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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 28, 1882. 
of tbe species living above ground become darker by exposure to the air and 
light. Although occasionally injurious, as described by you, it is also a destroyer 
of other insects. It might be killed by an application of the compound of 
paraffin, soft soap, and water, the proportions of which have been repeatedly 
given in these pages. Or many of them might be snared by strewing in the 
earth small pieces of apple or pear, of which they are very fond. 
Treatment of Belle de Chatenay and Queen of Violets (C. R. If.). 
_-j; r . G. Abbey writes as follows in reply to your query :—“ These, when the 
blooms can be had fully developed, are perfect rosettes, Belle de Chatenay being 
purest in colour. Sometimes, as you observe, they bloom splendidly, and at 
others it is only by chance we get a good bloom, the rest being quite undeveloped 
and scarcely possessing a petal. This tendency results from the plants flowering 
too profusely, more buds being produced than the plant can develope. It is the 
same under whatever condition the plants are grown—in pots with the flower¬ 
ing accelerated by warmth, in frames, or outdoors. Even now the plants have 
a great number of deformed buds, being devoid of petals, and cannot under any 
possibility be developed into well-formed full flowers. The only remedy that I 
know is to examine the clants frequently, and remove all the flower buds that 
do not appear to be perfect. The removal of these will mostly result in the best- 
formed buds developing satisfactorily. It is the first buds that show the ten¬ 
dency to petal-defect. Such are marked by short footstalks, and are common 
to all double Violets in the first or early buds.” 
Fruit for August and September (Constant Reader).—It you have 
a warm position out of doors we should not plant Apricots in the house, but 
should add the Moorpark to those you name and plant against a wall with 
south aspect in the open air. Some of the best Plums for exhibition are Goliath, 
also called Emperor, end of August; Pond’s Seedling, end of September; Kirke’s, 
middle of September; Jefferson, middle of September; Transparent Gage, 
beginning of September ; Huliug’s Superb, end of August; Denniston’s Superb, 
middle of August; and Washington, middle of September. The exact period 
of ripening depends on seasons and districts ; we have given the usual times of 
ripening in the open air near Loudon. It is for you to determine in accordance 
with the climatic character of your district whether you plant any of the trees 
under glass or not. You may graft the Black Hamburgh, Alicante, Gros Colmau, 
or Madresfield Court on the Lady Downe’s stock provided it is healthy. 
Arums (Lorrimore ).—None of these plants is difficult to grow, and the 
three following are quite hardy, and would be the best suited for your garden. 
Ordinary garden soil is all that is needed, but a little manure applied in spring 
will render their growth much stronger and the spathes larger. A dry position 
is the least fitted for them, and in any situation they require abundance of 
water during the summer. They can by no means be considered as strictly 
handsome, but they are curious, and possess a certain degree of attraction. 
Fig. 49.—Arum crinitum. Fig. 50.—Arum italicum. 
chiefly owing to the peculiarity of their forms, for their odours are far from 
agreeable. A. crinitum (fig. 49) is of very singular appearance, the spathe being 
broad and shovel-like in form, the upper surface being dotted with bluish 
purple airs. A. italicum (fig. 50) is more in the way of our common A. macu- 
latum as regards the shape of the leaves and spathe, also in its habit, but the 
spathes are yellowish and contrast strikingly with the rich green foliage. A. 
Dracunculus (fig. 51 page 307) is one of the largest-growing sorts, and forms a 
prominent object in a mixed border, the foliage being handsome. The spathes 
are long and tapering, of a blackish-purple colour, and for a short time after 
they have expanded they exhale a most foetid odour, but that soon passes off. 
Raspberries for Autumn Bearing (Anon ).—October Red is the best, 
withstanding wet better than most others, Large Mouthly being dwarf-growing 
and an abundant bearer, but the fruit is not so large as October Red or Belle 
de Fontenay. Orange d’Automne is very large, yellow or orange, and good in 
flavour ; but October Yellow, though less in size of fruit, is more prolific. By 
double bearing we presume is meant the fruit borne sometimes on the canes of 
the current year's growth, which is usually most common when the season is 
moist and the canes make vigorous growth. These have been scarce with us 
this season, but have been usually sufficient to give a supply as an accompani¬ 
ment for Bed Currants in tarts and dessert until the autumn-bearing sorts con¬ 
tinued the supply until the approach of winter. 
Roses for Greenhouse (Harborno ).—Your request implies that you need 
Roses for training up the roof, but you do not say so. For this purpose we doubt 
if any will give greater satisfaction than Marechal Niel and Gloire de Dijon ; 
the best red variety for the same purpose is probably Reine Marie Henriette. 
As a rule they are far better planted in good soil than kept in pots. Two good 
Roses for growing in pots for forming bushes are La France and Niplietos, of 
which strong plants well cultivated give a wonderful quantity of acceptable 
flqwers. 
Second Crop Figs—Paulownia imperialis (Ramalho).—lt is not 
possible for you to preserve the Figs, which are now larger than Filberts, on a 
tree in the open air so that they will ripen next year. They will all shrivel and 
drop off whatever you may do to secure them. Nor is it practicable to protect 
the flower spikes of this tree so that the blooms will expand at this late season 
of the year. The nights are too cold for that to be accomplished, and such buds 
as you have sent will shortly fall. We are not able to state definitely the cause 
of the brown patches on the leaves. If yon have not had a shower of hail in 
your district they have probably teen caused by the puncture of an insect. The 
red Apple you have sent is Fearns Pippin, the other Kedd'estone Pippin. 
Melons Failing (I. A.).—Even if you had supplied us with some par¬ 
ticulars relative to the treatment your plants have received and the weight of 
the crop, we suspect it would have been difficult for us to state the cause or the 
evil; without some such information it is impossible. The fact that your plants 
have produced a second crop suggests that they are more or less exhausted ; this, 
with possibly some little inattention in watering and ventilating, would cause 
the foliage to collapse and the stems to shrink as in the specimens before us. 
Withholding water when the fruit is approaching maturity is often carried to 
excess, aud many crops are thereby impaired if not ruined. Whether this is 
the cause of your failure we are unable to say, being quite without data for 
determining the point, or, in fact, for comprehending the case in a satisfactory 
manner. 
Grapes not Colouring (Idem). —The chief cause of Grapes failing to 
colour is undoubtedly defective root-action or insufficient support; injury to the 
foliage, either by insects or scorching, also contributes to the evil, j on do not 
think the Vines have been overcropped because one of them is not bearing more 
than 8 lbs. of Grapes, but you omit to state either the age or size of the v me, 
which information, as you must perceive on reflection, is absolutely necessary 
for us to form an opinion on that point. We have seen hundreds of Vines 
overcropped with 8 tbs. of Grapes on each, and hundreds more undercroppeu 
with thrice that weight of fruit. Everything depends on the constitution of 
the Vine, the activity of the roots, and the fertility of the border. We strongly 
Euspect that, although the crop may appear light, it is really too heavy, and that 
more vigorous root-action with fresh soil are needed to bring the \ me into a 
healthy condition that will enable it to finish the crop. This opinion is founded 
on the assumption that the foliage of the Vine is clean, not overcrowded, and 
apparently healthy. If we were acquainted with the actual condition of the 
Vines and border and the leading points of your treatment, we should have no 
difficulty in answering your letter, but with a lack of knowledge on these points 
we cannot reply satisfactorily to ourselves. 
Traders versus Amateurs Exhibiting (R. B. Barralt).—The schedule 
with rules to which you refer has not reached us, and consequently we are 
placed at some disadvantage in answering your letter. We, however, have no 
difficulty in stating that the individual in question is not a nurserymen, neither 
is he an amateur according to the ordinary meaning and acceptation of that 
term. He is a trader, and as such not eligible for competing in amateurs 
classes. An amateur is, briefly, a person who grows his own produce for his own 
use. If growing it for sale is his chief object, he is, as we have stated, a profes¬ 
sional trader. If there is nothing special in your rules ou the subject ad¬ 
mitting such an exhibitor iii the amateurs’ classes, the protest to which you allude 
is well founded and is worthy of consideration. 
Repotting Pines (J. C.).—' The plants having been transferred to the 9-inch 
pots in May will not now require repotting, as the shift then given them ought to 
be the fruiting one. To repot now would defer the fruiting for some time, but, 
well attended to, the plants should throw fruit early next year aud ripen m early 
summer. Instead of shifting now apply weak guano water in a tepid state, but 
it should never be given until the plants need it, and then a thorough supply. 
When the roots of Fine plants have fairly hold of the soil after repotting weak 
liquid manure may be given each time water is required until the fruit is near 
the colouring stage ; not afterwards. 
Vines in Pots (Id<m).— The Vines no thicker than a lead pencil will be of 
no use for fruiting next season. They should be as thick as the middle finger or 
thumb, and have hard, brown, well-ripened canes, with eyes like nuts, and be in 
12 or 13-inch pots. The Vines should be cut down to a couple of eyes, and when 
they have produced a few inches of growth next season shake out and repot 
into 7 or 8-inch pots, and when these are filled with roots, and before they become 
matted around the sides, shift into the fruiting pots. 
Budding Cherries on Mahalcb Stock—Madresfield Court Grape 
Cracking (Idem).— The early part of July is a proper time to bud this stock 
as well as the common Cherry stock. The most probable cause of the Grapes 
“ splitting ” is an insufficiency of nutriment during the early stages of swelling 
and an over-abundance when the Grapes are approaching the ripening stage, 
along with a moist atmosphere. This Grape is liable to crack, and requires a 
rather dry well-ventilated atmosphere, with a drier condition at the roots when 
ripening than most other Grapes. Well grown it is one of the finest of autumn 
Grapes both in appearance and quality. 
Alternanthera Cuttings (Miss A. Peel).— We are not able to state where 
you can purchase cuttings, it teing quite contrary to our custom to recommend 
dealers, as you will perceive if we were to recommend one we should be acting 
unfairly to others of equal repute. Plants can be obtained from most of the 
nurserymen who advertise in our columns. A few plants obtained now and kept 
in a stove through the winter would afford hundreds of cuttings for striking in 
the spring and planting out in early summer. They cannot be wintered in a 
cool greenhouse, nor will they grow aud colour satisfactorily in districts where 
the summers are cold aud wet. 
Turf Litter (C. D.).— No one could have supposed that the above term 
applied to such matter as you have sent us. lu the great mass of correspon¬ 
dence that passes through our hands it is impossible for us to remember the 
contents of letters sent a month ago, and you ought to have re-stated your 
lequest. We can only say that the “ litter ” you have sent possesses little or no 
manurial value, and can only be of use for mixing with very strong soil to 
improve it mechanically for certain kinds of plants for which it may be un¬ 
suitable in its original state. We will readily answer any questions you may 
submit if we can understand them, but you are one of those correspondents who, 
with the best possible intentions of affording us the least trouble in reading 
long letters, err on the other side, and afford us no data for replying satisfac¬ 
torily. Write more fully, explaining clearly the nature and condition of any¬ 
thing on which you need information, and your letters shall at all times have 
our best attention. 
Plants for Cold Greenhouse (J. Martin).— To furnish an unheated 
house well of the dimensions of yours would cost nearly as much as heating it 
with hot water, and quite as much as by a flue of sanitary pipes. For rendering 
such a structure ornamental in the winter you would have to rely mainly on 
choice evergreens and fruit-bearing shrubs. Amongst the former small varie¬ 
gated Hollies, Euonymuses, and Ivies ; and the latter Skimmia japonica, Per- 
nettya mucronata, and Aucubas. Small Rhododendrons would be refreshing in 
winter and gay in spring. Some of the Veronicas, such as V. Andersoni varie- 
gata and Blue Gem, might be suitable, also Christmas Roses, such as Helleborus 
niger and the fine variety maximus, H. olympicus, and H. purpurascens. For 
