41 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Catalogues Received. — Sutton and Sons, 

 Reading, "Amateur's Guide for 1865" 

 5s one of the most interesting of the 

 many excellent lists published by this 

 enterprising firm. It is full of informa- 

 tion ; the lists of seeds, roots, etc., are so 

 arranged as to render the task of select- 

 ing sorts for any purpose most easy and 

 certain; and there are well-drawn figures 

 of thirty-four varieties of roots, peas, 

 etc., etc. 



Aphelandra, Lilium, etc. — Will a plant 

 of Aphelandra live in the winter, in a 

 greenhouse where the frost only is ex- 

 cluded ? when it should be repotted, 

 and in what soil ? — in short, the treat- 

 ment it requires ? I cannot tell which 

 variety we have, but the green leaves 

 have white lines in them. I wish also to 

 know if the Japan lilium will flower in 

 the autumn, if the bulbs are bought in 

 the spring. What is the best time to 

 pot Tritonia aurea, to flower in August 

 or September? I trust you will ex- 

 cuse the trouble I give. — Farringdon. 

 [Aphelandra cristata (which yours most 

 probably is) is a stove plant, ami will 

 not live in the greenhouse, unless it is 

 unusually warm. Warmth sufficient for 

 its well-doing would be injurious to the 

 usual inmates of the ordinary green- 

 house. Unless you can accommodate it 

 with suitable conditions, you had better 

 not trouble yourself with it, as make- 

 shift treatment will yield you nothing 

 more than disappointment. If you 

 possess a stove, your plant should have 

 a rest, after flowering, until April, when 

 repot with equal parts peat, loam, leaf- 

 mould, and one-sixth silver sand, well 

 chopped up and incorporated, but not 

 sifted. Place in the stove, in a light 

 and airy situation, syringe mcrning and 

 evening throughout the summer ; when 

 August has arrived, give less water, so 

 that the growth may be ripened ; still 

 retaining it in the stove ; and it will, in 

 its season, flower finely, making a rich 

 display with its fine orange blossoms. 

 Japan lilies will flower very well, if not 

 planted till the spring ; but, in order to 

 bloom strong, they ought never to be 

 out of the ground after the middle of 

 November, because as soon as the stems 

 have decayed they begin to make new 

 roots for the development of the plant 

 in the following year. We always shake 

 out, and repot within the first half of 

 November, and invariably have a vigor- 

 ous bloom. Almost exactly the same 

 remarks will apply to Tritonia aurea. As 



soon as the flower-stems are decayed, 

 which will generally be by the end of 

 October, shake out and divide the 

 corms, and pot them to grow imme- 

 diately. The roots of this plant, like 

 those of the Japan lilies, never really 

 rest, but as soon as the stems and leaves 

 are decayed, begin immediately to pro- 

 trude fresh roots. It is just at this nick 

 of time repotting should be attended to.] 

 IlAEDr Thymes, Heaths, Shbubs, etc. — 

 How many kinds of hardy thymes are 

 there known ? Also, hardy ericas ? 

 And will you give me a list of hardy- 

 shrubs of good quality suitable for a 

 small lawn and a bold piece of rock- 

 work ? Cassia corymbosa (see Floral 

 World, 1863, 280), is still in its eastern 

 situation, and without any covering but 

 a few ashes at its roots, stood its third 

 winter well, and is now in beautiful health 

 and vigour. — Erica. [We know of but 

 six or seven species of thyme that are 

 not hardy, every other will bear our 

 climate with impunity. Thymus serpyl- 

 lum, or mother of thyme as it is called, 

 is really one of the prettiest plants of 

 the whole genus ; when in bloom it is 

 quite a carpet of delicious pink, and 

 when out of flower makes an interesting 

 tuft of green for the rest of the year. 

 T. vulgaris and its variegated form, and 

 lemon thyme, are the only kinds you 

 wouid be likely to meet with excepting 

 you could procure them by exchange or 

 other w so from some botanic garden. 

 Hardy heaths, Erica Australis,E. ciliaris, 

 E.cinerea, and its varieties ; E. herbacea, 

 one of the very best ; E. Mediterranea, 

 truly handsome ; E. ramulosa, E. teralix, 

 and several varieties ; E, vagnus, and its 

 white variety ; and several others which 

 can be procured at any respectable nursery. 

 Suitable shrubs for the lawn will be a 

 selection from coniferous plauts, as they 

 arc thoroughly hardy and at all times 

 interesting. Twelve of the best : Pinus 

 excelsa, P. Cembra, P. Cenabra nana, 

 Abies Morinda, A. excelsa, A. excelsa 

 nana, Cedrus deodara, Juniperus Phoe- 

 nicia, J. sinensis, Cupressus torulosa, 

 J. recurva, Araucaria imbriata, and 

 many others of equal beauty and interest. 

 For rock-work Cotonea-ster microphylln, 

 C. Hookeri, C. Simmonsii, Genista pros- 

 trata, G. tinctoria pleno, several Cistuses, 

 Juniperus tamarixifolia, and others.] 

 Climber fob Greenhouse in the Citv, 

 — Will you tell me of a quick-growing 

 climber, suitable for growing round the 

 door of a greenhouse (inside), in the 



