40 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



has sometimes occurred to me that I 

 should like to try one of them in this 

 way. To till the case two or three inches 

 up with broken crocks for drainage, and 

 then lay on a depth of about four inches 

 of mixed charcoal and cocoa-dust, and 

 dibble the cuttings into the compost. 

 When rooted they could easily be raised 

 with a trowel, and be potted off. Do 

 you think this plan likely to succeed 1 

 Of course, instead of having three, I 

 should have about a dozen holes in the 

 bottom of the case. The holes existing 

 were made with a red-hot poker. I had 

 some seeds given me a year or two ago 

 of some remarkably choice double holly- 

 hock=, but to my surprise the seedlings 

 have flowered as single as it is possible 

 to be. Should I sow the seeds of the 

 single flowers, would they be likely to 

 come double ? or should I have taken 

 cuttings of the double plants to propa- 

 gate them in place of relying upon seeds? 

 — J. G., Peckham. [This is the first 

 failure of boxes we have heard of, but 

 we are not much mystified about the 

 cause of it. If J. G. will turn to the 

 original description, he will see that an 

 old Waltonian was adduced as the model 

 for such boxes. Now the first principle 

 of the Waltonian is to be covered with 

 glass lights. It was not said that cut- 

 tings in boxes would do without glass 

 over them any more than cuttings in 

 pots, and the propagating cases, even if 

 made of egg-chests, ought to have lights 

 of some sort. The reason of J. G.'s 

 failure is that his cuttings never got 

 properly rooted, and no doubt he will 

 lose them all. But if the cuttings had 

 had lights over to keep them close, they 

 would have rooted well, and a thousand 

 plants that way ■are no more trouble than 

 a hundred done in pots, as they may re- 

 main in the boxes till planted out in 

 spring. Cocoa-nut waste is excellent 

 for striking cuttings, and need not have 

 charcoal mixed with it ; a little fine 

 loam would be better, though it is not 

 absolutely needful. The hollyhocks 

 were <;rown too poor. Throw them away 

 and begin again. Grow them from the 

 first in rich soil, and sow the seed in May 

 or June.] 

 Camellias and other Greenhouse 

 Plants, and Shady Border. — I am 

 much troubled with my camellias. I 

 have a number, large and small, nearly 

 all clean and healthy. All formed a 

 profusion of buds, and during the last 

 two mouths almost every bud has 

 dropped off. It is certainly not from want 

 of water, possibly we have given them too 



much. How can I know what quantity 

 is too much f They were in an open shed 

 facing north till October, and since then 

 in a cool house facing south. Many 

 buds dropped in the shed, many since 

 their removal. I wrote you an account 

 some months ago of my Lapageria 

 rosea, which you put into your October 

 number. I have continued the same 

 plan with it, and the plant is vigorous 

 and healthy, but is only now sending up 

 a slender shoot. And last night, alas ! 

 it was frozen hard in my little conser- 

 vatory, and is not yet thawed. I am at 

 my wits' end to keep the frost out. I 

 have put in lighted lamps and hot-water 

 bottles this evening. Is there any port- 

 able contrivance for heating houses that 

 have no stove or water-pipes ? What 

 plants can I put in a very shady spot in 

 my garden, under a box-tree, a holly, 

 and other close shrubs ? Ferns do not 

 succeed because the rain can't get in, 

 the trees shelter it so completely. My 

 gloxinias are beginning to grow, though 

 kept quite dry. Is it too early to start 

 them and achimenes in heat now ? — 

 IT. R. [The falling of the flower-buds 

 of camellias is the subject of so many 

 letters from correspondents, that we 

 must endeavour to set forth in full 

 (though briefly) all the possible causes 

 and means of prevention. The falling 

 of the buds may happen through any of 

 the following causes : — Too dry and too 

 hot an atmosphere. Want of water at 

 the roots. Too much water at the roots. 

 Water given too cold at the roots. Sud- 

 den changes of temperature. Want of 

 daylight. Exposure to high tempera- 

 tures at night. We will now state the 

 means of preventing the falling of the 

 buds : — Water as often as the roots are 

 nearly dry. The water to be of the 

 same temperature as the room. The 

 leaves to be sponged frequently with 

 tepid water. Plants to be removed when 

 the room is extra heated, especially at 

 night. Never to be exposed to cold 

 draughts. On the other hand, to be set 

 out on a balcony in the sun on bright, 

 warm, still days. As the buds swell, 

 the roots may be watered once a week 

 with a solution of sulphate of ammonia 

 — half an ounce to a gallon of water, or 

 two or three drops of hartshorn may be 

 put in the water every time the plant is 

 watered. If the pots stand in saucers, 

 these must be emptied of all drainings 

 from the pots after watering. It may 

 seem to some that there is a great deal 

 to learn in order to make sure of keep- 

 ing a pet plant. In plain truth, the 



