1882.J 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



169 



eight to ten inch pots, and were from six to seven 

 feet high. I might add that these shows are well 

 patronized by all classes of people, who are 

 charged a small sum to enter the exhibition. 



I don't think it possible to grow Chrysanthe- 

 mums in this country as large as in Great Britain, 

 even under the best known methods. The dif- 

 ference of climiite' is no doubt the trouble. If 

 there is a possibility of doing so I would like to 

 know how. 



I would like to see this subject reviewed in the 

 Monthly by some kind reader, as I think this 

 class of plants deserves especial attention and 

 care. They come into bloom at a time of the 

 year when other flowers are scarce. 



STEAM HEATING. 



BY A. D. iMYLIUS, DETROIT, MICH. 



I have read the articles in the recent numbers 

 about steam heating, and I am quite sure it will 

 supersede hot water. I am heating four houses, 

 twenty-two by sixty feet each, with one ten 

 horse-power boiler, costing $200. If I used hot 

 water two boilers would be necessary, besides 

 double the amount of feet of pipe — and four-inch 

 pipe, where for steam, one inch is large enough, 

 except main pipe running through shed which is 

 two inches. I figured for hot water, boilers and 

 pipes, $1,500. Steam costs, boiler and pipes, 

 $600 for the four houses, $900 difference, besides 

 less time used in firing, less coal, &c., at prices that 

 figured this fall and last August and September. 



GREENHOUSE NOTES FROM ST. LOUIS. 



BY CHARLES CRUCKNELL. 



In Tower Grove Park palm house there is a 

 group of bananas, in the centre of which is 

 growing the largest specimen ofMusa sapientum 

 in this country. The stem and leaves are colos- 

 sal. The smaller members of this group are 

 from six to eight feet high, and look like pigmies 

 alongside of this giant. 



The new Tradescantia multicolor is very 

 beautiful, but has a strong tendency to revert 

 back to the old T. zebrina, from which it is 

 probably a sport. 



I counted the flowers (male) on a single 

 spathe of Astrocaryum mururauru, and found 

 their number to exceed a fraction over ten 

 thousand (10,000). The plant had three flower- 

 spathes this year. This plant is growing in the 



unique collection of Mr. Brown. Strelitzia au- 

 gusta, in the same collection, has been in bloom 

 for the past four months. 



Sevsral important additions have recently 

 been made to Mr. Henry Shaw's extensive col- 

 lection of plants. Notably among the tree-ferns 

 — Cyathea Dregei, eight feet high to the crown 

 and three feet in circumference around the mid- 

 dle of the stem, is the largest. A pair of Dick- 

 sonia Antarctica, not so stout, but quite as tall. 

 There is also a magnificent specimen of the 

 silver tree-fern, Cyathea dealbata. But the gem 

 of the collection is a Todea Africana. This is a 

 curiosity. There are numerous stems growing 

 from the base which is gnarled and knotted like 

 the roots of some old tree of the forest. The 

 new palm house has been open to the public all 

 winter, but nothing has transpired publicly as 

 to when the dedication will take place. 



The winter has been so mild that dahlias left 

 in the ground over winter are at this date (April 

 15th) sprouting vigorously. 



RHYNCOSPERMUM JASMINOIDES. 



BY WALTER COLES, BELVIDERE, N. J. 



No doubt Mrs. M. D. Wellcome is right 

 in saying this charming plant is not so exten- 

 sively grown as it should be. But we may find 

 it advertised in many catalogues. I have at 

 present a small plant in bloom in my green- 

 house which perfumes the whole house with a 

 very pleasing odor. Some years ago I grew a 

 very large plant of the above-named, and 

 trained it on a balloon trellis and always man- 

 aged to get it at its best by Easter. Few plants 

 surpass it for decoration ; it is also an excellent 

 flower for cutting, for making bouquets, &c. 

 The plant can be grown with almost any gen- 

 eral collection, but it delights in a warm, moist 

 atmosphere, with good rich soil to grow in. 



[It is rather a common plant, and found in 

 most good plant collections.— Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Beautiful Orchids.— The growing popularity 

 of orchidaceous plants is evidenced by the many 

 beautiful specimens exhibited so often at the 

 monthly meetings of the Germantown Horticul- 

 tural Society. There were numbers at the last 

 meeting from William Jamieson, gardener to 



