174 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 20, 1859. 
trinsic value of this fruit is not so much in its being an addition 
to the luxuries of the great, but in its being within the reach of 
the humblest cottager; and almost any one with ordinary care 
may produce a whole winter’s supply on a very small space of 
ground, growing a crop of Radishes or young Lettuces on the 
same ground before planting them out. 
This Melon is of slender growth and small in foliage, and may 
be treated almost like a ridge Cucumber, it being the hardiest of 
the whole race of Melons, though not eatable. As a ripe fruit it 
is very beautiful, and is, I am fully convinced, worthy of a place 
in every garden, the fruit being round, and irregularly striped 
with dai’k green on a light green ground.—W. E. 
GROWING CUCUMBERS IN A SPAN-ROOFED 
HOUSE HEATED BY FLUES. 
So far as I can judge by the sketch sent by “ Gardener, 
Hampton Court” his house is span-roofed, 10 ft. wide, 30 ft. 
long; side walls 7 or 8 ft. high, but without glass; centre ridge 
of roof about 12 ft. from floor; floor itself divided into two pits 
longitudinally by a pathway down the middle; the inner walls 
of pits being of 4|-inch brickwork ; the lower part opposite the 
flue being pigeon-holed—a flue passing through the centre of the 
floor of each pit; space around and immediately above flue filled 
with brickbats, and soil above them to raise and grow plants. 
He tells us as a “ Gardener ” that his have failed, without 
giving us any outline of his practice to enable us to judge of the 
chief reasons of failure; and he wants to know if Cucumbers 
can be grown in such a span-house as per plan with profit. 
“ Can I begin now ? and which is the best sort ?” 
If, as a “ Gardener near Hampton Court” he had read this 
work and looked pretty well around him, he would be aware that 
for such a purpose I should have preferred hot water to flues; 
chiefly because, either by tanks or evaporating-pans, or keeping 
bats and clinkers moist, he could obtain a moist heat at pleasure 
without getting anything in the way of an unpleasant steam or 
dangerous gases from the heating medium. This would be apt 
to be the case when such a house was heated in winter by a flue; 
more especially if, for securing moist heat, water were sprinkled 
or poured on that flue when hot. These matters guarded 
against, I would just as soon have a flue, if it gave heat enough, 
as a hot-water apparatus. 
A common flue, with brick on edge and stout covers, and 
plastered outside but not inside, I should consider suitable to 
commence to grow Cucumbers about the middle or end of March. 
To grow them in the winter and spring months I should require 
a stronger flue—namely, brick on bed, and joints made with the 
best lime-putty, and the outside covered with thin plaster, or 
several good whitewashings. The top I should prefer to be of 
flagstone, or of strong thick tiles ; and in neither case, during 
winter and spring, would I permit any water to be thrown on 
the flue. Of course, a slight sprinkling when the flue is only 
gently warm would raise a nice steam and do no harm, but the 
reverse; but as the flue is shut in and it cannot be easily ex¬ 
amined, I would rather resort to other means for atmospheric 
moisture. 
So much for flues : now for the pathway pit-walls. I fail to 
see the object of having the lower part of these pigeon-holed, I 
presume as high or higher than the flues; but I can easily see 
a great disadvantage. For instance: the heat freely escaping 
there may fail to give you enough bottom heat when you require 
it; and in a sunny day you may have too much dry atmospheric 
heat, and your plants may suffer because there is not enough 
bottom heat to keep up a brisk root action. Your plants being 
turned out in earth possess some advantages over plants standing 
in pots unplunged; but in these extremes the roots are not so 
soon acted upon by the increase of temperature as if they had 
been in pots. Besides, the heated air issues at once into the 
pathway, and thence mounts to the ridge of the house ; and as it 
cools it gets down the glass, along the surface of the bed, and 
down into the pathway, if it can find its way through the rising 
heated air. I should prefer the heated air to rise chiefly at the 
two sides of the house, pass over and through the foliage, and, 
rising to the ridge, fall again into the pathway, be again heated 
and pass through the same process. For these purposes I 
would close up the whole of these pigeon-holes, with the exception 
of two or three in each light, and those on the floor-line of these 
inside walls ; as, from these so low, there would be little chance 
Of the heat from the flues escaping: they would, therefore, do 
little or nothing to lessen bottom heat. From these openings 
air-drains should pass, either below the flues, or, if not convenient 
under, over them close to the front wall; having either open 
rubble or drain-tiles rising there higher than anywhere else, so as 
to admit heated air passing there quite freely. Meanwhile fill in 
all round the flue and over it as loosely and hollow as possible 
with clinkers, brickbats, &c., placing the latter starting from the 
flue, that, if any water should reach them, it will pass from the 
flue rather than on it. So far I would arrange just as “A 
Gardener” has done; only I do away with most of the 
pigeon-holes, and make what is left so many air-channels for 
keeping a circulation from the front of the house and the path¬ 
way ; as, independently of the open rubble, I would have open 
drain-pipes standing up close to the front wall, rising at least a 
foot above the clinkers and communicating with these air-drains. 
Here I have two other suggestions to make. The first is, 
that under circumstances similar to what our correspondent 
describes, when using manure water, the water has trickled 
through the brickbats on the flue, and when very hot given out 
an unpleasant odour. The placing the brickbats sloping will 
help this, but not altogether prevent it. Again : by what I 
propose there would be a circulation of air; but I have taken 
no means to confine that heated air, if necessary, below the soil, 
nor to supply the atmosphere with moisture. The suggestions 
have reference to these matters. After the last cover of brickbats 
place a layer of coarse gravel, and then a layer of fine gravel; 
raise it highest against the front wall, having the upright drain- 
air-tiles several inches higher still; but for four inches from the 
wall place no fine gravel there, but coarsish, cleanwashed gravel 
or coal ashes : this is to permit the heat to rise freely. On all 
the rest of the bed, sloping from front to back, pour on a thin 
layer of mortar made of new lime and sharp sand, and spread as 
quickly and as smoothly as possible. When this is dried a 
kindly bottom is prepared for the soil, and through which neither 
roots nor a drop of water will easily penetrate, but through 
which the heat will rise freely. A few openings in the row of 
bricks, or the pathway wall opposite this floor, wall enable you to 
judge at any time of the state of moisture at the bottom of your 
soil. 
Now, to secure heat in the atmosphere, and moisture and 
bottom heat at will, I will suppose that the above floor is 
three feet, or a few inches less, from the top of the side walls. 
I would allow about eighteen inches for soil; I would then 
have a twelve or cighteen-inch board, half an inch thick, and of 
the length of the pit, tarred, and dried well before being put on, 
or, if there is not time, merely planed. The thickness of a brick 
would keep it from the front wall. The brick should not be so 
high as the board by an inch; bits of wood would answer 
equally well. The soil would keep up the boards on the other 
side. Heat the flue, and the heated air must rise through that 
opening, as well as heat the material and soil above it. Keep 
the gravel and clinkers damp, and the atmosphere must be moist 
as well as warm. For this purpose pour water down this open¬ 
ing as necessary, and it will all come back again without touching 
the flue; or, if it please you, take a small pipe along, pierced with 
small holes, communicating with a basin or barrel at one end, and 
it will continue to throw out its tiny jets on the warm gravel. 
When on a hot day you wish to throw what heat is in your flue s 
to heat the soil more, have some slips of wood the width of the 
opening, and lay them along on the top of the bricks or pieces of 
wood that separate the divisions of wood from the wall. By 
such simple means, more simple than this lengthened detail 
would lead one to suppose, Cucumbers at all times may be grown 
with a good strong flue as a heating medium. 
Another, but a more expensive method, and something in 
unison with our correspondent’s plan, would be to fill up all his 
pigeon-holes, make a chamber over the flue with stone, or wood 
placed open, and clinkers, brickbats, &c., jammed and plastered 
in the openings. Strong evaporating-basins placed on the top of 
the flue—if all the way, so much the better—and slides of wood in 
walls of the passage, through which such basins may be filled, 
and the bottom and atmospheric temperatm'es regulated. 
Cucumbers will not long continue healthy in winter and early 
spring unless the bottom heat averages from 75° to 80°, and the 
top heat at night averages 60°, with 5° rise during the day in dull 
weather, 10° when there is any sun to speak of, and 10° or 15° 
more still when the sun is bright, with a little air on, and 
moisture in the atmosphere in proportion to the heat and light. 
Of course, in dull weather and no sun, it would be injurious to 
raise a high temperature, or give the plants a regular vapour- 
