THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



239 



if a little gets in the soil during the operation 

 of syringiug. The mixture of soda should be 

 as stated, 'A lbs. of soda to 1 oz. of aloes for 

 robust subjects, and to be quickly -washed off. 

 The inixtui-e of soft-soap and aloes was left on 

 all night and washed away in the morning ; per- 

 haps, if washed off quickly, it would do no 

 harm. We turned the pots upside down, and 

 dipped the heads of the plants into the solution, 

 holib'ng them in it suiEeieutly long to get every 

 part well wetted. Pot plants of any size should 

 always be dipped in preference to syringuig, as it 

 wets them more thoroughly, and none ofthe mix- 

 ture gets to the soil as they are placed between 

 two laths, head downwards, to drip for awhile. 



MAGXOLiA.^Jlfrs. Thomson. — If your plant be- 

 longs to the grandiflora section it will need no 

 covering in wmter. The soil that suits it best 

 is a very sandy peat, with a dry subsoil on good 

 artificial drainage. They will do, however, in 

 stiff loams, but should then be planted in peat- 

 sand and leaf-mould to give them a start. If 

 the leader is of suiUcicnt length to fcol the action 

 of the wind, tie it in at ouce to prevent acci- 

 dents. The Maidenhair fern does no good in 

 the open air when under cultivation. It should 

 be potted in a compost of turfy peat, largely 

 intermixed with sdver-sand and nodules of 

 charcoal and broken flower-pots of the size of 

 hazel-nuts, and smaller, and then covered with 

 a bell-glass. It is a free grower in a warm, 

 moist air, with shade, and the best Wardian 

 Case fern we have. 



Books a>'d C'AiALOGrES Keceived. — "Autumn 

 Catalogue of Dutch and Cape Bulbs, to be had 

 of James Carter and Co., 237, High Holborn." 

 This is a great improvement on the " Bulb 

 Catalogue" previously published by Messrs. 

 Carter, and will be found a most instructive 

 guide to persous makmg selections of Ijidbs for 

 garden and greenhouse culture. In addition to 

 the popular kinds, of which Messrs. Carter are 

 largo importers, there are hsls of rare and 

 curious flowering bulbs, alphabetically arranged, 

 and accompanied >vith descriptive and cultural 

 notes, comprising all the best species and varie- 

 ties for stove and greenhouse. A very full list 

 of herbaceous and alpine plants adds to its 

 value. — "Lists of Bulbs, and other Flower 

 Roots, imported by E. G. Henderson and Son, 

 ■Wellington Road, St. John's Wood." A well- 

 printed book of eighty pages, containing all the 

 good varieties of hyacinths, tulips, etc., besides 

 choice Cape bulbs, herbaceous plants, new 

 fruits for present planting, and a chapter on 

 the cidture of Spergula pilifera. — " Descriptive 

 Catalogue of Roses, cultivated for Sale by A. 

 Paul and Son, Cheshunt, Herts." An admi- 

 rable digest of one of the best and most extensive 

 collections of roses in England. Persons about 

 to plant roses should procure this Catalogue, 

 ■which will be forwarded in return for one 

 postage-stamp. — " AVilliam Chafer's List of su- 

 perb New Doulde HoUyhocks, Saifron Walden 

 Nursery," contains about 150 of the best, with 

 descriptions of colour, height, etc., with notes 

 on cidture. 



TiNERT. — Snip. — The best plan for a vinery must 

 be determined by circumstances. A late vinery 

 may be erected at less cost than one for early 

 forcing. For late grapes, the plan given in 

 No. 13, if carried two feet higher, back and 

 front, with openings left in the front wall to 

 admit the vines, and wires run under the roof, 

 eighteen inches below the glass, woidd answer 

 well. The best kind of grapes to plant must 

 likewise be determined by the same rule, and 

 for the cultivation of the vine, see pp. 33, 3J!, 

 92, 91, and 273 of last year's volume. The sub- 

 ject will receive attention again shortly. 



HoLLTHOCK.s, Exc. — B. T.-^The Chinese and 

 Italian hollyhocks are of the same duration as 



the show kinds. Sown one season they bloom 

 the next, and any that are extra fine should 

 then be propagated from cuttings, and the old 

 stools destroyed. Everlasting flowers should 

 be gathered when quite dry and fuUy expanded, 

 tied in bunches, and suspended head downwards 

 in any dry airy place. Dust and damp soon 

 destroy their beauty ; but there is no secret in 

 preserving them lor winter bouquets. Helens 

 saccharatus is an annual, but if it has not flow- 

 ered the roots would keep if taken up and potted 

 at once. The Guernsey lUy, Nerine Sarniensis, 

 grows from September to May, and needs a 

 good place in a greenhouse. As you have no 

 greenhouse, you might grow them in the win- 

 dows of a warm room. 



Tuberose. — SuLsciiber, Wisheach. — There is only 

 one certain way to flower the tuberose, Polyan- 

 thes tuberosa, and that is to get old bulbs from 

 Italy every year, plant in rich sandy loam, 

 and when fairly in growth give them a com- 

 fortable bottom-heat to bring them into flower 

 for the drawing-room. In the open ground it can- 

 not do more than produce such leaves as the one 

 you send. The best bulbs to grow in moss are 

 hyacinths, crocuses, and jonquils. Any kind of 

 moss ^vill do, and it must be kept moderately 

 saturated with water. 



CrCUlIBEES UNDER VlNES, Eic. — H. JI., Bail- 

 huri/. — Very glad to hear that you took our 

 advice, and have a show of fruit so soon. We 

 must now help you along as you have become 

 your own gardener, and we beg you will not be 

 afraid to ask questions. If you keep the tatdc 

 at work too late iu the season it may cause the 

 vines to break, and do them much harm. They 

 begin to want cold instead of heat, and you 

 must not hazard next year's grapes for the sake 

 of winter cucumbers. When achimeues die 

 down, lay the pots on their sides where wet 

 cannot reach them till the end of January, and 

 then start in a gentle heat ; and, when the 

 shoots are an inch long, pot every six into a sis- 

 inch pot, using equal jiarts of peaty loam, leaf- 

 mould, and sand. Your allamandas will bloom 

 when they get older. 



Amaryllis. — W. Ou-en. — We suspect the reason 

 why your Ackermauia audvittata do not flower 

 is that you do not feed them well enough when 

 growing. They requii-e to be grown iu a mix- 

 ture of turfy-loam, leaf-mould, old maniu'e, and 

 a liberal admixtiu-e of sand. Good greenhouse 

 temperature ; and after growth to be kept dry 

 for eight or ten weeks, and warm also, and not 

 to be repotted till they begin to grow again. 

 You will find a treatise on hollyhock culttu'e by 

 Mr. Chafer in our volume for last year. 



Heating GEEE>-norsE. — H. L. F., Siumimdhian. 

 ■ — A furnace and flue is the usual plan adopted 

 for a small house, and is the method which 

 everybody can manage. Gas is the cleanest, 

 and more under control than any other system, 

 if properly carried out, but the flame must not 

 be in the house. Hot water is rarely used in 

 small houses ; in large houses it is always best. 

 You caunot do better than look over the various 

 articles on the subject that have appeared in 

 these pages. 



Hyacinths fob Glasses. — A. Smith. — You wiU 

 find a list of the best at page 233 of last year's 

 volume. The following six will suit you : — 

 Waterloo, fine pink; Duke of Wellington, pale 

 rose ; Keizer Alexander, dark blue ; Laurens 

 Koster, bright indigo; Anna Maria, French 

 white ; Prince of Waterloo, pure white. You 

 hud better not have any yellow or orange, they 

 are of no use except in a large collection, as, iu 

 truth, they are of no colour at all. 



Passifloras. — B. J., Ci-eice. — Your seedling plant 

 that has run fifteen feet must be left alone till 

 April, and then be cut back to withiu six inches 

 of the ground, and allowed to run again. Tlio 



