THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
Fkrul'ary 5. 
’nT4 
Hpnprs writiiip; to us tlip rfsuUs of tlipir exiierience, will not only not 
olfeiid our able ooailjulors, but will give great pleasure both to them ami 
to ourselves, l.et no young ganlener, however unlearneil, or however 
(lirtideiif, hesitate for a iiionient about writing to us of such facts as he 
may liave observeii. We w ill talie care that the grammatical errors shall 
be (•orreeteil. Such eommuniealions will be acceptable as a return for 
our answers, w hieh we are always ready to give to all (incstioners. 
IIkating a GaEKNiiousK (.1 Ciins/iint Hinder, liinninghdin).—We 
do not see whether the tlue ])a3sps onee or twice in the back-wall. If 
, only onee, .so much heat will be absorbed in the wall, that in severe and 
sudden frosts there will be a defieieney of heat at the front. We presume 
you mean to put a fire in the eontemplated stoves in the house, and, 
provided you use good fuel, and lute the joints of the pipes well, we do 
not see wiiy it should not answer. But besides them, and the expenses of 
two fires, it seems a very roundabout way of gaining an object. Could 
you not fix a six-inch iron pipe in your Hue at onee, hloeking up the flue, 
to cause the heat and smoke to pa.ss through the pipe, without any extra 
stove? Or, better still, wliy not bring the flue round the ends and front 
ot the house, as you propose with the pipes, and let it then go through the 
hack wall as before? A very small flue indeed ought to hgat such a house. 
This due eould go close to the ground, or even under the ground, its top 
forming part of the floor, provided the flue underneath the bed is not too 
high for that, and the furnace is deep enough to ensure a draught. 
A due, si.x inches deep, and six inches wide, inside measure, ought 
to do. 
fjREENiioiJSE OVER AN OvEN (C. B.b—We liavcnorecollcctioiiof re- 
' ceiviug your letter. We make it a point to notice every communication, or 
I to state where the information is to be found ; though it frequentlyhappens 
I we cannot answer a communication at once. We fear your chief ditficulty 
will arise from deficient light. It would ahso be advisable to have an 
* outlet for the heated air at the highest point of the roof. The drying 
I must be considerable if you have to w ater every alternate day in dull, 
! fc'ggy weather. We should think nothing of it in bright weather. As 
j only about the half of your roof is glass, we presume that shade has as 
j much to do in growing, or rather drawing, your plants as heat. The 
I placing yoar plants on the floor would, we ]iresume, be placing your 
i plants too far from the glass. The simplest remedy we can think of 
, would be to cover most of the floor with several inches of sand, or small 
I gravel, and water that frequently with a rose on the watering-pot. A coat¬ 
ing of gravel and sand would thus neutralise the evil, if kept moist; but in 
winter time, if this plan was adopted, you w ould require a small venti¬ 
lator at the highest part of the roof. 
' Gerarue’.s FIkkeal.—.T ohnson’s editiori of this, published in 1036, 
' may be had of Mr. Kerslake, Kook-seller, Bristol, for eighteen shillings. 
Lawn Management ((?.).—See what Mr. Beaton says to-day. 
Various (Iliilirus).— You had better buy Rhododendron Duthdusiu- 
liHiii. No one can tell yet on what stock the Sili/ihn R/iododeudrons 
can be best grafted. It is too late for you to plant the lii/iirinihs unless 
' they have been growing in pots. Your MitrarUi coccinea which ))ro- 
duced only three flowers is either too vigorous, making long, soft, ram¬ 
bling shoots; or it is not healthy. It is about as hardy as a Kuchsia. 
! The time elapsing before a Phaseo/iis riiraruUti blooms depends on its 
treatment. More than one plant is so called. 
I Ot.EANDER (.1 Siih.icriber ).—The treatment of the Oleander has often 
j been given. The shoots that are well-grown and well-ripened this 
I season will bloom the next. The chief things, therefore, are rich soil, 
; rich waterings, and a good heat, if sparable, when growing early in the 
season, giving more air towards autumn ; and in September and October 
getting the plants against a fence facing the south, and there giving not 
j a drop more water than will keep the leaves from dropping and flagging, 
I and keep in this dryish state .all the wdnter. This treatment will arrest 
growth, and mature and preserve the flower-buds at the termination of the 
shoots. When supplied with moisture and increased warmth the bloom 
; stalks will appear. When done blooming, prune, and grow on again. 
I You seem, however, to get bloom-huds but not flowers. There may 
! be two reasons for this. The first, want of heat; the second, the not 
nipping out the young shoots that start from the base of the flower- 
stalk. 
j V'arious (.d Lndi/).— The leaves of the TrnjteeoUnnTriomjdie de Ghent 
' have every appearance of having been spread over by the thrips, a small, 
jumping insect, for which tobacco smoke and strong syringings would 
be the best remedy. A similar appearance is also presented when the 
)dant is growing in too low a temperature. It wants from 45° to 50°. 
Perhaps the quickest plan would be to pull off most of the leaves, lay 
the plant down, and turn it round and round while it is syringed un¬ 
mercifully. The Hebeelinhims, and other genera ending in “linium,” 
are plants a sort of go-between Ageratum and Kupatorium, and requiring 
a cool stove, or an intermediate house, in winter, and the easiest culture. 
It is the Lady Bird itself, not its larva, that destroys the aphis. 
Camellia Buns falling (71. Tiot/ers ).—We should think too many 
flower-buds were left on the Camellia, unless, indeed, it were very large. 
We fear the buds on the Axale.a were not sufliciently swelled and ripened 
in the autumn. .lust when done flowering they require a nice, close, 
moist, w.arm atmosphere. When the buds are setting, an airy place is 
just the place for them; but at this period they want a little warmth and 
closeness to bring the buds in bloom. 
Azaleas not flowering.—S everal correspondents complain that 
their buds droj), as in the above case of Camellias ; and others say, the 
shoots lerigthen instead of flowering. In the first case, much the same 
reasons will apply as in the Camellia; anil in the second case, the evil is 
generally the result of not getting the buds set sufliciently early, and 
ripened well enough afterwards by exposure to sun and air. If anything 
like forcing is attempted, this will be more perceptible. 
Rose for a Rustic Basket (Annie).—Oloire de Jtosaineue is one of 
the best for the purpose idanted inside the basket, and the Rose-trees 
two feet apart. When the branches meet treat this Rose as an annual, 
that is, cut it down close to the rim of the basket. Do not train it on 
the rim. The Roses growing over the handle of the basket must not be 
cut down like those growing round the rim. 
IMisi.etof. Sped (.d fiiihsrrlher^ — Vour best chance now to obtain it 
will be by applying to some friend, or seedsman, in the Orchard districts 
of tlererordshire, or Gloucestershire. ! 
River W'ater (A (’itixen), —M'e know the river water of your vicinity | 
(Norwich) quite well. It is quite available for plants without any ail- 
dition. Instead of either ammoniacal liquor, or .Sulphate of Ammonia, ' 
dis.solve a quarter of an ounce of Guano in a gallon of the river water I 
before giving it to your Greenhouse Plants : but even this must not be ' 
done oftener than once a week. At other times give the river water j 
simple. ^ 
Bean-meal (An Amateur ).— It is of no use whatever as a food for i 
Bees. j 
Diiooua (Alpha). —This is the seed of a Cieer. or some other genus of I 
small leguminous plants. It is the same as the Darra sold in the Liver- i 
jiool Corn Blaiket. | 
Lens (J. C. Coake ).—Go to any optician and buy a pocket lens which I 
you find magnifies |)owcrfully and suits your sight. | 
Gardening Terms (lib Karwaker). —Y’'ou will find these expliined, | 
and the names of plants translated, in The Voltage Gardeners’ Dictionary, ! 
the second edition of which is now publishing in three-halfpenny | 
numbers. 
Barrenness in Rabbits (An Old Suhsrriher). —** I am not aware of I 
any particular food that is likely to produce barrenness, nor have I ever j 
found that the fancy Rabbits were less prolific than any others under the | 
same treatment ; but the lancy kinds are usually better looked after, and I 
fed on more nourishing food, which causes them to be too fat, and, con- ' 
sequcntlv, they do not conceive so readily, and are apt to miscarry, or to I 
have small litters, or ex|)crienoe more difficulty in parturition. I think j 
barrenness in anim.als is more generally a conse'quenee of too high feeding | 
than of any natural defect. My place being badly situatCil, I do not 
attempt to rear either Chickens or Rabbits after June; and after the 
long rest I find my doe Rabbits rarely conceive the tir.st time, and fre¬ 
quently not men the second or third. I find it best, in such cases, to 
leave the buck with the doe for a fortnight, or three weeks, and also to 
reduce her condition. Perhaps some one else may be able to give “ An 
Old .Subscriber ” better information.—B. P. B.” 
Moving a large Orange-tree (A. Aloes)—There will he no 
difficulty with the Orange-tree, if taken up carefully, and placed in a box, 
or tub. The success will he all the greater if the pot, or tub, were after¬ 
wards surrounded with a mound of sweet fermenting material. The 
sooner it is moved the better. 
ORCiiARn-iiousE (Idem ),—Any house will accelerate or retard, just 
as it is used. One of the best gardeners in the country used to have a 
late cro|) of Peaches in a Peach-house that came in after those on the 
walls were all over. He could easily have had them earlier than those | 
on the walls. i 
Farming (G. Powell).—Your capital is sufficient; but we cannot | 
undertake to recommend a locality. 
Evergreen Oaks (A Suhscriher). —Y'ou may remove them now. 
Prune the Cutoncaster in April. 
Climbers for Greenhouse (A Young Gardener).—Taesonia mol- 
lissima, Mandeoilla suaoeulens, Rhynrospermum Jasminuides, Clematis 
Siet/oldii, Passi/tora rueemosa, Ilahrothamnus eleguns. 
Apple and Pear Tree* not leafing (Enquirer).—1( old trees, 
their case is hopeless. They must he dead at the root. We remember ! 
some youny Weeping Poplars moved late in the spring, which did not 
produce a leaf that year ; but did so the year following. 1 
Name of Flower (J. Beddad).—The Christmas Rose (Ilellehorus '■ 
niger), i 
Najie op Fruit (Gordonia). —The Loquat, or Japan Quince, being \ 
the berry borne by the Krioholrya japonica. It is clo.sely allied to the ■ 
Medlar. j 
Andalusian Cock (IF. II,), —'I'he points of an Andalusian cock are | 
those of a Spanish, except, that perhaps from the fact these birds are ; 
not so prominently before the publie, the upright comb is not indis¬ 
pensable. The colour should be a slate blue; the hackle, saddle, and ; 
tail, shaded with darker hues, between a brown and a black. All blue and j 
black birds are prone to throw red feathers, but they constitute a defect. I 
Hens eating their Eggs (Old Suhseriher),—It is generally ima- ! 
gined hens eat their eggs first for the sake of the shell, as their run does 
not afford the necessary elements, as lime, chalk, tkc., for its formation, | 
If, then, they have not these, supply them at once by throwing down 1 
some bricklayers’ rubbish, old ceiling, Nc. It is dillicult, to cure them | 
of the habit when once acquired. A great help is to place a hard egg in j 
their laying-place, and to be careful tlie real one is removed ns soon a.s : 
laid. Churchill’s nest-eggs are the best, and are to be had at Mr. Baily’s, i 
Mount Street, Grosvenor Siiuare. They are not expensive. 
Golden-pencilled IIamburghs (7i. B. S.).—Golden-pencilled 
Hamburghs are identical in everything with the Silver-pencilled, except 
colour—that is the only difference. No fow l produces so many eggs at so 
little cost as this breed. They do not sit. There is often a little trouble 
with them at the first, as they are sometimes sickly when they change 
soil and climate ; but once used to a place they are as hardy as any others. 
They do not require a large range ; but, in common with other fow Is, the 
more space they have the better they do. 
Cup-coMBED Dorking (L, F,).— \Vc do not think what is called a ; 
cup-comb is desirable in Dorkings ; but it is, unquestionably, pure. 
Silver Hamburghs (II, 7?.).—Weight is not a point in Silver Ham- 
burghjowls. ' 
London: Printed by Hugh Barclay, Winchester High-street, in 
the Parish of Saint Mary ICalendar ; and Published for the Proprietors 
at The Cottage Gardener Office, No. 20, Paternoster Row, in 
the Parish of Christ Church, City of London.—February 5, 1856, 
