ENGLAND.

(Continued from page 136.)

In Pansies the two best boxes were contributed by Mr. James, gardener to J. F. Watson, Esq., Isleworth; but the Judges had a considerable debate as to whether there were not too many dark selfs. This is an evil that requires correction. As a rule they are more easily grown; and the consequence is, that if an order is sent for twenty-four Pansies you are pretty sure to get nearly half dark selfs. Mr. James' flowers were- -Nepaulese Chief; Colonel Wyndham; Rev. H. H. Dombrain, good dark; Frances Low, a beautiful clear yellow ground; Father Gavazzi; Maid of Bath, fine white; Alexander McNab; Eugenie; Miss Hill; Ladyburn Beauty; Alice; Duchess of Wellington; Mrs. Laird, fine white ground; Canary, good yellow; Duchess of Hamilton; General Young; Rev. J. Dix, a good dark self; Nymph; Jeannie's Rival; Miss Walker, a little rough; Saturn; and Mr. T. Graham. Edward Shenton, Esq., was third; and

Messrs. Dobson & Sons fourth.

It was too early in the season for seedling flowers. The only noticeable one was a new bedding Geranium, for which an extra prize was awarded. It was the same one which had received a first-class certificate from the Floral Committee, and is called Prince of Hesse, and was raised by Mr. Ingram, of the Royal Gardens, Frogmore. It is of the rosy salmon class, somewhat after the style of Kingsbury Pet, a profuse bloomer, with dark horseshoe foliage and is likely to be an acquisition.-D., Deal.

NEW BOOK.

THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN.*-In this, the tenth edition of Mr. Rivers' excellent work on the garden culture of fruit trees (for that is what it in reality is) we have an evidence that the cultivation of fruit trees is still in the ascendant, and that the old-fashioned practice of planting tall wide-spreading orchard trees in gardens is rapidly on the wane. Among the additions and improvements in this over former editions we observe corrected lists of the selected varieties, particularly among the Plums, into which several fine and valuable sorts are introduced. Another important feature is the ground vinery, an improved form of the curate's vinery of former editions. In speaking of these Mr. Rivers says:

"In gardens where these glazed ridge-roofs are not wanted for Vines or fruit-tree culture, they will be found most useful. They may be placed on any warm border on the surface of the soil; and early Peas, French Beans, and many other early vegetables requiring protection from spring frosts, be grown under them with advantage. For the cultivation of early Strawberries they are invaluable, as they not only hasten the ripening period, but protect the fruit from heavy summer showers often so injurious to the crop, and also from birds. Strawberry plants to be cultivated in ground vinery No. 1 should be planted early in autumn in narrow beds of two or three rows, the plants close together in the rows, so as to take full advantage of the glass-covered space. If in two rows, they should be 9 inches apart; if in three rows, 6 inches apart. The latter distance will probably crowd the plants too much; but as the beds should be made every season on a fresh piece of rich soil, as much fruit as can possibly be grown in such a limited space must be the aim of the cultivator. In all cases they, the glazed ridge-roofs, should be placed on bricks, with spaces between them. Ventilation is then secured; and even Cauliflower-plants in winter will do well without the constant attention to "giving air," so necessary in the old garden-frame culture. In gardens that are con

fined and very warm, it may be necessary to have the ends not quite closed up, but a small opening left at the top, just under the ridge, to let out the heated air. My vineries stand in a very exposed place, and do not require it."

THE EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN IS SOLD.-Mr. Nightingale, of Kingston, sold this garden, the house, and twenty-three acres of land, at the auction mart in London, on the 16th of May, for £15,500. The alterations which were commenced in 1853, consequent on the move for an experimental garden, did not cost altogether over £500, but were acknowledged by good judges in the family to have doubled the value of the estate as early as 1858, and I have no doubt myself that a thousand such places might be met with within an hour of our great cities which require a fresh turn over, and would well pay for it.-D. BEATON.

The Miniature Fruit Garden, or the Culture of Pyramidal and Bush Fruit Trees, with Instructions for Root-pruning, &c., &c. By Thomas Rivers. Tenth Edition. London: Longmans.

the frost of last winter amongst my evergreens, &c.
I VENTURE to send you an account of the ravages made by
Taxodium sempervirens.-Dead.
Deodaras, 12 feet high.-Dead.
Wellingtonia, 6 feet high.-Dead.

Younger plants have lost 1 foot of their leaders.
Evergreen Oaks, 60 years old.-All dead.
Deodara robusta.-Dead.

Thuja aurea.-Dead.

Pampas Grass.-Dead.

Magnolia on south wall.-Dead. Araucaria imbricata.-Nearly killed. Cryptomeria japonica.-Dead.

Thuja gigantea.-Much cut.

Aucuba japonica.-Dead; generally speaking, even the roots. Hollies. All leafless, many dead. Eight on the lawn measur ing:-1. 2 feet 3 inches. 2. 4 feet 11 inches 3. 5 feet 3 inches. 4. 2 feet 7 inches. 5. 4 feet 4 inches. 6. 4 feet. 7. 4 feet 8. 4 feet-I am afraid will lose all their lower 10 inches.

branches. The Cedrus atlantica and the Cedar of Lebanon have lost all

their foliage, but are now breaking.

Rhododendrons.-Very much browned, and in many instances

dead.

Yews and Box.-Ditto.

Privet. Many hedges totally destroyed, others have lost plants here and there.

Ivy.-Leafless and in many instances dead.

Pinus insignis, Fitzroya patagonica, and Libocedrus chilensis. -Dead.

Even the common Elder is dead to the roots in many places; and in taking down some young Oaks I found several dead at the top. The two worst had 21 feet out of 60 feet, and 27 feet out of 58 feet dead. These trees were marked in the winter; so, doubtless, I shall find many more in a similar way when they are examined later in the year. At present it is quite impossible to say which Oak is alive. There is scarcely one that has not lost all the ends of its branches, so that they all look truly wretched. As for Laurels, I consider them a thing of the past.-W. B., Stradsett Hall, Downham Market, Norfolk.

WE are on a considerable elevation bordering on the south coast. The frost here was very intense, and has acted with unusual severity on many things. Common Laurels, Portugal Laurels, and Laurustinuses of many years standing, and considered able to bear any amount of frost, have been seriously injured, while some things of whose capability of standing a severe frost we have always been doubtful, remain untouched. These include Aucuba japonica, Arbor Vites, Thujas, Bays, &c. The damage to newly-planted shrubs has been very serious. Relative to Roses we have a sad tale to tell. Not one of the Tea-scented kinds remains, and the Hybrid Perpetuals are but little better. Some of the more hardy sorts remain only to remind us that their time, too, with us is short indeed.

On some wall trees newly planted just prior to the frost I had bestowed an unusual amount of care, but to no purpose. Its effects on them have been sad in the extreme: many of their shoots were so injured I was compelled to cut them close in. Where that was the case I cut the whole of them close back.

I believe the whole county of Sussex has felt the frost's effects equally severely, our neighbouring nurseries included. Of young fast-growing stock many thousands have, ere this, been committed to the flames, and valuable stock too. So direly has it visited one nursery of about sixty acres, that although in the beginning of last December I should have had little difficulty in getting a good cartload of good stout young Bays, yet, on paying another visit in the month of March, not one plant could be found untouched by frost.-JAMES C. CLARKE, Wakehurst.

SALE OF ORCHIDS.-At the sale of Dr. Butler's excellent collection of Orchids, at Woolwich, on the 15th inst., Mr. Stevens, the auctioneer, realised for them very high prices. There were three hundred lots, and the gross amount of the sale was upwards of £1500. The following are some of the chief prices given and the names of the buyers:-Erides crispum (Wilkinson),

£9; Saccolabium Blumei majus (Warner), £14 10s.; Saccolabium guttatum (Veitch), £52. Two other specimens of the same sold respectively to Mr. Bassett and Mr. Day for £32 and £36. Saccolabium ampullaceum (Day), £21; Vanda teres (Turner), £16 10s.; Erides Lindleyana (Binns), £15; Anguloa Clowesii (Wilkinson), £13; Phalaenopsis amabilis (Day), £14; Cypripedium hirsutissimum (Backhouse), £6 15s. ; Vanda insignis (McMorland), £15; Cattleya Mossie aurantiaca (McMorland), £18; Erides Schroederii (Williams), £21; Saccolabium guttatum giganteum (Day), £46; Saccolabium præmorsum recurvum (Veitch), £23; Saccolabium curvifolium (Day), £36, &c.

CONIFEROUS TREES AND SHRUBS:

WHICH TO REJECT AND WHICH TO PLANT.

FROM the experience gained in the winters of 1859 and 1860 we have now some guide as to the kinds of Coniferous trees and shrubs that should not be planted in the northern, midland, and eastern districts of England, where permanent beauty in trees and shrubs is desired. I will first give a list of those to be rejected. 1. Araucaria imbricata.-On dry hills this may be planted; but in low moist valleys it cannot be depended upon. The other species of this fine genus are all notoriously tender, and only fit for house culture. This is, however, no reason why they should not be cultivated; for, in the course of time, large houses, like orchard houses without artificial heat, will be erected in which groves of the tender and half-hardy Conifers will be cultivated. As places of resort in autumn, winter, and spring, such houses would be full of interest.

2. Our next family of tender Conifers is-Arthrotaxus, all the species.

3. Callitris.

4. Cunninghamia sinensis, alias Araucaria lanceolata.

5. Cupressus (the Cypresses).-These, with the exception of C. Lawsoniana and C. nutkaensis, alias Thujopsis borealis, have all given way in the above districts, with the exception of some places favoured by soil and site.

6. Fitzroya patagonica.

7. Libocedrus chilensis and Doniana. 8. Saxe-Gothea conspicua.

9. Sequoia sempervirens.

10. All the Mexican Pines, and also Pinus insignis, P. radiata, P. brutia, P. halepensis, P. pinea, P. australis, alias P. palustris, and P. macrocarpa.

I do not mention the well-known tender species, such as P. longifolia and P. sinensis. The list of Mexican Pines is a long one: I refer your readers to Gordon's "Pinetum," in which a great number are described, most of them remarkable for the great beauty of their foliage, and quite worthy of being planted in a large and lofty Coniferous-tree-house.

11. The species of Podocarpus are nearly all quite tender. The only one that is hardy and which seems likely to form a small yew-like tree is P. japonica, known pretty well as Taxus japonica; P. andina, and P. nubigena, said to be hardy, grow very slowly, and have not survived the past winter.

The Coniferous trees and shrubs that may be planted with safety in the districts I have mentioned are the following:-I have given a few exceptions in some genera, which I think quite necessary, as they have proved quite the reverse of hardy-a term so often misapplied.

All the species and varieties of Abies or Spruce Firs, except A. morinda, which is so often injured by spring frosts. The Chinese or Eastern Arbor Vitæs (Biotas) have proved remark · ably hardy in dry, hilly places in the above districts, except B. meldensis, which is a worthless plant, and B. freneloides.

The Cedars atlantica and libani may be reckoned perfectly hardy; but C. deodara and all its varieties have suffered to a great extent the past winter, many large trees and nearly all young trees having been totally killed; still it is such a beautiful tree while young that we must not cease to plant it. The White Cedars (Chamaecyparis), have stood unscathed, except C. thurifera, which need not again be planted.

The Cryptomerias although browned by the winter are not killed. They are in most places ugly trees, and grow badly in chalky soils. The irony loams of the Sussex hills seem to suit them well; but they require the fierce sun of Japan to give them full vigour. I fear we shall never see any of them approaching the altitude of those grand forests of Japan which we read of in old Thunberg and more modern authorities.

The Junipers are among the hardiest of Conifers, a few among them are graceful ornamental trees and shrubs. The following kinds must no longer be reckoned hardy :-Juniperus Bedfordiana, J. gossainthainea, J. macrocarpa, J. oxycedrus, and J. phoenicea. The Silver Firs (Piceas), are among the hardiest and most noble of our Conifers; nearly all of the species may be planted with safety. I must, however, except P. pindrow and P. Webbiana, which are almost invariably injured by spring frosts. P. cephalonica is nearly equally liable to injury from the same cause; P. religiosa alias Abies religiose, is quite tender.

The pretty little Retinosporas are perfectly hardy, although they turn to a reddish-brown in winter, as if they suffered from frost. R. ericoides is well known as Cupressus ericoides.

Of the numerous varieties of Yew (I am inclined to believe there is but one species in cultivation-viz., the common Yew), not one is in the least tender. Some of these are more curious than ornamental, such are-Taxus adpressa, T. canadensis, T. Devastoni (a Weeping Yew), T. Jacksoni (another Weeping Yew). The Yellow-berried Yew, and T. baccata horizontalis. The variegated Yews which form such glowing pictures at Elverton are, in the eastern counties, in most places very ugly, their rich golden colour turning into a dirty white, as if the plants were diseased. This occurs not only in light soils, but in those that are deep, tenacious, and rich. All the species of Cephalotaxus so yew-like in their appearance, are perfectly hardy and bid fair to be very ornamental evergreen shrubs.

The western or American Arbor Vitæ (Thujas) are now a fine group of Conifers-one of the finest. All are perfectly hardy, and two species bid fair to rival Wellingtonia in interest. These fine trees are T. gigantea, which, unlike our old brown species, retains its bright green colour all through the winter; and T. Lobbii or T. Menziesii-not so gigantic in its growth as the preceding, but a beautiful evergreen tree. Its foliage is of a darker green than T. gigantea, and much like that of Cupressus Lawsoniana.

The family of Thujopsis, or Thuiopsis, so nearly related to the western Arbor Vitas as not to be distinguished from them by a casual observer, is now reduced to one solitary memberT. dolabrata, a Japan tree of great beauty, and likely to grow pretty well in this country, not appearing to require the forcing climate that some Japanese trees and shrubs look for. The popular tree now well known as Thujopsis borealis has been looked at by botanists, who seem always to possess a forty-horse steam power of vision, and found to be a Cypress. It will remain a Cypress till some clever man with a sixty-horse power of sight finds that it is neither a Cypress nor a Thujopsis.

Among Coniferous trees and shrubs that may be planted in all soils and sites, with not only safety but with a certain prospect of gratification in seeing it grow well in our summer weather, whether hot and dry or cool and cloudy, and looking fresh and green all winter even in severe weather, is the Mammoth tree-our Wellingtonia, the Washingtonia of the Americans. Our great great grandchildren may live to see it attain a height of 150 feet or 200 feet in this country; and middle-aged gardeners may, perhaps, regret that they cannot keep possession of their tenements of clay till that time. For my part I am quite satisfied with the tree as it is; for while young and feathered to the ground with its graceful radiating branches it is most beautiful. As it increases in age it will doubtless lose its lower tiers of branches and become mop-headed, like the figures given of the large trees which still exist in California. I have, therefore, no wish to see it past its beauty; and all old planters will, I trust, go with me.

I have in the above rough sketch endeavoured to show what Coniferous trees and shrubs we ought to reject and what to plant in the colder parts of England. Much more remains to be done. Some educated nurseryman or gardener with a thorough practical knowledge must one day give the public more information on this subject. A catalogue entitled, "Conifers Suitable to the Climate of Great Britain," is far too vague. We require-1st, a list of the interesting yet tender species and varieties that can only be planted in the soft, mild climate of the west of England, the south of Ireland, and in Jersey and Guernsey; 2nd, a list of such as may be planted in the districts I have named at the head of this paper, describing the soils and geological formations in which and on which they grow most vigorously.-SENEX.

FLOWER MARKET.-A new flower market is just opened in the noble curvilinear-roofed Floral Hall, adjoining Covent Garden

Theatre. Messrs. Milne, of Wandsworth; Mr. Standish, of Bagshot; and Mr. Fergusson, of Stowe, have collections of plants there, varying in prices from 6d. to many shillings, all in pots. Messrs. Negretti and Zambra have a stand of horticultural implements. There are various stands for the sale of garden-pots, vases, and baskets; and Mrs. Stothard has a stall for her beautiful artificial flowers made of paper.

A CHAPTER ON HEATING.
HOP-KILNS, HOT WATER, FLUES, AND POLMAISE.

Ir is not surprising that after an unusually severe frost the subject of heating garden structures should occupy a considerable share of attention in gardening periodicals; for any imperfection in the existing means is sure to be noticed as well as the more successful modes. And every one will admit the winter just passed to have been a trying one, and any scheme that has satisfactorily passed such an ordeal may be justly regarded as a meritorious one; and it is possible we may have several new schemes for hothouse heating offered to us with the warrant that they have stood the test of the past winter-and this is no mean qualification to found their claim upon.

I am far from certain that our very best modes are not exceed ingly wasteful, not even exempting the best-contrived hot-water apparatus, or the recently-revived system of heating by hot air, called again into notice by Mr. Beaton and Mr. Kidd, which, doubtless, is a great improvement on previously existing means of heating in that way; but which is, doubtless, far short of what one day will be effected by the united exertions of those who may give the consumption of fuel and the heat it emits their close attention. In saying this much I by no means deprecate many of the useful plans now adopted; but I do not think any of them give all their warmth to the objects requiring it.

Some years ago I was much struck with a remark in a philosophical work of high standing, which was this: "The ascent of Mont Blanc was a laborious undertaking for an ablebodied man for two days, yet the combustion of 2 lbs. of coal ought to place him on the summit." This astounding assertion might have been questioned had it been made by a less eminent authority than Sir J. Herschel, for it was in one of his works that I read it; and although I do not remember his entering into any particulars of the natural or artificial powers just then compared, I have no doubt but the influence-the burning of this coalexercised as much force over the external air as was equivalent to the raising of a human body the many thousand feet spoken of.

Now, this may appear to have little relationship with hothouse heating; but it may have, if the waste of coal be so great as the author quoted makes it to be. What improvements may not yet be expected? But let us turn to other subjects bearing still more directly on the matter.

The economy of heat has for many years been a source of study with those who have had the warming of buildings, for which fire heat, in some shape or other, is required; as, for instance, maltings, hop-kilns, laundries, workshops, churches, and public rooms, and the various classes of garden structures, which, for distinction, we may call hothouses. To this list others may be added; but enough have been enumerated to prove that attention has been directed this way.

Of the first-named of these (maltings) I have but little knowledge; neither is fire so much an accessory as in the hop-kiln. The due administration of heat being an important matter; and as several modes have been adopted, one of which so closely resembles that which has so recently attracted attention as a modification of Polmaise, that I make no apology for saying a few words on the hop-drying system as practised in this neighbourhood, where that article forms the most important of all crops, and its preparation for use is, of course, an equally impor

tant consideration.

I believe that our important crops are all perfected, or, I should say, harvested, in the open air, except in very bad seasons. But this is not the case with the hop; for, gathered in October, the sun at this period, even in the finest of all seasons, is not sufficient to dry up the superfluous moisture by which the article is charged, and it is more often wet than dry at that time: consequently fire heat has to be resorted to. And though there are many modes of applying it, there is but little difference in the kilns, which are generally circular brick buildings, of an inside diameter of from 10 feet to 18 feet, the sides being from

12 feet to 18 feet high, with a long conical roof, and an opening from 2 feet to 3 feet in diameter at the top. This is protected from rain by a cowl which turns with the wind. I may add that the floor on which the green and wet hops are laid is 2 feet or 3 feet below the eaves, and from 9 feet to 15 feet or more from the ground. The hop-drying floor is constructed of rafters laid about 2 inches apart, and over them a hair cloth is fixed. The timber used is usually poplar, which is the best to resist fire, and the hair cloth is also less liable to accident that way than anything else, and at the same time admitting the heat to pass freely through it and amongst the hops lying on it.

Now, from the under side of this floor to the ground level there is often a clear space of from 9 feet to 15 feet, and which has to be heated for the purpose of drying the green and damp load above, which is often laid on nearly a foot thick, and must be dried in ten or eleven hours; two such loadings being always dried every twenty-four hours, a rapid fire heat is therefore required. One of the modes adopted having so strong a resemblance to Polmaise, I cannot do otherwise than describe it. At the bottom of one side of the kiln in question a firehole is made, and a fireplace, similar to one that might be underneath a saddle boiler, is placed; but instead of the boiler a large castiron box like a trough is turned upside down over the fire, a square opening at the side opposite to the fire being made in one side of this box to allow the smoke entering a flue; and there is often a piece cut away in the front side of this box that is over the fire to allow room to feed the fire. The flue from this fire goes round the kiln, but does not join the outside wall, and the flue is sometimes raised on pillars also, so that all sides of it may communicate heat to the space requiring it, a chimney eventually carrying it out at some place where it unites with other buildings. Dampers in the flue regulate the draught, and openings in the outside wall with sliding shutters in front of them regulate the admission of external air, and the fire, being as described, inside the room requiring heating, we have as near as possible the mode of heating described and discussed with such a diversity of opinions in the gardening press about a dozen or more years ago as Polmaise; only in the case here mentioned the air to be heated is drawn from the open atmosphere, and is not worked in the rotary motion which baffled so many of the advocates for Polmaise.

Now, the flues in this hop-kiln were generally made of the best material, and when once got into working order were kept actively at work for the season, and appear to be constructed on a principle likely to economise heat, yet, it was found not to be so, and this class of hop-kilns is now almost obsolete; and although, as I have before said, it embraces almost all the points of Polmaise, it is more than fifty years since it was generally discarded. How long it is since it was introduced I leave for others to determine. Suffice it to say that its only claim to notice now is its adaptability to all kinds of fuel, which is not the case with the modes of heating now more generally in use, which, though hardly applicable to the general purposes of hothouse heating, may nevertheless be described here.

Instead of the covered-in fire before alluded to, an open one on bars and a little brickwork is fixed in the centre of the kiln; and immediately over this, but perhaps 6 feet from it, and 3 feet or 4 feet from the drying-floor, is suspended in chains a piece of plate-iron 4 feet or 5 feet square, and, being hung flatways, prevents the direct heat of the fire scorching the centre of the drying-floor immediately over it. This fire, however, is composed of charcoal, coke, and Welsh coal; and being open as stated, its action is very powerful on the floor above; and it is required so to be, as the thermometer is often kept at 130°. The wonder a stranger evinces is that the timbers composing the floor do not ignite; but poplar will bear a great deal of baking, and hair cloth still more so nevertheless, fires do occasionally occur. It is right also to add that outside openings admit air to fires of this class also; and a recent patentee has surrounded his fire with pipes, one end opening into the fire, and the other to the open air-the pipes, of course, inclining from the fire outwards. Others, instead of having the iron plate hung as described above as a safeguard, have a number of cast-iron pipes crossing each other just over the fire, so that the fire heats the ends that are over it; and the air rushing out is also heated and carried upwards, its place being supplied by the air entering at the other end, which is outside. Many other modifications of these plans are in use, which might be profitably studied by those having the heating of hothouses in view-not that the open charcoal and coke fire here spoken of is eligible

for plants generally; but the heating here given to air, and the other principle on which its working depends, offer many hints to those inclined to turn them to account.

The above digression is given with a view to show that heating by warm air has been practised many years in some form or other; and some churches and public buildings are, I believe, heated on that principle; but by far the greatest number of workshops and buildings of a small kind are heated by an Arnott's stove, modified more or less to suit the circumstances of the place, and I must confess that no description of heating that I am acquainted with gives off so much warmth in proportion to the fuel used as a well-constructed Arnott's stove. An ordinary laundry stove I conceive to be of this class, and nothing can so quickly raise the temperature of a room as this does; and if some skilful hand could divest it of that unpleasant vaporous smell, it might be worked usefully in heating our garden structures.

It is not my purpose to enter into the nature of the gases generated by a stove of this kind; but every gardener knows, by a single whiff, that it is unsuited to plant cultivation. To chemists we therefore say, Purify it, and you will confer a boon alike on the vegetable and animal creation. And those who live long enough may possibly see this done. And when this has been fairly set into working condition, I have no doubt but we shall be several stages nearer that summit of perfection which has been aimed at in so many things; for I cannot bring myself to the belief that heat communicated to one object, and that object having to impart it to a second one, and this in turn to & third, and so on until it reach the object wanting it-much of it is not lost. We all know the more garments we have on when the weather is cold the less likely is the cold to reach us and heat that has to be transmitted through several inches of brickwork, and then to travel some distance along a flue, withdrawing portions of its heat all the way as it travels, cannot emerge from its orifice in other than a much wasted condition. In making the above observations I by no means intend to disparage the many useful heating apparatuses now in use at various places. What I want to see is, a material brought into practical use that will withstand fire heat, and not give off those unpleasant vapours which an iron stove invariably does; for be it remembered, the material ought not to be thicker than the iron plates of the Arnott's stove. If we could accomplish this, I think much, if not all, of the waste heat bestowed on the fireplaces, flue, and chambers, would act directly on the hothouse; for the whole apparatus, if prepared in a neat and tasteful form, might be inside. An opening to feed it with fuel and clean out the ashes might be made from the outside; but this ought to be closed as far as possible against external air. I have often pictured to my mind a heating apparatus of this kind, but am unable to suggest a material to make it of. Iron, as stated above, is objectionable, and brick is too thick. I should think a fireplace or stove formed of the material of which crucibles are made would be sure to stand heat well, as they are often heated to a white heat, and I have heard a manufacturer of cement articles assert, that cemented goods when well made will also stand an equal amount of heat. How far these two substances will not occasion those sulphurous or obnoxious gases which an iron stove is unable to avoid, I am unable to say. But the object is worth trying for, for with all our boasted skill it must be confessed we have made fewer improvements in heating garden structures than has been made in the construction of living-room stoves, kitchen ranges, and the like for the last thirty years, for I could point out a church that was heated by hot water in 1830, that has not been excelled yet, I believe, by anything of the kind since introduced. True, this useful agent has been brought into more general use, and made to ascend and descend where it was never expected to do; but it is an expensive affair, and now and then, like everything else, breaks down at the most unfortunate time for everything and every body concerned.

A writer in THE COTTAGE GARDENER, at page 258, Vol. XXV., (Mr. Cullerne) expresses his unwillingness to advocate the Polmaise system because I had opposed. I am exceedingly sorry at this, for I by no means assume my opinion to be infallible, and I am equally pleased to find my views opposed by others, as well as confirmed by them, especially when a good sound reason is put forth for doing so, or, what is still better, a good bundle of facts. I think the most I said or intended to say against Polmaise was, that it was wasteful in fuel and liable to go wrong; but where it did work well, no mode of heating that I am acquainted with can equal it. A particular friend of mine had a spare pit heated

in this way; and as he was an enthusiast in that mode of heating, he used to point to the waving foliage of the plants when the house was closed as a proof of the circulation of air going on, and has told me he could cook an egg at one of the hot-air openings 30 feet or more from the fire, and certainly nothing could look better than the plants by which it was filled, for it was used for forcing. But I believe he had one or two sad misfortunes with it, and at all times it was extravagant in fuel, so large a portion of the heat escaping up the chimney. It is for this reason, and the consequent uncertainty of iron plates standing the fire, but cracking and filling the house with smoke, that I have advised the inexperienced to have nothing to do with it. Buried beneath a mass of brickwork it may, doubtless, be safe, but its heating powers must of necessity be much diminished unless urged on by extravagant firing.

Our able coadjutor, Mr. Fish, has very judiciously put before us boilers of various kinds, and alluded to their working qualities, and the many other points connected with hot-water heating, as well as that by flues; and there is one point in the latter mode which I wish to add to what he has said on this matter. It has always been my opinion that when a heat of only 40° or 45° is wanted, an expensive heating apparatus ought to be avoided, and to this end a good plain flue is often available. We have two spanroofed plant-houses here, each 36 feet long, intended for ordinary greenhouse and New Holland plants; these are heated by flues travelling round each house in the usual way, and ascending a chimney just over the fireplace. The two houses being in one length, the two fireplaces are just behind the wall at the partition; a front shelf about 3 feet broad, and a path about the same width traverse the entire length, the rest of the house being stage and platform. There is nothing particular in the heating, only that the flue which passes underneath the front shelf, and also that part which passes under the stage, is composed of cement pipes, 12 inches in diameter inside, and about an inch or rather more thick in substance; the ends being brickwork, more for the conveniences of cleaning out at any time than anything else. These cement pipes are made in lengths of 30 inches or 3 feet, and have joints fitting into each other, and I can certify to their answering every purpose that can be wanted of them. The cost for Roman cemented ones being 1s. 2d. per foot, and for Portland, 1s. 10d., but either kind answers well. The flue rises and falls at the doorways where it crosses the pathway; but the rise and descent are both gradual, and not abrupt; they heat very well, and with less trouble than any hotwater apparatus we have. Observe, I do not mean to say that flues of this description ought to supersede hot water for regular and continued forcing; but for greenhouses, or structures requiring little more than the frost kept out, a flue is a much cheaper apparatus than hot water. All that is necessary to insure its action is to get the fireplace set low enough, and to have a few feet of upright chimney to end with, and let all the turns be easy bends; and when the flue must descend let the top do so as well as the other parts of the flue, for I believe the smoke travels along at the top, and ought not to meet with such an obstruction as a piece of perpendicular brickwork, or anything that way; and although all descriptions of brickwork give off unpleasant exhalations when first the fire is used, after being some time idle, this may in a great measure be guarded against by making the fire in the daytime, and opening the ventilators, Still, with even this drawback, I cannot bring myself to the belief that it is inferior to some of the toy kinds of hot water apparatuses, which are said to burn little fuel, and require little attention, but which are also very liable to very great uncertainties. A good useful hot-water apparatus of some size is another thing; but to make a fire in a place not larger than a man's hat, and expect that to keep burning many hours, is at variance with all my notions of utility. But I must conclude with again requesting our scientific friends in the fire-stove line to come forward and give us a helping hand; for so long as we waste so much heat on brickwork not wanting it, and in other ways allowing it to go up the chimney, so long is our heating-apparatus imperfect, and the sooner they are improved the better; for it must be confessed, nothing in the garden line, has made so little progress for thirty years or more. J. ROBSON.

THE FAIRCHILD FLOWER SERMON.-The "Flower Sermon❞ was preached, as usual, on Whit-Tuesday evening, at St. James' Church, Aldgate, by the Rev. W. M. Whittemore, rector. The gaily-dressed young people, with their bouquets of flowers, made

the old church look quite attractive. The preacher's text was Psalm ciii. 15, and his topic "Wild Flowers." From these he drew various lessons of the Divine goodness; of the wonderful variety observable in the works of God; of the striking difference between the natural and the gracious states of the heart of man; and of the fading character of all earthly hopes. The Sunday Bible Classes, which are held at this church on Sunday afternoons, are open to all young ladies and gentlemen who are desirous to attend.-(City Press.)

CROSS-BREEDING SWEET PEAS.-I perceive Mr. Beaton, in THE JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE, May 14, says he does not know of any one who has obtained a true cross in any of the Pea-flowering plants. I do not know if the following will interest him. About the year 1836 I crossed the Painted Lady and Purple or Puce Sweet Peas. I obtained very few seeds, and these the next season produced grizzled and striped blooms, being a mixture of the two colours. I do not know if Mr. Beaton will consider this a true cross.-B. P. BRENT.

HAVING had several applications for information concerning not only the cultivation but merits of this plant, our best reply to the latter class of inquirers will be the publication of the annexed engraving, with a few explanatory notes.

There is no doubt that this plant was discovered as long ago as the year 1699 by Captain Dampier, the circumnavigator. He found it growing in the dry, sandy soil of one of the islands

called Dampier's Archipelago, on the coast of New Holland, and a small specimen of that very plant is still preserved, without leaves, in the Sherardian Museum, at Oxford. The late Mr. Allan Cunningham, so well-known as the botanical explorer of Australia, bestowed on this plant its commemorative name; he says, "This species, observed sparingly by myself in the voyage of Captain P. P. King, R.N., in 1818, I have dedicated to that very celebrated navigator, its discoverer. In May, 1818, it was found in flower, and only with fruit in a very young state."-(Hort, Soc. Trans., 2nd Series, i. 523.)

Mr. Cunningham met with it, afterwards, in the western interior of New South Wales, on the eastern shore of Regent's Lake on the river Lachlan; and by Mr. Eyre and Captain Sturt, it was found on the Gowler Range, and Barrier Range, near the Darling, about 500 feet above the river.

It has had many synonymes, as Clianthus Oxleyi, a mere variety; Donia speciosa, and Kennedya speciosa. Mr. Woodward, in "Dampier's Voyage," called it Colutea NovaHollandiæ.

Although so long known, and admired by botanists, it was not introduced among our obtainable plants until 1850, and we are indebted for it to Messrs. Veitch & Sons. Its splendidgrowing blossoms were first seen in this country in their greenhouse during the March of that year, and being exhibited before the Horticultural Society received the well-merited testimonial of its Silver Medal.

It is a stout, decumbent, herbaceous perennial, of a pale aspect, covered with long hairs. The leaves are pinnate, fivepaired, with a terminal odd one; leaflets oblong, slightly obovate, mostly opposite; stipules two, coarsely toothed or slashed. The angular flower-stalks proceed from the axils of the leaves, bearing a kind of umbel of four or five most brilliant flowers. The calyx is tubular, shaggy, with five acuminate lobes, and acute re-entering angles. The standard is ovate-oblong, acuminate, bright scarlet, with a deep purple stain at the base, which is convex and shining; the keel is acuminate, and, like the wings, bright scarlet.

Excellent coloured drawings of this flower are in "Paxton's Flower Garden," i., pl. 10, and in the "Botanical Magazine," t. 5051.