saoies 
iftoiiiUiei Pictorial BBEome 
lomnaruoa. 
163 
lu furmpmtfojtta 
Name of Plant, etc.—Can you give me infor¬ 
mation how to grow Kennedies? Can Perns be 
divided, and how are they propagated? What is 
the cure for mildew on Roses ? C. Lewers. 
Kashoe Valley, Nevada. 
Answer. —The plant is a coarse seedling variety of 
Abutilon; it will grow in the garden in summer, and 
in a greenhouse or window in winter. 
All Kennedias are greenhouse climbers ; they are 
of easy growth in good soil, but need plenty of water; 
they are easily raised from seed. K. monophylla is 
a good window plant. 
Some species of Perns are propagated by division, 
but others are only increased from seed, or, properly 
speaking, spores. 
Dust the plants with flower of sulphur. 
Camellias, etc.—The buds of my Camellias and 
Oleanders mould and drop. I think the pot is too close 
and warm. What kind of a stock can you graft 
Camellias on? Mollie. 
Answer. —You think rightly. Give your plants 
plenty of air and keep them cool and you will have 
no trouble. 
Camellias are grafted on Camellia stock ; usually 
the single n a variety, but any will do. 
Cannas Hardy—Destroying Moles, etc.— 
Will the Canna survive the winter out of doors in Vir¬ 
ginia ? What will prevent moles from destroying 
bulbs and roots in the garden? Will Florida Mag¬ 
nolias resist the severity of a Virginia winter unpro¬ 
tected ? Will the banana fruit in a greenhouse ? Is 
the Century Plant hardy? Can the bulbs of Canna j 
Calla and tender Lilies be kept dry like onions until 
spring and then be planted in time to bloom during 
the summer? M. L. Sayers, Va. 
Answer. —None of the Cannas are hardy; possibly 
the roots might survive the winter with you if covered 
so as to keep out the frost, but they are better taken 
up. The moles must be caught in traps, or they may 
be destroyed by placing pieces of raw meat rubbed 
with stick phosphorous in their runs. The large 
Magnolia is hardy in Virginia. Bananas will fruit in 
a greenhouse, and the fruit is very good. It is best, 
however, to plant a dwarf-growing species, of which 
Musa Cavendishii is the best. None of the tenderer 
plants are hardy. You may keep the Callas and 
Cannas dry during the winter, but all Lilies would 
prove hardy with you and are best left in the ground. 
Lilies do not like drying off. 
Cutting Back India Rubbsr Tree, etc. — 
What shall I do with an India rubber tree twelve feet 
high? When is the best time to cut it back. How 
are Begonias kept during the summer, in the shade 
with little water, or watered like other plants ? Can 
I keep Cactus in a conservatory all summer, or arc 
they better out of doors? How is the paint for foun¬ 
tains mixed so that water will not. affect it ? 
Bucyrus, Ohio. Mrs. D. W. Swigart. 
Answer .—An India rubber tree may be cut back in 
the spring without injury, but it would have been bet¬ 
ter to have pruned it before it became so tall. Your 
Begonias should be watered and treated like your other 
plants, if they are of the evergreen varieties. Your 
Cactus can be kept in a conservatory. Will some of 
our readers kindly answer the last question ? 
Lilium Fulgens.— Please tell me if Lilium ful- 
gens is tender or hardy ? 
it? 
If tender, how shall I treat 
J. P. J. 
Answer. —It is perfectly hardy; plant it in rich 
light garden soil and it will come up and bloom every 
year. 
Verbenas Sickly.—What is the matter with my 
Verbenas?-- I set out fifteen plants in May, which 
grew vigorously under good soil and treatment. A 
few weeks ago I discovered that one of them began to 
wilt, commencing with one shoot, and finally spread¬ 
ing to the whole plant. I have lost nearly half my 
plants, and no treatment seems to help them in the 
least. There are no worms at the root and no lice on 
the plants. What is the matter, and what shall be 
done ? A. Shulehot. 
Keene, N. H. 
Answer. —It may be cut-worms; examine at the 
root and see if you can find a brownish gray mali¬ 
cious-looking worm. Possibly you have them in too 
wet a soil, which would produce the effect you de¬ 
scribe. 
Rooting Madeira Vine.—Has any one ever 
rooted a Madeira Vine ? I have one which was cut 
off when taking up the tubes in the fall. I put it in 
a glass on a mantel, in water, and it rooted in a few 
weeks. I potted it, and it is growing while the tubes 
are resting in the cellar. Mrs. A. S. 
Butter Valley, N. Y. 
Answer. —We have never heard of this being done, 
but there is nothing strange in it. Cuttings of the 
tops of many tubers root firmly. Choice varieties of 
potatoes are sometimes so increased. Your plant will 
form tubers in the ground. 
Gardenia Dropping Buds, etc.—I have a 
Gardenia which was full of buds when bought of a 
florist three years ago ; the buds all fell off, and have 
done so ever since. How shall I treat Clerodendron 
Balfouri ? How should Azalias be managed after 
blooming, and what soil do they require ? Do Ca¬ 
mellias never bloom unless grafted ? If they do, at 
what age? Mrs. Ellen C. Harris. 
Vincennes, Iud. 
Ansiver .—Your Gardenia dropped its buds from the 
sudden change of temperature at first, and has done 
so each year from either being kept too cold or in too 
dry an atmosphere. Gardenias like a moist warm 
temperature. Clerodendron Balfouri should be kept 
warm when growing, less heat when at rest; soil, 
coarse, peaty loam with fine sand; it is deciduous; 
root should not dry up when at rest. Pot your Aza¬ 
lias in rich, sandy loam, with a little peat, as soon as 
they have done blooming. Seedling Camellias do not 
bloom until large, unless grafted; your Camellia, if 
from a cutting, ought to bloom; get as much growth 
on it as you can, and it will soon flower. 
Plants for Baby’s Grave.—Please tell me what 
"plants would be pretty on a baby’s grave. I should 
like something which will flower most of the time. 
South Ballston. T. S- 
Answer. —It is difficult to find any hardy plant 
which will always be in bloom. Plant in autumn 
some clumps of Snowdrops and White Crocus (Caro¬ 
line Chisholm is the best), then some single white 
Violets and some Lily of the Valley, some white Japan 
Lilies and some white Colchicum. All these are 
hardy and will live from year to year. Then every 
spring set out some white Verbenas, or any low-grow¬ 
ing white bedding plant. 
Evergreens for Centre of Circular Beds.— 
! In my front yard I have seven circular beds, nine feet 
' in diameter, on the edges of which are planted ever- 
blooming Roses. I want three evergreens of different 
varieties for the centre of each circle, taller for the 
centre, and graduated to the sides. I like the Box 
and Rhododendron—would they do ? 
Dancyville, Tenn. Julia. A. Powell. 
Ansiver. —For the centre bed, Cupressus Lawsoni- 
ana, next on the right, successively, Retinispora plu- 
masa, Green Tree Box and Rhododendron everesti- 
auuin, on the left, Retinispora pisifera aurea, Silver 
Tree Box and Rhododendron album elegans. These 
would be always beautiful. 
Geraniums, etc.— How can I have my Lady 
Washington Geranium bloom a second time ? I have 
one with eight large clusters of blossoms; but my 
former experience is after they have dropped, a good 
growth of foliage but no blossoms. I put some Wa¬ 
ter Lilies in a tub in my yard ; the stalks make rapid 
growth, but when they get out of the water they turn 
black and die. Mrs. H. C. Carpenter. 
Oconomowoc, Wis. 
Answer. —Your Geranium will not bloom continu¬ 
ously ; grow the foliage well in full sunlight and in 
time you will have more bloom. Place the tub in full 
sunlight, let the earth in it cover the tubers of the 
Lilies, and if the growth is weak, make the soil rich; 
the leaves should not come out of the water, but 
should rest on the surface. The tubers must be large 
to bloom. 
White Worms in Pot Plants. — Please tell me 
how to destroy the small white worms in pot plants. 
J. C. Moore. 
Ansiver. —We have repeatedly answered this ques¬ 
tion in the Cabinet. Shake out your plants and re¬ 
pot in fresh soil. Lime water is of no use for these 
worms, but it will rid pots of common earth worms. 
Roses Unhealthy, etc.— The leaves dropped off 
my Roses early in the winter; then the leaves started 
afresh, but wilted and died. Where can I get a book 
on Rose culture ? Lucy A. Morehouse. 
White Lake, Mich. 
Answer. — The Roses were killed by gas of some 
kind, or by smoke in the air. Parkman on the Rose, 
or Parson's Rose Culture, can be obtained for you by 
any bookseller. 
Roses in Conservatory dying. —I have a con¬ 
servatory warmed by the sitting-room and by a small 
stove. My Roses put out fresh leaves and look thrifty, 
and in a couple of days wither away without any visi¬ 
ble cause. They have no insects, the soil is good, and 
I give them plenty of water. There is good ventila¬ 
tion, and I have examined the soil and find no trace 
of worms. I am at my wit’s end to know what to do. 
Ottumwa, Iowa. Mrs. J. T. Douglass. 
Answer.— 1 The trouble is not in earth or water, nor 
yet in the plants themselves, but in the air. Your 
coal stove allows the escape of gas and the plants are 
poisoned. Roses are very sensitive to the poison of 
coal gas. Delicate plants will not thrive in a vitiated 
atmosphere. 
Agapanthus not Blooming. Can you tell me 
flow to make the Agapanthus bloom ? 
Beaver Dam, Wis. Mrs. Lewis. 
Answer. It usually blooms very freelv every sum- 
mei if the plant is strong. It needs a good, rich soil, 
not much water in winter, but plenty in summer. 
