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LETTERS PROM CORRESPONDENTS. 
Modena. 
Editor of Cabinet : 1 have taken the Cabinet for 
five years and like it extremely, but have never until 
now ventured on a question. Will you tell me how to 
treat Ivy Geranium ? I have been very unsuccessful in 
making them bloom in winter, K. E. George. 
Answer. —Perhaps you have not sufficiently consid¬ 
ered the preparation the plants need for winter bloom¬ 
ing. They should likve through the summer abundant 
sunshine, air, and water. Place them in a rich, loamy 
soil, and after they are well grown give them a season 
of rest. Early in September the plants should be 
taken up, the earth shaken from the roots, and the tops 
pruned back closely and in such a manner as to give 
symmetry to the form, and then repotted. The plants 
should be shaded for a week or so, then water or sun¬ 
shine may be allowed. Such a course of treatment 
ought to give you thrifty plants all winter. 
North Cohocton, Steuben Co., N. Y. 
Does Amaryllis need peculiar treatment to have it 
bloom? as I have been much disappointed in mine 
bearing no flowers. H. M. Moulton. 
Answer. —Amaryllis requires careful management. 
Plant in large pots, in loam mixed with rotted manure. 
When placed in the earth press the bulb firmly in, so 
as to -settle the earth about its roots, leaving the neck 
uncovered ; water thoroughly and give moderate heat 
until it shows signs of growth, which, if the bulb is in 
good condition, will be very rapid when it commences. 
Water about once a week with warm water, and give 
abundant light. Sometimes a single bulb will throw 
up several spikes, and the time of flowering will last 
five or six weeks. When done flowering let them rest 
for a month or two, withholding water ; keep them in a 
cool place where there is a free circulation of air, but 
which is secure from frost. A Johnsonii has been 
known to bloom twice a year. 
Danville, Mich. 
In reading the pleasant and instructive columns of 
the Cabinet I have seen the questions of other cor¬ 
respondents kindly answered, and would like to ask the 
following : 1. How old Cinerarias and Gloxinias must 
be before blooming ; also Amaryllis Johnsonii and 
Allamandas. Subscriber. 
Answer. —1. The two first are propagated from seed 
sown in the spring ; plants kept in shady situations 
during the summer should bloom the following winter 
and spring. 2. We refer you to answer given above. 
3. Allamanda is easily grown, if a thorough under¬ 
standing be had of their needs. They are capable of 
producing flowers of large size and substance; for eight 
months of the year they require a great deal of light, 
but should be protected from the direct rays of the sun 
at midday. When done blooming they should rest 
for about two months. Water should be gradually 
withheld, and during the rest-period only sufficient 
given to prevent the leaves from drooping. They do 
best when well established in large pots. Plant young 
plants in light turfy, loam with a little sand. Delicate 
kinds are best grafted on stronger varieties. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
E. W. Hyde. — “No” to all of your queries. The 
Rubber Plant is Ficus elastica, an evergreen, large- 
growing tree. Crassula is an herbaceous plant, some¬ 
times assuming a shrubby form. The House-leeks be¬ 
long to the same order. We do not know a plant that 
has been christened “ Roman candle.” Feverfew should 
be planted in the open ground; it will flower in a pot, 
but is apt to draw up too long, unless in a large pot, 
with plenty of light, and in a cool room. 
Mrs. E. A. Warner. —Your enemy is the scale. 
Your remedy is to take a smooth stick, dip in strong 
soapsuds, and scrape the plants until clean, then rinse 
with clear water. Cacti are liable to attack from in¬ 
sects, particularly scale. 
Amateur. —The rose vase for the centre of your bed 
is General Jacqueminot. For the next row, La France 
or Paul Neron ; for the outer circle, Caroline Manais. 
The best moss rose is Princesse Adelaide Mad Falcot, 
a fine apricot-yellow, orange bud, is nearest to an 
ever-blooming orange rose of any to be had. Amie 
Vibert is the best pure white ever-blooming rose. ‘ ‘ The 
Rose,” by Parsons, is probably the best book for you. 
Hattie Farrar. —Hen and chickens is a popular 
name applied to Beilis perennis (Double Daisy); also, 
with as much propriety, to Sempervivum soboliferum, 
the House-leek of the cottage garden. 
Nina Smith. —The Justicias are not hardy ; there 
are many species and varieties. The greenhouse varie¬ 
ties are best grown from cuttings of young wood ; they 
will root freely in sand. They will grow in almost any 
soil or situation, preferring a light, rich loam and a 
rather high temperature with liberal watering. Old 
plants do not bloom well ; young ones should be started 
annually. 
Dora B. Foreman. —The tuberous rooted Begonias 
require a long period of rest ; the jiroper time is mani¬ 
fested by their leaves drying up and drooping, which 
follows immediately after flowering. At that time 
cease watering and put them away, in the pots, in some 
dry place entirely free from frost, where they should 
remain until the first of April, unless they show signs 
of growth sooner, when they should be repotted in a 
light, rich soil, and grown in as warm and moist atmo¬ 
sphere as possible. There are so many species of Orni- 
thogalum that it is difficult to give cultural instruc¬ 
tion without knowing which yours is. They are, as a 
class, of the easiest culture ; some of them will flower 
if the bulbs are hung up dry in a warm room. If your 
bulb is large and healthy, give it a rest by keeping it 
perfectly dry for a month or two. Many kinds of 
bulbs are induced to bloom by a period of rest that 
have been sterile for years. 
0. B. —Your plant is Oxalis tetraphylla, a winter¬ 
blooming species. The bulbs should be planted any 
time from September until January, in rich, fibrous 
soil ; they will flower during the winter and spring, and 
require rest during summer. Plant your Lily of the 
Valley out of doors in partial shade ; it will surely 
bloom soon as it gets established. It is an early spring 
flower. 
A. R. R. —It is a simple affair to make a vaporizer, 
as H. P. B. says, but more difficult to tell how ; you 
must be shown instead of being told. A very useful 
one can be bought for twenty cents, which is the 
cheaper plan, unless exercise for ingenuity is wanted. 
We cannot give you the correct name of your Trumpet 
Fuchsia without a branch in flower. It is a local 
name given to some plant not at all allied to the 
Fuchsia. It is very interesting floriculture to grow 
Coleus from seed ; if the seed you have saved is from 
hybrid sorts you will be likely, to get some very good 
ones, and no two alike. Sow the seed in boxes about 
the first of February. The plant enclosed is Lamium 
maculatum, popularly known as Dead-Nettle. 
An Old Subscriber's plants came so badly broken 
that it is impossible to name them correctly. No. 1. 
is undoubtedly a Pentstemon. Var. -leaved Chrysan¬ 
themum can be had from the leading florists, whose 
catalogues please consult. 
Mi’s. John Willis. —The plant is Lychnis coronaria. 
Mrs. M. G. Allen. —The plant is Ponciana Gilliesii, 
a native of Mendoza, South America ; it is a very beau¬ 
tiful shrub, highly esteemed for greenhouse culture. 
Mary Weed. —The leaf and flower sent is from one 
of the Morndas (Horse-balm), probably M. didyma. 
The Coleus are all difficult to carry through 1 he win¬ 
ter, especially in an ordinary drawing-room. The 
only way to treat them properly is to take cuttings in 
the fall and grown on the young plants. They re¬ 
quire the warm, moist air of the greenhouse. “ Wan¬ 
dering Jew, ” is a popular name applied to several plants, 
most commonly to the several varieties of Tradeseantia. 
Mrs. Asa Turner. —The specimen sent is from the 
Eleagmus Argenta, a shrub or low-growing tree, rarely 
more than fifteen feet high. Its popular names are 
Pursh or Silver-Berry. It is propagated by seeds or 
by layering the young shoots in September. The Cac¬ 
tus family is so large that it is impossible to give a 
correct name from your description ; it probably be¬ 
longs to the section Cereus. 
Miss M. C. Blaine. —The specimen sent is Lycopo¬ 
dium Carolinianum. 
E. A. Claypool. —The specimens sent are so badly 
bruised that we cannot give the names correctly. Do 
not know the popular names of either of them. No. 
2 is one of the Solan urns ; cannot say which without 
the fruit. 
Maria Herbert — The name of plant is Bryopliyllum 
Calycinum, a native of the East Indies. 
A PLAIN ANSWER. 
A gentleman of large scholarship, and well 
known for his fine reasoning powers, but of rather 
rough manners, was inexpressibly bored by an ac¬ 
quaintance, whose intense self-conceit sometimes 
rendered him intolerable to his friends. One day, 
after the latter had been displaying his peculiarity in 
a very provoking manner, our professor turned to 
him very gravely and said: “Yes; what you say is 
true ; in fact, you and I know everything there is to 
know. You know everything in the universe, ex¬ 
cept that you are a fool, and I know that. ” 
Did the prophet Isaiali ever eat at a railroad 
station? It certainly looks so, for how could he have 
described it soliterally if he had not ? “ And they shall 
snatch on the right hand, and be hungry ; and he shall 
eatou the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied.” 
— Congregationalist. 
Vanderbilt controls 3,620 miles of railway and 
employs 27,706 men. 
O 
