which is to join it, rub in a little of the soft putty, close it down and apply a few drops of solder here and there to keep them together. Next open the outside lap of the second row and insert the edge of the third row in the same manner, and so on, until the size of the sash is complete. When the sheet of glass, so to speak, is finished, slide it into the grooves of the outside side bars or frame of the sash, and fill up any open space with common putty. A few small brass or copper nails, with good heads, should be driven through the double lead-lap between each row of panes, at intervals of 6 or 9 inches, into the wooden bars below, to fasten the lead and glass to the frame; the work is then complete. You will now perceive that the only woodwork of the sashes exposed to the weather is the sides or frame; and, I think, you will agree with me that that is no little advantage. The woodwork must be very accurately made, otherwise the joining of the rows of glass will not correspond with the bars, and of course there will be nothing to drive the nails into.Amicus. May 6. 1840.

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Temperature. The following interesting extract is from an article by Col. Hall, of Quito, in Dr. Hooker's Journal of Botany: - The mean temperature of the neighbourhood of Quito may be reckoned about 56°; that of the city itself is about 57°. The temperature of the southern basin is rather higher, and may be estimated at 60°. Every difference of elevation produces, of course, a corresponding variation of temperature. The mean of the Paramos may be reckoned at 38°; and when we reach the limits of perpetual snow, at 32°. There is a circumstance worthy of notice, with regard to the temperature of elevated tropical regions, because it has a powerful influence both on animal and vegetable life; that is, the uniformity of the yearly temperature, so different from our European seasons. Thus, as Humboldt observes (De Distributione Geographica Plantarum, p. 152.), the mean temperature of Quito is nearly the same with that of the South of France; yet a variety of European fruits, such as peaches, nectarines, grapes, figs, &c., which ripen well with even an English summer, never reach perfection in Quito, where the daily range of the thermometer throughout the year is from 48° to 65°. The plants of the Andes will, for the same reason, be with more difficulty naturalised, and more readily degenerate, in Europe, than those of the Alps or of northern latitudes, when transported to warmer climates; since both in the Alps and in Lapland there is an alternation of summer and winter, differing only in length and intensity from those of France or England; while the plants of the Andes are rarely exposed to a variation of above 17° throughout the year. They thus acquire, like the inhabitants, a constitution ill adapted to support great changes. I have never been able to cultivate the plants of the Paramos, even in Quito the seeds refuse to germinate, or the plants either perish before taking root, or preserve a brief and languishing existence. No doubt other circumstances, such as atmospherical pressure and the action of light, cooperate, as Humboldt observes, with the effect of temperature; but these circumstances increase the difficulty of vegetable emigration. Another peculiarity of the elevated tropical regions is the great heat of the sun's rays, as compared with the shade. I have seen a thermometer placed on the grass at Quito rise to 120°, which is equal to its utmost range at the level of the sea; while in the shade its extreme range is 60° to 66° in the high lands, and 80° to 88° on the coast. It is for this reason that the heat seems more oppressive in Quito than in Guayaquil, there being frequently in the former a difference of more than 60° between the two sides of a street or wall; and these daily inequalities contrast more strongly with the annual uniformity of temperature already indicated, and still farther complicate the peculiarities of Andean vegetation. I have alluded to reflected heat, because it is that to which animal and vegetable life are subjected, and, perhaps, the only modification of the sun's rays which can be accurately examined. It seems more easy to naturalise the vegetable productions of Europe in the regions of the Andes than vice versâ. European flowers adorn the gardens, and European vegetables supply the tables of Quito, as the Cerealia is one of the few benefits conferred by the

Spaniards on the New World. The indigenes appear to have used only maize, the Chenopòdium Quinòa, the potato, and the Oxalis tuberòsa, or oka. Barley-meal constitutes, at present, the chief article of their diet; for bread, though cheap, scarcely falls within their scanty resources. Oats and rye are, as yet, unknown, though well adapted to many of the poorer soils, especially the sandy tracts round Ambato and Rio Bamba. The same cause which prevents the perfection of European fruit, limits the number of those of native growth. About the elevation of Quito we find none wild but the capuli, a species of blackberry; and, on sandy soils, the tuna. Currants, gooseberries, and raspberries seem adapted to the climate, but have not yet been introduced. Strawberries are abundant; but they are probably natives of Chili. Pears and apples are plentiful, but small and ill-flavoured. The celebrated peaches of Ambato remind the European traveller less of the likeness than of the difference. Pine-apples, cherimoyas, oranges, limes, aguacatis (Laúrus Pérsica), granadilla (Passiflòra ?), and other tropical fruits, are brought from the adjacent valleys or calientes, but, it may be supposed, little improved by the journey. The idea of perpetual spring is pleasing to the imagination; but the reality is purchased in the Andes by the want of those glowing forms and colours which nature sheds over tropical climates, while the monotony of earth and sky, scarcely observable by the traveller, would be gladly exchanged by the less fortunate resident for the varied interest of European seasons. (Hooker's Journal of Botany.)

Effect of Light which has passed through coloured Glass on Plants.—I planted in a box some curled cress seed, and so arranged bottles of carmine fluid, chromate of potassa, acetate of copper, and the ammonia sulphate, that all but a small space of the earth was exposed to light, which had permeated three fourths of an inch of these media. For some days the only apparent difference was, that the earth continued damp under the green and blue fluids, whereas it rapidly dried under the red and yellow. The plumula burst the cuticle in the blue and green lights, before any change was evident in the other parts. After ten days, under the blue fluid there was a crop of cress, of as bright a green as any which grew in full light, and far more abundant. The crop was scanty under the green fluid, and of a pale unhealthy colour. Under the yellow solution, but two or three plants appeared, yet they were less pale than those which had grown in green light. Beneath the red bottle the number of plants which grew was also small, although rather more than in the spot the yellow covered. They, too, were of an unhealthy colour. I now reversed the order of the bottles, fixing the red in the place of the blue, and the yellow in that of the green. After a few days' exposure, the healthy cress appeared blighted, while a few more unhealthy plants began to show themselves, from the influence of the blue rays, in the spot originally subjected to the red. It is evident from this that the red and yellow rays not merely retard germination, but positively destroy the vital principle in the seed. Prolonged exposure uncovered, with genial warmth, free air, and indeed all that can induce growth, fails to revive the blighted vegetation. I have repeated the experiment many times, varying the fluids, but the results have been the same. At this time, I have the above facts strikingly exemplified where the space covered by the bichromate of potassa is without a plant. These results merit the attention of those who are engaged in the study of vegetable economy. Do they not point at a process by which the productions of climes more redolent of light than ours may be brought in this island to their native perfection? Dr. Draper's " experiments," Philosophical Magazine, Feb. 1840, appear at variance with mine. Under the influence of a nearly tropical sun permeating half an inch of solution of the bichromate of potassa, cress grew of a green colour, whilst it took five days to give a sensitive paper a faint yellow green colour. From this, Professor Draper argues the existence of two classes of rays, a different class being necessary to produce the green colouring of vegetable foliage from that which darkens chloride of silver. With submission to one whose facilities for such enquiries are so much greater than my

own, I would suggest a repetition of the experiments with some of the recently discovered photographic preparations. The fact of cress and pea plants growing green, under the influence of such powerful light as penetrated Professor Draper's yellow media, will not appear at all surprising when we examine the rays which pass through such fluids.

The above curious and interesting experiments form part of a paper by Mr. Robert Hunt "On Light which has permeated coloured Media, and on the chemical Action of the Solar Spectrum," published in the April Number of the Philosophical Magazine. — J. B. W. May, 1840.

A Hand-Plough for stirring the Soil between Carrots, has lately been invented in Belgium, and sent over to this country. For moderately light soils it promises to be a valuable implement, being applicable to various small plants grown in rows in gardens, such as onions, parsneps, turnips, &c. The implement may be had at Weir's manufactory, Oxford Street.-Cond.

Preserving Wood by steeping it previously to use in a cold-water solution of lime has lately attracted a good deal of attention; but the process was invented and used by Sir Charles G. S. Menteath, at Closeburn, in Dumfriesshire, above thirty years ago, as noticed in our Encyclopædia of Cottage Architecture, and in the Farmer's Magazine.—Cond.

Sunk Water-holders. — I have been trying the pots invented by my brother Henry for watering plants, and find the plan admirable. As you have given a full and complete description of it in the volume for 1839, p. 525., I need not repeat it here, my main object at present being to show that it may be resorted to by any one who may have by him a few stone or glass quart bottles, for I have used both. In the side and near the bottom of the bottle I cause two small holes to be made, the smaller the better; the bottle is then buried to the neck near the root of the plant or flower which requires watering; it is then filled and corked down. The exclusion of the atmospheric pressure, except through the small orifices under ground, causes a very gradual, almost drop by drop, exudation of the water from the bottle; and this slow delivery of moisture I consider an improvement upon the more powerful jet or jets which must necessarily issue from any open vessel. My brother has three openings in the side of his water-pots, I think he has one too many; for if the water can make its way out at all, the slower the better, and it must run slower from two than from three holes. Mine are made, one as near the bottom of the bottle as possible, the other about 2 in. or so above it. Another advantage of corking the vessel is, that insects and dirt are thereby excluded. It strikes me, that if Dr. Lindley had seen this plan it would have removed some of his objections to artificial watering; objections which, I entirely agree with him, are most rational and well founded. "This operation," he observes, "is usually performed in hot dry weather, and must necessarily be very limited in its effects; it can have little, if any, influence upon the atmosphere: then the parched air robs the leaves rapidly of their moisture, so long as the latter is abundant the roots are suddenly and violently excited, and after a short time the exciting cause is suddenly withdrawn, by the momentary supply of water being cut off by evaporation and by filtration through the bibulous substances of which soil usually consists. Moreover, in stiff soils, the dashing of water upon the surface has, after a little while, the effect of 'puddling' the ground, and rendering it impervious, so that the descent of water to the roots is impeded, whether it is communicated artificially or by the fall of rain. It is therefore doubtful whether artificial watering of plants in the open air is advantageous, unless in particular cases; and, most assuredly, if it is done at all, it ought to be much more copious than is usual." (Theory of Hort. p. 126.)—Samuel Taylor. Stoke Ferry, April 18. 1840.

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Myatt's Pine Strawberry, commonly thought to be " obstinately sterile, and therefore not worth cultivating," has been found so in Ireland by the Hon. Baron Foster, till he " tried it in very rotten cow-dung, turned and decomposed through four or five successive years, without the mixture of any other substance; and, having planted the strawberry in this, under the shelter of a south

wall," Baron Foster" obtained as large a crop of both fruit and runners as from any other kind.” (Ibid.)

Raising Coniferous Plants from Seed. - A paper was read from Mr. G. Gordon, the foreman of the arboretum in the Horticultural Society's Garden, at the Society's meeting, Dec. 3. 1839; by which it appears" that the principal points to be attended to are to sow the seeds in pure loam, without any mixture of peat, and with as little sand as possible; to take care that the loam is nearly dry until the seeds have vegetated, and then to administer water only in very small quantities; to stimulate germination by the application of bottom heat, which is, however, to be abstracted as soon as the plants make their appearance above ground." (Proceedings of the Hort. Soc. of London, vol. i. p. 117.)

The Genus Vaccinium contains so many species that bear excellent edible fruit, that I am surprised these are not more cultivated than they are as fruit shrubs. There are many gardens in the North and West of Scotland, and in the mountainous parts of England, and almost everywhere in Ireland, where peat can be procured at little expense; and in all such gardens most species of Vaccinium would luxuriate, and produce fruit in abundance. The fruit is excellent, eaten with cream, or made into tarts or jellies.—S. M. Glasgow, April, 1840.

The Triumphal Arch. —The invention of the triumphal arch belongs to the Romans, and it is one of their very few contributions to the fine arts, for the Greeks were strangers to it. I find nothing in it to admire. It is precisely an ornamental gate, but, standing as it always does in an open space, it is an object without meaning, a gate without an enclosure, a door without a house. (Scotsman, Feb. 12. 1840.)

We entirely concur in this opinion of the editor of the Scotsman, having been forcibly struck with the same idea when looking at the triumphal arches in Petersburg and Moscow, some years before we visited Italy. What can be more absurd than the triumphal arch at Buckingham Palace, except that in such a climate as London it is cased with polished marble! A casing of Welsh slate would have been appropriate to the smoky valley at the bottom of which this mass of deformity obtrudes itself. - Cond.

ART. II. Foreign Notices.

GREECE.

THE Grecian Cottage of the present Day. A cottage occupied by the peasantry in this part of the country (Lycia), will show that scale alone is wanting to make it the temple of the former inhabitants; the tombs cut in the rocks in successive ages are also precisely similar in architectural design. (Journal in Asia Minor, p. 234.)

A Group of Grecian Plants suitable for placing around a Grecian statue or other classical ornament in a flower-garden may consist of the following species, all of which were found in Pamphylia, near the base of the Taurian Mountains, by Mr. Fellows: Styrax officinale, Cistus Fumana, Sálvia Hormìnum, Anagállis cærulea, Fumària capreolata, Gladiolus communis, Muscàri comòsum and M. botryöìdes, Scilla marítima, and Ornithogalum umbellatum. (Journal in Asia Minor, p. 186.) A suitable sculpture ornament for such a group would be one of the water jars figured in Mr. Fellows's work, in p. 259., used in the same part of Asia Minor for supplying water to the weary traveller, in the manner of the springs and cisterns sometimes placed by benevolent persons by the sides of the public roads in Britain. These water jars “are made of red clay, and are in form precisely like the terra-cotta vases of the ancient Greeks. As they stand but insecurely, they are seen tied to the trunks

of trees by the way side, and kept constantly filled for the use of the traveller. To secure a great supply of water, in parts of the country remote from natural springs or aqueducts, is a religious care, for the ablutions before prayer. The replenishing of these jars is usually the care of the women, who may be seen carrying them upon their backs, slung by cords in the manner represented in the sketch," above referred to. (Journal in Asia Minor, p. 258.) The vase and the figure may afford a good hint for Mr. Austen, and the whole may serve to furnish ideas for a classical group in a flower-garden.—Cond.

ITALY.

Monza, March 19. 1840. I could not resist, though extremely busy at present, glancing a little at some of the works which you have sent me, particularly the Suburban Gardener, which I find most interesting and useful, as well for gardeners as for amateurs who wish to attend to gardening for its own sake. I regret I have not sufficient time at my disposal to benefit my countrymen by giving them a translation of this excellent work, being convinced that it would tend in no small degree to the developement of the love of horticulture. I do not, however, entirely give up the thought, but as soon as the many demands on my attention consequent on my employment will permit, I will try whether I am capable of entering into the spirit of the author, without which it would be time and labour thrown away.

I was truly affected and surprised at the politeness of N. W. G., who is so kind as to offer me seeds of the Nelumbium speciòsum var. rùbrum. I beg of you to tell him how sensible I am of his generosity, and I shall consider myself fortunate if he will furnish me with an opportunity of proving my gratitude.

In addition to what I have already told you about the pinetum of the Baron Alessandro Zanoli (p. 98.), I now send you a notice of the new species of pines which he has introduced this year: Abies Clanbrasiliana strícta, A. cephalónica, A. excélsa foliis variegàtis, 4. exc. monstròsa, A. exc. pygmæ'a, A. exc. tenuifòlia; Dámmara austràlis; Làrix americàna rùbra, L. europæ a sibírica; Picea pectinata tortuòsa; Pinus Coúlteri, P. Chýlla excélsa?, P. C. serótina, P. C. microcarpa; P. Pináster fol. variegàtis, P. ponderòsa, P. pátula, P. Cémbra sibírica, P. Stròbus pygmæ`a.

I told you in my last letter (p. 99.), that the celebrated Marquis Cosimo Ridolphi, of Florence, had offered for sale hundreds of pounds' weight of the tubers of the twining batata (Ipomoea Batatas). I now hear from the marquis that he has succeeded in preserving the tubers perfectly well during the winter, by merely keeping them in a cellar where a uniform temperature is maintained but a slight degree of dampness had, on the 30th of January, at which time this information was communicated to me, caused spontaneous germination, as is the case with the common potato (Solànum tuberòsum). Thus every difficulty is overcome, either as to cultivation or preservation, the latter of which was the greater, and that alone, as we may say, which made the cultivation of it to be abandoned. Thus has the Marquis Ridolphi succeeded in naturalising perfectly a plant of so much importance and advantage.

A friend of mine has promised to introduce me to a person who is soon to set out for London. I shall take the opportunity of sending you a treatise on the edible fungi of Lombardy.

If I were not afraid of appearing too greedy, I would beg of you to procure me a single seed of Nelumbium álbum. [We should be greatly obliged to any correspondent who will send us such a seed to forward to our much esteemed friend.]

Monza, Aug. 20. 1836. - In continuation of what I have already sent you (Vol. for 1836, p. 445.), I will now speak of the villas Mallerio, Silva, Litta, and the garden of Dr. Sacco.

The Villa Mallerio at Gernetto is in Brianza, in a country where nature and art seem to have united the useful with the agreeable. Its favourable soil and