286 



THE FLOEAL WORLD AND OAEDEN GUIDE. 



gay till after Christmas, wben the first lot 

 of forced shrubs, especially azaleas, will 

 come iu to take their place. In the con- 

 servatory, whatever flowers are at com- 

 mand, may be made the most of by judi- 

 ciously intermixing with them good plants 

 of Yucca, Acacia lophantha, camellias, and 

 others possessing characteristic foliage. 

 Hard-wooded plants m the greenhouse 

 must have as much air as the weather will 

 allow, and as little water as possible, as 

 we may soon expect severe frosts. The 

 thermometer should not descend below 

 38\ Soft-wooded plants will be subject 

 to mildew if the house is at all damp. 

 Shift any specimen plants that are in need 

 of increased root-room. Peaches to fruit 

 early must be frequently syringed, and 

 have as little fire-heat as possible, but the 



heat may be allowed to rise, with plenty of 

 ventilation, during sunshine. Stove plants 

 mostly want rest this mouth, and those in 

 growth should be kept moderately iu check. 

 General stove collections 60^ by night, 

 65' by day, with rise of 5" in the sun 

 heat. 



Azaleas must have warmth and suffi- 

 cient water, if for early bloom, or the buds 

 will fall off. 



Camellias will bear a close, warm at- 

 mosphere, and must have regular v*-atering. 



French Beans may be sown in pots to 

 place on a top shelf, or to force with straw- 

 berries. 



Cucumbers must be thinned, if the 

 plants are more than moderately fruitful, 

 or they will fail to give a succession wh'fen 

 the fruit may be most desired. 



TO COEEESPOJSTDENTS. 



THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN 

 GUIDE FOE 1859, 

 Is uow ready, handsomely bound in clotli gilt. 

 Price 5s. This is a favourable occasion for new 

 Subscribers to commence. The Title page and 

 Index for 1859 will be given with tbe January 

 number. We vs'ere unable to get it ready in 

 time to publish with this, as we intend it to be 

 more compUte than the Index of last year. 

 Cases for bindiiisr the Volume may be had of 

 tbe Publishers, through any Bookseller, at \s. 

 each. Tbe Janmiry number will contain an 

 en^ravius; of iMr. Ivery's azalea, "Varie- 

 guta superba." — A portion of the rei^lies 

 to correspondents for the November number 

 found its way to the wrong printer throngh an 

 error on the part of the Post-office. '1 he manu- 

 script was relumed to us too late for insertion 

 iu the November number, and it appears here 

 in its original form. Hence a few correspon- 

 dents who were answered very briefly as soon 

 .18 we knew the MS. had not reached its proper 

 destination, are again replied to more fully, and 

 tbe replies distinguished thus *. 

 "The GARDEif Oracle, and Economic Tear 

 Book fob I860."— We have been enabled to 

 etfect several improvements iu this work in 

 preparint; the issue for 1860. We can confi- 

 dently offer it as the best gardening- year book 

 extant ibr the purposes of the amateur and 

 working-gardener. The list of Ericas to bloom 

 every day in the year has been very carefully 

 prepared from the journal of one of the most 

 experienced growei s of that favourite tribe of 

 flowers, and is accompanied with a thoroughly 

 practical essay on the culture of Kricas, from 

 the able pen of Mr. Howlett. The paper on 

 Spergula pilifera is illustratfd with drawings of 

 the plant, and also of Sagina procumbens, 

 which has been mistaken for it, and which we 

 understand is to be sent into the market as the 

 true S|jergula, we have therefore put the 

 public on their guard and aflTorded a ready 

 means of determiniig between the true and the 

 spurious. In the gurdeuing department there 

 are various valuable Notes for Amateurs, a care- 

 fully prepared list of the best Fruits, Flowers, 

 and Vegetables; a list of Novelties for 1860 j a 



list of Seedling Plants of 1859 ; and a Ust of 

 Plants recently introduced. The dnmestio por- 

 tion contains a paper on Bee-keeping, by Mr. 

 Tegetmeier ; British Wine-making, by Mrs. 

 Roberts ; and numerous useful advices for gar- 

 deners and housewives. 

 Hyacinth Bld. — E. W. would be glad to be in- 

 formed it' a bed prepared for hyacinths, as 

 directed in the " Garden Oracle" for 1859, p^ge 

 61, will require to be remade the next year, or 

 whether a top-dressing of fresh compost will be 

 sufficient to produce fine bloouis. Tlie plan an- 

 swered admirably last year when tried on infe- 

 rior offsets, many of wiaich were taken up bulbs 

 measuring eight inches in circumference. — It 

 nmst answer admirably, because on that plan 

 Mr. Hibberd has raised stock again and again 

 from offsets formed by bruising old bulbs and 

 throwing them into a corner of the pottinu'-shed 

 till August, when there is a new bulb formed at 

 the base of every scale. It it will make flower- 

 ing bulbs of these, it will do what no other plan 

 will. Give your bed a top-dressing at once with 

 dung not much decayed, and over it a light 

 sprinkle of leaf-mould. The bed need not be 

 disturbed till the third year, and should then be 

 made up as before. If the whole of the soil is 

 taken out, it will be just the thing for potted 

 fuchsias. 

 Plant Exchanges.— i?. D. offers 18 tubers of 

 Gloxinia tiibiflora iu exchange for other siloxi- 

 inias. Letters sent to E. D., care of the !■ ditor, 

 will have immediate attention. -E. D. reminds 

 us that this gloxinia is very sweet-scented, and 

 is easily prop.igated by cuttings of the top 

 shoots. , 



Teotman's Gas Stove.— JE. iT.- We understand 

 the price of this stove to be from £2 to £3. The 

 maker is Mr. Trotiii an. Nurseryman, New Road, 

 i HammersMiith, London, AV. It is mt ended to 

 I be used with hot-water pipes, and a boiler is a 

 i part of the stove itself. We know of a green- 

 \ house built beside an entrance hall, the stove 

 I warms the hall, and the pipe passes through the 

 I wall and round the house, and answers admir- 

 ably. 

 Grapes Bursting.*— i?. -B.— It has been a com- 

 I mon calamity all over the covmtry for grapes, 



