440 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, March 31, 1857. 
a simple grating. This may he at first sight cheap; in the 
end they are very costly. They consume so much fuel, the 
draught being so great. The estimate given for this stove, 
tank, and piping, is, in my idea, high, and I am quite sure 
they may be made at about .£2 10s. instead of T8 7s. 6d., if 
made at a foundry instead of an ironmonger’s. It may be 
fitted to any greenhouse or pit that is not used for hot 
water, or the stove alone may he fitted in lieu of any one 
now used for that system. I am not speaking of ther cost of 
the stove, &c., alone, but also of its cheapness in working, 
2|d. worth of coal being sufficient to keep it in action night 
and day for one week. This may he liable to a rise in dis¬ 
tricts where coal is expensive. 
2. We are all aware that ordinary stoke-holes are dirty 
places at best. With this, however, it is different. Any 
female servant may feed this fire without soiling either 
clothes or fingers, the damper No. 7 entirely obviating 
dirt and dust, which fall into the ash pit behind it. 
3. Evenness of temperature, a most important feature at 
all times. To show this I will give examples. During 
ten days of very frosty weather a temperature of 42° was 
j kept up night and day. During the night of the 27th of 
January the thermometer outside was down to 18° ; in the 
pit it stood at 4(1°, and kept at that temperature steadily. 
4. As to trouble, to explain this would be tedious. Sup¬ 
posing that a fire is lighted at 6 p.m., at 9.30 it will be 
made up for the night. This will last until 8 a.m. next 
morning. It is then stirred and the fire freed from dust, 
j and this will last until 12 at noon, when a little fresh fuel 
may be given to it. It seldom requires cleaning out, and 
even that is not a dirty job. 
5. The fuel used is cinders and the riddlings and sweep- 
j ings of the coal-hole : the finer the dust the better the fire. 
The quantity of fuel burnt in twelve hours would be about 
four pounds, or thereabouts. 
6. The tank may be detached if necessary, but it is in a 
confined space like a pit—a troublesome job. It may, how¬ 
ever, be done in a very short space of time, say about twenty 
minutes. 
It is impossible for me to detail the numerous little 
advantages obtained by this invention, and as personal 
inspection is so much more satisfactory, I look forward to 
the pleasure of seeing “ Amateur ” or any of his friends, 
j and shall be delighted not only to answer any questions, but 
j to give any information in my power. 
I give you a register of the hardest weather we had this 
winter, taken at 7\ a.m., showing the temperature inside and 
outside my greenhouse. 
1857. 
Jan. 
Weather. 
In. 
Out. 
12 
Frost. 
48 
28 
13 
Damp . 
47 
34 
14 
Frost. 
. 44 
28 
15 
Frost at night. 
45 
36 
16 
Frost. 
51 
30 
17 
48 
38 
18 
Mild. 
T. 
42 
26 
Frost and wind .... 
46 
28 
27 
» 5J • • • • 
42 
28 
28 
J) 5) • • • • 
42 
28 
29 
„ and snow .... 
47 
20 
30 
yy • • • • 
40 
26 
31 
„ and sleet .... 
43 
30 
Feb. 
1 
Frost. 
42 
24 
2 
Cold wind . 
43 
34 
o 
O 
Snow and frost .... 
42 
30 
4 
Frost and snow .... 
38 
16 
Remarks. 
Morn. Rain 
and wind. 
Rainy morn. 
Wind N.E. i 
)) >i 
i> »> 
Windy. i 
Bitter. 
—W. H. Warner, Oaklands, Ross, Herefordshire. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
PRESERVING FRIMULA SINENSIS.—FAIR MAIDS 
OF FRANCE. 
“ Yf ill you inform me what plan I can adopt to save some 
plants of Primula Sinensis which have done blooming; and 
whether, if I succeed in nursing them through the spring 
and summer, they will repay me for my trouble by blooming 
next season as freely and of as brilliant tints as they have 
now done ? I must tell you that my means are limited to 
the windows of a cottage, where I raised them from seed, 
and a small border, where I kept them out in the air until 
September last. 
“ Will you also oblige me by telling me the scientific 
name of the plant I have always known as the Fair Maid of 
France ? I cannot make any one here understand what I 
mean. Perchance, if I had the proper name, some of my 
friends might bestow their charity, and give me the plant; 
for gardeners are a good-natured race to those who, like 
myself, love the beautiful results of their industry, and who 
are not ashamed to confess that they would dearly love to 
become the possessor of flowers did their pockets admit the 
outlay.”— Primula Sinensis. 
[You can do nothing with the plants of Primula Sinensis. 
Some of the very best gardeners in the kingdom, with all 
manner of houses, pits, and frames at their disposal, can 
do no more with them than you can; that is, sow them, 
flower them, and then let them die, or keep them till they 
are either dead or look so had that to keep them any longer 
would be a disgrace. One out of three or four thousand 
manages to do them like the Messrs. Jackson, of Kingston, 
and like Mr. Edwards, of Chiswick House, and Mr. Wild, of 
Ipswich ; hut all the three could not “do ” them with your 
convenience. 
Fair Maids of France is a popular name for the double 
variety of Ranunculus aconitifolius. This is called White 
Bachelor's Buttons by some, and much about it will be 
found contributed by Mr. Weaver to our 176th number. It 
is figured in the Botanical Magazine , t. 204. 
TREATMENT OF IMPORTED CAMELLIAS.—RENO¬ 
VATING THE SOIL OF A ROSARY.—SOWING 
LILIUM LANCIFOLIUM SEED. 
“ How should I prune, and to what'extent, some Camellias 
imported last autumn ? They mostly average about twenty 
inches in height, and in many instances are formed of long, 
straight shoots without any side ones. 
“ What should I do in renewing the soil of a Rosary, 
mostly of French Roses, and which appears nearly worn 
out ? 
“How should I plant some seeds of the Lilium latici- 
folium saved last autumn ? ”—Higheield. 
[See page 396 as respects the Camellias, and many other 
places, and read carefully the story of a Camellia told lately 
by Mr. Errington. It contains the very pith of right treat¬ 
ment for the Camellia. Instead of pruning such young 
plants, unless they are very straggling, merely nip out the 
terminal bud, and keep the plants warm and close after¬ 
wards until they are growing freely. 
With respect to the Rosary, better move the plants to a 
fresh place, or take away a portion of the soil, and introduce 
good fresh loam enriched with rotten dung. 
We would sow the seeds of Lilium lancifolium in peat and 
loam, and keep the pots or pans in a cold pit, where mice 
and slugs could not get at them.] 
BLUE BEDDING FLOWERS. 
“ Will you inform me which would be the best flowers for 
a bed of blue ? I had the Salvia patens last year, and it 
grew too tall. I want one about one foot high, and to come 
of the colour of the Salvia.” —L. S. D. 
[We cannot get blue flowers “ to order.” There is not a 
good blue flower for a bed between the Salvia and the little 
Lobelias except the China Larkspur. Salvia patens ought 
to be “ got up ” as early as possible, and the first shoots 
which start for bloom should be cut down pretty close. The 
next growth should be trained down from the beginning, and 
thus by cutting and training we get them much lower and 
far better.] 
