224 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDEXER. [ March is, is? 3 . 
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. 
Books ( Subscriber ).—We stated last week that the price of Mr. Barron's 
book, “ Vines and Vine Culture,” is 10.?., post free 10.!. 6 d. The size is demy 8vo, 
or perhaps it will be more intelligible to you to say that it is about inches 
long, G inches wide, and an inch thick. It contains 210 pages, divided into 
twenty-four chapters, and is illustrated by thirty plates on tinted paper, and 
forty-eight engravings. It is a very handsome volume. 
Blood Manure (C. B.). —We are obliged by your letter. Experiments are 
being made and inquiries instituted on the matter. 
Poetry (C. T .).—Your “ rugged rhyme ” had we think better not be printed. 
We are sorry to say that the gentleman to whom you refer, owing to failing 
health, has been compelled to rest awhile from all public duties and active 
mental or physical exercise. 
Growing Lily of the Valley (.7. B. IF.).—In our issue of February 8th 
of the present year we published an article on the subject on which you desire 
information. That article we presume you did not read. You had better 
peruse it carefully, and then if you desire any further information write to us 
again. There is no reason whatever that crowns should not be grown as well 
in this country as in German}', indeed they are so grown by some cultivators. 
Climbers for a Cool Conservatory (P. (?.).—You do not state the 
size of your house, or whether you require plants of strong habit or otherwise. 
The following, however, will probably suit you—Lapageria rosea and alba, Cle¬ 
matis indivisa, Passiflora caeruleo-racemosa, Rhodochiton volubile, Loniccra 
sempervirens, and Oestrum aurantiacum. 
Dwarf Plants for a Grave (J. S., Carnie ).—Snowdrops, Scilla amcena, 
Crocuses, Daisies, Alpine Auriculas, Primroses, Violets, Arabis albida, Aubrietias, 
Violas, Pansies, Saxifragas Wallacei and muscoides, Lithospermum prostratum, 
and autumn Crocuses are all of dwarf habit, and some of them would be in 
flower during the greater part of the year. 
Pruning Roses (A. M. B .).—You appear to have pruned your Roses cor¬ 
rectly, and if they arc established, not newly planted, and fairly strong, you 
may safely leave them as they are, otherwise we should prune them to two or 
three buds, according to their strength, on whatever stocks they may be grown. 
Gladiolus Brenclileyensis (Idem ).—It is one of the most hardy, useful 
and effective for massing of all. For flowering with Anemone japonica alba 
the corms should not be planted till the middle of April, surrounding them with 
sand,and covering about 4 inches deep. They should not be placed in imme¬ 
diate contact with manure. Lobelia cardinalis is a splendid plant for producing 
spikes of brilliant flowers in the autumn. 
Tobacco Water ( Constant Reader ).—Tobacco liquor is sold by chemists, 
and to a gallon of it 6 gallons of water should be added before using. If. how¬ 
ever, you have any difficulty in obtaining the liquor, you may make your own 
tobacco water by pouring half a gallon of boiling water on an ounce of strong 
shag tobacco, allowing it to remain until cold; then strain it, and use as 
required. 
Insuring Glass Structures (T. S., Prescot). —Greenhouses, we believe, 
are insured by nearly all established offices in which property is insured. We 
do not know of any office in which the business is confined to the insurance of 
glass structures. 
Odontoglos8um Pescatorei and O. Alexandras (J. TF.).— Some of 
the varieties of these are very much alike, but you can readily distinguish them 
by the former having more rounded entire sepals and petals, while the petals of 
O. Alexandras are usually slightly and sometimes very deeply cut. The flower 
of O. Pescatorei, too, is seldom so much blotched or spotted as 0. Alexandra.', 
except in the case of 0. Pescatorei Veitchii, which is one of the most distinct 
varieties in cultivation. 
Double Richardia (.1. IF. /?.).—We presume this is the plant you mean 
and if you grow it well you may expect it to produce double spathes next year 
The variegated-leaved plant is Abutilon vexillarium. The green leaf you have 
sent is of Pittosporum undulatum, a greenhouse plant with greenish white 
flowers. It is a native of New South Wales, and was introduced in 1879. 
Gloire de Dijon Rose not Expanding (A. B., Paisley ).—Judging by 
the thin and pale footstalk we think your plant is the reverse of vigorous. The 
root-action is either defective or you do not afford the plant adequate support. 
It was evidently overcropped with flowers last year, and consequently the growth 
was not matured. You had better remove the weaker buds and supply the 
plant with soot water or other liquid manure. Possibly also it might be 
advisable to remove some of the surface soil and add fresh compost, good loam 
mixed with bonemeal or manure for inciting fresh root-action. A greenhouse 
will be quite warm enough for the plant. A high temperature would aggravate 
the evil. 
Azolla caroliniensis (X. Y. Z .).—The plant concerning which you re¬ 
quire information is related to the Jungermannias and Salvinias. It is a diminu¬ 
tive aquatic, with small, dark green, closely imbricating leaves. It is a native 
of many parts of the world, both temperate and subtropical, and under cultiva¬ 
tion either in a cool or warm house. The plants require little attention, except 
removing conferva: or any stagnant vegetation. In the autumn a few plants 
are usually placed upon damp soil to yield a supply for the next season, and if 
the plants are grown in a shallow pan it will only be necessary to drain the 
water from them. The last edition of the “ Cottage Gardener’s Dictionary ” 
will no doubt suit you; it gives the names of plants introduced before 1880. 
This work can be had from this office, price 7s. 6 d., or post free 8s. 3d. 
Bunches of Chrysanthemums (Exhibitor).—Vie have referred to the 
article in the paper to which you direct our attention, and find that the “foggy 
quotation ” has been taken from our columns without acknowledgment. It is 
nit a “foggy ” case at all, but every word has been transcribed from page 573, 
yol. iii., of this Journal, the issue of December 22nd, 1881. We do not, however, 
join in your accusation of “ F. W. B.,” than whom we know of no writer more 
honest, and he certainly has no occasion to display any weakness by masking 
the authorities from whom he quotes. We are satisfied that the non-acknow¬ 
ledgment of the abstracted paragraph was either a pure accident on his part, 
or it is due to a cause which he had not an opportunity to control in its pre¬ 
paration for the press. 
Vine Management (J. T. S.). — Your explanation relative to the shortness 
of the rods is very convincing. You might if you choose take them down the 
other side, and let them take root in the soil the same as Mr. Wildsruitk has done 
at Heckfield (see p 431, November 9th, 1882). Until the Vines break n tempera¬ 
ture of 50° to 55° by fire heat will suffice ; after they have grown a few inches 
increase the heat by 5°. When flowering and onwards the temperature may be 
60° when you enter the house early in the morning, by fire heat alone in the day¬ 
time 65°, by sun heat 80° to 85°, closing the house in the afternoon early, so as 
to maintain the maximum temperature as long as possible, damping the house 
at the time of closing. In the morning open the top ventilators slightlv at 
65°, again at 70°, and so on as the sun increases the heat, and reduce similarly 
the ventilation in the afternoon. At the present time you may syringe the 
Vines twice a day until they ate growing freely, after which time you can afford 
sufficient moisture by damping the house occasionally, according to the weather. 
If you give the Aloe tepid liquid manure it will probably push fresh growth 
from the stem. 
Ornamental Grasses (J. E. 0 .).—None of the Grasses named require 
heat. You may either sow the seeds thinly in 3 or 4-inch pots and place in a 
cold frame, or sow in the open ground, covering them very lightly with fine soil. If 
you sow in pots the end of the present month will be soon enough, as the young 
plants require all the air and light possible, and hence the lights should be re¬ 
moved in fine weather. The seedlings must also be thinned out as soon as 
possible, and when they are an inch high, sturdy and hardy, may be turned out 
of the pots and planted without disturbing the soil. For sowing in the open 
ground choose fine weather in April. Briza xiaxima is very ornamental and has 
long been grown in gardens. The earliest writer who mentions it as grown in 
this country is Gerarde. He says it was then called “ Pearl Grass and Garden 
Quakers, growing naturally in some parts of Spain, and it is sown yearly in 
many of our English gardens.” The term Quaking Grass has reference to the 
spikelets, which are in constant motion, being agitated by the slightest current 
of air, owing to their size, and the extreme delicacy and length of their stalks. 
Parkinson, who wrote a few years later than Gerarde, says this Grass was given 
to him by Clusius, the botanist, under the name of the “ elegant Grass with 
Hop-like heads ” (Gramen elegans lupuli glumis), a very descriptive title, and, 
