14 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Jaly 6, 1871. 



communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, d'c, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.G. 

 We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the same 

 sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on Poultry 

 and Bee suhjects, if the}^ expect to get them answered 

 promptly and conveniently, but write them on separate 

 communications. Also never to send naore than two or 

 three questions at once. 

 N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Aenorjial MiiiULUS {J. E. G. G.) —We never saw one similar. If pro- 

 pagated from, the progeny would probably revert to the normal form. 



Heb.bai. {Cheshire}.— There is no herbal with coloured plates sach as 

 jou name. 



Who is a Cottager? (Gorm's ffouie).—" What is a cottager? Does 

 any person living in a cottage, and occasionally employing skilled labonr, 

 come under this head?" Certainly not. Wben a committee of a local 

 horticultural society offer a prize or prizes for cottagers to compete for, 

 they mean those who are not gardeners, and who earn their living by 

 naanual labour, and cultivate their gardens by the aid of their own 

 families only. 



Seedlhs-g Roses (R. Curtis £ Co.).~Yotit blush Hybrid Perpetual Rose, 

 Bessie Johnson, is very fine, very vigorous in growth, and certainly is 

 ■well scented. We much admire also the seedling from Charles Le- 

 febvre ; in colour it equals General Jacqueminot, in doubleness surpasses 

 it. Whether it equals it in olher escellKncies, of course we cmnot say. 



Cetstal Palace Rose Show.— Three of the first prizes for amateurs 

 were won by R X. G. Baker, Esq , Salutary Maun*, Heavitree. 



Petals of Roses {J. F. E).—See what we said last week about the 

 Pot-pourri. 



Variegated Ash (W. French). — Your specimens are nicely variegated, 

 hut we hnve seen the leaves of the Ash tree even more variegated — 

 almost white— after a severe winter. There is already a permanent varie- 

 gated variety to be had in the nurseries. 



Replacing Picea Nordmanniana Leader (Sijma).—'WQ should train 

 one of th f side shoots erect, choosing the strongest and most likely to 

 form side shoots. It is probable that the tree would in a year or two 

 form another leader, which is far preferable to a lateral or side branch, 

 ■which at best is little more than a branch, and does not put out side 

 •Ghoots all round like a leader, but on two sides only. However, train np 

 a side shoot, and if another leader be formed you can remove the branch, 

 while if no leader be formed you will gain time. 



Pelargonium Treatment {J. B. S.).— Place the plants out of doors in 

 au oppn but sheltered situation, and water sparingly. In thj second 

 week of August cut back alt the shoots to within two or three eyes of 

 their base, and the second week in September shake the plants oat of 

 the pots, and place them in others a size less. Place them in a cold 

 firame with a moderate amount of air, and shade for a few hours if the 

 weather be bright. Remove them to your bouse at the close of Septem- 

 ber, and place them near the glass, giving abundiuce of air. For flower- 

 ing at the end of May tliey should not be stopped after the last week in 

 April. You will find full particulars in '■ Florists' Flowers fur the Many," 

 free by p^st from our office for five stamps. 



Select Double-flowered Pelvegoniums (T.). — Camelliseflora, 

 Victor, Wilhelm Pfilzer. Victor Lemoine, Madame Lemoine, Cottingbam 

 or Double Tom Thumb, Abundance, Vanguard, C. Glym, Grenadier, 

 Dauntless, and Cavalier. 



Sowing Seeds of the Fir Tribe (IdeTTi).— Sow them in March in 

 good rich loam, sandy rather than heavy, and in pans well drained, 

 covering the seeds with fine soil to a depth eqn.il to their didmeter. Set 

 the pots or pans in a cold frame in a shady place, but not under trees, or 

 the position may be sunny ;f the lights are brushed over on the inside 

 with whitening and milk." Keep them just moist, and when up admit 

 -plenty of air. The hardier and common kinds are best sown out of doors 

 in sandy soil in a sheltered position. 



Wintering Plants in a Cold Pit (F. G.).— Of the plants you name, 

 Camellias. Begonia Veitcbii (probably quite hardy). Daphne Fortaoi (also 

 hardy), may be wintered safely in a'cold pit, and the Grevilleas, Daphne 

 indica, and Mesembryanthemums of the hardier kinds, may be wintered 

 there with protection in severe weather. The Paulovnia imperialis does 

 act flower either from the wood not being sufficiently ripened, or your 

 climate being too cold. Perhsps if it were planted in warm, well-drained 

 soil the wood would be sufficiency ripened for fljwering. If you were to 

 take it up and plant it in a tub, that would probably induce flowering. 

 Koses of the Hvbrid Perpetual class are best struck without heat, taking 

 ripe shoots just after flowering, or early in July, when the flowering is 

 over, placing them singly in small pots, and setting them in a cold frame, 

 where they should be kept close, shaded, and sprinkled with water every 

 Biorning. These will be rooted ia about six weeks ; then admit air, gra- 

 dually harden off, and transfer to larger pots in September. 



Plant Habitats (R. G.) — Croton variegatum, nat. ord. Euporbiacere, 

 East ladies. Chamnerops humilis, nat. ord. Palmaceas, South of Europe. 

 Phoeois reclinata, nat ord. Pa'macea;, Cape of Good Hope. Sabal Adan- 

 eonii, nat. ord. Palmacere, Floridi. Cissus discolor, nat, ord. Vitacece, 

 Java. Maranta zebrina, nat. ord. Marantacea?, Brazil. Antharium cor- 

 difolium, nat. ord. Orontiaceie, Brazil. Musa Cavendishii, nat. ord. 

 Musacene, Cbina. Pboeuiccphorium spchellarum, nat. ord. Palmiceie. 

 The Musa is prohably viltata, having white stiipes or bands on the leaves. 

 It is very fine. I( is frooi tropical Africa. 



AcoRN Growing over Water IJ. TT.).— We presume the radicle or 

 root is already in the water, and that it is the shoot that nearly reaches 

 the cork of the bottle. If so, remove the cork and allow the shoot to 

 grow upwards, placing some charcoal in the water to keep it sweet. If 

 you wish to keep the plant any length of time, it will be necessary to 

 take it out and pot it in loam. 



Woodlice in Garden (/. iJ.).— We do not know of anything that will 

 ■£3 effectually clear a girden of these pests as a few bantam fowls. It is 



necessary to have them with their claws in *' boots" of leather, so as to 

 keep them from scratching. Toads are the nest best destroyers of wood- 

 lice. We know no wholesale mode of destruction. 



XisB Leaf Yellow B. B. Marge Us). —Oh the leaf enclose! to us there 

 ia no trace of mildew or insect pests and we think the leaf has simply 

 assumed its sere condition by the stopping of the channels of the leaf- 

 stalk. It is not uucommm, and you have nothing to fear on that 

 account. From the size of the leaf we think your Vines are very healthy 

 and have good treatment. 



PiNus AUSTEIACA SEEDLINGS Damping-off (Soniers^O. — The plant sent 

 to us is "black-legged,'' ordamped-off, from want of air and too much 

 water, and pr jbably the p'auts are crowded. Remove them at once to a cold 

 fram«, and in a few days place them outside. It is the hardiest of all 

 Conifers, thriving where no other will. The leaf of Gloire de Nancy 

 Geranium is perforated in consequence of some injury which it has sus- 

 tained in a young state, and the hole becomes larger from the growth of 

 the parts surrounding. The beetles are not of a kind injurious to garden 

 planf-s, and we only name such. 

 Grub on Aspasaguj Stejis (D. fl".).— It is the grub of the Asparagus 

 beetle (Crioceris asparagi). The stems of Aspa- 

 ragus are robbed of their bark, and the future pro- 

 duce of the plants proportionately weakened, by 

 this small, brightly-marked beetle, of which we 

 give a drawing, showing it of its natural size and 

 magnified. The Asparagus beetle is rather more 

 than a quarter of an inch long ; prevailing colour 

 blue-black, upper surface of thorax red, antennse 

 black, wing-cases edged with orange and varied 

 with cream-coloured and blue-black marks. This 

 beetle is found upon the stems of Asparagus 

 during the summer and until September. The 

 eggs, which are oval and slate-coloured, are fixed 

 by one of their ends to the young spray of the 

 Aspiragus. The grubs are soon hatched from 

 these, and are fleshy, greyish green, graduahy 

 thickening towards the tail, marked with black 

 spots, and having black legs. They feed on the 

 bark of the spray. As soon as full-grown, after 

 shedding their skin several times, they bury 

 themselves in the earth of the Asparagus bej, 

 forming a parchment-like cocoon, in which they 

 remain, for the most part, throughout the winter, 

 and the beetle cumes forth from the cocoon in 

 Juoe. We siy " for the most part," because we 

 incline to Mr. Westwood's opinion, that some of 

 the beetles Hve through the winter. One was 

 found in our garden during May, long before any 

 Asparagus shoots appeired. Dusting tiie grubs with white hellebore 

 powder destri^yd them; but it should be applied very early in the morn- 

 ing, whilst they are moistened with dew. 



Fruit of Cydonia japonica iK.L). — It is eatable and not injurious, 

 but very unpilatable. 



Size of Savots and Borecole for Planting (Idem).—V!e should not 

 like them more th m 6 or 8 inches high before planting out, but if you 

 cannot plant tnem for some time yet, we would take them up and replant 

 at tw ce their p-esent distance apart, and the check consequent on 

 removal, with th-i increased distance, would do much to keep them stiff. 

 It is well to move them with balls wherever it can be practised. 



Lapagegia rosea and Ficus elastica Propagation (C. M. Major). — 

 The L^pigeria rosea is very difficult to strike from cuttings, and is best 

 raised from seed ; indeed, plants from layers or cuttings are too uncertain 

 in growth to be of value. Sow the seed in spring in peat, in a hotbed, 

 keep the soil wet, and when the young plants are well-established remove 

 them to a warm greenhouse. Ficus elastica cuttings root freely, also 

 layers, but cutti gs are preferable. We usually cut our plants do^n 

 in spring, and make the shoots into cuttings, taking off the growing 

 point with about three leaves, remove the lowest leaf, cat transversely 

 below that, and then insert the cuttings in two parts sandy loam, one 

 part sandy peat, and one part silver sand, in small pots, tying the 

 leaves together with a view to taking-up less room. The remainder of 

 the shoot cut into Lengths of two joints each, remove the leaf from the 

 lowest, and insert singly in 3-inch pots Place the cuttings iu a bottom 

 heat of from 75^ to 80^, cover them with a hand-glass, and keep close, 

 moist, and shaded until rooted, which they will be in about three weeks. 

 When the pots are filled with roots shift the plants into a larger size, 

 and in a short time you will have good plants. Now is a good time to 

 put in the cuttings. They strike best with a leaf attached. Eyes strike 

 freely enough if put in like Vine eyes, and placed in brisk heat. They 

 are longer in making plants than cuttings. 



AspinisTRA lurlda taeiegata Treatment {A Subscriber). — It is & 

 greenhouse plant, and does well in a compost of equal parts of light 

 loam, leaf-soil, and sandy peat, with good drainage. Afford it a rather 

 shady position, a good supply of water when growing, and keep it rather 

 dry in winter. 



Parsley Fern Culture 'Idem). — The cause of your not succeeding 

 appears to be the soil. Provide for it a somewhat elevated position in 

 the rockwork, forming it of limestone, and give a compost of two parts 

 peaty soil, limestone, and one part of yellow loam, with one part of 

 limestone broken and intermixed. Water freely in summer, and afford 

 shade from sun. If you grow it in a pot, use the compost above named, 

 keep the plant in a shady part of a cold house, and admit air constantly. 

 Brine of Pickled Pork (ff.). — It will be au excellent application to 

 your Asparagus and Sea-kale beds, but as it is saturated with salt you 

 had better put four gallons of water to each gallon of the brine. 



Taking Water from a STREAii (IT. K.). — As the stream after passing 

 through your field turns the wheel of a flour mill, you cannot legally 

 interrupt the flow of water so as to prejudice it as a motive power for 

 that mill. There is no equitable objection to your taking water from the 

 stream to water your plants, if not t^iken in such quantities as to 

 diminish the stream. 



Plants' Leaves Turning Yellow {L. L.). — We should be better able 

 to answer if we knew the aspect of the greenhouse, whether the sun has 

 free access to the roof or fiont between the two dwelling-houses. If there 



