110 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GLIDE. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Tomatoes in Pots. — A. 2?.— We should not ex- 

 pect good fruit in less than six-inch pots. In 

 live-inch pots they would give hulf-a-dozen fruits 

 each, if kept strong with liquid manure. They 

 ought now to be strong plants, with half-a-dozen 

 or more rough leaves upon them. Powell's 

 Early Tomato will suit those who sow late, as 

 it quickly makes up ior lost time. 

 Fern Culture— Gardenias.— A. B. S.— Asple- 

 nium nidus is ordinarily propagated from spores. 

 A healthy plant never makes offsets. For spores, 

 therefore, you must wait iu hope. Mr. Chitty 

 tells us of a plant which lost its crown through 

 bad management, but, after being kept with 

 care for tvvelve months, it made three offsets, 

 which are now independent and respectable 

 young plants. Asi lenium Halleri is not in Mr. 

 Sim's catalogue ; but remember that is a cata- 

 logue of plants offered/or sale, and if Mr. Sim 

 has no stock of it sufficient to justify an entry, 

 there is no reason for it to appear. In Smith's 

 catalogue, 1857, page 15, Asplenium No. 27, it 

 is entered as synonymous with A. fontanum. 

 Whether it has at any time assumed a form to 

 lead Mr. Smith to such a conclusiou, we cannot 

 say ; but we believe it to be distinct ironi A. fon- 

 tanum, which, under liberal treatment, makes 

 fronds four or live inches in height, sharply 

 serrated, and pinnated; whereas, A. Halleri, 

 under the same treatment, does not grow half 

 the size, and the serratun s and pinnules are 

 obtnse and rounded. Gardenias infested wi'h 

 hlack ily should be put into a "brisk atmospheric 

 warmth, be well saturated with moisture, and 

 have frequent syringing to induce root action, 

 and the tly will disappear. Keep in peat till 

 June, then transfer to a cool pit, and alter that 

 set them out in ihe open air, in a warm place, 

 to harden till September, when they should be 

 returned to the greenhouse, and have only just 

 enough water to retain their foliage through 

 the winter. In February set them going again 

 in heat, either in a dung bed or a moist stove, 

 and you will have plenty of bloom, and no 

 more ily. 

 Eugenia Ugni. — J. B., JBaUymacheogh; — The 

 reason we have deferred giving any lengthened 

 account of Eugenia ugni is, because we were 

 ■waiting to decide some few points as to the ma- 

 nagement of the fruit to insure good colour 

 and the relative hardiness of the plant. The 

 late severe winter has settled the last-named 

 point to some extent. The plants put out at 

 Stoke Newington, under a south-west wall, grew 

 vigorously, and endured the severe frosts ol 

 1858-9, but were killed to the ground last De- 

 cember. At Forest Hill, a fine plant stood in 

 Mr. Mongredien's peat bed, beside Grieslinia 

 littoralis ; the Grieslinia is as hearty as ever, 

 but Eugenia is gone. In your milder climate 

 it may probably be quite hardy under a west 

 wall, and your moist soil will agree with and suit 

 it well. Inordinary wintersit has provedhardy 

 near London. So, also, Farfugiuni grande would 

 probably stand the winter well with you ; but 

 here we have been afraid to put it to such a 

 trial, though now it is to be had cheap we shall 

 do so. Plant it in a deep, rich, loamy soil, iu a 

 shady situation, and leave it to itself. With the 

 Pampas grass, you inhabitants of the Emerald 

 Isle may do wonders. 

 Chrysanthemum Lists. — J. B. — You complain 

 that La Vogue, Bob, Brilliant, and others, give 

 fine top blooms, and lew side blooms. Wow, if 

 you had read your Floral World with atten- 

 tion, you would have learned by this time that 

 the top buds should be taken out as soon as they 

 show themselves in plants not intended for cut 

 blooms. Here is a list of early flowering sorts : 

 —Large; Albin Gondereau, crimson plum; Au- 



rore boreale, orange, with narrow gold tip ; 

 1'oudre d'Or, purple mauve, and reddish orange; 

 Sabrina, white, first-rate for borders; Triotuphe 

 du Nord, light red chesnut ; Yiscomtess de Bel- 

 ville, silvery ros e ; Genevieve, paper white ; 

 Madlle. E. de Voison, white ; Madame Per- 

 tuzes, orange-crimson anemone, excellent for 

 borders; Vesta, white. Pompones — Emma, 

 rosy purple ; Madame Pepin, red and orange; 

 Mont Blanc, white ; Boule Rose, blush ; Argen- 

 tine, white ; Atala, white and rose; Autunma, 

 orange brown; Urine Drine, yellow ; Charle- 

 magne, red ; Graziella, blush rose. Twelve 

 Earliest Pompones — Adrastus, hybrid mauve ; 

 Andromeda, lilac rose; Arc en ciel, carmine; 

 Frederick Pole, bright crimson, splendid ; Hen- 

 dersonii, yellow ; La Niege, white ; Marechal 

 Magnan, rosy liiac ; Madlle. Lucille, yellow; 

 Mr. Ferducet, hybrid crimson ; Orion, yellow ; 

 St. Flore, blush ; Scarlet Gem, crimson scarlet. 

 — J. Booking. — Six Anemone-floicered for bloom- 

 ing under glass : Mr. Astie, gold yellow, a bril- 

 liant flower ; Golden Cedo Nulii, makes a grand 

 specimen ; Astrea, lilac blush and gold centre; 

 Mr. Shirley Hibberd. rose lilac and gold cen- 

 tre, very distinct; Robert le Diable, red salmon; 

 Margueridetto, rose carmine. 

 Hoeticultuhal Societies. — Constant Beader 

 will gain inlorniation and intellectual com- 

 panionship by joining a society. He will learn 

 the minutiaj of specimen-culture from fellow- 

 members who are devoted to exhibition-culture, 

 have the advantage of exchanging seeds and cut- 

 tings, and have opportunities of doing good 

 among his neighbours by aiding in the spread 

 of horticultural knowledge. Perhaps for what 

 he may do there may be as great an inducement 

 • tojoinasfor what he can get. The penalties 

 of membership include paymeut of subscription, 

 occasional suppression of differences, attend- 

 ance at meetings, and perhaps the holding of 

 office— penalties which are p easures to men 

 whose heart is in the cause. Farlugium grande 

 will stand the sun, but is better in a west aspect. 

 W ire-work may be in the best taste as an accom- 

 paniment to burr edgings, if not over fantastical 

 in pattern. 

 Violet Culture — Ornamental Grasses. — M. 

 L. S. — We are quite surprised to hear of violets 

 refusing to bloom at Wanstead, where there 

 are millions about the roots of the pollard trees, 

 and along the shady sides of the water-courses. 

 We have them as thick as a carpet, and as luxu- 

 riant as ivy along the foot of a privet hedge, 

 and the only treatment they get is an accidental 

 chop now and then from the spade, and we can 

 get a dish ot blooms to put in sand under a bell- 

 glass anytime in their season. You must plant 

 in a shady place, in a mixture of rich sandy 

 loam, peat, and charred rubbish, and then leave 

 them alone. They don't like to be disturbed. 

 But better than the wild violet is the Neapoli- 

 tan, which forces admirably. Russian violets 

 are very hardy, and there are several varieties — 

 single and double white, and single and double 

 blue. The usual seasons for planting out of 

 doors are February and October, but you may 

 plant now, if you can get good plants in pots 

 that have not been forced. Give plenty of 

 water all the summer, and remove any runners 

 that are likely to render the clumps too crowded. 

 The grasses you have in pots should be planted 

 out as soon as possible. As they have been 

 raised in heat, they must be hardened off first 

 in a frame. They will die down in autumn, and 

 be seen no more. 

 Seedling Pinks and Pansies.— Young Sub- 

 scriber. — One reason why people fail to get good 

 double carnations and well-shaped pansies, is 

 because they begin with bad seed. Unless saved 



