Jane 16, 1863. ] 



JOCSXAL Oh HORTICULTURE AXD COIIAOE GAKDlzyER. 



441 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 Cutvyr Soil, to R£ndtu Porous (.V. Mzrkey}.— Apply sea-samd and 

 uirf-EDoaid as you propose, bat before doing 1 so pare and bum 9 inches In 

 depth o: the entire surface, and add the ashes to the sand and mould. 

 This wit at once improve the staple and destroy the al-gi. 



Docble Ptrxthritms (^1 SuAstT'i&rr, CSren&nter).— If the Pyrethrums 

 are quite doable they eannot be propagated from se;d. Tae stiaieas ani 

 pistils are changed into petals, 



Itam's Garden Scissors X A Q -;■:.--;- c.-wcrwer).— We cannot tell 

 where these can be purchased, bat we remember seeing them at a cutler's 

 in Louden no: long since. 



Shtftiso Acbjctxas (S. j?.).— Do not shif: your Auriculas now. for 

 Jane is aboat the time when they take their summer rest ; and if they 

 were repotted now it is almost a certainty Out no: having circulation 

 enough going on, they would damp-orTaud die. We spe^k from experieace, 

 hiving last year had to receive a collection just about 'this time. The result 

 was that about one-half of them died. ! If we could have had them in May 

 or waited until the end of July, we should have been ao.e :o have saved 

 them a J, as in M*y they would have been making growth and at the end 

 of July would have" been preparing for their aatumn start. We, therefore, 

 strongly advise you to leave your plants in 60*3 as they are. The trouble 

 of watering is a Tery minor evil. With regard to fumigation, it is a 

 practice we never indulge in with, the Auricula. We never allow the 

 aphis to get ahead, and that simply by using a camel's hair brush, or, 

 what answers equally well, some pieces of bush tied together and made into 

 the form of a brush. You may keep the green fly under without fumigation. 

 Passu Flowers IsruBso (Z.).— Your Pansy blooms are devoured bj 

 some unseen enemy, which we suspect Is e.taer iae small wbite slug or the 

 woodlouse. If the former, the best plan is to go out at night and examine. 

 armed with a lantern and your fingers. If the latter, place seme pieces of 

 Elder with the pith hollowed out, or two pieces of board kept about an 

 eighth of an inch apart on the bed, and yon will then trap them. We 

 would advise you to* try, if fond of the Pansy, to grow them in pots, as 

 they are a very far ourite" food of many insects. 



HvftDY Seeming Potato [Mada). — If you have a Potato the foliage of 

 which yon think sustains no injury from a* frost «hich blackens the foliage 

 of other varieties, it would be desirable to save its tubers for seed, and try 

 raw3 of it side by side with other varieties. ;u:i iiriiu;sa _s j ie*.irrata:l 

 is eariy Potatoes. 



OajLHGv.xaaz Leaves Fallxso [A Subscriber). — Tour Otaheite Orange 

 is suffering from one or more of the following causes : — Imperfect drainage 

 and a sour soil, caused by too much water, or from, giving only a little now 

 and then, but never enough to thoroughly moisten the >^'i of earth, or th j 

 brown scale may have closed the pores of the leaves and sucked out th« 

 sap. Any of the above will cause the Orange to throw or? its leaves. Yea 

 will determine for yourself which of the above causes are applicable to 

 your case, and adopt a mode of treatment the opposite you have followed 

 to effect a remedy. In your case we would turn the plant out of the pot. 

 take away all the loose soil and as much soil from between the roots as it is 

 possible to do without injuring them with a biant-pointed ;t::i. .; - tang e~T 

 any decayed roots at the same time with a sharp kmhe. But if :.-. . Es _. 

 very much decayed, wash all the soil away from. them, tase away all Kb .- 

 decayed parts, catting well into the quick. Prepare a etean potsoanclentl- 

 large to prevent the roots from being cramped against tie pet sides, bat not 

 larger than just to contain the roots comfortably. P.ace a large crock on 

 the hole in the pot; and if that be small, make :: target wish a hammer. 

 Pa* for a twelve-inch pot 3 inches of smaller crocks at bottom of pot, or 

 let the drainage occupy one-third of the depth cf the not, and on that 

 place a little moss, or, what is better, half an inch of cocoa-nut fibre. Pot ■ 

 lightly, yet ailing up all the crevices between the roots, and keep the ue ;> 

 of the plant well up, for the Orange, like the Camellia, soon becomes sickly 

 when the roots are buried. Use three parts turfy Loam and aue-foorth 

 leaf mould, with a little rough sand ir-tcrraixed. If the plans Is infested 

 with scale, paint with a brush all the shoots wita a BomttOD of Gishurst [■ 

 compound at a strength of 3 oss. to the gallon of watec S j.jiuld you have i 

 the convenience of a hotbed at a temperature of from. 7o- to do 3 , your plant ! 

 will be much benefited by being pranged there until it ;reaks into leaf, j 

 and none the worse if kept there until the wood :s formed. The top heat 

 may range from 65 s to So° for about six weeks, then it should be lowered 

 so as to gradually harden-off the plant for the greenhouse— its proper | 

 place. If the plans be straggling or the sheets ~e-a. -a: them well tic's 

 when the buds begin to swell, for the sap is then on tie — ;■: and roots are j 

 begirining to form. Syringe gently twice a-day— mtramg and evening — , 

 and keep the soil in the pot rather dry at first, giving more as growth 

 progresses. If you nave no hotbed, place "the plan: a: she warmest end of 

 the g ;3r.i:use. srriukl€ :: hgur. j mrruirig ana e~i--zz ~ith repii 

 water, and although it will be longer before growth commences than 

 by the former plan, yet it may possibly recover; aui if :: i:es. pray 

 make a note of it and send it to this Journal, for u: ::ee _s so grossly mal- 

 treated and so little understood as the Orange. The after-treatment of the 

 Orange is to pot in March, adding a little rotten manure to the compost 

 mentioned before, and to keep the leaves ar.- -:-..;.- . .. .■:_! »■_.: 



sponging with a weak solution of soft soap and -^i:e? Your ll-mlc-leaved 

 Orange is doing for itself wast the cultivator ought : Lave d;ue .rug slurs 

 —judiciously thinned the branches in the centre of the tree, and so pre- 

 vented their smothering each other. Weil regulate '--5 shoots by a copious 

 thinning, and give the plant more tight and air. Examine the roots and 

 make all right there, and then we think yon will nave no difficulty in 

 getting it to~b!oom and fruit profusely. Ton may have cropped your tree 

 too heavily, and that would aceouns for the tree being n~ fruitful this year, 

 or you may have indulged it too muehwith lituii manure— ::. ; ;: :i: ~ ;;: 

 fatal agents to weak-growing kinds of Oranges. 



Ghapss Seasxtng (C Berry). — Most likely yon hare left too heavy ■ 

 crop. Bemove sbanked berries and reduce some o: the bunches. You ' 

 might make a drain in front of the border at once if there is not one. 1; ■ 

 satisfied that the roots are deep and that is the cause o: shanking, as soon as ' 



Plants CouxTaa-oaoEaiD Kie-yevrj Smbaer&er . — You 3hoold have 

 returned the plants ; but now, we thmk, you have ao remedy. 



Bcddlvg Vines [IT. M. 3.).— I" i-;aing is a much better plan than 

 budding, ani as i: can be done at *:-.? time, it is more generally practised. 

 If, however, you are anxious to try budding, an examination of the bnds 

 will enable you to judge when they are ready ; jui while the sap dows 

 freely in both bud and stock it may be done. A certain amount of firmness 

 in both the stock and the wood the bud is taken from will be necessary. 

 The operation is the same as for fruit trees and Itoses, tie-up with woollen 

 or cotton yarn, the former preferable, and exam.ue the and in time to see 

 that the ligature does not bind it too severely. 



Sszdlta'g Calceolaria (C. Daniel). — The flowers appear to belong to a 

 fine strain of Calceolaria, both outline and marking being good; but, of 

 course, flattened as they were, we could not tell If they have the requisite 

 rotundity. The brightness of the colours was pressed out. A3 tar as 

 -;" r .:-;::— g:. unier these :;rcauii:ir.;:; N"o3. - and 3 -rr=: thebnt; 

 but :i:e day is gone by for treating herbaceoui Calceolarias other than as 

 annuals.. The first thing is to get hold of a good strain a3 you seem to 

 have done. 



Cakkllxa and Azalea Leaves {J. B. t Croylyr.).— We like inquiries to 

 :e "fnef. ba: the facts to be definite. The briefness is all right; but we 

 hm nothing to guide us to a decision. The Camellia leaves seem to have 

 been scorched br sua falling on them whilst moist, the r x>ts being dry or 

 imoroperly drained. The Azaleas retain signs of thrips, for which the best 

 remedv is'smoking and well syringing afterwards. The other part of a 

 leaf may be a Miller's Burgundy Vine, or ever so many things. The holes 

 may be "made by caterpillars, insects, or sun stroke. "Who can tell without 

 some facts or information ! 



Flowsr-gahden Plan (5. A". A., JTanchister). — In the roominess of 

 -; gi .riraen there is much to admire. Your main group is formed of fire 

 figures — a centre triple-raised sasket with, a broad border round it, forming 

 aeirele altogether, we presume, of some 10 to 1- feet in diameter. Bound 

 that are two nearly half-moons and two circles. The widest part of the 

 quarter-moons and of these outside circles is not more than half the width 

 cf the central circle. This fact, and in addition the raised baskets in the 

 centre, will so rivet attention on the centre figure that tbe four outside 

 figures will be drowned, or at least thrown into the shade. The first hint 

 we would give would be the enlargir g of these tour outside figures, so as to 

 balance in size the central one. The next would be to carry No. i. at one 

 j en± of the lawn, much farther along, so as to be a balance to >"o. 7 at the 

 other end. Now as to the planting. \Ve do not see how the p l a nti ng of 

 rue csutre >"r. o. with its* flat bed ir i tiirre tiers of b-vskets, is to be im- 

 -- --_ : r resuming that th= Lobelia :: :de firs: basket is a:;arr than :ae 



Peril's in the back row of the level bed. We think_ that to contrast with 

 tVs"?erilla su^'a things as Oenothera Larpentte or "\ eitchiana would have 

 been better, and then the Lobelia migut have edged tde second basket of 

 Calceolarias. Bv the way, Calceolarias are not the best for baskets— they 

 are so greedy of the water-paiL In the four beds round there seems to be 

 ■- r- :a f -" ": ." - - ■ :' \: - j' r. .: r ' ...... :.::~ : :'-:-i:e::A..- z: :: :ae :eai 



".s scarlet Geram-aru, :ne Calceolaria— yellow, we presume — one scarlet 

 Verbena edged with Alyssum, and tne fourth purple. >"ow, as you have 

 white Cerastiura and variegated Geraniums, and Calceolarias and Perilla 

 in the ;eu:r? rlrure, it makes it something dirScuJt to balance these four; 

 fact two scarlets and two purples would be better than at present, or for 

 Tirierv r_^ke each of these beds different— as scarlet, blue, yellow, purple, 

 which* would all come in with the centra bed of baskets. We thins: No. 1 

 mu~ -> well— Perllls.. variegated Geranium, Calceolaria, and Centaurea 

 candid-.s^ima : but if that is the planting leading from the centre, we think 

 1 the following' would improve it : — First outside. Centaurea candidissim* ; 

 i.ec - ; scarlet Geranium with dark leaf, as Village Maid or Excellence ; 



third. "row. vellow Calceolaria; centre, Perola. Still we have no doubt 

 v:ur :.— -ugeraer.: will do well, but perhaps we h.- re a prejudice that yellow 

 and white neither contrast nor harmonise well together. We think the 

 lar?e bed. No. ~, would be much improved with a broad edging of Cerastium, 

 and if Biecersteini all the better— it would be a balance, though far off, ot 

 -_= Centaurea in No. 1; and the Saponaria, besides, does not make a good 

 ed'-lu- "i -rrhghi line, as it will creep among other things, and much 

 — *_:: "j.*^"; ^jj e iqq^ f it. The rest we could not improve. Let us 

 know bow "the Amaranthus melancholicus stands the season with you. We 

 ;aua:t sav w= like i: i- --ell a; the Sph-ach.— P.. r. 



CAaLPTLOSOiSYS SETTLGENS AND PAVSTTA BOBBONICA [J. YVtSHQ Gar- 



j •• .— ,_x&ev thrive in s;iudv loam ana r=^-t. aa.a i: they Is not move fast 

 enough, trv and give them a little bottom heat au '. rrequent dashings on 

 me top wiSi tfee svr-lnge. A stove ot* a moderate aea: wil. suit them, and 

 . — La h::tei ;:' the :- .-: Ilea:. 



Aphela>i)ba Lso=OLi)rT [Idem).— The Aphelaudra would be better 



?*-•■ :..:i -^:^ --r-s-- ~-ra an.- ? '-y-'.-.-r .■;.m .::.:,■-. vriJ..:j. w..;.. gire 



mere ^usisteuce to the foliage. If no: growing freely, a slight bottom 



heat would do it good. The dowering depends on rr^e growth and a slight 



cheek, :: cause the nower-buds to form at the points, 



FisT-anowrsG- Casxpsa. fob a Rustic Basset (51 F. B.). —As the 

 season : s now late, Cobcea scandens will suit y..u best as a summer annual, 

 or you mieht trv Manrandya Bareiayana, the Canary Tropsoium, or a 

 Lop'hospermuin ; Vae last U3:..ea is not s^ robust as the others. But if a 

 r j -rr.inent :reer=r ^as wauted for a sheltered plate, :,--rera:;arpu= scaber 

 will do ; or =r!L to be more permanent and to look well at all seasons, try 

 iome of the jasniinums. Boses,— or. perhaps, the best of ail— Ivy, whose 



the Grapes are cut raise the roots, replant at once, water witfe warm water 3 

 shade the house, keep the toliage green as long as possible, and the Vines 

 will be all right nest season. 



Asursa~ attrs Flowksikg {£. J. Z,). — Azaleas, when they have 

 finished flowering, will make their wood and set their buds best in a 

 moderate hothouse a little shaded. Then they may afterwards have more 

 air and be set out of doors. 



ever-beautiful sreen fully compensates for its lack of gay riowers. Messrs. 

 Lee's white variegated Geranium is not yet brought out. If y#u write to 

 :aera Shey will give "cu any information you need about :t. 



V-rz Lea"s A-. A-.::::.-. £;-:-/"■'' — ~ -= leaves were very much 

 dried, but if it is notmiicew we fear you here thrips. Examine closely, 

 and see if vou car. discover any small ;ump:ug ir_sec;s. It so, smoke 

 as well as use the sulphur water ; also use clear lime aud soot water. 



Soot Water (.Mew).— Mr, Fish makes the latter by placing half a pack 

 of soot or so in a barrel of water— saj - z illons— and^ quarter 

 fresh lime, working it no with a piiL of water so as to mix, 



a peck 

 and then 

 fining the barrel. In twentv-four hours the liquid will be as clear as 

 brandy, and whilst svringing with it will hurt nothing, no insects of any 

 kind h\e iu When the liquor from filling up geta too weak, add more soot 

 and lime. Before using, remove any scum on the surface. This should 

 not be used for fruit nearly ripe. 



