ilO 



rilR FLORAL WORLD AND ftARDEN GUIDE, 



turfbd over; the furnuce is sunk below the 

 ground level, in a pit at the end, sis indi- 

 cated by the dotted lines, wliicli communi- 

 cates with a flue running along the inside of 

 the front wall to the chimney. And let me 

 say here, that a moveable brick should be 

 let in at a and h, for the purpose of clean- 

 ing the flue. A common furnace, such as 

 is used for a small copper, will do ; and 



the furnace-pit should becovered with a fold- 

 ing lid. On the top of the pit-walls is a 

 wood sill, 4^ inches by 2i inches, and 

 cross-bars to slide the ligr.ts upon ; the 

 whole covered with three well -glazed lights. 

 The plant stage inside the pit may consist 

 of simple boards, which can be raised or 

 lowered, according tothewants of the plants, 

 by placing them on blocks of wood. 



NEW STEAWBEEEY " OSCAR. 



Mk. Charles Tuiinek, of the Royal Nur- 

 sery, Slough, is now offering plants of this 

 fine strawberry, of which he possesses the 

 entire stock. "Oscar" was submitted to 

 the Fruit Committee of the Horticultural 

 Society, July 5, 1858, accompanied by the 

 following statement : — '•' The plant is strong 

 and healtli3% and bears better than the 

 British Queen in our soil, which is very 

 strong. The fruitwillattainalargersize than 

 those sent, the best having been gathered 

 .'ibout a week ago. The fruit appears ripe j 

 several days before it actually is so. I can- I 

 not exactlystate its parentage, as I gathered i 

 .seed of British Queen, Keens' Seedling, and 

 Alice Maud, and saved all together." The ' 



Committee reported on its merits as fol- 

 lows : — "Fruit large, ovate, frequently 

 flattened on the sides, or cockscomb shaped ; 

 shining dark red, flesh firm, flavour supe- 

 rior, remarkably sweet, with a brisk aroma; 

 it was considered a valuable variety worthy 

 of cultivation." It has been honoured by 

 a silver medal av/arded by the Royal Botanic 

 Society, .June 15, 1859, the prize for the 

 best seedling Strawberry by the Pomo- 

 logical Society, June 23, and the first prize 

 for best dish of Strawberries at Nottingham, 

 June 30. We sti'ongly recommend Oscar 

 for its beauty, flavour, and long duration. 

 [Price 423. per 100.] 



INAECHma PASSIPLOEAS. 



"London Subscmbeu" asks about the 

 temperature in which the plant grows, on 

 which I added the varieties named by 

 inarching. The plant of Passillora edulis 

 was growing at the back of an early vinery, 

 where it receives considerable warmth in 

 summei'; doubtless, "Subscriber" may also 

 graft or iuai-eh in the same manner upon 

 his P. cajrulea, in a cool greenhouse, any of 

 the following varieties, viz. :— P. ca^rulea 

 racemosa, purple ; P. ca^rulea augustifolia, 

 white and blue; P. cterulea cbinensis, 



I white and blue ; P. Andersonii, striped ; 



! P. palmata, white and blue ; P. Loudonii, 

 purple. To bloom them, keep the roots 



j within reasonable bounds by cutting in 



! winter, and spur back the branches in 

 early spring ; after which treat liberally 

 with water, both at the root and over the 

 foliage, during the growing season, for they 

 will not bloom if starved, or infested with 

 red spider. If the desired varieties can- 

 not now be procured for inarching, try 

 grafting in spring. H. 



; o c-o-c-c-o ~ c-c-ic o-Doc-o-c-o c z< 



EENEALMIA NUTANS. 



Like the query about Nesbris Japonica, 

 which proved to be Mespilus Japonica, the 

 above-named plant is inquired after by 

 "E. C," under the mis-spelt name of! 

 Einalmea nutans. Renealmia nutans, or i 

 Alpinia nutans of Sweet, belongs to the I 

 tribe of Giugerworts, and is a valuable ' 

 stove herbaceous perennial. There are 

 about thirty species of Alpinia known in i 

 English gardens, but there is only cne i 



that will do well in greenhouse tempera- 

 ture, and that is penicillata. They all 

 require liberal treatment, soil, rich sandy 

 loam and peat, with abundance of water 

 while growing, and no stint of pot-room. 

 They should be shaken out and repotted 

 every year, as they exhaust the soil by 

 their voracious feeding during a season's 

 growth. After flow oriug, the stems should 

 be allowed to die down without cutting 



