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^?£,b ladies' Moral fidEunei vu i3 Pictorial Home iSomjmihian. 
Vallota Blooming Often.—Cal adiums in "Win¬ 
ter —Moist Atmospliere in Rooms — White 
Worms in Pots.—Seedling Acacias.—Starting 
Cannas. —Allow me to inquire if any of thereadersof 
the Cabinet have ever had Vallota purpurea blossom 
more than once a year? A catalogue from a New 
Jersey firm says that iheirs bloom three or four times 
when kept growing, and usually do in winter. 
The same catalogue says that Zephyranthes will 
flower in three weeks’ time from starting, any time 
in winter. Now, I never knew an instance of the 
kind, and have grown both bulbs several years. I 
tliink it very wrong to assert such things, to induce 
people to buy. 
Can Caladiums be kept growing all winter? I have 
a very small onp, which whs given me by a friend in 
the fall, and I potted it, and it is now growing; but I 
did not know as I ought to allow it. 
Will some one tell us the best way of keeping 
the air in a room moist, without spoiling the 
wall-paper and gilding on picture-frames? 
Some complain of small white worms in flower-pots 
and wish to know what causes them. I think where 
partially decomposed vegetable matter is present in 
the pot—whether leaf-mold, decaying plants, or bits 
of grass-roots—that you will always find them. Mere¬ 
ly heating the earth will not kill the germs; but if 
you put the earth in an iron pan (tin will not stand 
the heat) and leave it in the oven until the vegetable 
matter is charred and turns black you will cure the 
trouble. These worms will attack young seedlings 
and kill them; but I think only in the absence of de¬ 
caying vegetable matter. 
How long are seedling Acacias, the greenhouse 
plant, in flowering from seed? 
What time should Canna roots be started in the 
spring ? F. A. 
Answer. —1. The assertions in the catalogue to which 
you refer are false. Yallotas bloom in summer and 
autumn, and usually but once a year. Occasionally 
a bulb may give a winter flower. Yallotas should al¬ 
ways be kept green. It is one of the Amaryllis family, 
which is injured by drying off. 
2. The chances of Zephyranthes flowering in win¬ 
ter are very small. 
3. Caladiums may be made to grow at any season. 
Some species are evergreen; but most do better if 
allowed to go to rest part of the year. As your plant 
is growing, keep it so and dry it off in the summer, 
though the usual resting season of deciduous varie¬ 
ties is winter. 
4. The best way to keep the air of a room moist is 
to evaporate water upon the stove or in the register 
of the furnace. For this purpose long earthen jars are 
made, which may be bought at stove stores. No 
moisture you can give in this way will be sufficient 
to affect wall-paper or picture-frames. 
5. Thanks for your remedy for white worms. 
You are right in your theory of their generation. 
Your plan certainly is death to every worm; but 
baking does not improve earth, and repotting in 
fresh soil is often easier and quite as efficacious. 
6. Acacias grow rapidly from seed, and, indeed, 
are usually thus increased. They bloom young, but 
the time depends much upon the species and the cul¬ 
ture given. Some are shrubs; others immense trees. 
The former, of course, bloom earlier than the latter. 
7. Cannas should not be started into growth until 
about Ihe first of May. The best way is to put them 
in a mild hot-bed, and transplant to the garden about 
June 1st. 
Azalea Seedlings.—Cyclamen.—Smilax —1. 1 
wish to inquire how to treat the Azalea. 1 sowed the 
seed early this spring, in the house. It germinated very 
well and came up; but the tiny plants have now only 
the third leaf and seem very delicate. There may be 
a dozen plants in one pot. Shall I transplant them, 
and when? Do they need the open sun. 
2. Also, how shall I treat Cyclamen bulbs raised 
from seed this spring? I have set them out in the 
open border, in partial shade. 
3. Will the Boston Smilax bear the hot sun in 
the open air, and can it be transplanted out in the 
flower-garden? Mbs. E. A. Wabneb. 
Answer. —1. You do not say whether your Azaleas 
are of hardy or tender varieties. If of the former, they 
may be set out in the open air in a carefully-prepared 
bed of peat soil. If of the latter, potted off. But it is 
best to let them grow in the seed-pot until they are 
larger. They have done well and are all right so far. 
2. Take up your Cyclamen, pot them, and grow 
them well. You may get flowers by spring. 
3. The Smilax will bear sun, but not frost. So it 
must be taken up in the autumn. Either pot it or 
cut off the vine and keep the tubers for planting out 
next spring. 
Raising Seedling Gladiolus.—Wintering Pe¬ 
tunias. —Can you tell me how to raise Gladiolus 
from seed ? When shall I plant it and how treat it ? 
Will Petunias, double and single, keep in a cel¬ 
lar in winter, if kept above freezing? E. Hoge. 
Loydsville, O. 
Answer. —1. The seed of Gladiolus may be sown at 
any season. Prepare shallow boxes or pans of sandy 
loam. Sow the seed and cover lightly. It is usually kept 
in a greenhouse or under a cold-frame; but out of 
doors in a shady place will do. The young plants 
will soon appear, looking like fine grass. Give more 
sun, plenty of air, and do not allow them to dry up. 
If kept growing, continuously flowering bulbs may 
be made in about a year; but any check in growth is 
fatal to this. If the foliage withers, the little bulbs 
must have a rest, and the i be again started into 
growth. The time required to bloom them depends 
wholly upon culture. , 
2. Petunias will not usually keep in a cellar. They 
look well for a time and then die off. If, however, 
the cellar is very light and warm, they may succeed; 
as they are easily kept in a paHor and make good 
window plants, blooming freely toward spring. 
Fuchsia Culture. —I have a double red Fuchsia 
of which the flowers are very small and soon drop 
off. There are no branches at the bottom, but it keeps 
growing tall. How can I make it heavier? 
Mattie W. B-. 
Sacramento City. 
Answer. —Fuchsias need plenty of light and air, 
but not much heat. We think you keep the room too 
hot and dry. It will be very difficult for you to 
make your plant throw out branches (or break, as 
gardeners say) at the bottom, as the wood is probably 
hard and old. Your best way will be to start slips. 
When they are a few inches high, pinch out the lead¬ 
ing shoot, which will make the dormant buds at the 
base of the leaves break. Then pinch the ends of the 
side-shoots from time to time, until you get the plant 
as thick as you wish. If your old plant was cut in¬ 
to a bare stick, it would break; but probably un¬ 
evenly. 
Name of Plant. —Geo. A. Sawyer, Hampshire, 
Ill.: Your plant is probably a Pyrethrum; but 
it is difficult to identify a plant from a single leaf. 
If as we say, it will not bloom until Spring. The 
flower is large, like an Ox-eye Daisy ( Chrysanthemum 
lemeanthemum), with rays red, pink, or white. 
Fuchsia Culture —How can I make 
grow? They are my favorite plants. 
Mbs. Anna Murdoch. 
Cushman, III. 
Answer. —Procure your plants in spring. As they 
grow and fill the pots with roots, repot them, pinch¬ 
ing the shoots from time to time, to make the plants 
bushy. During the summer grow them on a light 
piazza, where they will bloom. In autumn, put them 
in a warm, dry cellar; but be careful they do not dry 
up. In early spring repot the plants and start into 
growth. If of the winter-blooming varieties, grow 
them in winter in the greenhouse or parlor, where 
they will bloom freely; and in summer plant them 
out in the garden, taking them up before frost. 
Lemon Tree. —Please tell me how to raise a Lem¬ 
on tree. The leaves of mine are eaten, as if by cat¬ 
erpillars; but I cannot find an insect about it. 
E. C. Maxwell. 
Wilkesbarre, Pa. 
Answer. —There is usually no difficulty in raising 
Lemon trees; but before they blossom and fruit they 
become rather large for window plants. They need 
good soil, plenty of drainage in the pot or tub, and a 
cool room. When not in growth, be careful not to 
overwater. They bloom in spring and summer. 
We do not know of any insect that would eat the fo¬ 
liage, as it is too aromatic. If your tree has been out of 
doors in summer, a saw-fly may have cut holes in the 
leaves. We have had Palms and Dracenas much in¬ 
jured in this way. 
Propagating India Rubber Tree. —I wish to in¬ 
quire how to propagate the fficus elastica. Have made 
cuttings of one eye and planted, with a single 
leaf attached. The leaf continues to grow until ihe 
pot becomes filled with roots, but the bud will not 
start; and after a while the leaf falls off and the plant 
dies. If you can give me information so that I can 
propagate them successfully, I will be greatly 
obliged. T. E. Chapin. 
Oquawiia, III. 
Answer. —You probably have not heat enough to 
start the eye into growth, or the eye was blind. Your 
mode of proceeding was right in every respect, as the 
plentiful growth of roots shows. 
Victoria Regia Seed. —I noticed a description of 
Victoria Regia, seeds of which are sold by Mr. Wash¬ 
burn, of Boston. Can you give me his address, as I 
want some. Do you know of a variegated Cactus, 
the edue of the plant maroon? I. F. B. 
Galena, III. 
Answer. —1. The address is E. F. Washburn, Hor¬ 
ticultural Hall, Boston. 
2. We do not know such a Cactus. 
3. The plant, of which you enclose a leaf, is proba¬ 
bly a species of Tillandsia. 
Fuchsias Ever-Blooming. —Does it do to let Fuch¬ 
sias blossom constantly? H. M. Hammond. 
E. Attleboro, Mass. 
Answer. —It will not injure your Fuchsia, if you 
keep it well grown. Very few of the varieties, how¬ 
ever, are ever-blooming; but most of them rest at 
some season of the year, as we have written above. 
Moles in Gardens. —Can you give me a remedy 
for moles, which trouble me very much in my garden? 
Mbs. W. D. Wells. 
Answer. —One remedy is to trap the moles, baiting 
with raw meat. Another is to rub stick phosphorus on 
raw meat, cut into small pieces, and lay in the vicini¬ 
ty of their runs. 
ps- 
