95 



TO COEEESPONDENTS. 



Propagating Gymnogrammas. — J. J. C. — These beautiful ferns, commonly 

 known as the " gold and silver ferns," are propagated by means of the seed or 

 spores from the back or under surface of the fully-developed fronds. The young 

 plants generally come up very plentifully in stoves where a few old plants are 

 grown ; they are also easily raised artificially. Prepare an ordinary seed-pan by 

 filling it half full of broken crocks ; when this is done, fill the remaining half to about 

 an inch above the surface with fibry peat and silver sand. The peat should be 

 chopped up rather fine but not sifted, as it is desirable that the surface of the soil 

 be rather rough. The soil must be filled in rather firm, and be rather the highest 

 in the centre of the pan ; the soil should then be nicely moistened and the seed 

 sown. The last-mentioned operation is performed by shaking the fronds over the 

 soil; and, to assist the dispersion of the spores, the hand may be drawn lightly up 

 the underside of the frond. It is much better to sow the spores direct from the 

 fronds, than to make an attempt to gather it like the seeds of flowering plants. 

 After the sowing is completed, cover the pan with a bellglass, and p'ace it in a 

 shady corner of the stove. The soil must not be kept too wet, but when it requires 

 water the pans should be stood in a vessel of water until the soil is soaked through ; 

 when they are watered overhead in the usual way, the water is apt to wash the 

 spores and young plants out of their proper places, besides running the risk of 

 getting smothered with the soil. As the young plants begin to grow, the glass 

 should be tilted a little at first, and then gradually increased until it can be taken 

 away altogether and the plants potted off ; this must be done so that the roots are 

 not damaged, and it will be advisable to keep them close for a few days until 

 established, and then treat in the usual way. 



Latania Borbonica. — J. J. C— The only place that you can get this palm, at 

 the price named at page 212 of last year's volume, is at Verschaffelt's, Ghent, 

 Belgium. We find it catalogued at a franc each, which is within a penny of what 

 you would have to give for a single plant of Tom Thumb in the ordinary way, 

 though at bedding-out time you can get it at half-a-crown a dozen. Taking the 

 plants singly, you will see the writer of the article referred to was sufficiently near 

 the mark for all practical purposes. It is to be regretted that the English houses do 

 not go into the palm business more extensively, and at prices similar to those on the 

 continent. 



Propagating the Variegated Vine.— J. J. C. — This beautiful plant can be 

 propagated by means of cuttings. Cut last year's growth up into lengths of six or 

 nine inches each, and insert them in a row at the foot of a south wall or on a sheltered 

 border. 



Gloxinias. — E. M. — The leaf enclosed was apparently that of one of the 

 gloxinias, which, it is impossible for us to say. The plants ought to be quite at 

 rest now, but as they are flowering, they should have a temperature of 55° or 60° 

 until they go out of flower. A rest of two or three months will be sufficient. If you 

 are anxious to get them to flower at their proper time next year, keep them grow- 

 ing until the end of the summer, and then let them go dry until next January. 

 If they are started early in the new year, they will be capital for early flowering. 



Fuchsia Management. — G. H. W., Middlesex. — This is a capital time for taking 

 these in hand for this season's blooming. You have a few old plants and are desirous 

 of knowing what to do with them. In the first place they must be pruned into shape 

 and started : we prefer cutting the whole of the last year's wood back to a couple of 

 oyes, unless for the sake of the shape of any of the plants it may be necessary to 

 leave them longer. The young shoots produced at the base of the wood are, generally 

 speaking, much stronger than those produced at the tips : when the pruning is 

 finished, if you can find room stand the plants in the little vinery that you have just 

 started. The moist atmosphere and syringing required for the vines will suit the 

 fuchsias, which will soon begin to break strongly. Sufficient water must be applied 

 to the roots to keep the soil just moist and no more. Directly the young shoots are 

 about an inch long, take the plants out of the pots, remove nearly the whole of the 

 soil, trim the roots and repot in a smaller-sized pot, and replace in the vinery again 

 until established. A good compost may be prepared by mixing two parts of good 

 turfy loam, one part peat, and a part composed of equal quantities of rotten dung 



