j895. 



GARDENING. 



135 



/ANDA CCERULBA 



The spccimeti shown in (he accompany- 

 ing illustration belongs to Mr. Wni. Barr, 

 Llewellvn Park, Orange, N. J., and is now 

 (December 26) in full bloom. It has 

 eleven flower spikes and one hundred and 

 si.\teen lovely pale blue blossoms. Last 

 year it had eight flower spijces. 



We grow it in a pot in a compost con- 

 sisting of sphagnum moss, charcoal and 

 potsherds, no peat. It is given a liberal 

 supply of water in spring and summer 

 when it is in active growth, less as it ap- 

 proaches and comes into bloom, and 

 when it has done blooming we k'ep it 

 only slightly moist till it shows signs of 

 starting into fresh growth, when we 

 again gradually increase the supply. 



The temperature of the greenhouse in 

 which we grow itis55°at night, allowing 

 a rise to 65° or 70° in the day time; even 

 a little higher with direct sunshine. 



Orange, X. J- Wm. Fitzwilliam. 



I H.WE nothing but commendation for 

 the paper, which I have— contrary to my 

 custom — brought to the notice of many 

 of mv friends, as a favor to them. 



New York. ' G. T. L. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



TflE VBOETflBLB GARDEN, 



Look over the stored vegetables to see 

 that they are keeping all right and that 

 frost doesn't get to them If they are too 

 warm the carrots, oyster plant, turnips, 

 beets, etc., are apt to sprout, and as 

 sprouting destroys their good flavor, rul) 

 off the sprouts. Whenever you find the 

 roots beginning to sprout turn over and 

 unsprout the whole binful. This turning 

 over of the whole lot is a sa'eguard 

 against rotting too, for if one or two 

 roots start to rot very soon every 

 one touching them is apt to rot, turning 

 and sorting stops this in time. See that 

 no drip gets into the vegetable bins, as it 

 is sure to soon start sprouting and rot- 

 ting in the roots. The temperature of the 

 cellar where the roots are stored should 

 be the same as for apples or potatoes, as 

 low as possible without admitting frost. 

 Over drj'ness isn't good; it causes shrivel- 

 ling. But if the roots are dry and wilting 



a little don't wet them, simply put 

 thcrn together in small heaps and place a 

 laytr of moist earth or sand over them 

 and keep them cool. 



If you have carrots, beets or turnips 

 buried in pits out of doors be sure to have 

 a covering over them thick enough to ex- 

 clude frost; common earth is best for this, 

 but if the ground is hard and you cannot 

 get it, a load or two of manure or litter 

 s])icad thickly on top of the earth cover- 

 ing will be of great assistance. 



Brussels Sprouts.— What a fine thing 

 llicse are in winter. We don't bury them 

 outdoors as we -do cabbage, we plant 

 them up close together, and heads up in a 

 pit or shed where we can get at them to 

 pick whenever we wish to. Look over 

 them now and pick off alldecaj-ing leaves 

 on them, and if any of them show awilty 

 appearance pour some water on the 

 ground their roots are in, but don't wet 

 them overhead. Sometimes they get 

 badly infested with greenfly. We mustn't 

 use kerosene emulsion or any poisouous 

 insecticide to destroy the insects, for the 

 kerosene would give a bad taste to the 

 sprouts and the poisons are dangerous to 

 the consumers. But make a strong brine 

 and spray the plants with it; this will 

 destroy the insects and won't hurt the 

 sprouts. Or syringe them with hot water 

 (at a temperature of 130°). 



C.\BB.\GES buried out of doors are apt 

 to keep all right up till February any- 

 way, then they begin to get tasteless. 



Celery in ridges outside if well covered 

 from rain and frost is apt to keep well 

 enough till into February. But look out 

 for field mice, they are apt to gather wher- 

 ever there is straw covering, and if they 

 once get into a ridge of celery you should 

 lift out the lot till you catch the mouse 

 or mice, else they will make sad havoc 

 among the heads". At this time of year it 

 is well to lift and bring in a month's sup- 

 plv at a time, in doing this save the roots 

 to the plants. Have a deep bo.K like an 

 old shoe box, put a little moist earth or 

 sand in the bottom, then set in the celery, 

 heads up and close together and the roots 

 in the moist earth; set it in a cool placcin 

 the cellar and take out what you want 

 as it is needed. 



We have lettuces, spinach and pars- 

 lev in cold frames. All we can do with 

 them is keep the frames well covered up in 

 severe weather, and in mild weather un- 

 cover and open them. Even in sharp 

 frost V weather, in bright sunny forenoons 

 it is well to remove the covering from the 

 glass to admit light and heat, then cover 

 up early in the al'ternoon to keep in the 

 heat, in mild fine weather uncover the 

 frames altogether and remove all decay- 

 ing and damping plants and leaves and 

 with a httle scarifying tool scratch the 

 surface of the ground over to dry it. In 

 the event of severe frosty weather the 

 plants in cold frames are often apt to get 

 frozen stiff, while in this condition if the 

 are frames are uncovered suddenly and 

 warm sunshine admitted to the glass the 

 plants— lettuces in particular— are apt to 

 get destroyed, while the plants are frozen 

 stiffadmit light sparingly, it might even 

 be well to tilt up the sashes a little at the 

 back without uncovering them. In the 

 south hotbeds are now in order but in 

 the north it is too soon to start them. 

 Hotbeds in January are something we 

 have ceased to touch because of the great 

 labor entailed in caring for them and 

 their uncertainty should the weather 

 prove snowy or continuously cold. 



Lettuce, Onio.ns, Tomatoes, Cauli- 

 FLOWEKS. It is time to sow some of these 

 for an early start, and if it is too soon to 



