1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



169 



quite freely to the earth, and found it restored 

 the plants to health and beauty in a very short 

 time. It will also kill lice upon the stalks, if ap- 

 plied with a swab or feather to the plants, with- 

 out injuring the foliage. — Country Gentleman. 



Ivy as a Dkcorative Plant. — Gardeners are 

 beginning to appreciate more fully than they 

 used to do the value of Ivy for a variety of pur- 

 poses. Connoisseurs, too, have begun to collect, 

 studj' and classify the many varieties. Mr. Shirley 

 Hibberd has written one of the most pleasant and 

 valuable garden monographs concerning them. 

 Town squares are largely decorated with them, a 

 practice, we borrowed in great measure from our 

 French neighbors, and one we hope to see 

 extended and improved upon, as few plants 

 do better in confined spaces and dirty atmos- 

 phere than the free-growing sorts of Ivies ; in 

 fact, the I\'y is a most accommodating plant, 

 as our French friends have discovered. We 

 give an illustration of a movable tent, or 

 sun-shade, formed of Ivy, and which we copy 

 from a recent number of the Revue Horticole. 

 Patience and time are required to make such a 

 veritable " umbrella " as this. It was exhibited 

 at the Paris exhibition of 1867, and has now a 

 straight, clean stem more than 6 feet in height. 

 The spread of the branches, if fully extended, 

 would be about 10 metres (between 32 and 33 

 feet), but they are trained in an arching manner 

 so as to leave an opening about 7 metres (about 

 23 feet) in diameter. The branches are well fur- 

 nished with leaves, and, as the plant is grown in 

 a tub, it can be removed from place to place, as 

 may be required, and may be made ^p serve as a 

 most agreeable summer-house. The facility of 

 transport is still further increased by the fact 

 that the branches are trained over wires which 

 can be folded up umbrella-fashion. 



The plant is now in the possession of M. Rous- 

 sel, landscape gardener, 16 Chaussee du Maine, 

 Paris, but we are not informed to whose patient 

 skill we are indebted for this work of art. It is 

 obvious that our decorators might take many a 

 hint from this tour deforce. — Gar. Chronicle-. 



How TO Dye Mosses, Grasses, Flowers, &c. — 

 It may interest some of our readers to know 

 how the Germans dye grasses, &c., in a great va- 

 riety of unnatural colors ; but we have our hopes 

 that few people will follow them in the use of 

 blue moss and other equally tasteless artificial 



productions. The following notes are from the 

 Neuste Er/ahrungen und Erfindangen. 



To Dye Moss. — Green : Boil Mb. of alum in 4 

 quarts of water, ' and dissolve J lb. of finely 

 triturated mineral blue in it, and a dark green 

 dye is the result. Or a very beautiful green dye 

 may be made with indigo — carmine and picric 

 acid, adding water to reduce it to the desired 

 hue. As picric acid is rarely to be had of uni- 

 form strength the exact proportions cannot be 

 given. The same dye may be used for grasses. 



Black: Two ounces of logwood in 1 quart of 

 water, J oz. of alum, and 3 oz. of copperas, the 

 whole boiled together and the moss dipped into 

 it while hot. Or two parts of logwood and one 

 of Fleabane, thoroughly boiled together, and a 

 little green vitriol. 



Red : The best way to make this color is ta 

 boil as much red aniline in rain-water as will 

 produce a pretty red. The dye should be hot 

 when the moss is dipped. 



To Bleach and Dye Everlasting Flowers. — Bleach- 

 ing : Put a number of flowers, which have pre- 

 viously been placed in a warm chamber to cause 

 them to open, in a vessel containing a solution 

 of chloride of lime, i oz. of soda, and 2 quarts of 

 water. Cover the vessel and leave it as it is in a 

 moderate temperature for four or five days. 

 During this period the fiowers first change to an 

 orange color, and afterwards to a blueish white. 

 As soon as these changes show themselves take 

 the fiowers out and pour off the fluid, and fill it 

 up again, using this time only 1 oz. of chloride 

 of lime and no soda. Let the flowers remain in 

 this until quite white, subsequently drying them 

 in a warm oven. 



Dyeing. — Carmine : i loth (about 2 drachms) 

 of Munich lac, \- pint (about i drachm) ultra- 

 marine blue, dissolved in 12 loth (about 6 ounces) 

 of warm water. — Rose : i quint of extract of 

 safflower, dissolved in 1 quart of cold water. — 

 Dark blue : 1 loth indigo extract in a quart of 

 water. — Cornflower blue: i loth blue aniline, 2 

 loth spirits of wine, in 1 quart of water. — Violet: 

 i loth violet aniline, with the same proportions 

 of water and spirit.— Light blue : i loth Prussian 

 blue, dissolved in a quart of water. — Dark blue r 

 1 loth of catechu, boiled in a quart of water. — 

 Light green : } loth picric acid, and i quint of 

 indigo in 20 loth of alcohol.— Black : as given 

 above. — Orange : 3 loth of borax in 2 quarts of 

 hot water, leaving the flowers to steep for some 

 time. 



