256 



THE FLORAL WOULD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



or two out of the pots, but the worms 

 retire to the centre of the ball, and I 

 fear to disturb the roots. I told you 

 some months ago of my Lapageria rosea, 

 with my contrivance for dropping water 

 on it constantly (Floral World, 1863, 

 p. 233). Last July I had a box pre- 

 pared — feet long. — feet wide, and 18 

 inches high, filled with peat, and set in 

 a z : nc tray. A little tank is fixed against 

 the wall above it, with a small gas-pipe, 

 which comes down to and reaches along 

 the box. There are tiny holes in the 

 underside of the pipe, from which the 

 water drops constantly, keeping the 

 peat sopped day and night. A gas-tap 

 regulates the flow of water. From the 

 zinc tray a small pipe carries the drain- 

 age along the conservatory, and down to 

 a soot-tub below. In this box my La- 

 pageria rosea was planted in July, and 

 after being quiet for four or five weeks, 

 it began to grow at the rate of half an 

 inch a-day, throwing up strong shoots. 

 It seems to have stopped for awhile now, 

 but looks very healthy. I have found 

 the bed of wet peat an excellent thing 

 to strike many sorts of cuttings; acacias, 

 pelargoniums, pomegranates, fuchsias, 

 genistas, all take without any trouble, 

 and form good roots. Do all the sorts 

 of gold and silver ferns dislike syringing? 

 All those which I have in pots I have set 

 upon damp cocoa-nut refuse, two or three 

 inches deep, and they seem to like it 

 extremely. Would it suit begonias? I 

 have some gloxinias which are only now 

 coming into flower when I have not heat 

 to bring them out. How can I persuade 

 them to flower earlier in the year? 

 Others kept in the same house have 

 done flowering a month ago. — H. H. 

 [Greenhouse polygalas are Cape plants, 

 requiring but little care, and not worth 

 cultivating in quantity. That they may 

 be formed into handi-ome specimens may 

 be seen at all the summer shows, where 

 JP. dalmaisiana, oppositifolia, cordi- 

 folla, and grand/flora are usually 

 shown in collections of greenhouse 

 plants. They require a soil consisting 

 chiefly of peat, with a little hazelly 

 loam added, and to get up fine speci- 

 mens, the usual routine must beresoited 

 to of potting the plants on and stopping 

 the shoots, to cause bushiness, until they 

 are of the size required. The best time 

 to repot will be alter they have flowered. 

 Your acRcias will do best in the sunny 

 house, and your camellias can be placed 

 in the shady one. Acacias require a com- 

 paratively dry atmosphere. If we could 

 secure them this, many would, no doubt, 



prove quite hardy that are at present 

 tender. Prepare a tub full of liquid 

 manure of moderate strength ; if it con- 

 sists of diluted house sewage (in which 

 the principal ingredients are urine and 

 soapsuds), it will suit admirably. Plunge 

 the pots containing the camellias to the 

 rim in this tub for an hour, and every 

 worm will be dislodged : they will, in 

 fact, come out and die in the bath, and 

 the camellias will probably be benefited 

 by the soaking. Your Lapageria will, 

 no doubt, do well. You forgot to add 

 the measurements of the box, so we can- 

 not judge whether you have given it 

 sufficient root room. You must now 

 lessen the water supply. As a rule, 

 gold and silver ferns are injured if 

 syringed : the syringe not only washes 

 oft* the powder which colours the leaves, 

 but induces mildew. A damp atmo- 

 sphere with warmth is essential to their 

 well-doing, and the same treatment will 

 suit begonias. The time at which gloxi- 

 nias flower depends on the time at which 

 the bulbs were started. You can only 

 secure early bloom by starting them into 

 growth earlier.] 

 Monster Vegetables. — Some time ago 

 we received from " A. C," one of the 

 oldest subscribers to the Floral World, 

 a series of questions, replies to which we 

 were requested to forward to an address 

 given by the writer, who stated that he 

 was on the eve of departure for New 

 Zealand. The letter came into our hands 

 at a moment when we were so hard 

 pressed with work that we were com- 

 pelled to put it aside, and it has lain 

 aside from that time till now. On again 

 perusing it, we observe that "A. C." 

 remarks, " I have made an arrangement 

 with my friends here to forward the 

 Floral Would to me every month." 

 Therefore, a reply in this place will pro- 

 bably fall into " A. C.'s" hands in due 

 time, and prove, we hope, as useful now, 

 and in this form, as if we had commu- 

 nicated privately as he wished in the 

 first instance. The queries, with their 

 capitals and italics, are those of "A. C 

 To each of them we have appended our 

 reply, and should any of our practical 

 readers consider our replies incorrect in 

 any particular, we shall be glad to hear, 

 especially as the queries have such a 

 peculiar and distinctive purpose : — 1. 

 Name the Broad Bean which has the 

 longest pod and largest bean ? — Min- 

 ster Giant Longpod has longest pod, 

 Taylor's Windsor largest bean and the 

 best flavour. 2. The Dwarf French 

 Bean which has the largest and longest 



