56 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. { January 20, ism. 
All correspondence should he 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. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee subjects, and 
should never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended 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 (IT. Brierley ).—The following works will probably suit you— 
Johnson's “ British Ferns,” published at this office, price 3.«. 6 <1., post free 3*. 9 <1 .; 
“Select Ferns and LycopodsMr. B. S. Williams,Upper Holloway, price 5,?., 
post free 6s. Gd. ; Lowe’s “British and Exotic Ferns,” price £3 15s.; and Lowe’s 
“ Our Native Ferns,” price £1 8.?. The two last named are published by George 
Bell & Sons, 4, York Street, Covent Garden. 
Dissolving Horn (J. it. Green ).—If you wish to employ the large pieces 
of horn for manorial purposes you. cannot do better than reduce them in size by 
chopping or such other means as will answer the purpose better. Horn cannot 
be dissolved, like bones, with sulphuric acid; but if it is placed in contact with 
dilute caustic potash the liquid acquires a disagreeable smell, and the horn 
assumes the form of a jelly, and gradually dissolves. 
Making Asparagus Beds (J. M. B .).—If you crush the old plaster and 
mix it with the strong soil it will render it more suitable for Asparagus. 
Garden refuse of all kinds, wood ashes, and leaf soil would also be valuable 
additions, and better than rich manure, that would make the soil too wet. 
Moderately lipdit soil, containing much vegetable and gritty matter, is what 
Asparagus delights in, and manure is best applied to the surface of the beds. 
Galvanised and Zinc Wire (A. L. N .).—We are obliged by your letter. 
The subject to which you refer has been alluded to, and, as you will see, the view 
you take of the question has been anticipated ; but the matter, as you justly 
observe, is of “ theoretical rather than practical interest. ’ 
Blacking Hot-water Pipes (E. Picker). —We mix lampblack with 
boiled oil to the consistence of paint, and apply it to the pipes with a brush, 
and it answers the purpose you name admirably, but in your case it would 
probably need to be applied annually. We fail to perceive the force of your 
remark relative to stopping the pores of the iron. 
Communications ( E. C .).—All communications that are suitable for our 
columns are inserted, although some weeks may occasionally elapse before their 
publication. It is impossible for us to acknowledge the receipt of all the letters 
that are sent to us, nor do we undertake to return the communications that we 
cannot insert. Articles and notes that convey useful information, or that are 
of general interest to our readers, ai'e much valued by us, and we do not destroy 
any letters because they are not quite accurately written. No one knows better 
than ourselves that many sound practical gardeners and worthy men are not 
finished grammarians, but they can impart information of great value, and need 
not hesitate to do so, as we readily correct inaccuracies that the writers, from 
no fault of their own, are unable to correct. Educational facilities were 
not so great in England a quarter of a century ago as they are now, and it 
is much to the credit of many gardeners that they, through self-improvement 
almost solely, are able to write so well and interestingly. We do not remember 
having received an article from you, perhaps it did not reach us ; what was the 
subject of it ? 
Snow a Protector (B. D., Tori).— It is a valuable protecting medium, as 
the condition of the young Wheats and Grass fields show after having been covered 
thickly during a term of severe weather. Your man has done quite right by 
“banking the snow high up round the dwarf Roses,” and others will do well to 
follow the same practice if the frost and snow continue. The same.practice 
may be advantageously applied to other plants and shrubs liable to injury, and 
also to such crops as young Cabbages, Lettuces, and Cauliflowers, autumn-sown 
annuals, &c. Snow may be also banked round the sides of frames, and placed on 
the covering on the glass of those wherein half hardy plants are being wintered. 
In covering young plants of any kind it must be placed on them very lightly, 
and in small quantities at a time, as the work if roughly done may cause injury. 
We have many times turned snow to valuable account in the manner indicated. 
It should also be placed thickly on the ground where water pipes are laid not 
far below the surface. 
Vines Dying (One in a Fix).— It is so unusual for Vines to die that we 
should be glad to see roots of those that are yet alive, to see.whether they are 
attacked by the phylloxera. A few fibrous roots packed in soil from the border 
and sent in a small box will be sufficient. The wet to which you allude would 
be to some extent injurious, but would not kill the Vines. Clean healthy Vines 
planted inside and the roots kept moist by copious waterings as needed, and 
mulching the narrow border with manure, would grow up the back wall, but 
would not bear well there after the roof becomes covered. Similar Vines ought 
also to grow in the outside border if the soil is of a fertile character. 
Box Edging and Snow (Puzzled ).—It will be a great mistake to incur the 
labour of removing the snow from the Box edgings, as if you do this and the frost 
continues intense much injury will almost inevitably follow. The “ piles of snow,” 
consequent on the sweeping of walks, will do no harm to the Box if it is dwarf 
and close, not more than 2 or 3 inches high ; but if it is tall and loose it might 
be bent and broken with the weight, and against this contingency you might 
remove a portion of the snow, but not all. We once saw men employed for 
many days removing the snow from the Box edgings in a large kitchen garden, 
and all the Box so exposed was killed, and weeks of labour and much cost were 
involved in planting fresh Box in the spring. We have known Box edgings 
covered 2 or 3 feet thick with snow for many weeks, and after the thaw the Box 
was as green as ever ; the snow had protected it just as it protects the grass of 
the lawn during severe weather. 
Sulphurous Vapours (II. Godwin ).—You are quite right, these vapours 
are most injurious to vegetation. We know of several instances similar to the 
one you mention where nurserymen have suffered serious losses by the per¬ 
nicious vapours from chemical works and brick-kilns. If our correspondent, 
Mr. Bardney, opens the ventilators of the vineries at Norris Green when the 
wind blows from a certain quarter where some vitriol works are established, 
the foliage of the Vines is destroyed in a few hours. The forest trees are also 
seriously injured on the side where the vapours strike them, while Conifers and 
evergreens are dead or dying. The shrub that appears likely to live the longest 
in the garden referred to is Ilex Hodginsii, and the circumstance may well be 
remembered by those who are planting shrubs in insalubrious localities. 
Gas Lime for Gardens (Miss A.).—For the destruction of wireworms 
gas lime ought to be dug into the ground in the autumn, as sufficient to kill 
the grubs cannot be applied at the time of sowing or planting the crops without 
great risk of injuring them. A small handful, or about 2 ozs., sprinkled on 
each square yard of surface and well mixed with the soil to fully a foot in 
depth, is quite as much as is safe to apply at this season of the year ; but in the 
autumn, as soon as the crops are cleared, nearly twice that quantity may be dug in 
the ground. If the lime is fresh and strong i oz. per square yard should not be 
exceeded if seeds have to be sown almost immediately afterwards ; this will 
probably check the wireworms to some extent, but will not extirpate them. 
Aloe Unhealthy (A. A.).—We presume the portion of leaf you have sent 
to us has been cut from the base of the plant, and that the leaves above are 
much larger and more healthy. The plant ought not to grow at this season of 
the year on the staircase, as growth produced in the absence of light is. neces¬ 
sarily imperfect and unsatisfactory. The plant should be watered occasionally 
to keep the leaves fresh—not merely sprinkling the surface of the soil, but giving 
sufficient to penetrate the entire mass. Surface driblets that so many amateurs 
indulge in are highly pernicious, and a fertile source of plants “ damping off.” 
The leaf you have sent is decayed at the base, which indicates that the soil at 
some time has been moist on the surface and dry below. The reverse of this 
ought to be aimed at in the wintering of plants, and especially those of a suc¬ 
culent nature. Remove the decayed leaves now, and apply water carefully as 
we have directed ; in the spring turn the plant out of the pot, and if is matted 
with roots apparently healthy place it in a pot a size larger, employing turfy 
loam and a sprinkling of broken charcoal, potting very firmly ; if the roots are 
few and unhealthy, which we suspect is the case, cut off any decayed portions 
after removing most of the old soil, and place the plant in a much smaller pot, 
employing a free admixture of crushed charcoal with the loam. Place the plant 
in a greenhouse or light warm window, and keep the soil moist but not wet, 
and as new roots are formed healthy leaves will be produced. April will be a 
good time for repotting, and in July the plant may be stood in a warm position 
outdoors, placing its pot in one still larger to prevent the sun burning the roots. 
“Hardy Cactus ” (L. Ii., Clapham ).—There is such a plant as you require 
—namely, Opuntia Rafinesquiana, represented in fig. 13, which, though not a 
member of the genus Cactus, is included in the same natural order, and is well 
adapted for outdoor culture, as 
it is hardy in the southern 
counties of England. The fol¬ 
lowing particulars concerning 
it, by a gardener who grows it 
well, may interest you :—“ This 
is one of the few Cacti which 
are perfectly hardy in this 
country, or at any rate in the 
south of England. It is a 
singular-looking and distinct 
plant; the branches are large 
and flattened, smooth, of a dark 
green colour, from the edges 
of which the numerous bright 
yellow flowers are produced. It 
will flourish in a well-drained 
position in the border or on the 
rockery where it will receive 
good drainage, and it will stand 
exposure. I have found it grow 
well in loam, sand, arid broken bricks. It may be increased by removing the 
joints and placing them in pots of sand in a frame.” 
Names of Fruits (TV. II. Asftwin ).—Kentish Fillbasket. (A. HI .).—The 
Pear is Spanish Bon Chretien, a stewing Pear. The small Russet Apple is Pit- 
maston Pine Apple, the large one Tower of Glamis. 
Names of Plants (F. II. II .).—As we have many times stated, we do not 
undertake to name varieties of florists’ flowers , still, when good examples reach 
us, and we can identify them, we readily publish their names. The flowers you 
have sent are very small and imperfect; 1 is probably Jardin des Plantes, and 
2. Julie Lagravbre ; it is impossible for anyone to name the others. The leaf 
sent appears to be of Richardia acthiopica. The Heliotrope is not sufficient for 
identification, being too small and much withered. 
Bees Buzzing in Intense Cold (Roicton ).—Yon inquire the reason of 
your bees “buzzing away as though it were a summer’s night” when the ther¬ 
mometer stood 21° below freezing point, and ask whether something was not 
wrong. We reply the buzzing was the simple result of the intense cold, and if 
your bees were carefully protected in good hives it was in itself an evidence 
that all was right. Our article of last week entitled “ Should Bees be Brandy- 
Bibbers” should be studied with this reply, in order that the whole matter may 
be well comprehended. When the outside temperature in the winter falls to 
about 40° Fahr. bees are in quiescence almost amounting to dormancy, but as the 
thermometer drops it becomes necessary for the insects to put fortli some effort 
to keep their temperature sufficiently high. This they effect by agitating the 
abdomen, and so drawing in and driving out air with greater quickness, and 
increasing the oxidation (combustion) of honey or saccharine matter within 
them, and thus augmenting the amount of heat they are each individually 
capable of producing. When, however, the temperature becomes intense in its 
severity this expedient is not sufficient, and the wings have to be brought into 
play for precisely the reason that a cold-struck coachman endeavours to get 
warmth into his body by descending from his box and flapping his arms, by 
which movement he expands and contracts his chest quickly and drives along 
his blood, and so at length becomes warmed. The buzzing or wing-flapping 
raises the intake of air (oxygen) to the greatest extent, and blows, as it were, 
the internal fire to its greatest fervour, and so keeps out the cold. It is a 
