March 1, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
407 
flowers and delicate tints warrant its inclusion in the 
Alpine house. 
It is, perhaps, as well that all flowers are not sweet- 
scented, or our olfactory nerves might sicken, and 
the inevitable collapse ensue.— C. B. G., Acton, JF. 
- •«<- - 
RUBBISH HEAPS. 
I have noticed an article or two of late in The 
Gardening Would on this subject, and as no garden 
can he without a rubbish heap, although often it is an 
eyesore, yet so useful and valuable, I think it is but 
right that we should get various gardeners’ opinions, in 
order to ascertain the simplest and least laborious 
mode of dealing with it. The rubbish heap in my case 
is dealt with as follows :—I have a part of the garden 
where I keep my Melon and Cucumber frames hedged 
off with a low and neat Privet hedge, and away at 
the back of where I have my hotbeds every year I have 
a large hole 4 ft. deep, 27 ft. long, and about 7 ft. broad. 
Into the hole I wheel all the soft vegetable rubbish 
throughout the year. I burn all rubbish of a woody 
nature, but any that I think will rot I put in the hole. 
On the top of the heap I plant in the summer time 
three or four Vegetable Marrows, which bear abundant 
crops. Usually I turn out the heap once in two years, 
or sometimes take out one half one year and the other 
half the nest, so as to have always room to put in the 
fresh stuff'. When turned out and mixed up it is the 
finest mould imaginable, and I find it invaluable for 
flower borders, fruit trees, seed boxes, &c. I think 
myself it is a great advantage to have the rubbish in a 
hole instead of in a heap above ground, as it rots 
sooner, retains all its moisture, and is never an eyesore. 
— A. Mackintosh. _ 
These are some of our brethren wh'o seem to be unable 
to realise the true reason why other good souls recom¬ 
mend the burning of rubbish instead of allowing it to 
decay in the ordinary course of nature. It is not 
through ignorance of the value of the manurial in¬ 
gredients lost to the soil through burning, but the 
value attached to the destruction of weeds—the re¬ 
currence of which is one of the greatest troubles a gar¬ 
dener has to contend against. I am a strong advocate 
of the practice of burning theseaccumulationsofvegetable 
refuse, with their stores of seeds of ill-favoured weeds, 
eggs, grubs, and chrysalises of so many insect pests. 
It the plan of burning garden refuse were more rigidly 
adhered to, we should hear less than we do of the 
ravages of slugs, snails, and the many insects which 
attack our vegetable crops. By rotting and burying 
the rubbish we but commit our enemies again to the 
earth, and in due time are punished again for our 
thoughtlessness. I never knew a summer like the last, 
in which all garden crops were less troubled with 
vermin, or which grew more kindly, and yet it is 
generally spoken of as a very troublesome one. Burn 
the rubbish then, say I, and as many of your natural 
enemies as you can along with it. 
Whilst writing upon this subject let me declare 
myself strongly upon another matter closely related to 
it. Our Peas last year grew with unusual strength and 
vigour, the pods were never finer, as you, Mr. Editor, 
can testify, and not one single cankered stem appeared 
in the rows. Six years ago we had several 70 ft. rows 
which were completely ruined by canker, caused as I 
believe by our partly filling in the trenches with garden 
refuse. The lesson was a severe one, and no more 
refuse has been got rid of in that way.— A Kitchen 
Gardtner. 
-- 
THE CHINESE HIBISCUS. 
Of the various species of Hibiscus now in cultivation, 
or which have been introduced from time to time, two 
of them have attained a considerable amount of 
popularity, both here and on the Continent. These are 
the Chinese Hibiscus (Id. rosa-sinensis), and the Syrian 
(H. syriacus), sometimes known under the nurserymen’s 
name of Althtea frutex. The latter is hardy ; but the 
former, although a native of China and Japan, requires 
a stove temperature in this country, or, at all events, is 
usually treated as such. 
So numerous are the varieties of the Chinese Hibiscus 
that it would probably be difficult to say which was the 
original colour, although it was no doubt some shade of 
rose or rosy red. In many establishments varieties of 
it exist, named or nameless. The original introduction 
was in 1731 ; but since then many varieties have been 
raised both here and on the Continent, some of which 
are double or semi-double. One variety in particular—■ 
namely, H. r.-s. Cooperi—is frequently grown in 
establishments for the sake of its variegated foliage. 
The leaves are dark green, and variously splashed with 
olive-green, creamy white, and crimson, and are mar¬ 
gined by a feathery border of carmine more or less 
bright according to treatment, exposure to light, and 
the age of the foliage. The scarlet flowers are not often 
produced, nor much wanted, the practice being to keep 
the plants dwarf and bushy for the sake of the foliage 
only. 
The buff-yellow flowers of H. r.-s. Called have a 
crimson zone at the base of the cup, and are strikingly 
distinct. The flowers of H. r.-s. miniatus semi-plenus 
are semi-double, but owing to the breadth and undulated 
character of the petals the flowers are very ornamental. 
A very singular variety is II. r.-s. zebrinus, which has 
the centre of the flower filled up with numerous tufted 
masses of petaloid stamens. The latter are creamy 
yellow, and variously striped with scarlet. The true 
petals, on the contrary, are scarlet, and partly edged 
with creamy yellow, the striping giving rise to the 
varietal name. H. schizopetalus, with orange-red 
flowers and curiously and deeply laciniated petals, is 
sometimes regarded as a form of H. rosa-sinensis. 
-—-- 
CHAIN PUMPS. 
The chain pump for emptying sewage tanks, referred to 
by Mr. G. F. Wilson in your last issue, is now an old 
institution in many places. We have had one in use 
here for over nine years, and well it serves its purpose. 
Though we nave found it to be a boon—as it will 
empty our tank completely of its contents of both 
thick and thin sewage alike, it has not, like certain 
celebrated pens, proved a blessing to men—that is 
to say, to the men to whose lot for the time being the 
pumping of the sewage falls. The services of our pump 
are called into requisition pretty frequently, especially 
through the summer, when various growing crops 
require manure in a liquid state ; and some short time 
after it had been in operation, I overheard one of my 
men, after having been told off to do the pumping, 
wish the pump in a certain very warm place, and the in¬ 
ventor there with it, and “ if made to pump three hours 
a day for a fortnight, he would then, perhaps, try 
to invent something that would be a little easier to 
work,” whereat I remonstrated with him for his not 
very benevolent wish, and got this answer, “I don’t 
know if you have tried the pump, master, but the 
turning of it is work for a horse, not a man." I had 
not tried it, so I took off my coat, mounted the 
platform on which the pump is fixed, and had a spell 
of five minutes at pumping. That five minutes was 
quite enough, and I should imagine that the treadmill 
would be child’s play to it. 
The outcome of it was that I now have to tell off two 
men to do the duty when pumping is required ; however, 
the value of the sewage for the various crops more than 
compensates for the extra labour incurred. The con¬ 
struction of the pump is very simple indeed, consisting 
of a chain, a cast-iron pipe of 3-in. bore, which serves 
as the barrel of the pump ; a wheel 1 ft. in diameter 
fixed at the top, and over which the chain travels when 
in motion, and another larger wheel which corresponds 
to a driving wheel having a handle attached, and by 
w'hich the pump is turned. The smaller wheel has on 
its surface three drop slots placed at equal distances, 
and the chain, an endless one, is made to pass both 
inside and outside the barrel of the pump, and at every 
foot distance on it is firmly fixed an iron disc, a little 
less in diameter than the bore of the barrel. These 
iron discs serve a two-fold purpose, firstly, of sustaining 
and propelling a column of sewage through the pipe 
when in rotary motion ; and, secondly, by dropping 
into the slots in the wheel over which the chain passes, 
they serve the purpose analogous to the teeth on cog 
wheels. 
It is just possible that the heavy labour attending 
the working of the pump in our case is exceptional, 
and not general with these chain pumps in every 
instance where in use. To begin with, our tank is 
20 ft. deep, and to get the sewage into another tank 
80 yards away, and on a higher level of some 5 ft., it 
became necessar} 7 to erect a platform over the tank 
8 ft. high, on the top of which to fix the pump, that 
the sewage might be raised to that height, thus 
securing the necessary fall to the other tank. The 
pipe is fixed to within 2 ft. of the bottom of the tank, 
so that 18 ft. below and 8 ft. above necessitated in all 
a length of 23 ft. of chain, and this weight, coupled 
with that of a 26-ft. column of sewage to be lifted, and 
a certain amount of friction also in the working to be 
overcome, makes the total weight not less than 1 cwt. 
to be continuously lifted—rather heavy work this for 
manual pumping. It is necessary that the pump be 
fixed perfectly plumb or perpendicular (which ours is 
not), otherwise the iron discs on the chain in passing 
the barrel will pitch on one side of it, this friction 
adding very much to the labour of pumping.— J. 
Kipling. 
-~ vx< ~- 
A GAY CONSERVATORY: HOW 
TO MAINTAIN IT. 
C Continued from p. 390 ). 
Summer. 
The garlands fade that Spring so lately wove, 
Each simple flower which she had nursed in dew, 
Anemones that spangled every grove, 
The Primrose wan, and Harelxdl mildly blue. 
Charlotte Smith. 
The difficulty experienced at this season of the year 
will not be to find plants aud flowers to decorate the 
conservatory, but to make a suitable selection from 
the numerous species which are now ready to 
hand, and which are all in some degree adapted to 
the end in view. Discrimination is now principally 
required, not only in the selection of the subjects at 
one’s disposal, but in regard to taste and arrangement, 
so as to give the desired effect. See that the plants 
thus introduced are, above all things, free from 
insect pests, as otherwise the propagation of these will 
proceed merrily, much to the detriment of the other 
occupants. Avoid overcrowding, syringe occasionally 
those plants not in bloom, regulate the luxuriant 
growth of climbers and border plants, &c., and give 
instant attention to the all-important office of ven¬ 
tilation. 
Soft-wooded Plants. —-These will embrace such things 
as zonal Pelargoniums(in var.), Marguerites, Campanulas 
(especially C. pyratnidalis, blue and white), Balsams, 
Coleus, kc., which in themselves are capable of pro¬ 
ducing a fine effect, and the culture of which needs no 
comment here. In addition to the above, no conser¬ 
vatory would be worthy of the name which did not also 
include 
Bulbous or Tuberous-rooted Plants, and of such 
a grand display can be made of Begonias (species as well 
as vars.), Gladioli Colvillii and The Bride, Liliums 
auratum, lancifolium (speciosum), longiflorum Harrisii, 
&e. ; Funkias, Gloxinias, Agapanthus umbellatus and 
its white var. alba, kc. This latter plant is little or no 
trouble to manage, and grouped in association with 
Harris’ Lily would have a noble effect. Harris’ Lily as 
now cultivated is worthy of all praise If four 
or five large bulbs are placed in a 12-in. pot as soon as 
they can be obtained, submitted to the usual winter 
treatment, introduced into gentle heat during the early 
spring, and finally transferred to the conservatory they 
will be generally and greatly admired. Under these 
conditions, they attain a height of six feet, and are 
covered with beautiful white sweet-scented trumpet- 
shaped flowers. 
Hard-wooded Plants are also requisite at this season, 
and perhaps there are no more graceful subjects in 
this section than the Fuchsias. Grown either as 
pot or pillar plants they are equally effective, with 
their long, drooping, pendulous sprays of elegant 
flo wers. Hydrangeas (especially paniculata grandiflora), 
Statice profusa, Abutiloas, Pimelea ferruginosa, 
Diplacus glutinosus, var. Sunbeam, &e. 
Sweet-scented. Plants rank high in the estimation of 
the frequenters of the conservatory—-viz., the ladies, 
and these in consequence should always find a home 
there. Our old but very valuable friend, Aloysia 
citriodora, with its delicious fragrance, and whose 
peculiarity in this matter has obtained for it the name 
of Lemon-scented Verbena, is a plant that should have 
a place. Next on the list I would record the Helio¬ 
trope, the “ darling” Mignonette, the grateful Musk, 
and the beauteous Rose. Many other fragrant plants 
might be submitted, but the above is a good selection, 
never omitting the Lily tribe, although to some 
olfactory nerves the great perfume is highly irritating. 
Climbers will include the Rose, already mentioned, 
the Plumbago capensis, the Oestrum elegans, the 
Bougainvilleas, and the strong-growdng Fuchsias. 
These latter plauts are well adapted to ornament the 
conservatory, as previously stated, but they are par¬ 
ticularly pleasing if trained up pillars aud rafters, 
when the beauty of the flowers can be seen to better 
advantage. 
Basket Plants are also exceedingly graceful, and in 
large conservatories a desideratum, as they break up 
bare views, and thus render a charm which, to the 
artistic eye, might otherwise be lacking. Suitable 
plants will naturally suggest themselves to the gardener 
for the furnishing of hanging baskets. 
[To be contiimed). 
