76 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[March, 



shaped glasses with projecting arms, which sup- 

 port smaller cups or trumpets around the central 

 one, and a rather wide dish-like base. The dish 

 should be arranged with the largest flowers, using 

 as much as possible those that show to the best 

 advantage when the eye looks down upon them. 

 AUamandas, Dipladenias, upright-growing Roses, 

 Chrysanthemums, and Camellias are all good for 

 the purpose, with a few sprays of some light 

 material to take off the stiffness; but it is not 

 necessary to make the base particularly light 

 when you have a tier of smaller glasses above. 

 The arrangement of these should always be ex- 

 tremely light and graceful ; nothing approaching 

 stiffness or heaviness is allowable. The flowers 

 used should be of the lightest description, such as 

 Bouvardias, Jasmines, Begonias, Plumbagos, 

 Ericas, and Epacrises, with a few grasses inter- 

 mixed, and a light fringe of Adiantum or Pteris 

 serrulata, to which might be added a few sprays 

 of Fuchsias, Begonia fuchsioides, or any other 

 small pendulous flowers. When the above plan 

 is well carried out there is nothing to surpass it 

 for elegance and beauty. It is also a style that 

 finds great favor with the judges at many of the 

 best exhibitions. 



A very pretty effect c.\n also be obtained by 

 using small plants or I-erns placed in glass, silver, 

 or china ornaments, and dotted about at regular 

 intervals on the table, with one large plant and a 

 few smaller ones tastefully arranged in a bowl for 

 the centre. There are numbers of plants suitable 

 for the purpose. I will mention a few that I have 

 found particularly so : Pandanus Veitchii, P. utilis, 

 and P. elegantissimus, Dracaenas terminalis, ignea, 

 and congesta, Crotons angustifolius and Chelsonii, 

 Asparagus plumosus nanus, Cyperus alternifolius 

 and variegatus (struck from tops), Grevillea ro- 

 busta, and Caladium argyrites. Aralias Veitchii 

 and gracilis are often used on account of their 

 lightness, but one great objection to them is the 

 dull color of their leaves, which do not look well 

 by artificial light. The best Aralia I know for 

 the purpose is A. leptophylla, which has the same 

 style of growth as A. Veitchii, with leaves of a 

 fresh green color. — Journal of Horticulture. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Gas Tar in Greenhouses. — A correspondent 

 from Dundas, Ontario, writes : " I had a small 

 conservatory built last summer, 16x20, and heated 

 by a Hitchings boiler through coils of four-inch 



cast pipes. I had a lot of fine monthly roses 

 heated through the summer for winter blooming, 

 and which was put in the conservatory early in 

 the fall along with an assortment of other flowers. 

 They all grew nicely until the heating with the 

 boiler was started, then every thing went back ; 

 the leaves withered on the roses, the buds on the 

 other flowers dropped off, and I got quite dis- 

 couraged until I read your article in the January 

 number of the Gardeners' Monthly and Horti- 

 culturist. I had coated the heating pipes with 

 gas tar. I am now in a quandary whether to let the 

 flowers freeze or creosote them, (which you say is 

 the only alternative,) until I can burn the tar off 

 the pipes in the summer. I have only taken your 

 magazine the past year ; had I taken it sooner I 

 might have saved myself the disappointment and 

 annoyance of trying to grow flowers in the 

 poisonous atmosphere of gas tar. 



[It will do good service if anything effective 

 can be discovered which will destroy the creosote 

 element, without taking down the pipes. If any 

 one learn, we shall be glad to know. — Ed. G. M.] 



Ravages of the Rose Bug. — A correspondent 

 writes, under date of January 13th: "Enclosed 

 please find two specimens of what we call rose 

 bugs and grub. We have lost a number of roses, 

 especially Niphetos, by this so-called grub which 

 is produced by the rose bug. Having thrown out all 

 our Niphetos which were entirely eaten, they have 

 now taken to a house of Perle des Jardins and we 

 fear that in a short time we will lose all of them. 

 We have been gathering the bugs every day for 

 the past month, but there are so many grubs in 

 the ground that it seems to be of no use. We 

 have now taken to overhauling all the ground, but 

 are bound to miss a great many. I have tried 

 Paris green, tobacco water, hellebore, lime, soap- 

 suds, and nothing seems to kill them except 

 boiling or burning them." 



[We could not make out from the crushed 

 larvae sent, whether this was really the common 

 rose-bug of our gardens, or of the more danger- 

 ous Aranigus Fulleri. However, whatever will 

 destroy one, should be good against the other, and 

 we shall be glad to have notes from those who 

 have had success. — Ed. G. M.] 



The Double Oxalis.— Mr. J. H. Slocombe, 

 New Haven, Conn., says: "Is it not Oxalis 

 cernua plena, instead of lutea plena, your corres- 

 pondent inquired about ? This variety is large and 

 very double. Was imported from Germany into 

 New Haven about eight years ago." 



