THE PLANT WORI.D 143 



The Home Garden and Greenhouse. 



Conducted by F. H. Knowlton. 



[The editor of this department will be glad to answer questions of a rele- 

 vant nature, and also to receive short articles on any phase of this subject.] 



The Japanese Snowball. — One of the handsomest shrubs for lawn 

 decoration is the Japanese Snowball ( Viburnum plicatuni), a native, as its 

 name implies, of Japan. When grown alone it forms a very compact 

 bush, five to eight feet in height and nearly as much in diameter. In 

 May it is covered with a great mass of globular flower clusters so as to 

 almost obscure the branches. The fine leaves are apparently plaited, 

 hence its specific name. It may be trained in tree form, but is perhaps 

 best when allowed to form a globular shape. 



Pink-flowered Locust. — The pink locust (^Robinia rosed), a native 

 of the southern mountains, is a very showy bush from two to four feet 

 in height, covered in spring with a profusion of racemes of clear pink 

 flowers. It makes a very pretty addition to the hardy hedgerow and is of 

 the easiest culture, requiring simply to be planted in any good soil. It 

 propagates by underground suckers and in a few years will form a dense 

 thicket unless restrained. It is also readily grown from seeds. 



Easter Lilies. — A correspondent requests information as to the dis- 

 position of Kaster lilies after they have been forced. Ordinarily they are 

 discarded, for few people have facilities for caring for them, and they are 

 not especially successful when forced a second time. Perhaps the best 

 disposition to make is to plant them out in the ground, when according 

 to some they will continue for years showing each season a fair propor- 

 tion of bloom. They are very closely allied to the longifloruvi lily, 

 which is so conspicuous a feature in out-of-door planting, and when 

 protected during the winter may live for many years. They may also be 

 kept in a greenhouse and forced into flower the next season, but, as stated, 

 the second forcing is not as satisfactory. Perhaps some of our readers 

 can give other and more specific means for utilizing them. 



Raising Cucumbers. — A great many plans for utilizing a small space 

 of ground for cucumbers have been suggested, but one of the best we 

 have observed is as follows : Cut a flour or sugar barrel in half and 

 bury the larger end an inch or two in the ground. Fill the bottom to 

 the depth of eight inches with loose stones, broken crocks, etc., and the 

 remainder to within two inches of the top with very rich earth. The 

 seed may be planted and induced to germinate, even before danger of 

 frost is passed, by covering the top of the barrel with glass. If too cold 

 the glass may be left in position at night until safe to remove it. It is 

 an easy matter to water plants grown in this way and the drainage 



