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131 
Gourds.—Will Aunt Carry tell us how to cultivate 
the acquaintance of the Gourd family ? What soil do 
they require, and do they like the sun or shade? I 
would really like to cultivate them if I knew how. 
Of my earliest recollections is one of seeing some and 
wondering how they grew. My aunt used them for 
dippers; the long neck which they had, as a handle, 
and having a hole cut in one side and hound with cloth, 
made a very nice rain-water dipper, and if I remember 
rightly, they lasted months, if not years. 
Cannas.—I would like to tell my experience with 
the Canna. Last year, in March, I had some Canna 
seed given me. I poured boiling water on them and 
let them soak about a day, then planted them in a 
flower jar and put them on the flower stand with my 
house plants, and gave them the same care. Every 
seed germinated, and by the first of June, I had 
strong, healthy plants to set out. They grew finely 
all summer. I had heard of keeping their roots in the 
cellar during the winter. I tried it, but did not suc¬ 
ceed. Will some one who has succeeded state through 
your columns just how it is done? and also how Ge¬ 
raniums that have been bung up by their roots in the 
cellar are to be treated in the spring? I have kept 
them through the winter, but they looked in the spring 
as though they were dead. Were they, or is there 
some way to resurrect them ? 
Dahlias.—I wonder if your readers have good suc¬ 
cess with Dahlias ? I do. And as they are a plant 
that gives so much pleasure for so little trouble, I 
would like to state my manner of treating them. On 
the first day of May I plant my bulbs in boxes and 
put them before a west window in my woodshed. 
Water them as they need it. By the first of June they 
are ready to set out in the ground, which 1 consider to 
be early enough here in Michigan. I have my beds 
for them spaded deep and well mulched. Two or 
three weedings will keep them free from weeds, but 
my experience with all plants is, that nays to culti¬ 
vate them, keeping the dirt well loosened about their 
roots, and if it is a dry time, giving them a good sup¬ 
ply of water on wash days, or any day you have the 
water to spare. This year my Dahlias were in blos¬ 
som by the fourth of July, and will continue to blossom 
until frost comes, and longer, if you will take the pre¬ 
caution to cover them on frosty nights. By protecting 
them you can sometimes keep them a month or so 
longer. In the fall I leave the bulbs to ripen as long 
as there is no danger of the ground freezing. When 
I take them up I leave them in a warm place for a 
few days to dry, then wrap each bulb separately in 
papers, and as my cellar is damp, I place them on the 
top shelf of a high cupboard, looking at them occasion¬ 
ally duriug the winter to see that they are all right. I 
have never lost any except once, and then frost came 
early and unexpectedly, so that I did not get them up 
until the ground bad been frozen once. I treat Gladi- 
olii in the same manner, excepting I do not start them 
in the house, but plant them in the ground when I set 
out my Dahlias. I first set out my Dahlia bulbs en¬ 
tire, and separate them when I transplant to the gar¬ 
den. Has any one any experience in separating them 
before they are sprouted, and how is it done? 
Geraniums.—Will some one tell me the trouble 
with my Geraniums ? they seem to be blighted—the 
leaves scroll up, turn black and fall off, leaving noth¬ 
ing but the stalks. The trouble has made its ap¬ 
pearance on my Fuchsias, and they are sharing the 
same fate. I have tried many remedies suggested in 
your paper, but fail to hit upon the right one. Can 
some one tell me how to restore them to their natural 
growth again? Mrs. Charles Fish. 
Answer .—Most likely red spider, if not that, too 
dry and hot an atmosphere. Geraniums should be 
kept cool, and Fuchsias warm and moist. 
Moss Roses.— Will you tell me, through the 
Cabinet, ' the best method of treating Moss Boses, 
and the Madam Plantier Bose ? A. C. H. 
Answer .—Plant your Boses in a good strong soil, 
made very rich with well rotted cow manure, in any 
good sheltered situation in the lawn or border; in 
springtime cut out the old wood. 
Remedy for Insects.— Please give your readers 
my remedy for insects of every kind on plants. Water 
slightly sprinkled with coal oil (to give it an odor 
only) to be used directly on the leaves when bugs or 
worms are found. Jennie. 
[Bote by Editor. —Oil of any description is also 
death to plants. Be careful.] 
Leaf-Mould.—I observe, in nearly all articles on 
plant cultivation, that leaf-mould being an essential, I 
have wondered how my plants could grow, thrive, yes, 
and blossom without it. Leaf-mould being an article 
not to be had in this part of the country, the soil being- 
very sandy, I mix it with one-third well rotted cow 
manure, and it seems to answer very well; but I keep 
my plants clean from dust, sprinkle often, and give 
them plenty of air and light, and very warm water. 
Nevada. 
Quassia Tea.— Quassia tea will keep bugs from 
eating Aster flowers. Mrs. Sarah Fairchild. 
Brackets.— Will some one tell us how to manu¬ 
facture brackets for home purposes—some designs for 
wax flowers, fruit made of wax, etc. 
Mrs. E. W. Jones. 
Rhododendron.— What shall I do with my Rhodo¬ 
dendron to make it grow? I speak for myself as 
well as my neighbors. A year ago last fall an agent 
for plants called a second time, assuring me that my 
neighbors insisted that I would surely wish to give 
him an order. The Rhododendron, a plant I knew 
nothing about, he had finely pictured out, and urged 
me to invest. I, thinking to rid myself of his im¬ 
portunities, made him an offer so far below his price 
that I thought he would see I had no intentions of 
purchasing; but, contrary to my expectations, he took 
me up, and said he could send my plant as soon in the 
spring as danger from frost was over, assuring me he 
had never sold one so cheap, and that I made a great 
bargain. In the spring came my plant, and out of 
my purse two dollars. I set it out, and there it is, 
with thirty leaves on it, no more, no less—has not 
blossomed. The agent assured me it was very easy 
to cultivate; I could take it up, place it on my dinner 
table when in blossom, and replace it without injury 
to the plant or blossom, and that it would blossom all 
summer. Mine is a fair specimen of many more I see 
in yards about the place. Whether they all got them 
as exceedingly cheap as I did, I do not know. I pro¬ 
tected mine during the winter. Will some one make 
known, through your columns, whether this plant can 
be grown out of doors successfully, and made to 
blossom here in Michigan, and how? I used to 
wonder how nurserymen and florists could afford to 
publish catalogues, and distribute as lavishly as many 
do; but now I wonder they can or could have suc¬ 
ceeded at all without, for one soon tires of spending 
their money on that which comes to naught, for it is 
not every one who is a natural florist, however much 
they may love flowers; for, unless they have made it 
their especial study, they cannot tell what peculiar 
treatment each variety of plant or seed requires; but, 
with a catalogue giving you particular instructions 
about each plant, it is comparatively an easy matter 
to succeed, and you are so well paid for your care that 
you are desirous to invest again. But I think my poor 
little Rhododendron must have been sadly neglected, 
for, in my books, papers and catalogues, I do not see 
any directions regarding its care. But the Floral 
Cabinet may not have been remiss in its duty. As I 
have not been very long familiar with its pages I 
cannot tell. Mrs. S. G. S. 
Fenton, Mich. 
Novelties in Blowers. —If I possess a passion for 
any one particular thing, it is a novelty in the flower 
line. To be sure I love all the flowers, from the big 
round-faced Sunflower to the modest Daisy, but I 
cannot take the interest in them that I can in those 
with which I am unfamiliar. With a novelty it is 
even a satisfaction to me to open the prized packets 
and examine the seed. After having planted, with 
how much interest do I watch their appearance-from 
the time of germination to the unfolding of the buds. 
They are a source of intense pleasure. I receive, 
annually, catalogues from a dozen seedsmen, and in 
them I find many novelties, and, of course, order them 
forthwith. Often I am very sadly disappointed; they 
fail to fill my expectations, and are eclipsed by old, 
common flowers, occupying a retired place in the 
garden. Last spring I sent to James Vick for seed of 
the Celosia Japonica, or Japan Cockscomb; received 
five precious seed, for which I paid fifty cents; de¬ 
scription, “leaf, stalk and bloom intense scarlet.” 
Succeeded in obtaining one plant. The leaves re¬ 
mained green all summer; then, when “autumn’s 
glow was on the leaf)” I noticed a reddish tint on the 
leaves of my Celosia, and with it came a heavy frost 
which blighted it. Its flowers were not so handsome 
as those of the the common variety. The Amaranthus 
Salicifolius, or Fountain Plant, a novelty of 1872, was 
also a failure. I have several novelties in Lilies 
which I will tell you about next. I shall still order 
and grow new flowers as fast as they are presented, 
and do not expect to grow weary. 
Jeffersonville, Ind. M. A. Line. 
Calla Lilies.— I have read a great deal about the 
Calla Lily, and how to successfully grow them. This 
spring I ordered one from a worthy florist. When 
the bulbs came I put them in boxes, but they did not 
succeed there; then being fortunate enough to have an 
oval or round fish globe, I took a four-inch porous pot, 
this I filled with sand in which I placed the bulbs, 
then filled my fish globe with water (rain water is the 
best) and set the pot in the top of the globe, letting 
about one half the pot be immersed in the water. 
Then for ornament you can have shells of any kind 
in the globe. And oval globes magnify, which will 
give shells or rock different shajies or sizes W’hen 
viewed from different sides. My Lily has grown in 
this pot more in one week than it would have done in 
the box in six weeks. I never heard of any one doing 
so until I tried it myself. I have seen them growing 
entirely under water in greenhouses. 
Indianola, Ill. Mrs. Mary E. Newkirk. 
Water Lily. —(Nymphaea Odorata.) Have been 
searching for six months for above plant without avail; 
where can they be procured ? Paul de Verges. 
Answer .—See article in this number on Aquatic 
Plants, by Mrs. S. E. Byers, Clear Creek Station, 
Texas, who is the grower. 
