feafes' Moral Bniuiet cwi3 Pictorial Home ^ampaiium. 
99 ' 
J[n$tuir$ to Surm]wttoittto + 
Passiflora Cosrulea. —How can I grow Passi- 
flora Coerulea ? I have one ten years old which has 
not yet flowered. Abbie French. 
Answer, —Yery tew of the Passion flowers bloom un¬ 
til they are old ; then they seldom fail to give an abun¬ 
dance of flowers. We suppose your plant is out of 
doors, (for this species is hardly worth growing in a 
greenhouse, as there are so many finer species which 
occupy no more room), therefore grow it well in rich 
soil, with plenty of water, and as soon as the plant 
has a woody stem it will give you plenty of bloom. 
Prune in early spring. The flower is on the young 
growth. 
Growing Mareschal Niel Rose. —How shall I j 
treat the Mareschal Niel Rose ? Mine died last year 
with my best care. Mrs. L. W F. Mantene. 
Answer. —There is no special treatment required. 
Give a rich soil, well drained, and the plant will soon 
grow large. This rose to do well should be planted 
out, as it is too rampant a grower for pot culture. 
When it attains size it blooms very freely. If budded 
on a strong stock it blooms more freely than when on 
its own root. 
Name of Plant. Libonia Floribunda. —Can 
you give me the name of the plant which I inclose ? 
It began to bloom about Christmas, and will it con¬ 
tinue through the winter ? Mrs. L. S. Page. 
Woodstock, McHenry County, Ill. 
Answer. — It is Libonia Floribunda, a very pretty 
and free-blooming greenhouse plant. If well grown 
it covers itself with a profusion of bright yellow and 
red flowers which last well on the plant, but are not 
of value as cut flowers as they wither rapidly. Com¬ 
mon greenhouse culture is all the plant requires. 
Where to Obtain Mistletoe. —Can any of your 
readers inform me where I can get some Mistletoe ? 
At our next “ Yule Log ” we wish to revive an old- 
time custom, just to please the young people. 
Anna H. Storey. 
Answer. —The true Mistletoe (Viscum) is not a na¬ 
tive of America, but about Christmas is often im¬ 
ported from England by florists. The American Mis¬ 
tletoe (Phorodendron) is native south of New Jersey, 
growing usually on elms and hickories. If you have 
friends at the south you might obtain this. The ber¬ 
ries are white, and we suppose the effect of the “ young 
people ” passing under it would be the same and as 
satisfactory as if you had the true mistletoe. 
Day Lilies in the Parlor. —Can the Day Lily 
be grown in pots for the house? I have nice south 
windows. Please tell me how to treat them, soil, sun, 
temperature. Nellie. 
Ayer, Mass. 
Answer. —There are two species of plants com¬ 
monly called Day Lily, Hemerocallis, with yellow or 
orange-colored flowers, and Funkia, with white or 
blue flowers. Both are hardy herbaceous plants. We 
have seen the light yellow Hemerocallis forced in a 
greenhouse, and the flowers were quite as fragrant 
and more delicate than in the garden. We do not re¬ 
member having seen Funkias forced. We fear under 
house culture you would not succeed in obtaining early 
bloom, say April for the Hemerocallis, and May for 
the Funkia. The culture would be: Pot the roots 
from the garden in common soil just before the ground 
freezes up, choosing the round thick crowns; let the 
pots stand in a shed or cellar (if they get frozen it will 
not injure and may benefit them); after January first 
bring the pots into the room and give all the light and 
heat possible. Do not give much water until the 
plants begin to grow, but keep them moist. When 
growing do not allow them to become dry. If you 
try the experiment, the Cabinet would be pleased 
with a report. 
Peony Growing. —Two years since I got some 
fine Peonies, and though I have done all I could to 
make them flourish, I cannot get them to bloom. 
They come up every spring, but soon die down with¬ 
out blooming. Can you tell me what to do ? 
Lela Eastland. 
Answer .—Your Peonies are in too light a soil. 
The plants are hard to kill, and will come up year 
after year, but unless they have a rich soil they do not 
bloom well. Dig in well rotted manure around your 
plants in the autumn, and keep the soil rich so the 
crowns may become strong, and they will bloom every 
year. 
White Worms on Anemones and Lily of 
the Valley. Treatment of Cactus after 
blooming. —My Anemones and Lily of the Valley 
are literally eaten up by small transparent worms 
whose presence I cannot account for, having baked 
soil before planting them. Have noticed small black 
flies around plants this winter. 
What treatment does a “ Swallow-tail ” Cactus re¬ 
quire after flowering at Christmas profusely ? 
Ansiver. —1. It is easier to suggest a remedy for the 
worms than to find the cause. The flies may have 
laid eggs which hatched into worms. Shake out the 
tubers carefully, wash them with luke warm water, 
and repot in fresh soil (which is not improved by 
baking). If any of the tubers are decayed, cut out 
the diseased part if desirable to save the plant; but it 
would be best to throw away your plants and get 
new ones. Worms seldom attack a healthy bulb or 
tuber. 
2. By “Swallow-tail” Cactus you mean Epiphyl- 
lum truncaturn. After flowering, keep it rather dry 
till towards spring, then as it begins to grow repot it 
in sandy loam with good drainage. 
Sings, Snails, and Ants in Ferneries. —My 
Fernery looks well but will get slugs and snails in it 
which eat the plants, also small flies and black ants. 
Can you tell me how to kill them ? 
Philadelphia. Harry W. Simon. 
Answer .—Cut potatoes or yellow turnips in halves, 
scoop out the pieces and lay them in the Fernery. 
The slugs and snails will go to them, and are easily 
caught. Sprinkle a little fine sugar through a dry 
coarse sponge; the ants will go into the sponge and 
are easily destroyed by putting the sponge in hot 
water. We do not think the flies do any injury to 
your plants. 
Destroying White Earth Worms.— Please 
tell me how to destroy the white earth worms which 
are killing my plants. I have tried strong lime and 
tobacco water without success. 
Tyrone, Pa. Mrs. J. G. 
and 
Peru, Clinton Co., N. Y. H. J. F 
Ansiver .—The best way would be to repot your 
plants in fresh soil, draining the pots well. The 
worms do not eat the roots unless they are diseased. 
Cut off all dead roots; shade the plants for a few days 
until they recover from the repotting. We wonder 
“ tobacco water” did not kill your plants. 
Flowers for Vases. —What, flowers shall I plant 
in vases that have the sun on them from ten in the 
morning until it sets ? Mrs. Jane. 
Washington, D. C. 
Ansiver .—For the centre, Canna Adele Levallois, 
which is low growing and has dazzling crimson flow¬ 
ers, or Dracaena ferrea or terminalis, then Centaurea 
candidissima or Cineraria maritima, both white foli- 
aged plants; next Coleus or Achyranthus, this in any 
variety (both to be kept low by pinching), then edge 
with Gazania splendens, Othonna crassifoKa, or Me- 
sembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum. If more 
common plants are required, let the centre be Coleus 
and fill in with gay-colored Petunias. In any case, 
give plenty of water; the cause of failure in vase 
planting is that the plants are allowed to dry up. 
The Christmas Rose—Olea. fragrans. —Can 
you tell me, through your paper, about the Christmas 
Rose, and where I can get it ? Where can I find Olea 
fragrans? Is it a good house plant ? 
Alleghany City, Pa. Mrs. J. W. Elverhart. 
Answer .—The Christmas Rose is botanically Helle- 
berus niger. The leaves are evergreen, the flowers 
very large white or pinkish, produced in November 
and December. The plant is hardy, but the flowers 
are apt to be injured by early snow, therefore it is 
better to grow the plants in a cold frame. In Eng¬ 
land it is very generally grown, and plants may be 
imported from Messrs. Backhouse, of York, for about 
$20 per hundred. We do not remember seeing it for 
sale in this country ; perhaps Louis Menand, Albany, 
N. Y., could supply it. There was formerly plenty 
at the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass; the gar¬ 
dener might supply it in exchange. 
Olea fragrans is a neat, rather tall growing green¬ 
house plant, with foliage resembling a Camellia. The 
flowers are very small in clusters, while turning yellow 
as they fade, exquisitely fragrant. It would do well 
as a parlor plant, but there are many things much 
more showy. The flowers of the Olea only last a 
short time, in early spring, and the rest of the year 
there is only foliage. Plants can probably be ob¬ 
tained at any of the large greenhouses, as the plant is 
not uncommon. 
Answers to Correspondents. —The readers of 
the Floral Cabinet will realize something of the 
popularity of this department, when we inform them 
there are waiting publication over 300 letters, all ask¬ 
ing questions. It is not in the bounds of possibility 
to answer a question the same month received, but 
every question shall have attention and a reply and be 
published as soon as we can. There are 20 printed 
pages full, each as large as this, waiting their turn to 
be published. 
Exchanging Plants. —We discontinued publish¬ 
ing offers of subscribers to exchange plants, bulbs, 
etc., with each other because in every case the rush of 
applicants was so far beyond the capacity of the sub¬ 
scriber to supply, that the offer at last became an an¬ 
noyance, and the offerer always writes to us to stop 
it. Any one who offers to exchange must ex¬ 
pect to receive 200 to 500 replies. Few realize how 
large our circulation is, or how eager people are to get 
things free. 
Names of Plants. —Many plants are sent to us 
for names. We regret want of time to answer by per¬ 
sonal letter, and think it better to send to nearest 
florist. Most sent to us come in bad order, and our 
space is really too limited to be filled up with other 
than the most necessary information, most agreeable 
to the largest number of readers. 
