dailies' Sflorat Ba£in,et blii3 Pictorial Some ftomjmniori. 
jfrtsttters to iorq$jttmbiui$ + 
Insects on Roses, etc. — An insect has eaten into 
the stems of my hardy Roses, causing them to die. 
How can I prevent it? Are the Passion Flowers 
Pfordii and Van Volxemi hardy, and what is their 
treatment? R- T. Henderson. 
Newville, 0. 
Answer. —The injury to the Roses’ stems is caused 
by the larvae of some species of bores. Gather up 
and burn all dead stems ; watch the bushes and you 
will find minute holes in the stems with a fine wood 
dust underneath ; run a fine wire into these holes and 
kill the grub. The Passion Flowers you mention are 
not hardy. They are best grown planted out in the 
border of a greenhouse, as they are too large growers 
for pot plants. 
Calla Lily, etc. —How large should a pot be for a 
Calla ? Is a Canna suitable for winter in the house? 
Can it be grown in a pot in the shade? Can the root 
be cut without damage ? Mary A. Hatfield. 
Caseyville, Ky. 
Answer. —The size of the pot for a plant must al¬ 
ways be proportioned to the size of the plant. A 
twelve-inch pot would usually be large enough for a 
Calla, although we have seen plants fill tubs three 
feet in diameter. Cannas are not suitable for window 
plants; the foliage gets shabby and the plants seldom 
bloom. The plant may be grown in summer in a 
large pot with plenty of sun and water; it should be 
dried off and rested in a frost-proof cellar in winter. 
The roots may be divided into as many parts as there 
are growing points. 
Plants for North. Windows.—I have three 
large light windows facing north. What plants will 
grow in my windows ? Mrs. M. E. Root. 
Answer. —It is difficult to make plants bloom in a 
north window, but you can have foliage. English Ivy 
will do well. Many of the dwarf evergreens, such as 
Retinosparas, are very graceful. Catnelias would live 
and bloom towards spring if the atmosphere of the 
room was not too hot and dry. The old-fashioned 
Pittosporum requires but little sun. Succulents, such 
as Sempervivums, Sedums, Aloes, Eeheverias, Ag¬ 
aves Hawarthias, would all thrive if there was plenty 
of light, and prove very curious and interesting. 
Surplus Seeds. —Will any reader of the Cabinet 
who has seeds to spare send some of the more com¬ 
mon kinds of garden flowers to Mrs. Miles' P. Mit¬ 
chell, Whiteville, Hardeman Co., Tenn., who is pas¬ 
sionately fond of flowers, but. has no money to buy 
them ? 
Ivy Frozen. — What shall I do for my Ivy ? It 
is four feet long, and was frosted this winter ; some 
of the leaves have fallen off. What is the name of 
the thick-leaved plant which I inclose? 
Western Nebraska. Mrs. A. T. King. 
Answer. — From the leaf sent your Ivy apipears to 
have been frozen when growing. Cut it down to 
about one foot and new' shoots will start from the 
axils of the old leaves. Give light and sun. The 
leaf sent was all broken up ; it seems to be a species 
of Seduin, and if so, is probably hardy. 
Name of Plant. — Please find stem and flower of 
plant which came from Jacksonville; it has just 
bloomed, five years from seed. S. A. Story. 
Wilmington, N. C. 
Answer. —It is probably a species of Cassia, but wrn 
cannot identify it. 
Wax Plant Blooming, etc. —How old must a 
Wax Plant be before it blooms? What culture does 
it require. What is the treatment for Cactus, and at 
what age do they bloom ? What is the treatment of 
Crape Myrtle ? A Subscriber of Missouri. 
Answer .—Wax Plants often bloom very young ; 
give your plant plenty of suu, never let it get chilled, 
grow it well in rich soil and it will bloom every sum¬ 
mer. For culture of Cactus, see our answ'er to Miss 
Lowe, recently published in the Cabinet. What you 
call Partridge Cactus is an Aloe, but it requires simi¬ 
lar treatment to a Cactus. Crape Myrtles may be 
planted out in the garden in summer and wintered in 
a frost-proof cellar; possibly they may prove hardy 
with you. We cannot undertake to name varieties of 
the Scarlet (Zonale) Geraniums from dried leaves; it 
is an impossibility. 
Name of Plant, etc. —I have a Night-blooming 
Cereus and a Sword and Club Cactus, also a Snake 
and Hedgehog Cactus. How can I make them bloom ? 
What is the name of the flow'er I enclose ? 
Paw Paw, Mich. A Subscriber. 
Answer. —Give plenty of heat and sun, not much 
water, and do not repot the plant. The Cereus will 
not bloom till old and large ; from the others you 
should have flowers. Your plant 'is Cyclamen persi- 
cum, one of the best window plants; it has no “com¬ 
mon name.” 
Paeony Culture.—I have a Chinese Pseony 
which I planted in a box ; it had four shoots ; all died 
down but one, which formed three leaves and then 
stopped growing and turned brown ; now (October) on 
looking at the roots, I find two sprouts. What shall 
I do ? Lucy Meredith. 
Upper Lake, Lake Co., Cal. 
Answer .—Pteonies are perfectly hardy plants, aud 
are not suitable for box culture. Your plant is in 
good condition. Plant it out in the garden in rich, 
deep soil, about nine inches to a foot below the sur¬ 
face. It will hardly give you bloom next summer, as 
your culture thus far has weakened it, but if well 
grown now will grow stronger each year and give 
plenty of bloom. 
Seventeen Questions in One Letter.—1. 
What sort of a trellis is suitable for a Wax Plant? 
2. What is"the treatment of herbaceous Calceolaria in 
the winter ? 3. How should winter-blooming Oxalis 
be dried off? 4. How shall I train a Fuchsia slip 
very easy ? 5. Do perennial plants, such as Phlox, 
Daisy, Roses, etc., blend their colors if set near each 
other ? 51. Will the variegated Astilbe lose its color 
if placed near the plain green one? 6. Is Euonymus 
radieans rare, and is Lonicera aurea reticulata ? 64. 
Is Privet hardy “with or without protection? 7. 
Does Lonicera aurea reticulata retain its foliage as a 
house plant during the winter? Does it make a good 
house plant, and treatment ? 8. Same questions as to 
Ampelopsis Veitcbii? 9. Will double Feverfew 
bloom in the house in winter? 10. Summer and win¬ 
ter treatment of Hibiscus rosa sinensis and coccinea ? 
It buds but soon blasts; will it bear the cellar? 11. 
Does it improve soil for plants to bake it ? 12. Will 
soap suds, made from borax and sal-soda, injure house 
plants if applied freely ? 13. Why do Fuchsias drop 
their buds before blooming ? 14. Should plants re¬ 
ceived by mail be wet only enough to settle the soil, or 
be wet so water is seen on the saucer ? 15. Are hardy 
plants protected in winter as early as the same not 
protected ? 151. Should covers be taken off hardy 
plants, such as Tulips, Pseonies, Larkspurs, etc., be¬ 
fore they start, or afterwards ? 16. Do you know any 
remedy for a worm, reddish ccdor, like an angle worm, 
and an inch or more in length, which burrows in 
Aquilegias just under surface of soil? 17. I want a 
true scarlet perennial Phlox, any striped or eyed va¬ 
riety, a Haitian Honeysuckle and a Chalcedonicum 
Lily. Who will exchange the above for almost any 
other kind of Lily, fine Phlox, Fuchsias, etc. 
Mrs. W. Wickwire. 
Oneonta, Otsego Co., N. Y. 
Answer. —1. Any light trellis of wood or wire will 
do for a Wax Plant. 2. Keep them rather dry in a 
light, airy place, free from frost, but cool. 3. Dry the 
Oxalis gradually, and when the foliage is yellow 
cease giving water entirely. 4. Keep pinching out 
the leading shoots so as to make eyes break. 5. and 
5%. Of course not; think a moment and you will see 
the absurdity of the questions. 6. Neither of the 
plants mentioned are rare. 6|. The common Privet 
is perfectly hardy, the Japanese is tender. 7. and 8. 
The Lonicera and Ampelopsis are both deciduous and 
wholly unsuitable for house plants. They are tall 
climbers; you might as well grow apple trees in the 
parlor. 9. Double Feverfew will not bloom in the 
parlor until the spring; keep it through the winter in 
a cold frame. 10. Your Hibiscus drop their buds be¬ 
cause they are too cold. Give a moist, warm atmos¬ 
phere. They will damp off and die in a cellar unless 
very warm and dry, and even in such would be much 
injured. 11. Soil is sometimes baked to kill insects; 
it is not desirable to do it. 12. Your soap suds would 
probably kill any plant to which it was freely applied. 
13. The air is too dry where your Fuchsias are grown. 
14. Give the plants a free watering so as to well mois¬ 
ten the soil, but water should not stand in saucers. 
15. Yes, just as early if the covering is removed. 15£. 
Remove covers as soon as danger of severe frost is 
over. 16. We have never seen the worm. Plant 
your Aquilegias in another part of the garden. 
Name of Plant. —Please give me name of en¬ 
closed plant. It blooms in winter; is very tall and is 
covered with bunches of white flowers. Will it do to 
cut it back after blooming? Kate. 
Broderickville, 0. 
Answer. —Your plant is an Eupatorium ; from the 
specimen sent we cannot determine the species. It 
may be cut in after blooming, indeed, it is better to 
do so. 
Clianthus Seed. Sowing.— Will some one tell 
me about Clianthus seed, how to sow it, and when ? 
Ripley, O. A. G. D. 
Answer. —Sow in May in a spent hot bed, and wa¬ 
ter well ; draw on the sash if the nights are chill. Do 
not attempt to transplant. The roots will find their 
way into the manure and the plants will grow rapidly, 
blooming freely in August and September. 
Name of Lily.— What is the name of the 1 en¬ 
closed Lily ? It came from California. In six weeks 
after planting the dry bulb it had three stalks of flow¬ 
ers, very sweet and pretty. Thos. Stacey. 
Horseheads, N. Y. 
Answer. —Only a small fragment of a plant leaf 
was received, which was wholly unrecognizable. The 
plant is probably a Crinum, not a Lily. 
