THE FLORAL WOULD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 127 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Aeum. — 2V. J. T., Hornsey. — Arums are propagated by offsets, of which many 

 are commonly produced. They should have a liberal supply of water. The 

 finest of the stove kinds ars — campanulatum, hederaceum, orixense, sagittifolium, 

 and trilobatum. 



Lime Watee. — Novice. — Put any quantity of lime into a tub of water, or 

 other vessel. You need not fear making it too strong, as water will only hold a 

 certain quantity in solution. Stir after mixing once or twice, and let it stand 

 until clear before using. It will not prove injurious to the foliage of plants. 



Vines in Houses with other Plants. — Harry. — It is by no means un- 

 common for vines to be successfully fruited in houses containing a general collec- 

 tion of plants, but it requires care and management. Your method of pruning 

 will do, and the vines ought to give you a satisfactory crop this season. Carry a 

 rod up each rafter, let them break at about fifty degrees, and syringe every day, 

 taking care to keep the floor of the house as dry as possible, and to give air fre- 

 quently, to prevent injury by damp to other things. If the roots are in the house 

 they will be sufficiently active to maintain the progress above; but if out of doors 

 they ought to be mulched over with litter, and protected from heavy cold rains 

 by thatched hurdles ; though, if the border is warm and well drained, a mulch- 

 ing with dung and leaves may be sufficient. Give as much moisture in the air by 

 syringing as is consistent with the health of the other plants, which will now bear 

 a moderate increase of heat and moisture without injury if they have plenty of 

 light. Increase the heat gradually to sixty-five degrees, as the vines come ioto 

 bloom ; and to set them well, discontinue syriDging, and keep the house close 

 and warm till the berries are formed. This is the time when the general collec- 

 tion of plants is likely to suffer, and the chief source of any difficulty that may 

 occur in fruiting vines with other plants. As Boon as the berries are set, the 

 syringe may be u?ed again, to *well the berries and to keep down pests. 



Camellias. — J. Clarke. — Your straggling plants should be cut back at once, 

 and, if you are right at the root, you will get new growth to make better-shaped 

 plants of them. A good plan to furnish the lower sten is to graft or inarch 

 the same or other sorts upon them, after which they should be kept warm and 

 moist. 



Cyclamen. — Rosa — We fear your plants are not potted in the proper soil. 

 If you have only used common garden soil, you must not expect bloom. They 

 ought to be in a mixture of peat, leaf-mould, chopped turf, and sand ; to be kept 

 rather dry after flowering, have a shift into larger pots before being housed for 

 the winter, and have jilenty of water after the leaves are full grown until they 

 have done flowering. 



Tie foe Zinc Labels, etc. — Subscriber. — The best material for attaching 

 zinc labels is soft metallic wire, which you can obtain of any respectable iron- 

 monger. 



Waltonian Case, etc. — Vita. — Your two-light frame will be the best of all 

 places to receive the newly-struck cuttings, etc., from the case. Take care that 

 the little things are rot burnt up by the sunshine. The most suitable material 

 for your flue will be common bricks, well laid with hot lime and the usual pro- 

 portion of sand. The bricks should be soaked in water before being laid, and the 

 mortar used quite fresh. 



Passion Flowee. — Woodoille. — You have not managed your passion-flower 

 right. It should be cut back very close every year in April, until it has been 

 planted five years. At the last close pruning, cutting it to one- third its height 

 will be sufficient. Yo'i had better cut close away the old shoots, and shorten the 

 new ones to half their leDgth ; then train right and left along the top of the front 

 glass, and next year cut them back to five feet from the former pruning, and so 

 carry the rods along the main lines intended for them, by digrees, and cut back 

 the shoots from them to two eyes every year aftcrwurds, and always prune in 

 April. 



Deutzia oracilis. — Corshallon. — Grow in a mixture of turf and loam equal 

 parts, and one-half part very rotten ding. They are sure to bloom well if the 

 April. 



