49« 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t November 25, 1S69. 



T*t.Anooinw Prixce Silterwikos (J. B. 5.).— Yon ftHk If the ahovo 

 i»n OoWor Silver Tricolor; onr opinion ts Uiat it bulontis to Iho Silver 

 TrtrT>for section, ftlthoucb nt times, ss von observe, it ban the nppojirnnco 

 «< ■ Oolikn Tricolor. We tthnold not, however, liettitatc for n moment to 

 •ibibitmgood plant of it. either in n collectioD of Silver or Golden Tri- 

 eolwH. It is a very pretty and pleasing variotj. 



HcAcrxTu Glasses (11*. J-TniO.— Tbey aroknownoa " Tve's Uyacinth 

 Ghiwes," All Bcedsmen soil tbem. 



Tnmoruir speciosa (H. C.).— We know of no plant bo named. 



CACTUSES (D. M'.).—Vi0 consider the best work of anthority on those 

 flnnto iB I>& Candolle's " Plaatnrnm Historia Succnlentarum." 



Fucttbrer (^'^^■).— Messrs. Webber A Co., Covent Garden Market I 

 but tpyoor post-mark is Bangor, you had better Und a frnitcrcr at Chester 

 or IJTt'ritooJ. 



JljM:»B*~DATEa or iKTRODUCTlos (TF. H. W.).— Wo cannot (five von tbo 

 iBlorruation. About three years at(o M. Margottin, Bourg-la-Reine, 

 Tvhg. pnblisbed a catalogne with the information, and perhaps yon might 

 •M.-mi one by writing to him. 



Gi mBR A Leaves Ccrled (A Laihj in Chrithirr).— The leaves mnv 

 cmi. from the attacks of the white fiy, which is very difficult to extermi- 

 niitd. famigntion with tobacco being the onlv remedv, and that miiet 

 lie fioTie moderately, otherwiso the foliage of the plants will suffer. To 

 haT* fmc plunts they should 'be started in good time, and grown in a 

 bri.-«k beat of from 6u-^ to 65 at niRht. and 70 to 75 by day. with n rise 

 from t^onheat to 80- or 85 . Place tbem near the glass, and maintain a 

 moist atmosphere nntil they are coming into flower; then keep them 

 ratlxT drier. 



V^nfTiNAS DcsTED WITH SooT (Tn/).— The cutt'Dg Bcnt nppeara to have 

 b^fn •ui-veteW attacked by either red spider or thrip«, if not by both, and 

 Ibe dusting with soot would only dry up the leaves. Soot wlien UBed 

 Irftifa .»bonld be applied in moderate (jusmtity, as it is opt to burn the 

 yooDg ffrowths of plnnts kept in a dose atmosphere, and on that account 

 tender, especially plants which have hairy leaves—as Verbenas, Pelar- 

 irouimQ8, ^c. When plants are duatod with soot the leaves f-bould be 

 *ry. «Dd unless these ar-* firm, it is better not to dust them with soot, 

 ei'-ffpt m moderate quantity. All you can do is to cut away the parts 

 dftiCroyod by the soot, and give tho plants a light airy position in a cool 

 hoGfie. They may recover. 



Fcisa TO Ornament a Screen {Mrs. J. S.).— To dry Ferns so as to 

 keep Ibrir colour, as they are to bo put on a folding screen and varnished 

 afterward:', we should dry them quickly by pressing them with a hot flat- 

 iKm, then pnste them on the screen, acd when quite dry apply the varnish. 



Stzb of the Hobse Chestnut (J. An-lf rwn).— To say *' what is the 

 m»en»pe width of ground covered bv a full-grown Horse Chestnut "is 

 •carctly possible. The form assumed by the tree, the nature of tbe soil 

 asd slnation, all control its outspread. They have been known to cover 

 • circ'e of GO fctt in diameter, but usually we thiuk they do not exceed 



Tlov—r Seeds from China (Honrj ffon/;).— We do not know any of 

 the M-S'ls from the names they have in Cbina. There are no doubt many 

 plaotl-' in China which it would be desirable to have seeds of , but it 

 wonid (n hardly worth while to obtain seeds of those plants which have 

 nhmtly been introduced. In sending seeds to Cbina, those of half- 

 bardy piants and of the more tender sorts of hardy plants, would be 

 B&vl j'uitftble, selectinff, of course, those not indigenous to Cbina. In 

 raJW'-D'j plants from seed from China, sow in spriug in a compost of equal 

 pMtifi <>f flbTous loam and sandy peat, and cover the seeds with fine soil 

 to ndfpth about equal to their diameter. Place them in a gentle heat, 

 and keep them moist and near the glass. Continue them in heat until the 

 pbnlf^ ere large enough to bnmlle, then pot tbem off singly, or prick off 

 ao ioc.'^i or two apart in pans, and return them to the beat, shading and 

 keepii.g moist uniil they are re-established; then harden off. removing 

 tbeio »'■ a cool airy house, and shifting as required into larger pots. 



SrsYT T.VN (M. C.).~lt is of little value as a manure until completelv 

 4«r^Ted ; but it may be employed for covering Potatoes at planting and 

 spread over the ground before being dug for vegetables, it does no harm. 

 As a >ap-dressing to grass we have found it most useful when applied 

 early io }Iarch. 



raoTUKo Pear Trees recently Planted (A. TT.l.— We would at once 

 iowhstever pruning is needed, cutting back the shoots as required. It 

 HIST, luiwever, be deferred untU earlv in sprinir, the weather now being 

 cold; (mt if mild, Jo it now. They will bo all the better of a rather close 

 pmxiiug, especially if the plants have lost manv roots in the process of 

 Knuksplantiag. If not pruned this year, or before growth, it is likelv, 

 irau the little growth that will be made, that they will not need pruning 

 mm autimin. 



BiPiLiEn Pear and Apple Trees (T'lcnr).— The branches should bo 

 1 loot apart. Pear trees on the Pear, and Apple trees on the Crab, should 

 be pjaated 20 feet apart. A distance of 15 feet is too smsll. unless the 

 wpahera are more than 6 feet high. Plums do tolerablv well as espaliers, 

 bat we do not recommend them. P3rramid3 or bushes', and standards of 

 tbe commoner sorts, are preferable. Your soil will onlv need draining 

 aad trenching as deeply as you can without turning up anv. or but little. 

 of tbe clay subsoil, though it would be well to loosen the bottom of each 

 trench. A dozen large dt\'^scrt Peart, suitable for espaliers, are .—Jar- 

 somllH. Bnurte d'Amanlis, Wimnms's Bon ChrtHien, Bourr.- Hardv, 

 Bcurr.- Diel, Hacon's Incomparable, Marie Louise, Thompson's, Knight's 

 Moniiicb. Glou Mori,-cau. Beurrr do Kance, and Xe plus Meuris. Dcuert 

 JrpUs : Gravenstein, Hambledon Deux Ans, CelHni, Cornish Arnraatic, 

 Adams's Pearmain, Northern Spy, Lemon Pippin, Ribston Pippin, Worms- 

 ley Pippin, iled Astrachan, Blenheim Pippin, and Herefordshire Pear- 

 main. 



CHCR£rF.s TOR STANDARDS f7(fsm).— May Duke, Knight's Early Black, 

 Black Tartarian, Royal Duke, Late Duke, and Bigarreau Napohon. 



Totes is an Unheated Vinery {A Youna rir\e-oToicer).-~To grow 

 Vlnen in an nnheated glas^ house, and mainlv lor profit, we would confine 

 Ibe aorta chiefly to Black Hamburgh. Royal Sluscadine, and Black thnm- 

 pioQ. There would be a risk of not ripening the Muscat vou name. You 

 win rfo with six Vines. With a l.S-feet slope of glass, we would train the 

 "Vmes from near the bottom to the top, instead of longitudinally along 

 tbe boose. The openings over the doorways in a26-feet length of house 

 villd>macb for ventilation, but we would prefer one ventilator at the 



apex in the centre. Wo do not think that op«Dfnfft lika a brick end wiLl 

 be Bufllctcnt in the front of the boafle, aa thesa 30*lnob-wide nquarefl ara 

 very diff<_-rent from small squares. Though yoa give only a Uttle air in 

 front, you should bo able to command from 4 to C Inchea all the way. For 

 aoythtng but Vines you would require more. You may flU your hoasa 

 with trees in pots before tbe Vines cover tbo roof; then there might ba 

 one or two between tho Vines. 



Tor-DREssiNrt A Vise Border (£. Jorn-jt),— Your border covered with 

 glass need not bo protected with litter, as the roots will not be liable to 

 suffer from frost : hut when tbe Vines are pruned tbe border ahouM be 

 lightly stirred with a fork, but not bo deeply as to injure tho roots, giving 

 a top-dreSKing of loam three parts, half-inch bones two parts, fresh horsa 

 or sheep dropping^ two parts, charcoal iu pieces from the size of a pi-a to 

 that of a bar.ol nut two parts, and one part calcined oyster-shells, the 

 whole well mixed. Cover the border about U inch deep, and when dry, 

 or sufflciontly so not to cling to tho feet, treacl it firm. Before tbe Vines 

 begin to grow, give a gooi watering with wator5 warmer than the tem- 

 perature of the house. Tho loam used should be the top of a pasture 

 taken off about \\ inch thick, and laid in a heap for a short time so as to 

 destroy tho grass, otherwise tbe fresher it is tbo bettor. 



Marine Aquaricm (A Constant Readrr).—" Other things being equal, 

 a marine aquarium probably will succeed just as well fifty miles inland 

 as anywhere else. If the air be pnre, the want of that slight saline im- 

 pregnation, which is the principal characteristic of aea air, cannot bo 

 much felt through a medium of pure salt water. At any rate, marine 

 aquaria do well in the suburbs of London, for a most ornamental and 

 well-mana?ed drawing-room aquarium was, some years ago, located on 

 Brixton Hill. There is no necessity for chancing' the water at all. so 

 long as it remains clear an I of tho original density. There are dealers 

 in marine plants and animals In Covent Garden Market, and Mr. King, 

 Great Portland Street, also supplies them.— Ayrshire Gardener." 



Terraced Pots for Growing Lycopomums (3/. D.).— You have the 

 richt sort of vessel for growing pyramids of these pretty plants. The 

 ledges should be filled with sandy peat, adding sand liberally, and then 

 bfi planted with such dwarf kinds as SelHgincUa dcnticulata, ^. cassia and 

 S. densa. Give a light sprinkling with water every morning and evening, 

 and the vessel should be kept full of water, tbe top' being loft open. These 

 vessels when not too soft are excellent, as they keep the roots cool and 

 moist, but when soft tbe water comes too plentilnlly throngb, and the 

 ledges are only so many receptacles lor water. That defect might, how- 

 ever, be prevented by holes through the bottom of the ledges lo allow of 

 the superabundant water passing away. 



DoiTBLE Pyrethbcm PROPAGATION fJA*m .— Like the single varieties 

 they are perennials, but in two or three years the plants, and especially 

 those from seed, become so weak from excessive flowering as not tm- 

 frequeiitly to die. To keep up a stock of vigorous plants of desirable 

 kinds, the side shoots that come from near tbe base of tbe plants should 

 be slipped off in summer, and struck in sandy soil in a shady border, 

 planting out in autumn or early in spring. The apparently dead roots 

 wo should mulch with leaf soil, and they will probably start from the 

 collar of the plant in sprinc If, however, your soil is strong and wet the 

 plants will hardly survive tbe winter, as in such soil they are little more 

 than biennials, and the better the kind the more delicate it is. A well- 

 drained sandy soil is most suitable for Pyretbruras. 



Salter's Variegated Arum (J. .^.).— It is a variety of the Aram maca- 

 latum, which always dies down in winter. 



Early Peas (H. B.). — As you have no convenience for raising the 

 plants insMe and then planting out. your only plan will be to sow a crop 

 on the south border as soon after this answer appears as possible, tho 

 row running parallel with the wall and being 4 feet from it. so that the 

 fruit trees on the wall may not be injured by tho shade of tbe Peas. U 

 you have not space on tbe south border, then your only alternative will bo 

 io sow in the most sunny and sheltered position you can find, preferring 

 Sandy to heavy soil. Whether in the open ground or on the south border, 

 a crop should be sown at once, and early in February, or as soon after- 

 wards as the weather permits, follow with another sowing of the same 

 sort ; so that if the first sowing fail tho spring one will produce in due 

 course, and if both succeed they will form a succession. Dickson's Firat 

 and Best is the best early variety at present iu cultivation. If your 

 object be to obtain a dish very early, you may, at 1 foot from tho south 

 wall, sow at once a row of Tom Thumb, placing twigiry branches of Spruce 

 nniong tho plants when a few inches high, which will nflord them a sort 

 of protection, and you can cover them at night in severe weather with 

 any lit;ht material, as canvas. 



SuLPHCR AND TcRPENTrNE Vapours (W. A. 0.).— You wUl Obtain 

 snlphur vapour or fumes without placing it on a heated surface. On a 

 surface not hotter than 160 , fumes will ho emitted that are death to red 

 spider and mildew, and not at all injurious to plants. Turpentine placed 

 in one or two plates in a house will destroy merely bug. and every tender 

 leaf within the house. It is a remedy worse thaii the disease. It ought 

 not to be employed in honc;es filled with plants, though it may be used 

 for destroying mealy bug on Vines, but then every plant must be taken 

 out of the house. — G. A. 



Shrubs for a Town Garden (C. C. 7^;.)— Plant Mountain Ash, Thorns, 

 Guelder Rose, Dogwood, and Snowbcrry. and lill-in with Aucnbas, tree 

 Box, and Rhododendrons in front. You do not say whether tho town is ft 

 manufacturing one or not ; therefore, wo cannot advise as we should 

 wish ; but those named withstand any Rmonnt of smoke and dust. 



Pollen of the Male AucrnAs.— "M." says that ho had the whole of 

 his uinlo Aucubas plunged in their pots in tho ground, but his gardener 

 has taken tbem up and put them in a cool house, where they are all in 

 lluwer, thus more than dt-feating his object, which was by planting in the 

 open to retard the time of blossoming; and he wishes to know how long 

 tbe pollen can be kept in a condition to fertilise the female plants when 

 they show bloom. Ho has cut off ninny blossoms, and wishes to be in- 

 formed if it is desirable for preservation to remove tbe petals, only pro- 

 8or%-ing tbe stamens ? We shall be obliged by information on these 

 subjects. 



Canvas Lights for Protectino Bedding Plants in Spring (A. B.), 

 —You may paint tbo canvas with a composition formed of linseed oil, 

 three pints ; white resin. 4 ozs. ; and acetate of lead, 1 oz. The acetate 

 of lead should be ground with a little of tbe oil. then add the resin and 

 the remainder of the oil. Incorporate tbe whole thoroughly in an iron 

 pot over a gentle Are, and apply the composition hot to the canvas. 



