THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, April 13, 1858. 
in one house ; and New Holland plants in the other, or, pro¬ 
bably, the latter may be Heaths. And, as much heat is not 
required for either of these purposes, I am unwilling to go to 
the expense of hot-water works, which I find, with all its 
presumed advantage, is a costly affair. I have a sort of a 
plan in my mind’s eye, which I thought of trying ; but I 
should rather like to hear the opinion of those having had 
more experience in such matters. However, I have deter¬ 
mined not to have hot water, and being disposed to try flues, 
I should like a few hints on the best way of managing them. 
A thick flue is a slow way of communicating heat to a house. 
I, therefore, thought of having a few feet of brick flue next 
the fire-place, say twelve or fifteen feet; afterwards, I thought 
of trying some description of earthenware, or cement piping, 
of about twelve inches diameter inside. This being only about 
one inch, or one inch and a half thick, would certainly transmit 
heat through faster than a brick flue, which, when built in 
the ordinary way, is nearly four inches thick ; for most flues 
are plastered inside and out, and the brick-on-edge will, al¬ 
together, absorb a larger amount of heat than can well be 
afforded. The only evil to be apprehended on the pipe flue, 
is the danger of its cracking with the fire ; and, of course, 
it cannot retain the heat so long as a stouter substance. But 
the purpose it will be wanted for, is simply to maintain a 
temperature of 40°, or so, and not to sustain a high forcing 
heat; and, in mild winters, it will not be much wanted; that 
I think a good, useful flue may be formed by introducing a 
little brickwork, and covering at certain places along its course, 
and let the remainder be cement-jointed pipes, with a good 
entrance of brickwork near the fire. But I shall be glad to 
have the opinion of those who may have tried the above, or 
other modes of heating; at the same time, I should not like 
to engage in anything expensive. 
“ The cheap and efficacious heating of garden structures is 
a subject that has not, of late, been much attended to, for, 
with the exception of heating some hot-water apparatus with 
gas, there has been nothing new before the world for some 
years. The Polmaise system may be regarded all but extinct, 
and the other modes of heating churches and public buildings, 
by currents of hot air, seem not applicable to my purpose. 
An Arnott’s stove is a homely contrivance sometimes adopted, 
but I do not like that; in fact, I should like to see fire-heat 
applied in a way that makes the most use of the warmth 
applied. And 1 cannot but think if fire-heat was econo¬ 
mically disposed of, it ought to increase the temperature of a 
given volume of atmospheric air, as much as the same amount 
of fire applied to the best-arranged hot-water apparatus. The 
improvements that have, of late, taken place in the latter 
mode of heating, has given it a decided advantage over the 
common brick flue; but if the latter was improved, or altered, 
so as to waste none of its heat, it ought to do as much work 
as the hot-water contrivance, so much insisted on by all who 
are regardless of expense.”—X. X. 
[There is a fund of sound common sense in the remarks on 
heating made by your correspondent “ X. X.” It appears, 
on the face of it, that he is as able to give advice as to ask it. 
There seems to be a little prejudice lurking in his mind, as to 
the expense of a hot-water apparatus. When several small 
houses can be heated by a 50. or 60. boiler, and if pipes 
can be got for about Is. per foot, the expense is not so very 
enormous, and considerable saving would be effected in fur¬ 
nace attendance, if one fire would answer instead of several. 
Economising the heat could also be secured, by taking a flue 
from the furnace into the department requiring most heat. 
For all large establishments, then, or where a number of 
houses are to be heated, I have no hope that “ if the flue was 
improved and altered, so as to lose none of its heat, it ought 
to do as much work as the hot-water contrivance, so much 
vaunted,” as suggested by “ X. X.” An examination of Mr. 
Weeks’s Nursery would at once dispel this idea. In this 
neighbourhood, Mr. Ormson has placed one of his large 
boilers, so that a number of houses may be heated from one 
furnace, chiefly on the saving of fuel and attendance prin¬ 
ciple. For all rather small detached houses, and where a 
great heat is not required, I perfectly agree with your corres¬ 
pondent, that a modification of the flue is the simplest, best, 
and most economical. The less work required from a hot- 
water apparatus, the greater in proportion will be the amount 
Q f heat lost, by its going up the chimney, however carefully 
Ol 
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you use the damper ; unless, indeed, you also use a flue for a 
certain distance. 
In previous volumes, rather full information is afforded on 
this subject. Mr. Caie, now of Inverary Castle, and formerly 
of Bedford Lodge, now Argyle Lodge, Kensington, used 
common earthenware pipe, jointed with lime plaster, for many 
years, in places where he wanted no more heat than just to 
keep the plants safe. Mr. Keane, our worthy coadjutor, has 
also had considerable experience with them. I also men¬ 
tioned, how a large house at Hitchen Nursery was heated by 
them. They have since been removed, chiefly for two reasons, 
that they were liable to accidents, and Yines being planted, 
they would not yield the requisite amount of heat, without 
being liable to crack; a contingency that would not bo 
likely to happen, where a milder heat was required. About 
the time these matters were noticed, I was written to privately 
by a gentleman, whose address has completely oscaped my 
memory, but if he sees this, perhaps he will be good enough 
to notice it. He wished to use, for heating some detached 
houses, some strong hard-glazed pipes, about a foot in dia¬ 
meter, such as are used for sewage, &c. I advised him to 
sink the furnace sufficiently, so as to have the bars of the grate 
from eighteen to twenty-four inches below the bottom of his 
flue, to carry a common brick flue from four to six feet from 
the furnace, and there commence with the pipes, and instead 
of elbow joints, to form a small open brick pier at the corners, 
and also at every fifteen or twenty feet in length, so as to re¬ 
ceive the ends of the pipes, and be covered neatly with a tile 
to fit. By raising these tiles, the pipe flue could be swept in 
a few minutes, without disturbing the pipes, or their joints; 
these joints being partly formed with cement, and partly with 
well-wrought lime plaster, and, as I expected, the latter 
answered rather the better. I was informed afterwards, that 
nothing could suit the purpose better, and that from sinking the 
furnace well the draught was so strong, that when examined, 
after considerable use, there was scarcely a vestige of soot 
in the pipes. 
Where the floor of such greenhouses is paved with bricks, 
or paving tiles, nothing can be more suitable than the plan 
adopted by Mr. Snow, in several lean-to houses, in which 
he keeps a great portion of his pot plants. This mode 
has also been described. A flue about five inches wide, and 
six inches deep, is placed low enough to receive a thin tile 
over it, such as i3 used for roofing, and then the brick of 
the flooring, so that you see nothing of any heating appa¬ 
ratus whatever; and from my own observation, and Mr. 
Snow’s testimony, nothing can answer better. I have a small 
lean-to house, about ten feet wide, ten feet high at back, and 
six feet high at front, four of that being glass. The floor is 
paved with nine-inch square tiles. A flue four inches wide, 
and six inches deep, inside measure, enters at one end, and 
returns again. I thought of using only one brick-on-edge 
for the flue, but, having plenty of bricks, I used two bricks on 
bed. If smoky coals were used, perhaps nine inches deep 
would be better, but, as I use chiefly cinders, and the draught 
is good, you can hardly see any soot at the end of the winter. 
Three lines of bricks form the go and return flue. The 
bottom and top near the furnace are formed of soft thin tiles. 
Farther off, pieces of refuse house slate were used. The 
bricks were laid in mortar, but no plastering whatever used 
inside. A layer of mortar is placed over the thin tile or slate 
covering, and on that two tiles cover the two flues, on a level 
with the rest of the floor. 
As heat ascends in a few minutes after a brisk little fire is 
lighted, the tile covering gets hot, and no house can be easier 
managed, only the damper must be used, to prevent too much 
draught. As combining efficiency, security, neatness, and eco¬ 
nomy, I know no better plan for small greenhouses, if the ground 
enclosed is floored. I have always been afraid to state how 
few coals and cinders kept this house comfortable during the 
winter. About 40° is the average night temperature. In 
very severe nights, I have preferred 35°, to extra heating the 
tiles. In continuous frosty weather, the fire must just be 
kept burning slowly, and more regularly. In a sudden frost, 
a very small time gives heat enough to counteract it. Those 
who have not tried it, could hardly credit the rapidity with 
which the heated air passes along these narrow flues. 
The description given of flues, plastered inside and out, is 
just the way in which they used to be built, but few, I pre- 
