90 
TIIE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Mat 8, 1860. 
Houderson A Son, of Wellington Road, which arc very beautiful 
both iu form and colour. And 4, The fine new Silver Variegated 
Fern, called Pteris argyrea, introduced by Messrs. Yeitch and 
Son. 
Great credit is due to Mr. Moore for the taste displayed in the 
selection of his subjects; and editor, artist, and publisher in ay 
each congratulate the other on the able and tasteful manner in 
which the work has been got up. It only remains for us to 
commend the “ Floral Magazine ” to the notice of all who are 
interested in the cultivation of plants, believing that it only 
requires to be seen to be appreciated. 
Handbook of the Mechanical Arts.* —This is one of the 
most useful books we ever had placed before us; and we re¬ 
commend it unreservedly to every one of our readers who is 
about to build, if fixed in his native land, or who may have to 
build if he emigrates. It is a thoroughly practical work, ex¬ 
plaining everything that has to be done in carpentry, joinery, 
bricklayering, roofing, fencing, well-sinking, draining, Ac., and 
not only explaining but showing how all these works have to be 
done—every joint, every moulding, staircases, chairs, tables, 
windows, doors, gates, Ac., are described and shown how to be 
made. Not only are they described, but each, and every part of 
each, is illustrated by excellent woodcuts, of which there are 
hundreds. So profuse are these that it is difficult to find a 
desirable quotation that does not include one or more. How¬ 
ever here is one on the construction of 
“ Solid Ground-floors. — A foundation or substratum | 
should be prepared about six inches thick, with coarse gravel, or 
brickbats, and lime-core, well beaten to a level surface. In damp 
situations, tar may be added to the concrete on which the ash- 
floor is to be laid, thus prepared : Take good washed sand, free 
from all earth and stones, together with the ashes of lime fresh 
from the kiln, in the proportion of two-thirds of sand and one- 
third of lime-ashes (where obtainable, the substratum of the third 
portion of smith’s ashes, or pounded coke for one-half of the 
sand, increases the durability and hardiness of the floor) ; mix 
the sand and lime-ashes well together, and let them remain in a 
body for a fortnight, in order that the lime may be thoroughly 
slaked; then temper the mortar, and form the floor with it three 
inches thick, well floated, and so worked that it be not trodden 
till it has lain for three days, or according to the dampness of 
the weather, when it should be well rammed for several successive 
days, until it becomes hard—taking care to keep the surface 
level j then use a little water, and smooth it with a trowel; after 
this keep the floor free of dirt, and when perfectly dry it may be 
rubbed over twice with linseed oil, which gives the appearance of 
stone instead of sand. Where joists are used, a durable and 
cheap floor may be made as follows : Reeds are laid across the 
joists, or, if these cannot be obtained, laths may be used ; these 
are laid close to one another, perhaps two or three deep ; across 
these long laths are nailed to the joists, to keep the laths in their 
places. The plaster-of-Paris is then mixed and laid over these, 
spread with a large scraper, and levelled with a mason’s level, till 
of a uniform thickness. To aid in properly levelling, a horizontal 
line may be marked all round the walls of the room near the floor, 
according to the depth required. The plaster should be laid on 
first at the part farthest from the door, working all round till the 
door is reached. Smooth boards may be laid on the surface, on 
which to tread, in order to rub the plaster with a plastering 
trowel from timo to time till it hardens. If any portion of such 
a floor is damaged, the piece may be taken out by means of a j 
saw, and, putting reeds at the bottom, filling anew with plaster; 
the sides of the part taken out should be made to incline inwards, 
so that when put in, the plaster may, as it were, be dovetailed to 
the old flooring. A solid and lasting floor, that will be im¬ 
pervious to wet and impenetrable to rats, is made of mortar in 
the following way : Break a quantity of stones, so as to pass 
through a ring 2 inches diameter; lay these iu an even layer on 
the floor to a depth of 5 or 6 inches; make a gravcl-and-mortar 
concrete, with small gravel and newly slaked lime; pour this in 
a thin state equally over the stones to a depth of 2 or 2j- inches. 
When this layer has set, spread over it another layer about 1) inch 
thick, composed of one part lime to two parts sand; just before | 
this is dry, go over the smooth surface with a whitewash brush ; ! 
this outer finish will last nearly as long as the floor itself. 'Where 
hydraulic cement can be obtained, it makes a first-rate floor.” 
•Handbook nf the Mechanical Arts concerned in the Construction and , 
ArninRcment of Dwelling-houses and other Buildings, with Practical Hints 1 
on ltoad-making, and the Unclosing of Land. By Robert Scott Burn. I 
Second Edition. Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London. 
BUNCHES OF GRAPES PERMISSIBLE ON A 
VINE—FRUITING EUGENIA UGNI. 
Is it quite inadmissible to leave more than one bunch of 
Grapes on a shoot ? I perceive that in several instances a par¬ 
ticular shoot has two splendid bunches of blossom, while the 
shoots next to it have but small ones, I should like, if it would 
not be wrong treatment, to leave the two fine bunches on, and 
deprive the neighbouring shoots of their poor ones. 
How is the Eugenia Ugni propagated? and should it have 
much water while swelling its berries ? I purpose fruiting it in 
a small greenhouse-vinery. It is in an eight-inch pot. Would 
it be a good plan to place the pot inside a larger one ? 
I have a young Royal Muscadine Grape planted last October, 
and sold to me as a three-year-old. Might I allow one bunch to 
ripen on it ? I have cut it back to four eyes.—Q. Q. 
[As a general rule, when two bunches are left on a shoot 
neither are so good as when one only is left. We have satisfied 
ourselves that, taking weight and quality, the one bunch will 
beat the two. When, however, the crop is deficient, and there 
are two fine show's on a shoot, we should be tempted to leave 
them both, and in such circumstances we have had both swell 
well. If the crop is thin, the small ones on the other shoots 
might also be left; but if your crop is at all heavy, we would 
certainly leave only one bunch to a shoot, even if you removed 
the small ones. We have frequently three or four bunches on a 
shoot; but, unless in the extreme case referred to, one bunch left 
was always most satisfactory in the end. 
The Eugenia Ugni is propagated freely by slipping off young 
shoots three inches long, and placing them in sandy soil under a 
bell-glass in a warm place. When the fruit is swelling the outside 
pot will be an advantage; but if you keep it, when the fruit is 
ripening beware and give no more water than is absolutely 
necessary, or the fruit will have no flavour. Most fruits are 
improved by the soil being rather dry when the fruit is ripening. 
Gather a forced Strawberry after you have watered the pots in a 
dull day—say an hour after. Gather another one similar, but in 
a sunny day, and from a pot rather dry, but not so dry as to 
cause the leaves to flag, and you would think they were different 
kinds so far as flavour was concerned. 
You may take a small bunch off the Muscadine Tine ; if more, 
you will rue it.] 
HOT-WATER PIPING REQUIRED FOR A 
VERY SMALL HOUSE. 
How many feet of 2i-inch pipe will it take to heat a house 
10 feet by 7 ? and how large a boiler ?— Novice. 
[The smallest conical boiler would do for such a small place. 
About 30 feet of piping would keep out frost; if much more heat 
were wanted you would need from 40 to 50 feet of 2)-inch pipe. 
We do not like piping of a diameter less than 3 inches in general.] 
HARDY FLOWERING HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 
(Continued from page 23.) 
CALENDRINIA. 
Nat. ord., Portulaceee. Linn. Dodecandria Monogynia. 
Generic Character. — Calyx two-sepaled, persistent. Petals 
three or five, equal. Stamens from four to many, inserted in 
the base of the petals ; base of the filaments dilated ; anthers 
two-celled. Style simple ; stigma tripartite. Capsule elliptic, 
one-celled, threc-valved, many seeded ; placenta central. 
Calendrinia akenabia (sand-inhabiting). Plant glaucous; 
stems numerous, prostrate, smooth, leafy; leaves linear; 
common peduncle terminal, naked; racemes corymbose; 
pedicels longer than bracts ; bracts oval, membranous, middle 
nerve purple; seeds smooth. 6 in. Orange red. July. Val¬ 
paraiso. 
G. discolor (two-coloured). Leaves fleshy, obovate-obtuse, 
elongated into petioles rather discoloured beneath; racemes 
bending, the pedicels drooping after the fall of the petals. 
1£ ft. August. California. 
C. speciosa (showy). Plant smooth, diffuse; leaves spatulate, 
acute, elongated at base; flowers racemose ; pedicels and bracts 
very short. 3 in. Purple. June. California. 
C. VMRELLATA (umbelled). Stem erectish, nearly naked ; leaves 
