424 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 4, 1880. 
be supplied sufficiently to keep the moss damp. The watering and 
syringing must be done by twelve o’clock, which will allow of the 
house becoming dry by the time the temperature lowers, which is of 
importance, as a cold wet atmosphere is inimical to the health of the 
plants ; ventilation will only be necessary on fine days to prevent the 
temperature rising too high. Any plants of Dendrobium nobile that 
have completed their growth and are swelling their buds may be 
placed in the East India house and damped overhead on fine days, 
and they will be in flower by the new year. Cattleyas and Dendro- 
biums should receive very little water at their roots, and any blocks 
or newly imported roots will need damping occasionally. Let all 
plants coming into flower be thoroughly exposed to the light, or they 
are liable to lose the buds at this season. Plants of Laelia purpurata 
which have not completed the growth should be kept in the warmest 
part of the house. Calanthe vestita and C. Yeitchi coming into 
flower should have very little water and the atmospheric moisture 
not excessive, or they will cast the buds and the flowers be spotted, 
therefore keep the plants fully exposed in the driest part of the house. 
Lycaste Skinneri, though a water-loving plant, requires less at this 
season, but the roots must not be allowed to become too dry or the 
pseudo-bulbs speedily shrivel. The water should be kept from the 
base of the pseudo-bulbs, or the flower buds will decay when about 
an inch long. Cypripediums must be well supplied with water, they 
not requiring any rest. Many of the Odontoglossums and Masde- 
vallias will still be growing freely, and must be kept moist at the 
roots ; and although these plants require plenty of water, care should 
be taken at this dull season not to have a saturated atmosphere. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Bruant, Boulevard Saint Cyprian, Poitiers (Vienne-France).— 
List of New Begonias. 
Edward Phillip Dixon, Hull .—Catalogue of Roses, Trees, and Shrubs. 
John Carter, Keighley, Yorkshire .—Catalogue of Nursery Stoc7c. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS 
\wnufimiiw/jT 
*** All correspondence should be directed either to “ The Editors ” 
or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Mr. Johnson or 
Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoidably. We request that 
no one will write privately to any of our correspondents, 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. 
Address (Robert Thorburn ).—The address you require is Mr. J. G. Wagstaff, 
Albert Ironworks, Dukinfield, Ashton-under-Lyne. 
Dividing Pyretlirums (G. 0. S .).—Spring is the best time for dividing 
these plants, just as they are commencing fresh growth. It is advisable to 
remove some of the soil from around the plants now and place some ashes 
round them, which will enable the water to pass away freely and destroy the 
harbour for slugs. 
Magnum Bonum Potatoes ( J. Renshaw). —Your crop was good, but 
the records of greater productiveness have been sent to us. The good cropping 
qualities of this variety are so fully and generally admitted that it is not 
necessary to publish the weights of crops of little more than the ordinary 
character. 
Bedding Pelargoniums in Hyde Park (Harebell). —The following are 
amongst the most effective varieties employed in this Park :—Miss M. Holden, 
scarlet; John Gibbons, scarlet ; Petty Carr, crimson ; Sir H. Stanhope, dark 
scarlet; Col. Wright, salmon scarlet; Wordsworth, bright scarlet ; Lucy, pink. 
Mrs. Turner, bright pink; Rose of Allaudale, a bright shade of pink ; and Theo¬ 
critus, rich scarlet. At the Crystal Palace Lady Constance Grosvenor is largely 
employed as a scarlet, as also is Vesuvius, Cleopatra being the leading pink 
variety planted there. Silver variegated—Albion’s Cliffs, Miss Kingsbury, 
Princess Alexandra. Yellow-foliaged Varieties—Robert Fish and Crystal Palace 
Gem. 
Zonal Pelargoniums for Pots (Idem). —Mrs. Windsor, blush white; 
Joyful, pale magenta; Mrs. Davidson, deep rose; Samuel Plimsoll, purplish 
crimson ; Henry Jacoby, dark crimson ; President Gambetta, reddish salmon ; 
Rebecca, rose crimson ; Clemence Boutard, blush; Louis, magenta ; Charles 
Schwind, crimson ; T. Schuler, bright scarlet; and Fanny Cattlin, rosy salmon. 
These are all single varieties, which wc presume you require, and with good 
cultivation produce very large trasses. The address you require is T. W. Cowan, 
Esq., Horsham, Sussex. 
Guernsey and Belladonna Lilies ( J. P.). —You no doubt potted the 
bulbs too deeply and watered them too freely. In all probability several of them, 
if not all, are dead, at least all that do not emit roots are worthless. Those that 
produce roots may eventually be planted out in a warm position. They will not 
be suitable for forcing next year, and do not like being disturbed too frequently. 
If you send 3Jd. in post stamps to the publisher and ask him to send you No. 752 
of the Journal, you will find some cultural notes on these plants. 
Tea Roses for Forcing (Idem). —Tour plants would have been better 
placed under glass before they made their second growth. Without knowing 
their condition more precisely it is not easy to advise you ; but probably if you 
prune them just below the base of the second growths and train the firm portions 
of the shoots round stakes, they will eventually produce flowers freely under 
careful management. They must have abundance of light and not too much 
heat at the first; a temperature of 45° to 50° will be sufficient until they are 
growing freely, and they should not be started before January if you w 7 ant good 
blooms. 
Rabbits v. Fruit Trees (P. G.). —The most effectual plan of preventing 
injury to the trees is to encircle the stems loosely with closely made galvanised 
wire. Less permanent modes of preserving the bark is to tie old bark from other 
trees round the stems, or briars may be employed. Stout brown paper secured 
round the trees and thickly smeared with tar lasts for a considerable time. A 
mixture of sulphur, lime, and cowdung thickly smeared on the stems only 
lasts for a short time; to be effectual such dressings must be applied twice 
during the winter. If you secure anything of a permanent character round the 
trees you must examine the ligatures frequently and loosen them when neces¬ 
sary. Plant the exposed side of your orchards with the Dumelow’s Seedling 
Apple ; it is hardy and of rather close growth. 
Climbers for Exposed Situation (Alex. F. Roberts).—We have seen 
the following plants upon the south front of a house 540 feet above sea level, 
exposed to the force of the south-west wind coming over at least 30 miles direct 
line of moor—Clematis Vitalba or Traveller’s Joy, Caprifolium Periclymenum 
(Honeysuckle), Jasminium officinale (Sweet White Jasmine), and Ayrshire Roses 
—viz., Dundee Rambler, Splendens, and Ruga; those would probably succeed 
with you. Most varieties of Roses, Clematises, and other climbers or wall plants 
were tried in the same position and failed. 
Substitute for Pampas Grass (Idem).— Erianthus Ravenna: would 
probably succeed where Pampas Grass has failed ; but though a fine grass, is not 
nearly so effective as Pampas Grass, which might thrive if you afford it protec¬ 
tion in winter. 
Adiantum farleyense Unhealthy (Constant Subscriber, Liverpool). — 
Assuming that the temperature of the house is suitable for the Fern we consider 
the soil in which your plant is potted in is uusuitable. Wo should remove all 
the decaying fronds now, and when fresh growth commences in the spring 
remove a good portion of the soil and repot the plant in fresh compost, and in a 
smaller pot if possible. Turfy loam and peat with a liberal admixture of char¬ 
coal will induce healthy root-action; the plant should then be shifted, employing 
a richer compost. The finest plants we have ever seen were growing in a com¬ 
post of two-thirds of strong loam that had been previously submitted to the action 
of fire, and one-third part of the remains of an old Mushroom bed, with charcoal 
and wood ashes to keep the soil porous and sweet. 
Potatoes (E. Yorke ).—It is about as impossible to determine the varieties 
of some Potatoes by merely seeing the tubers as it is to determine the names of 
certain Peas by inspecting the seeds. The tubers you have sent are very small, 
you do not even say whether the variety is an early one or not. We will have 
them planted, and possibly we may be able to recognise the variety after seeing 
its growth and comparing it with others. 
Lichens on Trees (A'. Y. Z). —The land probably requires draining, and 
even this is not effectual in some districts for destroying lichens on trees. When 
the branches are quite wet and there is little or no wind, as during a fog or just 
afterwards, freshly slaked lime should be thrown plentifully through the trees, 
and it will adhere firmly, leaving them quite white. This will destroy the 
lichens, and the lime that falls to the ground will be beneficial. We have 
cleansed many trees by this process, but success depends on the manner in wdnch 
the work is done. The lime must be used liberally, and where the trees are large 
the operator must have the use of a ladder. Young trees can be dressed with 
lime in the form of thick whitewash applied with a soft brash. 
Fruit Trees not Bearing (II. T. II.). —We can scarcely understand the 
condition of your pyramid trees which are growing “most luxuriantly,’’ yet 
“ bristling with fruit buds.” When young trees grow very strongly they do not 
usually produce fruit buds freely. If your trees blossom profusely and yet no 
fruit follows, we can only attribute the failure to the effects of frost in spring or 
to immature wood. The spurs of Pear trees are also occasionally injured during 
the winter when the frost is very severe and the mercury of the thermometer 
approaches zero. We can only suggest that you cut off any roots that penetrate 
the clay, and encourage by manurial top-dressings fibrous roots near the surface 
of the soil, and at the same time remove some of the branches of the trees that 
are too closely together, so that the sun and air can act beneficially in maturing 
the growth. The Jargonelle trees you no doubt root-pruned injudiciously. You 
must now by the application of fresh soil and surface mulching with manure 
induce healthy root-action; this with judicious pruning will aid in the restora¬ 
tion of the trees. 
Sulphuric Acid. v. Plantains on Lawns (Shillingstone). —We do not 
dilute the acid at all for this purpose. Our plan is to place it in a strong stone 
bottle, such as an old blacking bottle, wdth wire twisted round the neck so as to 
form a handle. It is applied to the Plantains with a stick a foot long and of 
the thickness of an ordinary pencil, several notches being cut round the end for 
an inch or two. When placed in the acid sufficient is held in the notches for 
killing two or three of the weeds when they are close together and can be 
“ doctored ” quickly. One drop quite in the centre of each plant will destroy it. 
We have tried it on Dandelions and Thistles as well as Plantains, and have found 
on digging up the roots a short time afterwards that they have been burnt for a 
considerable depth ; in fact we have never found the acid fail in killing all kinds 
of weeds on lawns to which it has been properly applied. With a little practice 
a man (for the work should not be entrusted to women and boys) soon becomes 
expert in applying the acid, and a large portion of lawn is soon rendered free 
from these unsightly weeds. The stick must not be rubbed on the grass, as it 
leaves brown marks wherever that is done, as it frequently is by those using the 
acid the first time. 
Arsen c for Destroying Weeds on Walks (Idem).— Dissolve 1 It. 
of powdered arsenic in 3 gallons of cold water and boil it, stirring it well when 
on the fire ; then add 7 gallons of water holding in solution 2 lbs. of soda ; boil 
and stir again, applying it when hot to the walks through the rose of a watering 
pot, taking especial care to protect the grass or other edging with boards, or the 
