360 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY. 



[December, 



a coffin, w'uich, as a work of mechanical art, 

 waa perhaps to be admired. But why degrade 

 these beautiful creations by working them into 

 such shapes so distressingly suggestive? Another 

 example of bad taste in the seleotion of the sub- 

 ject and in the arrangement of colors, was a huge 

 oval frame of walnut, with dark and yellow- 

 colored dahlias arranged in rings around the 

 edge, and a butterfly— or what was meant to re 

 present that gny insect— in the middle. And, 

 strange to say, this piece obtained the first pre- 

 mium. Of course these designs attracted the at- 

 tention of the people, and were admired by cer- 

 tain ones whose taste leads them to admire a 

 huge pyramidal bouquet with a calla lily in the 

 centre. 



But the people who are pleased with this style 

 of floi:al work are not those who exhibit the best 

 taste. It becomes a question whether a horti- 

 cultural society is properly educating the public 

 by offering premiums and thus encouraging a 

 false taste for flowers. It was a relief to turn 

 from such horticultural absurdities to a simple 

 bouquet of roses and smilax, and to the most 

 appropriate of all funeral designs— a plain 

 heavy wreath and cross of white flowers fringed 

 with green. 



THE MARECHAL NIEL ROSE. 



BY WM. CAPSTICK, BAY VIEW, MASS. 



I wish to say a few words on the cultivation of 

 the Marechal Niel Rose "under glass," and 

 thinking that to enter into all the minute details 

 would take up too much space in your valuable 

 paper, I will confine myself to a few of the most 

 important parts. 



To succeed with the Marechal Niel I prefer 

 plants budded on the Banksia or Solfatarre, as 

 they tend to check too rampant growth for the 

 first two or three years, and induce more free- 

 dom to bloom by producing wood that ripens 

 well. Also, the budded plant will grow and 

 bloom for years, where, on the other hand, 

 plants on their own roots make a strong watery 

 growth, which it is almost impossible to ripen, 

 (unless the wood of the Niel is thoroughly 

 ripe we get but few flowers), and after a few 

 years the plant begins to decay, and is gone be- 

 fore we have had a full crop of bloom from it. 

 We must always bear in mind that the Niel 

 wants age before it will flower freely. 



Another thing we must consider — the Niel 

 must either be grown in a house devoted to its 

 requirements, or in pots or tubs. 



I prefer the latter mode. Take good thrifty 

 plants about March Ist. Pot them into six 

 inch pots, give moderate heat and moisture, say 

 55° by night, 70° by day, shift into larger pots 

 as they require it; in this way keep them grow- 

 ing until the first or middle of September. Then 

 place outside, first plunging the pots into the 

 ground up to the rim ; tie the top up to a trellis 

 or let it rest on some old brushwood, or some 

 kind of support, so that the air will have a free 

 circulation all around the shoots. Never allow 

 the plants to get dry so as to wilt. But be care- 

 ful not to water so as to induce growth. 



The plants may remain in this position until 

 after the first sharp frost, or until about the 20th 

 or last of October. Then take up the plants, 

 loosen the soil on the top of the pots with a hand 

 fork or pointed stick, to the depth of two or 

 three inches, remove the soil and replace with a 

 top dressing, one half loam and one-half rotten 

 manure. Prune away all useless wood, place in 

 a greenhouse, which keep at a temperature of 

 45° to 50° by night, 65° to 70° by day, for about 

 a fortnight, then gradually raise the temperature 

 to 55° by night, 75° to 85° by day, the latter tem- 

 perature with bright sun. I do not like a night 

 temperature of more than 55°, as I find it spoils 

 the color and size of the buds. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH CALADIUMS. 



BY MR. CHARLES CRUCKNELL, ST. LOUIS, MO. 



The following detailed experiment is one of a 

 series in which I have been for some time past 

 engaged, and as the sequel will show has resulted 

 in some remarkable and wholly unlooked-for 

 developments. 



Early in the month of March, 1881, I selected 

 eight varieties (or species) of Caladiums, intend- 

 ing to give them special treatment and prepare 

 them for the experiment in view, namely, hy- 

 bridizing. The bulbs were no larger than medi- 

 um-sized onion sets. In the following December, 

 after thej'^ had been at rest ten weeks, the bulbs 

 were examined. The largest bulb, C. Houlletii, 

 measured six inches in its widest diameter. The 

 next largest, C. Wighti, five inches. 



In February, 1882, they commenced growing 

 and were moved at once into the stove house 

 where, finally, seed from six crosses matured. 

 The experiment ended here with five of these, 

 but from the sixth (a cross between the two 

 named above), two hundred and four seedlings 

 were raised. I had, previous to sowing, counted 



