384 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Ekbrlary V ). 
round. I, therefore, wish to know if I cnn have them from 
the following, and if the proportion of each will be about 
right? If not, 1 shall he much obliged by your informing 
mo where I am wrong. Sixty Camellias, thirty Azaleas, 
thirty J'lpacrises, one hundred Geraniinns, fifty Fuchsias, 
thirty I’rimulas, twenty I’etunias, twenty Chrysanthemums, 
eiglit Acacias, twelve Hoses, and twelve Calceolarias. In 
tlio rine-stove I have Euphorbia jacquiniflora and s))len- 
dens ; Franciscea Hopeana and latifolia; Begonia nitida 
and insignis, i'uchsoides, sanguinea, sempertiorens, and 
argyrostigma; l 2 )omea Ilorsfallii; Ixora coccinea; Ron- 
deletia speciosa major; Gloxinias; Achimenes; Gardenia 
H orida; Justicea pui’tmrea and speciosa; and Bletia Tan- 
kervilliiu. 
I “I liave just finished my Fern-house, and am in Avant of 
I some stove plants to put on the front stage, but I do not 
' know what to buy. 1 have a plant of Musa Cavendishii \n a 
pot, Avhich I intend to put in the Fern-house. Should I keep 
i it in the pot, or plant it out in the bed? The bod has 
i bottom-heat. What can I grow in the tank, ten feet by two 
I feet six inches ?—TTiounLESOMii.” 
I [We think you will find the want of Cinerarias, for Aviuter 
and spring, and various kinds of bulbs, otheiAvise your c(d- 
■ lection seems all right for your space. 
i For the front of the Fernery, Ave Avould recommend such 
i striking foliaged plants as the Cnladitinhs, Avith variegated 
' foliage,/-tracfcartd/vo-o andothers, the variegated,striped Bine- 
’ Apple-like plants, of Avhich Mr. Veitch has such a collection. 
: (Jrvlnn.s, tlje variegated kinds, and Aphelandra Leapoldii. 
: Such plants Avill present a distinct feature on the front shelf 
■ of such a liouse, and a continual variety of colour, even from 
I their foliage alone, a fact titling them Avell for a Fern-house, 
j The Mnsa Avill do best planted out in rich, loamy, fibry soil. 
j Tlie tank Avould give a nice collection of Nyraplneas, and 
j Avhat can be more beautiful? In Avintcr, plants of varie- 
j gated colour, Ac., could be placed just above the Avater.] 
PROIhVGATlNG LYCOPODIUMS.—BLOO-AiiNG 
NEAPOLITAN VIOLETS. 
“ AVhich is the best Avay of propagating the Lycopodium 
denUcnlatinii! 
“I have some Russian and Neapolitan A'iolets in my 
greenhouse in a temperature of to 50'-'', Avhich, though 
I healthy, do not bloom or seem likely to do so. They Avere 
I taken o(F the parent plants last May, and then potted and 
i plunged on a cool boixler; they Avere shifted in July into 
j 32’s, and replungcd and finally housed in October. 
I “ The soil is a calcareous loam, mixed Avith abundance of 
' lime rubbish, and is so porous, that in Avatering the Avater 
: doss not stand an instant, but immediately disappears, 
j “ What should be the treatment to make them bloom 
; another year? and Avhen ought they to (lower under cold-pit 
' treatment from October ?—X. Y. Z.” 
I [Divide the Tunopodinms into little pieces, and eacli Avill 
! soon make a large plant. The soil is too light for rialels 
in pots. Give them more loam. We do not see exactly how 
! they have not lloAvercd. AVe like planting out better than 
' ])otling. There is no difiiculty Avith the Jhissiaii; proceed 
thus Avith Xeapolilaii. About the end of March, tear the 
plants up into little pieces, throwing all runners aside ; plant 
the pieces on a nicely-dug border, about eight inches apart. 
Keep them clear of Aveeds during summer, give plenty of 
Avater, atid, above all, never alloni a runner to ifroir. By 
the middle of September you Avill have nice, shrubby plants, 
full of heart, ami these, either potted, or placed in a bctb, 
Avill be sure to lloAver in the temperature you specify.] 
I RIPENING FORCED STRAWBERRIES UNDER 
OILED CALICO. 
Hiiving a lean-to A inery, forty-two feet by fourteen feet, 
1 usually place aliout 3('0 pots of Strawberries in the house, 
and get on very Avell until the hist Aveek in April, or first 
! Aveek in May, about Avhich time the A'ines begin to bloom, 
and the Strawberries are then too much in the shade. 
! “ AATll you kindly inform me Avhether the StraAvberries 
Avould colour properly, and be of good flavour, if placed 
under the canvass called Frigi 1 )omo, oiled paper, or cloth, 
provided the temperature Avas kept up to (15°?—A Constant 
Reader.” 
[AVe have no notion of the Frigi Domo for the purpose you 
specify. As it Avould be difficult keeiiing up the heat, fU or 
lt)« less than you specify Avould do. Glass sashes Avould be 
best for such a purpose. Bleached calico, glazed or un¬ 
glazed, Avith oil and bees-Avax, Ac., Avould be the next best. 
AVe have found that bleached calico, as it is, lets in a very 
fair portion of light, and plenty of air can be given. It also 
lasts longer than Avhen oiled or glazed to let more light 
through. AA'e have found StraAvberries, under such a cover¬ 
ing, Avith plenty of air given, better flavoured than Avhen 
ripened under a dense shade of ATne leaves.] 
LIAIE-AVATER FOR DESTROYING AA OEMS IN POTS. 
“ I observed, at p. 132, an article by lAIr. Fish, as to lime- 
Avater destroying Avorms in pots, but Avith tonder-groAving 
things it might be too much, and Air. Fish did not specify 
the tender things that should be avoided. 1 am not atvare 
it matters as regards the quantity of lime, providing it is 
alloAved to settle or subside, Avater dissolving only a certain 
quantity of lime. Aly plants are too large to turn out the 
balls, viz.. Heaths, Polygalas, Pimelias, Azaleas, Epacris, 
Correas, Ac.; Avill lime AA'ater be too much for these?—C. K.’> 
[You are quite right as to the quantity of lime that cun 
lie held in solution in clear Avater; but, still, the strength 
of that lime-water Avill greatly depend on the freshness and 
the quality of the lime Avhen used in solution afterwards. 
AAT should have no objection to use it strong and fresh for 
Geraniums, Calceolarias, Cinerarias, and other robust, soft- 
Avooded plants; but Ave should decline using it for Ericas, 
Heaths, and such jilants as you mention, until it has become 
milder, or you have so much diluted it as to toll less 
forcibly on the worms. The most of the plants you 
mention dislike calcareous matter altogether, and that is 
one reason Avhy Air. Fish urged caution. For such plants, 
we Avould prefer turning the plant out of the pot, hoAvpAer 
large, and starting the AVorms by pricking the ball through 
Avith a Avire, or a line Avooden skeAvcr.J 
AlYRTLE CULTURE. 
“ A possessor of the Avhole of The Cottage Gardener's 
papers; one Avho is grateful to it for all she knoAvs of 
gardening, having come from a country Avliere gardening is 
next to impossible, from cold; one Avho, in grief and anxiety, 
has found gardening the only Avorldly pleasure that could 
comfort her, and Avho has often had questions ansAvered in 
your journalj begs yon to give her a hint howto treat her 
Afyrtics, They stand in a greenhouse Avhere Geraniums, 
Camellias, Chrysanthemums, Cinerarias, and Calceolarias, 
besides many other plants, are thriving admirably; but the 
Alyrtle in Avinter gets pale, drops its leaves, and the branches 
look sickly and naked. An insect, like that Avhich you find 
on Orange-trees, flat and motionless, is frequently seen 
upon it; by Avashing the leaves they are all got rid of, but 
in a short time they return again. Pray mention Avhat 
sliould be used to kill it more easily than a sponge Avith 
common soap and water, and Avhat soil should be used.” 
[As your other plants are thriving so admirably, and 
require rather more attention than the Myrlle, Ave fear there 
is something radically Avrong Avith it. It groAvs in almost 
any soil, sandy-loam and a little peat, or leaf-mould, suiting 
it very Avell; and it is very easily propagated by pieces of the 
shoots bciug stuck into sandy soil. Hundreds are propa¬ 
gated thisAvay in oldciqisand broken teapots, and, freiiuently, 
a thrifty house-Avife Avill stick half a dozen of slips round 
the sides of the pot in Avhich tlie mother jdant is groAving, 
and gives each a fresh pot Avhen rooted, that she may 
exercise and reiiji the rich rcAvard of doing a kindness to a 
friend or neighbour. Such plants generally thrive Avell in 
common garden soil, or, better still, in tlie sandy loam from 
a road side. A little tobacco-Avater added to the soap-Avater 
Avould assist our correspondent in getting rid of the insects 
(the Scale, C'ec'cas) Avhich are, no doubt, a great cause of the 
