THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Febefaey 2, 1858. 
285 
gradually receive a greater share of lieat and moisture. I 
have seen them succeed equally well in peat and in loam. In 
fact, 1 think they are not so particular on this point as they 
ar with regard to the texture of the soil: it must be light, 
porous, and open; well drained, and with plenty ot brick 
rubbish mixed with the turfy soil. A common stove tempe¬ 
rature suits the majority of them; but on this point the 
gardener must be guided by that of the country of which his 
plant is a native. You will not have so much trouble as we 
have in keeping moist the atmosphere in which they are 
placed. Here we syringe several times a day : but it must 
not be forgotten that unless the fronds are now and then 
allowed to dry, they will become spotted, which greatly 
impairs their appearance; and the crowns should never be 
wet, or the young fronds will be crippled. But at all times it 
is best to keep the stems damp ; as, many of them being 
covered with roots, they absorb part ot their nourishment in 
that way. Some gardeners cover the stems with damp moss 
to increase the growth of these stem-roots. Others say, that 
if the plants are artificially induced to make too many there, 
those below die ; and the plant is, consequently, lost: so that 
this plan is not so generally used as formerly. They should 
not be too often repotted ; the roots being so very brittle, 
they are necessarily damaged. It is better, therefore, to give 
them a good shift when they really need it. As regards 
watering, if the drainage is good, it cannot easily be overdone ; 
and on the other hand, if they are once allowed to flag, it will 
seriously damage them. Those plants which have well filled 
their pots or tubs with roots, may, with great advantage 
receive, once a week, a little manure-water—but it must be 
very weak. With this, also, the stems may be occasionally 
syringed. They require shading during the brightest weather 
in summer.— Eael. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
HARDY CONIFERS. 
“Will you tell me whether there are any more recently 
discovered Conifers than the following:—Cupressus Lawsoni- 
ana, Pinus nobilis, P. flexilis, P. Mclntoshiana, P. Balfouriana, 
and P. Fremontiana ? Is there any written account of Conifers, 
both those of older sorts, and those more recently discovered, 
to be had ? C. P. C. 
[The JPinus nobilis of Douglas is a Fir, or spruce Fir; and 
belongs to picea , not to abies. To confound the two— picea 
and abies —as Dr. Bindley has done, is a step backwards. It 
was introduced in 1831. P. flexilis is yet, we believe, a 
doubtful species of New Mexico. P. Fremontiana was intro¬ 
duced from California ten years since. 
P. Royleana was recently introduced from northern India 
by the Horticultural Society; but proves to be an American 
kind which was introduced to India. (See vol. xviii. p. 253.) 
P. Jeffrey ana from California, is in the Clapton Nursery ; 
as also P. Parry ana —two American names, which, we believe, 
have not yet been settled in this country. 
P. Reardsleyana and P. Craiyiana were introduced from 
California by Mr. Murray, of the “ Scotch Expedition.” 
The most recent, and by far the most important work on 
Conifers, is a French work called A General Treatise on 
Conifers, (“ Traite General des Conifers,”) by M. Cariere, of 
Paris. He enumerates and describes nearly four hundred 
species, with their synonymes ; also many varieties. In short, 
he gives the culture, the propagation, and the history of every 
known Conifer, down to the publication of his work two 
years since. In our own books and periodicals there is no 
end to the writings on Conifers. The question is not where 
to find information on Conifers, but which is the most trust¬ 
worthy and the most practical.] 
COVERING AN OLD STEM. 
“ Can I find a bright and pretty climber to grow in the 
shade, to cover the trunk of an old Fir tree, which stands in 
the centre of a little flower garden ? ”—A Constant Readee. 
[There is nothing better than our native Honeysuckle for 
such a purpose; but if it is desired to get rid of the rugge 
appearance of the stem of the old Fir tree, the best mode 
would be to cover it all over with Irish Ivy, and to train one 
of the Ayrshire, or evergreen, Roses over the Ivy. Ruga is 
the best for this purpose ; as, when once you get it up to the 
boughs, it will hang down “of itself” in tresses to the 
ground. But if you had told us in what part of the world, 
or in which of the couiities, your garden is, we might advise 
differently. All “ Constant Readers” of The Cottage 
Gaedenee have been told many times, that all the gardeners 
in this world cannot tell what will suit, or not thrive in, a 
place or garden, unless tliey have some idea where the place is.] 
ROSES IN A DAMP OVERSHADOWED GARDEN 
—CYCLAMENS NOT BLOOMING. 
“ My garden is a long, narrow, damp strip, barely twenty 
yards across : with a row of trees on each side, not belonging 
to me. The stocks of my standard Roses are constantly 
covered with green lichen. Is it worth while washing them ? 
and what is the best composition for it ? 
“ My grass, in spite of dressing and sowing, according to 
your advice, and in the worst parts renewing it with turf, 
becomes covered with bare patches every winter, over which 
a green, unhealthy lichen grows, and seems to prevent the 
grass from springing up again in the summer. I am afraid its 
situation places it almost beyond your relief; but if you can 
suggest any remedy, you will greatly oblige me. 
“ For several years my bulbs of Cyclamen Persicum have 
been complete failures ; though I have carefully searched for, 
and attended to, all your instructions concerning them. They 
generally have broken well, and seemed full of small buds, which 
all damp off almost as soon as they are visible; and nothing is 
matured but a thin crop of leaves, which look healthy enough. 
The bulbs, however, grow, and make pretty good roots. 
Two years ago I had given to me about six seedlings, as large 
as a sixpence. I have treated these precisely in the same 
manner, and they have stood side by side with the old ones. 
They nearly all flowered last year; and this year, each of 
them has from thirty to forty flowers, and healthy buds, 
upon it. Are the old bulbs worn out ? They seem firm and 
healthy, and are about three inches across. They were sent 
dry from Holland ; which, I think, ruined their constitution. 
A gardener told me that if I divided each into three or four, 
they would do well.”—E ton College. 
[There are hundreds of such-sized gardens as this one, 
with large forest trees on each side, and across the farthest 
end, where Roses do exceedingly well. We were looking over 
just such a garden this week, in which a very large number 
of Roses, of all sizes and ages, do remarkably well on the 
Dog Rose and Celine Stocks. We saw two rows of cuttings 
of the latter, between rows of Currants or Gooseberries, in 
the kitchen garden part, which were moulded up as high as 
Potatoes, with about an inch of the tops out above the 
ridges. It is the nature of the bottom soil, more than the 
confined space, which affects your Roses ; and unless it could j 
be well drained, no art will keep the Roses in good health. 
Fresh slaked lime is the best wash for all kinds of trees and 
bushes that are infested with lichens or moss, or any similar 
kind of vegetation ; and a little soot mixed with it to make 
the wash a dark grey, renders it less glaring to the eye ; and 
a little flower of sulphur is good for such plants or trees as 
are liable to the red spider. About February is the best time 
to apply such preparations. If the trees on each side are 
old Elms, their roots may have possession of the subsoil, and 
starve it that way. If so, it might be easier to cure; as a 
deep trench two feet wide, made under the side walks, would 
get rid of the roots for a time; and a recourse to this cutting 
would always be remedial, at no great cost. The idea is much 
more heavy than the job itself, speaking from our own ex¬ 
perience. 
All that can be true about these Cyclamens, is, that the 
roots or bulbs were not in active health at the time they 
dropped the flower-buds ; but the cause of the loss of vigour 
may be owing to one of many things. But from the fact of 
their making healthy leavos, there can be little doubt but 
