THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION, December 2, 1856. 145 
the rubble, &c., over the tank is always in a moist state. 
If these precautions are not attended to, the roots near 
the tank may at times be 40° or more, higher than those 
at the surface, and may be alternately par-boiled and 
scorched ; and no wonder if, in such circumstances, the 
leaves go. 
I do not at all insinuate that such may be the case; 
but I have found such causes existing in my own 
practice. Our worthy progenitors, who succeeded so well 
with duug-beds, were careful in avoiding gross growth, 
and equally careful that no excessive heat should be 
beneath the roots of their plants. Hot water has so 
simplified these matters that we are apt to become 
careless. The extreme of bottom-heat has a very 
debilitating influence, and it should be carefully watched 
whenever pipes or tanks are used for that purpose 
separately, and all the more if there is not a good space 
between the heating medium and the roots. In such a 
house, if the flow-pipes had been used for top-heat, and 
brought back through the tank, there would have been 
less danger. As bearing upon the subject, I will 
mention the following facts, just hoping that they will 
be taken for no more than they are worth, as they 
happened some time ago. In November I turned 
strong plants into their fruiting-pots, about thirteen 
inches wide. Part were treated to a rich compost, part 
to a sweet, sandy, fibry loam, and pieces of charcoal, 
and bits of heath-soil. The first had leaves frequently 
burned at the edges, the latter were not touched. Cuttings 
from those liable to burn were taken off in January, 
and, when struck and potted, again divided in two 
composts as before. Those in the richer compost were 
slightly affected, those in the poor compost escaped 
unscathed. 
Again, hot-water pipes being used as bottom-heat, 
part were planted on soil, with a couple of inches or so 
between the pipes and the soil. Another part wex - e 
planted in soil, separated from the pipes by nearly a 
foot of rubble, and a piece of sponge told pretty well 
its hygrometric state. The first were frequently scorched, 
the latter very seldom. Cuttings were taken again from the 
scorched ones, and the plants from them grown in pots; 
part again plunged pretty close to the pipes, the other 
part being only partly plunged, and the latter next to 
entirely escaped, while the first were again liable to 
scorchings. I doubt if, in these cases, the evil was in 
reality the disease so much spoken of; but its incipient 
stages were at least the same, and the precautions 
thus pointed to at least can do no harm. 
I need not dwell on other disasters, such as the young 
fruit going off when the plant appears healthy, as this 
seems to take place from two opposite extremes—too 
much dry heat at the roots while the atmosphere is 
cold, or too much atmospheric heat while the roots are 
cold and surrounded with a water-clogged soil; nor 
need I allude to the disease of mildew , which is generally 
the consequence of the want of a relative action between 
roots and branches. I will rather say a few words upon 
the gummy secretion, as that has come more under my 
observation of late, and than which nothing can be 
more repulsive to a lover of beautiful fruit. 
If I were to judge by what has come under my own 
observation, I would say that the disease is atmospheric 
rather than constitutional; nor do I think the mere 
nature of the soil as of great moment, farther than is 
implied in the precautions adverted to. I was sadly 
troubled with this ugly pest last year. I sowed seed 
from the same packet this year, and that had been 
saved from the same fruit as that sown last year, and 
this season I have not had a trace of the disease. In 
both seasons the plants had been grown in dung-beds, 
and in a pit heated by hot water. I will just mention 
the slight difference in their management during the 
two seasons. 
Last year those grown in frames were allowed to roam 
over the whole width of the space with their roots as 
they liked. This year, when the bed was made up and 
the heat sweet, the frame being shallow, a trench was 
dug out of the centre of the bed about fifteen inches 
wide, and about fifteen inches deep ; strong slabs were 
placed on each side of this trench, proper soil placed in 
the space between them, and, when that was heated, the 
plants were turned out, never having more soil than the 
space between the slabs, aud no plants could well have 
done better. The space between the slabs and the two 
sides of the frame consisting of dung and leaves, was 
plastered over with clay, to prevent the material being a 
harbour for woodlice, and over this the vines ran in the 
usual way. 
In the eleventh volume, page 504, No. 287, is the end 
view or section of a pit six feet wide, with two three- 
inch pipes for bottom-heat, and two for top-heat, with a 
pathway about two feet wide dug out at the back, so as 
to make the pit, for all practical purposes, into a small 
house. In that year, 1854, the Cucumbers answered ad¬ 
mirably, being planted out in the bed, which was about 
three and a half to four feet in width. Last year, the 
plants here, as well as in the frames, were sadly pestered 
with these gummy ulcerations; not but what we got 
many fine fruit, but there was no dependence upon 
them. A fruit looking nicely to-day might have several 
ugly exudations to-morrow. Large lumps and drops of 
these sickly-looking secretions would also come out on 
the stems of the plants, and yet the plants did not suffer 
as one might have expected. It frequently seized the 
young fruit just as it was finished blooming, and then 
there was little chance of curing it by any means. This 
year, as I have said, there was not a diseased plant or 
fruit, though the seed came from the same packet as the 
previous year. Now for the difference in treatment. 
Any one who will take the trouble to look back at the 
section of the pit referred to will see that the pathway 
at the back was considerably below the ground-level, 
and below the surface of the Cucumber-bed, and thus 
was generally damp in consequence. I thought, also, 
that the atmosphere was apt to stagnate there, or it 
would have dried more from the heat, and even the 
damp been thrown into the atmosphere, and thus ren¬ 
dered evaporating-pans less necessary on the pipes for 
top-heat. To cause a more thorough circulation of air, 
largish drains were taken across, underneath the flooring, 
for supporting the bottom-heat pipes on a level with the 
bottom of the pathway, and rising up at the front wall, 
with a wide shaft beneath the pipes for top-heat. To 
insure more perfect action, these pipes for top-heat 
were separated from the bed by a narrow wall, reaching 
as high as they did. The drains were made about eight 
feet apart; but, were I making such a pit afresh, I 
would have one in the centre of each light. Even as 
it is, the inclosed atmosphere is better kept in a state of 
motion. 
Having appropriated the earth-bed to other purposes, 
the Cucumbers, instead of being planted out, were 
placed in twelve or thirteen-inch pots, and these pots 
were set, not plunged, just inside of the kerb, dose to 
the path. They bore great quantities of fine fruit, were 
top-dressed very often with rich, open material after 
the days lengthened, some of them having turf rims 
above the rim of the pots about a foot in height, and 
turf and altogether one mass of healthy roots. The 
plants and pots were removed the other day, just be¬ 
cause when Cucumbers in very cold weather, and the 
coals they would have required in such circumstances, 
were weighed against each other, the value of the coals 
kicked the beam. 
Now, there may be nothing more than a fortunate 
coincidence in these little alterations, as bearing upon 
the pleasing result, as contrasted with last year; but if 
