128 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 11, 1887. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Louis de Smet, Ghent, Belgium.— Lists of Orchids and General Plants- 
Auguste Van Geert, Ghent, Belgium. —Catalogue of Azaleas, Rhododen¬ 
drons, Camellias, Palms, and Orch ids. 
Waite, Nash & Co., 79, Southwark Street, London, S.E. —Wholesale 
Catalogue of Flower Roots, 1887. 
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 un¬ 
avoidably. 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 
relating to Gardening and those on 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 communica¬ 
tions. 
LATE INQUIRIES.—It is necessary to again remind correspondents that 
letters arriving on WEDNESDAY MORNING cannot be answered 
in the “ next issue,” which is then far advanced for press. 
A Seedling Fern (R. II. S .).—Your Fern is apparently a variety of 
Adiantum cuneatum with compact fronds like Adiantum Pacotti, but larger. 
The latter has become a favourite for decorative purposes, and if your 
■seedling was well grown it would no doubt be similarly useful. It is not 
uncommon to obtain such varieties when spores are sown of cultivated 
Ferns. Many curious forms of British Ferns have been selected in this way. 
Balsams (IF. J. G.). —The flowers are of fine substance, good size, and 
•excellent form, but the beauty of the plants wou'd depend chiefly upon the 
number of flowers they had. 
Longleat Perfection Melon ( Bradwen ).—This excellent Melon is the 
result of crossing the old Cashmere with Eastnor Castle, these two Melons 
having for several years been exclusively grown at Longleat. 
Tomatoes (F. W .).—Your plants appear to be attached with a fungus, 
analagous to that which attacks Potatoes. We are not aware of any remedy, 
but you cannot err by dusting the plants with sulphur, and maintaining a 
dry rather than a moist atmosphere, taking care to provide a free circula¬ 
tion of air night and dry. 
Tomatoes {A. B .).—We are not able to say which of the two varieties 
you name is the most reliable cropper, as we have seen equally fine crops of 
both. Hackwood Park crops very heavily, but does not always set the first 
trusses well. Plants from cuttings usually fruit the best in the winter, but 
sturdy well prepared seedlings often answer very well. As to the boilers if 
•of equal size we should choose the one that cost the least to purchase. The 
power of both would be increased with watering bars, and these we should 
have. 
Cycas Fruits (X .).—A kind of Sago is produced from the pith of Cycas 
revoluta in Japan, and the nuts are edible. C. circinalis also yields Sago, 
and the fruits, which are of the size of an Orleans Plum, are eaten in the 
Moluccas after being fermented and roasted. We must decline the re¬ 
sponsibility of advising you on the question of exhibiting your fruit in a 
collection for dessert purposes, as there is no telling whether the judges 
would disqualify or not, as, so far as we know, they have no precedent to 
guide them in the matter. 
Wet Vine Borders ( Subscriber ).—By all means make provision for the 
escape of water according to the method suggested in your letter, taking 
care not to injure the roots of the Vines any more than can be helped 
during the operation. We think you only complained of one Vine before, 
and this at least we should imagine you could replant, affording adequate 
drainage and better soil. The others would probably improve with the 
improved drainage and a dressing of fresh soil mulched with manure for 
inciting surface roots. 
Caterpillar on Lime (If. C. M.). —The caterpillar is that of the Lime 
Hawk moth (Smeristhus Tiliae) about half grown. It is not a common 
insect, but occurs in many localities, some near the metropolis. It is dis¬ 
tinguished from its brethren in the family by a curious horny plate above 
the tail. The food is also Elm as well as Lime, and after the winter has 
been passed in the pupal condition the moth emerges about the beginning 
of June, and flies vigorously at dusk. 
Dwarf Chrysanthemums (S. Wilks). —Sturdy, healthy cuttings grown 
in the full sun, inserted now in small pots of sandy soil, stood on damp 
ashes in a frame, kept moist, close, and shaded to prevent the leaves 
flagging, strike readily, and the plants are often very serviceable for various 
decorative purposes. The cuttings and young plants cannot have too much 
light and air consistently with keeping the foliage fresh. Thousands of 
dwarf plants of Pompon varieties are raised from cuttings inserted in J uly 
and August. 
Chrysanthemums Eaten ( Wordsworth V—The larger tops sent have 
been eaten by earwigs, the smaller punctured with the very small brownish 
weevil-like insect wo find in the box. It is very destructive. Syringe the 
plants, and when wet dint with tobacco powder, not only the tips, but a 
few inches down tin stem. It punctures the soft part, destroying the tissue, 
and the shoots curl over. We had recently the mortification of catching 
the enemy at work on snme splendid plants in a garden near Liverpool. 
The specimens you have sent shall be examined by an entomologist; in the 
meantime apply tobacco powder promptly and repeatedly, as may be 
required, and we think you will prove the conqueror. 
Sowing Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist) in Autumn (I?. T. II.). —Unless the 
situation and soil be favourable and the winter prove mild it is undesirable 
to sow this curious plant in autumn for spring flowering. It is best sown in 
early April, and it then flowers most of the summer. The best kinds are 
N. damascena and N. hispanica. 
Early Paris Market Lettuce (Idem). —Its chief recommendation is its 
earliness, it being particularly valuable for sowing on warm borders in early 
spring for a supply of heads in early summer. It is also good for succes- 
sional sowing through the summer, being very tender and exceedingly crisp, 
also for sowing in August and planting in frames to stand the winter to give 
a spring supply. It makes quite as good a heart as All the Ye ir Round, 
but neither is so good for stinding as Veitch’s Perfect Gem, which has been 
our sheet anchor this droughty season. 
Apple Tree Leaves Spotted (J. C.). —The leaves sent are attacked by 
the Pear-tree blister moth (Tinea Clerckella), wh'ch deposits its eggs in May 
or June upon the foliage; and the larval, immediately they are hatched, 
penetrates beneath the cuticle, and by feeding upon the parenchyma cause 
numerous brown spots or blisters. The best remedy is to collect the leaves 
in autumn and burn them, so that the chrysalis may be destroyed. In early 
June wash the trees with soapsuds, repeating a few times at a few days’ 
interval through that month, employing a syringe or garden engine for the 
distribution of the liquid. 
Small Worms in Soil (J. B. S. C). —We are obliged by your letter. We 
have no doubt the minute worms like threadworms are the destructive 
agents in the case. The soil appears infested with them, and for that 
used in potting the remedy is simple—namely, scorching. If placed in the 
ashpits under the fires in stokeholes or in other more convenient places it 
can be heated till all animal life is destroyed. The soil has only to be 
/ moistened to be made fit for using, and it will be more fertile than before 
the scorching. Where rubbish is burned in heaps in fields the aftergrowth 
is invariably more luxuriant where the fires have been than where the 
soil has not been scorched. It is conceivable the pests may be conveyed to 
the soil in the water that is used, but we do not think such is the case in 
the garden referred to. 
Chemical Composition of Plants—Urine (J. II. 77.).—We know of no 
work or works that give the information you appear to require. We do not 
know that quantitative analyses of Rose seed and Heath seed have been 
determined. We are unable to indicate with precision the particular soil 
or strata on which Yarrow refuses to grow, but little of it is seen in wet 
fen land, which is composed largely of decayed vegetable matter. Urine 
should not be used quite fresh, nor on the other hand should putrefaction 
be permitted to continue very long, or much of the carbonate of ammonia 
that is produced by fermentation will escape. Perhaps the best time to 
use the liquid is when it is three or four days old, or when fermentation is 
apparent. About six volumes of water will render it safe for the majority 
of crops. 
Grapes Shanking (A. B. C.). —As the Vines have only been planted two 
years we should lift them after the crop is cut, and place the roots nearer 
the surface in good loam with wood ashes and crushed bones mixed there¬ 
with, draining the border well and surfacing with manure. Placing strong 
fresh manure in contact with the roots and making it like a puddle, as you 
appear to have done with syringing, would cause the roots to decay and the 
Grapes to shank. As your house is only small you could easily sponge the 
under surfaces of the leaves with a mixture of softsoap and sulphur. Beat 
some sulphur into a paste, then mix it with the solution, which may be 
made by dissolving 2 ozs. of softsoap in a gallon of water. This applied to 
the leaves as suggested and left there for three days will destroy the red 
spider. The mixture should be of the consistence of cream when used 
Varieties of Black Hamburgh Grape (W. A .).—The best variety of 
Black Hamburgh is undoubtedly Mill Hill, which has the fine appearance of 
Dutch Hamburgh, but without the coarseness and hollowness at the centre 
that characterise that form, and the quality is equal to that of the Black 
Hamburgh; the latter is, however, excellent, and as a rule grows better than 
the Mill Hill. By planting the Vines now you will take time by the forelock 
— i.e., get them established, and they will be in a condition to make a good 
start when the house is closed in February. It is only a question of shading 
until the Vines recover from the partial disentangling and spreading out of 
the roots in the fresh material, afterwards exposing the growth fully to 
light so as to get the wood ripe. Cut hard back, and they will start well 
with the other Vines. It would be preferable tp plant at once than defer it 
until the house is started in February. 
Superphosphate of Lime (T. Jackson). —It is more useful as a manure 
than bones, because it is more soluble in watsr. If we bury a bone it will 
remain almost unaltered for years ; but if we break it into small pieces it 
decays much sooner, and if put round the roots of Cabbages will soon 
make them grow more fine and vigorously. Cabbages, however, are not the 
only garden vegetables benefited by bone manure, for phosphate of limei s 
one of the most constant constituents of all plants. Of this phosphate, 
therefore, the soil is deprived by every crop it bears, and to restore this 
phosphate to the soil is an object with every cultivator. It was long since 
shown by chemists that phosphate of lime is the chief ingredient in all 
bones, and consequently these by degrees have become one of the most 
extensively used manures. In every 100 lbs. of sheep’s bones there are 
70 lbs. of phosphate of lime; in 100 lbs. of horses’ bones sixty-eight of that 
pliospate ; and in the same quantity of ox bones 55 lbs. As phosphate of 
lime is insoluble in water, and even bone dust is slow in decaying, it was 
suggested that by dissolving it in a sthong acid, superphosphate of lime, a 
substance soluble in water would be formed, and also all the other con- 
