FES. $ 
jA\ ♦ . ]4-»vit'vt Ruth went on, still holding the kettle, with 
rvjfl 1011CIt HU1 HI* the spoilt resting on the sitting-room. stove. 
■ “I’ve let them get as dry as ashes in the 
— - ■ - ■ — ■■■■ ■ - - Winter, never putting on a drop of water 
SULPHUR vs. DEATH TO PLANTS. j from Fall till Spring; I’ve changed and 
- changed them to smaller pots, till I’m tired 
At the Winter meeting of the Western of it ;uld no t a flower have I had for my 
.v_.. 1 U-.ll n. . , . . . 
New York Horticultm-al Society, held in Ge- pains . pil try this last thing, and, if that 
nevit January 8 and 9, a paper was read by don - t do -o She finished the sentence by 
Mj\ Hugh T. Brooks of Wyoming Co., such takitl g the tea-kettle to the window and 
paper being the report of the Entomological rou ring the smoking conten ts in the pots. A 
Committee H. I. Brooks, K. are Sylves- neighbor had been in an hour before, and 
ter, and J. J. Thokab. A number of news- , sa j d g /, c knew of a cact us Unit flowered 
papers are giving the report ent ire, and call- ■ media tely after being, treated in this w, 
ing the attention of their readers to 
that part, treating of the destruction of 
insects that attack house plants, etc., A 
etc. The Committee, in their report, jsQ q Y, W§jh\\\ yVo'flK 
say: — “ An eminent florist, and a mem- 1 vjfSjjii ' 1 
her of this Society, says if the red spi- ||pyjdj^- lV 'WlflWMil! 
tier comes, it shown the, plants arc in ' i (T tWHSiP 
too dry an atmosphere. Burn a littlo ’«> . j^rFl 
sulphur under the plants, and then keep \ I d'i ,1 ML 
the stems and leaves well moistened,” % I Mil 
I am surprised that any one claiming 
to be practical can recommend sulphur JR,\ 
to bo burnt under , or in close prox unity , IjljpW 
to, plants, as a more destructive and itT-ir'i ~iilliia \ MM|®' 
deadly agent does not, in my experi- r PfflAr 1 
ence, exist; and on no account should 1 iMIiIMa' i ^4fiu|ni 
he so recommended. In burning sul- juju .f 
phur, sulphuric acid gas is evolved, an Wnfffljl I AStV/ 
agent at once so terrible that nothing ■> h f V ^ 
else can be found to illustrate so liorri- w if 'i 1 ' ■ ifi.* '■•‘m • vSsiNN 
bly the pains and tortures of the doom- xigb-''- \ 1 Hi jj X&'l 
cd in hell, as a lake of burniny brim- \ . 
The red spider is a very small insect, \ fj l|\l / rfjW* 
requiring close inspection to be ob- — rmi V/4i 
served, and is known to entomologists | ^ W*dy \ ; / 
under the name of Arams telurius. It I 
first makes its presence known by the y%>oC\vi, \Wi§l .*"\ j / 
leaves infested changing to a gray or \ - -.— — 
brownish appearance. If the plants \ UiSc?.vji 
infested are of the large-leaved kinds, \ £s.v j j M . V • \. y\ 
such as Callao, oranges, etc., it will b© y 
ough washing, rinse the plants in clean 
water. If any of the different forms of • 11 f| \ 
scale are observed on plants, they 
should bo washed off as above and de- r, 
It has been the custom, for years, 
with practical florists and gardeners, to 
place sulphur on the hot-water pipes -.T| 
used in heating their glass-houses. I 
liavc likewise used it in whitewash when 
the house has been heated with a flue, 
whitewashing the same with good re- 
suits, as fumes of the sniphiu’ would ho 
given off with the heat, and the atmos¬ 
phere would be at times impregnated 3VE_A.HA.lsr': 
with sulphur, and highly disagreeable to his Let the earth get perfectly dry, then pour 
red-coated spidership. Those having plants boiling water, and the plants will throw 
affected with red spider may, if they wish to buds in a few days, 
use sulphur, dip their plants into clean water, We watched our scalded friends, to 
when, holding the plants downward, sulphur them wilt down, but we were disappoints 
may bo shook over the same from a muslin c ,ur expectations. After a good many d 
bag; applied this way, all the sulphur will be V vc discovered—what do you think ? " Li 
on the under sides of the leaves, which is al- red, dots ah over the Snake Cactus, and roi 
ways the place where they are to be found, 'buds occasionally scattered over the leave 
I find, in my practice, that there is nothing the other. And now- Well, I have c 
to equal cold water in the destruction of this one more thing to say : — You should see 
pest, frequently applied with the syringe. I glory with which our little shelf is filled ! 
likewise find that a small quantity of carbolic f. a. j 
acid added to a pail of clean water will, if the 1 *** 
plants are occasionally dipped in the same, FLORAL QUERIES, 
keep them clean and free from almost every 
kin d of insect that affects them. POMEGRANATE TREE DOES MOT BLOOM. 
JOHN CHARLTON, Florist. WE CanDOt teU °' H ’ A ' wh >' P° 
Rochester, N. Y. granate tree, six or seven years old, does 
little water until they have commenced to 
make a vigorous growth. Pot the remainder 
of the. bulbs in February or March. Give 
water regularly, but do not apply too much, 
and syringe tile leaves frequently in order to 
keep them free frdm dust. When the plants 
have done blooming in Summer, set them 
away in some sheltered place, where they 
will gradually go lo rest, after which, all 
that is necessary is to keep them in a dry, 
warm room until the time arrives for re-pot- I 
ting and starting thegrowth. By withholding 
said she knew of a cact us that flowered im- water during this period of rest, we prevent 
mediately after being, treated ih tins w r ay : decay and retard growth. You have prob- 
1VEA.HA.TSTTA- VEITCHII. 
Let the earth get perfectly dry, then pour on 
boiling water, and the plants will throw out 
buds in a few days. 
We watched our scalded friends, to see 
them wilt down, but we were disappointed in 
our expectations. After a good many days 
we discovered—what do you think! Tittle 
red dots all over the Snake Cactus, and round 
'buds occasionally scattered over the leaves of 
the other. And now- Well, I have only 
one more thing to say : — You should see the 
glory with which our little shelf is filled ! 
F. A. B. 
FLORAL QUERIES. 
HOT WATER FOR CACTUS. 
“So you arc really going to do it,” I ex¬ 
claimed, as she came in with the tea-kettle. 
“ I should think you would be afraid, I know 
you’ll kill them, and it’s too bad, after hav¬ 
ing them so long. Let me see, it must be ten 
years since you started the slips.” 
“Yes, almost eleven, and I’m tired of see¬ 
ing them around. I’ve threatened these three 
years to throw them out, and now I’ll give 
them just one more trial. If it kills them, I 
don't care,” and the steaming kettle, seemed 
to sing the words after her, in a spiteful way 
—“ I don’t care ! I don’t care I” 
It was all about two inoffensive plants, 
standing in pots, on the window shelf. They 
were species of the cactus, one a Snake 
Cactus and the other a beautiful drooping 
plant, that somebody had said bore beautiful 
large pink flowers; but Aunt Ruth did not 
know. Neither of the plants had ever blos¬ 
somed, and after these many years she had 
resolved to give them up as not worth the 
room they occupied. 
“I’ve tried everything but this,” Aunt 
POMEGRANATE TREE DOES NOT BLOOM. 
We cannot tell G. H. A. why her pome¬ 
granate tree, six or seven years old, does not 
bloom, unless it is kept in too warm a cellar 
in Winter, where the flower buds arc injured. 
We have known plants to bloom freely in the 
open ground in the suburbs of this city, only 
being protected in Winter with a covering of 
straw. Seedling geraniums usually bloom 
when about a year old, or even in less time, 
and yours must be a rather tardy sort to re¬ 
main barren for three year’s. Prune it se¬ 
verely next Spiing, and then plant it in the 
garden during the Summer. 
QESNERIA IEBRINA. 
Please inform me the name of the plant 
from which the inclosed leaf is taken. The 
flower I have never seen, but the leaves are 
magnificent during the hot Summer months. 
The root is a furious, scaly bulb, about three 
inches in length. W hat is the proper treat¬ 
ment.—S ubscriber. 
(Jesnerias may be propagated from seed, 
cuttings of the steins, or from leaves. A 
moist, warm place is necessary to make the 
cuttings strike root, for in a cold position 
they soon rot. A light, fibrous loam or leaf 
mold, with an admixture of sand, is the prop¬ 
er soil for this plant. To keep up a succession 
of bloom, pot a portion of the bulbs in Jan¬ 
uary, place them in a warm room, giving but 
ably kept your plant constantly growing, in¬ 
stead of allowing It a period of rest—conse¬ 
quently, no flowers have appeared. 
-*♦♦-- 
SAVING FLOWERS. 
Rurxl, dear Rural, “ how can I give up! ” 
I have long been feeling thus, and still sup¬ 
posed we must give thee up about New 
Year’s, just when wo wanted and expected 
the most, good things. I finally concluded to 
tell you how sorry 1 felt about it. The truth 
is, I have been fearing I could not get the 
money to send for 1873, hut if God sends it to 
me I think I shall send it to you. If not, I 
shah defer the good-by as long os I can. 
If I toll you, too, how Jack Frost, that 
hoary old fellow, came slyly around here, far 
more merciless than many a blustering yerms 
homo , mid left Ins mark on a stand full of 
rarely beautiful plants, and then tell you how 
[ treated them, it may be useful to some of 
your readers. I left them at night, quite un¬ 
suspiciously, not thinking an enemy was bo 
near, as there was no rumbling of carriage- 
wheels, not even the rumbling of old Boreas, 
which we do most often hear in these parts. 
“Your plants are all frozen !” greeted my 
unwilling ears this morning. I was obliged 
to succumb peacefully. But, said I, you may 
take them down cellar and sprinkle water on 
them, and see if thawing in the dark may not 
save them yet. An hour since I thought I 
would go down and see the result of “ sprink¬ 
ling ” in the dark, and found them, all but 
one, in good health—fresh mid green, A ten¬ 
der foliage plant did not revive. More when 
my time is less occupied. Ann. 
-*>*- 
MARANTA VEITCHII. 
Our florists will be glad to see an illustra¬ 
tion of this beautiful stove plant, which is re¬ 
garded one of, if not the finest of. the Marari- 
t as. The blade of the leaf is upward of a foot 
long, with a foot-stalk from l‘l to 18 inches in 
length; the leaves are ovate elliptic In shape, 
the ground color a deep, shining green, with 
crescent-shaped blotches of greenish-yellow, 
shaded with gray, on each side of the midrib; 
the under side is rosy purple, through which 
the marking* on the upper side appear with 
charming effect. Native of tropical America. 
iThi' floiiltijii flanl. 
HOW TO MANAGE POULTRY. 
I am one of many who not only believe, but 
know from experience, that there is no stock 
kept by the farmer that will pay so largo a 
return, for money expended, as a well-man¬ 
aged poultry-yard. As we cannot compete 
with our Western farmers hi the production 
of pork, with grain at ten cents per bushel, 
let us devote more attention to poultry, that 
will pay us five hundred per cent, 
more than pork ; and us to manure, 
will produce, “ for each bushel of 
food,” a much more valuable (judlUy 
of manure. Small potatoes, beets, 
pumpkins, cabbages—in fact any crop 
usually fed to swine, can be profitably 
dealt out to the fowls. 
Now comes the question. How shall 
it be done? Without theorizing, I will 
give rny method of keeping. 8dect 200 
young fowls, Nov. 1st, in laying condi¬ 
tion ; place them in separate coops, 
from 12 to 15 in each ; at night put one 
bushel uf small potatoes, beets, or 
pumpkins into your boiler, “which 
should bo convenient, to the coops,” 
i jx rm adding one qnart/of onions ; boil fifteen 
ggf minutes; then add four quarts of corn 
meal ; after well mixing, CoVer the 
mess, and in the morning your fowls 
■^Sn will enjoy a warm breakfast at a tri- 
y fling expense. At noon feed oats, and 
at night, com, taking care t hat they are 
supplied with clean water and plenty 
of shell*., Halt the mess occasionally, 
and once a week a little fresh beef is 
very beneficial. A fleck of 200 welt-fed 
fowls can lie kept at an expense of 75 
to 80 cents per day. My Winter eggs 
sell at the door at 40 to 50 cents per 
dozen ; therefore the price of two dozen 
eggs feeds my flock; and when I col¬ 
lect from eight 1,0 ten dozens per day 
we can easily figure the profits. The 
manure fully compensates for the care 
in feeding, etc. 
It is ns necessary for the farmer to 
have a warm room to start his early 
chicks in as a hot-bed is for his early 
vegetables. Now is the time to heat 
this room. Sit, every hen you can get, 
so that March 1st will find you with 
200 or 300 chickens ; the young codes 
will bring $1 each in J tine. Here comes 
in your profit, as the same cocks would 
not command higher prices if kept all 
Summer for Thanksgiving, and your 
pullets will commence laying early in 
the Fall, taking the place of the 200 
hens, which will be found fat and 
ready for Thanksgiving market. Hav¬ 
ing experimented with nearly every known 
breed I unhesitatingly pronounce the Light 
Brahmas and the I’artridge Cochins, us egg- 
producers and market fowls, far surerior to 
all others. J. y, i V es. 
Salem, Mass. 
--- 
SILVER SPANGLED POLANDS. 
We are requested by a gentleman in War¬ 
ren, Pa., to give our opinion of Silver Span¬ 
gled Polands, and state their qualities as a 
farmer’s fowl. In reply we would say that 
we consider them a very desirable acquisition 
to any poultry yard. We have bred them for 
some years and find them hardy, small eaters, 
and everlasting layers. Wo have never had 
one manifest the least desire to incubate, and 
although there are cases on record of then' 
rearing chicks, such cases are isolated and 
rare. They are certainly among the most 
beautiful of all fowls and by some are consid¬ 
ered handsomer than the Silver Hamburg. 
In lieu of the broad, red comb of the Ham¬ 
burg, they have a large crest sometimes so 
large as to almost obstruct their vision ; this 
gives them a kind of serio-comic look not 
possessed by the Hamburg. They are very 
tame and quiet for such a small breed, and 
easy to keep at home, there is no more novel 
and handsome sight than a fine flock of Silver 
Spangled Polands with their large crests and 
beautiful spangles. They rank among the 
first as egg producers and although t heir eggs 
are not quite as large as some other varieties, 
as long as eggs are sold by count instead of 
weight, them eggs will bring as much in mar¬ 
ket as any other breed ; but as they never sit. 
no person who could only keep one breed, 
and desired to raise chicks, could keep them 
For the farmer who only keeps one Inreed for 
eggs and poultry the Polands have no attrac¬ 
tions. He must select from the .Asiatics, 
either Brahmas or Cochins ; and although we 
have bred the Asiatics for some time it would 
be very hard for us to select the best one va¬ 
riety. E. O. Bordwell. 
Penn Yan, N. Y. 
