42 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[February , 



be placed in a little colder atmosphere, which 

 will make the flowers last much longer. 



Mealy bugs and black thrips are the chief in- 

 sect pests to the Eucharis, and these must be 

 sponged off when they make their appearance. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Cinerarias. — There are few things more de- 

 sirable for early greenhouse and window flower- 

 ing than the cineraria ; it may be well to remind 

 the novice that though they are so impatient of 

 frost that the slightest touch will kill them, they 

 do not like heat. About 45*^ to 50° is the tem- 

 perature for them. 



Making Flowers for Exhibition. — At a 

 recent horticultural exhibition at Liverpool, the 

 Gardener'' s Weekly Magazine tells us : 



" At the recent chrysanthemum show there 

 one Roberts presented a lot of flowers that were 

 made up of sheer trickery. He had cut out the 

 centers and inserted flowers to fill them out, thus 

 producing gigantic specimens Avhich the judges, 

 by their awards, marked with approval. A keen 

 eye detected fli'st a want of unity of complexion 

 in the showy flowers, and next in one of them 

 the head of a pin. The murder was out — ex- 

 posure followed — the exhibitor fled ! It was found 

 that of twenty-four flowers, as man}^ as twenty- 

 three were made up, and the favorite mode of 

 procedure with Mr. Roberts consisted in weaving 

 two flowers into one, by operating on the centre 

 of the largest." 



Dahlia Imperialis. — We have several times 

 made note of this comparatively new species, and 

 its probable value in out door gardening. It 

 appears it is also useful in conservatory decora- 

 tion. A correspondent of the Garden says: 



" One of the most interesting and beautiful 

 plants in flower at Kew, at the present time, is this 

 truly Imperial Dahlia, some specimens of which 

 are flowering freely in the palm house. It is diffi- 

 cult to intelligibly describe without an artist's aid 

 the chaste beauty of its flowers, so difierent are 

 they from those of the ordinary garden varieties. 

 The flowers, which are single, are borne in loose 

 terminal clusters, and assume a somewhat nod- 

 ding position. They measure about 6 in. across, 

 and have many narrow pointed ray florets of a 

 pure white color, tinted with carmine at the base, 

 colors which contrast finely with the bright yel- 



low centre. The foliage, too, is hmidsome, being 

 much larger and more divided than that of the 

 ordinary dahlia. Altogether it is a stately plant, 

 forming specimens from six to eight feet, though 

 perhaps this is a point which deters many from 

 growing it, as it requires the protection of glass 

 in order to flower it, though it may be grown 

 outside until early frosts set in. It is to be re- 

 gretted that this fine plant produces its flowers so 

 late that they cannot be enjoyed in the open air 

 in our climate. Something, however, might pos- 

 sibly be done in the way of hybridizing it with 

 eai'lier and dwarfer species, and notably with the 

 oeautiful little D. glabrata, which, being of very 

 dwarf habit, would probably infuse a dwarfer 

 growth into the D. imperialis, while the color of 

 the flowers might not be materially aftected by it 

 as those of glabrata are almost pure white, vary- 

 ing to deep mauve." 



How TO Make Moss Baskets. — Yery beauti- 

 ful baskets for holding flowers may be made of 

 the longer and more feathery kinds of mosses. 

 We have made them often ; and never do flowers, 

 whether wild or garden, look more lovely than 

 when clustered within a verdant border of that 

 most delicate and beautiful material, which by 

 proper management may be made to preserve its 

 freshness and brilliancy for many months. We 

 will here give a receipe for their manufacture. 

 A light frame of any shape you like should be 

 made with wire and covered with common paste- 

 board or calico, and the moss, which should first 

 be well picked over and cleansed from any bit& 

 of dirt or dead leaves which may be hanging 

 about it, gathered into little tufts, and sewed with 

 coarse needle and thread to the covering, so as 

 to clothe it thickly with a close and compact 

 coating, taking care that the points of the moss 

 are all outwards. A long handle made in the 

 same manner should be attached to the basket, 

 and a tin, or other vessel, filled with either wet 

 sand or water, placed within to hold the flowers.. 

 By dipping the whole fabric into water once in 

 three or four days, its verdure and elasticity will 

 be fully preserved, and a block of wood about an 

 inch thick, and stained black or green, if placed 

 under the basket, will prevent all risk of damage 

 to the table from the moisture. To make such bas- 

 kets, says "Cassell's Popular Educator," affords 

 much pleasant social amusement for children, 

 who will find a constantly renewing pleasure in 

 varying their appearance. One week, snow- 

 drops and crocuses will cluster among the mossy 

 edges: then will come groups of "dancing daf- 



