346 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 6, 1860. 
on the one hand, and the old coach proverb of frost and 
cold spoiling the germinating powers of the seeds of very 
tender plants. D. Beaton. 
AGAPANTHUS UMBELLATUS CULTURE — 
BROAD-LEAVED MYRTLES not FLOWERING. 
I shall feel much obliged to you if you will tell me the 
proper treatment for Agapanthus umbellatus. I have two fine 
plants which flowered well the summer before last, but last sum¬ 
mer did not bloom. 
I have had a plant of the broad-leaved Myrtle for several years, 
but it has never flowered. They have all been in the greenhouse 
during the winter, and have been occasionally watered, and at 
present look healthy.— Flora. 
[The treatment of Agapanthus umbellatus is just the same as 
the treatment of a handsome pot Hydrangea from October to 
May, and from the beginning of May to the end of September 
half between a Hydrangea and a nice Balsam in a large pot. The 
soil to be exactly like the soil for a Balsam or a Grape Vine in a 
pot, or a Pine Apple in a Pine stove. The watering all the summer 
to be same as for a Hydrangea and a Vallot a purpurea, and that 
means as soon as the summer is warm in earnest, to have a large 
saucer for water under Agapanthus, Hydrangea, and Vallota, 
and to keep the saucers brimful of water to the end of August, 
from October to May very little water indeed to any of the 
three, merely enough to keep them going. 
As for Myrtles they are tiresome things in old pots, and the 
broad-leaved kinds more so than the rest. One might fancy it was 
never ordained they should be put into pots at all, because they 
make such lengthy roots which soon suck up all the goodness out 
of the soil, so that in three years an ordinary pot Myrtle will 
have sucked up the soil to starvation point, no more goodness is 
in it, and after that the strength and goodness to cause them to 
bloom, and to shine in the leaves, must be from liquid manure; 
but being old-fashioned they have a disliking to some of the new 
fancy ways of high feeding. Cowdung is what they like most in 
their water, not very strong, but to have it in Moderation through 
the months of May, June, July, and August. In June and July 
our own broad-leaved pot Myrtles stand in saucers of water 
night and day, but having so much at their command we dock 
them of the muck-water allowance.] 
ROOT ACTION, 
There is something not yet understood with respect to the 
spongioles of fruit trees. That they are often ephemeral I can 
prove from my own experience, and not always from the mould 
in the pots becoming dry; for a friend has just told me that 
his trees in pots plunged lose them in the autumn. I have 
another case in point. 1 planted some Peach trees budded on 
Almond stocks in the border of my orchard-house; two of them 
were taken up after one season’s growth; their roots were (to 
use my man’s expression) “ like wigs,” so abundantly were 
they furnished with small fibres. The other trees growing in 
the same border were taken up at the end of the second season, 
the spongioles, or fibrous roots, had all disappeared, and only 
six or seven long Carrot-like roots were left, which had made 
their way deeply into the border. 
Mr. Beaton does not appear to have had recent experience in 
the culture of trees. I hope he will go into it, and report 
progress.—A. Z. 
SMALL GREENHOUSE BUILDING* 
Ax the first sight I approved of all your contemplated alter¬ 
ations ; but now I will give you the benefit of my second thoughts. 
1. I regret that in front of such a conservatory as is to be, 
and between it and the grass lawn, there should be a walk to the 
kitchen from the stable-yard, even though it be slightly sunk ; 
but I possess no data to enable me to judge whether that could 
be altered with advantage or not. The more sunk, however, it 
was, I should like it the better. 
2. The curved line on one side, leading to the above walk in front 
of the conservatory from the stable-yard, I would make straight at 
right angles, so as to harmonise with the straight lines of the 
boundary-fence, the straight line of the mansion, and the straight 
line of the end of the conservatory. Just turn your curved line 
* This is in answer to a correspondent “ B." 
into two joining at right angles, and you will convince yourself that 
the curved line is out of place there. Were there no particular 
reason to prevent it, the centre of that walk for the short distance 
from north to south at the east end of the proposed conservatory 
should range with the centre of the east-end window of the 
breakfast-room. This would leave space for a small border 
between the conservatory-end and the walk. 
3. The taking of the walk through the centre of the grass-plat, 
opposite the west window in thebreakfast-room, with a door in front 
of the conservatory, opposite the walk and window, will be a great 
improvement, as the sides of the walk may be rendered very orna¬ 
mental. But in the first place, if there is no particular reason to 
the contrary, I would continue the walk sti’aight in the large 
garden instead of bending it; and the sides of that, too, might 
be made ornamental, though not so fine as that on the lawn. 
And secondly, I would convert that window in the breakfast- 
room into a doorway ; so that you could go from the breakfast- 
room into the conservatory and thence to the lawn without 
having to go out of doors first, or pass through the much smaller 
room, 9 feet by 11, in which you propose to have a doorway 
likewise into the conservatory, but chiefly for another purpose, 
which I do not think you will find a comfortable arrangement. 
I have no objection whatever to the doorway in this small room ; 
but the pleasure from the conservatory will be greatly enhanced 
from being able to go at once from the breakfast-room into it, 
as such places are always most delightful in the morning. This 
glass door with care may just be as close as respects draughts, 
&c., as a window. 
4. The doorway in the small room is chiefly for the purpose of 
removing the plants into it, when there is a likelihood of frost, 
and thus, I presume, escape the necessity of heating the con¬ 
servatory ; but I can offer few inducements to such a plan. 
First. Because if the plants are continued long in such a room, 
they will become unhealthy for want of light ; and secondly, 
because in changeable weather the labour would be great, and a 
few hours’ neglect would neutralise all the care and labour pre¬ 
viously bestowed. I should greatly prefer heating the house at 
once from the kitchen boiler. If the boiler were lower than the 
floor of the conservatory, there would be no difficulty ; if higher, 
in order to avoid pathways, the pipes should be chiefly under the 
back stage. But, supposing that there are reasons why the heat 
should not be taken from thence, there seems to be a nice space 
for a small stokehole at the west end of the conservatory, in 
front of the kitchen window ; and supposing the floor were tiled, 
at least the pathway, I should take a small flue under the path¬ 
way, and back again, the middle wall doing for both flues. A 
small chimney there would be no great eyesore, if coke or clean ■ 
cinders were used; but, if a chimney were objectionable, the flue 
might be continued to the scullery, or even the kitchen chimney. 
A very small quantity of fuel woidd keep the house safe, and the 
pathway being heated, it -would always be agreeable to walk upon 
in the coldest days of winter. i 
To suit another correspondent also, I will describe how to make 
such flues, so as to have them safe and efficient ; and, therefore, 
a little more costly than if made slighter. First settle what it 
would be desirable the level of the floor should be. Take out a 
trench 2\ feet wide and 10 or 12 inches deep, after the bottom 
is well rammed. This is where the flues are to be beneath 
the pathway. Above that rammed bottom place 2 or 3 inches 
of concrete, and on that place level as a bottom for the flue 
thin flat house tiles, for a width of 18 or 20 inches, or an inch 
or two wider if you like. Thin house-slate will do very well after 
you pass three or four feet from the furnace. If nearer, they 
would chip and crack with heat. The small furnace should bo 
sunk so low that the grate-bars should be fully eighteen inches j 
below the bottom of the flue. Then, to form a flue, run a row of 
bricks on bed down the centre, and a row more on the top of 
these, leaving about a foot at the farthest end. This is the middle 
wall that supports both places. Five inches from that, on the 
side next the front of the house, build a similar wall of two bricks 
on bed connected with the furnace, turn it at the open space at 
the extreme end, and come back five inches from the other side • 
of the middle wall, the end of this return finishing in the chimney. , 
The fli.es will thus be about six inches deep and five inches wide, i 
I have supposed that you are going to use nine-inch paving-tiles 
for covering the flue. A layer of thin house-tiles should be laid ' 
across first, firmly bedded in mortar; then house-slate would do, 
when two yards or so from the furnace, not nearer. The paving- 1 
tiles should cross these joints, and be laid in nice soft mortar. 
Two nine-inch tiles meeting on the centre wall will cover in » 
