315 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEM 
AN, February 16, 1858. 
few of them ought to be sown early in January, to 
draw for any purpose for which they may be wanted. 
Dwarf Kidney Deans. —A small sowing of these 
may be made here in the early part of April; but let 
the quantity be as small as possible, and remove them 
altogether as soon as others come in elsewhere. The 
Victoria Dun , or Moliawlc, is a very good variety ; but 
much depends on the season, and local influences. 
Do not, by any means, allow them to remain one day 
after they become infested with the red spider, as it 
will spread to the wall trees. 
Seed Beds (various). — Small patches of Cauli¬ 
flower, Lettuce, Brussels Sprouts, Savoy,Red Cabbage, 
and other things, may, at times, be sown here; but do 
not, by any means, increase the number of these if 
; they can be sown elsewhere with equal advantage ; 
and do not allow the spare plants to remain in the bed 
when the crop is planted. Pricking out a few in 
another place will generally do as well as anything, 
and the original bed can be cleared ; but as these plants 
arc all wanted early, they may be allowed, for a time, 
a place here. The end of February, or beginning of 
March, is as early as they can be sown without pro¬ 
tection. This, however, depends much on the season, 
and other things tolerably well known to all cul¬ 
tivators. 
Concluding-Remarks.— I have not included Cauli¬ 
flower in the lists given above, as I have often seen 
more evil from this crop than any other. Where, 
therefore, there are handglasses, or other modes of 
protecting the plants through the winter, the open 
square is about as good as the south border ; conse¬ 
quently, I would not advise their being planted there : 
and it is only to retain their protection a little later 
in the spring, and the same result is obtained. Where, 
however, there are no wall trees to suffer, they may 
be planted at will. I have also excluded Broad Beans 
from this border, as they are not generally in so much 
request as the things I have mentioned; besides which 
they are an unsuitable crop. Celery, however, may be 
planted to a small extent for the very earliest use; 
but on all dry light soils it will do better, and come 
really sooner into use in the open square, as it requires 
a greater amount of moisture than is always accorded 
to it in a south border. Some other crops are also, 
at times, grown here ; the tastes, or wants, of the 
family being, of course, in all cases, consulted first/. 
Nevertheless, the principle at first laid down in this 
article, that “ as little as possible ought to be grown 
on a south border,” should never be lost sight of. 
And though the number of things above-mentioned 
be large for this department of the garden, let it be 
reduced to the lowest quantity that can meet the re¬ 
quirements of the case ; and be sure always to bear 
in mind that the fruit trees against the walls are the 
legitimate crops; and that all others are intruders, 
which must be expelled as soon as possible. 
J. Robson. 
CEMENT AS A LINING FOR WATER 
TANKS. 
I notice, in a late number of your journal (which I read 
every week), some remarks on the employment of cement as 
a lining for water tanks. So far from Portland cement not 
answering equally well with Roman cement, I believe it to be 
greatly superior for all such purposes. Composed of the 
same ingredients (lime and alumina) as Roman cement, but 
mixed hi different proportions, Portland cement undergoes a 
degree of baking which makes it 33 per cent, more dense and 
compact; and, as a consequence, gives it much greater co¬ 
hesive power and hardness than Roman cement. The close¬ 
ness of the particles thus attained, renders this cement more 
resistant to the penetration of water, to the attacks of frost, 
and to the growth of confervse on its surface, than cements 
of a more open and porous nature; and it is on this account 
it ha3 met with such a favourable reception for horticul¬ 
tural purposes, in the construction of tanks, fish-ponds, foot¬ 
ways, garden-edgings, &c. 
Like other good materials, it is liable to spurious imitations, 
at a reduced price; and what is, perhaps, worse, to great 
abuse in the working of it. Your correspondent’s failure in 
hot-water cisterns, may have arisen from either one of these 
causes ; or, more probably still, from that which you yourself 
suggest—an improper foundation. Tanks and cisterns should 
never be built in mortar. The bricks should be bedded in 
cement, both sides and bottom, to prevent a settlement in the 
structure ; which, if it once begins, no mere fining of the best 
cement in the world can counteract. A crack, all but im¬ 
perceptible, will soon empty a cistern of its contents; and if 
the brickwork itself is faulty, there is no alternative but 
to reconstruct it. The replacing of the cement surface, or 
filling up the crack, will have no good effect; for being a non¬ 
elastic body it will continue to give way with the subsidence 
of the brickwork, and thus destroy the water-tightness of 
the receptacle. 
If well done, nothing can be more economical, durable, or 
agreeable in appearance than Portland cement tanks for 
gardens, whether sunk underground, or constructed as re¬ 
servoirs under pumps. The bottoms should consist of one 
brick in thickness, laid flat, and bedded in Portland cement 
guaged with an equal quantity of sand, on which should be 
laid a course of plain tiles, also well bedded in cement. The 
sides, half a brick in thickness, laid in cement, should be 
built on this bottom or groundwork; and the whole interior is 
then rendered, with the cement brought over on the top ; 
course of bricks, to form a semi-circular coping. If the 
bricks are square and hard, it is not necessary to coat the 
tank externally with cement: but its appearance is improved 
by colouring the bricks with a liquid wash of the same 
material. 
There is a person in Normandy, a great amateur of Port¬ 
land cement, who, amongst other ingenious applications of 
this material, constructs these tanks on an extensive scale; 1 
and I have by me one, made of bricks and English cement, 
which travelled hither as safely as though it had been made 
of cast-iron. The cost of such cisterns, four to five feet long, 
two feet six inches to three feet wide, and two feet deep, and 
holding about 200 gallons, does not exceed thirty shillings. 
And if it be desired to transport them from one place to 
another, it is only needful to construct them on planks in the 
first instance, upon which, by the help of rollers, they can 
easily be shifted to any desired point. 
A short time should elapse after making, for the cement to 
attain its hardness before the cistern is filled with water ; after 
which it may be used for either hot or cold water indifferently. 
Being a manufacturer of, and equally interested in, both 
Roman and Portland cements, I have no motive for thus j 
contrasting the one with the other, but that which arises ! 
from the facts furnished by every day’s experience. I enclose 
my card.—G. E. W. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
MANAGEMENT OF TINES IN A GREENHOUSE. 
“ My greenhouse is a lean-to, with glass to the ground. 
In July, 1856, I planted ten Black Hamburghs, and three 
Muscats of Alexandria, which do not progress as I should 
1 wish. As the glass is down to the ground, the Tines have to 
| be brought under the sill into the house, and have six feet 
! before reacliing the rafter. Last year, the I ines were cut 
j down to one foot from the ground. This last summer, they 
made shoots from six to thirteen feet long ; but the wood was 
very small, the best of it not being more than one inch and a 
quarter in girth. As I have one Tine to each fight, I now 
thought of cutting each down to the bottom of the rafter, and 
lead two shoots up the fight; but, I have been persuaded, as 
the Tines are so weak, to cut them down to three eyes of last 
summer’s wood. Will you oblige me by saying what your 
plan woidd be ? My object is to have the Tines m bearing as 
soon as possible. I am afraid last summer’s treatment was 
