THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 25, 1859. 
59 
which will greatly aid cultivators in the arrangement of their | 
Rose-beds. 
A Descriptive Catalogue of Selected Moses Cultivated bp John 
Cranston, King's Acre, Hereford. —This is also an excellent 
Catalogue, arranged with great care, and well got up. 
Catalogue et Prix Courant des Yegefaux disponsibles pour 
Vautomne 1859 au priniemps 1860.—This is a Catalogue of 
general nursery stock offered for sale at the respectable nursery 
establishment of Mess. Lefevre, Pere et fils, Mortefontaine, 
Chapelle-en-Serral (.Oise), France. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Floating Light ik a Hotbed (S. Wood).— This is to help in excluding 
frost during severe weather. One, two, or three saucers containing water, 
and Colza oil floating on its top, may be placed in different parts within 
the frame. A slice of cork with a piece of tin tube through it, and a piece 
of cotton for a wick in the tube, are placed on the oil and the cotton lighted 
at night. Take care that the lower end of the wick does not touch the 
water. This is prevented by having a sufficiency of oil always in the 
saucers. Ventilation must be well attended to. 
Lawk, &c. (A. 2?.). —If you have good turf near, that is the most ex¬ 
peditious mode of forming a lawn. There is no great art in levelling the 
ground ; the chief care is to have it rolled equally solid all over. A 
labourer can do it under your superintendence. Buy our “ Garden 
Manual,” at p. 135 you will And full directions. Rhododendrons and 
Azaleas will grow very well in a clay soil, especially if you dig into it 
charred rubbish, the bottom of a wooilstack, and rotten sawdust. Do not 
add chalk or lime rubbish. It is death to them. We have not yet suffi¬ 
cient experience of “ lawns without mowing ” to justify our recommend¬ 
ing that at present. If the Spergula prove permanent, it will entirely 
supersede Grass. Not knowing the kinds, nor the soil, we cannot say why 
Nectarines do not ripen on your south wall. We should think the roots 
have descended deeply. 
Gf.nebal Index (C. M., Black Bock). —Very numerous have been tho 
applications for this, but upon beginning its preparation we found it quite 
impossible to sell it for a shilling as proposed. It could not cost less than 
three times that amount, and probably somewhat more. 
Cost of Propagating Pit ( W. P. H. B.).— We never give such 
estimates, for prices must vary with localities. Show a plan to two 
builders, and get their estimates. You will see from an advertisement 
last week what can be done in the heating way for ten pounds. 
Aquaria Iron-frames (D. S. R.). —Write to one or more of the manu¬ 
facturers of horticultural iron-work who advertise in our columns. 
Hawthorn (Inquirer). —The meaning of this name is literally Hedge- 
Thorn. Han-, pronounced haigh in the north, Ha-ha, and hedge are all 
derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Hag, a hedge. 
Roseiy (An Old Gardener). —We never yet saw a garden which had 
not a rosery in it as part of itself; therefore, there must have been as 
many styles of roseries as there are styles of gardens, and all that wc 
require to be able to give any one this “ positive boon,” is the plan and 
section of his or her present garden. Send us up your plan, and by 
next month you shall have what you need. 
Bulbs (Bose).— There is no Nerine Fothergillii. None of that genus, or 
allied genera, were called After the good Doctor Fothergill. Nerine 
venusta is the head of the Guernsey Lily section of the family. It should 
be now in bloom, and the leaves just above the soil, and it must be kept 
growing, and almost in the open air all the winter, free from frost, and it 
will cast its leaves early in June. No treatment can alter any Nerine from 
growing in winter, and resting in summer, and they all bloom in the 
autumn, before, or with the rise of the leaf. Amaryllis aulica is far from 
being an Amaryllis, and much farther from the Amaryllis treatment. Its 
times of growing and blooming may be altered to suit convenience, while 
Amaryllis is absolute in these habits. Aulica is a fine stove bulb, and if it 
is now going to rest, all the better ; let it rest till the time of the con¬ 
venience of a hotbed comes round in the spring, then the treatment is 
the same as for a Cockscomb, till it is out of bloom, and a free growth in a 
spent hotbed all the summer, will cause it to rest in winter. Vallota 
purpurea is a hardy greenhouse evergreen bulb. Amaryllis formo - 
sissima, to be now, and always in October, dried oft', and to be kept dry 
till there i* a hotbed ready in March to start it, or in default of one, to the 
end of April; then to plant in the open ground, or in a pot; and after the 
flowering is over to be planted out. Formosissima should never be 
seen in a pot from the middle of May till the end of October, when it 
must be put to rest. But with'plenty of bulbs, one could force it to bloom 
from February till it comes naturally in May in the open ground. The 
Lilium lancifoliums may rest as they are till February, and Tritoma 
ucaria should be planted out at once where it is to bloom. 
Pampas Grass. —We are desirous to put the progress of the Pampas 
Grass upon record, and would thank subscribers to send us short notices 
of the age, height, and number of flower-spikes of their plants, with their 
ages and treatment, as to kind of soil, exposure, and watering. 
Beutzia sanguinea (J. (?.).—It was in the possession of Messrs. 
Knight and Perry, Exotic Nursery, King’s Road, Chelsea. Messrs. 
Veiteh now have that Nursery. 
Gardenino Work (H. TV. J., Preston).— The Cottage Gardeners' 
Dictionary will give you the information you need. Its price is eight or 
nine shillings. 
Bambcsa gracilis ( IV. L. N.).— That Bambusa is hardy in the climate 
of London, Edinburgh, and Belfast; but for all we know to the contrary, 
it may be a very tender subject where your question was raised. No one 
could answer that question properly, the part of the world for it being not 
given. What the cultivation, or how it would look on a lawn, depends so 
entirely upon what country or kingdom in which it is to be so used, that we 
(jure not even suggest how, But in all parts of Briffiin it would look better 
near warter, rocks, ruins, broken grounds, as valleys, dingles, and high 
banks; also, next best, at the edgings of lawns, next to deep-shaded 
plantations. With us, such a reed standing out on the grass would have 
no meaning. 
Latino-out Ground (An Old Subscriber). —There is no better book on 
this subject than Mr. Kemp’s “ How to lay out a Garden.” It is written 
by one of our first landscape gardeners in a style that anybody can under¬ 
stand. It is copiously illustrated, and with designs, and is very moderate 
in price. 
Heating Apparatus (G. Boltinis).— We cannot see through the adap- 
! tation of your plan, though we admire the ingenuity and the search after 
j preventives. If f. is to be the regulator of the hatching machine, or any 
other contrivance for heating, its regulating power would soon he ex¬ 
hausted, and the self-acting lever wa have little faith in under such circum¬ 
stances. The water must be hot indeed, if that at d, or c either, were 180°. 
Tt could hardly take place unless with a tremendous coal fire beneath a boiler 
that had only a few feet of pipe to heat. We think the whole affair would be 
simplified by having a cistern connected with both top and bottom pipe by 
means of stop cocks. Open these and the cistern will be heated to the 
requisite degree. Shut them and it will continue at that degree for some 
time. The circulation will continue in the pipes though shut off from 
the cistern. Open the connection, and again an equalisation of temperature 
will, ere long, take place, to be regulated to a nicety by the stop cock. 
A hitch in a self-acting lever might do no end of mischief. 
Pelargoniums — Seedling Datura Wightii (21. M. P.).— You have 
received three dozen of third-rate Pelargoniums. They were all of 
them, however, the best of their day. Keep Pearl, Plectra, Hark 
Antony, Hernrionie, Virgin Queen, Othello, Cassandra, Mayoress, and 
Sarah Jane, and you will have all the best colours and best flowers. 
Virgin Queen is the oldest of the present race, and yet it is in the show- 
stands of the best growers to the present day; but Pearl is much the better 
white of the two, and Pearl is still as good’as any of the now whites You 
are quite right; ten good plants of ten kinds of goad Pelargoniums are 
better than one hundred plants, and one of a kind, no matter how good 
some of them might be. These selections make up the secret of success in 
gardening. Keep the Datura Wrightii by all means, and turn it out of 
the pot in good soil by the end of May. Something in the air, or at the 
roots, caused the buds to drop, hut drop it out of the pot and it will 
soon fight its way to all its honours. The Achimenes keep better in the 
old soil in a warm place. We have not yet heard from Mr. Beaton about 
them. Much depends on the “roots”’one begins with. If the plants 
were of this season, and from cuttings, you will lose every one of them, 
as the substance of the roots Is not enough to hold out so long. 
Lapaqeria rosea (J. B. B.). —This plant has not the smallest chance of 
living out one whole season in a rich loamy border of six years standing, 
and already in the full possession of the roots of three of the most vora¬ 
cious climbers under the sun. Here is just a case in point, where the most 
promising young gardeners lose their places and their characters for the 
simple reason of minding the promptings of the “governor against their 
better judgment.” Do as you suggest with Lapageria, and none can do 
better. Your plants are Plumbago Larpenta and Aster inultiflorus. 
Name of Aster (A. ill. B.). —Your Aster is the A. Hindus of the very 
large collection of A sters that used to be under the care of the late Mr. 
Bagster, in the Oxford Botanic Garden. It is in our lists called A. multi- 
floras. 
Names of Ff.rns ( IF. B. Hayward). —1. Lastraa filix-mas v. paleaeea. 
2. L.f. rn. v. incisa , 3. L. dilatata, a variety. 4. Scolopcndrium vulgare 
v. crenata-lobatum. 5. Cystopteris fragilis, a variety. 6, 7, and 8 are 
all Polypodium Bobertianum. 
Names of Plants (Budolphus). —It is impossible to be certain what your 
plants are without better specimens being sent. The larger leaf somewhat 
resembles that of Picridium vulgare, and the small tip of the shoot bears 
some resemblance to oneof the Hibbertia grossulariaflolia. ( Warrington). 
—Your plant is the Atropa physaloides of Linnaeus, and is now known by 
the name of Nicandra physaloides, or blue-flowered Nicandra. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
November 18th and 19th. West of Scotland Ornithological Asso¬ 
ciation (Pigeons and Canary Birds). Sec.. Thos. Buchanan, 74, Argyle 
Street, Glasgow. Entries close the 7th of November. 
November 19th to 23rd. Crystal Palace. (Canaries and British and 
Foreign Cage Birds). Sec., Mr. W. Houghton. 
November 28th, 29th, and 30th, and December 1st. Birmingham. Sec., 
Mr. J. Morgan, Bingley Hall, Birmingham. 
December 28th and 29tli. Poulton-le-Fyldk. Sec., J. S. Butler. 
January 7th, 1860. Bradford. Single Cock Show. Sees., Mr. Hardy, 
Prince of Wales Inn, Bowling Old Lane, and Mr. E. Blackbrougii, 
Black Bull Inn, Ive Gate, Bradford. 
February 11th to 15th, 1860. Crystal Palace (Poultry and Pigeons). 
Sec., Mr. W. Houghton. Entries close Jan. 14th. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige as by sending early Coptics of their lists. 
WORCESTER POULTRY SHOW. 
This Show was held in the Corn Exchange on the 11th, 12th, 
and 13th inst., and no building can be better calculated for the 
purpose. It is a large, square, and lofty building, entirely lighted 
from the top. It can accommodate almost any number of pen* ; 
and while there is every necessary ventilation, no draught is 
possible. In most cases the pens were placed in single rows on 
tressles; and when we say the Committee included practised 
names of note, like Messrs. Archer, Wakefield, and others, we 
shall give assurance that everything was arranged for the comfort, 
not only of visitors, hut of birds. We know of no Show more 
