327 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 23, 1858. 
ing them to fit so accurately as to exclude the external air (a 
matter of no difficulty in the degree required), and then to 
have a series of ventilators provided, to stand open during the 
night, -whereby an interchange of the atmospheric volume 
would take place throughout the night, without exposing the 
plants to contact with cold air. The stagnation of the internal 
atmosphere would thus be prevented, in consequence of the 
interior air, and the air between the glass, and the covering 
being of different degrees of density, owing to their being dif¬ 
ferently charged with heat. By this plan, therefore, I conceive 
that direct benefit would accrue to the plants ; and it would 
also materially assist in preserving that cooler (but not cold) 
night temperature, which the fear of injury from frost prevents 
from being now fully realised in ordinary cases. 
The annexed diagram represents one of the many ways in 
which this idea might be carried into practice. It will be 
understood that, as here shown, the side shutters and end 
shutters (the latter not indicated) fit into grooves, the upper 
groove being attached to iron pins, and thus fixed at a 
proper distance from the building, without obstructing the 
passage of air along the enclosed space, and that on the lower 
side being so fixed, as to exclude the external air in that direc¬ 
tion. The top, or roof, shutters also rim into a groove along 
the ridge of the roof, and at the lower end fix close down to 
the top of the side shutters, fastening with a button. Each 
of the shutters should have a projecting fillet, fixed on one 
side, so as to shut close over the adjoining one. The shutters 
themselves should, of course, be made of light frame-work, 
strengthened where necessary with small iron. rods. The 
material used for covering them may be asphalte felt, now 
manufactured extensively for roofing purposes, or strong 
brown paper, coated with tar ; the latter is used extensively 
in Germany, for this purpose, and is found to be very durable 
and cheap ; it is there even preferred to every other material. 
Though the covering of hothouses has been already prac¬ 
tised in some cases, I am not aw T are of any one having adopted 
a close covering, with the view to facilitate ventilation or 
aeration during the night. It appears to me that the circu¬ 
lation of air, secured by the means here proposed, would 
have much influence in excluding cold, whilst, at the same 
time, it -would prevent the interior from becoming too warm 
and close.— ( Horticultural Society's Journal.) 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
CONSERVATORY HEATING—HOT-WATER versus 
ARNOTT’S STOVE. 
“ I have a small conservatory, t\velve feet square, the same 
in height, built in an angle of the house; aspect, south. 
, It is heated by hot-w-ater pipes, which liot-w r ater apparatus is 
j fixed under the drawing-room, and causes it to be very damp, 
1 either from escape of steam, or some other cause. What I 
wish to know is, if I have the hot-water apparatus taken away, 
j could I substitute an Arnott’s stove ? It would be put in 
j one corner of the conservatory, merely to keep out frost when 
very severe. I light a fire now, only when the cold is likely to 
be severe. I thought of having a pan fixed on the top to lipid 
j water, to keep a moist atmosphere in the house.”—A Six- 
i months’ Subscbiber. 
[If you merely contemplated keeping out frost, and your 
plants are not particularly sensitive to a back draught at 
times, and a rather dried atmosphere, when the weather is 
very severe, there can be no question that an Arnott’s stove 
would suit your purpose, or even one of those small upright 
stoves which you will often see in shops in winter. Coke, 
made small, is the best fuel for them ; and be sure you have a 
proper outlet for the smoke and gases formed during com¬ 
bustion. Unless for the hardiest things, we have no faith in 
any stoves set in houses, however the fuel be prepared, or 
cooked, that have not an outlet pipe or chimney. Other 
things being equal, the longer that pipe is, the greater will be 
the amount of heat obtained from a specified amount of fuel. 
A friend of ours has a greenhouse vinery, about sixty feet long, 
from which he obtains late Grapes, and preserves great quan¬ 
tities of Verbenas, scarlet Geraniums, and Calceolarias, &c., 
for beds; and this he heats in severe weather w T ith two small up¬ 
right iron stoves, with pipes from them as chimneys. We think 
they cost about £2 each, or about 50.?. to 60.?. each, with pipes, 
&c., complete. In order to avoid dust, the stoves are generally 
carried out of the house to clean them, and light them; and 
when burning nicely, are lifted in, and joined to the pipe, 
which overlaps and fits rather closely; and small, good coke 
being used, there is little smoke ; and just the smallest bit of 
air being left to support combustion, the fire lasts a long time, 
and every degree of heat is given out to the house. The stoves 
are generally placed where the hardiest plants are in the 
vicinity, such as Scarlet Geraniums. Such plants as herbaceous 
Calceolarias and Chinese Primroses are kept farthest from it. 
Last season, after supplying a good number of flower-beds, 
he sold, last year, twenty pounds’ worth of bedding-plants, 
which w T ere preserved and grown as to sale point in that house. 
We mention these circumstances, to encourage all who merely 
wish to exclude frost in -winter and spring, and that you may 
see the plan you suggest is quite practicable, so far as keeping 
out frost is concerned. Under your circumstances, however, 
we should be very sorry to resort to. such a plan in the case of 
a conservatory adjoining, as we suppose, your drawing-room, 
much of the interest of which will consist in having plants in 
bloom in winter and spring, and which you can hardly expect, 
if your average general temperature is much below 45°, and 
from that to 50°. We would strongly advise, in the first place, 
to see if making your hot-water apparatus all right, "would not 
cost less, and be finally more satisfactory than any stove inside 
the house. If, from giving more details, we can do anything 
to assist you, you may command our services. There is no 
perceptible reason wffiy your drawing-room should not be all 
the drier , in consequence of the hot-water apparatus being 
there, unless there is a leakage in the boiler, or in the pipes 
leading to the conservatory. If your boiler is a close one, the 
pipes in the conservatory are considerably above its level, an 
open place at the highest point for supplying water, and the 
pipes are sound, it is quite impossible that any moisture or 
steam can escape. An idea exists, that the heat from hot- 
water pipes is more moist and genial than from flues, stoves, 
&c. It is all a delusion; the heat from such pipes, if hot 
enough, is just as dry and parching as from any other surface. 
The great advantages of water pipes are, that the heat is more 
equally diffused ; and if there is plenty of piping, the necessary 
temperature is maintained without any part of the pipes being 
very hot; and, therefore, no part of the enclosed atmosphere is 
particularly deprived of its moisture, and rendered dry and 
parching, as would be the case in the neighbourhood of a stove 
in a very cold night, unless it was all surrounded with vessels 
of water; and a third advantage is, that there can beno bursts of 
deleterious gases into the house, such as sometimes commit such 
destruction from flues and stoves. We should say, then, see 
if you cannot make your hot water all right before you get a 
stove. The connecting pipes below the drawing-room, if open, 
w r ould dry the floor, &c., of that room; if enclosed in wooden - 
boxes, and the end next the conservatory left open, you would 
get the benefit there of the heat from these connecting pipes.] 
RESTING VINES IN POTS—ESTIMATE OF 
MELONS. 
“ I am very much obliged to you for your full and satis¬ 
factory answer to my question about resting pot Vines. Of 
