard, 
therefore, against severe frost, and telling slugs and all such 
comers to keep at a distance. The space between the row s was 
slightly forked afresh, and a little rotten leaves put between. 
But what has all this to do with the doings of the week ? Just 
this, that so long as the snow covered them |I consider^ d the 
tenderest quite safe, but when the winds and the partial thaws 
left the buds bare, spruce branches were laid along the rows.— 
R. F. 
EGGLESTON’S CONQUEROR CUCUMBER. 
I SAW (December 1st) at C. Binns, Esq., Clay Cross, one 
of the finest houses of Cucumbers I ever met with. The kind is 
called by Mr. Eggleston, the gardener, his Conqueror. It is a 
cross three times removed from Sion House; a great bearer, fine 
flavour, suitable for any purpose. It lias beaten all before it 
round here for miles, and the amateurs and gardeners will not 
grow any other kind if they can help it. At the Clay Cross 
Horticidtural Exhibition, in August last, it beat all other kinds, 
including the celebrated Hamilton’s White Spine. It has been 
grown 28 inches long, 91 inohes round, and weighing 5 lbs. I 
understand seeds of it were sent to the Royal Horticultural 
Society for trial during the past season, but as the trials there 
have proved a failure, it could not be noticed. 
Mr. Eggleston tells me that he sent a fruit to Mr. Eyles, with 
seed, and the latter in his reply says :—“ I thank you for the 
splendid Cucumber. It is a remarkably fine variety.” 
I -would advise the readers of Tiie Cottage Gardener 
who really want a truly useful Cucumber, very prolific, fine 
flavour, a hardy constitution, a good early forcer, and a fine 
show kind, to communicate by letter at once to Mr. Eggleston. 
I understand his supply of seed is limited, it being a very shy 
seeder. I understand it will shortly be advertised in your 
paper.— Ben Bolt. 
MY COLD PIT—HEATING BY HOT AIR, 
VARIEGATED ARABIS—LINTON HALL WINTER GARDEN. 
In the report on my cold pit I said the frost gained on 
the brickwork at the back to the extent of two courses of 
bricks, and in two more nights the whole of the wall, 
which is nine inches thick, was frosted. I took alarm, and 
uitted without giving notice to quit. The wall is a 
ividing fence between two estates, or the “march” 
dividing two properties, as Dandy Dinmont would say, 
and I could not secure it from the other side. No matter 
how safe my plants were from the frost in my own garden, 
they lay in great danger from the other side, and I re¬ 
moved them, and put them into safe quarters. 
Brick pits are not one-half so good for growing plants 
in during the summer as turf pits, or boarded pits, and 
here is an actual instance of what we have all of us been 
preaching about—the treachery of brickwork againsthard 
frost; so that, unless brick pits are lined, hotbed-like, with 
something or other during very hard winters, the expense 
in firing to keep the frost at bay must be taken in the 
account, and must be very considerable. But I mention 
my flitting in the dead of winter to save other gardeners 
from the charge of having lost plants in cold pits, while I 
saved mine, which were put up, as it were, for a trial of 
skill and perseverance in doing so much at no more cost 
than my own labour and the value of the covering. 
Thousands lose plants, more or less, every hard winter, 
after putting on more covering than I did this winter, 
because they did not protect the brickwork; and the 
reason they did not do that was that they did not know 
the frost could get through a brick wall of ordinary 
thickness, but a glass wall of nine inches in thickness, if 
we could have it, would be more safe than a nine-inch of 
brickwork. My friend with the hot-air-heated con¬ 
servatory advised me to adopt that plan with my pit, but 
then it was too late to think of it. I shall certainly give 
his plan a fair trial another year, if I should live so long. 
Meantime, and till we hear from him, we ought to keep 
the hot air in motion, and receive all notions about it. 
One.notion which he suggested for my pit is well worth 
consideration and study. It was this : The furnace was to 
be at one end of the pit, the pit being seventy-two feet 
long, the current of hot air was to be introduced at the 
top next to the back wall just under the top corner of the 
last light, and at tlie other end he recommended that a 
