100 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 29, 1888. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee suhjecis, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Books (J . S. 77.).—There is no work on Coniferas equal to that of Messrs. 
James Yeitch it Sons, Royal Exotic Nursery, King’s Road, Chelsea, from 
whom you can obtain particulars on application. Johnston & Cameron’s 
“Elements of Agricultural Chemistry,” published by Messrs. Blackwood, 
contains much valuable information ; there is no work published of the 
precise nature to which you refer. ( E. Farmer). —We cannot ascertain by 
inquiry from some of the leading publishers that there are any works on 
“ Artificial Feeding ” by the authorities you name. If you can quote the 
exact titles of the works we can probably give you the information required. 
Hardy Erica {J. (?.).—One of the b^st for the purpose named is Erica 
mediterranea rubra, which has dark r^d flowers very freely produced. 
Compost for Hoyas (F. IT.).— If you prepare a mixture of two-thirds of 
rather light turfy loam, one-third of turfy peat, and add a twentieth part of 
lime rubbish and crushed charcoal, the plants with otherwise good manage¬ 
ment will be sure to grow well. 
Acalypha musaica (E . T. B.). —You appear to have made a mistake, and 
we cannot give you any information without more deSnite particulars than 
those you have furnished. There is a plant named Acalypha musaica, but 
it does not bear flowers of the colour you named, and it3 leaves are varie¬ 
gated with shades of red. 
Bedding Arrangements (J. R. W .).—The long border by the side of the 
lawn will be effective planted as you suggest, but would be still more so 
if you had a row of yellow Calceolarias between the scarlet and crimson 
Pelargoniums. The other long border will be rather heavy, and we think if 
you planted a row of dvvarf Ageratums instead of Iresine it would be an 
improvement; but perhaps dark colours are preferred. We like the arrange¬ 
ment No. 2 for the Vine border better than No. 1, and think it will look 
well. You had better spread on a good thickness of manure, or the plants 
will unduly deprive the Yines of nourishment. 
Primulas (F . G.). —The small smooth-edged Primula is very pretty by 
the delicate rosy tint_ and the large fringed flowers are very fine. The 
small one is a reversion to the original type, of which we have seen hun¬ 
dreds in various colours. Such flowers find many admirers now, and on 
that account are worth preserving, but it may be well to remember that if 
they are permitted to flower with the large ones that the strain of these 
will soon deteriorate, as the result of natural fertilisation with the variety 
that is inferior in size and substance. If you desire to preserve the charac¬ 
ters of the types the plants should be flowered in separate houses, or at 
east as far distant from each other as is convenient. 
Plants for a London Greenhouse {II. T. F.). —Much would depend 
upon the position of the house as to what plants would thrive best; for 
instance, if it is shaded many Ferns might be grown, whereas if it be in an 
exposed sunny place they would not succeed so well. We, however, give 
the following list of plants that would be likely to thrive in a greenhouse 
in a district such as that you name :—Acacia armata, A. platyptera, Aga- 
panthus umbellatus, Azalea indica varieties and A. amoena, Tuberous 
Begonias, Camellias, Cyclamens, Fuchsias, Primula sinensis, Rhododendrons, 
Vallota purpurea, and Zonal Pelargoniums. Suitable plants for training to 
the roof would be Lapagerias rosea and alba, as these succeed well in 
towns. Many more plants might be grown, but these will probably be 
sufficient. 
Outdoor Mushroom Beds {Old Times ).—The manure should be turned 
as often as the mass heats through until the whole is quite sweet, and then 
little or no injury will result from mouldiness. It is sometimes necessary 
to turn the heaps five or six times. The heat, as is stated in the work you 
name, can only be regulated by the thickness of the covering ; sometimes a 
depth of G inches of litter is sufficient, at other times thrice that thickness 
is requisite, everything depending on the nature of the material, thickness 
of the beds, and the weather. You have allowed the bed to get much too low ; 
a covering of warm manure, and this in turn covered with straw, might 
perhaps resuscitate fermentation, and if it does the added material should 
be gradually removed, but the litter covering would have to be increased. 
Your bed may still answer if you can increase the heat to G0° or even 55°, 
though will not come into bearing so soon as usual. 
Evergreen Flowering Shrubs for Chalky Soil {Pen and Ink). —Desfon- 
tainia spinosa, double G-orse or Furze, Garrya elliptica. Escallonia 
macrantha, E. philippiana, Ligustrum japonicum (Japanese Privet), Ber- 
beris Darwinii, B. dulcis, B. stenophylla, B. Wallichiana, B. japonica, 
Mahonia aquifolia, Azara microphylla, Arbutus Unedo, A. Rollissonii, 
Cerasus myrtifolia, Viburnum Tinus (Laurustinus), Y. Tiuus lucidum, Spar- 
tium junceum (Spanish Broom), Cytisusmultiflorus (White Portugal Broom), 
Andromeda floribunda, Hymenanthera crassifolia, and Cotoneaster micro¬ 
phylla. These are the best evergreen flowering shrubs for your soil. To them 
you might advantageously add scarlet and yellow-berried Holly, Gold Queen 
and Silver Queen Holly, also the variegated forms of Osmanthus ilicifolius, 
the golden variegated Euonymus, Pampas Grass, the New Zealand Reed 
Arundo conspicua, which has its elegant plumes in full beauty in August, 
and some of the Yuccas such as recurva, gloriosa, and filamentosa. 
Grafted Apple Tree {Trike). —Remove all the growths except the grafts, 
and prevent others by rubbing the shoots off which may push from the 
stems in spring. As the grafts have grown freely you will perhaps do well 
to shorten them to half their length, or even more closely ; but we cannot 
give precise information, since you neither describe their length nor thick¬ 
ness. You cannot err, however, by shortening them to where the wood is 
quite hard, and you will increase the number of branches next year and lay 
a better foundation for a good tree than if you do not prune them. It is 
impossible for us to suggest a remedy for the barrenness of your Pear trees, 
which “ never do any good.” They may not grow freely enough on one 
hand, or too luxuriantly on the other, or again, they may be infected with 
scale. They may, for anything we know to the contrary, produce blossom 
which is destroyed by frost. If you will give what particulars you can 
we will readily aid you if we can do so. 
Flowers for Exhibition { S . B.). —We never saw better stands of cut flowers 
of hardy herbaceous plants than were exhibited at Liverpool early in 
August by Mr. Mease and Mr. Waterman, who secured the first prizes in the 
class for twenty-four varieties and twelve varieties respectively. Mr. 
Mease’s twenty-four comprised Liliums candidum, auratum, and excelsum, 
Gladioli brenchleyensis and The Bride, Alstroemeria aurea, Phloxes coccinea 
and Rose of Castile, Matricaria inodora fl.-pl., Potentillas Garneriana and 
maculata, Gaillardia hybrida splendida, Lychnis chalcedonies, Campanula 
Hendersoni, Achillea Ptarmica fl.-pl., Helenium pumilum, Rpirceas venusta 
and Ulmaria, Telekia speciosissima, Dianthus Napoleon III., (Enothera 
Youngi, Veronica corymbosa, and Agrostemma coronaria; and in Mr. 
Waterman’s stand very effective were Liliums excelsum and croceum, Phlox 
Hercules, Eryngium amethystinum, Potentilla formosa, Chrysanthemums 
Souvenir d’un Ami and Prbcocitd, Campanula Hendersoni, Centranthus 
ruber, and Bupthalmum salicifolium. If those are not sufficient you may 
add Monarda didyma, Agrostemma rosea, Rudbeckia Newmanni, "V eronica 
subsessilis, L. fulgens, and Aconitum Napellus. 
Pruning Plum Trees {G. Wilkins). — Plums, like many other jfruit trees, 
vary much in habit; some, as the Washington, Magnum Bonum, &c., if 
planted in a very liberal soil, producing young wood almost adapted for 
fishing-rods. Others, again, as the Imperatrice section, being of a very 
delicate habit, are in age apt to become too weak. Of course there will be an 
intermediate class, and such may be represented by the ordinary Orleans, 
although the latter sometimes produces very gross wood when young. 
There is no fruit tree in which gross wood is more inimical to the proper 
development of the fruitful parts than the Plum. In trained trees, when 
young, and the soil unfortunately rich, the trees but too frequently have a 
tendency to produce these “ robbers ” in several places between the. bole 
and the extremity of the branches ; the sure tendency of such is.to inter¬ 
rupt and appropriate the ascending sap, and thus to starve the fruit on the 
portions beyond them. The first thing the pruner can do is to remove all 
those very gross shoots that have unluckily escaped the growth-pruner s 
finger and thumb—such shoots in the large section as extend a half-yard 
or so in length. If they are leaders, of course they must be retained ; but 
anywhere along the stem, as side or supernumerary shoots, they may be cut 
clear away, not leaving a morsel behind. In the moderate-growing kinds, 
what may be termed gross shoots will not be quite so long or .so thick, but 
they may readily be distinguished. This refers to trees in which the 
“ growth pruning ” has been neglected; where such has been properly 
carried out there will be little for the rest-pruner more than simply a slight 
thinning-out. 
Culture of Lasiandra macrantha {II. E. M .).—A cultivator who has 
been very successsul with this plant gives the following information 
“Lasiandra macrantha is well known, but is unfortunately straggling in 
growth and sparse in flowering. Under easy culture this valuable plant 
may be had in flower from the end of October till the end of February. It 
is very useful in small 32 sized pots for various purposes of decoration. It 
strikes freely iu the early spring—about the end of February—plunging the 
pots containing the cuttings in a house or frame having a temperature of 
about 60° to 70° ; the cuttings also strike if placed loosely in cocoa-nut fibre. 
After they have rooted, which will be about the end of March, they should 
be potted singly and again plunged in heat until established. We shift 
them into larger pots and keep the plants in about the same temperature 
until May ; they may then be removed to a pit or frame and kept rather 
close. They also enjoy a little shade in hot weather. About the first week 
in September remove the plants to where they are to flower ; if continued 
in the frame much later than that time they will lose some of their flower 
buds which are then formed ; the foliage also will turn brown at the edges 
and spoil the appearance of the plants. They flower well in a temperature 
of from 50° to 55°. If the house is kept ratht r dry it will suit them all the 
better. The soil used for potting is bright yellow fibry loam and peat in 
about equal parts, using plenty of silver sand. It also requires a liberal 
supply of water.” 
Tuberous Begonias {J. W. S.). —We are most willing to answer ques¬ 
tions, and do not begrudge any reasonable amoirnt of labour and space to 
enable us to answer them usefully; but we rely on our coirespondents 
stating their wants and circumstances as clearly as possible, as this is of 
mutual advantage. Remove the old tubers and place in smaller pots of 
fresh soil, surrounding each tuber with sand, and if convenient a little crushed 
charcoal, maintaining a temperature of about G0°. If you stait them m 
4-inch pots and when the plants are growing freely carefully transfer them 
to 6 or 7-inch pots, they will make fine flowering plants if judiciously 
treated. They must be shifted before the roots are closely matted in the 
small pots, particular care being taken that the soil in which the plants are 
growing and that to be used is in a pleasantly moist condition. If the soil 
in which the tubers are first placed be moderately moist, and the fibre in 
which the pots are plunged be kept moist also, little or no water will be 
needed until they commence growing. You had better shade the front.of 
the house permanently when hot sunny weather occurs by applying a mix- 
ture of “ summer cloud ” to the glass, or whiting and skimmed milk. It can be 
“ stippled ” with a soft brush so as to be the reverse of unsightly. Throughout 
the summer you will find the advantage of commencing the top ventilation 
very early in the morning, six o’clock not being a moment too soon in hot 
weather. Many amateurs fail in not opening the top lights until the maxi¬ 
mum day temperature is reached. No greater mistake can be made than 
that, as it necessitates throwingopen the front ventilators widely much sooner 
than they ought to be opened, thus drying the air considerably and making 
the house pleasant for insects. When the plants are growing freely and 
the pots are filled with roots you must give water copiously in the morning, 
yet with judgment, so that they do not suffer until your return ; if they are 
allowed to flag they will fail to give satisfaction. Anyone can damp the 
house in the daytime in hot weather. You may report progress once a 
