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Pets.—In looking over my much loved Cabinet, I 
saw your inquiry for “ El Mina,” although I am not 
she. I can answer your question in regard to pets 
having their feet washed. In answer, I would say, 
that they get along beautifully, and can hardly live 
without washing their feet. I have a little pet canary, 
that I have had for nearly nine years. About six 
years ago I accidentafly broke off, entirely, his under 
bill, so I have had him to feed almost hourly ever 
since. I feed him with egg, cracker, hemp seed, and 
everything green, and lastly, I keep a piece of salt 
pork tied in his cage, as I do also in my other birds’ 
cages, of which I have four, and find by experience 
that it does them real good; makes them sing, oils 
their lungs, keeps them from being husky, and is a 
good thing for them. I can name several persons 
whose birds have been bereft of feathers and song, 
until they have used the salt pork. I am very, very 
fond of all kinds of pets, and take care of them be¬ 
cause I do love them. I have often had six sick birds 
sent to me to doctor at a time, and have cured them 
all. My little pet, without a bill, I wash his feet 
once or twice a month because he has corns, white, 
hard corns, so I soak them in tepid water, hold him in 
my hand very carefully, my thumb over his wings, and 
rub castilc soap on his feet till they will pinch off with 
the finger nail, and then I make a bed of soft linen, 
and let him stand on it till he comes off himself, and 
he is as happy as any human being could be under the 
same circumstances. 
Mrs. Seabury, New Haven. 
To H. S. P., subscriber of the Froral Cabinet. 
Window Gardening.—I can boast of no more 
knowledge of plants than the keeping and taking care 
of seven Geraniums, one Eose, one Jessamine, three 
Fuchsias, three Ivies, one Bouvardia, one pot Oxalis, 
Oleander and Madeira Vine. Now my plants have had 
various treatment; one morning they were showered, 
set in the sun and potted; another, were found dry, 
wilted, and uncared for. Now doubtless some may ex¬ 
claim, “what a shame;” yes, but it has been so, and 
I write this to those that are similarly neglectful, and 
to show how a little pains make the difference. An 
acquaintance living near, has a beautiful show of 
plants the year round, and when they are in full 
bloom, making her room a little bower of beauty. I 
felt like tossing mine out of the window; but “have 
a little patience; ” I don’t do it, for then indeed would 
my “noble Benedick” have the start of me, I “knew 
it would be so.” No; instead, I adopt new resolu¬ 
tions ; look at my plants, they fairly shout. 
“ Choked and drowned;” never mind, poor pets, 
brighten up, for instead of going into a decline you 
are going to undergo a new treatment, and that is 
regularity. This was only a few weeks ago, but 
“presto change,” what a transformation; it seems 
they are trying to repay double-fold, then they are 
beginning to bloom; already my Calla (of which I 
neglected to mention) has two fine buds, Geraniums, 
scarlet and pink budded. Oxalis in bloom, and this, 
remember, is the change in a short time; also Madeira 
Vine, a beauty, running over picture frames, coming 
to the window, and running so determined to twine 
itself around my Oleander, that it forces me to say 
nothing could be prettier. 
My Flower Garden.—My flower-beds are laid out 
in the shape of a Maltese cross, and for a small yard 
looks quite pretty, but my flowers are beautiful, of 
course, Asters, Phlox, Balsams, Stock, Coxcombs, Zin¬ 
nias ; and this year Vick sent me a few new varieties, 
all of which will require early starting; and last, but far 
from least are the Verbenas, start those in heat; also, 
if you wish thrifty plants, one paper of seed sown by 
yourself will give better satisfaction than the cuttings 
bought of the florists, only give them sun, that is, a 
sunny situation, they will bloom much more abund¬ 
antly; plants grown in masses give more pleasure 
than to scatter them here and there; as I do not 
possess a hot-bed, I prepare one in the house by tak¬ 
ing a box, filling with sand, and plunging small jars 
filled with seed in that, watering with warm water 
and keep in the sun. Balsams, do any of the readers 
prune ? After transplanting, and they begin to throw 
out side shoots pinch off all except the centre shoots 
which will cause one straight stalk covered with 
flowers,'prune to one, two or three branches just as 
you like, the former mode will bear closer transplant- 
ting; now to add, that those beautiful roses well 
showered with hellebore after a rain will bid defiance 
to the slug, will be all this time. Eose. 
Boxwood, N. Y. 
Cottages. —I am charmed with the design in your 
January number of the Cabinet, and intend to build 
one like it. But there are some features I don’t un¬ 
derstand, and I am puzzled as to the height of the 
rooms from floor to ceiling; whether the rooms on the 
upper floor are not concave on account of the roof, 
and if they would be best ceiled or plastered ? Our 
southern architects never make use of the space above 
where the rafters join the plates; hence my ignorance. 
Answer: The side walls are but half the height of 
the room; then the ceiling slopes upward in same 
direction with roof, until it is about eight feet perpen¬ 
dicular height from floor, when it squares off to oppo¬ 
site side. A concave ceiling could not well be made 
with this design. 
Various Queries. —The Ladies’ Cabinet lias 
surpassed our most sanguine expectations; the corre¬ 
spondence alone is worth the price of the paper. Will 
some one tell me how to make Geraniums bloom in 
winter, also why will Heliotropes die during the winter 
months when we want their bloom most? What 
treatment is required for a Jasmine C raudiflorum ? 
A Subscriber. 
Large Rose Bush. —I see in the March number a 
notice of “ The Largest Eose Bush in America, ” which 
calls to mind a paragraph in a California paper which 
was sent me by my brother, the owner of the bush 
herein described. 
“ This bush is in the grounds of Jackson Lewis, of 
San Jose; is thirty inches in circumference at the 
base; at four feet from the base is a fork of nine 
branches, each measuring over fifteen inches in cir¬ 
cumference, and the w hole covers a space of one thou¬ 
sand square feet. 
“ This is a Lamarque. There was also a Chroma- 
tella Eose measuring Iwrtve to fifteen inches girth 
and covering five b" Hired feet, rich in its gorgeous 
blooms.” M. J. S. 
Amaranthus.— .It, the March No. of the 
Cabinet wants to kr nv why Amaranthus Salicifolius 
did so poorly The answer to that question, I take it, 
is contained in the question itself, “It was sowed 
early,” probably too early by a month. If started in 
a rich light soil that will not cake, kept moist, and in 
a temperature of about 70o in the day time, there will 
be found no difficulty in raising it. I believe it to be 
a true hot-house plant, and it must have hot-house 
treatment. How much sun it will bear I have not yet 
discovered, but it wall bear a great deal. Mine gets 
the sun from 2 p. M. till sunset, and has not yet been 
injured. C. W. T. 
i Bucks Co., Pa. 
Blue Verbena.—Pardon what may seem to you an 
impertinent question. Is there a Blue Verbena? 
All the florists advertise them, I know, but to my 
certain knowledge they do not all furnish them to 
their customers. For three years I have tried to get 
one, and as my last purchase opened its first bud to¬ 
day, disclosing a beautiful pink instead of the blue as 
it was represented to be, I gave up, and doubt the 
existence of a Blue Verbena! I have bought seed 
(said to be blue) from the prominent seed houses of 
St. Louis, New York and Rochester, that produce all 
other shades but blue; even seed from Boston, where 
all things are supposed not only to be perfect, but to 
be blue by nature, fail to reflect the cerulean hue of 
the sky when planted on these southwestern prairies. 
To make things sure, I ordered from Peter Henderson 
a dollar’s worth of his best Blue Verbenas. In due 
time I received them, and they all grew, but the 
nearest to blue among them was a pale violet color, 
and some of them were nearly scarlet. The nearest 
I have ever seem to a Blue Verbena is the wild ones on 
the prairie, they being a bluish purple. 
I want to say a word in favor of two plants, not 
generally cultivated, but which should be in every col¬ 
lection. First. Pulmonaria Virginica, a native of the 
middle states, blooming very early in the spring, pro¬ 
ducing large clusters of handsome light blue flowers. 
And, second, the Commelyina. This last grows wild 
here in several varieties, ranging from violet and blue 
to white. Manure them with lime, and the flowers 
are of the lovliest shade of blue imaginable; remove 
the lime from them, or plant them in soil in which 
there is no lime, and they become nearly white. 
Sherman, Texas. Dick Hopson. 
Answer. —Wo have seen Blue Verbenas so often, 
that we did not suppose there was any difficulty in 
obtaining them. We have seen them on Peter Hen¬ 
derson’s, also Mr. C. L. Allen’s grounds. 
English. Ivy.—In your very instructive work on 
window gardening, while speaking of the English Ivy, 
you say, that two feet per year is a good growth for that 
plant. That may do very well for the eastern states, 
but ambitious California does better by her plants 
than that. In November last I set out in a pot a slip 
of the common English Ivy, and since that time it has 
grown by actual measurement a little over five feet. 
| It is trained over a picture in my office, and its beauty 
and luxuriant growth is remarked by all who see it. 
Sacramento, Cal. F. H. Hubbard, M.D. 
Mexican Tiger Lily.—Can some of your readers 
tell me why the Mexican Tiger Lily will not bloom ? 
I have had it for three years, and no blossoms yet. 
Grass Valley, Cal. Anna Burr. 
Answer. —The Mexican Tiger Lily (Tigridia) is a 
free flowering plant, requiring only a light soil and 
plenty of water. Cannot say why yours failed if the 
bulbs were good. 
Articles Wanted.—The Editor will be pleased to 
have any one write notes or short articles on any of 
the following topics: Laying out flower gardens ; best 
plants for window gardening; plants of ornamental 
foliage ; experience with special fertilizers; success in 
killing bugs, worms, or curing sickly plants; ex¬ 
perience with new flower seeds; the Odier Pansy; 
ornamental grasses. Write freely on any topic. If 
you have anything useful to say, any good ideas to 
help other flower-growers, send them along. 
