of Brazil, was introduced by that zealous cultivator, Mrs. Arnold Harrison, and flowered, for the first time, it is believed, in this country, in 1832.-Bot. Reg. It requires the same kind of treatment as it regards heat &c. as Pine Apples.

ARTICLE XVI.-CULTURE OF CAPE BULBS.

ALL the Cape Irideæ require one general mode of treatment; which, with a few exceptions, may be stated as follows:-

1. Pot the roots, or plant them in a border in front of a stove or greenhouse, or other sheltered place, during the month of October. Let the soil be composed of equal parts of leaf-mould, sandy loam, and peat, well mixed.

2. If planted in pots, set them in a cold frame, and protect them from severe weather, till the pots are pretty well filled with roots; then remove them to the greenhouse, or room where they are intended to flower.

3. When potted they must be watered very sparingly, until they And have produced leaves, and begin to show their flower stems. after flowering, when the leaves are dead, keep the roots perfectly dry in the pots. If planted in a border or frame, they must be completely preserved from rains, snow, or frost, particularly during their dormant state: in the former case a good thickness of litter will answer the purpose; and in the latter, the frame may be covered with lights.

4. The usual flowering season is April, May, and June, but some species flower somewhat earlier, others later. The plants at that time require to stand in light airy places, and should receive a good supply of water.

5 It is not well to take up the bulbs in less than two or three years, at which times all the offsets should be taken off; but such as are in pots, must be invariably re-potted every October. No person who cultivates Cape Bulbs should be without Streptanthera cuprea and elegans; Sparaxis lineata, grandiflora and tricolor; Ixia Heleni, flexuosa, and viridiflora; Trichonema rosea, and some others.

ARTICLE XVII.

DESCRIPTION OF A PORTABLE HOT WATER APPARATUS FOR HEATING ROOMS OR CONSERVATORIES.

BY MR. JOSHUA MAJOR.

THE apparatus may be made of tin or copper; the latter, though of course it would cost more at first, would, owing to its durability no doubt, be the cheapest. Charcoal is employed for heating the apparatus: oil lamps have been tried instead of it, but with not near so good an effect. As it is necessary to employ pipes to conduct the effluvium, arising from the charcoal, out of the place required to be warmed, it will, in order, to secure all the heat possible, be of importance to introduce a sufficient length to allow the whole heat to pass off, before the ends of the pipes are turned to the outside. In order to make the smoke conductors suitable for any situation, it is only necessary, in addition to the elbow-pipes, to be provided with several lengths of straight pipes, placing one elbow upon the permanent smoke conductor connected with the fire, and the other at the extremity, or midway of the piping, as it may be required. The larger

The size of the

sized apparatus could not well be more than eight feet long; for, if larger, it would be inconvenient to move about. one which appears the most useful is as follows: The whole height of the centre portion of the apparatus, comprising the boiler, &c. is

15 inches, and width, 54 inches, by 74 inches; the fire-pan is 5 in. by 4 inches, and 33 inches deep; surrounded on three sides by a boiler half an inch in diameter, which becomes more spacious upwards, as the fire place diminishes. The opening necessary for the reception of the fire-pan, and for supplying it with fuel, is 6 inches wide, by 5 inches deep; at the top of this opening the fire-place commences tapering; consequently the water in the boiler expands more immediately over the fire; the smoke pipe takes its regular width, 1 inch, in the boiler, about an inch below where the lid unites ; the horizontal water pipes (a) fig. 17, are each 28 inches loug, by two inches in diameter; the end pipes (b) are 14 inches, by 3 inches diameter; a feeder (c) is added, in case it should be thought better to have the lid fixed tight on the boiler. In order to promote the circulation of the water small holes are to be perforated in the top of the lids (d d) which are also intended to be fixed tight. The apparatus may either be placed on the floor of the place to be warmed, or raised by bearers, or suspended by wire or cord, the two latter methods assist the fire to burn more freely.—Gardeners' Magazine.

ARTICLE XVIII.

FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR,

FOR APRIL.

Auriculas' coming into flower must have the small buds thinned out, never leaving more than ten buds, and those the finest size. Shelter from the Sun by shades.

Annuals, both hardy and tender, may still be sown.

Carnations. Plant of the last year's layers in large pots.

Camelias should now be potted, in doing this attend to the rules. Biennials should now be attended to.

Hydrangeas may still be propagated by cuttings.

Pomegranates may be propagated by layers about the end of the

month.

Mimulus roseus.- -Smithü Youngü,and others, will now be coming generally into flower in the greenhouses. Sow the annual

species in the beginning of the month.

Passiflora Kennesina and other species may be propagated by cuttings about the end of the month.

Pelargoniums now struck in a hotbed frame, and potted off as soon as rooted will flower in November.

Ranunculuses planted in the beginning will flower in July.

Schizanthus retusus, and other half hardy species and varieties should be potted this month if they require it.

Cinerarias of different species may be sown as soon as the seeds are ripe, in pots of light rich earth.

Rose Trees may now be budded, but the buds must have a sinall portion of wood adhering to them.

Lobellia fulgens may now be shifted into good sized pots, in which it will flower.

Erico. Cuttings may now be planted in sand, under a bell-glass, and place the pots on a shelf in the greenhouse, and shade them from the Sun.

NATURAL HISTORY.

ARTICLE XIX.-GEOLOGICAL POSITIONS.

(Continued from page 163.)

Second Line of Argument.—A river consists of fresh waters of a district, seeking their level in the waters of the ocean.

2nd.-Rivers usually flow in valleys to which their size and force bear no sort of proportion, and which, must, therefore, have been formed by an agency distinct from that of the waters now following through them.

3rd. These valleys must have been scooped out by a force, similar to that of which we have distinct proof in the valleys of the chalk districts, which have never been occupied by rivers. We are also certain of this having been an aqueous agent, from the well known fact of their always ending on the exact level of the ocean.

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4th. All valleys occupied by rivers terminate at length in this general level, in the same manner as the chalk valleys, without rivers, once did, though these latter are now often cut short by sea cliffs.

5. The bed of every river is a plane, more or less inclined, according to circumstances.

6. As we know that the corroding action of the sea is incessant, and consequently that all sea coasts have been gradually encroaching on the lands, from the very first moment that they became sea coasts; as we also know with certainty, that, at the period when this action first began, the valleys must all have terminated, as they still do, in the exact level of the sea, we have a right to conclude that the time cannot be very distant when this corroding action first began.

7th. If we assume that the general average decay of a coast is but one foot per annum, (and it will not be denied that it is considerably more upon a larger proportion of coasts) and if we take so short a period, geologically speaking, as only one hundred thousand years, we must suppose that more than eighteen miles have been lost from the original mouths of all rivers.

8th-Had this been the case, we must have found a waterfall, or rapid, at the mouth of every river: and consequently all inland navigation from the sea must have been impossible, except in perfectly flat countries.

9th. As we rarely find such falls, or rapids, at the mouths of rivers, and as we have reason to know on the contrary, that their originally inclined planes have neither been materially altered in inclination, nor shortened in extent, we must conclude, that the loss of land on all sea coasts, has, as yet, been but small, and, consequently, that the unceasing action of the waves has been but of recent origin.

10. As the superficial slopes of all hilly countries lead the eye, in a regular line, to the level of the sea, in about one mile, more or less, according to the consistency of the shores, we cannot avoid the very same conclusion, which we have before attained in a more exact manner, in the instance of the chalk: viz. that all our present sea coasts have been acted upon by the sea but a very few thousands of years, and consequently that all existing dry lands were elevated above the level of the ocean, at the same recent period.-Field Nat.

ARTICLE XX.-SPOTS ON THE SUN,

NUMEROUS and fanciful notions have been recently broached on this subject, but only one seems to have any degree of physical probability, viz. that they are the dark, or at least comparatively dark, solid body of the Sun itself, laid bare to our view by those immense fluctuations in the luminous regions of its atmosphere, to which it appears to be subject. Respecting the manner in which this disclosure takes place, different ideas have been again advocated. Lalande