336 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



but know nothing of their lilces and dislikes. 

 Mrs. Loudon says, in speaking of the family of 

 plants, " Keep them dry from October until 

 March." This does not seem to be kind treat- 

 ment, I must say, and as I wish to do the best 

 by this plant, I shall look anxiously for the next 

 monthly issue of Mr. Meehan's paper, and hope 

 to find some general directions there." 



[Cactuses like to be comparatively dry during 

 winter, but not so absolutely dry as Mrs. Loudon's 

 expression would imply. They love light. It 

 ought not be difficult to keep it over the winter 

 in any dry, light place, just cool enough to be 

 secure from frost. — Ed. G. M.] 



Marechal Niel Rose. — C. E. P. says : " In the 

 April number of the Monthly, page 100, 1 notice 

 an extract from the Gardener's Chronicle relative 

 to the origin of the Marechal Niel Rose. An 

 article in the American Agriculturist, for 1866, 

 says, " It is a seedling of M. Pradel, of Montau- 

 ban, France, and first flowered in this country in 

 the summer of 1866." 



AcHYRANTHUS GiLSONi. — C. E. P. says : " In 

 the February Monthly, page 44, W. T. Bell, in a 

 note on Achyranthus, asks which is correct, 

 A. Gilsoni or A. Gibsoni ? A. Gilsoni is correct. 



It was named after its originator. Mr. Gilson, 

 gardener to Mrs. Barton, of Tarrytown, N. Y., 

 with whom it originated daring the summer of 

 1S68." 



Half-hardy Greenhouse Plants. — Mrs. R. B. 

 E., Melrose, Mass., asks : " Will some one inform 

 me through the Monthly if Jasminum officinale 

 is hardy in this latitude. Also the winter treat- 

 ment of Possoquera longiflora. It only grows 

 for a few weeks in the summer, and remains 

 dormant the rest of the time. Should it be kept 

 rather dry, and in a sunny or shady position? 

 Also, at what season does it flower, and how old 

 must it be? Mine is not three years old. Can 

 Dipladenia be grown outside of a hot-house, say 

 in a room where Crotons, Dracenas, Allamandas 

 etc., grow well? They are so very beautiful, I 

 am very desirous of trying them, if there is any 

 probable chance of success." 



Camphor and Tobacco Stems. — G. M. R., Au- 

 burn, Maine. Can any of our readers answer 

 the following inquiry. The editor has had no 

 experience : " Will crude camphor sprinkled on 

 tobacco stems, when used for fumigating green- 

 houses, kill tlie Mealy Bug, and is it liable to in- 

 jure plants when so used?" 



Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



MARKET GARDENING. 



BY MR. MANSFIELD MILTON. 



When I came to this country I held a good 

 many such notions as "English Gardener," p. 276, 

 with reference to the cultivation of the soil. I 

 thought that ploughing was not so beneficial as 

 digging, that crops would not do so well, and 

 all such nonsense. This was before I had tried 

 the plow. With digging I expected to have 

 better crops than my neighbors with their plow- 

 ing, but I found my mistake, and that as good 

 crops, if not much better, were raised when the 

 plow was used than when the spade was, and 

 at less than half cost. I, therefore, put the 

 spade to one side and adopted the plow instead. 



I and so far have not had any reason to regret it 

 but the reverse, as I am confident I can raise 

 better crops by the use of the plow, cultivator 

 and other American implements, and at one- 

 third the cost than if I were to stick to the old- 

 fashioned practices of the English market gar- 

 dener. For the sake of his own success I 

 would advise him, if he expects to compete 

 successfully with those who use the plow, in- 

 stead of the spade, to go and do likewise. And 

 in the Old Country nurseries and market gar- 

 dens, where they are adopting the plow in- 

 stead of the spade, as good plants and vegeta- 

 bles are raised as under the old regime of the 

 spade and spud. 



Mr. Henderson and I differ in a good many 

 ways, but I wish I could stand on the same 



