April  U,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
petuated  under  easy  masters,  until  the  climax  came  with  one 
who  would  tolerate  no  laxity  in  this  respect.  As  but  ye.sterday 
■comes  back  the  picture  of  a  careless  hand  and  a  shai  p  eye,  \yith 
the  stern  query,  “  Was  that  plant  dry!-'  ”  “  Not  very  dry,  sir.  ’ 
“  Well,  if  a  plant  is  dry,  water  it,  and  water  it  properly.  If 
not,  don’t.  And,  mind,  no  slip-slopping  for  me!  ”  That  was  a 
sharp  rebuke  from  a  stern  master  but  expert  plantsman,  and  the 
tone  in  which  it  was  given  left  no  doubt  of  its  being  administered 
for  once  and  for  all. 
To  repeat  that  lesson  learned  in  early  life  should  be  suffi¬ 
cient,  and  one  need  but  add  that  the  young  fellow  in  charge  of 
a  house  of  plants  knows  intuitively,  if  he  brings  inspiration  into 
lits  work,  the  plants  which  require  water  daily,  twice  daily,  or 
twice  a  week,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  in  that  intuitive  know¬ 
ledge  and  its  constant  application  to  all  phases  of  plant  culture 
lays  the  dividing  line  between  excellence  and  mediocrity. 
Where  any  doubt  exists  as  to  dryness,  ring  the  pot  as  per  usual, 
and  if  the  shadow  of  that  doubt  remains,  lift  the  plant  and  test 
it  by  weight;  but,  as  remarked,  there  is  an  intuitive  knowledge 
incomparably  beyond  all  orthodox  rules  which  marks  the  master 
hand  of  a  plantsman,  who  lives  in  communion,  as  it  were,  with 
these  subjects  of  silent  life. 
Firing. — “Ah!  That’s  where  the  expense  comes  in.’’  This 
the  remark  recently  made  by  a  gentleman  interested  in  our 
subject.  It  is  so,  and  no  amount  of  logical  enthusiasm  can 
lessen  the  debit  side  of  annual  expenses.  All  the  snore  reason, 
then,  that  the  plant  grower  should  make  every  endeavour  to 
show  a  good  balance  to  credit  in  his  plant  stock.  The  question 
of  boilers  or  of  fuel  need  not  be  gone  into  here,  but  a  few  nice 
points  connected  with  stoking  cannot  be  ignored.  It  does  not 
matter  how  much  fuel  is  buined,  or  what  the  cost  of  it  is,  if  the 
stoker  can  conscientiously  say  that  not  one  pound  of  it  has 
been  wasted — needlessly  consumed.  This,  however,  cannot  be 
if  a  quick,  clear  draught  does  not  obtain,  for  without  that,  waste 
all  round  of  fuel,  and  time,  and  temper  is  sure  to  exist  ;  but 
given  a  vitality  of  draught,  scrupulous  care  should  be  taken  to 
have  all  flues  thoroughly  and  periodically  cleaned,  for  every 
ounce  of  soot  about  the  boiler  is  a  robber. 
No  matter  which  boiler  is  used  or  what  fuel  is  employed,  bad 
construction,  giving  defective  draught,  is  an  evil  of  the  firit 
magnitude,  and  should  be  promptly  remedied.  When  the  mere 
act  of  pulling  out  the  damper  and  opening  the  ashpit  dooi 
causes  a  cheerful  singing  to  ascend  from  below,  one  may  know 
there  is  happiness  in  that  boiler  to  all  concerned,  with  ci.mloi^, 
cleanliness,  and  economy;  but  when  the  “  kid,’’  black  as  Erebus, 
gallops  about  with  the  stoking  irons  in  that  state  of  torment 
suggestive  of  an  early  purgatory,  he  is  to  be  pitied  aiid  I'espou- 
sible  heads  blamed. 
Temperatures. — We  find  no  parallel  in  Nature  to  those  hard 
and  fast  conditions  some  heads  lay  down  for  the  guidance  of 
young  hands.  At  the  same  time,  there  are,  of  course,  limits 
which  may  not  be  infringed  with  impunity.  High  winter  tern- 
lieratures  for  tropical  plants  aie  an  unnecessary  evil.  Under 
our  artificial  conditions  of  culture,  the  nearer  we  inculcate  our 
plants  to  two  seasons,  one  of  growth  and  one  of  rest,  the  better 
for  them  and  for  us.  In  dividing  the  yeai-  into  tliese  two 
seasons,  the  winter  one  of  rest  may,  roughly,  begin  with  Octo¬ 
ber  and  end  with  the  advent  of  Marcli.  This  gives  seven  months 
of  active  growth,  or  near  that,  for  some  margin  must  be  allowed 
in  the  autumn  for  consolidation  and  hardening  pi-eparatory  to 
a  good  rest.  Here  it  must  be  remarked  that  insufficient  piping 
is  not  only  as  bad  an  evil  as  defective  draught  to- a  boiler,  but 
one  that  should  have  insistence  on  its  being  rectified.  Summer 
temperatures  are  of  primary  importance,  and  the  cheaj)est  to 
obtain,  but  a  cold,  chilling  spring  may  necessitate  a  little  more 
fire  heat  than  many,  who,  in  seeking  relief  after  their  unwise 
hard  winter  firing,  care  to  employ. 
Yet  even  now  there  need  be  no  stickling  for  high  night 
temperatures  under  adverse  conditions  prevailing  outside. 
Judicious  opening  and  early  closing  of  the  tropical  house,  with  a 
starting  on  of  the  fire  at  the  latter,  will  give  a  genial,  growing 
atmosphere  of,  say,  from  SOdeg  to  90deg,  lasting  well  into  the 
night  ;  and  should  this  occasionally  fall  by  morning  as  low  as 
o-jdeg  to  bOdeg,  there  need  be  no  anxiety,  nor  witli  anticipated 
sunshine,  any  perfervid  desire  to  flare  away  fuel  iu  the  moiniug. 
for  often  hy  the  time  the  pipes  are  heated  it  is  a  positive  harm, 
necessitating  a  rush  to  the  ventilators  to  let  escape  wliat  has  been 
both  trouble  and  expense  to  put  in. 
Sun  heat  we  want  duiing  the  grow  ing  season.  Fire-  heat  is 
a  necessary  evil,  but,  with  a  deficiency  of  the  former  u  is 
necessary,  and  that  will  not  be  wisely  ignored.  In  hard  wintcu- 
weather  during  the  resting  seasoii,  the  plantsman  need  not  t)e 
troubled  if  his  night  temperature  does  not  fall  below  bOdeg,  noi 
need  he  strain  the  boiler  to  obtain  moi-e  than  a  rise  of  lOdeg  oviw 
that  by  day.  Hut  all  these  things  are  to  more  or  less  Extent 
contingent  on  outside  conditions,  which,  if  duly  recognised,  give 
practicable  woikiug  results  infinitely  preferable  to  a^ll  the  iTard 
and  fast  rules  our  old  masters  laid  dowm  when  we  fold  heads  of 
to-day)  were  boys  together.  —  A.  N.  Oldheap. 
Book  Notice. 
“Flora  and  Sylva.” 
It  is  satisfactory  to  be  able  to  report  the  continued  success  of 
this  high-class  monthly  review,  which  completed  its  first  volume 
last  year.  That  volume  was  a  masterpiece  in  its  detailed  finish. 
Matter,  arrangement,  type,  paper,  engravings,  coloured  plates, 
and  the  white  leather  binding  combined  to  make  the  book  one  of 
the  fine.st  that  has  been  published  within  recent  years  Since 
receiving  the  bound  volume,  the  parts  for  March  and  April  have 
come  to  hand,  and  they  continue  to  uphold  the  reputation  and 
dignity  of  the  publication.  The  price  per  part  is  Is.  (monthly), 
and  the  marvel  is  that  they  are  procurable  at  this  figure. 
The  March  number  contains  articles  on  the  following:  The 
pitcher  plants,*  the  garden  beautiful ;  Tridax  gaillardioides 
Registep  of  Nurseries,  Market  Gardens,  &c. 
essi's.  Protheroe  and  Mori-is,  Horticultuial  and  General 
AuctioTU'ers,  Ac.,  07  and  08,  Cheapside,  London,  E.C.,  have 
again  issued  their  cjuartei-ly  i-egister  of  nurseries,  market  gar¬ 
dens.  fai-ms,  florists  seed  businesses,  and  partnerships  to  be  let 
oi-  sold.  This  can  be  had  on  application. 
(with  coloured  plate),  the  tree  Savin;  the  violet  Willow;  greater 
trees  of  the  northern  fore,st ;  the  Sa.ssafras  tree;  Ro,se  Papa 
Lambert*  ;  the  Almond*,  the  Hepaticas,  Magnolia  i)arvifloi  a 
(with  coloured  plate),  the  Witch-Hazels-  landscape  and  wood¬ 
land  pictures  by  the  master  painters*  ;  riverside  colour  at 
Straffan;  the  spring  Star-flower,  and  experiments  with  intro¬ 
duced  trees. 
The  contents  for  April  are :  Waste  in  planting ;  lu'dges  and 
shelters  of  Holly;  greater  trees  of  the  northern  fore.st  :  the  big 
tree*;  spring-flowering  Crocuses  (with  coloured  plate);  the 
])itcher  plants;  the  Australian  Fuchsias*  ;  underwoods  and  game  ; 
the  Glory  of  the  Snow*;  Lj’ca.ste  IMary  Gratrix  (with  coloured 
plate) ;  the  Brooms  of  the  Cytisus  group*  ;  the  lesser  Periwinkle  : 
land,scape  and  woodland  pictures  hy  the  mastei-  ])aiuters.*  and 
trees  and  the  weather.  The  asterisks  refer  to  eugravimrs.  The 
publishing  offices  are  at  17,  Furnival  Street,  London.  L.Ch 
Vanda  Amesiana.  (See  page  313). 
