120 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 5, 1885. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Vilmorin, Andrieux, & Cie, 4, Quai de la M^gisserie, Paris.— Catalogue 
of Seeds, of Trees and Shrubs. 
James Backhouse & Son, York. —Catalogue of Alpine Plants, Eardy 
Perennials, and Florists' Flowers. 
George White, Oarriagehill House, Paisley. —Catalogue of Florists’ 
Flowers. 
E. J. Jarman, Chard, Somersetshire. —Catalogue of Seeds for the Kitchen 
and Flower Garden , 1885. 
T. Cross, Bury St. Edmunds. —List of Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
*** All correspondence should be directed either to “ The Editor ” 
or to “ The Publisher.’' Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. We 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Books (A. G. H .).—The price of Wright’s “ Mushrooms for the Million,” 
is Is., pose free Is. 2d., from this office. Taylor’s “ Yines at Longleat ” is 
out of print—at least, we have no copies in Btock. ( G. E. S.). —The “ most 
complete ” work on Yines is Barron’s “ Vines and Vine Culture,” post free 
10s. 6d. The “ most compact ” work on general gardening is the “ Garden 
Manual,” post free Is. 9d. ( G. 3. Contich). —There is no work specially 
devoted to late Grapes, but their culture and meathods of keeping are 
described in Mr. Barron’s work referred to above. It is the latest and most 
comprehensive on the subject of Vine culture. We doubt if there is such a 
work on Pigeons as you particularly require, but Cassell’s “Practical 
Pigeon-keeper ” contains much information. We can obtain and send it to 
you by post for 4s. We can also procure and send Neighbour's “Apiary” 
in return for 6s. 6d.; but we cannot tell you the best kind of hive for bees 
any more than we can describe the best house for bee-keepers to live in. 
Everything depends on the object of the apiarian and his skill in manage¬ 
ment. The book referred to gives illustrations and other particulars of 
different kinds of hives. If you desire to send the amounts for any of the 
books, and will also write your name and address very plainly, your letter 
will be attended to by the publisher. 
Tillandsia Lindeniana (C. M. M .).—The figure to which you refer 
appears on page 359, vol. xviii., new series, the issue of May 19th, 1870. 
Alpine Plants (N. G .).—In reply to your question we can only say that 
the “ newest catalogue ” we have received, and an excellent one it is, is from 
Messrs. James Backhouse & Son, York. 
Plants for the Floral Committee {J. H. F.).~ The proper step to take 
in having plants submitted to the Floral Committee of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society is to write to Mr. Barron, Royal Horticultural Gardens, 
Chiswick, London, who will advise you on the matter. 
Liquid Manure (A. T., Liverpool ).—In all probability the manure to which 
you refer will be excellent for Roses. Some of the ammonia will have escaped, 
but other and very valuable constituents will remain, such as phosphate of 
lime, sulphate of potash, and carbonate of potash. If you mix in some 
bleaching powder (chloride of lime) there will be little offensive smell, 
while gypsum with a little oil of vitriol poured in will add to the utility of 
the urine as a manure. 
Scale on Peach Trees (J. B .).—Your trees are infested with the woolly 
scale insect, which may be destroyed by a mixture of softsoap and petro¬ 
leum, scrubbing it well into the cavities of the bark with a brush. Dissolve 
4 or 5 ozs. of softsoap in a gallon of hot water, and while still hot stir 
briskly in a wineglassful of petroleum, and continue agitating when 
applying to the stems only, not the buds, at a temperature of 130°. If the 
brush is used vigorously for removing the woolly covering of the insects 
not many of them will recover from the effect of the solution. 
Weekly Work {E. D’O .).—We are obliged by your suggestion, which 
shall have our consideration ; but it must be remembered that no code can 
be framed that will be of equal value in all districts. No one ought to 
know how to proceed with routine work in a given locality and garden so 
well as a resident gardener, and gardeners as a rule do not attach nearly 
the same value to general calendarial instructions as amateurs do, who are 
sometimes misled by them. We shall be glad if you will forward us your 
gardener’s opinion on this matter. 
Yew Trees and Cattle (B.).—It is not easy to advise you in a case of this 
kind. There is, we think, little doubt that the partially dried Yews are 
more poisonous to cattle than fresh growths are. For years we have known 
a park in which large Yew trees are established, and no injury has ever re¬ 
sulted to animals grazing in their vicinity. The trees are standards, and the 
growth more or less beyond the reach of cattle, but not absolutely so, and they 
have very possibly been occasionally nibbled. The safe course is to trim off 
the lower branches and form round-headed standard trees. In “Hogg’s 
Vegetable Kingdom ” it is stated “ The leaves of the Yew are decidedly 
poisonous both to man and to horses and cowb. They have been adminis¬ 
tered medicinally, and exhibit the same action on the system as Digitalis. 
The fruit is perfectly harmless and even agreeable to eat, but the seeds are 
acrid and narcotic.” 
Worms on Lawns (A. M. B .).—There is no simpler remedy for ex¬ 
pelling worms from lawns and borders than clear lime water. Get some 
lumps of lime fresh from the kiln and place them in water, stirring well, 
then allowing the lime to settle and the water become clear. If there is any 
sediment at the bottom of the vessel the water will be as strong as you can 
make it and perfectly safe. About a pound of lime will suffice for ten 
gallons of water. It is best to apply it during mild showery weather, when 
the worms are near the surface. If there is no sediment at the bottom of 
the vessel the lime water will not be strong enough. An ounce of corrosive 
sublimate dissolved in a little boiling water, then mixed with forty gallons of 
clear water and applied through a rose, has also been found to expel worms 
from lawns. 
Herbaceous Flowers (B. G.). —We should think that annuals are not 
intended to be shown in the class you name, and it is probably meant to be 
confined to herbaceous perennials—that is, plants which die down to the roots 
every winter. You will find a suitable list on page 100 last issue of this Journal, 
excluding the last four named there. You must grow more than a dozen, or 
it is doubtful you will be able to cut the requisite number at the desired 
time. Skill in bouquet or buttonhole making can only be gained by practice 
and care. The chief art is employing every flower to the best advantage, 
and does not depend upon a great variety of materials. They should be 
placed together lightly, but not loosely, and crowding should be especially 
avoided. A few simple flowers gracefully arranged are far more effective 
than the choicest bunched together without due consideration. 
Cape Bulbs ( Hereford Subscriber). —It is not very easy to determine the 
namos of small dried bulbs. Those you have sent have been carefully 
examined, and the following names are possibly not very far wrong:— 
1,6, 7, Ixias ; 2, Freesia; 3, Ornithogalum ; 4, Gladiolus; 5, Babiana; 8, 
Watsonia. They will all grow in light turfy loam, in which a fourth part 
of psat may be intermixed if readily obtainable, and a sprinkling of sand. 
They had better be placed in small pots and stood in a gr3enhouse, being 
careful not to overwater. It will be an advantage if the pots can be 
plunged in damp ashes, leaf soil, or cocoa-nut fibre refuse, as sufficient 
moisture will pass through the pots until the bulbs commence rooting. They 
will do in a frame plunged and the tops of the pots covered 1 inch deep. The 
soil must be damp when used, but not distinctly wet. When the plants are 
growing they need abundance of light in a frame or greenhouse, with water 
to keep the soil uniformly moist. 
Strawberries andMillipedes (M. D .).—The fruit is undoubtedly attacked 
when ripening or ripe by the snake millipedes (Julus), the species usually 
found in the fruit of the Strawberry being Julus pulchellus, but sometimes 
Julus terrestris. The pests are generally considered to subsist on decaying 
vegetable matter, but we have found them very active in attacking fruit 
and Potato tubers, even where there was no decay; yet they are most pre¬ 
valent where decaying vegetable matter exists, and we have no doubt but 
that they are fostered by it. The pe3ts are deterred by a dressing in the 
spring of quicklime, soot, and wood asli:s, which must all be dry, and mixed 
in equal proportions, applying evenly over the whole of the surface at the 
rate of half a peck per rod (30^ square yards). It will not injure the plants 
in the least, but, on the contrary, is a good fertiliser. The best agent in 
driving the pests away, if, indeed, it does not destroy them, is to apply gas 
lime at the rate of half a peck per rod, mixing it with an equal quantity of 
dry earth, so that in the mixed state a peck will be applied per rod. It may 
remain on the surface or be lightly forked into the soil, and should be applied 
in March. It is also a capital plan to cut some Potato s in halves and place 
them with the cut parts on the soil around the plants, and examine them 
every morning, when the pests will be found feeding on the Potatoes and 
can be readily destroyed. The baits should be used about ten days or a 
fortnight before and during the ripening of the Strawberries. They are 
also readily trapped by placing a boiled Potato in a little hay loosely, and 
setting them beneath the foliage of the Strawberry plants. They will enter 
the hay and feed on the boiled Potato, and being frequently examined, vast 
numbers may be quickly disposed of. 
Madresfleld Court Grape (A Reader). — This Grape is rather prone to 
crack, and no “ prescription ” can be given to prevent the evil in all cases, as 
more depends on the general management that is accorded throughout 
than on any particular method that can be adopted at a particular season. 
The reason why the Madresfleld Court Grape is more liable to crack than 
many others is because of the comparative inelasticity of the skin, and it is 
rendered still more brittle and unyielding to pressure from within by 
injudicious ventilation. Any check to the free swelling of the berries when 
young by an atmosphere alternately moist and dry, or by a sudden inrush 
of cold dry air, or by not opening the ventilators soon enough in the morn¬ 
ing, then throwing them open too widely at once, causing sudden and 
extreme evaporation from the fruit—any one or all these mistakes affect in¬ 
juriously the cuticle of Grapes (but the results are more apparent in the 
variety in question than in most others), and predisposing them to cracking. 
Then, again, an excess of water at the roots on the approach of the ripening 
period, and especially if the soil has been previously rather dry, causes 
such an influx of sap that the berries cannot resist the pressure. The 
roots of this Grape should be under command, and the water supply also ; 
but even then if sound judgment be not exercised in management the fruit 
will crack. This Vine should be allowed to carry as much foliage as can 
be fully exposed to the light, so as to appropriate the sap, and there must 
be no ruthless removal of long sub-laterals that may have been allowed to 
extend unduly on the eve of the ripening process. This is yet a too common 
practice. Cutting a notch in the laterals just below the bunches has been 
found by some cultivators to arrest a too free flow of sap to the berries, 
and others have effected the same object by twisting a piece of wire tightly 
round them; but many skilled cultivators produce splendid examples of 
this splendid Grape without having recourse to such manipulation. As 
soon as the first sign of mouldiness is seen the berry should be removed, 
or it will quickly impart the affection to others. 
Plants for Borders {Inquirer). —The following are among the plants 
likely to succeed and produce flowers from early spring till late autumn. 
Your bonders will accommodate plants of moderate height, the back row 
being the tallest. For these we recommend Achillea Ptarmica, fl. pi., 
Alstrcemeria aurea, A. peregrins, Anemone japonica alba, Aquilegia 
chrysantha, Asclepias tuberosa, Bupthalmum salicifolium, Campanula 
macrantha, Catananche bicolor, Coreopsis lanceolata, Dielytra spectabilis, 
Erigeron speciosum superbum, Eryngium amethystinum, Gaillardia grandi- 
