i8g6. 



• GARDENING. 



249 



hotbed, first of all prepare for perfect 

 drainage; if the land is clay build tliehot- 

 bcd above ground. Have the frame 

 ground so high and dry that surface 

 water will run away from it rather than 

 run toward it. In making up the bed 

 use fresh stable manurethoroughly moist- 

 ened throughout and (luite hot at the 

 time; shake out the manure evenly, and 

 tread it down firmly. Put on the sashes 

 and keep the frame close till the heat 

 rises up quite hot again, generally thesee- 

 ond day, then put on the soil; if to sow or 

 plant in, two to five inches deep are 

 enough; if to set boxes on, about two to 

 three inches deep will suffice. But be very 

 careful for a few days to let the ammonia 

 escape by keeping a few sashes tilted up a 

 little day and night, else the youngplants 

 in the frame may get burned. When the 

 coating of loam, as in your case, is six 

 inches deep there is no fear of ammonia; 

 all that will work through so deep a coat- 

 ing of earth won't be apt to hurt any- 

 thing. 



Aquatics. 



WATER LILIES-flOW 1 GROW TitBM. 



The inquiry ol A. D. M. in Gardening 

 I.March 15) in regard to water lilies in- 

 duces me to give you my experience with 

 a water garden. 



My first outlay was for a few water 

 plants, and as I live where lumber is 

 jilenty I had a box of rough hemlock 

 planli made four feet inside measure every 

 way, and sunk its full depth in the ground 

 in my garden near the edge of a large 

 walnut tree and under good sunshine the 

 most of the day. I found it too small for 

 the plants procured and had another 

 similar bo.x placed beside it. I thought 

 the natural soakage would make them 

 tight enough, but they persisted in leak- 

 ing, and 1 cemented them inside with a 

 good grade of waterlime cement and had 

 no further trouble. I had a fine Cape 

 Cod nymphiea and some others, with 

 water ])upp3- and parrot's feather, papy- 

 rus and water hyacinth, and all manner 

 of water bugs and skaters, plenty of the 

 larva; of mosquitoes and a few irogs. It 

 was a great success and a great treat to 

 myself and friends and a constant source 

 of enjoyment during the season. The 

 year following I tried my luck with start- 

 ing seer's of the Zanzibar varieties of lilies 

 and was overwhelmed (almost) with 

 success and when the time came to put 

 them in permanent quarters I had so 

 many that I war. lacking room, as at 

 first, so I had a box of boards made eight 

 feet long and four wide, made tight, and 

 set level on the ground. It was about 

 one foot deep and I put single plants of 

 the lilies in boxes fifteen inches square 

 and six inches deep, and placed them in 

 the "new pond." I made the soil fertile 

 and followed closely Mr. Goodell's in- 

 structions. They were a perfect success. 

 The water was soon shingled with leaves 

 and for months there were plenty 01 

 flowers. I had a few other plants in 

 small pots on the borders and would 

 advise for an amateur just about such a 

 "])ond" for a beginning; go slow and in- 

 crease your pleasure year by year. 



Last' year I was early impressed that 

 my water garden was too small. I was 

 aching for anelumbiumanda Devoniensis 

 lily as well as a ilcntata, which I had not 

 yet had, .-uul I must increase my water 

 area if 1 got them all, so I made a greater 

 "pond," a "lake" this time. 



My plan was to use jilank, as at the 



first, and I had a small cellar dug to take 

 in a box sixteen feet long, eight feet wide 

 and eighteen inches deep. I leveled the 

 bottom as near as possible and bedded 

 joists in the dirt, and on the joists spiked 

 the bottom of rough common 2-inch 

 hemlock plank. I drove posts of chestnut 

 close by the bottom and spiked the sides 

 to the posts, making it as tight as it 

 could be made of rough lumber. I filled 

 the dirt in all around and puddled it with 

 water so as to keep the air from the out- 

 side of the wood, and leveled the top of 

 the "lake" very carefully. I then lathed 

 it as carpenters lath houses for plastering 

 (a needful thing, as the cement will slide 

 if it is not done), and cemented it with 

 Coplay cement and sand, about half and 

 half, putting it on the sides first and on 

 the bottom about three-quarters of an 

 inch thick. I only made one mistake; 

 the lumber was rather dry, and as it 

 began to absorb moisture from the 

 ground it swelled and made cracks in the 

 cement. After it had done swelling I 

 white washed the entire surface with 

 Portland cement wash and it did not 

 leak at all. On someof the very hot days 

 of last summer I could scarce perceive 

 any loss of water. 



As for results: The nelumbium in a 

 section of a large oil barrel was set in the 

 center. The Devoniensis and clentata 

 lilies were each set in the center of the 

 divided space, and really these three plants 

 covered "the face of the waters " The 

 Devoniensis would push its leaves far out 

 on the edge. What a beauty it is; and 

 the Nelumbium speciosum is a wonderful 

 plant. I had Zanzibar ricinus for a far 

 back ground and cannas and different 

 grasses near by, and one Musa and some 

 caladiums for a screen from the highway. 

 The drouth of the summer sent us a host 

 of frogs and they became a feature of the 

 display, gradually getting tamer as the 

 season advanced. I have noticed no in- 

 crease of mosquitoes from my water 

 gardens. We are near no mos(|uito terri- 

 tory and seldom are annoyed by them, 

 and last year there were very few of their 

 larva; in the water. 



My first tanks, four feet deep, have 

 wintered my hardy nymphfeas nicely. I 

 cover them with boards and tree leaves, 

 and my "lake" was covered in the same 

 way last fall, having first filled it with 

 watei-. F. P. .\vKKV. 



Tunkhannock, Pa. 



PLflNTINO WATER LILIES IN ft FOND. 



I am rc(iuested to plant water lilies 

 (native) in a pond which falls away six 

 inches in each of the months of July and 

 August. The bottom of the pond is 

 heavy clay loam, and flags and heavy 

 grass grows well about the shore. Would 

 water lilies do well and what else would 

 you advise for ornament? The pond is 

 two acres in extent. A. B. 



Medical Lake, Wash. 



If any water stays in the bottom of the 

 pond in summer you certainly can grow 

 pond lilies in it. They will grow and 

 luxuriate in the clay loam such as in the 

 bottom of your pond. Get all of our 

 North American nymphjeas, such as .V. 

 reniformis and X. odorata; and if per- 

 missible don't stop at these. Add to 

 them candidissima, Marliacea chroma- 

 tella, and other hardy species; also our 

 native nelumbium (N. luteum), and the 

 Egyptian and Japanese ones, which, if 

 their roots are ke|)t beyond the reach of 

 ice, should be hardy enough in your 

 waters. And around the margin of the 

 pond grow arrow leaf in variety and 

 pickerel weed, with sweet flag, blue llag. 



purple loosestrife, etc., around the out- 

 side of it. Muskrats are the great draw- 

 backs of water lily growing in open 

 ponds. 



The Greenhouse. 



GREENHOUSE RHODODENDRONS. 



(/a vanicum-jasminiHoniw. ) 



These comparatively little known plants 

 have been developed to much perfection, 

 and are destined to become conspicuous 

 features of our greenhouses. Rapid 

 strides in the improvement of these plants 

 have been made since Mr. Tavlor at 

 Vietch's nurseries raised that' grand 

 variety named in his honor, and now we 

 have vivid carmine, bronze, buff, yellow 

 and white flowers among them. In the 

 greenhouse they require a warm moist 

 atmosphere duringtheir growing period, 

 and at no time should they besubmitted to 

 a temperature below 50°. They are 

 usually classed as winter flowering 

 plants, but my experience with them 

 would lead one to class them as of late 

 spring and early summer. We usually 

 flower them in May, June and July. 

 While in flower we move them to a north 

 house, when they will last in perfection 

 two and three weeks. For conservatory 

 decoration at that season of the year 

 they are unsurpassed by any o'ther 

 flowering plant. I exhibited some 

 trusses of cut flowers of them at 

 the June exhibition of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society, Boston, last 

 year and a first class certificate was 

 awarded to them. They require to be 

 grown in about one-half loam, the other 

 half should consist of about two-thirds 

 peat and one of leaf soil with good sharp 

 sand mixed through it. Pot firmly; dur- 

 ing their growing period they can be 

 occasionally watered with weak liquid 

 manure. Have the compost sweet and 

 free from worms and insure perfect drain- 

 age. Give them a temperature not lower 

 than 60°, also partial shade and plenty 

 of moisture at the root and in the atmos- 

 phere, and perfect drainage, and when 

 the growths are completed and the buds 

 formed the supply of water at the roots 

 should be diminished a little. 



The following are among many varie- 

 ties that I have grown and I confidently 

 recinunicnd them: 



1'hi:siiii;nt.— Clear buft yellow with 

 carmine fdaments; compact habit and 

 line ovate foliage. 



Scarlet Crown.— A most brilliant 

 form of orange scarlet; flowers of great 

 substance. 



Souvenir deJ. H. Mangles.— Orange 

 yellow with a suffusion of rose pink; fine 

 bold truss; of fine form and substance. 



Triumphans.— Crimson scarlet; distinct 

 and brilliant. 



Princess Beatrice.— Light yellow suf- 

 fiised with pink; very fine light variety of 

 vigorous habit. 



Monarch.— Buff yellow, shaded with 

 orange; filaments of deep rose; short tube, 

 but well formed flower. 



Minerva.— Soft nankeen j-ellow with 

 rosy filaments; massive trusses; fine form. 



Lord Wolselev.— Rich orange yellow, 

 slightly tinged with rose around the 

 margin; flowers large and of fine form; 

 robust habit. 



Diadem.— Bright scarlet tinted with 

 carmine; of good habit. 



Luteo-roseum.— Rose colored tinged 

 white, center of flower toned with light 

 yellow, massive trusses. 



Ophelia.— Soft rose, tinted; distinct 

 and compact truss. 



