Dece.mbek 



1897. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Cattleyas Mounted in Various Ways. 



with no fear of injury as the}- dry out 

 ver\- quickly. 



Fig. 2 .shows the ordinary orcliid basket 

 which is to my mind the next best 

 method of growing. I use the fern stems 

 here also. I put as nnich as I can into 

 the basket, then fix the specimen upon 

 the top with wire staples; in all cases a 

 small wad of peat is used between the 

 staple and the plant to insure against the 

 acidity of the staple. 



Figs. 3, 4 and 6 you will perceive are 

 boards. We adhere to no particular kind 

 of wood as we find that the cattleya will 

 take to anything if it is clean. In mount- 

 ing the plants here we use short staples and 

 wire nails. We place a thin cushion of 

 fibrous peat upon the board and spread 

 the plants well out, nailing them firmly 

 down with the staples. 



Fig. 5 is the most familiar way of grow- 

 ing cattleyas and is very desirable in a 

 great many cases. They are eas}- to 

 handle and ser\-iceable for house or deco- 

 rative purposes, in fact they are indispen.s- 

 able in a private garden. 



I again recommend the fern stems in- 

 stead of the orthodox compo of pot 

 shreds, peat and chopped sphagnum. Pot 

 in the ordinary way with pieces of fern 

 stems, top-dress with sphagnum as the 

 season advances. In regard to stimulants, 

 it is an understood fact that the climate 

 of this country is ver\' exhaustive both to 

 animal and plant life, therefore to main- 

 tain the longevity of j-our plants 3'OU 

 must feed well. ISy considerable experi- 

 ence I have come to the conclusion that 

 you may use any mild stimulant directly 

 to the root of the cattleya with beneficial 



results. Some experienced growers use 

 various .salts, such as nitrate of soda, pot- 

 ash, sulphate of ammonia, etc., but in the 

 hands of the inexperienced they are dan- 

 gerous except for atmospheric'treatment. 

 Cattleyas handled right, on the cool and 

 airy system, under very thin shade, 

 coupled with the above remarks, ought to 

 produce flowers of great substance, color 

 and size. 



Cattleyas when growing require a 

 genial moist atmosphere, with a tempera- 

 ture as near 6o° as you can keep it. 

 When resting you will preserve the vitali- 

 ty of the plants by maintaining a drier 

 atmosphere, with just sufficient water at 

 the root to keep the psuedo-bulbs from 

 shriveling, a temperature from 45° to 50° 

 with plenty of air and light when 

 permissible, and if your plants have been 

 grown under thin shade, as advised, you 

 may now expose your labiatas to the full 

 benefit of the winter sun, which will 

 insure a .strong lead in March, with 

 po.sitive flower. 



Varieties most desirable for commercial 

 work are: Labiata, Trian;e, MossicC, and 

 Gi,gas, which will give a succession of 

 flowers from October to June. 



J. Robertson, 



Madi.son, N. J. 



(To be continued.) 



NOTES ON PARK PLANTING. 



Tree, shrubs and grass largely form the 

 scenery of nature, and their harmonious 

 arrangement constitutes the charm of a 

 pleasing landscape; the study then of 

 where to plant, how to plant and what to 

 plant, is an important one with reference 

 to the planting of public parks. 



Generally speaking a park should have 

 a broad belt of trees and shrubber%- on its 

 borders, an exception to this rule being 

 when a desirable view can, by the omis- 

 sion, be obtained beyond the limits of the 

 park, and this shoxdd not be done to the 

 detriment of any view or effects within 

 the park, unless the- vie\\^ obtained is of 

 surpassing beauty or interest and is not 

 likely to be shut out by buildings or other 

 disturbing features introduced into the 

 foreground by the growth of population. 

 The object of the bordering belt of woods 

 is to shut out urban life, and to provide 

 masses of foliage as a rest for the eye 

 across the interior vistas. The import- 

 ance, then, of planting as soon as practica- 

 ble this screen and background is appar- 

 ent; its absence makes difficult the crea- 

 tion of good landscapic effects within the 

 park. 



It ma}' be laid down as an axiom in 

 park development, that to prepare for 

 planting should be the first aim of the 

 landscape gardener, that no work of any 

 kind should be done in preference to that 

 which can be done in the furtherance of 

 this object; roads, walks and buildings 

 are only secondary in importance in the 

 initial steps of park construction, and 

 should onl}- have such attention as may- 

 be necessar)- to further the preparation of 

 the ground for planting. 



The outlines of the bordering timber 

 belt should conform to the natural ex- 

 pression of the topography of the ground, 

 or be varied to form recesses and projec- 

 tions along the foliage line, every point 

 or bay being studied with reference to 



