78 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— November I, 1850. 
HOYA IMPERIALIS. 
Presented to the Society by Messrs. Yeitch 
and Son, of Exeter, in 1818. 
There are two varieties in cultivation of this 
noble plant: one with long,Hat, sharp-pointed 
leaves, figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 
43!)7 ; and the present, with shorter, blunter, 
and wavy leaves, which is what was originally 
described. Both have large fleshy flowers, 
greenish on the outside, and stained with deep 
purple all over the inside of the corolla, the 
coronet remaining straw coloured, and they 
are among the finest of the stove-twiners in 
cultivation. If the purple of the corolla were 
more brilliant, they would be almost unrivalled. 
A strong climbing plant, growing feeely in a 
mixture of sandy peat and leaf-mould, if 
placed in a strong, moist heat. It is easily in¬ 
creased by cuttings in the usual way, and 
flowers freely at different times all the summer 
and autumn. 
A fine shrub for places where there is plenty 
of room up the rafters, in the stove, or it may 
bo trained round a trellis in a pot.— ( Horli - 
cultural Societg's Journal.) 
PROTECTED TRELLISES FOR THE 
CULTIVATION OF TENDER FRUIT 
TREES. By George Fleming, C II.M.S., 
Gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, 
F.H.S., at Trentbam. 
The object Mr. H. B. Ker had in view 
when he published an account of his new 
method of growing the more delicate kinds of 
hardy fruits on trellises, and protecting them 
simply by means of a glass roof, was to bring 
to perfection those choice but more tender 
varieties of Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, &c., 
which seldom ripen their fruit perfectly in our 
precarious climate; and the means by which 
he proposed to effect this had the additional 
recommendation of costing much less in the 
way of construction than ordinary walls, which 
are far from answering the desired end. 
In Mr. Iver’s experiments the top only was 
covered, and the sides and ends were left open, 
except during the prevalence of very cold 
winds, when a common net was hung in front 
of the trellis, in order to prevent to a certain 
degree the strong current of air passing 
between the glass and the blossoms. When 
I read the description I was delighted with 
the novelty and excellence of the idea ; but at 
the same time it seemed incomplete so long 
as the sides and ends were open; and as several improve¬ 
ments have suggested themselves to me, I beg leave to for¬ 
ward a section and description of them, in order that others 
about to erect protective trellises may, if they please, take 
advantage of my experience. 
I be effect of the glass roof alone is chiefly useful in 
chocking the upward radiation of the heat; but the slight 
difference of temperature, which is obtained either by night 
or day, is the means of creating a constant current of cold 
air between the branches and the glass ; and in keen, frosty 
weather this is particularly severe and injurious. It is 
evident that something more is necessary than a simple 
netting being hung in front; and I think it will be generally 
admitted, that after going to the expense of fixing trellises, 
making glass sashes, preparing borders, and purchasing 
trees, it is worth while to go one step further, and make 
perfect trelliscd frames by closing up the apertures on all 
sides. Without this provision to husband the heat derived 
from the sun’s rays, the trees are scarcely so well off during 
the day as they would be without the protection; for an 
increase of temperature is prevented by the constant current, 
Hoya imperial^. 
and, by the glass acting as a shade, the crop is retarded 
rather than forwarded. 
Another objection against the original design is in the 
roots of the trees being outside the trellis, and exposed not 
only to the rain which falls directly upon the soil, but also 
to that which runs off the roof. This evil may, of course, be 
obviated by covering the border with tarpauling or some 
other material; but it is a much simpler arrangement to 
have the border made beneath the trellis, ns the roots will 
then be in a temperature exactly proportioned to that in 
which the branches are growing, without the use of fer¬ 
menting litter or other covering material. 
I propose to close up the back and ends of the frame 
with cheap half-inch boarding, and to hang the board 
nearest the top upon hinges, so as to form a ventilator; in 
addition to which the sashes can be pushed down in very 
hot weather, and to keep the trees back after the wood is 
well ripened in autumn. In regard to the front, it would be 
better to enclose it with small glass sashes, fixed at an aagle 
about twice as steep as the roof; this would afford additional 
training room, and insure the free access of light to every 
