June 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
147 
over heaths and downs, as well as among hedges and 
dingles. A common, covered with furze blossoms, is 
enchanting both to sight and smell, and when grown 
in patches on the lawn, or among shrubs, is a lovely 
addition to them. No wonder the Russians pet it 
in the greenhouse as one of their choicest liowcrs. 
How many “ common ” plants and flowers we should 
esteem, if they would but refuse to flourish in the 
open air ! Among the snows and dreary plains of 
Russia, our wild, unheeded flower becomes a trea¬ 
sure, thus teaching vs to prize our fruitful, fragrant 
land more than we do. The furze may tell the lur- 
clad Russian, as he paces his conservatory, of the 
flowers, and fruits, and verdure of its native soil; of 
the nicely tempered freedom of its highly favoured 
people; of their peaceful homes, their busy labours, 
their cottage gardens —those simple, useful enjoy¬ 
ments, so full of interest and profit; above all, it 
may tell him of the pure, unsullied light that shines 
on British soil, cheering the humblest dwelling, and 
refreshing the weariest heart with “ bread ” that 
never fails, and “ water” that never runs low. Ret 
us rejoice to think what pleasant things England’s 
flowers may tell to other lands, and let us all pray 
that her Protestant walls and bulwarks may stand 
firm, without which, neither wood, nor stone, nor 
steel, can guard her shores. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Cuphea Platycentra (W. F. G.). —This plant was found origi¬ 
nally on a batch of orchideae from Guatemala. Mr. Smith, gardener 
to .1. Anderson, Esq., of the Hulme, Regent’s Park, was the raiser 
of it; and the plant, so discovered, is the parent of all the plants in 
this country. It is a beautiful perennial, half shrubby, with scarlet 
tubular flowers, and is found to be sufficiently hardy to live in the 
open air here from May to September. It is easily propagated either 
by seeds or cuttings, the latter flowering most freely. It requires a 
cool stove to winter in, but a greenhouse is too cold. In the stove it 
will flower all the year. Plants of it make a beautiful bed in the 
summer months, provided the soil is well drained, and not too rich. 
Dahlias and Ranunculuses (A Constant Reader, Islington ).— 
You have, indeed, been unfortunate to lose your dahlias and ranun¬ 
culuses, but, as your ground is so full of slugs, there is no wonder. 
See our remarks about the destruction of slugs in this Number. In 
the autumn drain your plot effectually—remove as much of the clay 
as will enable you to lay in your garden a foot of fresh clean soil. 
Without this your garden will be a constant source of vexation in¬ 
stead of enjoyment. 
Cape Jasmine (R. P. Appleford). —This ( Gardenia radicans) is 
an excellent window plant while in flower, and in a warm room may 
be kept in health all the year round. Treated that way it is an 
autumn-flowering plant. The cause of your’s casting its flowers and 
turning yellow in the leaves is that the plant had been forced in a 
close, damp, hot pit in the spring. 
Lime (S. F. C'.).—For gardening purposes, lime obtained from 
either limestone or chalk is equally good, and you may apply it to 
your vacant ground at any time of the year. Your excellent letter 
gratifies us beyond expression, and shall be published in our next 
Number. 
Owls (W. H.). —You can obtain a pair for’from 5s. to /s., at J. 
Hallen’s, No. 9, Little St. Andrew-street, Upper St. Martin’s-lane, 
London. 
Vinegar Plant (-).—Sugar dissolved in water alone will 
take four times as long to become vinegar as they do if a vinegar 
plant be placed in them. 
Plants on Greenhouse Stages (-).—The less crowded 
they are the better, because the less do they shade each other. The 
reason they are usually put close together is that there is a deficiency 
of room for the plants requiring the protection of glass. 
Chrysanthemums (J. H. Horsey). —Mr. Weaver thinks “the two 
best dark purple chrysanthemums that he knows are Campestrone 
and Pilot, but that Flechier is first-rate, and a large good formed 
flower. The two best compact whites that he knows are Coronet and 
Vesta, but L’unge Gardian is a real good white too. Victory Mr. 
Weaver does not like well enough to grow it. He grew it two years 
ago, and a fine specimen he had of it. Annie Sautter, he says, is 
one of the very best of yellows, and Superb Clustered Yellow he 
thinks the next best.” 
Geranium Cuttings {Amateur). —Plant these about the middle 
of July exactly according to the system directed generally for “ cut¬ 
tings,” at p. 14 of our first volume. In about six weeks they will be 
rooted, and may be potted singly in small pots. You may preserve 
your geraniums through the winter in your room ; and for an admi¬ 
rable system of culture, w T e refer you to p. 150 of the same volume. 
Green Leaves in Centre of Roses (Ibid — Pupil). — The 
pistils are converted into leaves, either partially or entirely. The 
cause of this transformation is obscure. See what Mr. Beaton says 
to-day upon this very prevalent example of morphology. We shall 
probably recur to the subject. 
Woolly Oak Gall ( Cynips quirk). —Your specimen had been 
mislaid, but we saw it after we had written our answer. It is the 
gall we concluded it to be from your description. 
Deformed Cucumbers (A Subscriber from the First). —Although 
your plants are healthy their fruit is crooked, and yellow at the ends 
when young.'—This arises either from the fruit being unequally ex¬ 
posed to the light, or from being exposed to sudden changes of tem¬ 
perature. If the leaves or roots are subjected to these changes, 
whether from the season or from the bed declining in heat, crooked 
fruit is the consequence. You will have seen that we quite agree with 
you as to the benefits arising from village horticultural societies. 
Thread-like Worms (W.). —These worms which, as you say, 
“ are like threads, almost as tough, and from three to six inches long, 
some nearly black, and others of a grey colour,” are of the genus 
Mermis of Dujardin, and have been mistaken for species of Gordius. 
We have observed them in our own kitchen-garden this spring, on the 
face of the ground, and after a heavy fall of rain. Some naturalists 
believe that they prey upon other insects, but nothing certain is 
known about their habits. A very full notice of them is in Jenyn’s 
“ Observations in Natural History,” p. 303. 
Raspberries Deficient in Blossom (An Admirer of your 
Journal). —Your raspberries have “ between one and a half dozen and 
two dozen suckers arising from each stool.” No wonder, then, that 
they are deficient in blossom; for you may remember, as a rule, that 
just in proportion as any plant propagates at the root so docs it de¬ 
cline in propagating by seed. Reduce the suckers to three or four at 
each stool, and by cutting off the roots every autumn in a circle, of 
l which the radius extends one foot from the old stool, all round, you 
' will have more fruit. Remove all the suckers but three or four every 
j spring as fast as they appear. 
Heaths (Ibid). —The tips of these are turning yellow, most pro- 
I bably, from your giving them too much “ water every day.” They 
require very gentle root moisture and perfect drainage. Double pot 
I them as recommended by Mr. Beaton, at p. 27 of this volume. 
Excessive Liming ( Lilium ), —You must, indeed, have put on “a 
large quantity of lime,” to kill your standard roses, and so to injure 
your bulbs that you have not had a single flower. As soon as the 
leaves of the bulbs turn yellow take them up, and trench every possi¬ 
ble spot, laying it roughly, to expose it to the air, but do not add any 
manure until the following spring. If you particularly wish for 
flowers at once, you might, after trenching, bed out potted plants of 
those flowers enumerated as suitable for the purpose, at p. 98 of our 
present volume. 
Honey Dew (Robert French). —Syringe with soapsuds your Pyrus 
japonica and China roses which have their leaves covered with this 
sticky exudation. Apply the soapsuds in the evening, and the next 
evening wash the trees thoroughly with clear water. This treatment 
repeated two or three times will improve, if not cure entirely, your 
trees. The seed of the Pvrus japonica is useless. The staple of your 
clayey soil can only be improved by mixing thoroughly with it such 
lighter materials as coal-aslies, sand, and fine bricklayers’ rubbish. A 
good coating of the sea-sand, fresh from the coast near you, and 
trenched into your spare plots, would be one of the best of applications 
for the purpose. You will find all the information you require about 
soot, liquid-manure, and potting roses, in our previous numbers. 
Tropeolum tricolorum and Tree Carnation (Rose Gar¬ 
diner). —This, in a sunny window, but shaded in the heat of t he'd ay, 
though in flower, has its leaves beginning to fade; and your Tree 
carnation is sending out rich shoots.—Your tropceolum is right 
enough; it goes to rest now, like tulips and hyacinths, and springs 
up again in September or October. Keep it dry and in the soil during 
the interval in a store room. It is a good window plant. If you 
merely nip off the buds from the points of the side-shoots of your 
Tree carnation it will suffice, and enlarge the principal blossoms. 
Changing a Primrose’s Colour (A Lover of Flowers) . — The 
different tints in primroses and many other flowers are sometimes in¬ 
fluenced by particular soils, but cannnot, with certainty, be changed 
artificially. Slips or offsets of the primrose will root better in a shady 
place than in the open border by the side of the parent plant. 
Lucerne (J. B. H.) .—The only way to insert the seed in rows is 
by the drill, or by making little gutters or drill furrows with the hoe. 
The seed must not be buried more than an inch deep. 
Azalea Compost (Ibid). —A compost one-year old and frequently 
turned, made of cow-dung, sods, and. sea sand, will, probably, be as 
good as any other substitute for peat to azaleas. 
Cactus Seed (B. H.). —Sow your cactus seeds now in about an 
inch thick of pure sand, the rest of the pot fill with common small 
cinders. Water the sand before sowing the seeds, and merely press 
them into the damp sand, and sprinkle a little sand over them to 
imbed them. They will be up in three weeks; and, if not too 
thickly sown, may be left in the seed pot till next April, giving them 
but very little water after October till March. It is always safer to 
leave them in the seed pot the first winter; and with so small a 
quantity of sand, and such good drainage, they cannot possibly take 
any hurt. They would be safer reared in your greenhouse. Cacti 
reared last year from good cuttings will begin to flower next May. 
List of Greenhouse Plants (Ibid). —Never think it “rudeness 
to drop us a hint.” A list of greenhouse plants which may be reared 
from seeds or cuttings, as you suggest, will be given as soon as we 
can find room for it, but j'ou see how crowded our columns are 
constantly. 
Amaryllis Longiflora Rosea (Ibid). —This is most probably 
the Cape Crinum, often called A. longifolia, not longiflora. If so, 
the leaves are very long, and run out to a sharp point, whereas the 
points of the leaves of true amaryllises are blunt. Place the pot, 
which you say is a twelve-inch, in a saucer full of water till the end 
of August, if it is the Crinum, and it cannot fail to flower, for it is 
a half water plant. If it is a true amaryllis it must go to rest in 
