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ame 
Sooly Q/ua.— 
W- 
Calla, or Bulb Box.— I should like the many 
readers of the Cabinet to know how to make a bulb 
box like mine. Any one with common sense can 
make it, and it is so pretty and inexpensive it must be 
admired. Materials: A box two feet long, twelve 
inches wide, eight inches deep, made of half-inch pine j cucumber? 
plank; one pound inch brads, one pound white paint, 
a little glue and a little white varnish; also 
straight rods of willow or cedar, half an inch or an 
inch thick, with the bark on. Be sure the box is 
strongly made. Commence by nailing a rustic strip 
around the upper edge so as to cover it, then strips 
up at each side of the corners, then a strip around the 
bottom. Next make the length into spaces of eight 
inches each, and nail a strip down to divide it off, fill 
in each panel for an inch and a half with strips, and it 
will leave you six panels, five inches square, and the 
ends 5x9. Next take some thin wood (shingles will 
do), and cut out panels to fit the spaces, making them 
as smooth as possible with plane and sandpaper; nail 
them in with brads; then after yon are done nailing, 
have it lined with zinc: when this is done, give the 
panels four coats of white paint; when the paint is 
dry, take some nicely pressed ferns and gay leaves, 
group them nicely and glue to the centre of the panels; 
give all a coat of white varnish, and you will have a 
beautiful tiled jardiniere. 
M. G. Osgood. 
too had the privilege of adorning the sanctuary. Now 
both pulpit and decorations are things of the past, for 
in my far off home in the rural districts of Oregon, 
these privileges are denied me. My sister, work 
while you can. The ten-weeks stock, double white, 
Sweet Pea and Mignonette, are all lovely in church 
bouquets. Mrs. C. S. Hamilton. 
•Has any one heard of this famous 
- bought a package of seeds early 
Cinnamon Vine. —A correspondent who sent us 
once last summer a wreath of the branches of a Cin¬ 
namon Vine, so 
delighted the 
visitors of our office 
with the delicious fragrance which filled the entire 
room for days, has at our request given us more spe¬ 
cific information about it. “ The tuber we have sent 
was grown in a pot, the only experiment of the kind, 
which proves it may be grown in the house, and in 
pots of almost any size for this purpose, I would 
recommend yearling tubers; the bulbs should be 
planted in the garden, and the tubers at one aud two 
years old, planted where vines are wanted for orna¬ 
ment around arbors and front-doors of dwellings. 
Our strongest vines, from three-year old roots, ran 30 
feet; these were in the garden on lofty poles; those 
by the side of the front-door, two-year old tubers, were 
conducted on heavy twines perpendicularly, and then 
horizontally to completely surround the entrance, top 
and sides. Morning Glories were trained upon the 
same string. The effect of the beautiful green leaves 
of the two vines, and the open flowers of the Morning 
in the spring (cost fifty cents), and as soon as possi- 
some p] e submitted them to the test of growth. One was 
planted' in a small wooden box, and after careful 
nursing in the house, was planted out on the approach 
of warm weather. With great delight we watched its 
growth, and when at last a cucumber (?) appeared, we 
were on the gui vice for the result. A delegation was 
appointed every few days to measure and report its 
length, while we daily hied to the garden with solemn 
and expectant aspect and visions of the rare and 
delicious dish dancing through our heads. At length 
it was said to have reached maturity, and our expecta¬ 
tions being at their highest, we cut it open for 
inspection. Picture our chagrin and dismay when it 
proved to be a Luffa, or Dish-rag! Any one who has 
seen tire latter plant will know it to be of fibrous sub¬ 
stance, not unlike a sponge, and is used for the pur¬ 
pose of cleansing, as its name implies. The catalogue 
had reported the Sooly Qua as a Chinese cucumber, 
used when fully grown and served with rice; now if 
a Chinaman’s digestive organs can manage that vege¬ 
table, I think his post-mortem examination will be a 
revelation to science. At any rate it can be but a 
benefiting process to devour dish-rags, and I con¬ 
gratulate them upon their excellent constitutions with 
all my heart. We threaten to give W. nothing to eat 
for the next six months but those delicious Sooly Quas, 
a proceeding which will at least cleanse him of all 
ideas of novelties. And now I must say a good word 
for the Luffa; in its own true character it is of inesti¬ 
mable use to housekeepers. It resembles nothing 
more than an irregularly woven, tangled mass of 
thread, absorbs readily, and is especially adapted for 
washing tin or glass, as it leaves no lint as a piece of 
cloth would. When bleached well it is beautifully 
white, and being cut into shapes aud bound with 
bright colors, makes very pretty baskets. The plant 
is gourd-like, but much prettier and has large yellow 
flowers. I can furnish seed to those who will intimate 
the wish through the Cabinet. I enclose flowers 
and leaves of a vine whose name I would be glad to 
learn. It is an evergreen, grows astonishingly last, 
and clings in the same manner as do the Thunbergia 
has regained its original rich green color, and has lost 
but one leaf. Whale-oil soap is the best kind to use 
for washiug plants of all kinds, if obtainable. 
Brooklyn, L. I. Mrs. L. DeF. B. 
Squills —Will S. J. of Easton, Mass., please describe 
the plant Squills, of which she writes in the Floral 
Cabinet of June, 1875? I have a plant known by 
the name of Onion Lily, also the plant Star of Beth¬ 
lehem —they are quite distinct plants. My Onion 
Lily is ten months old. In February last, five bulbs 
grew from its side, amounting to nothing, dropping off 
one by one. In April I changed it to a larger pot 
and richer earth, gave it plenty of water at night, and 
sun by day; on the 14th of May I saw signs of bulbs 
forming; in two weeks afterward the outside layer 
(which is very thin) peeled off and exposed to view 
five of the most perfect little Lilies, each having a 
leaf; they still cling to the parent bulb, and three 
days since the opposite side burst open through the 
second layer of the bulb, which is very thick (the 
same as an onion), and exposed to view four more 
little Lilies in good condition, making nine in all. 
The parent Lily looks exactly like an onion; is very 
transparent, measures five inches in circumference, 
has growing from the top long narrow ribbon leaves, 
which droop gracefully over the sides ol the pot. I 
suppose it belongs to the family of Amarylis, and as 
this is my first experience with one, I would like to 
know'’ from some of the readers of the Cabinet what 
they know about them. Mrs. L. DeF. B. 
Brooklyn, L. I. 
Glory, together with the fragrance of the Cinnamon ! and Barclayana vines—by the stem of the leaf. Can 
Vine, may be imagined, 
presence.” 
but realized only by their 
I. W. Briggs. 
Church Flowers. — I was much interested in an 
article on “ Church Flowers,” in August number of 
Cabinet. Mitchella asks if some one will suggest 
suitable green for her church bouquets. The most 
beautiful I have ever seen is the Cypress Vine, 
so graceful and delicate; then the varieties of Tropse- 
olum, the leaves of the English Ivy (the shoots are 
too stiff); try the old fashioned sweet Clover. I 
agree with her that those who will work may, but do 
not consider the work of beautifying the house of 
God a thankless task. Anything will not do if you 
can get better. Do not the eyes of perhaps hundreds 
feast upon these our Father’s gifts, and the more 
heartily thank the Giver ? God has given us so much 
of the beautiful in this world, let us in beautifying 
His temple, dedicate the best back to Him. Once, I 
any one tell me how to destroy cut-worms? I have 
tried everything I hear or see, but without success. 
Jennie. 
Wax Plant— Having gained much valuable infor¬ 
mation from your paper, I beg permission to send 
through your columns some which I have gained by 
experience. L. H. II. asks, “ Why do the leaves of 
my Wax Plant (hoya carnosa) wither?” I am the 
possessor of a Wax Plant, 36 inches high. In April, 
the leaves began to wither and turn yellow; in May I 
changed the plant to a larger pot, putting in rich 
garden earth well sifted—I let it stand for one week, 
watering it as usual; I then made a water-pail full of 
soapsuds of common lmr-soap and tepid water, and 
using a watering pot, washed the plant with it. rins¬ 
ing it well with clear tepid water; in two weeks after 
I repeated the washing, both times selecting rainy 
days. My plant is now sending out new leaves; it 
Tradescantia. —Vines are great favorites of mine, 
especially those which will grow in the shade. They 
look so graceful and pretty twining around picture 
frames, trailing over vases, brackets and mantels, and 
making our very walls a Support lor their brightness 
and beauty. Surely, there are no ornaments more 
beautiful than those which nature provides, for making 
our homes cheerful and pleasant. Last November, 
before we had hard frosts, I cut about fifteen sprigs of 
what we call Jacob’s Ladder or Joint Plant (I think 
it is the green variety of Tradescantia); they were very 
thrifty, having grown in a shady, sheltered place in 
the garden. I put them in a Parian marble vase of 
water, where they rooted, and grew very fast. The 
longest ones were eight inches in length when cut, 
and now (1st of June) they are five feet, and several 
of them have branched. I have trained them over our 
book shelves, and a picture which hangs above them, 
and the glossy green vines are peeping out from every 
nook and corner, looking as pretty aud growing as 
fast as ever. I keep the vase full of water, and when 
the leaves get dusty, I take it down and sprinkle 
them. It those who never have grown this plant in 
water, would do so, they would be amply repaid for 
their trouble. I think the cuttings should be thrifty, 
and placed in something which the light cannot shine 
through, as the roots like darkness. Can any one tell 
me of another vine that will grow in water ? Does 
any one know of a remedy for lice on Aster roots ? 
We lost three-quarters of a large collection last year 
by the little torments. The black ants destroy our 
Peony buds every year; what will prevent them ? 
Warren, R. I. Minnie. 
Asparagus.— In answer to Mitchella Repens, in 
the August number of the Cabinet, I would say that 
Asparagus will, in my opinion, answer her require¬ 
ments, and add grace and beauty to her bouquets. If 
she will send me her address, I will send her some 
seeds in the Autumn. C. L. Marion. 
Woburn, Mass. 
