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THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 22, 1857. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
A BUNDLE OE QUERIES. 
Fuchsia Dominiana. —Tin’s plant is a little uncertain. We 
have seen such plants as you speak of bloom pretty freely ; 
but, generally, they do best the following year. One of the 
finest plants we have seen, wa9 struck in February, planted 
out of doors in June, and raised carefully, and potted in the 
beginning of October. A full exposure to the sun, and the 
slight check it received, most likely tended to the production 
of numerous flowers in winter and spring. 
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Bar Jeer ia spectabilis .—Log mildewed, and covered with 
fungus. Sulphur would arrest the mildew, and strong lime 
water would arrest the fungus on the log; but it would 
hardly bo safe to let it touch the plant much. In order to 
get the best information, we delayed answering for a few days, 
in order to get the opinion of a most successful Orchid grower, 
a friend of ours ; and this is his answer :—“I do not know 
anything that could be used safely lor killing the fungus on 
the log ; though powdered sulphur would destroy the mildew. 
I fear ‘B. R.’ must have his plant on a wrong sort of wood. 
All mine are grown on Acacia, Pear, Plum, or Cork, and I 
have never seen fungus or mildew; but I prefer Cork when I 
can obtain it. Copper wire and copper nails should also 
always be used. If ‘ B. R.’ would put his plant at once on 
Cork, and give a fair portion of air, he woidd, most likely, see 
no more mildew or fungus. The BarJceria spectabilis does 
not tlower, generally, before June or July.” 
Time of Orchids Blooming .—No dictionary can do more 
than give generalities in this respect. Gardener^ can make 
many plants bloom just when they like, by retarding and acce¬ 
lerating. For instance, we might mention April and May 
as the chief time for Cinerarias blooming ; but it is no un¬ 
common thing to see them in bloom all the winter, from the 
end of October. Then, as to florist and fancy Pelargoniums, 
no gardening work would err greatly in specifying June as 
the chief period for their flowering, though they might be at 
their best in May; and successions equally fine far on into the, 
autumn. The same as respects our correspondent’s Odonto- 
glossum. The time of flowering will greatly depend on cir¬ 
cumstances ; and once it blooms at a certain period, it will 
soon become somewhat natural for that plant to bloom at 
that period. In relation to this, the friend above referred to, 
says—“ Orchids, like other things, may vary considerably in 
their time of blooming. For instance, I have two large 
plants of Chttleya crispa; the one plant flowers in July, and 
the other blooms in September. The two plants were one 
originally, and were merely divided to make two specimens. 
One of these plants I retarded in growth some years ago, in 
order that it might come in as a specimen for a flower show 
at Liverpool, in September, which it did, and thus answered 
my purpose. Tins plant has always continued to bloom at 
the same period ever since, though both plants receive similar 
treatment. I have three plants of Odontoglossum grande. 
One of these is in bloom now ; and the others, judging from 
the past, will come into bloom, in succession, up to March, or 
later: and if they receive the general treatment, they will con¬ 
tinue to bloom thus in succession for years to come.” 
Psidium Cattleianwm .—“ What are its culture and natural 
j history?” This plant is nearly allied to the Myrtle, and is a 
native of China. We have never seen it do much good out of 
doors. The finest fruit we have seen was from plants grown 
in boxes, and planted out against the back wall of a vinery; 
the vinery being used as a cool greenhouse in winter, and no 
forcing adopted in it until March, or even later. It thrived, 
and was very fertile under the same treatment as suited early- 
flowering Camellias. The extra heat during the summer gave 
a stimulus to the growth and ripening of the wood, and also 
to tlie ripening of the fruit. The comparatively cool tempe- 
| rature in Avinter gave the plant a rest; but not so much so 
| as to injure the plant, or render it deciduous. Fresh fibry 
loam, with a little peat, and surfaced with old eowdung in 
j spring, answered well. 
Tomato .—“ Some account of its natural history, culture, and 
the various modes in which it may be cooked and preserved, 
for A Derbyshire Subscriber.” The plant inits various 
varieties, as to size and colour, is the Lgcopersicim esculentum , 
a native of South America, nearly allied to the Solantm , or 
Potato group, but even more tender than that valuable escu¬ 
lent. Treated as a tropical plant, or grown in an intermediate 
house, we have seen it several years old, and assuming almost 
a shrub form. In general management, it is treated as a rather 
tender annual, the seeds being sown in March or April; and 
the seedlings grow strongly until the beginning of June, being 
supplied with pots singly. The plants are then generally 
turned out against a wall or paling with a south or west 
aspect, and placed in soil moderately rich. Success in all 
cases greatly depends on picking out the point of the shoot 
immediately before where the bunch shows itself, and keeping 
the plant rather bare of luxuriant foliage at all times. By 
great attention to these matters Mr. Kidd, of Stud House, 
Hampton Court, is very successful in cultivating it on an 
open border. Ho sows late—about the middle to the end of 
April; pricks off singly into pots, or into a slight hotbed, as 
one might do early Celery; hardens them off' by degrees; 
plants out into the well-dug border in June about three feet 
apart; supports each plant with a little stick; picks out the 
point with the thumb and finger as soon as the first bloom 
shows. This will cause side-slioots to come ; three or four of 
these are selected, and, when long enough, are placed along the 
ground like Cucumber bines; all the others being nipped out 
with the finger. These secondary shoots are stopped beyond 
the fruit like the first; and this pinching system, being per¬ 
severed in to keep the plants thin, large crops of fine ripened 
fruit are thus produced. We do not know a great deal of the 
cooking part of the Tomato; we would rather leave that to 
our Soyers, as every man is most at home in his own province. 
On the Continent, and in America, visitors have informed us 
that large quantities of full-grown green Tomatoes are used 
as salads separately, and mixed with Cucumbers; that great 
quantities of the young fruit are pickled and preserved, just 
as we pickle Gherkins. Wo have made a very nice sauce 
in the following manner:—Put the ripe fruit for an hour in 
an earthen vessel into an oven, not hot enough to make 
them boil, but warm enough to cause the fruit to tall, and 
become soft; then pour off the thin liquid; squeeze the pulp 
through a cullender, keeping out the seeds; and to every 
gallon of this juice add a dozen fair-sized button Onions, 
rather more Shallots, less of Garlic, or of Cayenne pepper, a 
little allspice and cloves, and salt to flavour. Simmer gently 
over a slow fire for an hour, stirring the mixture well all the 
time; and, as it gets cool, place in wide-moutlied bottles ; cork 
and secure with bladder. There are many superior modes; 
and among these you will find directions for making Tomato 
Sauce; Tomato Catsup , Tomato Soup , Tomato Paste , and 
Stewed Tomatoes , at page 414, in No. 362, September 4, 
1855 ; and these are but a sample of the many variations in 
the recipes as to keeping this fruit. The simplest mode is just 
to part with some of the mere watery fluid, boil the remainder 
sufficiently, and help to keep, and flavour to taste with such 
condiments as pepper, salt, allspice, cloves, &c. 
Fpvphyllum truncation violacemn .—“A Beginner” com¬ 
plains that tliis does not open well in a cool greenhouse. If 
the weather had been sunny during the day, and the night 
temperature averaging 45°, the flowers would have opened 
pretty well, and the plant tolerably healthy. It would thrive 
better in a temperature of from 55° to 60°. 
Cissus discolor. —“ A fine plant of this bloomed this year. 
Is that common ? My house averages from 50° to 60°, but 
tliis plant looks miserable, and has lost most of its leaves. 
What is the reason ? ” The flowers of this beautiful-leaved 
plant are nothing more attractive than those of the common 
Nettle. Your temperature is too low to keep the leaves on 
the plant. If you keep it rather dry at that temperature, you 
may succeed in keeping the most of the main shoots alive. 
To keep the leaves healthy during the winter, the temperature 
should range from 60° to 70°. In summer, provided it has 
shade and moisture, it will never complain, though the tem¬ 
perature should range from 70° to 90°. The finest foliage we 
ever saw on this plant, was at Luton Hoo. Mr. I raser had 
a plant trained on the glass division between a stove and a 
greenhouse ; but there the leaves, though good, were nothing 
wonderful. Round the ends of that stove, and along its front, 
was a broad shelf for plants ; a series of hot-water pipes for 
heating, running between the shelf and the ground; a path- 
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