December 28, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 601 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading.— Amateur's Guide for 1883 (with coloured 
illustrations). 
B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway. — Catalogue of Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds. 
James Veitcli & Sons, Chelsea.— Catalogue of Vegetable and Fiercer 
Seeds. 
C. Fidler, Reading.— Catalogue of Seed Potatoes. 
Dickson & Robinson, 12, Old Millgate, Manchester. —Catalogue of 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds (Illustrated ). 
H. ifc F. Sharpe, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. —Wholesale Catalogue of 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
Frederick Roemer, Quedlinburg, Germany.— Catalogue of Vegetable 
and Flower Seeds. 
Stuart & Mein, Kelso, N.B. —Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower 
Seeds. 
Waite, Nash, Huggins & Co., 79, Southwark Street, S.E.— Whole¬ 
sale Catalogue 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. 
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. 
To Correspondents. —In consequence of the great pressure on our columns 
this week many valuable articles on a variety of topics have to stand over to a 
future issue. Correspondents must not conclude that the notes they have 
obligingly sent are not appreciated because they are not promptly published ; 
on the contrary, they are prized, and the writers are thanked for their willing¬ 
ness to impart information. We shall always be glad to receive notes of interest 
from any of our readeis. 
Book (Penally Abbey ).—The work you appear to require is Curtis’s “ Bota¬ 
nical Magazine,” published monthly by L. Peeve & Co., 5, Henrietta Street, 
Covent Garden. It is edited by Sir J. D. Hooker, and gives coloured illustra¬ 
tions of new, rare, and interesting plants. 
Ccelogynes (S. it .).—Your plants are evidently in good condition, the 
foliage, pseudo-bulb, and flowers being quite satisfactory, but not extraordinary. 
Chrysanthemums (G. Cole ).—It is impossible for us, as we have many 
times stated, to name varieties of florists’ flowers of any kind. Still, we have 
occasionally given the names of those we could easily recognise. Those you 
have sent are not typical well-developed blooms, and cannot be satisfactorily 
identified. 
Saponaria calabrica (0. J .).—For early spring flowering the plants 
ought to be raised in the autumn by sowing the seed at the end of August or 
early in September. Sown in pots now, the plants grown in a light frame, and 
subsequently planted out, would be the quickest mode of attaining your object; 
or the seed may be sown in the open ground during favourable weather at the 
end of January or early in February. 
Snowdrops in Pots ( G. G., Yorkshire ).—They flower well in pots, but will 
not endure much heat. The singles are better than the doubles for early flower¬ 
ing. The bulbs you have just received will not flower nearly so soon nor so well 
as established clumps would if now dug up, potted, and placed in a frame or 
..ouse having a temperature of about 45°. They must have a light position, and 
be frequently sprinkled with cold water, the roots also being kept constantly 
moist. 
Hambledon Deux Ans Apple (M. C. B., Hants ').—This useful late- 
keeping Apple originated in Hampshire, ana is now grown rather extensively in 
that county. If you cannot procure trees from a local source your only alter¬ 
native is to write to some of those large general nurserymen who advertise fruit 
and other trees in our columns. We never recommend dealers. Such a practice 
would be manifestly unjust, since there are so many who equally well supply 
whatever is needed in gardens. 
Hawthornden Apple (7). Johnson). — This deservedly popular and 
valuable Apple was raised at Hawthornden, a romantic spot near Edinburgh, 
celebrated as the birthplace and residence of Drummond the poet, who was born 
there in 1S85. We have never learnt at what period the Hawthornden was first 
discovered. The first mention of it is in the catalogue of Leslie & Anderson of 
Edinburgh ; but we do not think it was known about London till 1790, when it 
was introduced to the Brompton Park Nursery. 
Heating Greenhouse (J . D. B .).—By all means have a small boiler and 
two row s of hot-water pipes, a flow and return, conducted if possible along the 
front and both ends of the house, as, however good a stove may be, the heat can¬ 
not possibly be distributed so regularly as that from pipes heated with hot 
water and arranged as indicated. If the house is a lean-to and not more than 
10 feet high at the back 3-inch pipes will suffice, but if a span roof or lofty you 
had better have 4-inch pipes. 
Barbarossa Grape (.Exhibitor). —You are certainly wrong in this matter, 
as you may gather by the following description of the true Barbarossa, the fruit 
of which you have probably never seen. Bunches medium sized, shouldered. 
Berries slightly oval, or obround. Skin thin and delicate, of a grizzly colour, 
or pale red, covered with a thin grey bloom. Flesh delicate, juicy, sweet, and 
with somewhat of a Royal Muscadine flavour, but very much richer. Gallesio 
says it is “ the king of dessert Grapes.” The Grape which has been grown in 
this country for some years under the name of Barbarossa is a totally different 
variety. Its correct name is Gros Guillaume, and it is black, while the Barba¬ 
rossa is, as its name implies, a rose-coloured or grizzly Grape. 
Mushrooms in a Frame (Disappointed). —You have failed because you 
have acted quite contrary to instructions. Digging a deep square hole in the 
open ground, filling it with manure in September, inserting spawn and placing 
a frame over the sunken bed, is not what has been advised nor the way to 
succeed. You probably did not think when you were “ improving on the out¬ 
door system ” of culture that you were providing what may be termed an earth 
cistern for collecting the drainage from the surrounding soil, thus chilling the 
bed and causing the spawn to decay instead of spreading and producing Mush¬ 
rooms. In the summer the failure might not have been so complete. Outdoor 
beds of Mushrooms entirely above the surface of the soil and well covered with 
litter are now bearing prodigiously. You would have done well to have tried 
this method of culture before attempting to “ improve ” upon it. 
Cutting Camellias (E.D. 0., Wicklow). —When Camellias are quite healthy 
the flowers may be cut with a portion of the growth attached, not only with 
impunity but occasionally with advantage, as the plants frequently produce 
more growths than would have otherwise issued, and a closer habit is induced 
with a largo supply of flowers. It is necessary to sever the shoots near a healthy 
bud, otherwise the ends will die back as you have stated. If there are no healthy 
wood buds below the blooms, but the only glowing points are near them, that the 
flowers should be removed without cutting off any portion of the shoot. By 
examining the condition of the wood and studying the health of the plant'you 
will we think, have little difficulty in deciding on the point you have submitted. 
Heating Defective (R. P. 0). —The piping is sufficient in the lower house 
and the boiler probably sufficiently powerful, but you do not state its size. The 
fault we suspect is in the arrangement of the pipes, but it is impossible to indi¬ 
cate it from the very imperfect sketch before us. Cannot you send us a larger 
and better sketch, showing all the pipes and their connections, indicating also 
the flows and returns ? Please say also if both houses are on the same level; and 
if they are not, the difference between the height of the pipes in the two struc¬ 
tures. Your full postal address should accompany your letter. On hearing 
from you again the case shall have our best consideration. 
Carnations Unhealthy (E. C ).—The Carnation leaves arrived so much 
shrivelled, the paper having extracted the moisture from them, that it is not 
easy to determine the cause of their discoloration ; but we certainly do not attri¬ 
bute it to red spider, and we rather suspect that you have aggravated the evil 
by your free application of insecticides. They appear to have been attacked by 
a fungus, and a dry atmosphere and dustings of sulphur would have been the 
most likely means to effect an improvement, while additional moisture in an 
atmosphere probably already too moist would have an opposite effect. Defective 
root-action, especially if caused by over-watering, is an almost certain precursor 
of spot and fungus. Remove all the affected parts, apply water with great care, 
not wetting the foliage, providing a dry atmosphere, and your plants may pos¬ 
sibly improve. You do not say whether they arc young or old, or whether kept 
in a frame or greenhouse. If old and exhausted they will probably be of little 
further service, but if young they may with judicious treatment regain their lost 
vigour. 
Libonias Unsatisfactory (Idem).—' The condition of the plants indicate 
that there has been some error in treatment, but in what respect it is impossible 
for us to say. You say they had a “ good shift ” in June, but possibly it might 
have been a bad one. If the roots were much matted, and the soil they sur¬ 
rounded or permeated was dry when placed in larger pots, the shift was a bad 
one. If water was given too copiously immediately after repotting, as is not un- 
frequently the case, the shift was also unfortunate, and the plants would have 
been better left in rheir original pots and supported with liquid manure. Again, 
overdryness during the summer, if only for a day or less, causing the roots to 
shrivel, would lead to the premature fall of the leaves and the non-production 
of flowers. Torpid root-action is the main cause of the evil, but whether it is 
the result of over-watering or under-watering we have no means of knowing. 
Possibly there have been mistakes of both kinds, for we have often known plants 
allowed to get unreasonably dry and then made and kept unreasonably wet, as 
if to atone for the initial error ; thus a double mistake has been made, and the 
plants have suffered proportionately. Plant them out in good soil and a warm 
sunny position next year, and note the lesson that Nature teaches in the cultiva¬ 
tion of Libonias. 
Culture of Caloehorti (Idem). —They can be grown outdoors if you 
wish, but they will need protection during the winter, covering them with a 
layer of ashes 3 or 4 inches deep, but they must be planted in well-drained light 
soil or success cannot be insured. Frames are also suitable for them, the bulbs 
being planted out in sandy loam, and ventilation well attended to in favourable 
weather. In pots these plants are very uncertain; sometimes they grow and 
flower fairly well, and at others they are most unsatisfactory, whatever care 
is taken with them. Plenty of drainage and similar soil to that already men¬ 
tioned are necessary for Caloehorti in pots. 
Gros Maroc Grape (Bute). —As you doubt that this Grape can be grown 
in a house with Black Hamburgh you had better visit Mr. Rivers’ nursery at 
Sawbridgeworth next year, and you will see it growing vigorously, and probably 
bearing freely, not only in a house with the Black Hamburgh, but with a dozen 
other varieties as well. In that house it commences colouring quite as soon, if 
not sooner, than the Black Hamburgh, and hangs until March. The bunches 
are not giants, but of good size, the berries being very fine and splendidly 
coloured. You will do well to remember that the Vine needs more room than 
the Black Hamburgh, as it is a very strong grower ; and we have no doubt what¬ 
ever that, like Gros Guillaume and the Duke of Buccleuch, it will bear better on 
the long-rod system than by close spurring. But although it succeeds under the 
conditions named, we are not prepared to assert that its flavour would not be 
improved under a somewhat higher temperature, the same as is that of its rela¬ 
tive Gros Colman. Both these Grapes were introduced from France by Mr. Rivers, 
and have been at Sawbridgeworth for nearly a quarter of a century. 
Situations (.4 Young Gardener ).—Your desire to succeed is a worthy one, 
and your efforts to obtain a situation under a gardener famed for his abilities is 
commendable. Whether your plan of operations will answer can only be proved 
by experience ; but unless you can include copies of testimonials from those who 
can certify to your ability, industry, and general good conduct, we doubt if 
your letters will do more in the majority of cases than insure a civil answer. 
Most " famed gardeners ” are inundated with applications from young men, 
