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Plant for a Name.—I desire the name of a plant 
in my possession, the leaf and flower of which 1 send 
you. M. E. C. 
Answer. —Solauum Mexicana. 
Plants for Name.—I send you by mail a package 
containing some flowers with steins and leaves, that I 
wish you to please tell me the name of the plants. 
Would not some of them do for the flower garden? 
They all grow wild here, except No. 1. It came in a 
package of seed I got of James Vick. It grows three 
feet high, and flowers from April until hard float, very 
beautiful. No. 2 is a very pretty little plant, about 
three or four feet high, and covered in the autumn 
with clusters of snow-white berries. No. 3 is an ever¬ 
green shrub, from two to five feet in height, with 
waxy leaves aud yellow flowers, blooms throughout 
the year. No. 4 is a perennial, flowers yellow, and in 
spikes; thrives well on dry soil. No. 5 is a little 
trailing plant, grows near the water’s edge; flowers 
very small. No. 6, perennial; habit of plant same as 
No. 5. No. 7 is a climber, covers brush, rocks, etc. 
No. 8. grows near the water. No. 9 grows in clumps, 
of a weeping habit. No. 10 I picked in a grain field, 
it being the first I have seen. No. 11 is quite com¬ 
mon in the autumn; they are so numerous that they 
present a bright aspect to the surrounding scenery. 
Oakland, Cal. W. H. P. 
Answer. —It is difficult to give the names of plants 
from specimens sent, mainly because the Flora of Cal¬ 
ifornia has been so little described, and seeds from 
there do not produce as fine specimens in this climate, 
either in fruit, plant, or flower. We can give, how¬ 
ever, the genus of each, and species, as nearly as 
possible: No. 1. Salpiglossis; No. 2. Cannot name; 
No. 3. A Diplacus, or allied plant; No. 4. Solidago ; 
No. 5. Epilobium hirsutum; No. 7. Vicia, Var 
Cracea, probably; No. 9. Cytisus, or Genista; No. 
10. Asclepias; No. 11. An Epilobium, or allied plant. 
Vine.—I send a leaf of a vine that came up on my 
grounds. It is a large, strong plant, a very rapid 
grower, flowers resemble Bed Cyprus—the flower is a 
little larger, a little darker shade, aud the star-like 
points not quite so pointed as the Cyprus flower. 
Please name this plant for me, without fail, and also 
tell me whether it is an annual or perennial plant. 
Mrs. H. B. B. 
Answer. —Ipumoea, of some variety, probably an 
annual. 
Insects.—I am very much troubled with an insect 
that resembles both a bee and a fly; I suppose it is 
what is called the leaf-cutter; it destroys nearly every 
flower in my garden. I would like to have some one 
inform me through the Cabinet if there is any way 
of destroying them, or driving them away ; if not, I 
am afraid I shall have to give up my flowers. 
Mrs. V. D. 
Answer. —We regret our inability to furnish a remedy 
for the insect described. Many never made its acquaint¬ 
ance ; it is probably one of those pests that will have 
its day and disappear as suddenly as it came. 
Name of a Plant.—Will yon give me the name of 
the inclosed flower? I bought it in a hot-house in St. j 
Louis, and have kept it three years, and this is the : 
first time it has bloomed. And 1 inclose the leaf of a j 
plant which I suppose to he a Cactus; will you please j 
name it in next Cabinet? also the above flower, if it; 
will not he trespassing upon your kindness too much. 
You may expect a very large club for the Cabinet 
next year. We are determined to have it, every one 
who keeps plants should take it; it seems to improve 
every year. All those who take it here like it very 
| much indeed. Anna Bubb. 
Answer. —We cannot name plants from a leaf only. 
The flower is from the Canna Indica. 
j Petunias. —Please inform me the best time for sow¬ 
ing Petunia for winter use. Phebe A. 
Answer. —Petunias for winter blooming are much 
| better grown from cuttings, which should be made in 
September. 
Flower Pots. —Do you consider painted flower pots 
injurious to plants ? have been told they are Also, 
what time is best to plant the hull) Oxalis ? 
Stilton, N. J. M. A. L. 
Answer'. —Painted and glazed flower pots are not as 
good as the common earthen ones, the latter being 
more porous. Oxalis should be planted early in Octo¬ 
ber, though they will do planted any time before they 
make much growth. 
Mrs. Pollock Geranium. —Please inform a con¬ 
stant reader what to do with the Mrs. Pollock Gerani¬ 
um to make it color ? I have planted it in the sun, 
and in the shade; have given much water and little, 
rich soil and poor, and yet the leaves are a solid 
green, without a tinge of color, except a dull red zone. 
My plants are both healthy; one of them is quite 
large and vigorous. Do tell me what to dc with 
them. H. Dudley Gardner. 
Answer. —Mrs. Pollock Geranium will only succeed 
in the humid atmosphere of the greenhouse. 
African Lily. —M. J. S., in the July number of the 
Floral Cabinet, page 50, speaks of an African 
Lily. I cannot find any such a name in any of the 
catalogues. Will you please tell me how to find one, 
and what 11s the name of it ? W 7 , Siiinton. 
Paterson, N. J. 
Answer. —Agapanthus XJmbellatum. 
Day Lily.— Have read with much pleasure Mrs. 
McFarland’s articles on Lilies and other flowers. 
Would like to ask her, through your columns, if she 
has the blue flowered Day Lily, clusters of light purple 
flowers, smaller than the white but more numerous, 
very pretty and hardy ? 1 have grown them several 
years. Among my flowers is another 'beautiful plant, 
came to me as Evergreen Lily, have since seen it de¬ 
scribed as Y ucca. The leaves are a very bright green 
and remain so in our climate all winter, and the 
creamy white flowers are home in enormous panicles. 
Have any of the readers of the Cabinet a Century 
plant in their collections ? I have one now nearly ten 
years old; it is getting large and heavy, and is easily 
grown, requiring hut little care, and is quite orna¬ 
mental, although too large to keep in a sitting room 
all winter. I keep mine in the cellar. 
Allen, Mich. Mrs. M. A. Cook. 
Rhododendron.— In the next Cabinet will you 
tell me something about the Rhododendron, its habits, 
and mode of culture, and all about it ? 
Bockvvayville, Pa. Miss S. G. Clarke. 
Answer. —The Rhododendron is decidedly the most 
elegant and showy shrub that we have. The hardy 
varieties are admirably adapted for planting singly or 
in clumps on the lawn. They succeed best in a peat 
soil, hut will grow well in a sandy loam or leaf mold. 
This family is a very large one, and every member is 
desirable. 
Moles.—-I wish through the columns of your paper 
yon would tell me how to prevent moles from eating 
bulbs. Mrs. Bell Martin. 
Answer. —Kill the moles, or, keep the bulbs out of 
their way—if they meet, the bulbs will he eaten. 
Smilax. —May I ask some one to give directions 
about the cultivation of Smilax ? I have had it growing 
very nicely until about three weeks ago it was frosted. 
When I procured the seeds I understood that it was a 
winter-blooming plaut, but mine had not shown any 
signs of blooming before it was frosted. Also, allow me to 
ask if at some convenient time you will give us a defi¬ 
nition—if I may use the term—of the orders of plants 
used in the floral catalogues? I do not find in my 
botany one-half of the terms used by them, conse¬ 
quently do not understand the nature and habits of 
the plants sold by them, and I presume there are 
many others having the same trouble that I do. 
Frankfort, Ky. Miss L. P. Brown. 
Answer. — This question answered in a previous num¬ 
ber. Botanical books do not treat on florists’ flowers; 
you should get some good treatise on plants — 1 “ Win- 
I dow Gardening ” would greatly assist you. 
Passion Flower Vine. — I have a Passion Flower 
Vine from seed sent by a friend in Georgia. The first 
year it did not do much; last fall it had eight perfect 
flowers; after bringing in the house the spiders nearly 
ruined it, hut I have got the better of them, and it is 
now branching, doing nicely. Can it he slipped, if so, 
when, how, and wjiat treatment it requires, where or 
when it produces seed—mine had none. I have seen 
in catalogues that there are seeds of different kinds of 
this vine. Do you think it the same ? My Calla 
Lily blossomed when six months old, and now has a 
large nice flower thirty-seven inches high and in a 
nine-inch pot. Some think it best to take it up and 
let it rest; it being so young and thrifty I hardly know 
what to do with it. M. J. S. 
Answer. — The Passifloras are most readily propa¬ 
gated by root-cuttings, that can be taken at almost all 
seasons of the year, as they root freely; they should 
have rest during the winter. They can he planted 
and kept in a cool cellar, nearly dry, but away from 
frost. 
Questions. — How is Cyanophyllum Magnificum 
propagated ? I have a plant, the seed of which came 
from Florida. I would like to have you name it. 
The plant itself has run up about three feet, and has 
a straight, slender stem, with but few branches except 
at the bottom. It never has blossomed as yet, al¬ 
though the seed was sown last spring. I will send 
you a ieai. It is a very pretty plant. 
Gabon, 0. Mrs. H. S. Barbour. ' 
Answer. —Do not know a plant of that name ; can¬ 
not give the name of a plant by the leaf. 
Pansies. — I wish to know if you can tell me in 
what soil to plant Pansies so as to have them bloom 
profusely ? also please give me a plan for a flower 
garden. And have you ever been troubled with little 
white worms in flower pots, about a quarter of an inch 
long, and as large around as a pin ? 1 found several 
in a Geranium pot. I cannot raise Geraniums, as 
they alway die. Please tell me how to keep them, 
and in what way I can make them bloom ? I shall 
hope for an answer in your next. 
Inquirer and Reader. 
Answer. — Pansies do best in a rich heavy loam ; 
seed should he sown in boxes in September, and trans¬ 
planted into a cold frame about the first of November. 
We give, from time to time, plans for flower gardens, 
that yon can adapt to the size of your place and 
locality. The little white worm is a pest that is best 
destroyed by shaking all the soil from the roots and 
washing in soap-suds, then repot aud cut the plant 
well back. Lime water will generally destroy them 
and not injure the plant. 
