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Laurestinus Unhealthy, etc.—Please tell me 
the treatment of Laurestinus; the leaves of mine turn 
brown. Have showered them often. Is that the 
cause? Please tell me what is the temperature for 
Euphorbias, and if they require much water? 
Answer. —The Laurestinus (Viburnum tinus) is a 
cool greenhouse shrub, hardy in England, where it is 
used for hedges. Your plant probably needs repotting, 
or is kept too hot. Showering did no harm unless, 
perchance, you exposed it to burning sun under glaas 
when wet. 
Euphorbias will stand any degree of heat and need 
very little water, except E. jacquinitiora, which is 
more a stone flowering plant. 
White Water Lily, etc.—Why did not my Wa¬ 
ter Lily bloom ? I planted it in a tub and followed 
all instructions. How shall I start Violets and For¬ 
get-me-nots from seed. 
Gfalva, Ill. Emily Bkals. 
Answer. —The root of your Water Lily was prob¬ 
ably too weak to bloom ; another year it will do 
better. 
Sow the seed of Violets and Forget-me-nots in the 
spring in a cold frame. The latter will bloom the 
same year. Protect the plants during winter in a cold 
frame, and they will flower well the following spring. 
Seeds, etc.—When in London last year I bought, 
of Carter Sons, the great seed dealers, a large lot 
($25 worth) of seed of double Petunias, Balsam, Por- 
tulaca, etc., and I find but very little of it comes 
double. Is it my fault, or have they swindled me ? 
A few did come double, but a large proportion are 
ordinary. Alfred Burnett. 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Answer. —If the Balsams were from a good strain 
they ought to be nearly all double. The other plants 
mentioned often come single from the best seed; there 
is a great deal of “ luck” about double flowers. 
White Water Lily, etc.—Where can I get 
White Water Lily, and what does it cost? How soon 
will a Lantana bloom from seed'? Will Ferns taken 
from the woods in spring, and which grow all sum¬ 
mer keep fresh and grow all winter? How shall I 
make an Eupatorium bloom in winter? Does a Dusty 
Miller require much water ? 
Granville, Ohio. Mrs. M. E. Macy. 
Answer .—J. E. S. Crandall can supply you with the 
Water Lily. Address Rockville, E. I. Cost about 
one dollar. 
Lantana seed sown in early spring may bloom the 
same autumn, if well grown. 
If the Ferns are of evergreen species they will keep 
bright all winter, but if deciduous they will lose their 
leaves in the autumn. 
Grow the Eupatorium in full sun ; it should bloom 
about February. 
The Dusty Miller, be it a Cineraria or a Centaurea, 
does not require much water. 
Angle Worms in Pots, etc.—I find little pel¬ 
lets on the top of my pots. They tell me they are 
caused by earth-worms. How shall I get rid of them ? 
I find scales like bed bugs on my English Ivy. How 
can I get rid of them ? Can you tell me the treat¬ 
ment Bouvardias require in summer ? I have been 
told I must not put Chinese Flower Food on my 
Calla. Is that true ? Mrs. E. C. M. Flagg. 
Cedar Grove, R. I. 
Answer .—Take a bit of quick lime, as large as an 
English walnut, and slack it in a quart of water. Put 
this on the plants and the worms will come to the sur¬ 
face. 
The scales are insects, and must be removed by 
washing with soap, or by picking off. 
Bouvardias rest during the summer, but must not 
dry up. Set the plant out in the garden, taking it up 
again before frost comes. 
Callas will stand “ Chinese Flower Food” as well 
as any other plants; but as a general rule, if well 
potted in good soil, house plants need no manure. 
Lime for Earth Worms, etc.—-In watering 
with lime water for worms in pots, how much lime 
must I take, and slacked or unslacked ? How much 
Peruvian guano must I use in making liquid manure 
for my house plants ? Do common Ferns require 
shade and little or much water ? I have a hanging 
fernery in a south window, and do not have much 
success. F. C. Ryhiner. 
Highland, Ill. 
Answer.— A lump of unslacked lime, as large as 
an English walnut, to a quart of water. 
A spoonful of Peruvian guano to a quart of water. 
All Ferns require partial shade and should not be 
dried up. A south window is not a suitable place 
for a fernery. 
Propagation of Dracaenas, etc.—How are 
Dracasnas propagated ? Do they flower ? Is there 
any book on the Linntean system ? 
Fall River, Mass. Shane Bawn. 
Answer .—Dractenas are propagated by cuttings off 
the tops, or by burying a stem in bottom heat, when 
the eyes make young plants. They frequently bloom. 
The flower is a branching spike of white pink or pur¬ 
ple small blossoms. 
We know of no book on the Linnsean system. 
Botanists now use only the natural system. 
Name of Vine.—Please tell me the name of a 
beautiful vine we raised from seed, last summer, sent 
us from the South. They were exactly like grape 
seed. Our plant completely covered a pillar thirty 
feet high and two yards around at its base. The 
foliage was like the Maypop, the flowers very small 
and white, the seed vessel a beautiful little ball, striped 
with white, and bright red when ripe, and about the 
size of a Catawba grape, always three in a cluster; 
each seed, and there were eight in a ball, was enclosed 
in a pulp. It grew until checked by frost, but was not 
killed by it, two or three frosts. No one could tell us 
the name. Sally H. Wilson. 
City Point, Va. 
Answer .—Your plant is Bryonopsis laciniosa cry- 
throcarpa, a native of India, belonging to the natural 
order, Cucurbitaceae. It is very ornamental, but not 
at all common, though easily grown, and one of the 
most beautiful of annual climbers. 
Petunias for Window Gardens.—A Con¬ 
necticut lady, purchasing some seeds of the Pe¬ 
tunia, was delighted in her experiments to find that it 
could make a charming window and house-plant. 
She writes Mr. Vick how she did it: 
“ Last spring, when making out our list of seeds, 
we sent for a paper of 1 Petunia hybrida ’ (choicest 
mixed, from show flowers,) little thinking what a rich 
treat was in store for us. We sowed them in a pot in 
the house, and transplanted them to the garden early 
in the season, and the result was a bed of the finest 
and largest Petunias I ever saw. They were a con¬ 
stant source of delight to us, and the wonder and ad¬ 
miration of all our friends. In September we took 
cuttings from them, and, when they were well rooted, 
put them in three- inch pots, in good soil, where they 
have bloomed all winter as freely as in the summer. 
I think they do not require much soil, as the roots are 
very small and fibrous, and the advantage of the small 
pots is they will stand on the window-sill of any or¬ 
dinary country house, thus bringing them near the 
glass and keeping the earth warm. Some of them we 
have trained to the window sash, and a few of them in 
this way will fill an entire window. If there are any 
who have not tried the single Petunia for winter 
blooming, I hope they may be induced to give them a 
trial, and I am confident their efforts will be repaid 
by these lively and free bloomers. 
Cacti, etc.—Last winter 1 was unfortunate enough 
to lose a great many of my choicest plants, and that 
discouraged me greatly, but in the spring I could not 
resist “ trying my luck again ;” so I had a good many 
kind friends to give me cuttings, and now I am quite 
proud of my collection I have two large trailing 
Abutilons in bloom now, that I kept, and my pink 
Bouvardia bloomed beautifully in the spring. I kept 
nearly all my Cacti, and as I am particularly fond of 
that class of plants, I was delighted that I did not 
lose them, for I find them a little harder to get than 
any thing else. 
Every one who likes flowers, ought to have the 
Crab’s-claw Cactus. I think it when in bloom the 
loveliest thing I ever saw. I have about fifteen vari¬ 
eties of Cactus. Some I don’t know the names of. 
My Pope’s-head Cactus grows very well, but don’t 
bloom. Can any one tell me if the Snake and Rat-tail 
are the same thing or not ? 
I received a pretty Clove Cactus from Vermont, and 
it is growing nicely, and I am so proud of it! There 
is a large round Cactus, a native of Texas, called, I 
think, “ The Devil’s Foot-stool,” that h as red berries 
on it in winter. I have never seen one, but would 
like to ever so much. I wonder if any of the readers 
of the Cabinet have ever seen one ? 
Mrs. Eleanor Jordan. 
A Little Greenhouse.—My greenhouse is sim¬ 
ply a pit three feet deep. It is weather-boarded up 
six feet above the ground at the back and each end. 
The front, to the south, is glass, the roof covered with 
shingles. I keep all my plants in safety during the 
winter. I have steps leading down into it, and arrange 
the plants on steps in such a manner that I can go in 
and enjoy them at any time. The plan is cheap and 
well suited to our climate. I cannot have house-plants, 
as we have our houses warmed by open fireplaces. 
You don’t know how I would like a house arranged as 
you have them North, so as to be able to keep my 
flowers around me in the winter. We have, however, 
such a fine display in summer, it reconciles me some¬ 
what. 
I have a Cactus which is now about six feet high 
have had it several years, and it has two buds on it 
at last, after waiting so long. I am in a quiver of 
expectation to see them open. I have written to seve¬ 
ral florists, but so far have not been able to find one 
who could tell me if it ever flowered. It will now 
answer the question, if nothing happens to it. 
Mrs. II. M. Breeden. 
