THE COTTAGE GAEDENEE AND COUNTEY GENTLEMAN, March 2, 1858. 
annual dressings are applied, I consider two inches 
sufficient; if biennial, three inches may be applied. 
Care should be taken, during the succeeding summer, 
not to cut away, by any operation, the surface fibres, 
which are sure to be encouraged thereby. If any 
weeds appear, hand-weeding may be resorted to. 
Here let me point to the evil influence of tap, or 
forked, roots. If trees are carefully transplanted, and 
root pruned, whilst young, these roots will seldom 
occur; but if such has been neglected, care must be 
taken, at the last planting, to cut away all coarse and 
fibrous roots having a downward tendency. 
I before adverted to what gardeners term mulch¬ 
ing, and niay here offer a few remarks. I ob¬ 
served, that it was practised chiefly with the more 
ordinary kinds of fruit trees ; such, indeed, as are 
perfectly at home in our climate. As for mulching 
heavily, as is the practice with some; spreading raw 
manure, nearly six inches in depth, over the roots, 
nothing can be worse, even as regards hardy fruits. 
This kind of manure is exceedingly sluggish, in con¬ 
ducting the solar warmth to the cold soil beneath. 
Let any one observe heaps of such manure wheeled 
out to the kitchen garden, in a frozen condition, and 
it will be found, that the interior will remain frozen 
for a long time after the soil is thawed. For newly- 
planted fruit trees, which require to be mulched, I 
would strongly recommend half-decayed tree leaves, 
as being warmer in character than the manure. Of 
course, the mulching of dung need not be applied for 
the sake of its manurial qualities, since opportunity 
was afforded of putting rich soil, if needed, to their 
roots in the act of planting. In fact, the only way in 
which this raw mulching is justifiable is, I think, 
when, after much planting, the operator feels assured 
he shall not be able to spare labour to water his sub¬ 
jects, in cases of drought through the summer. 
The surface-dressing here recommended is of much 
value to all trained fruit trees; and, in course of de¬ 
composition, becomes filled with fibres. The spade 
is, of course, banished from this dressing, and as it 
solidifies, it becomes perfectly united to the body of 
the soil. 
Whether, then, cultivators choose, or find it con¬ 
venient, to use surface-dressing annually, biennially, 
or as the maggot bites, it is a principle of high im¬ 
portance in the culture of tender fruits ; and I cannot 
recommend it too strongly to their notice. 
E. Errington. 
WANT OF SUCCESS IN TANK HEATING. 
“ A house, under my care, has been used for growing 
Melons and Cucumbers; but, having other pits and frames 
for that purpose, I wish to convert them into pits for Pines ; 
and, as you have so many querists, regarding heating, &c., I 
venture to intrude on your time, by asking for some directions, 
as to the best way of altering the above, as regards efficiency 
and economy. The tank, when first put up, was found to 
hold too much water; and the bottom was covered with a row 
of bricks, laid in cement. Then there was too much heat 
at one end, and another row was put in loosely, to contract 
the water-way ; still the end, next the boiler, became too hot, 
before the water reached the further end; and this, added to 
. the valves in the connecting pipes getting out of order, ren¬ 
dered the whole nearly useless. The pipes, under the path, 
were not sufficient for top heat, and the tank could not supply 
the deficiency ; so my predecessor had a flue carried through 
two of the divisions: this gives a great heat, but would be 
useless for Pines, as it is in the wrong place. Now, I wish 
to state what I should like to do ; and ask your opinion, if I 
am not right in my notions. First, I would lower the tank 
six inches, to give more head-room; and, as it is close to the 
front wall, I would bring it nearer the path, about the breadth 
38 1 j 
of the wall that supports the side of it—say, nine inches; this I 
would leave room for a flow and return along the front, and 
then, I fancy, there would be heat enough. I was thinking of 
taking a flow-pipe, along the tank, to the extreme end, and 
letting the water return openly in the tank to the boiler; and 
only to have one stop, instead of three, to work two of the 
divisions together ; thus there would not be so much compli¬ 
cation.”—T yro. 
I intended answering tlie above in a few words, but I 
found that I could not render the subject so clear as 
I wished to do ; I, therefore, resolved to give the 
matter more space, and treat it so as to be interesting 
to more readers than the inquirer. To avoid the 
trouble, and the delay, of giving apian, the following 
details are necessary, not only to the understanding 
of the subject, but also that others may be induced to 
contribute their quota, to help our inquirer out of his 
difficulties. The house so heated is about 65 feet in 
length, 9| feet high at the back, 4 feet high in front, 
and seemingly about 10 feet in width. This length is 
divided, by three glass divisions, into four equal parts ; 
and in each of these divisions' is an iron tank, 15 feet 
in length, 6 feet in width, and 8-§ inches deep. These 
four tanks are, of course, placed exactly on the same 
level: they are supported by brick piers, so that the 
top of the tank is within a foot or so of the top of the 
front wall, against which the side of the tank abuts, 
while the back of the tank abuts against a 9-inch brick 
wall, the pathway being behind that wall ; and 
beneath that pathway a flow and return pipe of three 
inches diameter, for top heat. The fire-place is at one 
end, having a powerful cylindrical boiler: from that 
boiler proceeds the flow and return, beneath the path¬ 
way, and which goes all the length without stop or 
valve. From the same boiler, a flow-pipe discharges 
into one side of the first tank, and a return-pipe is 
fixed on the opposite side. Each tank is divided down 
the centre by 4|-inch brickw r ork, except a space left 
by a valve, at the farther end, for the water to circu¬ 
late round, so that the first division may be heated by 
itself. Two openings, one for the flow, the other for 
the return, each 18 inches long by 3 inches wide on 
the square, connect the first tank with the second, 
the second with the third, and the third with the 
fourth ; each of these being furnished also with valves: 
thus, when all are at work, all these valves in the 
connecting pipes will be open ; all the valves on the 
middle brick divisions, with the exception of No. 4, 
or that farthest from the fire, will be shut; and the 
water would be expected to circulate to the extreme j 
on one side, and then return to the boiler on the other 
side. Counting from the boiler, one, two, or three, 
or all four, divisions of the tank may thus be worked 
at pleasure. 
It is desirable to turn these houses, previously used 
for Melons and Cucumbers, into pineries; but then 
the tanks are too high, and as yet have never worked 
efficiently. The tank was found to hold too much 
water, and, therefore, the bottom was covered with a 
row of bricks, laid in cement ; and as there was still 
too much heat at one end, another row was put in 
loosely, to contract the water way ; but still the water 
next the boiler got too hot, before it &s warmed at 
the farther end: the valves getting out of order (being 
iron), the whole was next to useless, as the pipes in 
the pathway were not sufficient for top heat. A flue 
went through a part, and that gave great heat; but 
that could not, it is supposed, be made available for 
Pines. 
The proposed course is to lower the tank six inches, 
to give more head room ; move it on to the wall, sepa¬ 
rating it now from the pathway, so as to give room in 
front of it for a flow and return pipe; also to take a 
flow-pipe along the whole length of the tanks from the 
