120 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
Oct. 25th, 1884. 
Heating Small Greenhouses. —There can be no 
doubt whatever that the modern gas-stove has solved 
the difficulty incidental to the heating of small green¬ 
houses, at least where gas is obtainable, and where 
it is not, oil can be purchased so cheaply, and is so 
powerful in emitting heat, that though much less 
cleanly and convenient than gas it is hardly less 
useful. I was called upon a few days since to drop 
in upon a barrister at his Temple chambers, and the 
day being rather cold was pleased to find the consult¬ 
ing-room into which I was shown pleasantly warm, 
although there was no fire burning in it, indeed, there 
was no fire-place or chimney. Looking round I noted 
one of those curiously made yet by no means inelegant 
lamp-stoves, Avhich known under various names, 
consist of three upright tubes, the centre one being 
a powerful burner with glass chimney leading into a 
metal tube, and this connects with the two larger 
metal tubes at the sides. The top is of metal, and 
from it and the whole of the surface of the stove is 
emitted the considerable heat which proceeds from 
the gas in combustion. The burner was fed from the 
gaspipe by means of a flexible tube. The barrister 
kept on the top of the stove a small kettle full of 
water, which was always convenient for handwashing. 
The two great features of the stove were that it gave 
off a very pleasant agreeable warmth, sufficient to 
make the temperature of a small greenhouse genial 
and comfortable in cold weather, and an entire 
absence of any disagreeable gaseous smell or perfume. 
I inquired whether the tenant of the chamber ever 
experienced headache or lassitude from the burning 
of the stove, but learnt of none whatever, indeed none 
other disagreeable sensations were experienced than 
would be found from hot-water heating, or from an 
open fire. As to consumption of gas, that was difficult 
to refer to conclusively, but the most useful method of 
employing the stove was found in fighting it some 
hour or two before the chamber was required, and 
then it became gradually and pleasantly warm. It was 
more economical to do that than it was to turn on the 
gas to its full force for a time to produce warmth 
quickly. Regular burning, though not to the utmost 
force of the stove, is more effectual than employing 
full force intermittently. 
Of course, in a greenhouse a stove of this kind, 
occupying as it does but little room, and being orna¬ 
mental in appearance, might be placed in the centre, 
and would thus radiate its warmth evenly. It need 
only be employed when the weather is damp or 
cold, and can be fit and left for any length of time 
without trouble or attention. In a greenhouse also a 
shallow metal dish, kept supplied with water, might 
be stood on the top of the stove, and thus evaporation 
would ensue that would be productive of much good 
to the plants. The burner is backed by a metal 
reflector, and can thus be made to answer the double 
purpose of stove and lamp. The patentee of these 
stoves, Mr. J. M. Clark, 49, Moorgate Street, City, 
terms this particular form “ The Syphon,” and 
mentions that one of the size I saw in operation 
burns from 3 ft. to 17 ft. of gas hourly. Whatever 
moisture or vapour is condensed is caught in a tray 
placed at the bottom of the stove.— D. 
Polyanthus Narcissi. —If there is any section 
of Dutch bulbs that the amateur gardener with 
limited means can manage with comparative ease, it 
is these richly-fragrant Polyanthus Narcissi. If, say, a 
couple of bulbs of any one variety are put into a 4-in. 
or 5-in. pot, using a fairly good sandy soil, they will 
grow and flower very nicely if not neglected. They 
are generally early to bloom, and therefore should be 
potted as early as the Hyacinths, and the bulbs are 
not expensive. Further, when they have gone out of 
flower, they can be planted out in the open border, in 
good soil, and they wall then establish themselves and 
flower for years to come. We may say of the 
Polyanthus Narcissi with much truth that they are a 
fine decorative class of plants, particularly suitable 
for pot culture, producing abundantly large trusses of 
very sweet-scented flowers, varying in colour from 
pure white to deep golden-yellow. Here are a few 
varieties that are cheap and good:—Gloriosa, pure 
white, with orange cup, fine and showy ; Grand 
Monarque, pure white, with citron cup, large and very 
handsome; Grootvoorst, white, with citron cup; Sir 
Isaac Newton, yellow, with orange cup, very fine; 
Soleil d’Or, yellow, with deep golden cup; States 
General, creamy-white, with yellow cup; and White 
Pearl, pure vTute. 
Any one who can afford to pay a little higher price 
for something newer will find the folloAving well worthy 
of attention:—Bazehnan Major, pure white, with yellow 
cup, extra fine; Florence Nightingale, white, with 
orange cup ; Golden Era, yellow, with orange cup, 
extra fine ; Grand Sultan, white, with yellow cup, 
large, and very fine; Her Majesty, pure white, with 
yellow cup, new, and very fine; Jaune Supreme, 
clear yellow, large and fine; Princess of Wales, white, 
with orange cup, fine large truss; and Queen of the 
Netherlands, very pure white, with yellow crop, large 
bold truss. 
Some have recommended that some of these 
Narcissi should be grown in glasses with water in 
the same way as Hyacinths. I have never seen 
them grown in this way with anything like satisfac¬ 
tion. They are certain to become drawn, and they 
bloom in a very unsatisfactory manner. It would 
be better to pot them in ordinary soil, and stand them 
out-of-doors in a backyard covered with cinder ashes 
or cocoa fibre, and then when they begin to grow take 
them within doors and stand them on the inside sill 
to flower, keeping the plants clean, giving them as 
much air as possible, and not allowing them to suffer 
for lack of water.— Quo. 
- --- 
Hoses for a North Wall.—Mr. W. Johnson, 
who asks for information on this subject at p. 88, may 
plant the following half-dozen Eoses on his north 
wall, in which position they will flower well:—Vivid 
(Hybrid China), Charles Lawson, and Coup d’Hebe 
(Hybrid Bourbons), Gloire de Dijon, and Safrano 
(Teas), and Aimee Vibert (Noisette). If he Avants 
more the folloAving may be mentioned as good varieties 
for the same position:—Clienedole (H. China), Paul 
Perras (H. Bourbon), Celine Forestier (Tea), and 
Souvenir de la Malmaison (Bourbon). It may not be 
generally knoAvn that all the Teas are first-class Roses 
for north and north-west aspects, and give finer floAvers 
than do plants in a south aspect.— F.Bedford, Straff an 
House , Co. Kildare. 
■ — -r. <0*- - 1 - —g — 
PROPAGATING EVERGREENS. 
Feav have any idea Avhat an easy matter it is to 
propagate evergreens, as most of them strike easily 
either by cuttings or layers, those requiring the latter 
treatment being Rhododendrons and such like slow- 
rooting hard-wooded plants. To make sure of Coni¬ 
fers it is necessary to put the cuttings in under hand- 
lights, but Laurels, Aucubas, and Box Avill do almost 
anywhere out in the open, the best place for having 
the beds being under the shelter of a Avail or fence, or 
in bare spots in the shrubbery, as in either of those 
situations the drifting Avinds are kept off, and the 
leaves, instead of flagging, remain in a plump fresh 
condition. The shoots most suitable for making the 
cuttings are those that are young and about half-ripe, 
and the way to form them is to take them off about a 
foot or so long, Avlien the lower leaves should be 
removed, and the wood at the base cut away close up 
to the joint. The cutting will then be ready for 
putting in, Avhich may either be done by dibbling 
them into the ground or making a trench along the 
side of a fine, the latter being the most preferable, as 
the earth can then be pressed up close against their 
stems and made film by treading, whereas Avhen 
dropped into holes they are apt to remain loose, and 
suffer in consequence. 
Conifers afivays root the most readily Avlien the 
cuttings are made with a heel, that is by having a 
portion of the bark and old Avood slipped off the 
branch, and left attached at the end, as then they 
callus better, and to assist them in doing this they 
should be inserted in sandy soil, be well Avatered, and 
then covered with a hand-light, and kept close till 
they root. This, if put in at once, they will do in 
about nine months, Avhen they should have a little 
air, which may be gradually increased till they will 
bear the fullest exposure. All that is requisite Avith 
layers is to get the shoots doAvn' sufficiently low to 
bury some part, leaving the end out, and it Avill be 
found that after a year all branches so treated Avill 
afford a young plant. Rhododendrons, however, take 
double the time, and must be layered in sharp sandy 
peat, which ought to be frequently watered during 
the summer. To induce roots to form, it is a good 
plan to cut away, scrape off, or abraise the bark at 
the part buried, as then a healing process sets in at 
once, and from the callus the rootlets come forth.— 
Alpha. 
- e_^T„ -<>- jr - ^ - 
PERNETTYA MUCRONATA. 
You Avill see by the enclosed paper that Mr. Davis, 
of Hillsborough, County Doaati, quotes me as having 
groAvn his Pemettyas successfully. We have two 
beds Avith about fifty plants in each. In the one at 
Oakwood in full sun the plants have berried even 
more freely than they had done Avhen I first got them, 
but in the other, in partial shade at our cottage-garden 
at Weybridge, there are hardly any berries. It seems 
therefore necessary to succeed with them to choose a 
sunny situation. The berries Avith their many shades 
of colour from very pale pink to almost black are very 
greatly admired by visitors to the garden.— George F. 
Wilson, Heatherbank, Weybridge. 
[We have seen some of the berry-bearing shoots 
cut from the bed AA T hich Mr. Wilson mentions as being 
in the full sun, and certainly nothing could possibly 
be more beautiful at this season. Mr. DaAis, the 
raiser of the grand new varieties sent out from his 
nursery, states that “ it is noAv some thirty years 
since the first batch of seedlings Avas raised from 
Pernettya angustifolia, the hardiest and best free- 
fruiting variety of Pernettya mucronata then in 
cultivation, which produced several distinct sorts, 
varying considerably in foliage, habits, and colour of 
the berries. From the most promising of these 
another lot of seedlings Avas groAvn, and so on from 
subsequent raisings till a collection has now been 
produced of very great merit, for variety, hardiness, 
and free-fruiting character.” On the important matter 
of cultivation, Mr. Davis adds :—“ The varieties of 
Pernettya mucronata will succeed in any good fight 
soil, but prefer an open situation, if not exposed too 
much to cold east or north winds.” The exposed 
group in Mr. Wilson's garden is on the hill side, and 
the soil used is described as an admixture of peat with 
the natural soil of the hill, and some of the black 
vegetable mould from the adjoining Avood garden. The 
knoAvledge gained by Mr. Wilson, that the Pernettya 
Avill not fruit freely when planted in partial shade, 
should prove a A 7 aluable hint to planters.— Ed.] 
-» ■ —A - 
TRADESCANTS’ TOMB. 
Much attention has lately been directed to the 
Church of St. Mary, Lambeth, in consequence of the 
removal of an ancient stained glass AAindow repre¬ 
senting a pedlar and his dog. This has been roundly 
condemned as an act of A T andalism. During the 
somewhat acrimonious discussion that has taken 
place many students of botanical history have been 
reminded that St. Mary’s, Lambeth, is the resting 
place of the Tradescants, a name which must be 
familiar to many readers of The Gakdenixg Would, 
Avho Avell know the plants named after these early 
botanists. We give a view of St. Mary’s Church 
before its restoration in 1852, at which time attention 
Avas directed to the dilapidated condition of the 
Tradescants’ tomb. A public subscription was raised, 
to which lovers of botany liberally contributed, and 
the result Avas the handsome monument noiy seen in 
St. Mary’s Churchyard. This bears the folloAving 
inscription:— 
“ KnoAV, stranger ! ere thou pass, beneath this stone 
Lye John Tradeseant, grandsire, father, son. 
The last dy’d in his spring; the other two 
Liv’d till they had traA 7 ell’d Art and Nature through, 
As by their choice collection doth appear, 
Of AA'hat is rare, in earth, in sea, in air ; 
Whilst they, as Homer's Iliad in a nut, 
A world of AA r onders in one closet shut. 
These famous Antiquarians that had been 
Both Gardeners to the Rose and Lily Queen, 
Transplanted now themselves, sleep here ; and Avhen 
The Angels Avith their trumpets shall aAvaken men, 
And fire shall purge the earth, these hence shall rise, 
And change then' Garden for a Paradise.” 
