63 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Mistletoe. — A. B. C. Cherry wood. — Mistletoe 

 may be propagated by grafting as well as by 

 seed ; and the proper season to graft is the 

 month of May. The trees on which the grafts 

 take best are the apple, pear, lime, poplar, 

 and willow. On the oik it rarely thrives, per- 

 haps never by artificial propagation. To graft 

 the mistletoe, choose a fork of the tree, or a 

 healthy horizontal branch, not less than six feet 

 from the ground, and not more than twelve feet. 

 The graft must consist of a slice of wood, with 

 only one bud and leaf at the end. Insert this 

 in un incision made in the bark of the tree, and 

 tie over with bast, aud cover w.th gralting clay. 

 Pieces of the ihick stem of mistletoe, whicli will 

 make grafts half an inch thick, should be in- 

 serted after the method of crown grafting, in a 

 notch, aud the graft cut with a shoulder to fit 

 on the notch. Cactus plants maybe watered 

 now, if in a warm house; if in a cool house, 

 merely to keep them, wait till they show signs 

 of growth, as the atmospheric moisture is suffi- 

 cient to keep them alive till then. We cannot 

 name ferns from imperfect specimens : yours 

 appears to be Polystichium angulare. 



Herbaceous Florists' Flowers. — W. C. Nash, 

 M.D. — You cannot do better than obtain " Gar- 

 den Favourite3andExhibitionFlowets," inwhich 

 there are full lists of all the best carnations, 

 picotees, polyanthuses, etc., with descriptions of 

 colour and habit, and treatises on their cultiva- 

 tion. Then, from those lists, choose a few of the 

 most distinct colours, and make practical ac- 

 quaintance with them by blooming them your- 

 self. It is impossible to give minutely accurate 

 descriptions of flowers in writing, because of the 

 numerous gradations of tint and tone among 

 them. You do not say how high is the pedestal 

 of the sun-dial, nor what is its diameter. How 

 are we to judge of plants for it without knowing 

 firat how much space there is for them to cover ? 

 Perhaps Tropaeolum peregrinum would serve the 

 purpose. Ceanothus papillosus is a charming 

 evergreen climber for such a purpose, if the po- 

 sition is a warm one. 



Sulphate op Ammonia. — H. A. C. — All luxuriant 

 growing plants like sulphate of ammonia. For 

 plants in pots, use a quarter of an ounce to a 

 gallon of water, and administer not oftener than 

 once a week. Grape vines, fuchsias, petunias, 

 and other fast-growing plants in pots, will be 

 improved by it, but geraniums are apt to become 

 gross, except the variegated kinds, which need 

 more stimulus than common ones. For kitchen 

 crops, it is best used in a liquid form, hah? an 

 ounce to the gallon, or it may be thinly strewed 

 as a top dressing for cabbage, cauliflower, peas, 

 beans, lettuce, etc. Bone dust is best used in the 

 drills, when seeds of kitchen crops are sown. Six 

 pounds are enough for thirty square yards, if 

 sown in the drills with the seed ; if sown broad- 

 cast, use ten pounds to thirty square yards. 



Mycelium of Fungi. — Rote. — If the soilofyour 

 rose-bed contains no rotten wood, the mycelium 

 will probably disvi ear. We think you have 

 mistaken the miiuew which is met with in half- 

 decayed dung for the terrible pest. It is true 

 that the roots of standard roses are more liable 

 to be affected by mycelium than any other trees, 

 except some kinds of pines, and in several parts 

 of the country whole plantations of pines and 

 firs have been destroyed by it. We advise you 

 to leave the roses alone for the present. Next 

 November take up all that appear sickly, trim 

 away, by a clean cut with a sharp knife, every 

 portion of root which has white threads on it, 

 unless the whole root is covered, in which case 

 you must be content to wash them well. Then 

 replant, and fill in the holes with fresh turfy 

 loam, and mulch the surface with three inches 

 of half-rotten manure. Your other query is 

 answered by an article. The lecture will not 

 be published. 



Pear-tree Unfruitful. — R. Gregory, 6-retton. — 

 A tree that flowers freely may be unfruitful, 

 either through being so much exposed that the 

 spring frosts destroy its young produce, or the 

 roots of the tree may be in such an un<. r enial 

 soil that there is not a proper sap action between 

 them and the leaves to bring the fruit to matu- 

 rity. We do not understand what you mean by 

 the tree being " bored." As the tree is on a 

 clay subsoil, it has probably sent down a tap 

 root into that subsoil ; if so, it is not surprising 

 it should prove unfruitful. The only advice we 

 can give is to wait till next November, and then 

 dig a trench round the tree, and undermine it 

 on one side sufficiently to get at the tap root, 

 which must be cut through with a chisel. Then 

 fill in the trench with fresh soil, and be careful 

 to lay out the surface roots with cave, and it 

 ■n ill probably give a crop the next season. 



Plumbago Capensis. — J. R.— The angle of green- 

 house to be covered with Plumbago Capensis 

 contains about thirty square feet, and faces 

 south-west, and you propose to plant in a large 

 pot, and train as fast as you can get growth to 

 lay in. Take our advice, and abolish the pot, 

 which, however large, will so cramp the roots 

 that the plant will never grow as you wish it. 

 Plant it out as you would a fruit-tree, with 

 plenty of stuff for its roots to run into, say good 

 loam, with one -fourth of leaf-mould or turfy 

 peat added. If it is not convenient to give the 

 roots a good border, box in a space with rough 

 boards sufficiently large to hold four barrows of 

 stuff. Give plenty of water all summer, and use 

 the knife judiciously to get a surface growth. 

 If you persevere in using a pot, we predict a 

 failure. Clematis Sieboldii would do for the 

 same purpose, and look charming. 



Trade Catalogues. — "E. G. Henderson and 

 Son'3 Seed List, I860." This well-prepared ca- 

 talogue of ninety-six pages is as full of interest 

 as it is full of subjects, and, if carefully looked 

 over just now, many suggestions will arise out 

 of it for the present season's planting. Among 

 the novelties are the following : — Lychnis Ha- 

 ageana, which we figured last summer, and de- 

 scribed as a charming border-flower ; Linum 

 candidissimum, a white flowering flax ; Mell- 

 ville's auricula-flowered Sweet Williams, an ad- 

 vance in the right direction ; three new varie- 

 ties of Dianthus, from Japan ; three new Bou- 

 vardias ; Ipomoea limbata elegantissitna, a new 

 and lovely hybrid ; Michauxia campanulata, a 

 new hardy border-flower, five feet high, with 

 white flowers, habit like Campanula pyra- 

 midalis; hybrid Pyrethrums, and many very 

 choice greenhouse and stove shrubs, her- 

 baceous plants, etc., etc., in addition to 

 the regular stock for Igreenhouse, flower, and 

 kitchen garden. — "Hooper and Co.'s Spring 

 Catalogue, 1860." This is the Covent Garden 

 house, which supplies Loomes's Cable Edging, 

 Pascall's cutting and fern pots, hair-pins for 

 pegging, the new crystal label, Gidney's fumi- 

 gator, all sorts of patent manures, shading and 

 miscellaneous appliances. The seed-list is al- 

 phabetically arranged, and is preceded by some 

 notes on culture that may be read with profit. — 

 " Milne and Co.'s Priced Catalogue of Kitchen 

 Garden, Flower, and Agricultural Seeds." A 

 short summary of the best varieties in each of 

 the several classes, and a sufficient list of an- 

 nuals for all ordinary purposes. — "Select List 

 of Kitchen Garden and Flower Seeds, Boots, 

 etc., sold by Edwin Cooling, Mile Ash Nurseries, 

 Derby." Like the last-named catalogue, this is 

 short and sweet, but nothing of orthodox utility 

 left out. It is well arranged, and prettily 

 printed, and contains a very good selection of 

 hardy, greenhouse, and stove plants, at reason- 

 able prices. — " James Carter and Co.'s Gar- 

 dener's Vade Mecum." An enlargement of 

 Messrs. Carter's usual spring list, with cultural 



