10 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



{January ^ 



LADY GARDENERS IN PITTSBURGH. 



BY EDWARD S. KOETHENS, PITTSBURGH, PA. 



In your notice of Dr. Johnson's book "Win- 

 ter Greeneries at Home," in the November 

 number of the Gardener's Monthly, you 

 mention the fact of , its being strange that Pitts- 

 burgh ladies should have to be taught by a gen- 

 tleman in this matter. In response to this, I 

 would just say a word in defence of the ladies. 

 The ladies of Pittsbui-gh have a great deal to con- 

 tend with from the atmosphere, which is always 

 so freighted with soot and smoke that the sun 

 seldom penetrates through it in the Winter, ex- 

 cejjt for a short time at noon. This causes so 

 much more work in attention to the plants 

 than is required in other cities, that much of the 

 enjoyment is detracted from the work. Besides, 

 these difficulties, which are often insurmount- 

 able, cause success to be not at all sure, even 

 with the greatest care. It is only those who 

 live in the cleaner parts of the two cities (Alle- 

 gheny and Pittsburgh) who are really successful. 

 The author df the book in question is one of 

 these. In another part of your notice, you men- 

 tion the Winter flowerinii- of home-grown Lillies 

 of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) pips, saying, 

 that to your knowledge, it has not yet been done. 

 To this I would say, that, being connected with 

 one of the largest Florist establishments in the 

 city, I have had opportunity to see it done, with 

 great success, several years in succession. We 

 always use only the strongest clumps, and treat 

 them the same as we do the imported ones. 



FERN GROWING. 



BY ARTHUR M. KIRBY, JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS, 

 NEW JERSEY. 



The following points, obtained from an old 

 German Fern grower, may be useful to amateurs 

 who experience trouble in evenly sowing fine 

 seed, such as Fern spores, Lygodium scandens, 

 Calceolaria, etc. Take a sheet of white paste- 

 board, rub the seed lightly over it until it covers 

 the exact circumference of the pot it is to be 

 sown in. If the l)oard is not too smooth the seed 

 will adhere to it, so it can be inverted on the 

 pot, and by tapping gently it will fall as evenly 

 as it was rubbed on the pasteboard. 



To get the moist air necessary to grow a small 

 quantity of fern spores, etc., where it is not 

 justifiable in keeping a whole house in the pro- 

 per conditions, fill a pot one-third full of pots- 

 herd, on this put the peat, or whatever the seed 



is to be sown on ; then place it in a pan contain- 

 ing just enough water to reach the top of the pots- 

 herd, and keep it covered closely with a pane of 

 glass. 



Fine green wire-netting placed over delicate 

 seedlings will protect them from insects, and 

 give just the right shade without drawing them, 

 as other shades are apt to do. Tuberous Bego- 

 nias, etc., which are usually so chfficult to raise 

 from seed, can be grown without trouble by us- 

 ing it ; if doubled and put over newly sowai 

 seed, they will germinate one-third quicker ; the 

 cost is only thirty cents per yard. 



Seedlings in general should never be watered 

 later than an hour or two before sundown, as 

 the water will not evaporate readily, and the 

 damp surface is apt to cause a fungus, which will 

 frequently "damp off" every plant during one 

 night. A pot of seedlings, comparatively dry,, 

 left by the side of one watered late, will be in 

 the same condition in the morning, while the 

 latter will frequently be entirely gone. 



EDITORIAL NOTES 



Honors to a Florist. — It is said that the 

 English florist Mr. John Wills, has been offered 

 by the French Government the decoration 

 of Knight of the Legion of Honor, in considera- 

 tion of the remarkable beauty and continuous 

 perfection of his tropical garden in the Exhil)i- 

 tion. It is not likely the English Government 

 will permit him to accept the decoration. 



The White-flowered Oleander. — This 

 is largely grown by Mr. Wills for decorative pur- 

 poses. The plants, which are chiefly imported 

 ones, are grown in a moist, warm temperature 

 near the glass, and thus treated the}'^ make hand- 

 some bushy plants loaded with large trusses of 

 snowy blossoms. This white variety appears to 

 flow^er more freely than the rose-colored kind, 

 and its blossoms in a cut state are much more 

 valuable . — Garden. 



Senecto scandens. — This is known to florists 

 as Parlor Ivy ; the new one S. macroglossum is 

 known in England as Cape Ivy. 



EucHARis Amazonica. — Mr. S. S. Price of 

 Philadelphia, has had wonderful success in grow- 

 ing this plant. His plants have flowered three 

 times this season, and about the end of Novem- 

 ber he had at one time three hundred blooms 

 open. 



