468 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ November 18, 1880. 
should be kept near the light in a temperature of 50° artificially, 
which applies equally to successional plants and seedlings of the 
current year. Any seedlings in small pots may be shifted, employing 
good loam with about a fourth of decomposed manure. 
Primulas .—These do not thrive in damp cold houses, therefore 
place them near the glass, and where the temperature is kept at 45° 
to 50° artificially, in which they will continue flowering all the winter 
profusely. The double forms are excellent for producing flowers for 
cutting, as they last much longer than the single varieties. The semi¬ 
double varieties are also good for cutting, and have the advantage of 
being better growers than those which are perfectly double. 
Fuchsias .—All of these that have finished blooming should be 
gradually ripened. Withhold water gradually, so as to keep the 
wood plump. They may be wintered under open greenhouse stages, 
or in any light dry spot where they will not be subjected to very 
severe frosts. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. — Plants grown and specially prepared for 
winter flowering should now be placed where they will receive extra 
heat, 50° at night, and 55° to 60° by day, whilst those to succeed 
them must have a temperature of 50°, and be given sufficient water to 
keep them slowly growing. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Bruant, Boulevard Saint-Cyprien, Poitiers (Vienne), France.— 
Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs. 
James Backhouse & Son, Ycrk .—Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs. 
Ouidin, aine, Liseux (Calvados), France .—List of Trees and Shrubs. 
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TO CORRESPONDENTS 
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*** 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. 
Asphalte Tennis Ground (Johnson ).—If the site is very wet it is very 
desirable that it be drained, and the asphalted portion would be more durable. 
Osmunda regalis (II. Pierce ).—It is not confined to Europe, but has Leen 
found near the Himalaya Mountains between Choi and Kot. 
Horn Manure (II. F. C .).—We do not know where the above manure is 
to be had in Scotland. 
Culinary Apples (4. B. C .).—The following are six good varieties for 
succession, being hardy and free bearers Keswick Codlin, Cellini, Stirling 
Castle, Beauty of Kent, Warner’s King, and Dumelow’s Seedling. 
Double Primulas (J. Bartlett ).—The flowers sent are very fine, some of 
them being quite equal to the varieties that have been exhibited by Mr. Gilbert 
of Burghley. 
Mistletoe (G. N.).—It occurs in some parts of India. Mrs. Aynsley states 
that they found it in the valley of Kashmir growing on the Walnut trees, which 
there are numerous, the nut being a prominent part of the food of the natives. 
Seedling Abutilon (A. J. S .).—The flower is of good form, but there are 
several varieties quite equal to it in that respect, and some of them of a clear 
bright yellow colour. Your variety is worth cultivating, but it possesses little 
or no commercial value. 
Growing Seakale (Lobster ).—If the district is a dull and showery one 
you may possibly succeed in growing Seakale on the steep bank facing the sea, 
especially if you cover the surface of the ground thickly with manure. If the 
locality is a dry one you cannot expect to obtain large crowns from such poor 
gravelly soil. 
<l Herefordshire Pomona” (4. F .).—Three parts of the “ Herefordshire 
Pomona” have appeared. They are published aunually, and the price of the 
first two is 15s. each. The next part, which is larger than the preceding is 21s. 
The work is expected to be completed in seven parts. 
Painting Glass Structures (K. IF.).—We do not undertake to supply 
information on this and kindred subjects that are strictly within the province 
of tradesmen. A more correct idea of the cost of all such work can be obtained 
by inviting two or three tradesmen to supply tenders for completing the work 
than can be afforded through the columns of any journal. 
Propagating Palms (L. C. L .).—You will not succeed in propagating 
your Palm by “dividing it into smaller pieces,” and if the specimen has become 
too large for table decoration it should be grown on for the stove or green¬ 
house according to the treatment it requires. Palms are raised from seeds 
which are imported in large numbers, and generally raised in pans of light soil 
in bottom heat, but young specimens may be obtained at moderate prices from 
the chief nurserymen. 
Vines in Pots (J. SI). —No variety is equal to the Black Hamburgh for 
fruiting in pots, and we should grow but few of other varieties. Foster’s Seed¬ 
ling is one of the best bearers of the white varieties for the same purpose. The 
Frontignans are suitable for pot culture ; the bunches are not large, but the 
flavour of the fruit is excellent. The Primavis Frontignan, Tokay Frontignan, 
and the Early Auvergne Frontignan are good varieties ; you had better, however, 
rely chiefly on the Black Hamburgh. From five to ten bunches, according to their 
size, may be retained on each Vine. The leading growth should be stopped at 
five or six leaves beyond the bunch. 
Raising Seedling Briars (J. II. IP.).—You may sow the seeds now thinly 
in drills a foot apart, covering them with light soil containing a good proportion 
of wood ashes. The whole of the seed will not germinate the first year, there¬ 
fore the ground must always be kept scrupulously free from weeds. When 
large enough the seedlings may be transplanted 6 or 8 inches apart in rows 
18 inches asunder, there to remain and be budded. The seed beds must be kept 
quite free from weeds, and the seedlings may be transplanted as soon as they 
have shed their leaves in the autumn or in early spring. 
Striped Double Stock (L. AI. N., Dublin). —The flowers are attractively 
flaked with purple on a white ground like a rose flake Carnation. The growth 
resembles that of the East Lothian Stock, but is insufficient for us to determine 
the point. Unless you have single flowers similarly striped you will not be able 
to perpetuate the variety. We have seen flowers of the Germau Ten-w’eek Stock 
striped, but not quite so clearly as those before us. If you show a flowering 
branch to Mr. F. W. Burbidge, the Curator of Trinity College Botanic Gardens, 
he will be sure to have something to say worth hearing on the sportiveness of 
flowers. 
Narcissus Bulbocodium in Pots (R. D. G).— Bulbs of various kinds 
that are potted and flowered in greenhouses very frequently produce tall, thin, 
and imperfect foliage owing to the plants being placed at some distance from 
the glass and probably crowded ; they cannot then obtain the light and air 
necessary for producing healthy foliage, without which flowers the following 
year cannot be expected. Too often also after bulbs have flowered the pots are 
placed in the most unlikely of positions for the full development and maturation 
of the foliage of the plants. If the same care were bestowed on the plants after 
they have flowered as before, they would be in much better condition for 
flowering a second year than is the case under the treatment to which they are 
generally subjected. 
Old Vine not Bearing (Midland Counties). — Vines so old as yours are 
not infrequently cease bearing out of doors when pruned on the spur system. 
As you axe unable to apply manure to the roots to impart fresh vigour to the 
Vine we advise you to cut out every alternate vertical rod nearly close to the 
horizontal main, and near a bold eye or bud if possible ; fresh growths would 
start, and the strongest could be selected and trained up the wall in place of 
the rods removed, these young canes only being shortened at the winter pruning 
to the extent of removing the immature portion. Another year, or when you 
desire it, the remaining rods can be removed, and so your wall may be covered 
with young canes without wholly divesting it of the Vines, which might be 
objectionable. Vines on walls usually bear the best crops when the old roots are 
systematically removed, young canes trained up, and all the growth retained 
that is hard, brown, and firm ; in a word, we think if you substitute the 
long-rod for the short-spur mode of pruning your chance will be very much 
greater of obtaining fruit. If the Vine does not bear when so treated you may 
conclude it is either worn out or the variety is unsuitable for outdoor culture. 
Vines Overcrowded (J. E .).—Two rods will be quite sufficient in the 
space you name ; in fact, there is not properly room for two unless the spurs are 
very thinly placed on them. Cut out the old rod and remove a number of the 
weaker spurs from the others, so that those remaining are about 15 inches apart. 
The spurs may be removed at once with a small toothed saw, paring the cuts 
smoothly with a sharp knife, and dressing them with lead-coloured paint. You 
have done quite right by training up a young cane from the base of the other 
Vine. The old rod may either be cut out entirely or have all the spurs removed 
from the lower portion as far as the young cane reaches after it is pruned, or a 
little farther. A length of about 4 feet will probably be sufficient for the young 
cane ; and if the buds or eyes on this are numerous, the young growths can be 
thinned out in spring when they are an inch or two in length, retaining those 
that are the most promising and which show the best bunches. It is no trouble 
to us to reply to questions on gardening when we can do so usefully, and if you 
need further information you need not hesitate to write to us again. 
Angle and Ventilation of Vinery (4 Nine-years Subscriber). —The 
angle of the house, 45°, is quite suitable for Vines, but the ventilation at the top 
of the house is insufficient. This may be remedied by making every alternate 
light moveable. As the roof is heavy the Vines must be planted thinly, those of 
the Gros Colman being fully 4 feet apart, and the others not less than 3 feet 
6 inches. The house would be more suitable for Grape culture if every alternate 
sashbar were removed and the roof glazed with larger squares of glass, yet you 
may probably succeed without this alteration if the laterals are trained very 
thinly so that one leaf does not overlap another. If you make a good border and 
plant inside the house, allowing the roots access to a good outside border also, 
you ought to succeed in your object. 
Vines in Ground Vinery (F. C.). —The removal of the vinery to a 
position where it will have more sun will undoubtedly be advantageous. The 
summer of 1879 was very dull and wet, consequently the wood of many Vines, 
also of fruit trees, was not matured. Your object must be to so place the vinery 
and train and prune the Vines that every leaf can have full exposure to the sun. 
For this purpose many of the young shoots must be rubbed off in the spring, 
leaving the laterals that remain 18 inches apart; these, too, must be stopped a 
leaf or two beyond each bunch, or where there are no bunches at about six 
leaves from the base; all aftergrowths, sub-laterals, to be pinched out immediately 
they are formed at one leaf and before a second leaf is produced. By adopting 
this practice you will have good foliage, no useless growth, and matured wood 
of a fruit-bearing character. If the foliage is still on the Vines you may remove 
them now, doing the work carefully, not permitting the roots to become dry ; 
replant in fresh soil, covering the surface 5 or 6 inches deep with half-decayed 
manure, and fresh root-action may commence at once. If the Vines are divested 
of their foliage prune them now, and remove them in spring when the buds 
commence swelling. Burnt soil and wood ashes are excellent for mixing with 
the soil in which the Vines are planted. Your Vines may T produce a few bunches 
next year it the wood is ripe now, but they must be cropped lightly until they 
are established in the new position. We suspect your Vines have been much 
