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Geranium. — How to keep Geraniums and Salvias 
in the collar over winter. Ii. W. M. 
Answer .— The Geranium should be kept dry and free 
from frost. The Salvia can be kept in the same way. 
Neither plant should grow while remaining in dark¬ 
ness. 
Caladium. —Please tell me in the Cabinet about 
the Caladium Wrightii and Caladium Brognorii. What 
soil do they needs JDo they need much watering! 
How should they be treated in winter! I enclose a 
leaf of a plant which I should like to know the 
name of. M. H. 
Answer .— Any light soil will grow Caladimns. The 
plants require plenty of water while growing, and to 
In* dry and warm while at rest during winter. Name 
of plant— Justicia purpurea. 
Smilax.—1. Please tell me how to treat Smilax to 
make it grow thrifty. Have some that don t do well. 
2. Do Gladiolus bulbs bloom the second time! 3. 
Do the Wisteria and Trumpet Vines grow lengthy 
enough to cover an arbor, and will the same vine live 
over winter, or die down? L. L. 
Answer. —1. Smilax should be cut down, and have 
fresh soil in August, it will then make strong, young- 
shoots. 2. New bulbs are formed on top of old ones, 
then flower. 3. The Wisteria will grow to two or 
three hundred feet in length, and the Trumpet Vine 
probably as much. 
Poinsettia. — Please give directions how to propa¬ 
gate Poinsettia and Euphorbia Jacquiniflora. Also, 
some hints on the treatment, &c. 
Eliza Williams. 
Answer .—Poinsettia and Euphorbia can be propa¬ 
gated from pieces of old wood in the spring, or from 
tops and young shoots in the summer and autumn; 
the former in a warm house, in full sun; the latter 
in a shaded frame. These plants require a warm place 
to flower well, and to be grown out of doors, in the 
full sun, in summer. 
Red Spider Again.—T did succeed with the Turk¬ 
ish bath (as I called it) in exterminating the pest, 
and saving my plant ; but I have come to this conclu¬ 
sion, that it is only with General Jackson’s “eternal 
vigilance” that any louse, mealy bug, aphis, spider, 
scale, or slug, can be persuaded to leave after it once 
gains a strong foothold. The bath was administered 
in this way: When the thermometer was several 
degrees below freezing, I took the plant (a large scarlet 
Salvia) to the doorstep, laid the pot on its side care¬ 
fully, so the soil would not fall out, then took my 
sprinkler, full of water, so hot I could not bear my 
hand in it, sprinkled it all over the plant; then used 
cold water to sprinkle it ; then set it in a dark cellar 
twenty-four hours. This I repeated every few days, 
for two or three weeks, or longer, I don’t just 
remember. I don’t suppose it is just the way Turk¬ 
ish baths are administered, but what does it matter, as 
long as the object is gained. Violet. 
Worms in Flower Pots.— In the Cabinet, I have 
read many queries, and many remedies for worms in 
pots. An English lady told me that the water the 
family potatoes were boiled in was a sure cure for 
worms; put it cold or warm on the earth. I have tried 
it with success. A very simple remedy. Violet. 
Calla X.ily. —I have a Calla that I received last 
spring, and only paid twenty-live cents for it, and 
it blossomed within five weeks after I received it. It 
is budded now, and all the rest of my plants have 
done equally as well. I wish some of the readers of 
the Cabinet could call and see my plants. They are 
the envy and admiration of every one around. I al¬ 
ways water with warm water; have fourteen different 
varieties of Roses, and have not been bothered with lice 
or slugs this summer; keep them off with quassia bark. 
Ohio. C. S. B. 
Oleander—Cyclamen.—I have a white Oleander, 
can I graft other colors on it ? Can I divide the bulbs 
of Cyclamen Persicum ! I have a pink Oxalis, that 
has blossomed all summer; can I dry it off now, and 
have it bloom in the winter ? What shall I do with 
the small bulbs; remove or leave them on the old 
bulbs? Elvie E. Larkin. 
Answer. —Oleanders can be grafted. Cyclamen 
bulbs must not be divided. The Oxalis will flower 
without drying off; the small bulbs can remain if not 
overcrowded, or can be removed, and a number to¬ 
gether placed in other pots. 
The scrap sent appears to be Verbena Aubretia. 
. 
Aquarium.—Please tell us, in some number of your 
paper, the names of some plants suitable for aquari¬ 
ums, and oblige a subscriber. 
Santa Barbara, Cal. G. E. Childs. 
Answer. —Calla Lily, Limnocharis Humboldtii, 
Liumocharis Plumieri, Pistia Stratiotes, Nymphse 
Canadensis, Nymplue Cyanea, Nymph® minor, Nu- 
phar lutea, Nelumbium luteum, Acorus calamus. 
Aeorus staminius, Cyperus. alternifolus, Cyperus Pa¬ 
pyrus. 
Crown Imperial.—Please tell your subscribers, 
in next Cabinet, what we shall do with Crown Im¬ 
perials when they do not blossom ? And what to do 
with the Chinese Pseony when they have a large root; 
will it do to separate them, and what time of year is 
best? L. A. Mott. 
Answer. —Take up Crown Imperials and divide 
them; add some fresh soil or manure, and replant. 
The Pffiony can be divided either in fall or spring; 
every crown will make a plant. 
German Ivy.—While taking up our plants, to place 
in our pit, we trimmed down our German Ivy. Some of 
the slips we planted; but having several long branches 
which we did not care to plant, and yet felt as if we 
could not throw them away, we put the ends in a jar 
of water, and trained them around the side of the pit, 
to see “what they would do.” Imagine our surprise 
on looking at them, a couple of days since, to find 
several bunches of buds on the new sprouts, which 
had formed since putting them in the water. The 
slips have thrown out long roots since placed in water. 
I never had the Ivy bloom before, although I have 
frequently heard of its doing so. M. 
Night Blooming Cereus.—I saw an article in the 
October Cabinet asking for information regarding 
this mysterious plant. I have one that I have known 
the history of for fifteen years. I bought it six years 
ago, thinking I would have the pleasure of seeing it 
bloom for a few years. It is five-sided, sprouts from 
the old branches near the root, has tufts of spirus all 
the way up each angle, but no joints — one continuous 
sprout from two to six feet. There is one branch on 
my Cereus measures five feet seven inches. About 
the first ot June I observed three sprouts darting 
from an old branch. On the first of October I mea¬ 
sured them—one measuring 4 feet 8 inches, one 4 feet 
3 inches, and one 4 feet. The flower is similar to the 
Cactus, only much larger, and more beautiful. The 
past season Iliad one measuring IDA inches in length. 
The flower is white, but I will not attempt a descrip¬ 
tion of it as it will make my article rather long. It 
grows very readily from a slip. I would be pleased to 
exchange with A. G. D., or any of our Cabinet friends, 
for a choice plant of any kind. The Cabinet is truly a 
great treat for me. I look as anxiously for it as I do 
for Gocley, and purpose being as constant a friend. 
Gallipolis, Ohio. Mrs. R. Aleshire. 
Rose Slips.— If any one wishes to slip Roses suc¬ 
cessfully, procure Daisy Eyebright’s “Every Lady 
Her Own Flower Gardener,” advertised in the Cab¬ 
inet, and follow her directions for cutting and “ lay¬ 
ering” them. Imagine my joy when I saw a new 
“Giant of Battles” growing in the border this last 
August, obtained from following the directions given 
in that charming little volume. No lady need fail in 
growing flowers, if she has that and the Cabinet to 
guide her. When a child, wandering through my 
grandfather’s sugar bush, during the “boiling season,” 
I found, peeping out from under the snow, a tiny white 
blossom. When, afterwards, I studied botany, I 
searched in vain for a description of this little flower; 
but, years after, in the Poetry of Flowers, edited, I 
think, by Mrs. Osgood, I found that the blossom was 
the Fairy’s Thimble. Accompanying a perfect de¬ 
scription of it, was this charming little verse: 
u What ! the thimble of a Fairy, and can a Fairy sew ? 11 
Inquired a little wondering girl. “ Come, tell me if you 
know. 
Does she stitch together violet leaves to make her fra¬ 
grant gown ? 
And wad her cloak, to keep her warm, with flying thistle 
down ? 11 
Can any one tell me more of this little flower? 
Mrs. C. F. Greene. 
My Lilies.—In a previous number of the Cabinet, 
I -promised to tell its readers something about my 
Lilies. I will first inform them how I prepared rqy 
bed, as it may be of benefit, if they have been troubled 
with that champion rooter, the mole. I devised this 
method to keep them out: I spaded into the ground 
to the depth of two feet, throwing out the dirt; then, 
gathering all the brickbats and pieces of rock I could 
find, paved the bottom and sides. Into this I threw 
leaf mold, sand, and rich garden soil; finished by 
curbing the bed with rock one foot higher, and filling 
with dirt to the top. Now for the Lilies. I sent an 
order to Vick for the following varieties: Lilium 
Brownii, L. Anratum, L. japonicum, longiflorum, L. 
candidum, and Tigrinum (to help make up variety), 
L. atrosaguincum, L. excelsum, L. Chalcedonicum, 
L. lancifolium rubrum, L. san. roseum, L. Ian. 
album. They come up very early in March. The 
first to unfold its bull) was the Brownii. Superb, 
lovely, grand, every one thought. It is trumpet¬ 
shaped, about ten inches in length, clear white inside, 
with a dark purple band through the centre of each 
leaf, and purple on the outside. I paid four dollars 
for the bulb, but did not think it extravagant after I 
had seen it. Before it faded, the huge Auratuin ex¬ 
panded, measuring twelve inches in diameter. This 
has been called the Queen of the Lilies, but it found 
a rival in Brownii. All the rest bloomed about the 
same time. Such a lovely bed they made. The sen¬ 
sations of delight which they gave me, I cannot de¬ 
scribe. Had the lilies cost ten times the amount paid, 
I should have been richly rewarded. 
“ Observe the rising Lily’s snowy grace; 
Observe the various hues on others traced ; 
They neither toil, nor spin, but careless grow ; 
Yet, see how warm they blush ! how bright they glow I 
What regal vestments can with them compare ? 
What king so shining? or what queen so fair?” 
Jeffersonville, Ind. M. A. Line. 
