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HOME AXD FLOWEBS 



OUR READERS' PERPLEXITIES 



Fuchsia Troulle.— ^MTs. S. B.) The leaves 

 of Fuchsia T\-hic-h you send show traces of the 

 same bacterial disease Trliich works so much 

 mischief among Geraniimis and Begonias. The 

 remedy is Copperdiue. You can procure it of 

 the large firms dealing in jilants. Get it at 

 once, and apply as per directions on can, 



Fioses, Pansies, and Cactus.— {^Irs. J. B.) 

 The mildew on your Eose may be caused by cool 

 weather, by exposure to cold winds, or by a low 

 vitality of the plant. The specimens of Pansy 

 branches indicate a diseased condition. Did 

 you use barn yard manure about them ? If so, 

 was it not quite fresh? The Cactus leaf belongs 

 to a variety of the Phyllocactus branch of the 

 family, and is not a Cereus. 



Carex Japonica.— {IsItb. B. L. P.) I do not 

 ~knoif whether Carex Japonica would stand a 

 North Carolina winter, or not. I tltinJ: it 

 would, however, with some protection. 



Name Wanted. — (K. ]SI.) The leaves sent 

 were so crushed that they were unrecognizable. 

 Send again, but put in box. 



Fir-Tree Oil and Rose Leaf Extract.— 

 F. H. C.) If you will procure catalogues of the 

 large plant fii-ms you will find in most of them 

 lists of supplies for florists. In these lists you 

 ■will find Fir-tree oil, and Fir-tree oil soap, and 

 the Eose leaf Tobacco extract, which is a com- 

 bination of the nicotine principle of Tobacco 

 and whale oil soap. You will also find Copper- 

 dine in the list. 



Pruning Poses.- (R.) The proper time to 

 prune Eoses is in spring. 



Copperdine. — Mrs. J. P. writes: "What is it? 

 Where do we get it ? How use it ? My drug- 

 gist says he never heard of it." That may be. 

 Very likely there are many things he never heard 

 of. I have already explained what it is in this 

 department. It can be procured of such firms 

 as Dreer, Henderson, Vaughan, at any time, 

 and in any quantity, notwithstanding the fact 

 that the druggists know nothing about it. It 

 is used according to the directions which accom- 

 pany it. This reply will serve as an answer 

 to a score or more correspondents who have 

 asked about the preparation. I have only to 

 say again, what I have already said several 

 times, that I know of nothing else that is of 

 any vah=ie in diseases of bacterial origin, except 

 Bordeaux mixture. And, to all intents and pur- 

 poses, it is Bordeaux mixture put up in portable 

 shape. 



Moles in the Garden.— (1s\t^. O, B, C.) I am 



told that Castor beans will drive moles away, 

 and that they will never stay where the Castor 

 plant grows. Have you tiied any of the traps 

 on the market? Catch a fevr and the others 

 take the hint and emigrate. 



Blacl: Aphis on Chrysanthemums.— (^hs. C. 

 If you have a spray pump, turn a stream of 

 water on the plants infested with black aphis. 

 This will dislodge them, if the work is thor- 

 oughly done. It may not kill them, but by re- 

 peating the operation you can quite easily keep 

 them from injuring the plants. If a prepara- 

 tion is desired which will kill them, use kero- 

 sene emulsion. 



Hibiscus.— (Mrs. O.) Let your Hibiscus 

 rest from November to March, in the cellar. 

 Keep rather dry, and in a cool, dark place. 



Bougaini-illea.— {^lr&. C. 8. F.) It seems 

 to me that some of the Chicago florists ought 

 to have this plant on sale. Henderson, Dreer — 

 any of the eastern dealers can furnish it. I 

 would not order it now. Better wait until 

 next season. The location you describe ought 

 to be well adapted to its requirements. If any 

 of the new grovrth shows au inclination to "run."* 

 that is, revert to the semi-vining habit of the 

 older forms of this plant, cut it back promptly. 

 This keeps it bushy and compact. If allowed 

 to train itself it is likely to overrun everything 

 else in the room. 



Blacl' Flies in Conservatory.— (^Irs. F.) If 

 the conservatory is a small one, as I infer from 

 what you say, I would advise you to remove all 

 the plants from it. and then fumigate well with 

 sulphur. While the plants are out of it, give 

 them a bath in tobacco tea. or Ivory soap in- 

 fusion. Dip them etirely under, and leave them 

 submerged for several minutes. Or, if you do 

 not care to take the plants out of the house, 

 fumigate with tobacco. Scatter stems and 

 leaves obtained form a cigar store over live 

 coals. Moisten the tobacco slightly before put- 

 ting it on the coals, in order to secure a dense 

 smoke. 



Asparagus Fern.— (S. J. P.) What is so 

 often called Asparagus Fern is not a Fern in 

 any sense of the word. For directions as +o 

 culture see article in another part of the maga- 

 zine. 



Lantana Ciittings.— (^Irs. G. K.) Take half 

 ripened branches about three inches in length. 

 Cut off all leaves except those at the tip. In- 

 sert an inch of the cutting in clean sand. 

 Press the sand firmly ab-MU its ba<5e. and then 

 water well. Keep the ^ar.d moist and warm. 



