iSgs. 



• GARDENING 



375 



CACTI AT THE MISSOURI BOTANIC GARDEN 



Ans. Ferns, mosses, livinia, Zanzibar 

 I)alsani, wandering Jew, and such thins;s, 

 or you can start bulbs there, or have a 

 mushroom bed, or bring in and force some 

 rhubarb there, if the draft from the door 

 is too strong, have a musUn curtain to 

 drop down over the bed when you ojjcn 

 the door. 



.'5. "HOWISSWEETOLIVE PROPAGATED?" 



Ans. We presume you mean Oka fra- 

 grans. By cuttings 



+. "What plants for winter use 

 conld be started from seed now?" 



.4 ns. Mignonette, and sweet alyssum 

 and nasturtiums. Pansies sown now and 

 kept in a greenhouse would also flower in 

 winter. And it is not too late yet to sow- 

 calceolarias and cinerarias. 



5. "Bigs?" 



Ans. Please send us another lot in a 

 tin or wooden box, that we may get 

 them in goo 1 enough condition to submit 

 to a specialist in that line. 



0. "Where can I get greenhouse 

 seeds, palm ceeds, etc?" 



Ans. From the seedsmen advertising 

 with us. 



7. Can I successfillv start cacti, 

 agave, and gasteria seed now? 1 enjoy 

 seed-growing so much?" 



.4ns. Yes, certainly. But so few of our 

 seedsmen keep a stock of these seeds on 

 h.-md that you mav have trouble in get- 

 ting them.' Try .\' Blanc, of Philadelphia 

 or Mrs. Shepherd, Ventura, California. 



.S. "I HAVE a regular POULTRY YARD 



of various sorts of hen-aud-chickens from 

 seed— sempervivum and echeverias." 



Ans. So have we of the hardy ones. 

 I'.ucss we'll send you a few of ours, they 

 niav add to your variety. 



'.I. HciRTICLLTURAL REPORTS. —"How 

 [.an I get the reports published in my own 

 tatc, or liv the I'. S. Goveniment'" 



Ans. Write to Prof. Budd, Ames, Iowa, 

 and ask to be placed on the Experiment 

 Station mailing list, and to the Secretary 

 of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and 

 ask that the Horticultural and Pomolog- 

 ical reports be sent to you. 



CflCTl. 



Although we have a few nice hardy cacti 

 that will brave all weathers out of doors 

 the great majority of what we cultivate 

 are not only tender, but they wantatten- 

 tion at this time. They should now be in 

 the fullness and fatness of good health, 

 but a cold drizzling easterly storm at this 

 time oi year might cause havoc among 

 them in two ways, namely, by rotting 

 their roots or rusting their crowns. 

 Therefore we would strongly urge you to 

 get all your little mammillarias, echinop- 

 sis and the like under cover, either in a 

 frame or on the piazza. Strong cereus, 

 opuntias and echinocactus can stand it, 

 but even in their case not too much. 



We have always had best success with 

 cacti l)y planting them out in summer, 

 and lirting and potting them in August or 

 September; the plants gr.iw better and 

 keep cleaner for it. All small, rare or ex- 

 pensive cacti we used to plant in pots and 

 winter in the greenhouse, but vigorous 

 opuntias we lifted with all the earth that 

 would stick to their roots, and laid them 

 on their sides in a light dry warm cellar. 

 But it was only a make-shift, for while 

 we seldom lost a plant, many of the 

 branches would rot off. If we had these 

 opuntias growing in pots, however, and 

 the pots plunged overhead outside in 

 summer, these plants lifted, retaining 

 their pots and ball of earth, would live 

 pertectly in the cellar. Our illustration 

 shows a loi of the strong growing opun- 



tias as grown m small pots and staged 

 over winter in the Missouri Botanical 

 Garden, and appeared in its Sixth Annual 

 Report. We are indebted to the kindness 

 of the director. Prof. Wm. Trelease, for 

 Ijerniission to use it here. 



T«E 0RBEN«OUSE. 



Have all painting, glazing and other 

 repairing done as soon as possible, 

 and everything clean and neat. The 

 plants that have been indoors all sum- 

 mer should now be perfectly clean. Bring 

 poinsettias in out of the cold. Lift and 

 pot what chrysanthemums you need. 

 Repot the stevias. Cut back the show 

 lielargoniums. Lessen the water to the 

 amaryllises. As gloxinias aredonebloom- 

 ing set them aside, keeping them dry. If 

 one or two neat stakes will improve the 

 achimenes apply them before the plants 

 begin to fall over. Be careful about the 

 begonias that are outside; cold rains 

 from now on are apt to spoil their leaves 

 and rot their roots. Pot some of the best 

 ol the tuberous begonias for blooming in 

 the greenhouse or window between now 

 and the end of November. Begin to litt 

 ;iiid pot what winter blooming plants, 

 like bouvardias, libonias, carnations and 

 the like, that are planted out, so as to 

 have them well rooted before cold weather 

 comes. Cut off withered heads of hydran- 

 geas so as to give the wood and leaves 

 more light to ripen. Keep calceolarias, 

 cinerarias and Chinese primroses near the 

 glass in a cool airy place, slightly shaded 

 from sunshine, and in a moist atmos- 

 jjhere. It isn't too late to sow some seeds 

 of calceolarias and cinerarias yet if needed . 

 Get in lots of cuttings of geraniums and 

 other bedding plants, for it is better to 

 keep over a young stock than bother lift- 

 ing old ones. 



