338 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, February 17,1857. 
though it takes long to heat them, they keep heat a long 
time ; but cool greenhouses should be capable of being 
quickly heated to meet sudden extremes. In such a 
house, supplied with large, deep, narrow pipes for hot 
water, I have found it economical to work the pipes 
when even less than half full. Every one will perceive, 
other things being equal, that twenty gallons of water 
are heated more quickly than forty or sixty gallons. 
This should be kept in mind by those who resolve on 
using the tank system, for four or six inches in depth is 
as good, nay, much better, than twelve inches. 
Although I have thus spoken of these brisk fires to 
meet a sudden emergency, let it be clearly understood 
that for all greenhouses and conservatories expected to 
be gay and blooming in winter a little heat frequently, 
uuless in very mild, sunny days, will always do the 
plants good, just because a circulation of air will be pro¬ 
moted, and more fresh air may be admitted. In such a 
house, even when the thermometer out of doors was 
seldom below 40°, I would often have a little fire, just to 
warm the heating medium, from November to March — 
that often being turned into as seldom as possible, just 
on account of the expense of the fuel consumed. In all 
temporary cases, and, indeed, in all, brisk fires, with a 
proper control of the dampers, are the most economical. 
Banked-up, smouldering fires are capital things for heat¬ 
ing the chimney and the stock holes. For such a bloom¬ 
ing winter conservatory its average temperature should 
seldom be below 45°, unless in very extreme weather, 
when it is better to sink 5° or 7° in preference to using 
a very great amount of fire heat. 
Frozen Plants.—“Marta” got her plants slightly 
frosted, and must make the misfortune double by cleverly 
sousing them with warm water. The result may be 
anticipated. The wisest will make mistakes. Never¬ 
theless this can hardly be the Maria, an old friend of 
ours, who so mercilessly exposed the shortcomings of 
many of the elegant sisterhood in housekeeping affairs, 
winding up the humorous lecture with the appeal made 
to her by a bright-eyed young wife, to show her how to 
sew the dough-paste round an apple to make a dumpling 
for her husbaud’s dinner. Ah, Maria ! that was not at 
all a pretty thing of you, breaking confidence, especially 
when your young sister sought your help so humbly and 
yet so earnestly. Do not think for a moment that when 
we smiled our approbation it was to your taking down the 
young thing and her dumpling; for any one could see that 
time and opportunity only were wanted to make her clever 
enough. No ; we smiled in approbation of the humorous 
description of the strong-minded, confident woman who, 
in defiance of warning and remonstrance, thrust the 
Scotch Kale, nearly as hard with frost as iron, into the 
; boiling water, and then in bravado, and a determination 
that scorned even an approach to the yielding point, ate 
heartily of them herself when nobody else would touch 
them. Had our Maria seen those greens she would 
not have used warm water for her frosted plants. If 
tender plants are frosted severely nothing will restore 
them ; but if only slightly affected they will suffer but 
little if thawed very gradually, and they are kept close 
j and dark, or shaded until they are all right, and even 
i then not placed in the sun for some time afterwards. 
| The cooler the place for such plants, if a little above 
| freezing point, the better it will be for them. I have 
known hundreds of plants in cold pits and frames 
| destroyed by uncovering as soon as the frost was gone, 
which most likely would have been all right if the 
! covering had remained on a day or two longer, and then 
i a slight shade given for a day or two if the weather was 
very bright. I have had pits and frames covered for a 
I month in severe weather, and notwithstanding mats, 
1 litter, and, best of all, a fair coat of snow, the frost 
had several times just got in a little; but, by using the 
above precautions as to uncovering, there was hardly a 
trace of the storm left. A correspondent last season, who 
had his plants slightly touched, removed them at once, 
before the sun got up, to a cold cellar, and in a few 
days they were as nice as ever. As soon as be got them 
in the cellar he sprinkled them gently with cold snow j 
water. I hope in such circumstances our Marias will 
use, in future, cold instead of warm water if they use 
any at all. It will be best to guard against the necessity. 
R. Fish. 
FORCING AND BLANCHING SEA-KALE. 
This delicate vegetable is as much in request as 
any now grown. It is exceedingly useful to the gar¬ 
dener, especially in severe winters, when such vegetables 
as Broccoli and greens are either destroyed or rendered 
so scarce as not to give a daily supply. Sea-kale may be 
forced in various ways. The most common is to cover the 
plants when at rest with what are called Sea-kale pots. 
They are made of the same material as the common 
garden pot, generally about fifteen inches deep and nine 
inches in diameter at the base, gradually tapering upwards 
fifteen inches to six inches broad at the top, on which is 
placed a tightish-fitting lid. The plants are generally 
so planted that three can be covered with one pot, and 
tlie bed is so broad as to allow of three rows of pots. 
These beds, if a succession is desired, are of such a 
length as to afford a supply for three weeks or a month, 
and as many beds are cultivated" as will supply a family 
for the season, that is to say, from the end of December 
to the end of May. As soon as the first bed is de¬ 
termined to be forced all the old leaves are cleared off, 
the soil is gently forked over, the pots are then placed 
over the crowns, and as much well-tempered stable 
litter or leaves is laid among and over the pots as will 
afford a gentle heat. In about a month or five weeks, 
if all has gone on right, the Kale will be ready for use. 
The rest of the beds are covered in succession, so as to 
insure a constant supply. 
This method, to say the least of it, is cumbrous and 
expensive. The pots cost from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. each, 
and are very liable to be broken with the fork. The 
dung, too, often becomes too hot, and then scalds the j 
Kale; therefore many gardeners now adopt the plan of J 
growing the Kale roots in sufficient quantity so as to 
allow them to be taken up in batches in succession, and 
either put into pots and covered with others to blanch 
the Kale, and place them in a warm situation to force, 
or, which is better, put the roots thickly on a dung bed 
covered with a frame, the roots planted in sand or soil, 
and the frame thickly covered with mats or straw to 
exclude the light, in order to blanch the shoots. 
Some place the roots in a Mushroom house, the heat i 
of which is just right to force this vegetable into growth. 
The objections to this method are the large extent of 
ground necessary to supply Kale during the season even 
for a moderate family, and also the destruction of so 
many good plants, that would bring finer Kale for 
several years after. 
A third plan is to cover the bed with wattling, and 
covering that thick enough with dung to heat the 
interior, and thus bring the Kale into growth. This 
plan requires an immense amount of dung and labour, 
and, besides, the Kale is extremely difficult to get at to 
gather it. It also has the disadvantage of causing the 
vegetable to spread out its leaves, instead of growing in 
that compact form the cook delights in. I think, also, 
the rank steam gives the vegetable a disagreeable flavour. 
In the first and last plan there is another objection, 
and that is, the roots are not in action sufficiently 
vigorously to cause the shoots to come up strong. The soil 
should be of a moderate temperature to a considerable 
depth. Some gardeners, and amongst them a writer in 
The Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary, in order to over- 
