disadvantage in their early growth. Be-
sides, a too deep frame, both in early
and late work, is apt to draw the plants
up weak; for they always naturally
aspire towards the glasses, and the
more space there is, the more they
will run up; for which reason the Lon-
don kitchen-gardeners have many of
their frames not more than fourteen or
fifteen inches high behind and seven in
front, especially those which are in-
tended to winter the more tender young
plants, such as cauliflower and lettuce,
and for raising early small' salad, herbs,
radishes, &c.

" The wood work of the back, ends,
and front should be of inch or inch
and a quarter deal, as before observed,
which should be all neatly planed even
and smooth on both sides; and the
joints, in framing them together, should
be so close that no wet nor air can en-
ter. The cross-bars or bearers at top,
for the support of the glasses, should
be about three inches broad and one
thick, and neatly dove-tailed in at back
and front even with both edges, that
the lights may shut down close, each
having a groove or channel along the



Mr. Knight has suggested an import-
ant improvement in the form of frames.
He observes, that the general practice
is to make the surface of the bed per-
fectly horizontal, and to give an incli-
nation to the glass. That side of the
frame which is to stand towards the
north is made nearly as deep again as
its opposite; so that if the mould is
placed of an equal depth (as it ought
to be) over the whole bed, the plants
are too far from the glass at one end of
the frame and too near at the other.
To remove this inconvenience, he
points out the mode of forming the bed
on an inclined plane; and the frame
formed with sides of equal depth, and
so put together as to continue per-
pendicular when on the bed, as repre-
sented in the accompanying sketch,
Fig. 52,

There are several minor points in the
construction of frames that deserve at-
tention. The strips of lead or wood
that sustain the panes of glass should
run across the frame, and not length-
wise ; they then neither obstruct so
much the entrance of light nor the pass-
ing off of rain. The inside of the frame
should be painted white, since planU




FRA

substitute for the green-house ; and on
this subject we have the following
statement of Mr. Crambe, of Redbraes,
near Edinburgh : —

" Being deficient in accommodation
for heaths and pelargoniums, Mr.
Crambe procured two melon-frames,
the dimensions of which were twenty
feet long by eight wide ; he then built
walls of a few courses of bricks, in-
closing an area of the exact size of the*
frames upon which they were placed.
The floor was elevated sis inches above
the ground, level and paved with
bricks laid in finely-sifted coal-ashes,



generally suffer in them for want of ^ ^^yj^g tj,e^rgyi(.eg l^gt^een them filled



light : if the accumulation of heat was
required, the colour should be'black.

Raising the Frames. — It is a well-
known difficulty that the gardener has,
in raising the frames so as to keep the
foliage of the plants within them at a
determined and constant distance from
the glass. To remedy this, Mr. Nairn,



with sand, which makes a better joint-
ing than lime, the close joints of which
leave no escape for the surplus water, —
placing the building in a longitudinal
direction from east to west. As a fire-
flue would have occupied more space
than could be spared, Mr. Rogers'
conical boiler was adopted. The



gardener to J. Creswell, Esq., of Bat- I bojjer is placed on the outside and is



tersea Priory, has introduced the inge
iiious contrivance represented in the ac
companying sketch and references : —
A, a movable frame ; b b, inside lining
of the pit ; c c, outer wall. Between
these the sides of the frame pass, and
are lowered or elevated by racks and
spindles, d d. Fig. 53.

Fig. 53.



inclosed in a case of double sheet-iron,
with a movable cover, and funnel of the
same material, for the conveyance of
smoke into a brick-chimney, the space
between the case and boiler being filled
with sand as an excellent non-conduc-
tor. At right angles to the end of the
pit is a brick-wall about three feet
high, inclosing the boiler on two sides,
leaving an open space in front for the
admission of air and the clearing away
of ashes. A movable wooden cover, of
a triangular form, is placed above, to
protect the whole from the effects of
the weather.

" The size of the boiler is eighteen
inches high by twelve in diameter at
the base, and is placed upon a cast-
iron grating, having a furnace-door be-
neath for the regulation of air. The
pipes, two inches and a half wide, are
conducted along the front and secured
to the wall with iron hooks, it being
A'morc simple plan might perhaps unnecessary to convey them round the
be adopted, by having frames of the back, as the apparatus is found suffi-
same length and breadth as the origi- cient to heat a space of double the size,
nal, but only from an inch to three | " For fuel he has uniformly found
inches, or upwards, deep. These, as coke to maintain a constant and regu-
necessary, might be put on the top, and lar heat : indeed this sort of boiler is
would be kept close by the pressure of not suited for the consumption of coal,
the lights; bolts and nuts might also ; although, by a little alteration of the
be easily applied, and the interstices i present form, it might be made to con-
rendered still more impervious to air i sume it as freely as coke. When the




by being faced with list.



external temperature was as low as



The frame may often be made a i 20", the internal heat of the pit did not



FR A



237



FRI



vary above 3° in fourteen hours, dur-
ing which time it required no atten-
tion, and tiie cost of the fuel did not
exceed twopence in twenty-four hours.
When slight storms occurred, a cover-
ing of Russia-mats was substituted in
lieu of fire-heat, which is always, to
a certain degree, injurious to green-
house plants, but more particularly so
to heaths, a class of plants which, when
cultivated in properly constructed pits,



Whitney's or Tanner's conipositiona;
or the gardener may employ the follow-
ing preparation : —

"Old pale linseed oil, three pints;
sugar of lead (acetate of lead), one
ounce; white resin, four ounces. Grind
the acetate with a little of the oil, then
add the rest and the resin. Incorpo-
rate thoroughly in a large iron pot over
a gentle fire ; and, with a large brush,
apply hot to a fine calico stretched



have a decidedly more healthy appear- , loosely previously, by means of tacks.



ance than those grown in green-
houses." — Card. Chron.

Shelter for the Glass. — In proportion
to the number of lights, matting for
shading and sheltering must be at hand.
The usual mode of covering at night is



upon the frame. On the following day
it is fit for use, and may be either done
over a second time, or tacked on tightly
to remain." — Gard. Chron.

The quantity made according to this
recipe will be sufficient for about 100



by laying on mats, and over these litter, ' square feet of calico. — Johnson's Gard



Almanack.

FRANCISCEA unijlora. Stove ever-
green shrub. Cuttings. Peat and loam.

FRANCOA. Three species. Hardy



thickness according to the severity
of the season. Some gardeners lay
hay immediately in contact with the
glass, and over this the mats. Every,

person conversant with these modes of > herbaceous. Seed. Common light soil
shelter is aware of their inconvenience. ! FRANKENIA. Nine species. Chief
In rainy weather they soon become ly hardy evergreen trailers. Cuttings
wet, and rapidly chill the beds ; added
to which, the trouble caused in placing
and removing them, and the danger to
the glass from the stones laid on as a



Loam and sandy peat.

FRANKINCENSE. Pinus tcoda.

FRAXINUS. The ash-tree. Forty-
one species. Hardy deciduous trees,
resislance to the wind, are by no means I Seed, or budding or grafting on the



inconsiderable

Mr. Seton, to obviate these incon-
veniences, employs a particular cover-
ing, which he constructs of four laths,
two of such a length as to exceed a
little that of the frame, and the others



common ash [F.eicelsio)).

FREE-STONE peaches and necta-
rines, the flesh of which p^rts readily
from the stone.

FRENCH BEAN. See Kidney Bean.

FRENCH MARIGOLD. Tagetes



in a similar manner that of its breadth. \ patula.



These are bound together at right
angles, so as to form a parallelogram
of the form and size of the frame ; and
pieces are bound across this at a foot
apart from each other. Over this a
mat is spread, and over the mat a layer
of straw is fastened, laid on level like
thatch, from three to six inches thic



FRIESIA peduncular is. Green-house
evergreen shrub. Cuttings. Turfy
loam and peat.

FRINGE TREE. Chionanthvs.

FRITILLARIA. Fritillary. Twenty-
three species, besides varieties. Hardy
bulbs. Offsets. Sandy soil.

' The season for planting or trans-



as may appear necessary. If the i planting all these bulbs is when their
breadth of the frame is, or exceeds, flower-stalks are decayed, in July or
four feet, it is best to have the covering ; beginning of August, though the bulbs^
in two parts, otherwise it becomes taken up at that time may be kept, if
weak and unwieldy. These panels, ! necessary, by being laid in dry sand ;
as they may be called, Mr. Seton also | but the fritillary {F. pyrenaica) and
employs in preserving tender plants [ Persian lily (F. Prrs/cfl) arc rather more
through the winter. A pit of frames, I impatient, out of the earth, than the
earthed up all round, and covered with I crown imperial (F. imperialis), and
one of them, or two or three if needful, j therefore should always be put in again



is completely impervious to frost.
Substitutes for glass. — Oiled paper



as soon as possible.

Propagation of all the species. — The



was formerly employed ; but this has general mode of propagation of all
been superseded by linen dressed with ! these plants is by offsets, which may he



FRI



238



FRU



separated every second or third year.
The proper time is when their flower-
etalks decay, taking the whole cluster
of roots out of the earth and separating
them into distinct roots, planting the
emaller offsets by themselves, in nurse-
ry-beds, to remain a year or two ; and
the larger roots plant where they are
designed to remain.

They are also propagated by seed to
gain new varieties. The process is
tedious. The fritillary and Persian lily
will be three years, and the crown im-
perial sometimes six or seven, before
they flower in perfection.

The seeds are to be sown in boxes
of light earth in August or September,



down to below 32o without freezing,
but it solidifies the moment it' is agi-
tated." — Principles of Gardening.

The seeds of some plants are bene-
fited by being frozen, for those of the
rose and the hawthorn never germinate
so freely as after being subjected to the
winter frosts.

Freezing is beneficial to soils, not
only by destroying vermin within its
bosom, but by aiding the atmosphere to
pervade its texture, which texture is
also rendered much more friable by
the frost. M. Schluber says that freez-
ing reduces the consistency of soils
most remarkably, and that in the case
of clays and other adhesive soils, the



covering them with earth a quarter of i diminution of their consistency amounts



an inch deep. — Ahercromhie.

FROST. If a plant be frozen, and
though some defy the attacks of frost,
others are very liable to its fatal influ-
ence, death is brought upon them as it



to at least 50 per cent. In hoeing clay
he found it reduced from sixty-nine to
forty-five of the scale already stated,
and in the ordinary arable soil from
thirty-three to twenty. He satisfactorily



is in the animal frame, by a complete j explains this phenomenon by observing



breaking down of their tissue ; their
vessels are ruptured, and putrefaction
supervenes with unusual rapidity.

The following contingencies render
a plant especially liable to be frozen.

" First. Moisture renders a plant
susceptible of cold. Every gardener
knows this. If the air of his green-
house be dry, the plants within may be



that the crystals of ice pervading the
entire substance of the frozen soil, ne-
cessarily separate the particles of earth,
rendering their points of contact fewer.
As soil in our climate is rarely frozen
to a depth of more than four inches,
and in extremely hard winters it does
not penetrate more than six inches in
light soils, and ten inches in those that



submitted to a temperature of 32^ with- i contain more clay, or an excess of
out injury, provided the return to a ' moisture, these facts, and the frequent
higher temperature be gradual. ' failure of our potato crops, have led Dr.

" Secondly. Gradual decrements of. Lindley to the very judicious suggestion
temperature are scarcely felt. A myr- j of planting these crops in autumn,
tie may be forced and subsequently [ which must be the best time if practica-
passed to the conservatory, to the cold- ' ble, for it is pursuing the dictate of na-
pit, and even thence to an open border, ture. That it is practicable, I have no
if in the south of England, without doubt, for no frost would injure the
enduring any injury from the cold of sets, if a little coal ashes were put over
winter; but it would be killed if passed them in each hole, for coal ashes are



at once from the hot-house to the
border.

Thirdly. The more saline are the



an excellent non-conductor of heat, and
consequently opposed to a low reduc-
tion of temperature. Even if potatoes



juices of a plant, the less liable are buried some inches beneath the soil's
they to congelation by frost. Salt pre- surface are frozen, they thaw so very
serves vegetables from injury by sudden I gradually, that no injury to themoc-
transitions in the temperature of the curs, unless the freezing has been suffi-
atmosphere. That salted soil freezes cient to burst their vessels, which
with more reluctance than before the ! occurs very rarely,
salt is applied, is well known, and that j FROTH-FLY. See Tettigonia.
crops of turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, FRUIT ROOM. "Fruit for storing
&c., are similarly preserved is equally should be gathered before it is quite
well established. ', mature, for the ripening process, the

"Fourthly. Absence of motion en- ^ formation of sugar, with its attendant
ables plants to endure a lower degree exhalation of carbonic acid and water,
of temperature. Water may be cooled | goes on as well in the fruit room as in



FRU



239



FRU



the open air at the season when the i slight, therefore, are to be avoided;
functions of the leaves have ceased, and instead of putting fruit in heaps to
and the fruit no longer enlarges. In sweat, as it is ignorantly termed, but
gathering fruit, every care should be in fact to heat and promote decay, fruit
adopted to avoid bruising; and, to this should be placed one by one upon a
end, in the case of apples, pears, floor covered with dry sand, and the
quinces, and medlars, let the gathering
basket be lined throughout with sack-
ing, and let the contents of each basket
be carried at once to a floor covered
with sand, and taken out one by one,
not poured out, as is too usual, into a
basket, and then again from this into a
heap, for this systematic mode of in-
flicting small braises is sure to usher in
decay, inasmuch as that it bursts the
divisional membranes of the cells con-
taining the juice, and this being-extra'



day following, if the air be dry, be
wiped and stored away as before di-
rected. Fruit for storing should not
only be gathered during the middle
hours of a dry day, but after the oc-
curence of several such.

'•'Although the fruit is stored in sand,
it is not best for it to be kept there up
to the very time of using, for the pre-
sence of light and air is necessary for
the elaboration of saccharine matter.
A fortnight's consumption of each sort



vasated, speedily passes from the stage ! should be kept upon beach, birch, or
of spirituous fermentation to that of elm shelves, with a ledge all round, to
putref;iction. To avoid this is the prin- keep on them about half an inch in



cipal object of fruit storing, whilst at
the same time it is necessary that the
fruit shall be kept firm and juicy. Now
it so happens, that the means required
to secure the one also effects the other



depth of dry sand ; on this the fruit
rests softly, and the vacancy caused by
every day's consumption should be re-
placed from the boxes as it occurs. If
deal is employed for the shelving, it is



" To preserve the juiciness of the apt to impart a flavour of turpentine to
fruit, nothing more is required than a | the fruit. The store-room should have
low temperature, and the exclusion of a northern aspect, be on a second floor,
the atmospheric air. The best practical and have at least two windows, to pro-
mode of doing this is to pack the fruit ' mote ventilation in dry days. A stove
in boxes of perfectly dried pit-sand, in the room, or hot-water pipe with a
employing boxes or bins, and taking regulating cock, is almost essentialj for
care that no two apples or pears touch, heat will be required occasionally in
The sand should be thoroughly dried very cold and in damp weather; the
by fire-heat, and over the uppermost windows should have stout inside shut-
layer of fruit the sand should form a ters. Sand operates as a preservative,



covering nine inches deep.



not only by excluding air and moisture,



Putrefaction requires indispensably ; but by keeping the fruit cool; for it is
three contingencies — moisture, warmth, one of the worst conductors of heat,
and the presence of atmospheric air, or and moreover it keeps carbonic acid in
at least of its oxygen. Now burying in contact with the fruit. All fruit in
sand excludes all these as much as can ripening emits carbonic acid, and this
be practically effected ; and it excludes, gas is one of the most powerful prevent-
moreover, the light, which is one of the ives of decay known,
prime agents in the ripening of fruit. I " The temperature of the fruit room
The more minutely divided into small should never rise above 40°, nor sink
portions animal or vegetable juices may ' below 34° of Fahrenheit's thermometer,
be, so much longer are they preserved
from "putridity : hencfll one of the rea-
sons why bruised fruit decays more
quickly than sound ; the membranes of
the pulp dividing it into little cells, are
ruptured and a larger quantity of the
juices are together ; but this is only
one reason, for bruising allows the air
to penetrate, and it deranges that inex-
plicable vital power, which whilst un-
injured acts 80 antiseptically in all
fruits, seed, and eggs. Bruises the most



the more regular the better. Powdered
charcoal is even a better preservative
for packing fruit than sand ; and one
box not to be opened until April, ought
to be packed with this most powerful
antiseptic. If it were not from its soil-
ing nature, and the trouble consequent
upon its employment, I should advocate
its exclusive use ; I have kept apples
perfectly sound in it until June.

" It is not unworthy of observation,
that the eye or extremity farthest from



rue



240



FUC



the stalk, is the first to ripen. This is
most perceptible in pears, especially in
the chaumontelle. That end therefore
should be slightly imbedded in the
sand; and thus excluding it from the
light, checks its progress in ripening."
— Principles of Gardening.

FUCHSIA. Twenty species, besides
many varieties. Green-house evergreen
shrubs. Seed and cuttings. Light rich
loam and peat.

Varieties for open borders. — F. Ric-
cartonia; globosa; gracilis; Thomsonii;
Clintonia; conica ; reflexa; erecta ; and
virgata.

For Pot-culture. — Brockmannii ; Exo-
niensis ; Colossus ; Attractor ; Enchan-
tress; Eppsii; Stanwelliana ; Splendida;
Defiance ; Laneii ; Toddiana ; Cham-
pion ; Victory; Majestica; Paragon;
Splendens; Fulgens; Robusta ; Youel-
lii ; Chandlerii ; Venus Victrix ; Money-
pennii ; Standishii; Dalstonii ; Curtisii ;
Eclipse; Rosa Alba; and Spectabilis.
There are about eighty other named
varieties of diii'ering degrees of merit.

Soil. — The best is formed of equal
parts rotted turf, sandy loam, and peat.

Propagation by seed. — Sow directly
it is ripe. Bruise the berries, wash
away their pulp, mix the seed with
sand, sow thinly in pans of the soil just
described, and place in the green-house.
Prick into thimbles when the seedlings
are large enough for handling; place
under a hand-glass, in a stove or hot-
bed, for a few days, and then remove
into a green-house. Shift into larger
pots as the roots fill those in which they
are growing.

By cuttirigs. — No plant is more easily
propagated by cuttings at any season o



the same stock. This is very desirable
where room has to be husbanded. Cut
away to the length of one and a half
inch, half the thickness of the two shoots
to be united, bind them together; sever
through the scion three-fourths of its
thickness, just below the junction, keep
in a warm moist atmosphere, and in
three or four days the junction will be
complete. F. fulgens, F. Cormackii
and other strong growing varieties are
the best stocks." — Gard. Chron.

To make specimen Fuchsias. — "In
order to have specimen plants of Fuch-
sias," says Mr. G. Watson, " put in
cuttings in the beginning of August ;
planting them round the rims of five
inch pots filled with light sandy soil
and well drained ; then place in a cu-
cumber-frame till sufficiently rooted,
and afterwards remove to a cool and
airy part of the green-house, and let
them remain till February. In that
month, pot off into small sixties, and
when well rooted in these pots, two or
more healthy and well-shaped plants of
each variety put into larger pots accord-
ing to their size. While young, care
must be taken that the earth, in which
they are growing, does not become
soured by over watering, or the plants
will soon become sickly. When they
have filled these pots with roots, the
plants must be removed into larger
pots and carefully tied up to sticks in
order to keep the leading shoots up-
right, as several of the varieties have a
tendency to grow downward, and it is
only with constant care that these va-
rieties are kept vigorous.

" About the second week in June,
shift for the last time into pots suffi-



the year than the Fuchsia, but the best \ ciently large to bloom them in ; in pot-



season is from the end of May to the
end of July. Have the cuttings about
three inches long; strip the leaves off
the lower half of their lengths, and plant
in pots, having the surface of the com-
post in them to the depth of an inch
covered with sand. Plant in this the
cuttings, so thattheir ends just touch the
compost. Moisten the sand, place the
pots in a green-house under the cover
of hand-glasses. When rooted, pot
singly in sixties.

By grafting. — "The early part of



ting particular attention must be paid
to the drainage, so that the superabund-
ant water may be easily passed off.

" Plants treated in this manner will
begin to bloom profusely at the latter
end of July, and continue flowering till
the end of Septjjmber ; during this pe-
riod the pots should be placed in pans,
so that the plant may be well supplied
with water, and yet not constantly
soaked in it.

" Plants thus treated, with their
shoots pruned to three or four buds,



May is suitable for grafting /Mc/isias, or I form beautiful objects for turning out
rather for inarching them, as this is de- I into the flower garden the following
cidedly the most successful mode of summer; but if very large specimens
combining more than one variety upon , are required, their pot room must be



FUE



241



FUM



increased, and they should be grown i duct will be the quantity of fuel required



in the open air



to heat a cubic foot of air, one degree ;



" Those who cultivate the Fuchsia, and twenty times that quantity will heat



with the desire of obtaining it in the
greatest perfection, should remember
that in its native haunts it flourishes
under the shade of loftier shrubs. Rea-
son, therefore, suggests, and experience



it twenty degrees ; thirty times will heal
it thirty degrees, and so on. Now
0.0075 lbs. of best coals will heat a
cubic foot of water one degree ; there-
fore 0.000002625 lbs. of best coals will