M-AV 



19(IS 



HORTICULTURE. 



589 



Stock Queen Alexandra 



The Beauty of Nice stock lias proved a most useful 

 winter flowering variety and is finely grown in many 

 establishments. The variety Queen Alexandra, how- 

 ever, surpasses it in every way by reason of its clear, 

 bright, rosy lilac color. The illustration shows a typi- 

 cal plant of which we had a 100-foot bench during the 

 past winter and nearly 90 per cent, were perfectly 

 double; in fact this particular bench of Queen Alex- 

 andra when in flower was a beautiful picture and fur- 

 nished an enormous quantity of cut flowers. 



The plants were raised from seed sown in July and 

 they were carried along in frames, being potted on into 

 4-inch pots and afterwards planted out upon a bench 

 that had been cropped with Beatrice May and Soliel 

 d'Octobre chrysanthemums. There was ample fertility 

 in the old chrysanthemum soil to perfect the crop of 

 stocks; in fact the plants grew to great size and were 

 profusely branched. 



Those who lack the facilities for planting out may 

 still grow this stock and will find it a delightful subject 

 for pot culture. With the roots confined in a pot the 

 plant shows less disposition to branch but the individual 

 main spike is larger in every way, with the flowers close- 

 ly set thereon, and the plants come earlier into flower 

 as a result of root confiiiement. In fact this stock is 

 amenable to many uses, and another effective way of 

 growing it is to put three plants in a larger-sized pot. 

 It is certainly a good plant for the gardener who seeks 

 to vary his cut flower productions during the winter 

 months. 



Culture of the Calceolaria 



The calceolaria should lia\c a jn'ominent place 

 amongst our spring flowering plants; being so well 

 adapted for either greenhouse or house decoration and 

 having such a splendid variety of color. Having grown 

 the calceolaria for some j'ears with favorable results 

 under the following methods I venture a few remarks on 

 its culture. 



The first thing to consider is the best variety to grow. 

 There are several good strains on the market. The 

 plants illustrated on the frontispiece of this paper were 

 grown from seed procured from Arthur T. Boddington. 



SOWING THE SEED 



The soil for this purjjose should consist of finely- 

 sifted loam, leaf-soil, and a good proportion of sand. 

 Fill some well drained 5 in. pots or shallow pans as the 

 case may be to one inch from the top, then give a water- 

 ing and let the pots stand for a time to drain. Be 

 careful not to sow too thickly and cover the seed very 

 lightly with some finely sifted sand. After sowing 

 cover the pots or pans with a sheet of glass. In about 

 twelve or fifteen days the seedlings should appear. Re- 

 move the glass to prevent damping and stand the pots in 

 ii good airy place keeping them free from direct 

 draughts. 



POTTING 



As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle 

 they should be pricked off, five or sLx plants into 4 in. 

 pots, still keeping them as cool as possible and well in 

 the shade. WTien large enough they should be potted 

 into 2 1-2 in. pots using the same kind of compost. 

 Wlien these pots are filled with roots the next shift will 

 lie into 4 in. pots using a richer compost, consisting of 

 good loam, some well rooted cow manure, leaf soil and 

 sand. Pot the plants moderately firm. 



FINISHING OFF 



When ready, which should be by the early part of 

 .Tanuary, they should be shifted into their flowering 

 pots, when a good rich soil will be necessary to finish 

 them off. This should consist of good loam, two parts; 

 vow manure, well-rotted, one part, with a sprinkle of 

 bone meal and sand well mixed. They should then be 

 jjotted very firmly. Be .very careful not to over-water 

 the plants for the first few weeks. A slight spraying 

 each day will be beneficial to them. Fumigate the 

 plants once every two weeks to ward off the attacks of 

 green fly and other insects that are injurious. Keep 

 the temperature from 45 to 50 degrees which will suit 

 them admirably. 



%$&^ 9/el 



(y^a-o 



Morristoivn, N. J. 



