133 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 30, 1858. 
with, and I hope it may assist the ideas of some of those 
gentlemen who expressed their difficulties to me, and not 
only them, but many others. 
I am aware that the idea of their immense utility has 
gained such grouDd, as almost to attain the consequence 
of a fashion, and, as such, dangerous to meddle with; but 
as long as I am left with whole bones, I do not care. 
However right or wrong any opinion may be I have ex¬ 
pressed, no man, if right intentioned, will blame me for 
thus trying to “ ventilate ” the question. 
There is one class of writers from whom genuine 
writers may be said to recoil instinctively, it is those 
anonymous gentlemen, who, when they are requested 
manfully to affix their real name, modestly answer, that 
“circumstances over which they have no control” pre¬ 
clude the possibility. 11, Erringtqn. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
Chrysanthemums. •— “I took up some Chrysanthe¬ 
mums three weeks ago, but the earth fell almost all away 
from the roots, and the flowers look miserable, as I cannot 
keep them from flagging.” There must have been a fault 
somewhere. Nothing lifts better than the Chrysan¬ 
themum, with ordinary prudence in its management. 
Some of the most extensive growers, even in pots, plant 
out, and lift as the buds are swelling. I presume you 
lifted rather late. I lifted a good many after the flowers 
were opening, and there was no flagging. That, however, 
was rather late. These when planted out had each 
a shovelful of rough nodules of fresh loam and half de¬ 
composed leaf mould put round them, and the roots 
hung in them nicely. Before lifting, however, they were 
twice well watered, and even then it was found the water 
had not gone far enough. They were watered well after 
potting, and placed in a rather shady place for a fortnight, 
—the heads, in drying weather, being syringed at midday, 
or oftener, if necessary. By that time the roots were 
working freely, and, when the plants were exposed, they 
stood the sun as well as could be expected. In such a 
dry autumn, if you did not water well some time before 
lifting, we can only excuse you, if, as one of our cor¬ 
respondents says—•“ Letting alone the impossibility of 
getting the October brewed, the old women were at their 
wits end to get water for their tea-kettles.” How is it 
that so many of our young men are so ready to throw a 
sneer at the teacup ? Are they quite sure that in this 
they are showing themselves to be the disciples of true 
social progress P Laugh, if you will, at crinoline, but, if 
you are wise, give homage to the tea-table, with woman 
at its head, as one of the greatest civilisers and elevators 
of these times. 
Cinerarias Frosted.- —“ I had these in a small frame, 
and got the edges of all-the best leaves blackened one of 
these nights. Will they recover P” Yes and no. Yes, 
so far as blooming is concerned, because we have heard 
of no frost before the 15th of November that would 
thoroughly injure them in such circumstances. The 
beauty of a Cineraria, however, in our opinion, consists 
in having fine healthy leaves close to the surface of the 
pot; and this beauty you will not obtain, if your plants 
bloom at all early ; and hardly will they be equally fine, 
if you wait ever so long for that blooming. If the plants 
were worth all the attention you say you have given 
them, they were worth the trouble of taking all the air 
from them on the night you specify, and even placing a 
mat over the glass until eight or nine the next morning. 
It is true, these plants can hardly be kept too hardy at 
this season, more especially if you do not wish early 
bloom ; but the damp condition—both at the roots and 
in the atmosphere—in which they delight to thrive, 
renders them more liable to frost than other plants harder 
in their stems and less succulent in their foliage. This 
will account fertile fact, that pot Pelargoniums, in similar 
circumstances, did not seem to suffer at all. The stems 
were hard, the leaves were small, and were less cooled, 
comparatively, by evaporation and radiation. Cinerarias 
growing freely will endure any cold short of actual frost; 
but very little of that injures them. You might have 
saved your plants, if, instead of exposing them to the 
sun, you had syringed with the coldest water, and shaded 
them closely for a couple of days. This would be of no 
avail, however, if the plants w r ere much frosted. 
Heaths.—" I have taken in and housed some Heaths 
white with mildew. What shall I do with them P ” 
Perhaps the best thing would be to pitch them on the 
rubbish-heap, as after such a fine, airy, dry autumn, if 
i the mildew has made such progress, it would be difficult 
I to eradicate it in winter. If you wish to try, however, 
take the plants to a back shed, tie a piece of cloth over 
! the surface of the pot, lay the plant down on its broad¬ 
side and cloth, and daub it thoroughly all over with 
flowers of sulphur from a dredge or pepper-box. Let 
the plant remain thus covered for a couple of days ; then 
shake the sulphur off, and syringe the plant well, pre¬ 
venting the sulphur, and also the syringings, from going 
into the soil. Then take the plant to a shady part of the 
greenhouse, and in a week or ten days repeat the process. 
A state of moisture at the roots, neither dry nor soaked 
with wet, and plenty of sweet air, are the great pre¬ 
ventives of this pest. 
Spot on Geraniums. —In answer to several inquiries, 
I would say, that when this shows itself so- early as this, 
it is difficult to effect a cure. The spotted leaves will 
never recover, and, therefore, they should be all removed 
at once, if it would not check the growth of the plant too 
much; by degrees, if the plant would not stand their 
removal at once. The young leaves may, with great care, 
be induced to come healthy, by attending to thorough 
drainage, using light, sandy, fresh soil, and rather rough,— 
unless the mere surface covering, which should be finer,— 
to prevent the air entering too freely ; giving an average 
temperature of not often below 45°, and frequently a few 
degrees above it; and presenting them with no more 
chilled water at the roots than will prevent flagging, and 
keeping the foliage as dry as possible, with abundance of 
pure air on all suitable occasions. 
Salvias. —“I grow several of these for house deco¬ 
ration, and also for flower garden purposes. I was re¬ 
commended to keep the old roots of fulgens, &c., over 
the winter, but I find plants struck in autumn, or even 
spring, bloom better and more regularly.” Follow the 
plan that answers best. Salvias left in the ground often 
grow irregularly, and bloom late. If the roots are packed 
under cover, what is sound of them when planted will 
bloom earlier than those not transplanted ; but not earlier 
nor better than the young plants to which you allude. 
The value of the two modes depends mostly on the means 
at your disposal. All these young plants will require 
light and attention, to air-giving in winter. But, supposing 
you could not find such a place for them, you might 
cover the old roots with moss, litter, or ashes, on the 
; ground; might lift them and plant them in sheds, where 
little frost would get at them; might place them with 
their roots imbedded in earth, and the tops out, as if you 
were forming a Potato-cone, and then thatch all, to keep 
] out frost and extra wet; and you might be sure, by any of 
these modes, to have plants in April or May. But if 
there is house room, the raising young plants every year 
I will, I believe, answer best. 
Old Plants of Scarlet Geraniums. — “I raised 
I these, took off all the soft parts, and packed the roots as 
j thickly as faggots, under a cold glass frame ; watered the 
; roots, and threw dry soil over the top, but not covering 
the stems much ; kept the glass close for a fortnight; and 
now I see the old stems are breaking freely. Hid I do 
j right P” Yes and no. Yes, so far as treatment in 
planting, &e., are concerned. Yes, if you wished your 
plants to be early, and did not grudge extra care in 
