January 26 , 1882 .] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 81 
from time to time on this subject, and various modes of preventing or mitigating 
the evil have been submitted. Heavy applications of chalk or lime are advan¬ 
tageous, and you cannot err by carrying out the plan you suggest. A small 
handful of gaslime to each square yard of ground, and dug in several weeks 
before planting, is also useful, but it must not be used at the time of cropping. 
At that time a dressing of soot is useful, also a very little salt—less than an 
ounce per square yard. If the minimum temperature of 50° is maintained in 
the conservatory during the winter the Euphorbia will succeed planted out. 
Azaleas Unhealthy (A. S. D.). —We fear you have deferred seeking assist¬ 
ance until it is too late. If every portion of your plants is like the sprays sent 
there is certainly little or no hope for their recovery. Although you did wrong 
in repotting in October, the chief injury was doubtless done long before then. 
After Azaleas have ceased flowering they are often neglected by amateurs ; the 
soil is from time to time suffered to become quite dry, and the leaves of the 
plants to flag. This cannot occur without many of the fine hair-like roots being 
destroyed, and the leaves are certain to fall off afterwards and the buds to 
shrivel. Potting, as you appear to have potted the plants, late in the autumn 
usually aggravates the evil, as what few roots escape injury in summer are very 
likely to decay after being disturbed so late and placed in fresh soil, probably 
not of the proper kind. You had better procure fresh plants and try again ; you 
will most likely succeed next time. 
Pnrnassia palustris (Sussex). —The best mode of increasing this plant 
is by division, but if you have only seeds they must be sown in light soil kept 
constantly moist, indeed it can scarcely be too wet. A cool shaded corner in a 
frame or similar suitable position should be selected, and little difficulty will 
be experienced if the seed is good. One very important point, however, with 
this and other bog plants is that the seeds be sown as soon after it has matured 
as possible, for they soon lose their germinating power if retained long out of 
the soil. The time of flowering will depend upon the condition of your seeds 
and the growth of the plants afterwards, but they flower in a small state. 
Lily of the Valley Failing (U. S.). —You do not trouble us at all by 
stating your failure and asking for information. The crowns were not matured, 
and hence their refusal to grow when you placed them in heat. They will 
doubtless grow in time. You are right in your views as to plunging the pots, 
but the plants seldom produce roots before flowering. For producing flowers 
very early plants that are forced should be carefully grown, the foliage being 
exposed to the light and matured early. These will flower earlier than im¬ 
ported clumps, unless the latter have been specially prepared. Crowns of Lily 
of the Valley can be grown as well in England as on the continent. The same 
post that brought your letter brought us very fine spikes from a correspondent 
as the produce of home-grown crowns. 
Plants for Window Boxes (Preston). —As you have the opportunity 
of seeing the window boxes about London, you cannot do better than take note 
of the plants employed. Pelargoniums of the Zonal and Ivy-leaved types, 
Lobelias, Heliotropes, Fuchsias, Calceolarias, Harrison’s Musk, indeed nearly 
all kinds of bedding plants, are suitable for window boxes; but the secret of 
success consists in first having fine and well-prepared plants, then affording 
them good soil and careful attention as regards watering, giving liquid manure 
when the boxes are filled with roots. In the best window boxes about London 
the plants are very fine, well grown, and flowering more or less freely when 
planted. 
Roses and Climbers for a Conservatory (C.R.). —You will probably 
need more than one plant for the space you name. Two useful plants well 
adapted for such a position and temperature are Lonicera sempervirens and 
Habrothamnus fascicularis, both of which grow and flower very freely'. If you 
are not particular about them all being evergreen, add Plumbago capensis, 
which will afford a pretty contrast to the others. The Roses most likely to suc¬ 
ceed are Gloire de Dijon and Marechal Kiel. 
Rogiera gratissima and Luculia gratissima (J. F.) .—These plants, 
although related to each other botanically, are quite distinct in general appear¬ 
ance and very' easily recognised. The Rogiera is a small evergreen shrub with 
ovate dark green leaves, and dense terminal clusters of small tubular flowers, 
each with five roundish lobes, wax-like in texture, and soft pinkish white in 
colour. They possess a very pleasing fragrance. The plant succeeds well in a 
greenhouse temperature, requiring well-drained pots and a compost of light 
turfy loam, peat, and sand. A little pruning and attention to the plant will be 
needed to keep it in compact form, but it is otherwise easily managed. The 
Luculia is also a shrub, but of much larger and more straggling growth; the 
leaves are also considerably larger, quite different in texture and colour. The 
flowers are tubular but with broad lobes, the flower being more than an inch in 
diameter. The flowers are pinkish or nearly white, and exceedingly fragrant. 
It is especially beautiful planted out in a conservatory or greenhouse, but a 
position must be carefully prepared, well draining it, and employing a compost 
of loam, peat, leaf soil, sand, and a few pieces of charcoal. Young plants raised 
from cuttings of firm wood with a heel of old wood attached may be grown in 
pots in similar soil to that mentioned above. They will flower in a compa¬ 
ratively small state and be much valued for the stages of a greenhouse. A 
woodcut of the Luculia appeared in this Journal, No. 974, Nov. 27th, 1879, and a 
figure of the Rogiera in No. 61 of the present series, August 25th, 1881. 
Culture of Pancratium fragrans (IF. IF.).—This beautiful plant 
requires a rather high temperature and a moist shady position; a stove heat of 
70° in summer and GO'’ in winter should be the minimum. Young plants should 
be shifted as soon as they fill their pots with roots. When the specimens are as 
large as required they should only be potted every four years. Employ a com¬ 
post of two parts fibry loam, one part charcoal, and one part silver sand and 
sheep droppings. The loam must be broken into pieces about the size of 
pigeon’s eggs, the charcoal the same ; when all has been turned two or three 
times it should then be run through a half-inch riddle, and what remains in 
the riddle place in the pots. In potting the soil should be rammed very firmly. 
In the stove they should be close to the glass, but shaded from the direct rays 
of the sun, and they should receive a bountiful supply of water in the summer 
time both from the watering can and syringe. Even during the winter the 
syringe must be more freely employed than for most stove plants, particularly 
so if the stove in which they are placed is not furnished with vapour appli¬ 
ances. They can be placed in a cool conservatory when in flower, and supplied 
with a little weak liquid manure; it prolongs their flowering season, and also 
imparts a much finer waxy appearance to the flowers—moreover, they last 
much longer in a cut state when subjected to this treatment. 
Coronilla glauca (Idem). —This useful greenhouse plant is very easily 
grown. The best time to repot those plants which need such treatment is 
after flowering, shortening any old strong growths a little. Place the plants 
in a moderately warm and moist house, syringing them freely to encourage the 
growth, which must be afterwards gradually hardened previous to placing them 
outside in summer in a shady cool position. They can remain there until Sep¬ 
tember, carefully attending to the supply of water in the meantime, and then 
transfer them to the greenhouse or conservator}', where they will flower freely. 
Culture of Daphne indica rubra (Wicklow). —This Daphne will not 
continue long in good health if nursed in houses the whole year and subject to 
great extremes in temperature. Dry heat in the winter for the purpose of ex¬ 
cluding frost from the plant is a great mistake, and does more harm than good. 
When subject to greenhouse treatment all the year the plants do not enjoy that 
period of rest so essential to their well-being, nor is the wood sufficiently ripened. 
In the spring place the plants on moist ashes in a cold frame, which should be 
well ventilated when the weather is at all favourable. As the days lengthen 
and the sun has more power the lights can be taken off during the day, closing 
the frame in the afternoon with a little sun heat, and syringing at the same 
time. Under this treatment the plants soon start Into growth, and the points 
of the shoots should be pinched out after a few inches of wood has been made 
if good bushy plants are required. If flowers are not wanted the shoots may 
be stopped twice or more according to the growth ; but when bloom is required 
they must not be stopped more than once and that early, or the growth will not 
be sufficiently ripened. As the season advances ventilate the frame freely night 
and day until the lights can be taken off entirely, or the plants placed ouside 
on ashes or partially plunged, which prevents them from drying so quickly at 
the roots. The Daphne dislikes being excessively wet at the roots, and is most 
impatient of drought. In potting, good drainage must be given to prevent the 
soil becoming sour. The compost most suitable is rich fibry loam and plenty of 
coarse sand well mixed. If no better place can be selected for the plants during 
winter than the cold frame in which they have been growing frost will not 
injure them. They can be brought into flower by a little additional heat, but 
as soon as flowering is over the plants should be hardened and placed again in 
cool quarters. The name of the other Daphne to which you referred was quite 
illegible. 
Cinerarias Dying (G. R.). —As far as you remember you say the plants 
were not rootbound in the small pots. IVe can only judge of the one plant 
sent to us, and the curled roots themselves afforded conclusive evidence on that 
point. The plant we examined bad most certainly been rootbound in its early 
stages, and the compressed roots near the stem caused an accumulation of water 
there that contributed more or less to the decay of the plant; but excessive 
luxuriance in the first place, and too light soil afterwards, are in our opinion the 
primary mistakes that have led to failure. We also think you may have injured 
the roots by the application of too strong liquid manure or insecticides. The 
plant we examined had really very few, much too few, fibrous roots, as is usually 
the case with plants grown in rich and too light soil. This will account for 
such little w'ater being absorbed. At the least four times the quantity of 
fibrous roots ought to have been produced by a plant of that size, and such roots 
would unquestionably have been far more numerous if firmer soil had been em¬ 
ployed. What appears strange to you is not at all strange to us, and your case 
is by no means either the first or the worst that has come under our notice. 
So long as plants with “ leaves like Rhubarb ” are kept in a moist frame they 
continue fresh, but when brought into a drier atmosphere they assume a sickly 
hue and often die. For the final potting the soil should have consisted of quite 
two-thirds of^much strong®.- loam than you have used, the remainder of crushed 
charcoal and perfectly sweet decayed manure, with about a fifteenth part of the 
bulk of bonemeal and a tenth of silver sand. The manure you employed w-as not 
sweet, and the grubs which are the result of it are injurious. Clear lime w'ater 
would have been much safer than what you employed, and equally effectual. 
Plants having such few roots as you sent to us did not require liquid manure of 
any kind, and its effect w'ould be injurious rather than beneficial. 
Names of Fruits. —We have many times notified that only six varieties of 
fruits can be named at once; still large packages reach us, the contents of which 
cannot be examined. Some fruits are not named because the sender’s name 
does not accompany them, and we cannot always determine to whom the re¬ 
spective parcels belong, even by the aid of letters received by post. Pears, we 
have previously intimated, ought to be ripe or approaching ripeness when sent, 
or a number of them cannot be identified. All packages must be carriage paid ; 
unpaid parcels are sent every week that are not taken in. The fee for naming 
fruit to non-subscribers is 5s. It is important that these conditions be attended 
to for preventing disappointment. (J. E.). —Your Apples are all very much past, 
and all we can distinguish are—4, Dutch Mignonne; and 6, Lemon Pippin. 
(J. T„ a Reader). —1, Cox’s Pomona; 2, Sir William Gibbons ; 3, London Pippin ; 
4, Winter Pearmain, small specimen. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET —JANUARY 25. 
BUSINESS quiet. Best Grapes improving in value. 
FRUIT. 
8. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
8. 
d 
Apples. 
J sieve 
i 
0 to 4 
6 
Lemons. 
1?- case 12 
0tOl« 
0 
Apricots. 
doz. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Melons . 
eaefi 
0 
0 
0 
0 
th. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Nectarines. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Chestnuts. 
bushel 1G 
0 
0 
0 
Oranges . 
100 
4 
0 
6 
0 
Currants, Black.. 
4 sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches . 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
„ Red.... 
£ sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pears,kitchen .. 
dozen 
i 
0 
1 
3 
Figs. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
dessert . 
dozen 
i 
0 
4 
0 
Filberts. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pine Apples .... 
^ lb 
i 
6 
2 
0 
Cobs. 
$>• 100 ft. 
75 
0 
0 
0 
Strawberries .... 
per lb. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Gooseberries .... 
i sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Walnuts . 
bushel 
7 
0 
8 
0 
Grapes . 
lb 
2 
0 
6 
e 
VEGETABLES. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
8. 
d 
Artichokes. 
dozen 
2 
0 to4 
0 
Mushrooms . 
punnet 
1 
0 to 1 
6 
Asparagus. 
bundle 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Mustard & Cress . 
punnet 
0 
2 
0 
3 
Beans, Kidney ... 
!?• 100 
1 
0 
0 
0 
Onions . 
bushel 
3 
6 
0 
0 
Beet, Red . 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
pickling . 
quart 
0 
0 
0 
5 
Broccoli . 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 
e 
Parsley . doz.bunches 
3 
0 
4 
0 
Brussels Sprouts. 
i sieve 
2 
0 
0 
0 
Parsnips . 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Cabbage . 
dozen 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Potatoes. 
bushel 
2 
6 
3 
0 
Carrots. 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
6 
Kidney. 
bushel 
3 
0 
3 
6 
Capsicums. 
%>• 100 
I 
6 
2 
0 
Radishes.... doz .bunches 
1 
0 
0 
0 
1 
o 
3 
(3 
bundle 
0 
4 
0 
6 
Celery . 
bundle 
I 
6 
2 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
I 
0 
0 
0 
Coleworts_doz. bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Scorzouera . 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
0 
6 
o 
8 
basket 
2 
0 
2 
3 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Shallots. 
if* lb. 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Fennel. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Spinach . 
bushel 
3 
0 
0 
0 
Garlic . 
. lb- 
0 
6 
0 
0 
Tomatoes . 
w lb. 
0 
8 
1 
0 
Herbs. 
bunch 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Turnips. 
bunch 0 
4 
0 
0 
Leeks. 
. bunch 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Vegetable Marrows each 
0 
0 
0 
0 
