41G 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRYGENTLEMAN, September 28, 1858. 
or 40°, and even 35° for short periods, will be attended with no danger. 
In sunshine the house may rise from 50° to 60°. 
Heating Three Houses (A. It .).—Unless we would get ourselves 
into trouble, and very likely lead our readers into disappointment, we 
must decline entering into the minutiae of what a hot-water apparatus 
would cost, “ fixing and all included.” Several times, of late, w r e have 
given a general outline, and more cannot, with propriety, be done, by 
those not engaged in the trade, and with no knowledge of many par¬ 
ticular circumstances, such as carriage, making stock-holes, &c. The 
price of iron varies so much at times, that we should require to con¬ 
sult ironmonger’s and caster’s price-currents frequently, to have any 
clear idea of these matters. Lately, four-inch pipes could be got for a 
shilling per foot. Iron is now declining, but we suppose at present they 
could not be got under Is. 2d., and joints and elbows extra. A good 
boiler to heat your range would not be over dear at from £5 to £8, or 
more. One of our greatest builders and hot-water men, whose range 
you say yours resembles, and Mr. Jones, who advertises in our columns, 
would, no doubt, supply you with more minute information, but the 
above will enable you to form some idea for yourself, of the probable 
cost. The range consists of a vinery at one end, and a peachery at 
the other ; each thirty feet long, eleven feet and a half wide, ten feet 
high at back, and five feet high in front. There is a greenhouse or late 
vinery between them, from which the frost is wished to be merely ex¬ 
cluded, thirty-nine feet and a half long, fifteen feet and a half wide, 
thirteen feet and a half high at back, and six feet and a half in front. 
Now, as to the questions about the best mode of heating, Grapes and 
Peaches being wanted by the middle of June. All things considered, 
hot water would be the most effective, and the cheapest, especially if 
one boiler was used, though, from the arrangement of the houses, it is 
difficult to say where that boiler should be placed, without losing 
heating power. If you resorted to the old mode of heating each house 
separately, either by boiler or flue, you would have no difficulty in 
giving each house the temperature you needed; but then, as you 
would have three furnaces instead of one, what you might gain as to 
first expense, in pipes, &c., would soon be neutralised in the extra 
expense for attendance and fuel, there being no question that less 
fuel would be wasted by carelessness, and the heat mounting up the 
chimney, by having one fire instead of several. If your range had 
been double the size, we should still have recommended one furnace, 
and one boiler for use, but also another beside it, in the way of se¬ 
curity. This would hardly he economical in your three houses merely. 
It might be quite as cheap to have one furnace for the peach-house 
and greenhouse, with the power of heating either at pleasure, and 
one for the vinery by itself. You would thus obviate the necessity of 
heating the greenhouse when not wanted, and, therefore, not lose heat. 
The same thing could be done, if you had a close shed behind the 
greenhouse. The furnace and the one boiler could he placed there, 
and the flow and return-pipes have each three arms furnished with 
valves, one to go to the greenhouse, one to the vinery, and one to the 
peachery, as required. The flows, until they entered the two latter, 
respectively passing through these sheds, and, so far, heating them. If 
this was inconvenient, and it would be more suitable to have the 
furnace at the vinery end,—and it would be desirable that much frost 
should not enter the vinery or Peach-house at any time, but that before 
forcing commenced they should be used as stores for vegetables or 
plants,—then the simplest way would be to tane a flow and return-pipe 
from the boiler to the extreme end, and when there was only a little 
frost, that would be sufficientto keep it out, even from the greenhouse. 
Besides this general flow and return, each house would have pipes 
connected with them, to shut off or on the heat at pleasure. These 
main flow and return-pipes passing through the greenhouse would 
necessitate an abundance of air in May and June. If there is any 
doubt of working this properly, it would be, perhaps, the simplest 
mode to have two furnaces; but the one furnace would give least 
labour, whether placed at the end or in the middle behind. As it is 
always advisable not to overheat the pipes for such an early vinery, 
from ninety to 110 feet of four-inch pipe would be required.* For the 
peach-house about eighty feet would be necessary, and about eighty 
feet for the greenhouse. We are supposing that all these are above 
ground. If part are sunk below ground, they will tell less on the 
temperature of the house. The more the pipes are level, the more 
equally will they be heated. Where economy seems such an object, 
we are surprised that everything about heating w’as not settled and 
proceeded with whilst the houses were building. 
Heating a Small Conservatory by an Iron Stove (A. B. C .).— 
One very prominent thing you have omitted, nay two, and we mention 
them that you may be more definite in future. First, the position of 
your conservatory, and secondly, its size. We like to oblige our cor¬ 
respondents as much as possible, as that is the only and best way to 
oblige ourselves. But though there is a great improvement in the 
definiteness of their inquiries, still they will bear a little farther pro¬ 
gress in that direction. Your position is that of hundreds. A good 
stock of plants got ready before October,—enthusiasm warmed to its 
highest pitch, as to what these plants will do next spring and summer, 
—to be followed again and again by painful disappointment. In this 
impression, you will find various modes of heating such small houses 
as we presume yours to be. You must get above being pooh-poohed, 
and look upon those who use such terms as silly fellows, and not 
remarkably distinguished for wisdom. We know that plants are kept 
well by such methods as you suggest, wherever there is earnestness 
enough of purpose to make them answer,—for that after all is the great 
matter. Two or three large bottles, filled with water near the boiling 
point, and replenished two or three times in a long, cold, frosty night, 
will keep a severe frost out of a small house, and more especially w r hen 
covered with a tarpawling. The covering job is no joke, however, in a 
cold, frosty night, and especially if a keen wind will not allow it to 
keep quiet without many a fastening ; and that is hardly the sort of 
work for those who must be at business the next day, and, perhaps, 
wielding a pen with hands as rough as a gardener’s. For such a 
case as yours, we would decidedly recommend a small cast-iron move- 
able stove, which, with funnel pipe, and altogether, will not cost above 
£", or £2 10s. at farthest. Place this in the handiest place, use it in cold 
weather in winter, and remove it altogether by April or May. Most 
of these small upright stoves are made double, that is, a barrel within 
for the reception of the fuel, &c., and a tube over all. The draught is 
regulated entirely by the damper at the bottom. Of course, if you 
want one very ornamental, you must pay more for it. A plain one will 
suit your purpose just as well. If you must take your tube, or chimney, 
not through a wall, hut upright, through the glass,—a sort of Mush¬ 
room cap over it Avill prevent smoking by back draughts. To show that 
we do not recommend without book, we will state two facts. A few days 
ago, we looked over the little garden of a retired tradesman, who has 
built for himself a nice comfortable house in, what may now be called, 
the town of Luton, as building there is taking possession of the old 
suburbs. The front of the house consists of a sloping lawn, filled just 
thick enough with flower-beds, and these as choke full as our own, 
with scarlet Geraniums, Calceolarias, and other bedding plants. That 
no possible space might be lost, rustic baskets, and artistic vases, were 
placed in the openings, and these, too, grouped and overflowing with 
flowers, all of which nearly required greenhouse protection in winter. 
To house all these, we were ushered into a little greenhouse, abutting, 
we think, on the drawing-room, on the second floor; and up and down 
stairs, through the house, all these plants must be carried. Having no 
idea of alluding to it, we do not know the exact measure, but should 
think about thirty feet long, by five or six feet in width, eight feet high 
at back, and six feet high in front. The sloping roof wns glass, and 
about half the front height. Here we found some succulents, Oleanders, 
Fuchsias, and Achimenes, blooming nicely. A sparred shelf runs along 
the front, and we forget how many narrow" ones against the back wall. 
The Achimenes were shortly to be placed against a wall to dry, and 
ripen their tubers, and then either be kept in their pots, or paper bags, 
along with dry sand, in a moderate w T arm place in the kitchen, so as to 
be secure from frost. Immediately the house would be pretty well 
filled with fancy and florist Pelargoniums, which generally bloom ad¬ 
mirably. The proprietor w T as full to overflow r ering with how he piled 
his plants on one shelf,—just as a sample of all,—placing lesser pots on 
the tops of greater, whenever there was room and light for them ; while 
many more, and especially all the old plants of Geraniums, had to he 
contented with standing on the neat slate floor, being perfectly satis¬ 
fied if, in winter, he could just getalong. We went home with the idea, 
that this enthusiastic amateur, who now finds his chief pleasure and 
enjoyment in his garden, could heat many of the best of us in storing 
past in winter. Now, all this mention of this sweet little garden,—the 
masses of bloom which would not have disgraced a gardener with 
a good amount of glass at his command, were procured, in 
addition to an almost constant show of bloom in-doors, from this 
little house, and that kept all right, in winter, by one of these small 
upright iron stoves, with the chimney tube passing through the roof, 
a foot or so beyond the glass. The second fact is the following :— 
Thanks to the agitation of sanitary principles, there is a beautiful 
general cemetery at Luton. The town has all the advantages of com¬ 
petition, as there is^also a new Church cemetery. In the general one 
there is a lean-to greenhouse, some sixty feet by twelve feet, height at 
back ten feet, and front about five feet. This was intended chiefly for 
the rearing of plants for ornamenting the cemetery, and filling up the 
time of the superintendent, with the proviso, that what could be sold 
should be placed to the general account. The whole has been under 
the superintendence of Mr. Godfrey, a thoroughly practical gardener, 
though previously having little or no practice with these iron stoves. 
In such a large place it might have been possible to have turned every 
plant into beds round the cemetery walks; but we presume this was 
not the wish of the managing committee. However, if this was not 
done, the beds were made showy, and we should be afraid to state the 
money taken for bedding plants this season at so much per dozen. We 
called there in passing last week, and saw a beautiful crop of Grapes, 
good bunches, and well coloured, cut at so much per pound, as people 
came for them. (Many had been cut previously.) Now, that crop of 
Grapes, which many a gentleman might envy, and the many hundreds 
of nice healthy bedding plants planted out and sold in May, were 
obtained in that house with the assistance of two of these iron stoves. 
Lest we should be mistaken, we applied to Mr. Godfrey recently for 
information on several points; and he states, “ I had the two stoves 
from Messrs. Brown & Green, at a cost of £2 each, not including piping. 
The piping is about 7 feet from the top of the stove. It passes through 
the glass roof about 18 inhees, and is there screened by a mushroom-like 
cowl. The barrel of the stove is lifted out in lighting. There being a cur¬ 
rent of air round the barrel, no sulphurous fumes are perceptible. Now 
and then a puff of smoke will come out when first lighted, but that is 
soon over, for as soon as the stove gets hot there will be no more 
smoke. I tried several kinds of coal, but none answered well. I have 
no trouble w r ith good coke, broken about as small as w 7 alnuts. The 
cost last season, from October to March, was 25 s. I can regulate the 
heat, by regulating the draught by the damper at the bottom. So that 
now, after a little practice, I have them thoroughly under control. 
In cold nights I have made up a fire at bedtime, and found a good fire 
next morning. By proper attention to cleaning the bars, and attending 
to the damper, I have had fire in them for ten hours without attend¬ 
ance. It would be very easy to make these stoves red hot, hut that 
must be avoided. It is safer to keep the heat in longer, and have it 
milder. The smoke tube is valuable for getting rid of the smoke, &c., 
I depend on the stove and its surface for heating the house. These 
stoves have quite enough to do with this house sixtv feet long. I 
consider one would do well in a house from twenty to twenty-five feet 
m length. Where nothing much in the way of forcing is required, 
but the keeping of Geraniums, and bedding plants safe over the 
winter, these iron stoves, or an Arnott’s brick st®ve, I have found in 
many cases to be quite sufficient for the purpose. If the atmosphere 
gets too dry that is easily remedied.”— R. Fish. 
Names of Plants {Mrs. J. C. Williams). — Your plant is Begonia 
parvifoha, or small-leaved Begonia. [A. D. S.). —Your large bulb is 
Ornithogalum caudatum, or long-spiked Star of Bethlehem, and your 
plant, Fuchsia serratifolia. (F. W. S .).— Your Fern is the broad- 
Ironded variety of Athyrium filix-fcomma. (J. II. B.). — We do not 
recognise your plant from the leaves sent. {T. T. IF.).—The purple 
Heath, or fine-leaved Heath, is the Erica cinerea. The other is the 
Erica vulgaris , the common Heath, or Ling, now called Calluna vul- 
garis. The pollen gathered from Heath, by bees, is yellowish grey. 
