THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
27 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society. —Spe¬ 
cial list of prizes for Spring- Flowering Bulbs to be ex¬ 
hibited at the Azalea and Rose Exhibition, March, 1885. 
The liberal premiums offered are a sufficient inducement 
for the florists to make an extra effort to secure them. 
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society is fortunate in 
having a sufficient number of public-spirited amateurs to 
make their monthly exhibitions always attractive. 
Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society.— 
Preliminary announcement of their Sixth Annual Meeting, 
to be held at New Orleans, January 14, 1885. From the 
reports of the proceedings of this society we consider it the 
leading Horticultural Society in the United States. 
Ant. Roozen & Sons, Overveen, Holland send 
us the first catalogue for 1885, through their agent, J. A. de 
Veer, 318 Broadway, New York. Messrs. Roozen are one 
of the largest Bulb firms in Holland, having seventy-five 
acres in cultivation. This is, we believe, the first spring 
catalogue they have sent out, although they have long been 
known to the amateurs of this country. They list a very 
large collection of Gladioli, of the leading sorts and 
novelties ; Dahlias in more than one hundred varieties ; 
Ranunculus, Iris, Begonias, Gloxinias, Amaryllis, and a 
large collection of Miscellaneous Bulbs, Roots and plants. 
The many testimonials from well-known parties is a suffi¬ 
cient guarantee of the firm’s intelligent and upright 
method of transacting business. 
James Vick, Rochester, N. Y.—Floral Guide for 1885. 
In addition to the usual attractions they offer, they have 
this year added fruit and ornamental trees to their lists, 
which renders their catalogue complete. Every owner of 
a garden should have a copy. 
John Lewis Childs, Queens, N. Y., sends to his 
customers, and to all others that apply, a Catalogue of New 
Rare and Beautiful Flowers, that far surpasses any of his 
previous publications. Its colored plate of Pansies is fully 
equal, if not superior, to any that we have seen in any 
floral publication. It is fully illustrated, and complete in 
cultural instructions, of Bulbs, Seeds or plants, a general 
collection of which is listed, together with Vegetable 
Seeds, Small Fruit plants, etc. 
F. De Sitter, Apeldoorn Nursery, Apeldoorn, Nether¬ 
lands.—-Wholesale Catalogue of Young Roses and Coni¬ 
fers. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Begonia Sceptrum.— Mrs. C. E. Wiley, Vt .—We can¬ 
not say where this plant can be obtained, as we have not 
seen it catalogued by any of our florists. It is not un¬ 
likely that some of our leading ones have it in the course 
of propagation, and will offer it in the catalogues for the 
spring of 1885. We would say here, that many of the 
plants we illustrate cannot, at the time, be readily ob¬ 
tained, as they are often not yet in stock. We make it a 
point to illustrate as soon as they are introduced such 
new plants as we think desirable, and leave it for the 
growers to announce when ready for sale. The new 
varieties of Amaryllis can be obtained from many of our 
leading plant dealers. We cannot discriminate, but 
would suggest your sending for catalogues until you find 
what you desire. No ; you cannot grow the “ Stephan- 
otis ” or “ Dieffenbachia” in your window with any reason¬ 
able hope of success. The Rhynchospermum will do 
moderately well, if the situation is a warm, sunny one. 
Hibiscus.— J. E. E., III .—If your plant drops the buds 
now set, which it is not likely to do, your better plan will 
be to re-pot it in fresh soil, as there is likely some trouble 
at the roots, either disease or insects. In either case, 
shake all the earth from the roots and wash them clean in 
tepid water. In re-potting, use as small a pot as possible, 
without crowding the roots too much, and cut the plant 
pretty well back. We do not, however, think this will be 
necessary. 
Gladiolus.— E. B. H. —-No; Gladioli do not degener¬ 
ate ; that is, they do not change from good to bad. If 
you have had “ Shakespeare,” and have now something 
else in its place, the bulbs must have been purposely 
changed, or else your favorite has died, and some of your 
less fancied ones have taken its place. We cannot ac¬ 
count for the disappointment in any other way ; having 
made this plant a specialty for many years, and carefully 
noting its habits, we have never known a bulb producing 
one flower to change and produce one of another color. 
Yours is a common complaint, and the difficulty may 
arise from the fact that all our best light-colored varieties 
have not as vigorous constitutions as many of the dark 
ones, and will die out, while the dark colors increase 
rapidly. 
Abutilon.— Mrs. H. U. Fay, Mass .—There are no plants 
better adapted for the window garden than Abutilons. 
To succeed well they should be in small pots, and kept as 
cool and given as much light as possible, and avoid frost. 
The varieties are all rapid growers, and to flower pro¬ 
fusely the plants should be kept pot-bound, and occasion¬ 
ally watered with liquid manure. 
Cactus.— Mrs. Bradly, N. J. —It is impossible for us 
to say why a plant does not bloom, unless we know all the 
conditions of its growth. Most of this family are easy 
subjects to manage; their requirements are plenty of heat 
and moisture, when in a growing state, and absolute rest 
at all other times, during which period any warm out-of- 
the-way place will answer: give water very sparingly, just 
sufficient to keep the soil from becoming dusty. The 
flowering buds are formed while the plant is in a growing 
state, and if perfect, which they will be if the plant is in a 
healthy condition, they will, at the proper time, begin to 
develop; then give the plant a sunny situation and water 
liberally. 
