400 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, September 22, 1857. 
ture as the atmosphere, and that a cold air gives no check to 
the plants. 
In very particular cases we set the pot as high in water 
as to he within a quarter or half an inch of the surface soil 
and small seedlings, and let it remain until the moisture 
lias risen through the drainage hole to fully that height. 
The little tilings thus receive moisture to the roots without 
inundating their little stems. But one thing remains— 
prick off. It need not he singly, hut in little patches, as 
soon as you can take hold of them.] 
TO CORRESPOPJDENTS. 
Potato Culture and Disease ( Cestrensis). —It is quite true that 
the parties j-ou refer to have a Potato which has never been diseased. 
Their mode of culture, &c., will be published in our columns next week. 
Diseased Grapes (Vitis).— They are attacked both by shanking and 
the spot, two forms of ulceration which always betoken that the growth 
of the fruit is more rapid than the roots can supply. It is impossible for 
any one who has not the Vines under his personal observation to tell 
the cause of this. More air and less moisture in the house, with more 
warmth and more moisture at the root, would probably remove the evil. 
We should try what would be the effect of removing the soil from im¬ 
mediately over the fibrous roots, and putting some warm dung over 
them. 
Ceanotiiits azureus (T. M. W.). —Turn it out from the pot at once 
under a south wall, and train it up against the wall. Hearty thanks for 
the hook, which we will notice in some way. 
British Plants (A Constant Reader). — Sowerby’s “British 
Botany ” is the best book, as you require illustrations, hut it is very 
dear. 
Fuchsia (A. S. A.).— Nothing reached us but a few very dry leaves. 
Moving a Chinese Arbor-vitas (S. G. Wood). —There is hardly 
an evergreen which is more safe to move in a large state, or is more im¬ 
proved by transplanting into better soil, than the Chinese Arbor-vitae 
(Biota orientalis). We moved one about the same size and age as yours 
in 1853, to he near a fellow to it of equal beauty, and from then the 
transplanted one is the best of the two. Your tree will want nothing 
done to it til! next March, when it should be watered twice, also three 
times in April, and four .times in May and June: four large watering- 
potsful to he given each time. The diameter of the eup round the,tree 
to receive the water must be considerably less than that of the ball, so 
as to force the water to pass through the ball, and not through the loose 
ground. Provided the hall is kept from getting dry the first season there 
will not he the least fear hut the young roots among the loose soil will get 
abundance of it. You planted it exceedingly well, and at the best time 
of the year. We have only begun such planting this day, the 14th of 
September, and we have to remove about five dozen evergreens from 
eight to eighteen feet high, but they were prepared at the roots last May. 
Storing Scarlet Geraniums (A Three-years' Subscriber).— Mr. 
Kidd will no doubt give the “ full particulars.” Like the rest of the good 
gardeners he reads The Cottage Gardener, and is not loath to tell 
the world what he does and how he does it. As he has a full stock of 
old scarlet Geraniums he will most likely cut them all down to the old, 
dry, hardwood and a little of the small fibrous roots, then spread them 
out to dry in an open shed for a week, after that lay them in by the heels 
in moist soil three or four inches thick, with a covering of hay between 
the rows as thick as the stems are high, so that he can just see the cut 
ends of the shoots and no more. When the frost comes he will put a 
covering of hay a foot thick all over them, and round the sides. When 
the frost is over, or between one frost and the next, he will take off part 
of this covering here and there to see what state the plants are in. He 
will be in no hurry to uncover them in the spring, but when they begin 
to grow freely he must give them light; but he may have a better plan 
altogether. There is not a gardener in England sufficiently acquainted 
with making wine ; but we send your questions among them, and we 
should like to hear from them on the subject. 
Plants for Back Wall of Stove ( H . H.). —You could not have 
anything better than Stcphanotis fioribunda. For beauty of foliage 
you might join with it Cissus discolor, and give it the shadiest part. 
For beautiful flowers and fine fruit try Passiflora quadrangular is or 
P. Buonapartea, and set the blooms, or the fruit will not swell. These 
three would be sufficient, and the first and third must not be shaded 
much, or the wood will not he sufficiently hardened. If any room 
should be left in the warmest place try Combretum purpureum. 
Climber for a Cool Greenhouse {Gloxinia).—Cobceq scandens 
is a large one, and would answer well. As you speak of sowing we 
hardly know of one that would look well the first year, except such 
annuals as Tropaaolums and Ipomeas or Convolvuluses. Maurandya 
Barclay ana would be neat and pretty, but then a nice plant next spring 
would suit better, and bloom all the summer and autumn. As a hard- 
wooded plant we would recommend Mundevilla suaveolens or Passiflora 
ccerulea. 
Heating a large Frame (W. W.). — We do not clearly see 
through your plan. You have no regular boiler. Your tank, we 
presume, is to act a3 such ; but then you seem to have brick below, and 
brick on the sides of it, and without that we fear it would soon bum 
out. If you heat that well you will also heat the lead pipes in 
connection with it; but these, though fair conductors of heat, arc 
not good radiators; at least, we have what we think reasons for 
thinking so. Besides, your tank must be covered securely, or the 
moisture from it in cold weather in winter will do it as much harm as 
the extra cold. You have a lofty pillar from whence to topple your fuel 
down to the fireplace, and a good-sized chimney to take the draught 
from the fireplace. We should be inclined to have a small common fire¬ 
place in the usual way, a small flue right through, a small chimney with 
damper at the other end, put a chamber round the flue with open 
boards or clinkers, and trouble ourselves neither with tank nor pipes. 
Flue heating ( Constant Reader). —Do you propose having your 
earth touching the top of your flue, or on some sort of a flooring 
separated from it? If the latter the brick pillars over the flue will 
answer very well. You would see an article lately on growing Melons, 
Cucumbers, and Pines by means of a flue ; but there was a flooring 
of strong slabs and clinkers above it, and openings, such as round drain 
tiles would give, back and front in almost every light, to let up the heat 
when necessary, and plugged down when not wanted, or when there was 
not enough of bottom heat. If your flue is not strongly built you must 
mind you have no burstings and discharges, or farewell to your early 
Cucumbers if these openings for heat are open. Read the article in 
question in the present volume. We are much obliged, but never de¬ 
preciate what you may glean from gardeners. 
Plants in Cold Conservatory (Carig Cathol). —Weused to bloom 
the Leonotus very well treated as a Salvia, struck in spring, stopped, 
planted out at the end of May in a sunny border, well ivatered, mulched, 
supported, taken up and repotted at the end of September, shaded a 
little, and put in the house by the end of October. We suspect your 
plant has not had enough of sunlight. The Cantua should have all the 
light possible in the autumn months, no more water then than will keep 
it from flagging, and kept dryish and coolish, so as to be safe in winter. 
When the sun gains power in spring it will want more watering, and if 
the wood has well ripened the bloom-buds will follow. Every well- 
ripened bud on the Tecoma will produce a shoot of bloom, whether that 
bud be on a short spur or a long shoot, but if the wood is green and 
pithy you will never have a flower. Curtail growth so that the wood 
be hard and firm, and you will succeed. We cannot identify the Cle¬ 
matis, or whatever it is, for it is written Clematite; but if it will not 
bloom more, sunlight and pruning the roots will no doubt make it do so, 
as it is so luxuriant. 
Exotic Seeds (A Lover of Nature). —Your Butter seed we presume 
to he a Bassia, and your Tulip very likely Tacca aspera. We should 
only be tantalising you if, in your circumstances, we led you to suppose 
that you could do anything with the seeds and roots named. Perhaps 
some gardener with room to spare in his hotbed and stove might be dis¬ 
posed to oblige you. For ourselves we have been compelled to decline 
hosts of such favours, to the great surprise of the donors. Things 
collected except by a botanist are not likely to repay for the room they 
take in raising. We have made arrangements for a series of papers on 
the management of Aquariums. 
Names of Pears (G. H.). —The large one is Dunmore. That which 
has a highly-coloured red cheek is Audi Chisel. The small one is neither 
ripe nor fully grown, and we cannot tell what it is, 
Names of Plants (An Old Subscriber). — Your Salvia is Salvia 
coccinea, as near as we could judge from such a diminutive specimen. 
Thanks for the Hypericum. (D. McE.).—XVe think it is Z ichya hetero - 
phylla, but are not certain. (Staines). —Yours is the Cornel Cherry, 
Cornus mascula. (H. W. E.). —The white-looking shrub is Santolina 
charnce-cyparissus, or Lavender Cotton. The Mint is the golden variety 
of the common Mentha sativa. (E. Q.). — Rudbeckia hirta , hairy autumn 
Itudbeckia. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
October 1st and 2nd. Worcester. Sec., Mr. G. Griffiths, 7 , St. 
Swithin Street, Worcester. Entries close Sept. 19 th. 
October 7th. South West Middlesex Agricultural Society. 
At Gunnersbury Farm, Ealing. Sec., J. Gotelee, Hounslow. 
October 8th. Bucks Agricultural Society. Sec., Mr. Charles 
Fuller, Chiltern House, Wendover, Bucks. Entries close Sept. 24. 
October 8th. Bridgnorth. Sec., Mr. R. Taylor, Bridgnorth. 
Entries close 1st of October. 
November 30th, and December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Birmingham. 
Sec., John Morgan. Entries close the 2nd of November. 
December 16 th and 17 th. Nottinghamshire. Entries close No¬ 
vember 18th. Hon. Sec., Mr. R. Hawksley, jun., Southwell. 
December 30th and 31st. Burnley and East Lancashire. 
Entries close December 1 st. Secs., Mr. Angus Sutherland and Mr. 
Ralph Landless. 
January 1st, 1858. Paisley. Poultry, Pigeons, and Fancy Birds. 
Sec., Mr. W. Houston, 14, Barr Street, Paisley. 
January 4th, 1858. Kirkcaldy Poultry and Fancy Bird 
Show. Sec., Mr. Bonthron, jun,, Thistle Street. 
January 9th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, 1858. Crystal Palace. 
ham. 
January 19th, 20tli, 21st, and 22nd, 1858. Nottingham Central. 
Sec., Mr. Etherington, jun., Notintone Place, Sneinton, near Notting- 
February 3rd and 4th, 1858. Preston and North Lancashire. 
Secs., Mr. R. Teebay and Mr. H. Oakey, Preston. 
N.B. — Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists . 
SELL YOUR SURPLUS STOCK. 
The time of year is now come when the chickens begin 
to take up as much room and to eat as much food as their 
parents. As with hoys at sixteen, the question forces itself 
upon our attention, What is to be done with them ? The 
answer is ready—Turn them to the best account by allotting 
