20S 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Cataloguks Ricceived. — "William Cut- 

 busli and Soil, tlie Nurseries, Higligate. 

 Descriptive Catalogue of Bulbous Roots 

 imported from Haarlem, etc." This is 

 an excellent list, got up with the greatest 

 care, containing none but first-rate sorts. 

 At the beginning of the pamphlet there 

 are excellent directions for general cul- 

 ture and management, with plain in- 

 structions for selecting bulbs.—" Nut- 

 ting and Sons, GO, Barbican, London. 

 Wholesale Catalogue of Bulbous Roots." 

 This catalogue is printed on a sheet, and 

 contains a great number of varieties at 

 reasonable rates.—" R. F. Darby, Seeds- 

 man, Cirencester. Catalogue of Bulbous 

 Roots." — "J. D. and H. Christie, Nur- 

 serymen, Leatherhead. Catalogue of 

 Bulbous Roots.'' — "Robert Porter, Seeds- 

 man and Florist, Market Cross, Oswestry, 

 and at Whittington. Catalogue of Bul- 

 bous Roots." — "William Paul, Nur- 

 series and Seed Warehouse, Walthain 

 Ci'oss, N. Select list of Hyacinths, 

 Early Tulips, Gladioli, and other bulbs." 

 An admirable catalogue, containing all 

 the best bulbs in cultivation. — " E. G. 

 Henderson and Son, Nurserymen to Her 

 Majesty the Queen, Wellington Road, 

 St. John's Wood. List of Bulbs and 

 other Flower Roots." This is a closely- 

 printed catalogue of 52 pages, which, 

 besides containing an extensive as- 

 sortment of the various kinds of bul- 

 bous loots, has some good practical 

 remarks on the general management 

 of bulbs, with general directions as 

 to the arrangement of each species in 

 beds, according to their colour, height, 

 etc. 



New Garden Journal. — Wc have re- 

 ceived the new number of the West of 

 England Horticultural Magazine, which 

 is a neatly got up monthly periodical of 

 some pretensions to excellence, and has 

 several original articles on the cultiva- 

 tion of florists' flowers, reports of flower- 

 shows, calendar of operations, etc. Tiie 

 remarks upon the manner of exhibiting 

 wild flowers at our local shows are 

 worthy the serious attention of those 

 ■who have the getting up of schedules, 

 as there is certainly plenty of room 

 for improvement in that particular. It 

 bids fair to be a journal which will 

 do its duty, and supply a want in that 

 part of the countiy for which it is 

 designed. 



Grapes Cracking. — I have a vine in my 

 house (Coe's Golden Drop) which bears 

 abundantly every year, but for several 

 years past many of the berries split 

 asunder just as they are ripening. Can 

 you suggest the cause and a remedy f 

 No other vine in the house is similarly 

 aff'ected. — A Subscriber. [We do not 

 know a grape so named, and therefore 

 cannot say if the variety requires pecu- 

 liar treatment. But it may be said 

 generally that cracking is caused by 

 some distress of the roots. Two or three 

 lieavy soukings of the border with strong 

 tepid liquid manure while the berries are 

 swelling, will probably prevent it ; that 

 is, if tlie border is all right as to 

 materials and drainage. Cracked and 

 mildewed berries abound everywhere 

 this season, the result probably of the 

 roots getting too dry when the plant is 

 making great demands on them.] 



Protecting Expo.sed Flower-pots. — The 

 article about protecting the outside of 

 flower-pots with moss has been tried, and 

 found most efl'ectual. One pot placed 

 within another has been exposed to the 

 blazingsun,and the moisture of the inner 

 pot has very successfully withstood the 

 heat. Sucli exposure has been, of 

 course, mostlv for experiment sake. — 

 M. B. G. 



Propagation of Roses. — G. U'. F. II. — 

 To strike hybrid perpetuals in the open 

 ground is not a diliicult though an uncer- 

 tain method. The way to do it is to 

 prepare a sheltered border with a dress- 

 ing of leaf-mould and sharp sand, equal 

 parts, and raise it a foot above the level. 

 Tread this firm, and let it slope away to 

 carry off water quickly. On the 1st of 

 October take ripe cuttings and cut 

 them in lengths of six inches, removing 

 all the soft, sappy tops of the slioots. 

 Take ofi' as many leaves as will make 

 three inches of the cuttings bare at tiie 

 bottom, and cut the base of each by a 

 clean cut close under the bottom joint. 

 Now put these in the ground, three 

 inches deep, in rows a loot apart, and 

 the cuttings four inches apart in the 

 rows, and tread them Arm. If the 

 weather is bright and dry sprinkle them 

 with water every morning, and keep 

 shaded, but do not water the bed, as if 

 only moderately damp that will suflice. 

 As there is generally a copious deposit 

 of dew at night, the cuttings will pro- 



