TI-IE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, August 11, 1857. 299 
the use of Thomson’s Retort Boiler :—The boiler is so con¬ 
structed that the greatest possible amount of surface is 
placed over the lire. In proportion to its surface it contains 
a very small quantity of water, thereby causing the cir¬ 
culation to begin almost immediately upon the application 
of the heat. Every part of the boiler admits of being 
swept clear of soot in about a minute; the advantage of 
this is obvious, for soot, when settled on the boiler, acts as 
a non-conductor, and prevents the action of the lire on the 
boiler. The boiler is so constructed that it can be fixed 
inside a house or pit, so that heat can be radiated from it 
without the possibility of any escape of smoke or noxious 
gas, and thus the whole action of the fire may be within 
the structure to be heated by it. The boiler admits of a 
perforated pipe being so fixed as to throw jets of air into 
the flame at the point where it begins to return through the 
boiler, which tends to more perfect combustion, and in a 
greater degree to the consumption of smoke. The boilers 
are already at work in many parts of England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, and have never failed to give complete satisfaction, 
not only in regard to their simplicity in management and 
economy in attendance and fuel, but also in regard to the 
power of heating which they possess. 
(To be continued.) 
AGALMYLA ST AMINE A. 
(Long-stamenkd Agalmyla.) 
The large Silver Medal was awarded to Messrs. Veitcli 
and Son, of Exeter, for a beautiful new Gesnerwort, named 
Agalmyla staminea (Fig. A), obtained from Java, through 
their collector, Mr. Thomas Lobb. The plant exhibited was 
the first that had bloomed in this country; it was a stout, 
herbaceous, creeping - stemmed plant, with large elliptic 
leaves, from the axil of which was produced a dense cluster 
of rich velvety crimson flowers, like those of some iEschy- 
n an thus. Though beautiful, even in the condition in which 
it was shown, it, however, conveyed no sufficient idea of 
what it may be expected to become when better grown ; for 
in a dried specimen from Java, which was also exhibited 
along with it, instead of one bunch of flowers on a branch 
it had seven, clothing the shoot for about two feet with its 
gay blossoms. Being a plant of easy cul¬ 
tivation, it will no doubt become one of the 
gayest inhabitants of our stoves. With it 
was a branch of Medinilla speciosa, bearing 
a fine cluster of purplish red fruit, of 
which the accompanying woodcut will give 
some idea, and which are nearly as hand- 
Agalmyia staminea. 
some as its semi-transparent pink flowers 
of summer. This is also a Java plant, 
wffiose broad concave fleshy leaves, large 
bunches of flowers in summer, and fruit 
in autumn, deservedly place it among 
stove plants of first-rate character.— (Hor¬ 
ticultural Society's Journal .) 
[A coloured portrait of the Agalmyla 
staminea is in the fifteenth volume of 
“ Paxton’s Flower Garden.’’ The generic 
name is derived from agalma , an orna¬ 
ment, and hule, a forest, for it is a beau¬ 
tiful decoration of its native woods. It 
requires a moist, warm stove, with liberal 
watering and syringing during its period 
of growth. When at rest it must be kept 
nearly dry. A soil of two parts turfy peat, 
one part loam, and one part sand, with 
good drainage, suit it. It is propagated by 
cuttings planted in sand under a glass in 
heat. 
Medinilla speciosa is beautifully repre¬ 
sented in the “ Botanical Magazine,” 
t. 4321. As its name (showy) implies, it 
is one of the most handsome of the genus. 
It produces a fine panicle of delicate rose- 
coloured flowers, drooping gracefully from 
among rich green and ample foliage.] 
