106 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 11. 
liive and board together on to the block, stool, or pot, then 
place the clean floor-board on to the pedestal from which 
the hive has been removed, and holding the old floor-board 
firm with the foot, or between the knees, detach the hive 
from it by a sharp jerk and place it. 
(To be continued.) 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
AGRICULTURAL. 
ROOTS BEST FOR COWS. 
! R. R. H. asks—“ What roots are the best for a milking 
cow, that the butter may escape being flavoured by them ? ” 
[Mr. Errington says—“ In answer to this gentleman, I 
must observe that Mangold and Parsnips are amongst the 
I best roots we have as to purity of butter. Turnips are well 
known to affect the character of the milk if used in quantities. 
If your soil is stiff, perhaps the Orange Globe Mangold will 
be best, or if saudy and deep, Carrots and Parsnips; but why 
not some of each annually, alternating with each other.”] 
GARDENING. 
ABRONIA UMBELLATA. 
“ Mr. Beaton, in The Cottaoe Gardener of the 30tli of 
March, describes the Abronia mnbellata as a new annual, with 
light lilac or violet-coloured flowers. On turning to the 
Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary, it is there described as a half- 
hardy perennial trailer, with pink flowers, introduced in 
1823. In Paxton’s ‘Botanical Dictionary’ it is a hardy, 
evergreen trailer, with red flowers, introduced in 1823. 
Which of these accounts are correct? Is the plant Mr. B. 
describes the same as the one introduced in 1823, but now 
treated as an annual; or is it a different species of recent 
introduction? Can you tell me anything about a new 
annual called Subbatia campestris , whether it is worth 
growing or not ? —S. J.” 
[Sabbatia campestris. We do not happen to know it, but 
the relations of Sabbatia are very respectable, and some of 
them are good-looking. 
Abronia mnbellata was named and figured sixty or seventy 
years ago (1791) by Lamark, a French botanist. The name 
is repeated in “ Hooker’s Exotic Flora,” with a figure, and 
on the authority of this last figure the late Mr. Bonn 
registered the introduction of Abronia mnbellata , for the 
year 1823. “ Paxton’s Dictionary,” and the “Cottage Gar¬ 
deners’ Dictionary,” follow Donn. All this time the plant 
was not known in cultivation. But in January, 1848, the 
Horticultural Society received seeds of it from Mr. Hartweg, 
who gathered them “ on the sands, near the sea shore, at 
Montery, in California." The true date of its introduction 
into cultivation, is, therefore, 1850. To be introduced into 
this country, and to be introduced into cultivation, are two 
things in the history of some plants as different as any two 
things can be. It was even asserted within the last twenty 
years, by a very high authority, that a new plant intro¬ 
duced into our national garden, at Kew, should not be con¬ 
sidered as being introduced into England at all, much less 
into cultivation. But now they distribute new plants from 
Kew as freely as they do from the Horticultural Society, 
i Therefore, and henceforth, we may reasonably expect to 
I find that all good plants, like Abrohia umbellata, will find 
their way into cultivation first, and into books and lists 
afterwards. The Horticultural Society gave a figure of the 
plant in their Journal for 1819, and there they recommended 
it to be planted out “in the open border, treated as an 
annual.” So it seems that seeds are produced freely, and 
every year, and that the best judges at present look upon 
that mode as the safest way of dealing with the plant. That 
question is altogether apart from that of annual, biennial, 
or perennial, which are often relative terms. The Mig¬ 
nonette is a perennial, and so is Abronia umbellata; but in 
England, according to our present knowledge, they are both 
j better treated as annuals. “ The flowers are formed in close 
umbels, and consist of a long violet tube (like Leptosiphon), 
with a five-cleft flat limb, the lobes of which are regularly 
two parted," that means, that the flat part of the flower, 
which is like the flat part of a Verbena flower, is divided 
into ten parts or divisions ; the colour is reddish and violet.] 
DESTROYING THE MEALY BUG. 
“Is there any means of destroying the ‘White Mealy 
Bug?’ I have it in abundance on a Stephanoiis floribundus, \ 
which is growing at the back of a house. I have kept the 
little rascals down pretty well through the winter with my 
thumb and finger, but I find I can do it no longer, as they j 
make their appearance by wholesale on every young shoot. 
—0. J. C.” 
[You must wage the most vigorous and unremitting war | 
against this vermin, or it will devastate half the plants in j 
your greenhouse. Crush and rub off as many as you can, | 
and then paint over all the plant by the aid of a painter’s 
large brush with this mixture. Soft soap two pounds, 
flowers of sulphur two pounds, tobacco one pound, and a 
wine-glass full of spirit of turpentine. Mix the sulphur, 
turpentine, and soap, into a paste, with warm water ; boil 
the tobacco in a covered saucepan with a gallon of water, 
strain it, mix the liquor with the soapy mixture, and then 
add enough water to make five gallons altogether.] 
PANS FOR ACHIMENES—VERONICA SPECIOSA. 
“ I have pans of the following dimensions—fourteen inches 
square by four deep; twelve inches square by four deep; 
round pans eleven-and-a-half inches diameter by three deep; 
which of these would you recommend for Achimenes ? 
What should be the distance of the tubers from each other 
in the pans, or what number of tubers to each pan ? 
“ My varieties are as following—Ought the culture to be 
var ied :—Lepmauii, Longiflora alba, Grandiflora or Jauregia, 
Gheisbrechti, Gloxiniseflora, Picta, Venusta, Patens, ami 
Tugwelliana. 
“ I have a small plant of Veronica (I believe) speciosa, 
which has just thrown a flower ten-and-a-half inches long, 
from the base or footstalk to the extreme point of the 
flower; there are two small branches, each three inches 
long, starting from it. Do you consider the size (ten-and- 
a-half inches) unusually large, or worth looking after for 
seed ?— Agricola.” 
[We do not think any of your pans too deep for these 
plants, but supposing that you use them all, then we would 
advise the deepest for Lepmanii, Longiflora alba, Grandiflora, 
and Tugwelliana, and the shallower ones for the others. 
There is no question but these plants may be grown in fine 
condition in these shallow boxes or pans, but they must be 
carefully attended to in watering. In this matter, common 
pots have an advantage over the shallow pans, inasmuch, as 
after giving an abundance of drainage, there is less like¬ 
lihood of the plant being exposed to sudden changes, as 
respects moisture. 
The number of tubers depends on tlieir strength, and 
whether you wish a mass of bloom early or rather late. We 
have had five plants in a six-inch pot from a single tuber. 
We have also had a fine show from half-a-dozen. In the first 
case, the plant was topped and tied out. In the second, no j 
topping was given. For pans you mention, from six to 
twelve tubers would be a medium number. Many would 
prefer five to more. We prefer potting or panning after the I 
shoots have sprung an inch or two. The soil should be peat 
and loam, with sand and leaf-mould, or cow-dung. If in 
pans, a little manure on the surface, or frequent manure- 
waterings will do them good. In growing, the great thing 
is to prevent a strong sun striking the foliage when young, 
otherwise it will be sure to be blotched and marked. If in 
a dung-bed, the least steam should be guarded against. 
The flower stalk of Veronica speciosa is a very good one, 
and we do not remember one quite so long. When few 
flower-spikes are left on a healthy plant the spikes are 
likely to be longer. The saving of seed can do no harm.] j 
RASPBERRY-BUD GRUB. 
“Four years ago my master had a fine flat of Raspberries, 
that were considered as fine a flat as ever were seen, and 
they bore abundantly. The next year they were not so good, 
and they have been wasting ever since. There is a small i 
red grub in every bud that dies, and we think that must be ! 
