1879. 



^IXD IIORTICUL TUnJST. 



203 



house would without them be comparatively 

 uninteresting, that I would solicit a good word 

 for them in your valuable magazine. Their cul- 

 ture up to this season seemed to me simple and 

 easy, but I have now a disease in some seedlings 

 that puzzles me very much. The house I grow 

 them in is kept at a temperature of from 50° to 

 70'^, and the soil I use is leaf mould and rotten 

 manure with some sand. The disease tirst 

 makes its appearance by a curling of the leaf; 

 soon after the under side of the leaf gets to a 

 waxy transparency, and the leaf soon after 

 damps off. This always appears first on the 

 lower leaves. Will you kindly shed some light 

 on the subject? I send with this a plant affected 

 in tbis way. It is a seedling from seed sown 

 last September." 



[There are two causes operating to render 

 Gloxinia and Achimenes unsuccessful, namely: 

 the attacks of a small, narrow black insect 

 known as the thrip, and a fungoid attack similar 

 to and perhaps the same as the well known 

 black rust in the Verbena. These troubles have 

 prevailed so extensively that these beautiful 

 Summer-blooming plants have almost disap- 

 peared from cultivation. In a recent visit to the 

 greenhouses of the veteran florist, Robert Buist, 

 Sr., we were delighted with an old-time disjilay 

 of these plants in perfect health, with the addi- 

 tional charm of novel and beautiful shades of 

 color. Some beautifully spotted and pencilled, 

 others mottled and edged in curious ways. Talk- 

 ing on this subject of disease and insect attacks, 

 Mr. Buist expressed his opinion that when the 

 temperature was kept at about 70°, and the 

 atmosphere moist, with a partially shaded 

 greenhouse to grow the plants in, they were 

 always free from these pests. The opinion of 

 this still active octogenarian, derived from so 

 many years of successful experience, must be 

 of great value to those who fail with these ex- 

 tremely beautiful plants. — Ed. G. M.] 



Agapantiius u.mbellatus. — S. B. B., War- 

 renton, Va. The blue flower sent belongs to 

 this plant. It was once a very popular plant 

 under culture, but has become scarce, much 

 more so than it deserves to be. 



Abutilon Darwini. — M. S., Pittsburg, Pa., 

 asks : "Is the Abutilon Darwini noticed in the 

 last Monthly new? I never heard of it before. 

 It should be worth growing by whatyousay of it." 



[It is not exactly new, and ought to be well 

 known. Looking through a catalogue of Peter 

 Henderson's, now three years old, we find the fol- 



lowing account of it, which we give here, as it 

 seems to be yet so much "unknown :" "Entirely 

 distinct, the flowers a deep orange scarlet color,, 

 veined with pink, opening like a parasol, making 

 it unlike all other sorts of Abutilons, in which the 

 flowers are bell-shaped. The flowers also are 

 thrown well out beyond the foliage. This pecu- 

 liarity of opening out makes it valuable for bou- 

 quets, and being a most abundant bloomer, is 

 well suited for winter flowering." — Ed. G. M.] 



Variegated Aloe.— S. B. B., Warrenton, 

 Va., says : " I have an Agave which is quite a 

 curiosity. It was last season a large plant of A. 

 Americana var. For some reason the bud died;, 

 it made a new one in a short time, but instead 

 of being variegated it was green. It continued 

 dropping its leaves until the whole plant was of 

 the common variety." 



[It is not uncommon for variegated varieties 

 of plants to return to their normal green con- 

 dition. This is particularly the case with the 

 Japan Euonymus. It is rare in the Mexican. 

 Aloes or Agaves. — Ed. G. M.] 



Blooming of Window Flowers. — Miss W., 

 Phila., says : "There has been a question submit- 

 ted to me, viz., ' Why do plants bloom better 

 when pot-bound ?' I have looked in a number 

 of books but have not been able to find an 

 answer. I should be greatly obliged to you for 

 an answer." 



[It has recently been strongh- brought out in 

 some scientific papers that there is a certain 

 amount of antagonism between mere vegetative 

 or growth force, of which we may take the 

 leaves and stems as the representative, and re- 

 productive force which is inaugurated by the 

 production of flowers. In popular language- 

 this may be rendered : — partially starving an 

 otherwise healthy plant favors its flowering. A 

 pot-bound plant is in this condition, and hence 

 its productiveness. — Ed. G. M.] 



Seedling Geraniums. — S. B.B., Warrenton, 

 Va., sends us samples of seedling Geraniums of 

 that class once known as " Scarlets," but now 

 known as " Bedding Geraniums." There are 

 now sucli an immense number of these that it 

 will not do to say that they are superior to the 

 best of those under culture, but they are cer- 

 tainly very good as far as we can judge from 

 these specimens. But the full value of this 

 class of plants can scarcely be determined by 

 such specimens. They have to be grown side by 

 side with the best, and the growth and habit con- 

 sidered as well as the form or shade of the flower. 



