December 2, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
511 
Address ( Constant Render). —The address you require is M. E. Verdier, Rue 
Clisson, Paris. 
Fungi and the Potato Disease {C. D.). —As so much has appeared in 
our columns lately relative to this subject it is not necessary to publish your 
letter, especially as it pertains to a phase of the question that has already been 
discussed. 
Seed from Vegetable Marrow (IF. IF.).—Let the fruit hang in the 
warm room until the rind is quite yellow, then cut it open and separate the 
seeds from the pulp by washing them as frequently as necessary ; those that 
sink to the bottom of the vessel will be sound, those that float unfertile. When 
they are quite dry store them in a paper bag. 
Cocoa-nut Fibre for Calanthes (Run).— Useful as this material is 
for propagating purposes, it would not be quite suitable for growing your 
Calanthes in, as they need a more substantial soil. A compost of fibrous loam, 
leaf soil, a small portion of dried cow manure, with sand and charcoal to 
render the whole porous, is what you require to obtain these useful Orchids in 
good condition. 
Bees in Conservatory {Bertie ).—The structure is not large enough for 
a hive of bees if it is a moderately strong one. The bees would render the 
structure unpleasant to timid visitors and would shorten the duration of the 
flowers, and we doubt also if the bees would be greatly benefited by being placed 
in tlieRiouse ; some of them would be certain to escape through the ventilators, 
and would not easily find their way to the hive again. 
Heating with Sanitary Pipes (IF. IF., Otley). —If you send 3 ^d. in 
stamps to the publisher and ask him to send you No. 985 of the Journal, you 
will find a system detailed by which some vineries at Sedbury Park are success¬ 
fully heated by this method. Mr. Jowsey, the gardener, has secured many 
prizes with splendid Grapes from the structures referred to. A brick flue of at 
least 6 feet in length should connect the pipes with the fire. Mr. Matthews of 
Weston-super-Mare, who is an excellent authority on the subject, has stated in 
our columns that “ unglazed sanitary pipes made of fire clay are better than 
glazed pipes for forming flues, as they produce a better heat and are not so 
liable to crack as are glazed pipes.” Mr. Peach, who has had much experience 
with this subject, also states that glazed pipes or socketed pipes should not bo 
employed for heating. 
Gas Lime for Garden (D. Id). —It is injurious to all crops, and ought 
only to be applied to the ground when it is being dug in the autumn, so that 
several weeks elapse before the crops are sown and planted. It is inimical to 
grub life generally, and if fresh from the kiln a large handful to a square yard 
will be a sufficient dressing yearly. Employed in the manner indicated it is 
safe; but it is not safe ns a top-dressing applied when the crops are growing, 
nor for mixing with the soil immediately before planting. Soot and salt 
would be good for your garden; and continue your practice of using all the 
burnt refuse you can obtain, spreading it in the drills in which you sow the 
seeds, and in the trenches when you plant Potatoes. 
Destroying American Blight (L. I. A'.).—If you dissolve 6 ozs. of 
soft soap in a gallon of water, adding a wineglassful of paraffin, and apply the 
mixture to the trees with a brush, rubbing well into the crevices of the bark, 
it will destroy the insects. Any portions of the trees that are seriously affected 
may be dressed with pure paraffin, but it must not be applied to the buds nor to 
the smooth bark, nor so freely as to drain from the trees into the soil. The 
soft soap and paraffin must be thoroughly mixed together, and the remedy will 
be safe and effectual. After your Roses are pruned dress them with a mixture 
of lime and sulphur with a little clay added to make the “ paint ” adhere to the 
stems. In the summer syringe them frequently with a solution of soft soap, and 
it will to a very great extent prevent the mildew appearing. 
Soil for Orchids {Ignoramus).— The Orchids you mention are no doubt 
potted in a proper manner if you have received them from a nurseryman. They 
all require very good drainage in the pots, which should be filled about two- 
thirds of their depth, and a compost of sphagnum, peat, and finely broken 
potsherds, but the Cypripedium succeeds better if a small proportion of light 
turfy loam be incorporated with the soil. The Oncidium we do not know ; have 
you not mis-spelt the name ? Probably it is either 0. pelicanum or 0. phymato- 
chilum. The other plants would all succeed in a compost of one-third turfy 
loam, a similar quantity of peat and leaf soil, sufficient sand and small pieces of 
charcoal or broken potsherds to keep the soil open, and in the case of the first- 
named plant, a small proportion of well-decayed manure may be added. 
The Hand-Flower Tree {Inquirer, Surrey ).—From your description 
we presume you refer to the Hand Plant of Mexico. Cheirostemon platanoides. 
It is remarkable for the peculiarity of the flowers, which have no pptals, and are 
furnished with a large angular calyx resembling a leathern cup, in the centre 
of which rises up a column formed of the united filaments, bearing five narrow 
anthers, which are curved at the top, and with incurved style in the centre, the 
whole having the appearance of a hand. The tree attains the height of 30 feet, 
and the first specimen discovered was found near Toluco, in Mexico, where it 
was held in great veneration by the natives. Forests of it have since been 
found near Guatemala, whence it is supposed to have been originally obtained. 
Digging amongst Fruit Trees {J.S.). —It is not unusual for trees to 
grow freely when the ground is dug regularly and manured for under crops, and 
old trees also bear well under such treatment, as may be seen in some of the 
market gardens near London ; but we certainly do not advise you to continue 
the practice of digging “ quite up to the stems as if no trees were on the ground,” 
Further, as your first object is to have satisfactory trees, we should not dig 
amongst them at all if your ground is light and rich as it appears to be, and 
they will soon produce wood less luxuriant than before and essentially of a 
fruitful character. You may spread the soot on the land as you propose, and a 
liberal dressing of lime would be very beneficial. Keep the ground free from 
weeds by frequent hoeings during the spring and summer months. 
Fruit Shrivelling {Amateur). —The room is too warm and dry. No fire 
is necessary except for excluding frost, and even this can be kept from injuring 
the fruit by thick coverings of dry clean straw except during a blast of great 
intensity and long duration, and even then a little fire heat with much covering 
is preferable to much fire and no covering. Fruit cannot be kept too cool 
provided it is safe from frost, and a dark room is preferable to a light one. 
Fruit, however, such as dessert Pears and Apples, do not ripen so well in a low 
as in a genial temperature; and if a few at a time are placed periodically in a 
warm structure, not only will the flavour be more fully developed, but each 
variety may be had in use over a very much longer period than if left in the 
fruit room to ripen naturally. 
Heating Greenhouse (F. M. S). —There is no necessity to have more 
heating power than will exclude frost in the severest weather, a temperature of 
40’ to 45° artificially being quite sufficient for greenhouse plants. We should 
prefer having the pipes on both sides of the house about a foot from the sides 
beneath the staging ; but as you object to this on account of crossing the end, 
where we presume there is a door, you may have the hot-water pipes on one side 
only, keeping them 15 to 18 inches beneath the stage, at which distance the 
plants will not be injuriously affected. Two 4-inch pipes will be sufficient— i.e., 
a flow and return, and they should be fixed “side by side” in preference to ‘ one 
over the other.” The flow rising to the end of the house, and the other declining 
from that point to the boiler, will afford the needful flow and return— i.e, cir¬ 
culation of the water. AVe should, as before stated, prefer taking the pipes round 
the house, say a flow to the doorway, and then dipping so as to cross to the 
other side, and continuing it as a return to the boiler, which may necessitate 
sinking a stokehole to have the return socket of the boiler at a proper level to 
receive the return pipe. 
Protecting Dwarf Rosea (Goosequill ).—As your Roses are so liable to be 
killed by severe frost we should not hesitate to mulch above the lower buds, and 
should have no fear of the plants “ damping-off.” Dried fern is excellent for 
packing round the stems; failing this use short straw, littery stable manure, or tree 
leaves, covering the soil thickly with shorter and richer manure. AVe do not think 
your plants are killed. Protect them as you propose, and they will probably grow 
in the spring. If the frost proves very severe and of long duration, fresh cover¬ 
ing must be added from time to time as needed. AVheu Roses are planted a safe 
rule is to cover the roots the same depth as they were before removed from the 
nursery, and mulch the surface with, manure. The buds on Manetti stock 
should, as a rule, be just level with the soil; if the plants are a year old, as they 
usually are when removed, the budded portion should be just below the surface, 
no portion of the stock being visible. We are not sure, howevcr. that we quite 
comprehend your question—“ How deep to plant dormant buds when transplant¬ 
ing them ; ” but we will readily give you further information if this reply does 
not meet your case. 
Asparagus Dying (J. Bilton). —AA r e are not at all surprised that the roots 
which you purchased and planted “ immediately after the frost last year died,” 
especially as you had them in “ a cellar for a month,” waiting for a favourable 
opportunity for planting. In all probabdity the majority of them would have 
failed to grow even if they had been planted as soon as you received them. 
Asparagus should never be planted during the winter months when the ground 
is cold and wet. The spring is the proper time for planting, just as growth 
commences. If the soil is in good condition during the last days of March or the 
beginning of April and growths are produced an inch long, almost every root will 
grow if carefully taken up and planted. The soil should be free and well 
pulverised, and trenches should be formed wide enough to admit the full spread 
of the roots; these should be placed so that the growing crowns are about 
2 inches from the surface, leaf soil or other light compost being worked well 
amongst the roots and a good watering given with tepid water. If the work is 
carefully yet expeditiously done, without any drying of the roots or breaking 
off the growths, success is almost certain to follow. AVe prefer planting when 
the growths are long enough for the tips to just protrude through the surface, 
then, with subsequent mulchings, we do not lose one plant out of a hundred. 
Prepare the beds now, and plant in the spring, taking special care that the roots 
are not even slightly dried during removal and transit. 
Repotting Vines {J. P). —If the ATnes are strong and in moderate-sized 
pots filled with healthy roots a shift into larger pots is desirable. The time for 
repotting is in the spring when the young growths are about an inch long, and 
the work must be done with great care, as the growths are easily broken off. 
AVhen repotting you must be careful to note that the soil in the centre of the 
ball of roots is sufficiently moist, and the soil to be used—turfy loam with a 
third of decaj'ed manure and a sprinkling of bone dust—must also be moderately 
moist, but not wet. Remove the crocks from the base of the soil, but do not 
disturb the roots, and pot firmly, leaving sufficient space for a little after top¬ 
dressing, and for holding sufficient water to penetrate the mass of soil. If the 
Vines are in very large pots removing a portion of the surface soil and adding 
fresh rich compost would probably be sufficient, with otherwise good culture, 
for insuring a good crop of Grapes. AVhen A’ines are repotted in the manner 
indicated care and good judgment are requisite in watering. AVe saw last year 
the advantage of repotting Vines in an experiment that had been made to test 
the point; but the Vines were in charge of an excellent gardener—Air. Bardney ; 
with one less competent the results might not have been similar. If you repot 
the Vines and they do not answer your expectations you must not conclude 
that the system is wrong, but that you have erred in your mode of carrying it 
out. 
Chrysanthemums in the Open Air (J. II). —If you plant Chrys¬ 
anthemums in early spring just when fresh growth commences in the rich deep 
soil of a sheltered border they will grow and flower well, but whether they will 
produce exhibition blooms depends on the season, the varieties grown, and your 
skill as a cultivator. The plan most likely to be successful would be to insert 
cuttings or slightly rooted suckers now singly in small pots, and plunge them in 
ashes or cocoa-nut fibre refuse i» a cold frame for the winter. AVith good 
management you would have sturdy well-rooted plants in spring. Then if you 
dig a trench a foot wide and 18 inches deep at the foot of a wall or fence, fill 
the trench with rather strong loam with a third of its bulk of manure mixed 
with it, plant a foot apart, train the plants with single stems : nd secure them 
to the wall, water them sufficiently during the summer and mulch over the 
roots in hot weather, thin out the buds as soon as they are visible, protect the 
expanding blooms from wet and frost, and prevent injury by earwigs at all 
times, you may perhaps produce blooms of exhibition quality. AVe have seen 
very handsome blooms produced by this mode of culture ; but success depends 
entirely on the skill and attention of the cultivator. Cuttings struck in gentle 
heat in March or April and duly prepared for planting-out in May answer 
equally well. But possibly you have not a heated frame in spring, hence our 
advice to insert rooted suckers as soon as you can obtain them in the autumn. 
Three or four blooms will be sufficient for each plant of the incurved varieties, 
but the Pompous may produce several flowers; still many of the buds should be 
removed, three of the earliest on each stem being retained. The plants will not 
require stopping, as each stem will naturally break into three or four flowering 
growths towards the end of summer. 
Pruning Apple Trees {J.S ).—AVhen Apple trees are very much exposed 
to strong winds we do not consider it an advantage to have the heads very thin 
and open ; but if the trees are in the form of an orchard, or are in a sheltered 
position, a thinning-out of the branches would no doubt be advantageous. The 
work requires to be done with judgment. As a rule no branches should be 
shortened, but a portion of those that cross each other should be severed close 
to the main stems from which they spring. A small-toothed saw will be suitable 
for the work, afterwards smoothly paring the edges of the bark and cut surfaces 
with a sharp knife. The most healthy and promising branches should be retained, 
removing those that are in any way faulty. It must be remembered that cutting 
