320 THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Bedding Plants in Wikteb. — E. D., Hackney. — You need not quite 

 despair if you have no better place than a shed to winter geraniums, fuchsias, 

 etc. Severe weather will kill such things, but while the frosts last the plants 

 may be buried in darkness for a fortnight at a time by means of mats, or even a 

 temporary thatch of straw or turf, to be removed at the first break of the weather. 

 The drenching rains of October and November ruin tender plants exposed to it 

 more than a slight frost, and indeed render them unable to bear a little freezing. 

 If got under cover before the heavy rains set in, protection from severe and 

 long-continued frosts is all that is necessary. Try and arrange so that some light 

 enters the shed, and should you not be able to afford one of the new portable 

 greenhouse paraffin lamps, see that the shed shuts up close, and try a large stone 

 bottle holding from four to six gallons, painted outside with lamp black and size, 

 and fill it every night and morning with boiling water during frosty weather. 

 Should we not have a very severe winter, we think it might suffice, especially if 

 assisted with a few mats on the outside of the shed. 



Amabyllis. — Rose, Croydon. — The amanllis requires good greenhouse treat- 

 ment ; and we suspect that why you have failed in obtaining bloom is that 

 you have not fed them well enough while growing A good mixture for the 

 amaryllis may be made of turfy loam, old manure, and a liberal mixture of sand. 

 Give them good greenhouse temperature ; and after they have made their growth 

 keep them dry and warm for eight or ten weeks, and do not repot them until 

 they begin to grow again. 



Shbt/bs under Tkees. — Ignoramus. — The common tree-box, Aucubajaponica, 

 comm n ever-green Euonymus, common privet, phillyrea, ivy, and periwinkle, 

 are some of the best for such a situation. The following also might succeed — 

 Taxus canadensis, Taxus adpressa ; common holly, variegated holly, American 

 Arbor- ita, L'gustrum japouicum, Ligustrum lucidum sempervirens, Skimmia 

 japonua, hybrid rhododendrons, Berberis japonicum, B. fascicularis hybrida, 

 B. aqi folium, and variegated box. The rhododendrons would require some 

 peat. 



Agapakthus ttmbellatus. — U.S., Hove.— This should now be shaken out 

 and repotted in mellow, sandy loam, and be set aside in a warm corner out-of- 

 doors, and be moderately « atered until there is reasonable fear of frost, and then 

 it should be transferred to the cold pit for the winter. After the middle of 

 April it may be set ont-of-doors in a sheltered place, and during May, June, and 

 July should be treated as a half aquatic, and stand always in a pan of water. 

 Many amateurs spoil this plant by giving insufficient water. The more open air 

 it has, without, being touched by frost, the better. 



Scale. — W. C. K. — When scale gains the ascendency in the stove, it is almost 

 impossible to eradicate it. With hard-woodid plants the first thing to be done 

 is to brush the sterna aud branches with a hard brush. Another step in the 

 process will be to brush the stems of all plants likely to bear the application with 

 spirits of turpentine, which must be brushed into all the crevices of the bark 

 where the scale insect usually broods over its eggs. Plants of delicate structure, 

 such as fern?, which car.not be brushed, must be shut up close in a box, with a 

 vessel of boiling water, over nhich is placed a saucer full of turpentine. The 

 heat will cause the vapour of the turpentine to rise amongst the plants, and the 

 scale will be destroyed. These remedies are to be repeated ; however effectual 

 or otherwise they may prove at first, aa one operation should never be trusted in 

 for the eradication of vermin. There is another plan, and that is the use of sweet 

 oil, which is very effective, but it makes the plants look very miserable for a 

 time, and every leaf it touches will perish. Bui it does no harm to the bark of 

 trees and shrubs, and we once saw a very fine collection of succulents treated with 

 oil throughout, which cleansed them of scale completely, and the plants the next 

 season made a very vigorous growth, though immediately after the application of 

 the oil they bad a very sorry appearance. It may be as well to add, that insects 

 breathe through apertures in various parts of the body, and oil closes these, and 

 causes their death by suffocation. No insect will survive being thoroughly covered 

 with oil. 



