360 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. [ November 3, 1863. 



DlElTTBA cucDLLARiA {A. if.).— ThU plant was introduced so far back as 

 1731 under Ihe name ol Kumuria cucullari.i. It is figared in Curtis's 

 "Botanical Magazine," l. 1127. It was in cultivation in ISIO as Fumaria 

 cncullaria, and wajs commonly grown ui.der that name when old-fashioned 

 herbaceous border planls were in vogue. Tou are quite right in stating 

 that it is scarce, but you will see Irum the above tliat it is no novelty, 

 though the flowers are very singular. In the United State."^ of America it 

 is vulgarly known as "The Dutchman's Breeches," on account of the two 

 horns at the bate of the flower. In the open border it usually grows about 

 9 inches to 1 foot high, but, in poor soils it does not exceed 6 inches in 

 height. When growing in very poor soil the flowers are nearly white, in 

 stronger soil they are of a yellowisli-pink, and when grown in loam and 

 peatihe flowers are of a delicate pink. Webiveseon it rtowering beautifully 

 in June jilanted in an ordinary heibaceoua border, the soil being light, and 

 rather sandy loam. We think your plant will prove to be Dieljtra eximia 

 (Corydalis eximiu and Fuuiaria eximia of some), which is a very pretty 

 plant with flesh-coloured flowers in June or July, growing I^ ft. high. 

 The clo«e atmosphere ot a cold fiame will induce growth, but that Iree ex- 

 posnre to sun and air will be lucking, which is necessary to the ripening 

 of the underground parte, on the thoiough ripening ot which depends 

 the flowering stems appearing the following spring. If you turn jour 

 plant out in a sunny boi der, in poor rather than rich soil, we think you 

 will be satisfied with ihe result. It on tin- other hand you desire to keep 

 it in a pot, drain ivel', and use a compost of sandy peat half, light loam a 

 quarter, and silver sand the remainder, placing the bulbs or roots a couple 

 of inches below the surfate. Water freely whilst the plant is growing, 

 but afier growth is completed gradually diminish the supply, and place the 

 pot in the full sun, plunging it, however, to prevent the roots being dried 

 up. Give no water alter August, and keep ory rather than wet during the 

 Tvinter. With this treatment we think you will have no difflculty in blooming 

 It, and If you succeed, we will thank jou for a flower, for we are particu- 

 larly fond of rare and curious plants. 



HiitDY AauATics ( ir. Itobifison).—! regret to sav the aquatics named by 

 nim are only to be had at some botanic garden. They were and probably 

 are in some of the botanic gardens, Kew bemg the most likely placo at 

 which to obtain them.— Gkorgk Abbky. 



CoNsEBVATonT Fioou Geef.n (Jiorfl).— Dissolve 1 lb. of soda in 3 gallons 

 of boiling water and pour it boiling upon the white stone floor. Sciub it 

 thoroughly whilst vet with a scrubbing-brush, and then wash clean. If 

 any green remains, wet the floor with soda water as before, and rub with 

 pumice-stone until thoroughly clean. 



Rancncolds CuLiuiir. (/. 5.).— Leave them in the soil, for it is too late to 

 take them up now that they have made shoots an inch in length. Cover 

 the beds with an inch of frejh soil, and jour beds will take no harm. In 

 future years take up imniediattly the foliaKe turns vellow, and store away 

 in boxes in a cool dry place. Your other query shall have a reply as soon 

 as we obtain some information promised to us. 



Waltonian Cask lAmateur).—'\Ve do not know where this can now be 

 seen except at its inventor's, J. Walton, Esq., a solicitor residing at Kings- 

 ton-ou-Thames. Of course uo one would intrude upon him without permis- 

 sion. 



EvEKonEENs (£ C.).— There is no book devoted to the cultivation of 

 Evergreens. The " Cottage Gardener's Dictionary " gives such direct! ons, 

 but it includes other gardening subjects. Your soil or subsoil must be very 

 clayey or otherwise unfertile to kill "all your evergreens." 



Heating a Meion-hocse {A Reader).— lo have early Melons, and early 

 Melons in a house 15 feet by U, you may, as you propose, havt two beds on 

 each side, which, alter allowing 4 inches for the walls at tlie pathway, will 

 each be 3 leet S inches in width— ample width enough for anything. 

 Beneath each of these beds you should have two three-inch pipes to heat 

 separately; ur, to save expense, they may go right round and thus heat 

 both beds at once. Then you had better have two three-inch pipes on each 

 side lor top heat, anil these should be supplied wiih evaporatin{»-p,.ns. 

 The bottom pipes should be so placed that alter surrounding them with 

 6 or 8 inches ol rubble there would be room lor 15 to Is inches of soil. We 

 do not know the elevation of Ihe house or we might counsel more. In such 

 a short length we think you are right in having Cucumbera at back and 

 Melons at front, and we presume both are to be trained to a tiellis. But if 

 the house had been 20 lo 30 feet in length we would have proposed devoting 

 one-hall ot the house to Melons and the other hall to Cucumbers for reasons 

 frequently given. We do not think you would do any good with Figs in 

 such a house along with the Cucumbers, &c. ; but if there is room enough 

 above you might grow the ligs in both beds either in tubs or pots, or, 

 Tfhatwewoulo much prefer, imh plenty of cliainage and a foot or 15 inches 

 of soil, and the plants turned out in the beds. You would need then no 

 pipes. lor bottom heat, and to have Figs moderately early two four-mch pipes 

 -wonla be enough for top beat. To have them early, say in May, you would 

 Deed three, or better say lour of such pipes. Then you would get Figs from 

 May to Kovembei. If you give more particulars we may be able to give 

 further help. 



Lilt or the Valley DwinnLiNO (Zl.).— Either now or in spring just 

 as the buds begin to move, take up the plants, divide them carefully into 

 lumps about the size of your hand and plant carefully m well-moved soil, 

 and with some rotten leaf mould in it. Tliat will give size to the leaves and 

 flower-stems. If the soil is light, firrn it as much as possible among the 

 fresh plants, and top-dress with rotten dunt:. It would be as well, however, 

 to leave a piece not taken up, but remove the leaves, and cover with 

 6 inches ol rotten dung, through which the rains of winter will penetrate. 

 In March rake this ofl', leaving only 2 inches of the most rotten. If yon 

 wished a few early flowers, you coulu select the most promising buds and fill 

 a few pots with them as thick as you could cram them. Were the plants 

 curs we would preler moving them now. We would prefer the piece plant- 

 ing, but you might try a bit by teaiing all the roots asunder and planting 

 them separately, but this will require much more time and labour. We 

 alwajs find thai the plants do best in rather firm soil; in light rich soil 

 they grow rather too much to leaf, 



SpiEjiA vENi'STA KOT Floweeihg (idem).— Most likely it needs a little 

 nourishment in the way of rotten dang, and a mukhing all the winter. 

 Most likely the plants suflered Irom dryness last summer. 



Names of Insects {A Kcader). —yonr "great grandfather thrips" 

 proves to be one ot the small rove beetles, most probably oxy telus carinatus, 

 but it was smashed m the post. It keeps company with the tlurips, moot 

 probably lo devour it.— W. 



Lamp-heating a Plant-.-ase (ff. p. S.).-We will endeavour to tell you 

 why the spirit amp will not act in your little tank. First, the tank is too 

 deep, hall the depth would be better ; your arch above the lamp should be 

 depressed, so as to let more water rest there, and then the lamp should be 

 lower. At present theflameof the lamp strikes merely against the top of your 

 tank, and if the water is a little heated there, the heat will not descend to 

 heat your G inches of cold water. You apply heat at top, when it ought to 

 be communicated at the bottom; we can see that you will only h ive a 

 chance by your present arrangement, by placing the flame a little lower 

 than you now have the bottom of the lamp, ilepressinR the semicircular top o: 

 the tank so as to have 2 inches of water there, and 3 inches eleivhere, and 

 putting a cover round the lamp to prevent the heat escaping, whilst air for 

 combustion isadmitted. Without altering the depth of your tank you might 

 also then do much by taking open lubes through the water, Irom your 

 sadole-back rout, in middle. All nur observation with such spirit lamps 

 tends to show that they act most powerlully when Ihe water is placed above 

 them, lor instance, with a hollowed-out tea kittle oO as to have 2 inches 

 ot water between the concave inside and the rounded outside, and flow and 

 return pipes o 1 inch in diameter, and a good spirit lamp beneath it, we 

 believe we could heat several of these cases, the pipes either going in the sand 

 °l '" '^A. ■' '"':'i«* beneath the sand. Try what flattening the top of 



the saddle-back will do, and lowering the lamp and lessening the water ; and 

 It you do not succeed to your wish, boil some water elsewhere, reduce the 

 depth of tank to 3 inches, and fill with hot water when necessary. You 

 may succeed by this means, but you will never obtain heat enough by the J 

 present mode, because heated water will not easily descend into cold water. I 

 We have seen tanks 15 inches deep that were quite cool at the bottom, , 



and yet very hot lor a couple of inches at the top. If the case were ours 

 we woukl not use water at all, but have openings to insert three or four 

 Child s Night Lights, and other holes cut in one side of the lank to secure 

 a circulation of hot air and susuin combustion. Nothing is gained by 

 having water to heat by your lamp. We think that very likely your 

 Camellia plant has had a check from want of watering. 



Philadelphus coronaeU's (i>.).— We have seen the Philadelphus coro- 

 nanusin luxuriant health in all parts of the country, north, south, and 

 midland. 



Drving Eveelasting-Flowebs (7(/em).— Everlasting-Flowers should be 

 gathered betore they are more than half blown, and dried in anv place in 

 the shade. We do not know what will prevent Xeranlhemum flower-stems 

 shrivelling a little, but the flowers are generally supported with a stick 

 or a wire inside a small handlnl of stems. Probably some friends may 

 give a better account of the mode of drying these flowers. Some of our 

 Iriends by means of these, a few grasses, and a few evergreens, contrive to 

 make their rooms very gay in winter. 



Flowee-eeds {Jdemj.—YouT cross planting of the flower-bed? will di. 

 especiallyas respects the first group, if jour bed 3, oi Golden Chain consist 

 of strong plants. In the second group, we would nit-ke 7 Y'ellow Calceolar;.. 

 instead of variegated Alyssum ; you miglit use the Alyssum strong as ti 

 centre to ; then lor 8, a Geranium, as Stella, would do better than Calceo- 

 laria lor an edging of Cineraria maritima. 



AciciA GP.ANDis .NOT Flowebing (./. M.j.—Your plant has evidently 

 grown very fast— loo fast to coine into a blooming state. Keep it 

 artolLer year in the same pot, and in other respects treat it as you have 

 dune this year; and when its pot is well flil-il with roots and the 

 growths less luxuriant, it will doubtless flower. The cuttings having been 

 lemoved from their source of luxuriant growth have, in consequence, been 

 thrown into a blooming condkion, and when your parent plant becomes less 

 luxuriant it will bloom. We know of no other reason why it has not 

 bloomed, while the cuttings from it have. 



Heating an Outside Plant Case (.-1 Regvlar Subscriber).— It is a great 

 drawback being unable lo cover the case. If the case were inside there 

 would be no difficulty. Could a spiral tube from a gas-burner be taken 

 through it? Perhaps the simplest plan would be lo put two or three 

 common bottles in it, when wanted, filled with water at about 160^ or nO°. 

 A gallon bottle of strong earthenware ought to keep such a place comfort- 

 able lor ihe night. We would not use the water boiling in case it should 

 break the bottle. A second might be used on a very cold night. We have 

 described how a close vessel like a drawer might go under such a case and 

 be supplied as needed with hot water. But we presume you could not get 

 at it easily, and in a very severe night it might be frozen. Bottles of hot 

 water will be the simplest mode. 



Sea Sand {Ome/ja). — This is no substitute for silver sand ; white river, or 

 even pit sand being better than it. Any Dublin nurseryman would supply 

 you witli any quantity of silver sand. 



Peae-s foe Wall {Idem). — Jargonelle, Beurr6 Superfln, Beurre Bosc, 

 Marie Louise, Hacon's Incomparable, and Bon Chretien. The Pears yon 

 allude to are early and late autumn Pears. 



Heating Vinery [Idem).— A flue will heat a house 30 feet by 12, but you 

 must not expect to lorce early. We do not know where Mr. Rendle's 

 treatise can be had. Apply to a bookseller. 



Vabious (If. W,), — If you will send five postage stamps wdth your 

 address you can have "F'ruit Gardening for the Many " free by post. It con- 

 tains full directions for all the pruiiiug you nientum. Fruit trees do not 

 require such a supply of liquid manure as you seem to allow them. It 

 makes them over-luxuriant. We caiiiiot give an opinion about your 

 Pear tree, as we do not know its state of growth. Fermenting dung or 

 leaves are put over Sea-kale pots to force Ihe plants ; but there must be an 

 abundance of the fermenting material. If this is done during the first 

 week of November you niay cut by Christmas. Neither ashes nor sand are 

 needed inside Sea-kale pots. If you do not force, a little long litter over 

 them will be desirable. 



NA.MES OF fnoiT (TTood/orr/).— 1, HoUandbury ; 2, Emperor Alexander ^ 

 3, Parry's I'earmain; 4, Marmalade Pippin; 5, Benrr^ de Kance; d, Beurr<^ 

 LefOvre ; 7, Autumn Colmar ; 8, Winter Nells. {£. .S.). — Your Fear is cer- 

 tainly delicious, but you do not say the name you have it under. It 

 appears to us like Doyenne Defais ; but that variety ought not to rot .it the 

 core as this does, and which is a great defect. 



