May 22.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
119 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. All communications should be addressed “ To the Editor of 
| The Cottage Gardener, 2, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, London .” 
j Brugmansia sanguinea Shedding its Buds (Amateur). —The 
young Brugmansias will not cast their buds under your present treatment 
I of moderate moisture in a cool greenhouse, after they get another shift, 
' which they must have shortly. Those that dropped were formed, though 
not visible, when the cuttings were made, and could not be expected to 
come to full maturity. Indulge the plants with a dose of weak liquid 
manure once a week through the summer, and you will see them in fine 
bloom soon. 
Larkspur Seeds ( C. L.). —Very many thanks for your kind attention. 
If they are really the true blue we shall value them much. 
Colombia (T. H.). —Colombia and Columbia are two very different 
countries, thousands of miles apart. We had anticipated the error, and 
explained the whereabouts of the former. We would not at all advise 
the project. Even if you were “ located” in South Carolina you would 
still be some thousands of miles from Columbia. It would be a good 
chance, however, to get to your friend in South Carolina; but, first of 
all, ascertain from him if he is able to engage you on your arrival. Then 
the cheapest way is to go in a sailing vessel to New York, and take land 
conveyance down to the Carolinas. No one need hesitate to write to us 
confidentially. 
Isotoma axillaris (A. L). —This is a half-hardy annual, or, at all 
events, is best when treated as such. It is only six inches high, and the 
flowers are a greyish blue. The beginning of March is the best time to 
sow it—then it flowers from July till stopped by the frost; but if you 
sow it immediately, and push it on in heat till it is two or three inches 
high, and plant it out at the beginning of July, you will probably see 
what it is late in September. 
Geraniums (Ibid). —Yes, every one of them—fancy ones and all—will 
root in the open air if put in before Midsummer ; Queen Victoria, Prince 
of Orange, and Unique cannot be struck otherwise during the summer, 
but not one out of a score of them will fail if put in immediately, either 
in the sun or in the shade ; a west aspect, however, is the best for them 
thus early. Calceolarias struck under a frame in the autumn may be 
potted in October, or even in November; they will remove all the better 
in dull foggy weather. 
Cinerarias Blind (Devon). —Allowing them to flag, would, no 
doubt, injure the bloom of your Cineraria, but not to that extent as to 
prevent them blooming. It is more likely to be caused by the bites of the 
green fly. Cut your Pimelea back to the height you wish, but give it no 
water till it shoots again. Keep it a few degrees warmer till that takes 
place ; then pot, and water, and give air as usual. Put in the cuttings 
for fear it may not grow again, which is just possible. The reason why 
no water should be given, is because the plant will have lost all its foliage, 
and therefore requires to be kept quite dry. 
Robber Bees (A. B., East Lothian). —These differ not from other 
bees; they come indiscriminately from any hive, and attack only weak 
stocks ; the best protection you can give is to narrow the entrance of the 
hive attacked, so that but one bee, or two at most, can pass at a time. 
Dielytra spectabilis (J. W. It will strike from cuttings of 
the young tops ; and the roots may be divided in the spring like those of 
a dahlia; if you seed it, sow the seeds as soon as they are ripe in any 
light earth, and in a close frame till they are up, then cooler : it is indeed 
a charming plant. Camellias and Azaleas ought to set their buds per¬ 
fectly in the conservatory you describe ; but Crassulas will not do in it at 
all, but you have completely spoilt your Crassulas for this season. Where 
did you learn to keep them so hot ? A cold frame, with the lights off 
from ten to four, would have been a far better place for them. Anything 
above the freezing point would be better than your plan ; they ought to 
be in bloom just after Midsummer. Your taking off side-growths will 
do them neither good nor harm now ; we would rub them off, and make 
cuttings in August of all the tops which did not bloom. 
Making Barley Sugar (W. T .).—Try again, and put a teaspoonful 
of vinegar to a pound of sugar. We have always succeeded well in fol¬ 
lowing the directions given in The Cottage Gardener. Perhaps there 
is something in the sugar you use ; patent sugar will very readily crys- 
talize, which many a good housewife finds to her cost when making her 
preserves. 
Azalea-bed (A Subscriber). —The best low annuals to enliven abed 
of common Azaleas, are the blue Nemophila, Viscaria occulata, Sphe- 
nogyne speciosa, Calendula hybrida, Eucaridium grandifloruin, Sa- 
ponaria calabrica , and all the little blue and white Lobelias, together 
with Lobelia racemosa, all of which will bloom in a peat bed, as well as 
in any other, perhaps better, and all of which may be sown now, and 
will be in bloom before the end of July. The Viscaria, Saponaria, and 
i Lobelia ramosa, keep longest in bloom. 
j Bees (Juvenis). —The old-fashioned steelyards for weighing hives are 
as convenient as anything, and may always be obtained for a trifle. An 
| answer about aged queens will be in the next Apiarian’s Calendar. Do 
! not attempt to kill the queen; leave that to the bees, they will manage 
that matter better than you can. 
Bark-bed (J. N., Omagh).— Your bark-bed, three feet square, is 
too small to heat well. You might try a foot or more of fresh made 
stable-dung at the bottom, to set it into a state of fermentation, and then 
it would remain in heat for some time. Water from the plants plunged 
in it would be more likely to cause heat than to cool the bed. Your bark 
may be too old, perhaps, to heat. Obtain it fresh from the tanner, and 
| make it firm, by gently beating it with a three-pronged fork as it is put in. 
Wardian Case (Q. P.).— Can any of our readers say where, in 
London, he can purchase an ornamental Wardian case for ferns ? Rho¬ 
dodendrons are best planted in the autumn. 
Room Plants (Ibid). — Fancy Geraniums are very suitable for flower¬ 
ing in a room in summer ; so are young Oleanders, if kept in saucers 
of water, or plunged in damp moss; also the dwarf Gardenia, called 
Cape Jasmine, one of the best summer room plants we have, and 
the sweetest. All the Gloxinias and all the dwarf Achimenes we use 
in the rooms the whole summer. Crassula or Rochea falcata lasts 
a long time that way; and the Madagascar Periwinkles (Vinca rosea 
and alba) are well suited for rooms in the autumn. 
Ammonia Water (Bleythin). —We have repeatedly said that there 
is no rule whatever for testing the strength of any kind of ammonia 
water. Take Mr. Beaton’s practical test, which is the safest of all. 
Monarda amplexicaule (A Constant Reader). —We have made 
considerable inquiries about this, and cannot hear of any party that 
knows of its whereabouts. You may obtain a list of Herbaceous plant s 
by applying to Mr. Appleby, by post-paid letter, with a post-office stamp 
inserted, directed to him at Pine Apple Place, Edgeware-road. 
Frogmore Gardens (G. A. G.). —We believe that any respectable 
person is admitted to see these on presenting his card. If there are any 
rules to be conformed to before such admission can be obtained we shall 
be obliged to any one who will inform us. 
Unglazed porcelain labels (Sabrina). —If you wish to write on 
these indelibly, do so with a pencil made of common plumber’s lead ; 
but we prefer the German cedar pencil, marked B, the writing from 
which lasts for a long time, and can be renewed or washed off whenever 
we wish to inscribe another name. Answers to other queries next 
week. 
Haytiiorn’s Hexagon Garden Net (Samuel). —Since you wrote to 
us we have had an opportunity of seeing this, and can recommend it for 
all garden purposes where the protection of a light net is required. If 
you write to Mr. Haythorn, Clinton-street, Nottingham, we have no 
doubt he will send you a sample, and his list of prices. 
Green Fly on Roses (M. L. M.). —The most effectual plan of killing 
this pest is to cover the rose-tree with a sheet, and to fill the tent thus 
formed with a volume of tobacco-smoke by the aid of Brown’s Fumigator. 
Let the tree remain enveloped in the smoke for an hour or two, and then 
syringe it; repeat this two or three times, if you see the green fly appear. 
Liquid-manure (Northampton). — You may apply the drainage from 
your stable and piggery either to your roses, or to your grass, or to the 
green crops in your garden; but how can we advise a preference for either, 
without knowing which most needs manuring '! In any case a liquid so 
rich in ammonia should have four times its bulk of water added to it 
before using. Lice on pigs may be destroyed by rubbing them over 
plentifully and thoroughly with sweet oil, 
Pansy (Cantiensis). — Your pansy—colour, purplish crimson, with 
yellow eye, and lower petals lightly edged with yellow—has a good form, 
but rather crumpled, We consider it a second-rate flower. 
Watering Strawberries (A. V. Z.)—You will benefit them by so 
doing provided you keep them well supplied in dry weather until they 
begin to ripen. Liquid manure, as we advised another correspondent, is i 
good for them. The rain-water will do well for your purpose. 
Gutta Percha Wardian Cases. — A correspondent (A Reader) 
writes to us thus :—“ I know not whether any of your correspondents 
have used gutta percha for these cases. I have made some small boxes 
in which I have planted some Mosses. The boxes are very easily made 
with a fiat piece of gutta percha and piece of band. I use a common 
heating, or ‘ flat-iron,’ which is moderately heated, so that the gutta 
percha may be made sticky. I then put the two softened parts together, 
and they immediately adhere. Should there be a small hole it may easily 
be stopped by putting a thin shaving of gutta percha on it, and placing 
the warm iron upon it. To give a little finish to the cases, and to make 
them more pleasing to the eye, I use a little varnish made by dissolving 
some sealing-wax in spirits of wine. No zinc is required for the boxes 
above described.”—There are no Palms small enough for such cases ; 
Fuchsias and Geraniums do not do well in them. 
Cottage Gardener’s Dictionary (E. Hall). —The very title ex¬ 
plains that it is intended only to give such species as are desirable for 
cultivation by gardeners. If you wish for a good work on British plants 
buy Smith’s English Flora. 
Apples and Pears not Blooming (G. B .).—How can we possibly 
know instinctively the cause of this without knowing their state of 
health, or whether they bore a large crop last year ? 
Common Salt (J. C. L.). —This may be sown over the flower beds in 
winter, or very early spring, at the rate of about ten bushels to the acre. 
Generally speaking, it is not good for flowers. Remember, every leaf it 
rests upon it kills. 
Auriculas (C. S.). —Pressed flat as these were, no one can give an 
opinion on their merits. See what we say to-day about sending flowers 
to be criticized. 
Guano (A Young Rearer). —This will do for general gardening pur¬ 
poses, but is so strongly impregnated with ammonia, that it requires to 
be used with great caution, and in small quantities. It is useless to 
attempt to rear your orange-tree without a hothouse. 
Charcoal Burning (W. Lesnam). —This cannot be conducted ad¬ 
vantageously except on a large scale. A heap of wood is covered over 
with turves and sand so as to admit air sufficiently to carry on a slow im¬ 
perfect combustion, or burning. The heap is fired at several holes left 
near the bottom, and a draught at first is obtained by leaving a hole at 
the top ; when the heap is well ignited, all the holes are stopped up. 
Names of Plants ( X . Y. Z.). —Your moss is Lycopodium helveticum, 
or Swiss Club-moss. It will live out of doors, but better in a cool situa¬ 
tion under glass. (A Subscriber from the commencement). —Your yellow 
flower is Trollius Europceus, or European Globeflower; and the pale 
purple flower is Anemone pulsatilla, or Pasque flower. Both are desir¬ 
able hardy flowers. 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of 
Christ Church, City of London.—May 22nd,1851« 
