June 6, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
501 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may ewer any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
nut as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only , 
a separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, ^dr^ssed 
envelope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, "The Gardening World," 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Leaves of Black Hamburgh Vines. (T. H.) 
The leaves you sent us were badly affected with warts, which 
are simply watery out-growths or blisters on the under sur ace 
of the leaves, due to the house being kept too close and moist 
Owing to the sunless condition of the weather which prevailed 
mine time ago, you were no doubt keeping the house close m 
order to economise fire heat. This means, however, that the 
atmosphere of the house remains continuously moist for too long 
a period at a stretch. In order to keep Vines healthy, you should 
arrange to ventilate the house .so that the leaves will be dry 
for a period during every twenty-four hours. This will have t n 
effect of hardening the tissues, and promoting healthy growth 
The leaves themselves give evidence of strong, healthy \ mes, and 
unless the warts are very numerous they will exercise very i e 
bad effect upon the Vines, and by following the advice concerning 
ventilation their further growth will be completely stopped. 
The warts on the specimens sent were green, but m all proba¬ 
bility they will presentlv turn brown, and possibly some of the 
blisters will fall out, but you have no need to be alarmed. 
Bottle with Insects. (W. E.) 
As far as we can ascertain, the bottle you sent us did not 
contain any insects whatever, although we turned out the whole 
of the soil and the seeds. You do not state what the insects 
were, nor wliat they were like. We are inclined to think that 
they were insects which merely live upon decaying vegetation, 
and that the bad condition of the roots or plants was not due to 
their presence at all. Just before you sent the bottle we had a 
spell of cold, sunless, and wet weather, making the soil very 
uncongenial for the roots of germinating plants. We are inclined 
to think that the failure of the plants to germinate was due to 
the bad effect of the cold soil upon tender roots. We have our¬ 
selves seen Peas and Scarlet Runners behaving in this way when 
placed in very unfavourable conditions. If the seeds are good 
they will presently germinate with the improved condition as to 
temperature. Some of the seeds you sent us, particularly the 
Parsnip seeds, seemed bad—in fact, they were mere empty 
shells—but possibly those might have been merely a few bad seeds 
lying on the top. All the same, we think that you should care- 
fullj examine all seeds you receive before sowing, to ascertain 
whether they are good. In a short time, or perhaps even now, 
the, germinating seedlings will show where there are blanks, and 
which may be made good at once. As we were going to press your 
second bottle of specimens arrived, and contained a large number 
of creatures known as poduras. We still think, however, that the 
cold, wet soil is at the bottom of the mischief, and that these 
animals are feeding on the decaying vegetation. The moisture 
causes the skin of the seeds to burst, and decay commences. We 
should fork over the ground and resow where necessary. 
Photographic Competition. (J. Lavender.) 
The photographic competition did not extend beyond February, 
bul the readers’ competition still goes on from week to week, 
unless actually crowded out owing to exigency of space. You 
could give a description of the plant you mention without using a 
photograph. It would be very difficult for us to insert photo¬ 
graphs relating to readers’ competition, because in many in¬ 
stances there would be insufficient time to have the photographs 
reproduced. Odontoglossum coronarium is by no means a common 
plant, although we have frequently seen it both in bloom and 
out of bloom. You could very well describe it, and also the means 
of growing and flowering it, without the aid of a photograph. 
Stove and Greenhouse Ferns for Exhibition. (Thos. Wilson.) 
In your letter you speak of stove and greenhouse table Ferns 
suitable for exhibition. Ferns are not very often employed 
amongst exhibits of what are called table decoration plants, 
and we are not quite sure whether this is actually what you 
mean, or whether you merely require Ferns suitable for exhibi¬ 
tion. Any small Ferns may be used for table decoration, but for 
exhibition purposes they would have to be much larger in order 
to gain prizes at the competition. If this is what you mean, we 
can give you a list of Ferns that are most popular with exhi 
bitors. In the way of Adiantums you should include A. ainabile, 
A. farleyense, A. Williamsii, and possibly some of the larger- 
growing forms of A. cuneatum. Other good Ferns are Davallia 
fijiensis and its forms, I). mooreana, Gleichenia flabellata, 
Cibotium Scliidei, Lomaria gibba platypterum, Microlepia hirta 
cristata, Nephrolepis davallioides furcans, Pteris serrulata 
cristata and Polypodium aureum. The above are twelve of the 
most commonly exhibited Ferns, most of which are of fairly 
large size, the largest being the Cibotium. 
Six Narrow-leaved Crotons. (Thos. Wilson.) 
The under-mentioned selection is given for the sake of variety. 
For instance, there are several Crotons which are more or less 
similar to some of those which we have given you, but we have 
made the selection to give wider distinction. Croton Mrs. 
McLeod has linear leaves variegated with yellow orange-crimson 
and olive green. Warrenii has spiral leaves, mottled and suf¬ 
fused with orange-yellow and carmine. C. aigburtliense has 
linear leaves beautifully lined with yellow on a deep green 
ground. C. aneitumense has somewhat broader leaves richly 
netted with yellow. C. Laingii has a yellow, red, and crimson 
leaves, and the stems are also mere or less highly coloured, 
so that a well-grown plant is handsome. C. Oerstedi has short 
and narrow leaves, richly blotched with yellow on a green 
ground. 
Cold Producing Blisters on Peaches. (F. C. M.) 
A sunless and damp atmosphere may contribute to the spreading 
of the disease, but it is primarily due to a distinct cause, namely, 
the fungus Exoascus deformans. In all probability your trees 
were affected last year, and with the advent of warmer weather 
and the growth of the- trees the fungus commences to be active 
again, and if the weather is favourable to its development it may 
increase rapidly, and becomes most evident on account of the 
check which the trees may receive from cold and unfavourable 
weather, which prevents the rapid development of young growth, 
so that the diseased leaves become the most prominent part of 
the trees and make them appear worse than they are. With the 
advent of better weather your trees will outgrow the malady, 
unless they are very badly affected. Cure is really difficult or 
almost impossible, however, as the fungus lives in the interior of 
the leaves and in the branches during winter. 
Scented-leaved Pelargoniums. (D, Wallace.) 
We have not heard of new ones of recent introduction, though 
some may be at work hybridising those already in cultivation. 
The scented-leaved Pelargoniums are really all very old, though 
tley have been much neglected in recent years, and the love for 
them has only revived more or less within the last few years. 
They might be turned to excellent account, however, for con¬ 
servatory work, and, though not new, are- just as good as ever, 
and as a rule easily obtainable. 
Names of Plants. 
(J. McH.) Restrepia antennifera.—(Perplexed) 1, Begonia 
semperflorens carminata gigamtea ; 2, Jasmin,um Samfbac; 3, 
Mimulus glutinosus puniceus (often named Diplacus glutin-osus 
puniceus); 4, Asparagus retroflexus; 5, Lomaria gibba (platy- 
phylla; Blechnum braziliense.-—(A. M.) 1, Saxifraga muscoides 
Rhei; 2, Saxifraga Wallaoei; 3, Saxifraga umbrosa ; 4, Cen- 
taurea montana rubra; 5, Veronica -gentianioides.—(W. B.) 1, 
Cytisus albus; 2, Cytisus fragrans ; 3, Mespilus Smithii ; 4, 
Crataegus oxyacanthoides punioea plena; 5, Cytisus schip 
kaensis ; 6, Wistaria sinensis alba.—(A. C.) 1, Oncidium mar- 
shallianum ; 2, Oncidium co-ncolor ; 3, Cattleya Scliroderae; 4, 
Cattleya Mo-ssiae Reineokeana; 5, Dendrobium Bensoniae. 
Communications Received. 
A. B.—A. E. Wallace.—D. M.—H. B.—Pern.—W. P. R., 
Preston. — E. A. S.—W. E.—A. N.-^D. T. —II. Groves.—H. 
Read.—A. M. T.—R. A. S.—H. D.—W. W.—B. W.—H. J. D. 
—F. W. 
Trade Catalogue Received. 
Dammann and Co., San Giovanni, Teduccio, near Naples 
Italy.—Catalogue of bulbs, roots, plants, seeds for autumn 
sowing, etc. 
