328 



GARDENING. 



July 13, 



golden rods, so I let my last gathering 

 remain w here they were during the year 

 1895, and found them so vigorous and 

 happy that I concluded to make the 

 planting a permanent one. This year's 

 conditions proved I was right, as thcv 

 were extremely vigorous and one-third 

 bore two flowers to a stock. 



The bed in which they are planted is a 

 heavy clay loam without a particle of leaf 

 mould situated north of my barn. A lat- 

 tice fence borders it on the west, thus 

 securing the shade and immunity from 

 winds natural to its native home The 

 natural lay of the ground sloped sharply 

 to the west, but in order to have the bed 

 look well, its surface wasmade level, con- 

 sequentlv the bed at the west end is con- 

 siderably over a foot higher than the 

 ground just bevond the lattice fence. This 

 imitates the qiiick drainage of the ravine 

 banks and undoubtedly is a factor in their 

 success. I also grow them successfully as 

 pot plants, having had onefor threeyears 

 oast that gave me eight blooms on my 

 porch this season. It is wintered in the 

 cellar, put outside in the spring and 

 brought to the porch when in bloom. It 

 opens its flowers generally ten days later 

 than those in the soil. The plants can be 

 gathered when in bloom by cutting 

 deeply all around them with a spade so 

 as to get a good ball of soil, cutting ofi' 

 the flower spike, planting in the shade and 

 watering well. W. C. Ega.n. 



Illinois. 



ORCflID NOTES. 



C(julogvnc Dayana, in bloom now, is a 

 desirable", warmth-loving species, and 

 easily grown, and it improves from year 

 to year. Its flowers are a combination 

 of dark brown, wh te and pale yellow, 

 and are borne on long pendulous racemes, 

 whose odd appearance suggests the 

 name "necklace orchid." It blossoms 

 during the growii g season, when it must 

 have plenty of wa cr. and only requires a 

 partial rest when it has finished its 

 growths. It does best potted in two- 

 thirds peat fiber and one-third sphagnum 

 moss. We have English potted plants 

 grown in their heavy peat, which they 

 still stick to, and the plants don't do as 

 well in that as they do in our fibrous ma- 

 terial. Alsoin bloom are Lycastecruenta. 

 which is easily grown, and Masdevallia 

 Harryana, a free growing and free flow- 

 ering orchid which should never be 

 allowed to get dry and requires the cool 

 greenhouse tor its successful culture. Use 

 for it well drained small pots and a com- 

 post of half peat fiber and clean sphagnum 

 moss. Miltonia vexillaria is a beautiful 

 orchid requiring an intermediate temper- 

 ature; it is liable to "spot" if kept too 

 cool. It is very subject to thrips. A 

 good way to rid it of this pest is to dip it 

 occasionally in a little weak tobacco 

 water— taking care to shake it dry before 

 jilacing back on the ben h. Cattleya 

 Dowiana C. maxima superha and C. 

 crispa will soon be in bloom. 



Orange, N. Y. \Vm. Fitzwilliam. 



■Watson's Botanv of California of those 

 of the Pacific country. But if you write 

 to W. H. Harrison & Son, Lebanon 

 Springs, N. Y., for their list of native 

 plants you will find most of our native 

 hardy orchids described in it, and if you 

 want to get some of the plants Messrs. 

 Harrison are very reliable people to deal 

 with. 



NATIVE ORCHIDS. 



H. M., Lebanon, Ky., asks: "Is there a 

 li t published of all orchids growing wild in 

 the United States? Are there any dealers 

 in the United States from whom I could 

 buy such orchids?" 



The different Manuals of Botany of the 

 United States contain full lists of the sec- 

 tions of the countrj- they cover, for in- 

 stance Gray's Manual has the orchids of 

 the northern and eastern states; Chap- 

 man's of the Southern States; Coulter's 

 of the Rocky Mountains, and Sereno 



ORCfllDS. 



Many different customs are employed 

 in the culture of hothouse orchids. Too 

 often they ore found smeltering in a 

 house with a temperature of 98° to 100°, 

 with a stagnant atmosphere. I do not 

 know a more destructive way than this; 

 a moment's reflection will convince the 

 most careless that orchids, like all other 

 plants, are creatures of the air, and should 

 they claim the most pestilential swamp 

 as "their habitat they are nevertheless 

 constantly supplied with invigorating air 

 and if it should happen that in their 

 location they should be smothered by 

 surrounding foliage and retain moisture 

 too long they show disease, spot and 

 decav just as in a smothering, moist, 

 close" heat in a hothouse without ventila- 

 tion. Therefore I would caution all 

 growers to make a strong point in hav- 

 ing free circulation from top and bottom 

 ventilators, without chilly drafts. I also 

 advise the heating to be kept up the year 

 round; of course many days and nights 

 onlv just enough to make a circulation 

 and then there will be nights and days 

 too that fire heat will be required, as the 

 foliage should become dry once in 24 

 hours. When I say dry I do not mean pot 

 dry but foliage dry, and this should be 

 towards evening so that a gentle 

 syringing should be given a little 

 before sundown, keeping sufficient venti- 

 lation top and bottom so that in the 

 morning the plants will again require the 

 same treatment. The amount of ventila- 

 tion must be regulated by outside condi- 

 tions and amount of fire "heat used; at all 

 times judgment should be used in those 

 important features of orchid culture. 



Wm. Mathews. 



The Greenhouse. 



Mr GREENHOUSE. 



Since writing you last, I have built me 

 a nice little greenhouse 7 feet by 14 fe t, 

 aided by your kind suggestions on Gar- 

 DENmG of January 15, 1894, page 133. 

 The greenhouse is attached to my sitting 

 room, with a large glass sliding door be- 

 tween the two, so when I use tobacco or 

 other bad fumes, for the destruction of 

 insects, no bad smell or smoke gets into 

 my sitting room; at the same time. I can 

 see what is going on in the greenhouse. 

 The house has a southern exposure, roof 

 made of one-quarter inch, ribbed skylight 

 glass, and has two ventilators in the roof 

 next the wall. The floor is made of two 

 thicknesses of flooring with a slight pitch 

 to a small gutter, which carries off all 

 drip or waste water, that falls on the 

 floor. I heat the house with 5 runs of 

 1' J inch pipe, hot water. The benches 

 run all ar und the house, on some there 

 is an inch or so of coarse sand on which 

 I set the pots. At one end I have a bench 

 31/2x4 feet with 5 inches of soil, and a 

 small door leading out of the house, to 

 carry pots, soil, and rubbish out, without 

 going into the sitting room. I had a 

 Va-inch faucet attached to the city water 

 service put in the greenhouse, to have 



water handy. In this house I have an 

 abundance of beautiful plants and flow- 

 ers. I have one rose of each. Bride, Brides- 

 maid, Perle and Wootton planted in the 

 5 inches of soil and they are doing fine. 

 At this writing I have 13 very beautiful 

 fancy leaved caladiums in all their glory, 

 as well as other choice foliage plants. 

 Now I am no florist, in fact, at the start, 

 could hardly tell the name of any common 

 garden plant, but I have been asiibscriber 

 to Gardening from its commencement, 

 and by close attention to its valued read- 

 ings I am enabled to make our house a 

 bower of beauty and a joy to all. 



1. Magnolia GRANDiFLORAvar. Exoni- 

 ENSis -How should I treat this plant, must 

 I plant it out permanently in the open 

 ground or must I pot it and p'ungeitin 

 the ground during the summer, and keep 

 it in the greenhouse o > er winter, how 

 soon should it bloom? 



Aris. 1( Magnolia grandiHora is hardy 

 in your town, the varietv iixon/ens/s will 

 be hardy there also, but probably it is 

 not hardy. In this case you can grow it 

 in a pot or tub and winter it in your cel- 

 lar as you would a hydrangea, oleander, 

 or orange tree; it will stand 20° of frost 

 without hurt; indeed we gotit to liveand 

 bloom nicely in a warm sheltered place at 

 Dosoris, where we had occasional zero 

 frosts. But far better take good care of 

 it, to do this it must be protected in win- 

 ter. When it may bloom is uncertain, 

 but we have had 4 feet high plants blos- 

 som; when they once get to blooming 

 th y are apt to bloom every year after. 



2. Camellias. — I plunged my camellias 

 in pots, outside, in a shady place, and will 



■ take them in the housethis (all, for bloom- 

 ing, is this right? 



Ans. Yes, quite right. 



3. My fancy leaved caladiums throw 

 out a bud or flower stock, must I let this 

 develop or cut it off? 



Ans. It matters very little so far as the 

 welfare of the plants is concerned. If the 

 caladiums are small or weakbv all means 

 break or cut out the flower stems. As the 

 flowers are not at all showy or attrac- 

 tive, and our object in growing these 

 caladiums is to have their beautifully 

 marked and variegated leaves, whatever 

 detracts from the development of these 

 leaves should be removed, so we advise, 

 yes, remove the flower stems as soon as 

 they are noted. 



4. Jasminum. — I have a large jasmine in 

 a 6-inch pot, the florist called \t Jasminum 

 Horibundum. it bloomed fine all winter and 

 spring, how must I treat it now? 



Ans. If you had given us a slight 

 description of the plant we might have 

 been able to help you. as it is we are 

 afraid to advise you not knowing what 

 jasmine you refer to. "Floribundum" 

 cannot be the proper name of the plant 

 you refer to. 



5. Parkinsonia aculeata (Jerusalem 

 thorn) how to treat it? 



Ans. Grow it in a pot in the green- 

 house in winter and plunge it out of 

 doors in summer. 



G. Crape Myrtle? Itisashrub that is 

 hardy from Baltimore southward, but in 

 the north it must have protection; in fact 

 it is to the gardens ot the south what 

 lilacs are to those of the north. In the 

 north it is generally grown in pots as we 

 do with hydrangeas and oleanders, 

 brought into a cool cellar over winter 

 and plunged out 01 doors in summer. 



7. DURANTA PlUMIERI? 



.Ins. Grow it in a pot in greenhouse over 

 winter and plunge it outside in the sum- 

 mer time. 



8. Passiflora quadrangularis varie- 

 GATA and Cissus discolor. Should I keep 



