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Black Flies on Plants.—The Best Window 
for Plants.—Should Plants be Grown in Bed¬ 
rooms P—How shall I get rid of the little black flies 
on tny plants'? Is it healthy to have plants in a bed¬ 
room ? Which is best for plants, a western or eastern 
exposure? Jennie Eldrea. 
Rome, Mich. 
Answer. — Tobacco smoke will kill the flies; put 
the plants under a barrel and throw some damp plug- 
tobacco on some hot coals. Lot the plants remain in 
the fumes about ten minutes, then syringe or water 
the branches. The best exposure or window for 
plants is east. One hour of morning sun is worth 
two of afternoon. Window plants should have as 
much sun as possible. It is not unhealthy to have 
plants in a bed-room, unless they are in such quantity 
as to produce dampness. Plants exhale oxygen and 
inhale carbonic acid. Animals do just the reverse. 
Begonias for Fernery. —What species of Be¬ 
gonias are best for a Fernery ? 
Ravens wood, Ill. Mrs. W. Van Horn. 
Answer. —Any of the Begonias with large orna¬ 
mental foliage do well in a Fernery. Some varieties 
can be found at any greenhouse. The Fernery should 
be aired occasionally and not be kept very wet or the 
Begonias will rot. By ornamental leaved we mean 
Begonia Rex and its many seedling varieties. 
Soil, etc. — What kind of soil is best for Calceola¬ 
ria ? How deep shall I cover the seed ? Is Clematis 
cirrhosa an annual? Will Coboea scaudens sprout in 
the spring from au old root ? 
Briscoe Run. Mrs. J. P. Johnson. 
Ansiver .— Calceolaria seed is very small and should 
be sown as lightly as possible, on the surface of the 
ground; if watered afterwards, will often sufficiently 
cover it. The soil should be very fine sandy loam. 
Clematis cirrhosa is a perennial. Coboea scandens 
will not sprout from the root, but if a portion of stem 
is left, eyes will break. The plant is not hardy where 
there is frost. 
Jasmine Treatment. —Please tell, me whether 
Jastninum grandifiorum should be put in the cellar 
after it has finished blooming, or remain where it will 
continue to grow ? I have kept mine on the plant- 
stand where it will grow, hut the leaves and brauclies 
dry up. Mrs. J. L. Andrews. 
Answer .—You would probably lose your plant if 
you put it in the cellar. The fault in your culture is 
the air of the room is too dry, and perhaps you do not 
water enough. The tropical Jasmines are all ever¬ 
green, and do not require drying off. 
Begonias. — What can be the troubfe with my 
trailing Begonia ? It hung in a wire basket covered 
with moss, and grew beautifully all summer, but 
ceased blooming in June. Now (Jan. 77) it is be¬ 
ginning to -bloom again ; but when the leaves are 
nearly half grown they are covered with little watery 
looking spots, and drop off. 
Cincinnati, 0. Esther W. Henderson. 
Ansiver. — You are probably keeping your plant too 
cold and wet. If grown in heat this species will bear 
any amount of water, but it requires more heat than 
most Begonias. 
Billbergia fasciata.— Coleus turning black.— 
When does Billbergia fasciata bloom ? Are there 
more colors than one ? What is the treatment ? Why 
do Coleus begin getting black at the top and continue 
so downward until they die away ? 
Galena, Ill. John F. Br ended. 
Answer. —All the Billbergias bloom as soon as the 
crowns are strong; the season is usually summer and 
autumn, but some remain in perfection a long time. 
We know only one color of B. fasciata. From your 
description, we think your Coleus must have been 
frost-bitten. The Coleus is a very tender plant, ori¬ 
ginally native of the hot island of Java, and it is not 
well to plant any of the varieties in the garden before 
all danger of frost is past. 
Temperature for Plants.—Coal Ashes.— 
What is the temperature for plants in a sitting-room 
warmed by a coal stove? Of what use are coal 
ashes? H. J. F. 
Peru, Clinton Co., N. Y. 
Ansiver. —The temperature may rise as high as you 
would generally keep it, if you keep the air moist. It 
is dry beat which inj ures plants. Coal ashes are of no 
horticultural value. 
Turk’s Head Cactus, etc.— Why does not my 
Turk’s Head Cactus bloom ? It is thirteen years old, 
six inches high, fourteen inches in circumference? 
When does it bloom, and what flower does it have ? 
A neighbor has had a Bridal Rose for three years, 
and an Amaryllis for seven years, which have not 
bloomed. Why is it ? E. J. L. C. 
East Haddam. 
Ansiver. —The Turk’s Head Cactus grows to a 
great size and does not bloom until old; from the size, 
yours should bloom; hat when it does you will he dis¬ 
appointed. The flowers are very small, in a circle 
near the top, and are pink, red, yellowish, or white. 
The Bridal Rose is not a rose, hut a double flowering 
Bramble. It should bloom on the young wood very 
freely. Probably the shoots are too weak; repot it 
in good soil and give it plenty of sun. The Amaryllis 
should be dried off in autumn and allowed to rest all 
winter. Repot it in the spring, and it will probably 
bloom. 
A Rockery. —Our housejs on a side hill, and we 
are obliged to terrace the front. I am anxious to save 
a large maple tree, the roots of which are somewhat 
exposed and present a rough appearance, which I think 
may he improved by a rockery being built under it. 
Please give me your assistance. 
Ottumwa, Iowa. Mrs. J. I. Douglass. 
Answer. —By piling up rugged, angular rocks in a 
rude way under the roots of the tree, it can doubtless 
he saved and many delicate plants could he grown in 
the chinks of the rocks. Make the arrangement as 
natural as possible, that is, avoid all formal arrange¬ 
ment. The effect you should aim to produce is that 
the rocks appear as if Nature placed them so that 
the tree sprung from them. Let the chinks between 
the rocks be deep and filled with good soil. Many 
plants which seem to grow on bare rocks send their 
roots far below the surface and feed upon the alluvial 
deposit in some chink of the rock, where the lower 
soil is always moist, no matter how dry the surface 
may he. The maple tree will in time, however, send 
out roots which will appropriate your whole rockery. 
The masses of rock or heaps of stone which we often 
see as “rockeries” have no beauty and only serve 
more conspicuously to display the misery of the stunted 
plants placed upon them. 
Lily of the Valley.—Keeping Geraniums. 
—Why cannot I succeed in getting Lily of the Val¬ 
ley to bloom ? Out of forty stalks hut one has a 
flower-stem. Can you give me any experience as to 
keeping Geraniums through the winter tied up in bun¬ 
dles with the dirt removed? What kinds will keep in 
that way ? Would they not do better dried off in the 
pots ? Should the cellar he damp or dry ? 
Laclede, Ind. Mrs. Lucie A. Sciirock. 
Answer. —Probably the soil is too poor for your 
Lily of the Valley. The tubers need to he well grown 
to bloom. In a garden bed probably not one in ten 
flowers. Manure the bed well with well rotted ma¬ 
nure in autumn or early spring; do not let the ground 
become very dry, and you will get bloom. The flower 
is worth all tlie care you can give it. The Zonale or 
Horseshoe Geraniums will live shaken out in autumn 
and hung up in a cool, frost-proof dry cellar; hut they 
do quite as well dried off in the pots. Neither mode 
is the best for keeping them, for they make very 
good window plants for winter, and do not require 
annual rest. 
Heliotrope root-bound. —Does the Heliotrope 
do well when root-hound ? Flower Lover. 
Osborn, Green Co., 0. 
Answer. —It certainly will not succeed. Give it 
a good soil and repot, as the plant grows large, and 
the larger the plant the more flowers. 
Culture of Hydrangea, etc. —What should he 
the treatment of Hydrangea ? Should it he in sun or 
shade—in wet or dry soil ? Should Lilies he set in the 
open ground, and how early in the season ? What 
should he done with the bulbs after blooming? 
Milwaukee, Wis. Mrs. A. C. Allen. 
Answer. —If you mean Hydrangea Hortensia, the 
plants are best grown in large pots or tubs, as they are 
not hardy. Let the soil he rich, and give the plants 
an abundance of water. Set the tubs on a piazza or 
in the garden in the sun; they will bloom all summer. 
Let the frost kill the foliage, and then keep the plants 
in the tubs through the winter in the house cellar. 
Lilies should he planted in a deep, rich, well drained 
soil in the garden in autumn or as early in the spring 
as possible. The depth should vary from two to five 
inches, according to the size of the bulb. They need 
not he disturbed for years, and will each year grow 
stronger and give better flowers. Most Lilies are 
hardy, hut all the species are injured by keeping the 
bulbs out of the ground. If planted in a very ex¬ 
posed situation, a covering of litter over the bed dur¬ 
ing the winter is advantageous. A Lily bed should 
he of rich light soil, never very wet or very dry. 
■ Aquariums. —How can I construct an aquarium ? 
Is there any way to prevent the cement detaching 
itself from the glass? Mrs. J. E. L. 
Ada, 0. 
Ansiver. — A very simple and pretty aquarium may 
he made by procuring a large glass confectionery case 
cover, and fixing it upside down in a stand. The best 
are made of stone, with the glass glazed in lead or set 
in an iron frame; hut they are expensive. If the 
cement detaches itself from the glass it was not pro¬ 
perly mixed. 
Names of Plants. —Answer to Annie E. Syanes, 
Lynchburg, Texas The two small white and blue 
flowers are species of Vetch (vicia). The larger blue 
flower we cannot name, hut it is not an Ageratum 
or a Forget-me-not (Myosotisj. 
