i8g4- 



GARDENING. 



39 



THE LEAVES OP TEN VARIETIES OF CROTONS 



say no; but if to be attended to, yes. 

 Why? because it spreads so much. Than 

 this" Japanese trailing rose there is no 

 morebeautilul living green carpet that we 

 know of. Its habit is to hug close to the 

 groundand becomeadense mat; itsleaves 

 iire small, very numerous, deep glossy 

 green, looking as if they were evergreen; 

 about the end of June or first of July it 

 becomes a sheet of panicles of little white 

 single roses, which later in the season are 

 succeeded by bright red heps. It loves good 

 ground, moisture in summer and a little 

 shade, then spreading flat to the ground 

 it will throw out shoots 20 feet long in a 

 year. .\t the same time if the ground is 

 good and not too dry, or the exposure 

 very sunny, and two orthree times a j-ear 

 the wandering shoots are cut in, it would 

 answer admirably. Mounds on graves 

 are still retained in old cemeteries, but in 

 modern cemeteries the graves are finished 

 off on theground level. In using this rose 

 it would show to better advantage on 

 the mound than on the level. We would 

 set one or two plants in the level giound 

 at the foot of the grave and lead the 

 shoots straight up over the mound to 

 the head; and at the head of the grave, 

 on the level, we would plant another one 

 or two plants and lead their shoots down 

 over the mound to the foot of the grave. 

 In this way we v ould get a thick cover- 

 ing in a year. And every shoot that 

 would spread out in any other direction 

 than over the mound should be cut off; 

 this being attended to three or four times 

 during the summer to have it neat. If the 

 soil is shallow or poor remove a goodly 

 (|uantity of it at each end of the grave 

 and replace it with good rich loam leav- 

 ing it slightly hollow rather than over 

 lull. If you plant this fall, do so as soon 

 as possible, and lay an evergreen branch 

 or two over the plants the first winter. 



The Greenhouse. 



Among the most showy and easily 

 managed of warm greenhouse plants arc 

 the man}' varieties of crotonsno .v grown 

 in gardens. They are evergreen shrubs, 

 mostly indigenous to Polynesia, and 

 have strikingly beautiful, bright y col- 

 ored and varied foliage. The flowers 

 amount to nothing. The plants are 

 readily increased from cuttings, and easily 

 grown, and make very pretty pot plants 

 either for greenhouse decoration, or for 

 room, windo<v box, or flower garden 

 work in summer. The leaves varj' greatly 

 in lorm. Som? arelong, slender, and arch- 

 ing, others broad and stiff, some are 

 three lobed, others are spiral; some are 

 striped, marbled, suff"used or blotched 

 green and yellow, and others have these 

 two colors with crimson and interme- 

 diate shadings. 



In the greenhouse thej' like a thin shade, 

 warm quarters, a dewing overhead every 

 fine day, a moderate amount of water at 

 the root, and stopping the shoots now 

 and again to keep the old plants stocky. 

 They can be kept as specimen pot plants 

 for a dozen years in fine form; and in 

 tropical countries they grow to be small 

 trees planted out in the gardens. Many 

 people here use them freely planted out in 

 the garden in summer, they enjoy such a 

 place as tuberous beeoni'S do, good 

 moist ground and faint shade. Our illus- 

 tration, from the Phipps' Conservatory 

 Guide, Pittsburg, shows a sample of the 

 foliage of ten varieties. They are, 1, 

 Cronstadtii; 2, Hooketianum; 3, roseum 

 pictum: 4 Challenger; 5. Harlot Derby: G, 

 Queen Victoria: 7, Comtc dc ('>erniiny: S, 

 Morlii: 9, splcndiduni; 10, aurcum niacu- 



latum Besides these Mr. Bennett, the 

 superintendent, cultivates between fifty 

 and sixtv other varieties 



TflE GREENHOUSE. 



Get everything indoors now. Man}- 

 greenhouse plants being of evergreen 

 nature may continue to look well outside 

 yet, but if "all hardy plants are preparing 

 ibr rest it is unreasonable to trust trop- 

 ical and extra-tropical plants to the in- 

 clemency of the weather after this. 



Arrange the plants so as to give the 

 sunniest places to those coming into 

 bloom, and the shadiest to fine-leaved 

 plants, ferns and palms. Cacti if kept 

 pretty dry overhead will also do well in 

 a shady place. If the greenhouse is 

 crowded cool-loving, small plants like 

 cinerarias, Chinese primroses, geraniums 

 and libonias, may be kept for some time 

 yet in cold frames. Trese should be well 

 banked around and plenty material 

 should be at hand to cover them with in 

 the event o( frosty weather, for a breath 

 of frost is ruinous to cinerarias. 



We have to make a good deal of room 

 just mw for chrysanthemums. As soon 

 as they are past and cleared out of the 

 houses we can bring in the above named 

 plants from the frames, also carnations 

 and early azaleas, dwarf stevia, etc 



Keep the hyacinths or tulips buried out 

 of doors, or" in t'.ie cellar, to bring them 

 into the gi'cenhouse so soon would be to 

 ruin them. But Roman hyacinths and 

 paper white narcissus can be brought in 

 (or early flovi-ering. The earliest freesias 

 rray be given a place near the glass in a 

 warm end of the greenhouse; later lots 

 can be kept in a cool greenhouse or in 

 covered frames. Encourage cyclamen in 

 their growth, hut keep them in light well 

 ventilated greenhouses. If vou noticenny 



