1882.1 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



plan is to look around among the neighboring 

 florists, and choose those which seem the best in 

 accord with these views. Another advantage in 

 selecting rather hardy plants for winter blooming 

 is that we need not then fear so much the effect 

 of cool nights. When small conservatories are 

 attached to dwelling rooms, and these are pro- 

 tected b}' double glass windows, so as to guard 

 against the entry of cold from without, and all 

 crevices carefully closed, it is surprising how 

 little artificial heat is sufficient to keep up the 

 necessary temperature. Very often the mere 

 keeping open of a communicating door, so that 

 the warmth of the parlor will get to the conser- 

 vatory, is all that is needed. 



Plants stored away for the winter in cold pits, 

 require more care for the first month or so than 

 at any other time through the winter season. 

 Many of them have unripened shoots, or shed 

 many of their leaves, and unless these be cut off' 

 and removed, gangrene and decay commit dis- 

 tressing havoc. Air should be given at every 

 opportunity, and nothing omitted that will, in 

 any way, tend to harden the plants, and send 

 vegetation to rest. No more water should be 

 given than just sufficient to j)revent withering, 

 and the temperature should be kept as near 40° 

 as possible, and every chance taken to render 

 the air about the plants dry. When frost actually 

 does come, no further care than protection from 

 its embraces will then be required. Plants so 

 hardened, may stay covered up for weeks with- 

 out any light or air, and secure from the slightest 

 injury. Mice constitute the most troublesome 

 enemy in a pit closed for any length of time ; but 

 we have, as yet, found nothing better than the 

 recommendation given in back volumes, namely, 

 to take peas and soak them twenty- four hours in 

 water, then roll in arsenic and sow in a pot, as if 

 in the regular way of seed-sowing. A few pots i 

 so prepared, should be placed in the pit before 

 permanently closing up. The mice usually 

 make for these pots at their first entrance to the 

 pits. If placed on the soil they seem to guess 

 your secret, and will not " bite." 



Plants in cellars need much the same care as 

 those in pits. Avoid heat and dampness; fre- 

 quently, however, plants suffer in cellars through 

 getting too dry. They should be looked over, at 

 any rate, once a month, and a little water given, 

 if likely to become entirely dry. 



Aquariums, which were once very popular, 

 and added a great charm to the parlor or at- 

 tached conservatory, are not so much in use as 



they were, chiefly because people do not seem to 

 understand the necessity of plenty of growing 

 plants in the water as well as the fish or other 

 creatures. These plants give the air to the water 

 which the fish require. While recently in Cin- 

 cinnati the writer of this visited the establish- 

 ment of Mr. Hugo Mulertt, who exercises intelli- 

 gent care for aquarium management, which 

 makes him very successful. We obtained from 

 him the following list of plants which he em- 

 ploys in his aquarium work. They are arranged 

 in groups, according to habits of growth : 



Group A. Plants that grow without roots, floating below 

 the surface of the water. Ceratophyllum dcmersum and 

 robusta, Nitella viridis, Utricularia vulgaris and purpurea. 



Group B. Plants that strike roots from the joints. An- 

 acharis canadensis, Callitriche verna, Fontanelis, Lysi- 

 machia, Myriophyllum heterophyllum and spicatum, Naja 

 purpurea and viridis, Ludwigia autumnalis and palustris, 

 Cabomba CaroUniana and rosaefolift, Ranunculus aquatilis, 

 .Schollera graminea, Zanichella palustris, Potamogeton cris- 

 pus and perfoliatus. 



Orovp C. Root in the bottom, and multiply by suckers 

 from the roots. Some plants of this group have a double 

 existence, or undergo a transformation with a change of the 

 seasons. In the summer time the leaves are of a ditferent 

 shape from those of the winter, so that a person not familiar 

 with their peculiarity would think they were two different 

 plants. Sagittaria natans and lanceolata, Vallisneria spiralis 

 (male and female), Potamageton naUns, Yucca aquatica 

 (Eriocaulon). 



Group D. Comprises a class of plants that require rich 

 soil for their roots to grow in ; they send their leaves to the 

 surface of the water, where they float. Aponogeton dis- 

 tachyon, Limnocharis Humboldtii, Nynipha;a flava, odorata 

 and ca?rulea, Nelumbium luteum, Brazenia peltata. 



Group E. Includes very curious plants. They float on 

 the surface of the water, and their roots hang into the 

 water, from which they take their nourishment. Hydro- 

 charis morsus rana, Hydrocotyle umbellata, Lemna minor 

 and trisulca. Pistia stratiotes, Trianea bogotensis. 



Group F. Includes marsh plants, such as Ins pseuda- 

 corus, Aspidistra lurida and varicgata, Cyperus alternifolia, 

 Sagittaria obtu.sa and lancifolia, Saururus cemuus, fancy 

 Caladium, Orontium aquaticum. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



GLOXINIA AND ITS CULTURE. 



BY WALTER COLES, BELVIDERE, K. J. 



In my opinion there is no summer flowering 

 plant to surpass a well grown Gio.xinia. It ranks 

 second to no other flower for noble form and 

 beauty. Mr. Peter B. Mead and several other 

 •rood horticulturists who saw ours here this 

 summer said they were the finest and best grown 

 plants they had ever seen. A few hints on their 

 culture will be acceptable to the readers of 

 the Gardener's Monthly. Those we have 

 here were grown from seed sown about April 



