254 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
TopEa supEREA.—WMiss F., Susser.—This beautiful filmy fern may be culti- 
vated with considerable success in the drawing-room or other indoor apartments, 
provided it can havea position where it will enjoy a fair share of light without 
being exposed to the rays of the sun. In its native habitat, it is most usually found 
in the moist shady delis where the fronds are kept constantly moist by the spray 
from a neighbouring waterfall ; but under cultivation, especially when indoors, it 
is found that the most satisfactory results are obtained by exposing them to a fair 
amount of light, but without allowing the sun to shine upon them. The plants, 
when indoors, appear to the best advantage under a circular glass shade of sufficient 
diameter to afford room enough for the full development of the fronds, For a good 
specimen the shade should be from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter. The 
plants appear to greater advantage when raised a few inches above the level of the 
rim of the pan with a surfacing of the rich green Se/agine/la denticulata. The 
pans should have about two inches of rather small crocks placed in the bottom of 
the pan, with a covering of moss to prevent the soil filtering down between them 
and impeding the flow of the superfiuous moisture. The plant should then be turned 
out of the pot and put in the middle of the pan, and the soil be packed firmly 
about it. There is nothing better than fibrous peat, to which a moderate proportion 
of sharp silver sand and small crocks has been added. Small lumps of sandstone 
may be substituted for the crocks with advantage, but the addition of the sandstone 
is not of sufficient importance to justify any great expense in procuring it. The 
soil should slope gradually from the base of the plant to the rim of the pan, and 
after the latter is well filled, lay a few clean pebbles over the surface and dibble in 
between the stones small tufts of the selaginella mentioned above. The soil must 
be maintained in a nice moist state, and the fronds be kept constantly damp, 
excepting during the winter season, when less moisture is needful. From early in 
the spring until the autumn, sprinkle the plants overhead once a day, If this 
is done, the soil will soon be carpeted with the most delicious green, and the 
appearance of the plant will be such as to at once arrest the attention of the visitor. 
We would advise you to commence with a strong plant in a three or five-inch pot. 
Asters FoR EXxuIBition.—Ambitious Amateur.—The asters are suffering from 
drought, and unless remedial measures are adopted at once, the blooms will be 
small in size and inferior in quality. Lay a good thickness of half-rotten stable 
manure between the rows, and thoroughly soak the bed with soft water or weak 
liquid manure. Surface waterings are worse than useless, and heavy waterings 
are not one quarter the service if the surface of the bed is not covered with some 
loose material like that recommended above. Vegetable refuse of any kind will 
be better than nothing, but partly-decayed manure is decidedly the most suitable. 
Erapicatinc Horse Raptsu.—B.S.—The only practicable plan of clearing 
the borders of the horse radish will be to chop off the heads as fast as they make 
their appearance, and in the winter to trench the ground as deep as possible, and 
carefully remove every particle of root. It will undoubtedly be a troublesome affair 
to clear the ground, but no chemical agent must be employed for poisoning the 
roots. 
‘Ants In Frurr Hovuses.—Constant Reader.—It is by no means difficult to 
destroy the ants in your fruit-houses. Take a piece of sponge, and place it upon 
a saucer, and then sprinkle a liberal quantity of powdered loaf-sugar over it. Place 
the saucer and sponge near their haunts, and when the pores of the sponge are well 
filled with the insects, shake it over a vessel of hot water; return the sponge to the 
saucer, and sprinkle more sugar over, and it will be ready for use again. Of 
course, any number of saucers can be employed at one time, and, as a rule, they 
should be looked over twice a day. By persevering, the house can soon be cleared 
of immense numbers. 
Ixpia Rupser Prant.—VR.—A warm greenhouse will suit Ficus elasticus 
admirably during the winter months, and at other periods it may be grown in the 
window of a dwelling-house or a cold greenhouse, and from the end of May to the 
end of September it may be put out-of-doors, if required for garden decoration. 
To opTaIn A SUPPLY oF CaxczotaRtA CuTTiNes.—As you have a number of 
