362 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[December, 



ant of the hot-houses, having been introduced 

 about the beginning of this century from the 

 East Indies. The ground color of the leaves is 

 green, the mid-rib and j^rimary veins a bright 

 yellow. 



C. Weismannii. — This is a very handsome Cro- 

 ton, and one of very free growth : the habit is 

 very graceful, the leaves grow about a foot long, 

 the ground color being a shining green, the mid- 

 rib and margin a bright yellow, also large yellow 

 blotches scattered over the surfaces. F»r culture 

 in a small collection this one is to be highlj' re- 

 commended. 



GLADIOLI FOR WINTER. 



BY MR. BE\J. GREY, GARDENER TO E. S. RAND, JR., 

 BOSTON, MASS. 



It is to be regretted that these highly orna- 

 mental bulbs are not generally cultivated for 

 winter blooming. They are as easily grown as 

 hyacinths and bulbs of a like nature, and their 

 cheerful ai^pearance for house decoration during 

 our dull winter weather, will amply repay the 

 little labor they give. 



To insure success, select in spring, bulbs which 

 have not pushed their buds. These should be 

 kept dry until about September 1st, when they 

 may be potted in rich sandy loam, single 

 bulbs in five-inch pots, or a larger number cf va- 

 rious colors in larger-sized pots. I sometimes 

 put as many as twenty-five bulbs into about 

 fourteen-inch pans, and if the bulbs are chosen 

 of equal strength and forwardness they will 

 ■come into bloom together, and give a splendid 

 mass of flowers for parlor or other decoration. 

 As soon as potted they may be placed in the 

 greenhouse until they have made considerable 

 growth, after which they may be moved to a 

 warmer position, and watered occasionally with 

 liquid manure. 



Those who have no greenhouse, may plant the 

 bulbs about the middle of July in the open air 

 in a rich border. When they have n)ade a 

 growth of a foot or fifteen inches, they may be 

 dug up arid potted; and before there is any 

 danger from frost, should be removed to a sunny 

 window in the house, and kei)t well supi)lied 

 -with water. The best time to dig is after a con- 

 tinued spell of dry weather, when the soil is 

 rather dry; and if they are potted and well- 

 watered as soon as lifted, they receive no aj)- 

 parent check whatever, but willj give as good 

 spikes of bloom as those ordinarily flowered in 



the open air. I have a bed in an intermediate 

 house of about three hundred bulbs which I 

 have lifted in this way, and they are all giving 

 indications of bloom. 



Bulbs grown this season in the open ground, 

 and well matured, may be potted for spring 

 flowering; they do not require to be covered to 

 induce them to make a root growth, which is the 

 case with hyacinths and some other winter- 

 flowering bulbs; but I think it best to avoid 

 giving much heat in the beginning, as this would 

 be ajH to cause them to make too weak a growth 

 for bloom when forced in this way. 



AGAVE XALAPENSIS. 



BY J. F. M. FARQUHAR, FOREST HILLS CEMETERY, 

 BOSTON. 



Last spring this variety of Agave flowered 

 here. It threw up a central stem to the height 

 of four feet, on the top of which the flowers were 

 produced, extending downwards about fifteen 

 inches. They were bell-shaped, about one inch 

 across, and of a pale pea green color. Those 

 lowest down expanded first, and the others fol- 

 lowed in slow succession for nearly a month. 

 The effort of flowering seemed to have exhausted 

 the plant, and its faded appearance afterwards 

 certainly justified the frequently expressed 

 opinion of callers, that its days were numbered. 

 As the plant was a fine specimen, I would have 

 regretted its loss. I therefore endeavored to 

 save it, and kept it perfectly dry until it had 

 sent up a new crown, which it did about the first 

 of September. From that time it was regularly 

 watered as it needed, and now, October 2nd, the 

 leaves have regained their fresh a])pearance, and 

 the plant seems as healthy as though it never 

 had flowered. 



VIOLETS. 



BY RAMBJ,ER. 



A great gardening author has stated that if 

 three flower-pols were kept in a window, one of 

 the three should be devoted to the culture of 

 violets. Well did he know how dear that little 

 flower was to the human heart ; and the more I 

 think of that, the more I wonder that it is not 

 more generally cultivated. For I don't know of 

 any plant easier of cultivation, or that rewards 

 more liberally the attention bestowed on it, 

 whether grown in pots or in a frame. And I 



