THE FLORAX WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 255 



respondent adds : " la tins garden ranunculus will never bloom, and in a friend's 

 garden, where they are splendid, the crocuses last only one year. Is it a fact that 

 the two flowers will not do in the same garden ?" It is a fact that they do in the 

 same garden with us, and we could name thousands of gardens in winch rannn- 

 caluses and crocuses thrive in the most satisfactory manner side by side. The 

 case put by our correspondent, no doubt, admits of a very simple explanation, 

 which we thinlc we could give, though we know nothing of the gardens which 

 farni-ihed the case. 



Double Naeciss. — Can yoix tell me the reason why nay double white narcissi 

 always fail to open their blooming buds ? Every year they throw up buds in pro- 

 fusion, but they never expiind. They are planted in a very sunny south-west 

 border, and have bfien undisturbed for years, and, in consequence, are now in large 

 clumps, and would ha beautiful if the bu^'s would open.; itistea! of which they 

 turn brown and Habby, and wither. I have hitherto attributed their failure to the 

 spring frosts, but this cannot be the cause this year, as we have hitherto beea 

 remarkably free from frost. I bare watered them well, and yet the whule plant 

 hangs down limp, apparentlj'' needing moisture. Can tlie locality ha too hot for 

 them ? Would they be benefited by being moved into the shalu ? And what 

 would be the best season for moving them ? — Comtant Reader. [The situation is 

 evidently too hot and dry, and to remove them would probably improve the case. 

 It is seldom frost injures any kind of nareiss, but sunshine is decidedly hurtful. 

 Our collection of 120 varieties is oa a border facing east, where the m )raiag sun 

 shines gaily, but the narcissi are completely screened from the midday sun by trees. 

 Remove your clumps at once to a rich, mo'st, shady situation, and liava the ground 

 deeply dug and well manured for them. If the clumps are large, divide thera.] 



Sample of Peat. — Amateur. — It is impossible for us to declare, on seeing a tea- 

 spoonful of peat, whether it is fit for plant growing or for any particnlir department 

 of plant growing. If you had told us what wild plants j'ou saw growing in it, we 

 might hazard a fair guess as to its value. The sample appears to us to represent a 

 sour and comparatively worthless bog soil, hut we really are not sufficiently clever 

 to tell you what is its horticultural value. 



PrestwicJc, — Probably a weak solution of salt and water will cleanse the cab- 

 bages of the insects that infest them. 



Names of Plants — ^hilip. — Deutzia crenata. The splitting of the pears can 

 only be prevented by lifting the trees and planting them on stations. You put ten 

 questions in a lump ; if all our readers were equally unreasonable, we sliould order a 



balloon and steer for the moon. Stourbridge.— Jiignonin venusta. — M. S. — Kuscus 



aculeatiis. T P. P. — 1, Artemisia argentea ; 2, Helianthemum vulgare. 



V^Eious. — W. Cox. — Tours is a case of shanking, the result of sumething wrong 



at the roots. W. S. — Common zonals will strike well in any sindy compost, and 



pots or boxes may be used at your convenience. M. — There are many species of 



Eupatoriumin cultivation. Yours that flowers in March ia probably E ageratoides, 



and the other E. riparia. W. P- SneU. — Your seedling cujumber has a fine 



deep green colour, attains a large size, is distinctly ribbed, has a few obscure white 

 spities, and is tender and well flavoured. When it arrived we had an opportunity 

 of comparing it with several standard sorts, and found it first-rate every way. 



W. H. A. — We do not know of any agent for Irish peat charcoal. Try Barr 

 and Suuden, 12, King Street, Covent Garden. 



Strawbeeuies. — J. C. B. — It is impossible to tell you which are the host two sorts 

 to grow, and it is our rule never to tell people where to go to buy anything that has 

 become a common article of trade. If you will refer back you will find abundant 

 information on strawberry culture. As you want two first-rate sorts to begin with, 

 we recommend you to secure President and Frogmore Late Pine. 



Books. — R. Roberts. — The following will constitute a good handful to begin 

 with — Herasley's "Handbook of Hardy Trees and Shrubs;" ThompsDu's "Gar- 

 dener's Assistant ;" Deakin's " Florigraphia Brittanica ;" lliboerd's " Amateur's 

 Greenhouse," and "Amateur's Rose Book ; " Sutherland's " Herbaeeous and Alpine 

 Flowers ;" Smith's " British and Foreign Ferns ;" and Williams's " OrcUid-grower's 

 Maaual." 



August. 



