^atltes’ floral iltilkiiei tuifl .Pictorral Home iSompemioii. 
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Oleanders.—In one of the fall numbers you speak 
of pruning Oleanders. I have two very fine ones, 
which bloomed very freely all the summer and fall 
until the frost came. When we put them in the cellar 
they were so tall that the tops of the branches were 
bent. Please inform me when you think the proper 
time for pruning. Mrs. Laura I. Remsen. 
Answer. —Cut hack when brought out in spring 
after resting. 
Vitality of Garden Seeds—I would like to know 
how long garden seeds are good, that is, how many 
years they will retain vitality. M. Menkins. 
Answer. —The keeping quality of seeds vary. Some 
sorts are good for one year only, others are good for 
many. Most vine seeds are better two or three years 
old; Lettuce and Parsnip not good the socond year. 
Arnarantlrus.—Please inform me what soil to use 
for growing Amaranthus Salicifolius. I have Carna¬ 
tions just coining into bloom; how shall I manage 
with them for next year? Shall I take slips, or will 
the old plants bloom well next year? Can you tell 
me how to grow the Mignonette Tree ? Will the 
seed from the spotted Calceolaria bring plants as finely 
marked as the flowers from which they were saved ? 
S. R. DuWoi.ee. 
Answer. —The Amaranthus Salicifolius will grow 
in any garden soil, not too rich. Carnations do not 
bloom well the second year ; take cuttings in February 
for the next fall and winter’s bloom. Mignonette 
can be grown in “ tree ” form by cutting off the lower 
branches ; keep pruned to suit the taste. Calceolaria 
from seed not always like the parent hut always good. 
Soil for Crassula.—What kind of soil is needed for 
a Crassula.? E. Atwood. 
Answei'. —They will grow in any soil lighter than 
stiff clay ; they delight in a loose gravelly soil. 
Mildew on Rose-Bushes.—Will some one tell me 
howto treat a Rose-bush that is affected with mildew? 
The leaves have a whitish appearance, curl up, and 
gradually die. I have tried sulphur, with no effect, 
and as it is a “ Marshal Neil ” I am quite anxious to 
save it. A Subscriber. 
Answer. —Keep your Roses hoi and moist, with as 
little air as possible. A rapid growth is a panacea for 
mildew. 
Bouvardias.—What is the best- way to propagate 
the Bouvardias, and what time should it he done? 
Will Fuchsias do well in Louisiana ? When should 
the seed he planted ? N, 
Answer. —See last number. 
Double Geraniums. Will somebody please tell 
how they manage double Geraniums through the win¬ 
ter, and how to keep Caladiums ? M. A. T. 
Answer. —Pot your Geraniums, cut them well hack, 
and grow in the house, or put in the cellar away from 
frost; if the latter, water hut two or three times during 
the winter. Caladiums must he kept in a dry, warm 
years without a sign of a flower. Tuberoses will 
sometimes flower the second year from the same bulb, 
hut it is better to get a new bulb annually. 
Petunia Seed. —Will some one who knows tell 
what time to sow Petunia seed for winter flowering; 
also, how Verbenas can be made to bloom in winter ? 
What treatment will make thrifty Fuchsias and Gera¬ 
niums bloom ? I received a package of Amaranthus 
Salicifolius seed from Gregory ; sowed it early, in good 
soil; it came up nicely, hut in a few days the plants 
withered and died in spite of all my efforts to save 
them. Sowed a second time with tho same result. 
What was the matter. E. F. 
Answer .—For winter blooming, sow Petunia seed 
in August. A better plan is to take cuttings from the 
most desirable sorts in the garden, the last of Septem¬ 
ber; they will root readily in a box of clean sand and 
make better plants for flowering, besides the satisfac¬ 
tion of knowing just the variety you will have. Fuch¬ 
sias are not winter blooming plants. F. Speciosa is 
the only variety that.can be coaxed into early flower¬ 
ing ; it requires a good rich Soil, high temperature, 
and plenty of water. Geraniums flower best in small 
pots, proportionately, as they require to be root-bound. 
We have never known the Amaranthus Salicifolius to 
act as yours has done; it succeeds best in rather a stiff 
soil. 
Soil for Begonias.— 
need for Begonias. I 
Geraniums.—Please tell me how long before Gera¬ 
niums bloom from seed. I have two nice ones; they 
were sown this spring, and are about six inches high; 
the leaves are four inches broad. I think they are very 
nice. Will Tuberose bulbs grow a second time from 
the same old bulb ? Mrs. F. L. Davis. 
Answer .-.—Geraniums from seed take, their own time 
to flower, hut always slow; have grown, them two 
-Please tell me what soil I 
have a lovely pink one, hut it 
was doing so badly I repotted it in too rich a soil, I 
think, and the leaves are all rotting. Do they require 
much water ? Mrs. M. M. Slater. 
Answer. —The Begonias require a rich, light soil. 
Yours damped off too cool and wet; the foliage should 
he kept dry. 
Ice Plant. —Will you inform me through your Cab¬ 
inet how to treat the Ice Plant ? I had a very nice 
one in a jar last fall; when frost came I brought it in 
the house and tried to keep it, hut all my efforts 
failed; it drooped and died in a short time. 
Mrs. Mary J. Waddle. 
Answer. —The Ice Plant is an annual that will not 
live through the winter. If wanted as a house plant, 
sow the seed in autumn. 
Temperature. —-Please inform me the proper degree 
of temperature to be maintained in a room containing 
a miscellaneous lot of plants. My room is heated by 
a wood stove. Mrs. David Buffelt. 
Answer. —40° to 50° at night, 60° to 70° at midday. 
Greenhouse Plants. —I would like to inquire how 
to treat plants just from tbe greenhouse; what kind of 
sell they require, and the temperature at which they 
should he kept, &c. Please answer and oblige a 
lover of your little paper. Mattie. 
Answer. —Your query is similar to many wo receive, 
so that an answer to yours will do for the whole, 
though we fear not satisfactory to any. As we deem 
this part of our paper the most important, and desire 
to make it as interesting as possible, yet we cannot 
answer questions of such magnitude. There are many 
hundred species of plants grown in the greenhouse, 
but very few require the same treatment; either soil, 
temperature, water, sun or shade, has to he different 
for each, consequently there can he no general answer 
given. Some practical hints have been thrown out on 
the treatment of very many plants, in previous num¬ 
bers of the Cabinet ; a reference to them will he likely 
to furnish the desired information. Any question 
about an individual plant will be cheerfully answered. 
Candytuft. —How are we of the far-off prairies to 
procure Perennial Candytuft if it will not grow from 
seed? Kate Sherman. 
Answer .—Perennial Candytuft can he grown from 
seed. Iberis Semperrons is the hardy Perennial, and 
the seed can be obtained from any reliable seedsman. 
Iberis Carnosa is a new variety that does not seed 
freely, but plants can be had by mail from most 
florists. 
Cinerarias. —What time does tbe Cinerarias 
blossom ? I have two beautiful plants, raised from 
seed, planted the past spring, and will some one please 
tell me what will kill the little white worms ? 
Hattie. 
Answer .—The Cineraria comes into bloom about 
the first of February. That will, however, depend 
upon the treatment given it. If kept growing in a 
small pot they flower much earlier ilian if shifted on 
before they get root-bound. To grow them well they 
require frequent shiftings, the last in a six inch pot 
filled with a light, rich mold, with equal parts of leaf 
mold or well rotted c»w manure. Lime water is the 
best remedy for the white worms. 
Cobcea Scandens. —Will some one please infonn 
me how the Cohma Scandens ripens its seeds ? I have 
waited patiently for a long time for my vine to ripen 
them, hut can see nothing that promises to he like the 
seeds 1 planted except the sepals. Can the sepals be 
the seeds ? Can the vine he propagated by cuttings ? 
I have not succeeded in rooting them. I have a silver- 
leafed plant, called here Dusty Miller and Moth 
Miller. Am unable to determine whether it belongs 
to the Cinerarias or Centaureas. I enclose a leaf. 
Have thought it might he a Centaurea Gymnocarpa, 
as I have been told the blossom is a “yellow thistle,” 
or “ big bachelor’s button.” The plant is two years 
old, and the outside leaves are eleven and a half inches 
long, and droop over the pot. Can you give me some 
hints as to the proper treatment of Veronicas ? Can 
any one tell me anything about a plant we once had 
called Chimney Piece ? We knew no other name 
for it. Do not know that it was a bulb, hut have 
thought lately it might have been a Cape Bulb ; hut 
it does not answer the description of either Ixia or 
Sparaxis, though I was reminded of it in reading of 
them. It threw up a flower stalk nearly three feet 
long, covered with Blue-hells tho size of a Maurandia 
blossom; solitary flowers, nearly erect, on stalks 
about an inch long. It stayed in blossom thirteen 
months, from September through the next October, 
and then, in spite of all our efforts, died. Very 
handsome. . Edna. 
Answer .-*-The Cobosa Scandens ripens Seed under 
favorable circumstances if planted early against a 
south wall with southern exposure. It will generally 
fruit, although in the vicinity of Now York the season 
is rather short to ripen seeds, which it produces in a 
seed pod two to three inches long and one inch in 
diameter. It can he readily propagated by cuttings, 
hut- thq easier way is from seed. The leaf sent is 
from a plant of the Centaurea Candidissima. The 
greenhouse varieties of the Veronica are readily in¬ 
creased by cuttings, and grow well in a good, rich 
garden loam. They make a charming border plant, 
flowering freely in August and September. They can 
he taken up before hard frost sets in, potted, and 
grown on through the winter, or kept dormant in the 
cellar away from frosts. We do not know the 
Chimney Piece, nor have we met a plant that will 
keep in bloom so long. 
