i8g6. 



• ' GARDENING. 



247 



Ans. Some Ijcal cause. Before a lily 

 starts to grow up it should make roots, 

 for without roots it cannot have a 

 healthy top, and in order to make good 

 roots its growth should be slow. Your 

 bull) was in far too great a hurry for its 

 own welfare. The undue haste was prob- 

 ably caused by too high a temperature 

 and too wet a soil. Kr.tmeri beinga per- 

 fectly hardy lily, would probably have 

 done better if planted out in the garden 

 than grown in a pot. 



2. "Can lilies stand the hot sun in 

 summer, or do they need partial shade?" 



Ans. Many kinds of lilies, as auratum, 

 speciosum, Japonicum, elegans and the 

 hke, can be grown in the open field or 

 garden, providing the ground is kept well 

 loosened on the surface, but they grow 

 more luxuriantly, hence flowermore freely 

 if grown where their roots are well 

 shaded, say by evergreen shrubs, or a 

 mulching of loose strawy material; in 

 fact they do well in mi.\ed borders 

 among other perennials and annuals. As 

 a rule lilies don't like shading overhead, 

 as under the branches of trees, but they 

 do appreciate partial shade from hot sun- 

 shine when this is afforded by growing 

 them on the north or east side of a close 

 fence or building. 



Spring.— We are having a remarkable 

 spring in Southern Wisconsin. The first 

 ten days of April were wintery, then it 

 came summer. We have now in bloom 

 out of doors hyacinths, turnip narcissus, 

 including Horsfieldii and Ard Righ and 

 early tulips. Primus triloba and dwarf 

 Juneberry are just ready to open. Hya- 

 cinths have been in bloom nearly a week. 

 All vegetation is in a correspondingly for- 

 ward condition — some very uncommon 

 foi this region. Albert Salisisurv. 



Whitewater, Wis., April 20, 1806. 



Heuchera, Violets, Roses.— The win- 

 ter has proven unusually destructive. 

 Heuchera sangvinea, although it has 

 passed through four previous winters un- 

 harmed, is entirely dead, and so are the 

 Victoria violets. All hybrid perpetual 

 roses that were not protected suffered; 

 those that were protected by sods came 

 through in excellent condition. 



Amherst, Mass. Anson D. Morse. 



The Lawn. 



THElflWN. 



Iion't wait till the grass has become 

 (|iiite long before you mow if. There is a 

 prevalent opinion that wc shouldn't bein 

 a hurr3' starting to mow the lawns in 

 spring, that we should wait till the grass 

 has got a good start in lite so as to 

 strengthen the roots, hence the crowns, 

 and thus enable the plants to stand the 

 summer's heat and drouth much better 

 than they would if early mown; in fact 

 the fiist mowing should be done with the 

 scythe. But that is a great mistake A 

 lawn should be composed of short thick 

 set grasses, allow these to grow long and 

 we weaken the leaves and choke the 

 crowns, and when we do mow the grass 

 little is left but a bleached and enervated 

 sod. We have found it better practice to 

 begin mowing early enough so that the 

 machine can cut the grass over easily, but 

 don't mow close. Another erroneous im- 

 pression is that all mowings should be 

 left on the lawns where cut by way of 

 mulching the ground and protecting the 

 roots of the grass from hot sunshine and 



drouth. This too is a great mistake. The 

 cleaner you keep your lawns from weeds, ^ 

 dead gra.ss, and other debris thebettcrB 

 and thicker your sole is sure to be. After*" 

 every mowing wherever the cut grass lies 

 in considerable (piantity have it raked u)) 

 and cleared away; where it is so thin that 

 the noonday sunshine will sluivc-l it U|) 

 and out of sight there is no nceil ol touch- 

 ing it. Weeds are apt to inlcst the lawns 

 in spring, these consist largely of shep- 

 herd s jjurse, wild turnip, dandelion, and 

 plantain, all of which should be pulled 

 out or cut out; for deep rooting kinds like 

 chicory, dandelion, and dock choose a wet 

 day or a time immediately after a heavy 

 rain, because then the ground is soft and 

 the roots can be drawn out easily. Sor- 

 rel, chickweed and yarrow, may be 

 lessened by raking off with a steel toothed 

 rake. After weeding roll the lawn. In 

 fact it is good for the grass, and it adds 

 to the beauty of the lawn to have it 

 rolled every week or two. 



In the case of tennis or golf grounds 

 rolling the lawn is imperative in order to 

 get and retain a smooth firm surface to 

 play on. In side places as under trees or 

 near the margin of waters when spring 



Orchids. 



ORCflll 



flowers as snow drops, crocuses, narcissi, 

 etc. have been grown in the grass, for the 

 good of the bulbs the grass should not be 

 mown over till the crocus foliage begins 

 to turn yellow. In the case of mixed 

 flower beds or borders cut out in grass or 

 with grass edgings, self sown seedlings ot 

 larkspur, salvia, Oenothera, heliopsis, are 

 apt to come up thick in the sod, greatly 

 to its injury; root them out as persistently 

 as if they were dandelions or wild turnips. 

 Keep the edges of the lawns or grass bor- 

 ders neatly and evenly cut and sheared. 



SOWING GRASS SEED IN SPRING. 



About grass seed I find that spring 

 sowing is usually disappointing, because 

 unless the soil be very rich and in verv fine 

 tilth the grass is burnt up by hot weather 

 before it has depth of root to stand a 

 drouth. I prefer to summer fallow, get 

 the ground into the best possible condi- 

 tion by August 15, and then sow. If the 

 soil be damp enough to germinate the 

 seeds it will take hold, even in a hot and 

 dry time, as the nights get cool by Sept. 

 1. If the rains be seasonable the sward 

 will be fit for mowing by Nov. 1, and be 

 rank enough to stand a winter's thawing 

 and freezing. But if the sowing be later 

 than Sept. 10 it is liable to be good for 

 nothing on the 1st of May following. 



I have used red top grass almost ex- 

 clusively — five bushels — 70 pounds per 

 acre, and 2 pounds white clover well 

 mixed with it. I get the surface finished 

 before sowing, and after sowing scratch 

 it once only with a very light harrow, 

 and then roil. If the soil be very mellow 

 rolling only is quite suflicient. If covered 

 at all the nearer the surface the seed is 

 the surer the catch, unless the soil be very 

 dry. Red top is now much better cleaned 

 than formerly, so by rubbing in the palm 

 of your hand you can more surely j udge the 

 proportion of grain to chaff. I use only 

 this fine dressed kind. 



If you sow now and the seed misses a 

 native grass called "June grass" soon 

 fills the blank, and makes a fair sward 

 too. It is ripe by June 20. I have not 

 used Kentucky blue grass of recent \-ears, 

 because it is so difficult to sow the seed 

 evenly, as the woolly chafl^ packs in the 

 sower's hand. Rhode Island bent grass 

 is mixed with red top and blue grass 

 along the coast region, but it won't 

 stand our interior drouth. 



Buff'alo. William McMii.la.n. 



POR IHfly AND JUNE. 



No flowers can so well grace a fine con- 

 servatory or befit a lovely June bride so 

 much as the beautiful and now popular 

 orchid; their chaste beauty, delicate fra- 

 grance and durable quality make them 

 the grandest and most satisfactory of all 

 flowers, especially so when distance is a 

 consideration. Many beautiful things, 

 like roses, violets, etc., will not qualify for 

 "long distance" floral gifts, and are gen- 

 erally disappointing to the recipients of 

 such gifts. The two months above men- 

 tioned should produce many of the finest 

 orchids grown, viz.: Cattleya Mossix, 



C. Memlelli, Lxlia purpurata, Odonto- 

 glossum citrosmum, O. Pescatorei, O. 

 crispum in many beautiful forms. Ele- 

 gant sprays of Phal.-enopsis Stuartiana, 

 P. graadiffora, P. amabilis, P. Schilleri- 

 ana, Chysis bractescens, serides and 

 vandas in many imposingfbrms and vari- 

 eties. Saccolahium gigaateuw.aU of these 

 vandas and aerides can be suspended from 

 the roof and moderately shaded, and they 

 take up no valuable bench space. Several 

 species of the lovely dendrobium family 

 also help to beautify the show house; 

 among these are D. fimhriatumoculatum, 



D. thyrsiHorum, V. cbrysatoxum and D. 

 Jamesiamim, etc. All of them can be win- 

 tered in a temperature of 55° to 60°, and 

 will push their flower spikes at the pleas- 

 ure of the growers, and from one to two 

 months of difference in the times of their 

 flowering can either be gained or other- 

 wise by retarding or forcing without 

 injury to the plant. The chief essential 

 in their cultivation I have found is to give 

 them sufficient rest. They will do the 

 growing, if you provide properly for 

 them, plenty of heat and moisture, and a 

 healthy, buoyant circulation of air with- 

 out drafts. Wm. Mathews. 



ORCflID NOTES. 



The following orchids are in bloom on 

 this place just now: Dendrobium nionili- 

 torrpe, a pretty small growing species 

 which does well on blocks in the cool end 

 of the intermediate house. D. cbryso- 

 toxutn and D. aggregatum, all free flower- 

 ing and easily grown species for basket 

 culture; Oncidium altissimum. O. ampli- 

 atum majus and O. obryzatum majus, all 

 of which do well in suspended baskets 

 with not too much potting material; 

 Cywbidium eburneum, a very fine orchid 

 with flowers of great substance which 

 last a long time in perfection; it does best 

 in pots with rather a good sprinkling of 

 clean sphagnum mixed through the 

 potting material; Cypripedium harba- 

 turn and C.Lawrenceanum. bothof which 

 do best in the stove house, the latter one 

 is a beautiful cypripedium with orna- 

 mental foliage, and is vigorous and re- 

 liable; and Lycaste Deppei, a reliable 

 species for the cool house. There are also 

 Cattleya Skinneri, which alwavs blooms 

 in a dry flowersheath; C. Wariieri, which 

 may be described as a spring blooming 

 C. labiata; and C. Mendelli and C. 

 Mossiw. We have likewise La:lia pur- 

 purata, which has often been called the 

 "King of Orchids," and is a splendid 

 easily grown species for pot culture; 

 there are many fine forms of it but no 

 poor ones. Wm. Fitzwilliam. 



Baronald, Orange, N. J., April 15, '96. 



Rosa Wichuraiana is the name of the 

 sprig of rose bush sent us for identifica- 

 tion by E. O. N. 



