October 20, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



315 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*** We request that no one will write privately to any of the 

 correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By doing so they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, &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 subjects, if they expect to get them an- 

 swered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 



Books (An Amateur, Newcastle). — "The Greenhouse," by C. Mcintosh, 

 and " In-door Gardening," by Keane. The latter you can have post-free 

 from onr office if you enclose twenty postage stamps with your address. 

 (Bayard). — You probably mean " Paxton's Botanical Dictionary," a single 

 volume, price 25s. 



Chrysanthemum Shows (J. P.).— There will be some near London, 

 and will be advertised. 



Seedling Pansies (G. McD.).— The blooms were all withered. We 

 cannot prophesy what would be the result of advertising your Melon 

 seed. 



Pampas Grass (G. S,). — A panicle of a female plant was enclosed by 

 you. It is the usual colour. It is the male plant that bears the plumes. 



Rainfall (J. J3.).— The differences are not at all extraordinary. We 

 have seen lain falling on one side of a road whilst there was none falling 

 on the other side. 



Moving Roses (J. J. H.).— You may remove the Roses budded this year, 

 but it is a good plan to let them have a year's growth before removal to 

 their final quarters. If removed now they will not start strongly in the 

 spring, but care being taken in moving, there is not after all any great 

 difference. 



Sowing the Seeds op Evergreens (Idem). — The Laurel hemes 

 should be kept in sand, and in February be sown in Bandy soil in a warm 

 yet open situation. The Rhododendron seed should be sown in pans or 

 boxes, or in a cold frame in Mnrch, in a compost of sandy peat, with a 

 free admixture of silver sand. Ktep the soil moist, and admit air freely, 

 and when the plants appear draw down the lights. The present is a good 

 time to plant Virginian Creeper and Clematis. 



Annuals to Flower in a Greenhouse in Spring (B. B.).— Besides 

 Nemophila and Mignonette, you may sow now Alyssum maritimum, As- 

 perula azurea setosa, Calandrinia urnbellatn, Campanula Lorei, Clarkia 

 pulchella and C. pulchella alba, Coliinsia verna, C. bicolor, C. candidis- 

 sima, Eucharidium grandiflorum, Gilia tricolor varieties, Gypsophila mu- 

 ralis, G. elegans, Kaulfussia amelloides, LeptoBiphon aureus, L. andro- 

 saceus, and var. albus, Lupinus nanus, Nolana atriplicifolia, Platystemon 

 californicuB, Silene ruberrima, Viscaria oculata, Whitlavia grandiflora, 

 and its white variety. 



Wintering Cannas (Idem).— Keep them in anyplace free from frost 

 from November to March, and dry ; then repot them, place tbem in a 

 hotbed so as to start them into growth, and harden them well off before 

 planting out. 



Cheap House for Tea Roses (Idem).— It would be best with the 

 front glass, but you need not have the front more than from 2 feet 

 6 inches to 3 feet high, and then boards would answer, but there is so 

 little difference in the price that we should prefer glass. We would 

 have two boards' height of wood, or two boards 11 inches wide, and one 

 of them hinged for ventilation ; then 2 feet 6 inches of glass, with the 

 ends of glass down to the wood part. You may provide for top ventila- 

 tion by a board hinged at top, so as to open the'full length of the house. 

 Have you no wall against which to place it, so as to save the expense of 

 the back ? Wood would no doubt answer. 



Roses Pruning, &c. (lie de Bourbon).— Advice on the matter of prun- 

 ing is no doubt often conflicting, as much depends whether Roses are 

 wanted for exhibition purposes, or for ordinary garden decoration, or, 

 again, for cutting for the house. If Roses are wanted for exhibition, the 

 first blooms from budded Briars, or the second year's from vigorous 

 growth on the Manetti stock, are the best ; but for general garden pur- 

 poses we recommend all old weakly wood to be cut clean off, and strong 

 shoots to be well shortened — the laterals on strong shoots to four or five 

 eyes, and on weaker shoots to two or three eyes. When Roses are grown 

 on Manetti stocks it is a good thing to cut right away to the base all 

 wood that is more than two years old, so as to encourage the plant to 

 push fresh shoots from the base. The strongest shoots from the base of 

 the currrent year's growth generally do not push any laterals the first 

 year, but flower at the ends in the autumn. These ought not to be 

 shortened too much at first, but may be cut about the height that the 

 rest of the bush is left after pruning. They will give very fine blooms 

 next summer from the upper eyes that are left, and push Tower down in 

 autumn to furnish Btrong wood for another year. We should advise you 

 in the case of your Roses on the Manetti stock, planted out of pots in 

 August last, to prune the leading shoots to about 15 or 18 inches, accord- 

 ing to their strength, and to shorten the laterals to three eyes. It is 

 difficult to give advice without seeing the plants, and it is necessary to 

 study the habits of the different varieties of Roses, as some require close 

 pruning, while others will not stand it. Such sorts, for instance, as 

 Blairii, Cloth of Gold, Solfaterre, and Marechal Niel only require to 

 have their shoots thinned, and the verv strong shoots only slightly 

 shortened. These remarks do not apply to standards, which must be 

 pruned to keep a symmetrical head, and only wood of medium growth is 

 , to be encouraged ; but, as a general rule, when quality of bloom rather 

 than quantity is required, use the knife freely, and do not let Rose trees 

 be overcrowded with old shoots. A little careful observation will show 

 amateurs that Roses produced on the side shoots of stems only one or 

 two years old from the base are finer than those on older wood ; and in 

 our opinion, when cutting Roses for table decoration, a dozen good 



Roses are worth two dozen inferior, and no poor specimen ought ever to 

 be allowed in a vase of flowers for table decoration. 



Maranta Leaves Browned (Vitis). — We think the browning of the 

 leaves is due to a deficiency of beat, accompanied by too much moisture. 

 Give a temperature of 60° at night from now to March, from 65° to 70° by 

 day, and do not overwater, yet see that the soil is moist and the drainage 

 good. The compost is good, but we would use one part loam, two parts 

 sandy fibrous peat, and one part leaf soil, with one part of silver sand and 

 charcoal in equal proportions. We think the leaves are those of Maranta 

 lineata rosea, but we cannot tell from such miserable specimens. The 

 leaves are not diseased. 



Storing Pears (A Constant Subscriber). — The fruit keeps best in a 

 moderately dry room, and one cool, yet safe from frost. We should con- 

 sider a cellar not wet a better place than an attic. Remove the Pears to 

 a light room with a temperature of about 45 c a few days hefore they are 

 required for table. They ought not to be removed from the cellar until 

 they begin to ripen. 



Screen to Hide a Wall (A Working Man).— Why not cover the wall? 

 Pyracantha is very pretty, and Cotoneaster microphylla will hide every 

 part. If you cannot train against the wall, then we would advise Ber- 

 heris Darwinii, which will bear trimming well, and is very ornamental 

 early in spring when in flower ; Laurustimis is also good ; but if they 

 are not close enough you may plant Yew. You may cut it as hard as you 

 like, and make, in fact, a close green wall of it. Now is the time to plant. 

 Allow 3 feet between the plants of Cotoneaster, Laurustinns, and Yew, 

 but the Berberis should be 2 feet apart. Manure the ground well ; it is 

 the way to get the screen up quickly. 



Seeds Sowing (N. C. H.).— You may succeed with all, except, perhaps 

 the Erythrina and Cocculus, which should be sown in March and placed 

 in a hotbed. The others should be sown at the same time and placed in 

 a cold frame. Pans will be moBt suitable ; they should be well drained, 

 and filled with a compost of two parts fibrous loam, and one part each of 

 sandy peat, leaf soil, and silver sand. Cover every kind of seed with a 

 depth of soil equnl to its diameter. Keep close until ihe seedlings ap- 

 pear, then give air, but not in excessive quantity, and water so as to 

 keep the soil moist. The plants from the seeds sown in the cold frame 

 will need potting-off in October, and should be continued in a frame a 

 year longer, and two years after sowing may be planted out. Those 

 sown in heat should be potted-off when large enough to handle and 

 grown on. They will require protection from frost in winter. 



Agapanthus Treatment (E. B., YorJcs.). — We think your bulb is the 

 African Lily, Agapanthus umbellatus ; but we are at a loss to advise you 

 as to its treatment, as you do not state whether you grow it in or out of 

 doors. If you have it out of doors it will only make a few leaves and not 

 flower. To succeed well it requires a greenhouse, and a compost of two 

 parts light fibrous loam and one part sandy peat, with a free admixture 

 of sharp sand. In winter it should only have enough water to keep the 

 leaves fresh, but wheu it begins to grow give more, and when it is growing 

 freely copious supplies are required. From May to frost it may be placed 

 out of doors. A rather small pot for the size of the plant is necessary. 

 We may be mistaken in the plant. We know of none by the name you 

 give. 



Echites splendenb not Flowering (A. M. *?.).— The plant is probably 

 kept in too dark a house. Encourage it in Bpring with a brisk heat find 

 moist atmosphere, potting it when it begins to make fresh growth. Be 

 careful not to overwater, and in winter keep it dry. Eucharis amazonica 

 and E. grandiflora are identical. The writer of the article about which 

 you inquire is not the gentleman you name. 



Cabbage Planting (An Old Subscriber).— The plants sown July_ 30th, 

 and pricked out September 18th, may now be planted out— that is, the 

 strongest of them, in a sheltered situation, deferring the principal plant- 

 ing out until early in March. 



Framing Cauliflower Plants (Idem).— It would be well to remove 

 some from the outside border to a frame, and we advise it to be done 

 forthwith, so that they may have time to root before severe weather set 

 in. There is no advantage in twice pricking off, first in a border and in a 

 fortnight to a frame. 



Planting Arums in a Pond (Idem).— None of the Arums as far as we 

 know are aquatic ; they should have a sandy soil, with freedom from stag- 

 nant water ; hence they should not be planted in a pond. If by Arum you 

 mean Calla or Richardia rethiopica, it should be planted in a foot deep of 

 water. 



Camfllia Buds Thinning (Bismark).— Three or four buds on each 

 stalk are too many. Reduce them to two buds each. What is it you 

 wish for hints on ? We might give you many hints, and still not meet 

 your case. A few good sorts are Alba plena, Chandleri elesrans, Bonomi- 

 ana, Fimbriata, La Pace,Leeana superba. Monarch, Leopold I., Mrs. Cope, 

 Napoleon III., Rafia, Rubens, Storyi, Valtevaredo, and Wilderi. 



Fairy Rings (S- Ambler). — Your fairy rings will continue to get wider 

 and wider every year, as you say. We know of no better means for de- 

 stroying the fungua without hurting the grass, than cowing the rings 

 thickly with quicklime and a little sulphur. We fear, however, you would 

 have to repeat the operation several times, unless you broke the surface 

 and mixed the lime at once with the fungus spawn. Lime will destroy 

 them if persevered with, and so would sulphur, though more expensive. 



Keeping Walnuts (A Reader). — Perhaps there is no better mode for 

 keeping Walnuts in winter than packing them in dry sand, and changing 

 the sand frequently. The chief objection to this mode is that the nuts 

 want much brushing to get all the sand away, as otherwise the shells 

 would feel gritty. If the sand is dry, air may be excluded by a thin layer 

 of turf. Any neat little shrubs, as Aucubas, Hollies, and Cypresses, will 

 do for a flower garden when the flowering plants are removed, and so 

 would all kinds of Wallflowers, Daisies, Pansies, and eai'ly-flowering bulbs. 



Storing Dahlia Tubers (A New Beginner).— There is no better plan 

 of keeping the tubers in winter than to take them up after the first frost, 

 lay them in a shed to dry, and then to store them in dry sand, where they 

 will be Bafe from frost. We do not see in what way you can improve the 

 size of the flowers, except by thinning the buds, so that the support may 

 be given to a few instead of the many which you probably leave. It is 

 also a good plan to thin out the weak shoots. 



Tulip Tree Seeds (F.).— They do not generally ripen in this country, 

 but in an unusually hot and dry season like the past they may have done 



