From the same boiler, I conducted into the two peach-houses adjoining, a range of pipes furnished with steam-cocks. They passed the whole length of the houses, (101 f. 6 in.). By means of these, the peach-houses were regularly steamed near one hour a-day in the evening, in the time of flowering and of fruit-setting. Steaming, it may be remarked, is very important at these times. In after periods, when I had not an apparatus for the purpose, I always steamed the peach-house with a large piece of cast-iron, made red hot in one of the furnaces, and put into a white-iron pail nearly full of water; the whole water thus evaporating into steam. I was always successful, while in practice as a gardener, in raising a full crop of peaches; and think that much was owing to attention to steaming. “I afterwards erected Pine-stoves for John Hervey, Esq. of Castlesemple, to be heated by steam; and one of the plant-pits had a chamber below, with a close bottom, into which chamber, steam was thrown by means of cast-iron pipes. About the same time, I was applied to by Sir Hew Hamilton Dalrymple, Bart. (through Mr. James Dodds, his gardener), to examine his Pine-stoves at Bargany, and to report whether I thought they could be improved, as he hitherto had not been so successful in Pine-Apples as he expected. One principal cause was, the difficulty of obtaining tan. Upon my report, it was to be determined, whether to give up the Pine-Apple culture altogether, or endeavour to improve the stoves. “Upon examining, I advised the heating of the atmosphere of the houses with steam; and in place of using tan, the heating of the bottom of the plant-pit with steam also.” This advice was adopted, and eighteen months after the plan was executed, the gardener, Mr. James Dodds, gives the follow-account of his success. “It is now eighteen months since I first began to heat the Pine-stoves here with steam. I have thus been enabled to give it a fair trial, and I am fully satisfied that it is superior to the old method of heating by fire-flues. I have found the plants to grow more luxuriantly, and perfectly clean of any kind of _insects_. The moist heat arising from steam is well known to be hostile to all kinds of vermin. It is, besides, more economical: our Pine-stoves here are seventy feet long, it formerly took two fires to keep up the heat of the atmospheric air of the house, whereas in the new method of heating by steam, one fire to heat the boiler is sufficient, except in very cold nights, when I have found it necessary to light a very small fire to the flue, to meet the decline of the steam in the morning, and this only to the fruiting-house in the spring months, when the Pines begin to show their fruit. In short, I have found no difficulty in keeping up the heat of the house to sixty degrees, by making up the fire to the boiler at ten o’clock at night, and at six o’clock in the morning.