114 



• • GARDENING. 



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There is no secret, or trick, in growing 

 chrysanthemums. At the verystfrt we 

 recognize that the plant is an omnivorous 

 feeder, and indulge its appetite to the 

 borders of indigestion. From the time we 

 take our cuttings (about the last of 

 March), through to their flowering, we 

 do not permit their growth to receive 

 any check. Do not wait till all plants 

 require shifting. Carefully note when each 

 plant requires it, and thenshilt it. From 

 the cutting bench, we place them into 

 2y2-inch pots, and when their roots 

 demand it shift into 4-inch pots, and it is 

 at this stage, and just before another 

 shift into larger pots, that we cut out the 

 leader about six inches from the rim of 

 the pot, in order that the plant may 

 break into the required shape. We flower 

 these bush plants'in 8, 9 and a few in 10- 

 inch pots. 



We believe in rather light, but rich soil, 

 and our compost is made up from rotted 

 sod, very old manure, and a quite liberal 

 proportion of bone meal. We use meal, 

 (not flour), that palpablv granular sized 

 bone, which is larger than the grain in 

 the flour. It is more gradual, and more 

 lasting in its action. Under glass and out 

 of doors, we water as freely as the plants 

 will take it, having however, good drain- 

 age in the bottom of the pot. We use no 

 liquid manure till the plants have set 

 flowering buds, and then use liquid sheep 

 manure, being careful not to sour the soil 

 by Mts excessive use. This latter stimu- 

 lant, or food, is applied two or three 

 times a week, until the bud shows 

 color, when we desist, and during the 

 blooming period, use clear water only. 



We grow all of our plants all the time 

 in the pots. As early in May as the 

 weather will permit, we place our potted 

 plants out doors in the cold frames, hav- 

 ing previously covered the soil in the 

 frame with two inches of cinders to keep 

 the worms from getting in the pots. Not 

 having room enough in our frames to ac- 

 commodate all, we plunge some, pots and 

 all, wherever we can find room in the 

 borders of our vegetable garden. By this 

 means, we give nearly all the plants a 

 summer outing. During this time, they 

 require to be staked to protect them 

 against the violent summer storms. In 

 August we select the best grown and take 

 them into the coolest of our greenhouses, 

 where they are treated as above ex- 

 plained, until they are through flowering. 



For want of room we grow neither 

 standards nor large specimen bush plants. 

 Our preference is for those bearing from 

 three to ten blooms each, and we flower 

 only terminal buds. Our cuttings for 

 single stem blooms are the leaders cut in 

 shaping the plants when they were in the 

 "t-inch pots. We flower most of these in 

 5-inch pots. 



I append a list of the varieties we grow 

 and chiefly of which the group in the 

 photograph was constituted. 



White:— Mrs. DeWitt Smith, early and 

 long lasting. Ivory, The Queen, Niveus 

 and Minnie Wanamaker are the best 

 whites. Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt is a late 

 bloomer and is of good substance and a 

 strong grower. Mrs. W. S. Kimball 

 deserves a place, and Ktoile dc Lyon, suf- 

 fused with lilac, is one of the finest of 

 chrysanthemums. Of the hairy whites, I 

 prefer the Annie Manda. It being of poor 

 root action, and not of vigorous growth, 

 requires warmer and less moist treat- 

 ment than do others of this type. How- 

 ever, the flower at its best is worth all 

 the extra care given the plant. L'Enfant 

 des Deux Mondes (White Bcehmer) is 

 good, but it is slightly inclined to show 

 its centre when past its best. 



Yellow:— H. L. Sunderbruch, Golden 

 Wedding and Eugene Dailledouze are 

 veritable golden monarchs, and each dis- 

 tinctively grand. W. H. Lincoln con- 

 tinues to be the finest of its color. Hicks 

 Arnold I regard as the best of the deep 

 yellows, Georgienne Bramhall is very 

 early and the longest lasting flower in my 

 collection. It is a distinctive primrose 

 yellow and of excellent habit. Mrs. Geo. 

 M. Pullman is a fine reflexed yellow. 

 Major Bonnaft'on deserves proiiiotion. 

 Libbie Allen, Mrs. L. C. Madeira and 

 Mrs. J. G. Whilldin are the best of their 

 types. The yellow Viviand-Morel is 

 still an unrealized dream. 



Pink:— Mrs. E. G. Hill was the eariiest 

 of my collection to bloom. It is the most 

 beautiful light pink in existence. How- 

 ever, it was a poor keeper with me, both 

 on and off the bush. Viviand-Morel is 

 still the queen of pinks and in all essen- 

 tials is the finest chrysanthemum to-day. 

 Harry Balsley, Maud Dean, Pres. W. R. 

 Smith and lida Prass are light tinted 

 pinks, that should be in every collection. 

 Dorothy Toler though a little stiff and 

 dahlia-like is from its moderate size and 

 daintiness of tint one of the gems of my 

 collection. Sue T. Price is also dainty and 

 pleasing. La ?' ranee and Thos. H.Brown 

 are early and of good color and shape. 

 Mrs. Ba\'ard Cutting is of decided color 

 and grand in size.. Mrs. Trelease I regard 

 as the best hairy pink. Mrs. Jas. B. Crane 

 and Mrs. Geo. West deserves places in the 

 amateur's collection. Christabelis rather 

 a fancy variety; its center being a pale 

 canary yellow while the outer petals are 

 of a bright pink, shading to a shell pink 

 giving the bloom a pleasing effect. The 

 flower is large, and the plant very satis- 

 factory in its growth. Mrs. Jas. Eadie, 

 though not large, I found to be the most 

 perfect self pink in my collection. Lilian 

 Bird and lora are pleasing members of 

 my family of pink chrysanthemums. 



I have reduced my collection of 

 reds and fancies to consist of Geo. 

 W. Childs, Mrs. A. J. Drexel, Mrs. 

 A. G. Ramsay, Renee and Pitcher and 

 Manda. It seems a pity that this latter 

 decided break in chrysanthemums should 

 have been named as an advertising 

 medium. Geo. W. Bramhall. 



South Grange, N. J., Dec. 10, 1894. 



Greenhouse and Window. 



CyCLflMENS. 



These are now in bloom and should 

 continue in good condition for three 

 months to come. Years ago we treated 

 them as perennials, raising them from 

 seeds, then keeping over the old bulbs for 

 some years, nowadays we treat them as 

 annuals, or at most, as biennials. Sow 

 the seed at once in a pot or pan filled two- 

 thirds with drainage and one-third with 

 light loamy soil. Cover the seeds Vs-inch 

 deep, set the pot up to the light but shade 

 from sunshine, and keep in a temperature 

 of 60° at night. Prick off the seedlings 

 when they are about three weeks old, 

 then when they are big enough pot them 

 singly into 3-inch pots, then into 4-inch 

 ones, and finally, say nextSeptemberinto 

 5-inch ones. Keep them in active growth 

 all spring and summer, and don't let them 

 dry up and rest as we used to do years 

 ago. A soil consisting of three parts in 

 bulk of sod loam and one-third of old 

 rotted cow manure suits them very well. 

 In fine weather, when they are not in 

 bloom, syringe them every day, in the 

 morning in winter and the afternoon in 



summer. Greenfly is very troublesome to 

 them but by strewing fresh tobacco 

 stems under "and about the plants this 

 insect pest is easily removed. Our illus- 

 tration shows a ten months' old plant in 

 a 5-inch pot. 



THE GREENHOUSE, 



The flood of chr\-santhemums is now 

 past, and we arenow in thedullest period 

 of the whole j'ear for flovi'ers. Before the 

 middle of October we get an abundance 

 from out of doors, then come chrysanthe- 

 mums, lasting till December, just now 

 there is a sprinkling of many things but 

 no great abundance ol any except from 

 special eff' rt, after the middleof January, 

 however, variety, quantity and quality 

 will begin to improve. Where special 

 attention is given to forcing roses, carna- 

 tions and violets, of course these cannow 

 be had in tolerable abundance. 



A LITTLE STYLE Or get-up in the green- 

 house as well as in our dwelling houses 

 adds much to their attractiveness. Have 

 everything clean and tidy, the pots clean, 

 the benches free from fallen leaves or 

 flowers, and the pathways swept out 

 clean or washed. Arrange the plants with 

 taste and so as to show them off to the 

 best advantage and let the flowers be 

 seen. Don't deaden the appearance of all 

 by having gone to rest, or "past" plants 

 here and there in prominent view, put 

 them to the back, or aside by themselves, 

 or into another compartment. Have a 

 fringe of something pretty all around the 

 pathways, either on or under the benches, 

 maybe both. On the bench we may have 

 the fringe grass [Isolepis gracilis), the 

 variegated panicum, plain green ormulti- 

 colored Wandering Jew (Tradescantia) . 

 the fleshy-leaved othonna, or mosses or 

 ferns. Underneath, alongside of the path- 

 way ferns, mosses, marantas, tradescan- 

 tias, and the like maj' be grown. 



Begonias.— //jsi^n/s, fuchsioicles, In- 

 grami, and others of that type are in 

 good bloom, so too are odorata and coc- 

 cinea but they will be better in a week or 

 two. Paul Bruant, manicaia, and some 

 others will come later, the Rex and other 

 fine foliaged ones are in beauty all the 

 time. They like condensed light, limited 

 pot room, a moderate amount of water 

 at the root, but little or none overhead, 

 and genial warmth, say 55° to 60° at 

 night. 



The Zanzibar Balsam (Impatiens Sul- 

 tan!) makes a capital companion plant 

 for begonias, luxuriating under similar 

 conditions, it is in bloom continuously, 

 and is one of the best window plants 

 known. 



Stevia is now plentiful. We grow the 

 dwarf variety, have it in pots in a cold 

 pit but perfectly secure from frost, and 

 bring some plants into the greenhouse 

 twice a week, and in this way keep up a 

 succession till the end of January. Incut- 

 ting we cut the plant clean off and dump 

 out the root, that is all except two or 

 three plants which are saved for cutting. 



Nasturtiums of the Lobbianum section 

 raised from cuttings in August and grown 

 on in pots and now, some in pots and 

 some planted in a bed, in the greenhouse, 

 and the vines run up on strings are bear- 

 ing lots of scarlet flowers. 



Chinese Primroses should be in fine 

 form now, and keep in good bloom till 

 February or longer. What nice Christ- 

 mas presents they make! Keep them cool 

 and near the light but thinly shaded from 

 sunshine; keep them moderately moist, be- 

 ing very careful not to overwater them, 

 and never wet their leaves. 



Obconica Primroses are gems in their 



