258 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[September, 



enh'rrh/ u-ith earth, until wanted in Spring. Surli 

 things niako a stnMiger growtli the next season, 

 tlian if just dug hefore transplanting. 



As soon as Dutch hulbs can be obtained, they 

 should be at once i)lanted. Of all fertilizers, well- 

 rotted cow-manure has been found best for them, 

 and especially if nii.xed with a portion of fine 

 sand. They should be set about four inches 

 beneath the surface of the ground, and a little 

 sand put about the root when being planted. 

 A very wet soil usually rots the roots, and a dry 

 one detracts from the size of the blooms. A soil 

 in which the generality of garden vegetables do 

 well, is one of the best for these plants, 



Tliose who have no greenhouse, and yet are 

 desirous of preserving many half-hardy plants 

 through the Winter, employ cold pits. Choose 

 the dryest situation in the garden, and sink 

 about five feet in depth. It is important that no 

 water can be retained at the bottom. The pit 

 may be of any length required, and about five 

 feet wide, so as to accommodate six feet sash. 

 The inside of the pit may be built up of boards, 

 or, if something more durable and substantial is 

 required, brick or stone. The body of the frame 

 may be built up a few feet above the level of the 

 surrounding soil, and the earth which comes from 

 the pit be employed in banking up to the upper 

 level of the frame. Shelving should be made for 

 the inside so as to extend from the base of the front 

 to nearly the top of the back, on wliich to place 

 the plants in pots. In the space which will then 

 be under the staging, hard wooded and decidu- 

 ous plants, as lemon verbena, fuchsias, etc., may 

 be safely stored, while the more succulent kinds 

 are shelved overhead. The )>lants to be pre- 

 served in such a pit should be potted early, and 

 be well established and healthly before being 

 pitted ; much of success depends on this. The 

 less water they can be made to live on without 

 withering through the Winter the better they will 

 keep. Straw mats must be employed to cover 

 the glass when freezing time commences, and 

 when the thermometer is likely to fall below 20°, 

 straw or litter should be thrown over. Board 

 shutters are also excellent, as it keeps the snow 

 out from the straws and litter, which sometimes 

 makes the mats very awkward to uncover when 

 we would like to give air. Very little light or 

 air will be required through the Winter, when 

 the plants are not growing. If a good fall of 

 snow cover the pit, it may lie on undisturbed for 

 two weeks or more without injury. When a 

 warm, dry day offers, the sashes may be raised if 



convenient, to dry up the damp. Many kinds 

 of border i)lantH can be kept over Winter this 

 way with little trouble. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



DIPLACUS GLUTINOSUS. 



BY WILLIAM FAI/'ONKR. 



This is a remarkably pretty shrubby Mimu- 

 lus, a native of California, not hardy here, but 

 an excellent subject for greenhouse decoration 

 in Spring, and the flower garden in Summer, Its 

 blooms are comparatively large, orange butT, 

 axillary, and profusely borne on the short- 

 jointed stems and branches. It roots readily 

 from cuttings, and the smallest plants bloom. 

 Out of doors it is said to prefer a moist or 

 swampy soil, but judging from our own plants — 

 some growing by a water Spring and others in 

 common garden soil and location — I cannot 

 perceive a preference, for in both cases the plants 

 are thrifty and heavily bloomed. 



LILIUM HUMBOLTII. 



BY W. C. L. DREW, EL DORADO, CALIFORNIA. 



Lilium Humboltii is a native of California, it 

 is found along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada 

 Mountains and in the northern part of the State. 



This plant was first discovered by Roezl, who 

 named it after Baron Humbolt, Humboltii; a 

 short time afterwards it was again discovered by 

 another eminent botanist. Dr. Kellogg, who 

 named it Bloonieranium, after Bloomer, a noted 

 Car foi'nia botanist. Which name is the proper 

 one, it would be hard to say, it is offered in the 

 market under both names, some dealers not 

 thinking two names were enough, have gave it 

 several others, such as Californicum, and I see 

 by the January Gardener's Monthly it is sold in 

 Europe under the name Humboltianum, not 

 much different from Humboltii, but enough to 

 cause confusion, and disappoint many who buy 

 under one name and then under the other. 



The flowers are of a golden yellow color, 

 spotted; the spots on first opening of the flower 

 are of a purple shade, but change to brown in a 

 few days^ 



The flowers are about six to eight inches in 

 diameter ; the petals turning backwards almost 

 touch the flower stem, forming the flower into a 



