May 1, 1902. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



815 



beyond the newspaper description. Mr. 

 Foster will have 100,000 of thgm ready 

 for September distribution. Its habits 

 are good and so is its parentage. I pre- 

 dict a great future and widespread pop- 

 ularity for Nephropelis Fosterianna. 



Austin. 



FROM OUR ENGLISH EXCHANGES. 



The Gardeners' Magazine. 



Selacjinella roK Decorating. — The 

 method employed by those who use the 

 dwarf selaginella (S. Kraussiana) large- 

 ly as carpeting under larger plants used 

 for decorating and in shallow recep- 

 tacles in eoEJunction wdth cut flowers, 

 forced bulbs, etc., is quite a simple one. 

 Only the growing tips are used for prop- 

 agation, and these are dibbled in moder- 

 ately close together in shallow boxes or 

 pans. Here, in a warm house, they root 

 quickly, and make a beautiful surfacing 

 of greenery that can be lifted out and 

 used for many purposes without giving 

 much evidence of recent removal. It is 

 when the selaginella has to be torn 

 asunder because the growths have be- 

 come interlaced that it for some time 

 assumes a draggled appearance. Fre- 

 quent propagation from tips, and a 

 shallow rooting medium pre the essential 

 points to be observed. 



Slime Weeds on Ponds.— In reply to 

 several queries respecting the best meth- 

 od of keeping ponds and lakes clear of 

 slime weed, a correspondent sends the 

 following: "It may interest your read- 

 ers to know that for years we had a 

 hard battle with slime weed in our large 

 pond, and though we frequently raked 

 the weed out it increased with great 

 rapidity, and the water never seemed 

 clean. The difficulty has, however, been 

 overcome in a simple way. We secured 

 a pair of swans, and these birds not only 

 add to the beauty of the artificial water, 

 but they keep the water clean." 



Beoonia Lafayette. — This brilliant 

 crimson-scarlet, double-flowered begonia 

 forms the dominant feature of a large 

 oval bed at Hampton Court, and pre- 

 sents the most attractive floral bed out 

 of the one hundred and thirlv-four in 

 those famous gardens. It is safe to say 

 that there are few more beautiful beds 

 in the kingdom than is this one. It is 

 the great merit of this begonia that, 

 whilst the flowers are densely double, 

 they are not large, and are held very 

 erect. It is, for bedding, the best tuber- 

 ous begonia ever sent out. The plants 

 are thinly disposed on a carpet of Leuco- 

 phyton Browni. From out of their midst 

 stand up here and there golden-plumed 

 eelosias and a few silver variegated 

 fuchsias and abutilons, with, for dress 

 plants, Eulalia zebrina, the whole being 

 edged with the prostrate Abutilon vex- 

 illarium variegatum. The begonia will 

 doubtless be in universal request next 

 year. 



Begonia President Caknot. — ^Within 

 the last few years increased attention has 

 been directed towards the shrubby forms 

 of begonia, and deservedly so, for the or- 

 namental qualities of some of them are 

 of a liigh order. A particularly showy hy- 

 brid is President Carnot, w'hich pushes 

 up stout shoots clothed with light green 

 leaves, tinged more or less with red. It 

 will reach a height of three to four 

 feet, and in this way the massive droop- 

 ing clusters of blossoms are seen to 

 great advantage. Some of the clusters 



are nearly a foot in diameter, and eon- 

 tain a great number of bright rosy 

 carmine tinted flowers. The male and 

 female blossoms are borne in separate 

 bunches, the last-named being by far the 

 more showy and lasting in character. 

 When growing freely, this variety flow- 

 ers almost throughout the year. It bears 

 n considerable resemblance to the old 

 Begonia coccinea, often known in gar- 

 dens as B. corallina, which was one of its 

 parents, the other being the Brazilian 

 Begonia olbia. This hyljrid was raised 

 by M. Crozy, then of Lyons, and distrib- 

 uted about ten years ago. By reason of 

 its striking appearance and freedom of 

 flowering it soon became popular, and is 

 now met with in most collections. Be- 

 gonia coccinea or corallina, above allud- 

 ed to as one of its parents, is a very 

 showy species, under certain conditions. 

 (Jiven liberal treatment and a light, airy 

 structure, it will push up sturdy shoots 

 to a height of six feet or more, and pro- 

 duce in abundance its clusters of bright 

 coral-red blossoms. 



Lagerstroemia Indica. — During 

 growth copious supplies of water will be 

 necessary, and increased heat. Red spi- 

 der often attacks the plants, therefore 

 heavy syringings should be frequently 

 given as a deterrent until flowering 

 i-ommences. A compost consisting of 

 equal parts peat and loam, with a small 

 portion of dried cow manure, broken 

 finely, and a liberal addition of silver 

 sand will suit the plants admirably. 

 Ample drainage should always be given 

 to allow the water to pass away from 

 the soil freely. As soon as it is seen 

 that the new roots are active, with a 

 corresponding grow'th at the top, then 

 is the time to apply weak liquid manure 

 once or twice a week. When the plants 

 pass out of flower water should be grad- 

 ually withheld, and in winter but very 

 little will suffice. Cuttings of the half- 

 ripened wood will be found to strike 

 readily in sand, if the pots are phmged 

 in the propagating bed. To insure an 

 abundance of flowers the lagerstroemias 

 must not be over-potted. 



FucHAi'.is.— The bulb mite has played 

 such sad havoc among eucharis during 

 recent years that one rarely meets with 

 the robust, healthy plants so common a 

 few years since. Ne%'ertheless strenuous 

 efforts should be made to cope with it, 

 as few stove plants are more charming 

 or u.»efu! when at their best. It is not 

 at all necessary to repot the plants an- 

 nually, providing they are in a satisfac- 

 tory condition. I am perfectly certain 

 that much of the trouble is caused by im- 

 perfect drainage and overwatering. 

 Though undoubtedly a moisture-loving 

 plaut, the eucharis will not succeed for 

 any length of time when in sour soil, 

 consequently every care should be taken 

 to insure good drainage. 'ihe crocks 

 should be thoroughly clean, carefully ar- 

 ranged, and covered with some good 

 tough fiber so that the fine soil cannot 

 pass through it. A suitable compost is 

 two parts light fibi'ous loam and two 

 parts peat, both of which should be 

 broken by hand, and one part leaf-soil, 

 with a liberal amount of finely-broken 

 potsherds, charcoal, and coarse silver 

 sand, all of which should be mixed and 

 warmed before use. The compost should 

 be made moderately firm about the 

 bulbs. After potting, place the plants 

 in a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees, but 

 do not plunge the pots. Great care 

 should be exercised not to overwater. 



Syringe the foliage two or three times 

 (luring the day, always using tepid water 

 for this purpose and for watering. 



Epiphyllums. — These highly attrac- 

 tive winter-flowering plants are well 

 worthy of extended cultivation, and 

 though they flourish fairly well on their 

 own roots and are easily raised from 

 cuttings, they are much more effective 

 wiien woi'keO on the pereskia. The 

 stock should be from nine inches to a 

 fool in height, and split down the cen- 

 ter about one inch; into the split insert 

 a short piece of young epiphyllum 

 growth, which should be prepared wedge- 

 shaped to make it fit as neatly as pos- 

 sible, and pin the whole firmly with one 

 of the thorns taken from the pereskia. 

 Finally, bind a little soft moss round, fix 

 with bast, place in a shady part of the 

 stove, and keep damp, when in a short 

 time the two will unite and the scion 

 commence to grow. Epiphyllums are 

 generally most serviceable in five-inch 

 or six-inch pots in a compost of peat, 

 loam, and lime rubble. They should be 

 placed in the stove to make their growth, 

 and again introduced to heat when re- 

 quired to flower, but very little water 

 should be given till after they have fin- 

 ished blooming. 



Begonia Turnford Hall. — This is un- 

 .questionably one of the greatest flori- 

 cultural gains of the season, and it is 

 not surp)'ising that it should have cre- 

 ated much interest among the visitors to 

 the Drill Hall, or that every member of 

 the R. H. S. Floral Committee should 

 have voted in favor of its receiving dis- 

 tinction. It has much the same habit as 

 the best type of Gloire de Lorraine; the 

 flowers are, if anything, a size larger and 

 white, tinged with rose pink. The plants 

 placed on the committee table were 

 simply cones of flowers, and afforded the 

 best possible proof of the value of the 

 variety for decorative purposes. 



Deutzia Gracilis. — To obtain the 

 best results with this beautiful shrubby 

 plant, they should be pruned immediate- 

 ly after "they have done flowering an- 

 nually, and after they have well broken 

 away repotted in an open rich compost, 

 and encouraged to make the best possible 

 growth in an intermediate temperature. 

 They should afterwards be removed to a 

 cold frame to complete their growth, and 

 tiien removed to the open to thoroughly 

 ripen. The long young shoots, if well 

 done, will flower from tip to base, and 

 are much more beautiful and useful 

 than when the flowers are borne on 

 stunted branches. 



The Soil is a laboratory or workshop 

 in which a number of most wonderful 

 chemical actions are taking place, 

 whereby nlant-food is always being pre- 

 pared little by little for reception and 

 assimilation by the growing plant. In 

 this way the agencies of Nature assist 

 the gardener in converting insoluble or- 

 ganic matter and mineral substances into 

 an assimilable form for plants; should 

 there be no growing plants ready to 

 take up the nitric acid as it is formed it 

 is lost, for it has been well said that the 

 element nitrogen is always trying either 

 to run away in the drainage or to fly 

 away as ammonia-gas into the atmos- 

 phere. The mineral substances, ex- 

 cept lime, are held in suspension by the 

 soil until needed. 



Acacia Verticill.wa. — Compared 

 with some of the acacias this is by no 



