August 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
271 
Wort).—This pretty plant, with its small heart- 
shaped leaves, and yellow flowers with red anthers, 
should he grown l>y every lover of our native flora; 
it is a very elegant species. It is found on dry heaths, 
banks, and woods. 
Polygala vulgaris (Milkwort).—A beautiful dwarf 
spreading plant, found plentifully on dry hilly pas¬ 
tures, with abundance of bright blue, pink, or occa¬ 
sionally white flowers, and thrives well on dry rock 
work .—Durham Advertiser. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Green Alpine Strawberry (P. F. M .).—This is the Green 
Strawberry of the Horticultural Society’s Catalogue. You can ob¬ 
tain it, probably, from any nurseryman near London who devotes 
much of his attention to strawberry culture—Mr. Myatt, Mr. Wil- 
mot, and Mr. Cuthill, for instance. You will find an excellent mode 
of cultivating Alpines at p. 373 of our first volume. The Green 
Alpine requires no particular cultivation except cutting off its run¬ 
ners as fast as they appear. 
Gas Lime and Earth (J. M . P.).—A mixture of these, about 
one bushel of the lime to every five bushels of earth, and well incor¬ 
porated by turning over two or three times during two months after 
mixing, will make a good compost for your ground. You will see in 
our last number what Mr. Lames says about transplanting Swede 
turnips; they will do well after your early potatoes. You cannot do 
better than plant colevvorts on the ground from which your mangold- 
wurtzel will be removed. You may now sow poppies, sweet-williams, 
and wallflowers. 
Double-blossomed Furze ( Ulex ). — This will not blossom 
though planted in your border at Camberwell. The only reason we 
can suggest is that the soil is too heavy. Take up your plants in the 
autumn, and mix a large quantity, full one-half, of road scrapings 
with the soil in which you replant them—it cannot be too light. 
Training-Studs ( H. Beckett). —Your plan of having eyes fas¬ 
tened into the wall instead of nails, as recommended at p. 221 of this 
volume, is better, inasmuch as that it is easier to tic to an eye than 
to a nail, but they are more expensive. Giving “ all the parts of the 
studs exposed to the air two or three coats of naptha black varnish” 
is a good suggestion ; and we have reason to know, as you say, that 
“ it is a cheap preparation, and far more permanent than the paints 
with metallic bases usually adopted.” 
Bromham Hall Melon (T. W. Lawson).—We are obliged by 
your correcting our unintentional error, and we cannot do better than 
give this extract from your note :—“ You state that Mr. Bundy, gar¬ 
dener to Lord Dynevor, had the prize for the best flavoured melon at 
Chiswick —‘ Cuthill’s Scarlet Flesh.’ The name is incorrect; I took 
the fruit up for him, and it is a new melon raised by him and his 
father at the seat of the Hor. George Rice Trevor, Bromham Hall, 
near Bedford, and therefore called by Messrs. Bundy, ‘ The Bromham 
Hall Melon.’ It is a green-fleshed variety.” 
Perpetual Roses (R. Stratford). —You will find a list of the 
best for bedding out at p. 56 of the present volume. Of Damask 
Perpetuals , the best are Antigone, Antinous, Bernard, Le Page, 
Madame Thelier, Mogador, Portland Blanc, Rose du roi, and Rose 
du roi panachee. Of Hybrid Perpetuals, Aubernon, Baron Prevost, 
Cornet, Dr. Marx, Duchess of Sutherland, Geant des batailles, La 
Reine, Louis Buonaparte, Madame Laffay, Robin Hood, and William 
Jessee. The above are in addition to those you have—Aime Vibert, 
Albert, and Rivers. 
Name of Rose (J. B., L.). —Your “ Ametu due Ville” is perhaps 
Ponctue nouvelle, written badly. We are sorry that we cannot aid 
you in getting the buds of hybrid perpetual roses. 
Sumach (S. E. S., Bridgenorth ).—If you mean the common or 
elm-leaved sumach ( Rhus coriaria), it is a native of the south of 
Europe, but has been cultivated in this country for more than two 
centuries. Turkey leather is tanned chiefly by means of its twigs 
and bark; its leaves and seeds are used in medicine as astringents, 
and in Turkey as a stomachic to promote appetite. It is usually 
propagated by suckers planted in autumn, and if the soil is light 
and well drained, and the plants are mixed with others in the shrub¬ 
bery, it endures our hardest winters without even its young twigs 
being injured. 
Dark Climbing Rose (W. R. I .).—You require this to climb 
over a rustic verandah at your door, and to contrast well with the 
white sides of your cottage. The best dark-coloured rose climber, 
and the only one we have of that colour, is the crimson Boursault, a 
rapid grower, that will thrive in any ordinary border, but, like the 
rest of the summer climbers, its flowering season is soon over. We 
recommend you to plant a Gloir de Rosamene on one side of it, and 
Madame Laffay on the other side. The former is a semi-double 
rose of striking beauty, and the other one of the best hybrid per¬ 
petuals : both will flower till late in November. Two-year-old plants 
of all of them, and on their own roots, we should prefer, and would 
plant them at the beginning of November. The two hybrids will 
reach up ten feet in four or five years, if the border is good, and 
abundance of water given them in summer. 
Creeper for Back Wall in Vinery (A Merionethshire Gar¬ 
dener). —Mandevilla suaveolens, if the back wall is not too much 
shaded, is the best creeper you can plant. If the vines are not much 
forced, and the border is good, it will bloom from the middle of July 
to the end of October, 
Late Strawberry for N. Wales (Ibid). —The Elton, by all 
I means, with the red and white Alpines reared every year from seeds. 
September is the best time for you to sow the Alpines to be planted 
out next April, when they will fruit abundantly next September and 
October. In a more genial climate they do very W'ell if not sown 
till February. Keep down their runners, and water them well in 
August if the weather is dry. 
Melon for N. Wales (Ibid).— Flemming’s hybrid is the easiest 
melon to grow we know, and one of the best flavoured ones. It will 
probably be advertised in our columns next spring ; at any rate, any 
seedsman can procure it for you. 
Gesneras (E. B. W .).—The leaves have lost their dark veining, 
j and have become uniformly green. We cannot say what is the cause 
of this change, nor have we heard of it before. Try them in rough 
sandy peat—the whole tribe flourish in that as well as in the best 
made compost. 
| Fuchsia Corymbiflora (Ibid). —Tliree-year-old seedlings of it 
ought to flower this autumn. It is a shy bloomer under ordinary 
management. The best way is to make plants of it into half stand¬ 
ards, with naked stems three or four feet long; to prune their heads 
as close as a pelargonium before they go to rest in the autumn ; not 
to shake the old soil from their roots like other fuchsias in the spring, 
but only once in three or four years; to have them in smaller pots 
than are generally used, and when they show for bloom to give them 
abundance of rain water : they never want stimulants. 
Hybridizing Hollyhocks (M. E. S.). —The hollyhock is easily 
crossed; the membrane in the flower from which its stamens proceed 
completely envelopes the styles, and they do not issue from this cover¬ 
ing for some days after the opening of the flowers; therefore, any 
time before the styles issue from this covering, either scrape off the 
stamens from the central column with a penknife, beginning at the 
bottom, or the stamens may be cut off with long pointed scissors if 
you prefer it. In either case see that none of the cut anthers remain 
inside the flower. By-and-by, the styles, which in number are inde¬ 
finite in this flower, issue forth from the top of the envelope, and when 
they are ripe for the pollen they bend downwards in search of the an¬ 
thers. At that stage, and not before, apply the strange pollen, which 
is easily effected if you cut out the central column from the strange 
flower with ripe pollen on it. Then apply the pollen masses back¬ 
wards and forwards and in among the numerous styles ; after crossing, 
the flowers ought to be guarded from bees and other insects. You 
should also bear in mind that all flowers which have a tendency to 
sport by seeds will not bear to be violently crossed, that is, that a dark 
should not be crossed with a light flower. In such flowers there is 
always a better chance of an improved offspring if the two parents 
are as nearly as possible of the same colour or tint. A violation of 
this rule is the fertile source of much disappointment every season. 
Pine Apple Crowns (F. G .).—These being in good condition from 
the West Indies, you cannot do better with them than grow them in 
dung-heat in frames, more especially as you say that you have abund¬ 
ance of good dung. Such plants are very often infested at the axils 
of the leaves with scale and bug, and the steam from the dung will be 
one of* the most effectual means for eradicating these. It will be ad¬ 
visable, therefore, not to sweeten your dung, but use it fresh for a 
month or six weeks to come, so that you may have plenty of steam, 
which, though strong, the pine will stand, and which the insects can¬ 
not. Let your atmospheric temperature during the day range from 
70° to 95°, and at night from 65° to 70°. If your bottom heat is above 
95°, set your plants on the surface after they begin to root. Your chief 
trouble will be in winter, but even that will be trifling with your sup¬ 
ply of fermenting material. In the cold short days a temperature of 
from 50° to 65° will be sufficient. The great thing is to diminish the 
steam as the days shorten, so as to have as little as possible in winter, 
the heat then being produced by linings up to the very top of the frame, 
which will thus warm the atmosphere of the enclosed space without 
giving you too much bottom heat. 
Fumigating Bees with Fungus (C. R. R-). —Neither fungus 
nor tobacco will either discolour or impart an unpleasant smell to the 
combs if these are laid separately and exposed to the air in a room for 
a few hours after the operation. 
Making a Strawberry-bed (H. T.). — The best preparation is 
deep digging and a plentiful manuring, adding some adhesive loam 
if your soil is sandy, and sandy soil with drainage if your ground is 
too heavy. Four kinds are enough for any garden, as kinds are at 
present ;—The best early is Keen’s Seedling; second in succession, 
Eliza; third, British Queen; fourth, Elton. Alpines may be planted 
on an elevated bed in March; these will succeed the others through 
August, September, and October. 
Damaged Bark of Apple-tree (Rev. E. T. Yates).— Cut out 
with a very sharp knife all the wounded part, so that both the wood 
and the bark of the entire wound may present a smooth live surface. 
Before doing this have the following composition ready, and apply it 
immediately, covering the wound thickly, and if the covering cracks 
fill up these with a fresh daubing: the object is to allow the wound 
to continue moist from its own juices and to exclude the air and rain. 
One bushel of fresh cowdung, half a bushel of lime-rubbish (that 
from ceilings of rooms is preferable, or powdered chalk), half a bushel 
of wood-ashes, one-sixteenth of a bushel of sand, the three last to be 
sifted fine. The whole to be mixed and beaten together with drain¬ 
ings from a cow-shed until they form a fine plaster. 
Potatoes Sprouting in Ground (J. F. Halstead). —If the stems 
of these are still green and vigorous let the potatoes remain, but if 
the stems are yellow take the potatoes up immediately, and store them 
in a dry cool shed in alternate layers with dry earth. 
Leaves of Red Beet (I. P. R .).—The outer of these may be 
removed now without detriment to the root, but the removal will not 
increase its size. We cannot too often impress upon our readers that 
leaves are the organs which prepare matters for the growth of plants. 
It is not absolutely necessary to transplant leeks, but they are very 
much improved by it. It is injurious to cut off a portion of the stems 
of tall-growing Jerusalem artichokes; they only are thus induced to 
