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Camelia or Japoniea?—I have a fine double 
white Camelia just in full bud; every winter it gives 
me many splendid flowers. Now, one of my Boston 
friends says I must not call them Camelias, but Ja- 
ponicas. Now, I see in some books “ Camelia Ja¬ 
poniea alba pleno vav fimbriata.” Can you tell me 
whether that is the name of mine, or may I still call it 
only Camelia 1 
Ansicer. —Your question is a good one, and in or¬ 
der that you may understand our answer, we will be¬ 
gin at the beginning. Living where you do in the 
central portion of New England, you have no doubt 
observed that the trees you see around you growing 
wild all have some general likeness ; that is, that the 
maples, oaks, hickories, birches, etc., differ from the 
palms of which you may only have seen pictures, and 
that your Boses, Lilacs, Snowballs, Dentzeas, and 
others, are very much unlike the Lilies, Gladiolus, 
Grasses, aud Tuberoses. Now, your native trees have 
iu the trunk or any branch, first in the centre of the 
wood, then between the heart-wood and the bark, a 
more moist and sappy portion, where the annual 
growth takes place, the centre of any maple tree be¬ 
ing the oldest. Now, in a Lily, as you can well see, 
the centre is the youngest. A maple is an exogen, a 
Lily is an endogen. These divisions are called 
classes. These classes are further divided for con¬ 
venience into divisions called orders or families, each 
member of which resembles all other members in a 
greater degree than it does a plant of another , . ; 
again, orders are divided for the same reason into gen¬ 
era (singular genus), and they into species, the genus 
aud the species together constituting the botanical 
name. Thus, your plant is Camelia Japoniea, Came¬ 
lia being the genus, Japoniea the species. Tt belongs 
to the class of exogens, and to the Camelia family, or 
order Cameliacem. The remainder of your name is 
what is called a variety, meaning alba pleno, white 
double, and fimbriata, is fringed. 
Silver Sand, etc.—What is silver sand? What 
is peat? What is loam? Should loam be without 
clay ? J. L. H. 
Norfolk, Va. 
Answer. —Silver sand is the fine white sand used by 
glass makers. When silver sand is recommended for 
plants any fine sand, not salt, will usually answer the 
purpose. Peat is the mass of close vegetable fibre 
found in fresh meadows; it may be wholly decom¬ 
posed and look like black earth, or it may be very 
fibrous. Loam is common garden soil; it may be of 
various colors; the surface of the ground is usuafly so 
called ; it is composed of vegetable matter thoroughly 
decomposed. 
Lime in Soil, etc.—Can you tell me whether 
lime in the soil is good for plants ? Should I mix 
guano with the soil, and in what proportions ? What 
treatment should Cacti have ? E. N. Maxwell. 
Wilkesbarre, Pa. 
Answer. —Lime is not good for plants; indeed, 
many plants, such as Heather, die in a limestone soil. 
Guano should be used very cautiously as it is a very 
powerful manure. It is best applied in a liquid form 
in the proportion of a teaspoonfnl to a quart of water; 
use this about once a week. We have recently given 
directions for Cactus culture. Consult former numbers 
of the Cabinet. 
Spanish Moss. 
Moss ? 
-Where can I obtain Spanish 
S. B. Dickenson. 
Ansiver .—Miss Lillie Taylor, box 189, Fernandina, 
Florida, will for twenty-five cents and return postage 
stamp send a package of Spanish Moss to any ad¬ 
dress. 
Insects on Plants. —For two months I have been 
troubled with what I am told are wood lice on my 
plants. It is a gummy lump which forms and in it 
are little flat insects. They begun on the Passion vine, 
then took the Fuchsia, Lantaua, aud Oleander, but 
did not touch the Bose Geraniums. Carbolic soap 
suds, sprinkled and powdered hellebore, did no good. 
What can be done for them ? J. M. L. 
New York City. 
Answer .—Your plants are troubled with a large 
scale; they are not wood lice. The only remedy is to 
wash them off with strong soap suds, using a tooth 
brush with bristles cut short. Or you may kill them 
by dipping the tip of a fine camel’s hair pencil in ker¬ 
osene or alcohol and touching the scale ; but kerosene 
must be very carefully used, or it may injure the 
plant. Bose Geraniums are not troubled by insects. 
Treatment of Russellia, etc. —I would like to 
have described the treatment of Bussellia juncea, Hi¬ 
biscus Cooperi, Saxifraga Sarmentosa, as regards soil, 
etc. Also of Primula Japoniea, Coccaloba and Caly- 
canthus. My seeds of Silver Fern (Pteris argyrea) 
Lomaria Gibba and Pilea muscosa, sowm on the sur¬ 
face, in fine earth, and tried in sun and shade, under 
glass and without, in heat and out, have failed to ger¬ 
minate. Can the seed have been good? How is 
Farfugiutn Grande propagated, and wdiere can I get 
it? " B. 
Ansiver .—The Bussellia is a warm greenhouse 
plant, with drooping rush-like leaves, and red tubular 
flowers. It is not suitable for a window plant. In 
the greenhouse it looks best in a hanging-basket, or 
grown with a tall centre shoot from wdiich the sprays 
fall like a fountain. Soil, peat and loam with a sprin¬ 
kle of sand. Hibiscus Cooperi is a stone shrub and 
unsuitable for parlor culture ; indeed, it is not a very 
desirable plant, the variegation soon becomes shabby 
and the flower is not as showy as most species. It 
needs plenty of heat and water when growing; soil 
rich sandy loam ; it is a very free grower. Saxifraga 
Sarmentosa is a very pretty plant for a hanging-bas¬ 
ket in a window. Give it plenty of sun, do not let it 
dry up and it will not disappoint you ; common soil. 
Primula Japoniea should lie raised fi-om seed, sown in 
light soil; wdien large enough to handle the plants 
should be potted and shifted on from time'to time as 
they grow. The soil should be sandy loam, and care 
should be taken not to over water as the plants easily 
damp off. They bloom easily, and a package of seed 
will give a variety of shades, but the plant is disap¬ 
pointing; we never saw a flower one-half as good as 
the colored pictures represent it. We presume you 
mean Coceoloba platyclada, a plant with flat green 
leaves and infinitesimal flowers in the axils. It will 
grow in any soil and warm situation, but is of no value 
except as a curiosity. The Calycanthus are hardy 
shrubs, with fragrant chocolate-colored blossoms. 
They only require to be planted out of doors in spring 
and will take care of themselves. Farfugiutn Grande 
is a very pretty plant if well grown. It does not need 
heat and does well in the window. It is propagated 
by division, and needs a rich loamy soil. You ought 
to find it at any large greenhouse. Your Fern seed 
should certainly have come up, especially the Pteris, 
which is easily raised, if the spores were good. Did 
you not cover too deep, or over water and rot off the 
minute plants or burn them up in the sun? Pilea 
muscosa is not a Fern. 
Oleander, etc. —How can I make my Oleander 
bloom? The buds of my double Geraniums form, but 
when half grown drop off. How old must a Camelia 
and Yallota be to bloom ? I have been troubled by 
white worms in the pots, but T put about a tablespoon¬ 
ful of wood ashes ; dig it in with a hair-pin and wa¬ 
ter with warm rain water ; the worms do not like the 
lye, but the plants flourish. Pansy Vernon. 
Answer. —Your Oleander should bloom in spring if 
large ; keep it warm and give plenty of light, and in 
summer set it on the piazza. Oleanders like plenty 
of water. Give your Geraniums more sun. The 
blooming season of a plant depends more upon its 
growth than on its age. Plants usually bloom when 
strong. A seedling Camelia may take ten years, but 
if unarched it blooms at once. Yallotas bloom when 
very small. Your remedy for white worms is good, 
but is the hair-pin necessary for success ? 
Names of Plants, etc.—I enclose a small vine 
which has a flower like a Snap Dragon. Can you 
give me the name? Shall I set out Lily of the Valley 
and Pansies in the fall or spring ? L. J. 
Hawley, Pa. 
Answer. —Your vine is the Coloseum Ivy (Linaria 
cymbalaria). The other flower mentioned was not 
received. Lily of the Valley may be planted either 
in fall or spring, but your Pansies should be planted in 
the spring. The best way to raise Pansies is to sow 
seed in July, prick out the plants in a cold frame, 
draw on the sash in winter, protecting from sun, and 
uncover in early spring. 
Hardy Yellow Rose.— Which is the best hardy 
yellow Bose ? ’ Mrs. J. A. Miller. 
Woonsocket, B. I. 
Ansiver. —The best is Persian yellow. Yellow Har¬ 
rison is also very good and a few days earlier iu bloom¬ 
ing. 
Pelargonium not Blooming, etc. —Why does 
not my Pelargonium bloom, it is over three feet high? 
I have a red Cactus six years old that has never 
bloomed. Tell me why. Mary Seachrist. 
Columbiana, 0. 
Answer. —Give your plants less water and more 
sun ; let them become a little pot-bound. You are 
probably growing them too well. 
Camelia, etc.— When shall I sow Camelia, Aza¬ 
lea, and Bhododendron seed ? How soon will they 
germinate? How must they be treated afterwards to 
make them bloom ? G. A. Denverline. 
Ansiver. —The seed may be sown at any time in the 
greenhouse; that of Azaleas and Bhododeudrons is 
very small and the plants are very minute. The time 
of germination varies; we have had it come up soon 
and again not for months. As soon as the plants are 
of any size, say in two years or more, pot them off 
from the seed pans, and when about six inches high 
the Bhododeudrons and Azaleas, if of hardy kinds, 
may be planted out in prepared beds. The time of 
flowering depends wholly upon the culture you give; 
the better you grow them the sooner they will bloom, 
but at the best you will wait many years for flowers. 
