332 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



pleasure of sociii".' this fiuiious and interi'stiiiLT 

 n(|iiatii' i)lant <:ro\viiiu in a tank in one of the 

 •conservatories of the eostly and Ljrand Hopkins 

 Mansion on " Xol) Hill.'' 



Hkllehoke Powdkk.— Geo. .S.Woodrull", Mt. 

 Airy, riiila., writes: " Mr. Channing and othei-s 

 recommend Hellebore for destroying stale and 

 mealy but;;, but no one tells how much of the Hel- 

 lebore is enough for a quart or gallon of soap, an 

 item of some importanee in view of the cost of 

 the foi'mer. "Will some one be good enough to 

 give the information suggested." 



HoAV TO MAKE Mo.ss BASKETS. — Very beauti- 

 ful liaskets for holding tlowers may be made of 

 the longer and more feathery kinds of mosses. 

 We have made them often ; and never do flowers, 

 whether wild or irarden, look more lovely than 

 when clustered within a verdent border of that 

 most delicate and beautiful material, whicli-by 

 proper management may be made to preserve 

 its freshness and brilliancy for many months. 

 We will here give a recipe for their manufacture. 

 A light frame of any shape you like should be 

 made with wire and covered with common paste- 

 board or calico, and the moss, which should Hrst 

 "be well picked over and cleansed from any bits 

 of dirt or dead leaves which may be hanging 

 about it, gathered into little tufts, and sewed 

 with a coarse needle and thread to the covering, 

 so as to clothe it thickly with a close and com- 

 pact coating, taking care that the points of the 

 moss are all outwards. A long handle made in 

 the same manner should be attached to the bas- 

 Itet, and a tin, or other vessel, filled with either 

 wet sand or water, placed within to hold the 

 flowers. By dipping the whole fabric into water 

 ■once in three or four days, its verdure and elas- 

 ticity will be fully preserved, and a block of 

 wood about an inch thick, and stained black or 

 green, if placed under the basket, wull prevent 

 all risk of damage to the table from the mois- 

 ture. To make such baskets affords much 

 pleasant social amusement for children, who 

 will find a constantly renewing pleasure in vary- 

 ing their appearance. One week, Snowdrops 

 and Crocuses will cluster among the mossy 

 edges ; then will come groups of "dancing Daf- 

 fodils" and Hazel catkins, which, mixed with 

 Ivy leaves, make almost the prettiest dressing 

 that can be found for it. In another week or two 

 Anemones, Hyacinths and Jonquils will crave 

 admittance into the place of honor ; and long 

 before the basket is decayed Roses, Lilies, Jas- 



mine and even Carnations, will have sprung 

 into beauty, and had their day in the favorite 

 moss basket. — ('assc/Ps I'opuhtr Ediirafor. 



Agents' Fi.Y-iiJAr.— Tin- well-known A'cnus' 

 lly-tra]), Diona-a nuiscipnla, is the best of all the 

 tly catching plants to keep in a window for oc- 

 casional amusement, and it is moreover a proper 

 adornment, for the beauty of its fringed leaves 

 is at once unique and interesting. Droseras are, 

 of course, to be desired by such as study " car- 

 nivorous plants," but they are so small and slow 

 in their movements as to try one's patience 

 somewhat ; whereas the Dionsea is compara- 

 tively large, with a quite mechanical gin-like 

 leaf and very bold fringe of hairs that may be 

 likened to the iron bars of a prison, and are as 

 such to the captive Hies that the gin has closed 

 upon. Moreover, the Dionfea catches and keeps 

 and digests large flies which, generally speaking, 

 Drosera does not. Mr. Bull, some weeks since, 

 mentioned incidently that he had received a 

 very large consignment of Dionreas, and I at 

 once secured a few for myself and friends. After 

 three weeks' occupation of tables in windows 

 the plants distributed are all, without exception, 

 perfectly healthy and as beautiful as when they 

 first came to hand. The dozen I reserved for 

 myself have been standing in a glass pan, with 

 about an inch of water, in an airy greenhouse, 

 and these also are still in perfect condition. 

 Water is the main requirement of this pretty 

 plant, and a medium temperature suits it per- 

 fectly. — Shirley Hibherd in Gardener''s Magazine. 



Agapanthus i'mbellatt's. — AVe remember 

 having heard some one say he could not flower 

 the Blue Mexican Lily. It must have been a 

 man, for all the ladies succeed with it. We have 

 hoped before now that Miss G. or some of our 

 other good friends of the fair sex would have been 

 moved by the spirit of Flora, to relate their ex- 

 perience, for the benefit of the sterner creatures, 

 but as they have not, Ave venture to give the fol- 

 lowing from the Dublin Gardener'' s Record. 



"What a fine old plant this is for the conser- 

 vatory in August and September, and what a 

 grand effect it produces, Avith its beautiful umbels 

 of bright blue, standing boldly erect among other 

 plants, contrasting well with everything around 

 them, and at the same time being strikingly con- 

 spicuous. Although old as this plant is, we sel- 

 dom see it used so frequently as it should be, and 

 yet it is not from any difficulty there is attached 

 to its cultivation, for it is the most easily grown 



