1877." 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



73 



Such, of South Amboy, particularly, many kinds 

 have been brought within the reach of almost all. 



Setting mere taste aside for the present, how- 

 ever, and returning to practical matters of de- 

 tail, we may note the following as among some 

 of the most pressing duties of the season among 

 flowers. 



Geraniums, Pelargoniums, Cinerarias and Chi- 

 nese Primroses must be kept as near the glass and 

 light as possible; they do little good in shady 

 places. Keep off" the green Aphis— for this on 

 a small scale there is nothing like hot water; on 

 a large scale, tobacco smoke in several succes- 

 sive light doses is still the best remedy. 



Fuchsias may now be readily struck from the 

 young growth from the old plants, which will 

 make excellent blooming plants for the next 

 summer season. 



Chrj'santhemums should now be raised from 

 cuttings for Fall flowering. They make better 

 blooming plants than ofF-sets. 



Auriculas, Carnations, Pinks and Polyanthus — 

 the prettiest of florists' flowers — must be kept 

 cool, just free from frost, with plenty of air if the 

 best results are desired. 



Pansies are coming now into flower. They 

 like an airy frame, where they will not be roasted 

 at mid-day, nor exposed to drying winds, and yet 

 have a free circulation of air and plenty of light. 

 Planted out in such a frame, and the old shoots 

 cut away as soon as the plant has done flowering, 

 the plants will keep healthy over till the next 

 season. Superior varieties can be raised from 

 seed. Choose those with the roundest petals, 

 best colors, and the first flowers that open, to 

 raise seed from. 



New Holland and Cape plants, such as Epacris, 

 Acacia, Heaths, etc., are now the glory of the 

 greenhouse ; hot bursts of sun on them should 

 be avoided, as it lays in them the seeds of " con- 

 sumption," which frequently carries them off" 

 the following summer. 



Azaleas succeed well by grafting with the half 

 ripe shoots of the present season's growth on 

 plants raised either by seeds or cuttings. Old 

 wood does not take readily. 



Camellias will require rather more water while 

 growing than at other times. Just before they 

 grow, is a good season to graft. Cut down the 

 stock, cleft graft in the crown, wax, and plunge 

 in a bottom heat of 70°. A great many kinds 

 may be had on one plant by the bottle sys- 

 tem, practiced by the writer's father, thirty 

 years ago. A shoot about to grow is ob- 



tained and attached to the stock as in inarching, 

 the end of the shoot being put in a small phial 

 of water suspended beneath it. This plan does 

 best, however, with the young wood in July. 



Look out for a good stock of bedding plants 

 in time ; by sti-iking cuttings of such things as 

 grow rapidly and speedily, and sowing seeds of 

 such annuals as may be advanced to advantage. 



Dahlias should now be brought forward. A 

 good plan is to shorten the extremity of the 

 roots, put them in six inch pots and place in a 

 warm greenhouse. In a few weeks they will 

 sprout, when they should be shaken out, divided 

 with a piece of root to each sprout and sepa- 

 rately potted in 4-inch pots. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



LA BELLE CARNATION. 



BY E. LOXDSDALK, GERMANTOWN, PA. 



When looking over an old Monthly (January, 

 1875,) recently, I fell across the following, which 

 is from the pen of Mr. Chitty, of the Bellevue 

 Nursery Company : — " I am delighted with La 

 Belle; it produces more than twice as many 

 flowers as Degraw in a given space. I am try- 

 ing to get up a stock of about 20,000 for my own 

 planting indoors for next Winter's flowering. It 

 requires more head room than Degraw, but I 

 intend building a house specially for it. I am 

 perfectly satisfied it is the best thing in the way 

 of a white winter flowering Carnation in the 

 market." 



As a difference of opinion exists about La 

 Belle for the purpose claimed for it by Mr. C, 

 it would doubtless interest numerous readers 

 of the Monthly — myself among the number— to 

 know what special treatment it requires to pro- 

 duce such results. Most of the florists I come 

 in contact with are dissatisfied with it, the com- 

 plaint being that it fails to flower freely. The 

 flower itself is the best white we have; large and 

 well filled up in the centre. For this reason it 

 will never be entirely discarded ; but to grow it 

 to the exclusion of all other whites, I fear will 

 never be, unless Mr, Chitty will favor us with 

 the experience on which he based his judgment. 



My own experience is that it requires to be 

 rooted earlier, and not stopped or pinched back 

 so late as is recommended for other varieties; 

 but even then, when growing side by side with 



