32 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



During winter, keep rather dry and cool, say not more than 45° on the average ; in 

 summer, it should be exposed to all the sunshine ^possible. This plant looks 

 charming when trained to the roof above the level of the eye. 



Hollyhocks. — R. Smith, jun. — Hollyhocks should be planted in deep strong 

 loams, as they attain to finer proportions than in light soils, but they really are not 

 particular, provided the soil has some substance, and is liberally manured. It is 

 quite true that hollyhocks may be grown as annuals ; indeed, seed sown now could 

 be grown on to flower well this year. Grafting hollyhocks is not much in favour, 

 but we have seen many a fine show of flowers on grafted plants. To make a good 

 job of the grafting, the roots to be grafted on should be cut so as to be quite fresh 

 and plump when operated on, and as soon as the grafts are iuserted and tied, they 

 must be potted in thumbs and be plunged in a gentle moist heat. Old stools of 

 hollyhocks are grand as garden ornaments, but they do not produce fine flowers. 



Hardy Lilies. — A Novice. — The best time in the whole year to plant hardy 

 lilies is the month of September. But they may be planted during the present 

 month, with every prospect of growing and flowering freely, provided the bulbs are 

 not then dried up. All bulbs which have soft coats and a soft fleshy consistence 

 suffer much if exposed for any length of time to the atmosphere. A very good plan 

 to adopt would be to obtain at once all the bulbs required for the bed, and pot them 

 singly in small pots in any loamy soil of a mellow texture, and place them in a cold 

 pit or frame, plunged in coal ashes or cocoa-nut fibre ; there let them be till April, 

 and then carefully plant them where they are to remain. 



Destroying Woodltce.— W. S. — There is but one way to deal with them, and 

 that is to trap them, and if this be vigilantly followed up, every woodlouse may in 

 time be destroyed. Place near their haunts wooden boxes or flower-pots filled with 

 dry moss amd lettuce leaves, or slices of potato or apple concealed amongst the moss. 

 They will scent out these dainties, and take up their abodes amongst the moss. 

 The traps should be examined every morning, and the vermin found in them should 

 be at once killed. They will take shelter in any place that is dark and dry, and may 

 be almost as easily trapped without baits as with thorn. We have caught them in 

 the following manner : Large sheets of bark were stripped off some trees that had 

 been felled, and these were laid hollow side downwards near the haunts of the wood- 

 lice. In the course of a few days, the bark was crowded underneath, and the vermin 

 were swept off it and destroyed wholesale. 



Cutting Seakai.e. — A. Young Gardener. — Seakale sent to market is cut with 

 about an inch of the root attached, to facilitate the carriage of it, and keeping the 

 heads together complete ; and usually the roots are destroyed after forcing, and the 

 loss of an inch is of no consequence. The regular market growers sow every year, 

 or raise plants from root cuttings ; therefore their practice need not guide the culti- 

 vator in cutting from permanent beds. In cutting from permanent beds it is best to 

 pass the knife close over the junction of the stem with the root, and generally speak- 

 ing there is a good inch of white stem firm enough for the purpose of keeping the 

 heads complete until they go into the hands of the cook, who must remove the root 

 part if the gardener cuts so low as to have any of it. The advantage of this is that 

 the buds of the crown are left for the next growth. But it will not injure a per- 

 manent bed to cut deep, even to the removal of an inch of root, for the root will 

 throw out crowns from any part, as may be seen on taking up an old stool, which 

 will be found to consist of several underground stems forking from a depth of three 

 to six inches from the top, forming a series of crowns. 



Ferns from Spores. — B. H. — There is no mystery at all in raising fern tfrom 

 spores. The simplest way to raise them is to prepare a few shallow pans and bell- 

 glasses. Fill the pans with very small potsherds, the top stratum to be broken to 

 the size of peas. Over this put about an inch of a mixture consisting of equal parts 

 fine peat and silver-sand, and water with a fine rose. The water will carry the 

 fine stuff in amongst the uppermost crocks, and make a firm bed with minute points 

 of crocks projecting all over ; sprinkle the seed on this surface, and put the bell- 

 glasses on. The proper place f jr these pans is some warm and rather dark part of 

 the greenhouse, or the cool part of the stove will do. If they must bo placed in full 

 light, smear the glasses over with wet clay, to render them semi-opaque. To obviate 

 the necessity of watering again, bed the pans to the rim in cocoa-nut fibre, which 

 keep constantly moist. There are a thousand ways of raising seedling ferns if a 

 warm, damp, and rather dark place can be found for them. 



