132 



GARDENING. 



Jan. /j:, 



leaves; in this stage they are easily trans- 

 planted into other pans or boxes, about 

 2 inches apart, and from then on they 

 must be shifted as they require it until 

 you have them into their blooming pots 

 or boxes. I flower them in 9 and 12inch 

 pots and a good number in the ordinary 

 soap box which we find a good size for 

 the above varieties. 



If there is no tank in the greenhouse get 

 a whiskev barrel and cut it in two, it will 

 doadmirablvfor vour young plants when 

 they need more room and it can be placed 

 in some corner of the greenhouse where 

 the plants will get good light. The same 

 treatment holds good with K. dentata 

 and anv of the other varieties seeds of 

 which are commonly offered for sale, but 

 I would advise beginners to try only N. 

 Zanzibarensis and its varieties rosea and 

 azurea, and N. dentata, all of which are 

 easily raised and with a little intelligent 

 care will give satisfaction. 



I raise all mv plants of the following 

 kinds from tubers that have been kept in 

 moist sand under the greenhouse bench, 

 since being lifted from the pond (the sand 

 is just kept moist enough to prevent drs' 

 rot) A', dentata, N. Devoniensis, N. rubra 

 and 'a; gigantea. These I start into 

 growth about or soon after the middle of 

 January. We put a few tubers in a 7-inch 

 pot filled with the same soil as above, 

 only coarser, and place the pots m a tank 

 about 3 or 4 inches under water, where a 

 temperature of 65° to 70° is kept. Soon 

 the tubers begin to grow much like a 

 potato, and from these sprouts roots will 

 strike down into the soil from the first 

 joint. After they are well rooted and 

 good sturdv plants thev can be severed 

 from the tuber and potted off separately 

 into 3 or +-inch pots, and submerged in 

 the tank about the same depth. One 

 must be verv careful not to detach the 

 voung plant from the tuber too soon or 

 you will probably lose it; leave them until 

 they have made four good leaves and you 

 will be sure of success. The same tubers 

 will start and grow again so that you 

 will get several cropsfrom them. VVehke 

 to start all these tropical varieties to- 

 wards the end of January, as we aim to 

 have nice plantsin9-inchpots when plant- 

 ing them out into the pond; by so treat- 

 ing thtm we get them to flower soone-, 

 an^d therebv lengthen their season of 

 blooming out of doors. This winter I 

 have not flowered any in the greenhouse, 

 as our tanks are well filled with seedling 

 hybrids that have not flowered as yet, 

 and therefore we had no room for flow- 

 ering plants. The best variety I ever 

 grewforwinterflowerwasAf. O'Maraana, 

 it was never out of flower. 



Last fall I hlted all of my Zanzibarensis 

 variety after frost, and cutting ofif the 

 leaves and roots threw the plants into a 

 tank, meaning to look over them at my 

 leisure to get the youngtubersfromthem; 

 about a month later I went to overhaul 

 them when to my surprise they com- 

 menced to throw out new leaves and 

 roots, I took off all the young tubers and 

 threw the old ones back into the water 

 again to see what they would do. They 

 still kept growing so I potted them up, 

 and they are doing well and promise to 

 make nice plants. 



The hardy lilies such as Xymphwa odor- 

 ata. N. odo'rata rosea, N. o. Caroliniana, 

 N. o. exquisita, N. o sulphurea, N Mar- 

 liacea chrowatella, N. Marliacea rosea, 

 A' Marliacea carnea, N. candidissima, N. 

 a I ha N. pv^mxa. N. Laydekeri rosea, N. 

 Ilelviola. N. Mexicana, with the different 

 kinds of Xelumhium we have, we leave in 

 the outdoor pond all winter, as we find 



thev do much better so treated than if| 



they were lifted and stored in the cella 



or greenhouse. We have no less than 12! 



hes deep of water on top of them, and 



I 



dWc 



overed with canvas when they come 

 nto bloom in the fall. At the same time 

 lall the stock plants are placed outside m 

 'cold frames— as the great majority 



very rarely we have more than 6 inches Jgnot suitable for large specimen plants— 

 of ice. We do not disturb the plants until V and kept over till June. From those 



April, when we draw off the water and 

 leave only enough to keep the fishes from 

 suffering, then we overhaul all the boxes 

 thehlies are in, add fresh soil where nec- 

 essarv, and move any of the hardy ones 

 we wish moved. Then the water istumed 

 in and won't be drawn off again. When 

 we plant out the tender ones we do so 

 from a small flat bottomed boat kept for 

 going about among the lilies. 

 Washington, D. C. Peter Bisset. 



Orchids. 



ORCHID NOTES. 



The following orchids are now in bloom 

 on this place: Lxlia pedunciilaris, a 

 pretty free flowering species with delicate 

 rosy purple flowers. It does best in 

 shallow baskets with very little potting 

 material. 



Cypripedium venustum pardinum, a 

 variety with prettily mottled foliage; 

 flowers yellowish green and black. It 

 does best in small pots in a cool green- 

 house. C. tonsitw, a stove species with 

 ornamental foliage. 



Cynihidium Lowianum, a fine winter 

 flowering orchid requiring pot culture. 



Cattleya speciosissima, a showy large 

 flowered spec'es, and C. Eldorado, an- 

 other showy one with a deep golden lip. 

 These two species require basket culture 

 and a rather warmer temperature than 

 C. Triana:. Cattleya Trianx. the most 

 reliable of the winter flowering cattleyas, 

 and essentially the florist's cattleya, docs 

 best with pot culture. 



Dendrobiutn Wardianuni, nobile, tini- 

 briatum and lituiBorum candidarn are 

 coming into bloom. Dendrobiutn fimbri- 

 atuai is a handsome species, and flowers 

 only on the pseudo-bulbs that are two or 

 three vears old. D. lituitlorum candidutn, 

 like D. W'ardianum, flowers on the cur- 

 rent year's growth, after the leaves fall. 

 These dull months afford an oppor- 

 tunity to repot, clean and wash the 

 orchids. The only insecticide I use is 

 carbolic soap— thefinest grade of such as 

 is used for washing animals— about two 

 ounces to a gallon of water. 



Wm. Fitzwili.i.\m. 

 Baronald, N.J.,Jan. 8, 1896. 



Chrysanthemums. 



planted outdoors, and thoseinthe frames 

 I take the cuttings for 6-inch pot plants 

 in June— those in the picture ( front page 

 December 15, 1895) were made the 15th, 

 though I think now that June 1 is about 

 the right time. If rooted earlier and 

 grown to one stem and disbudded to one 

 bloom they will be likely to grow too 

 tall for a private place. 



I root the June cuttings in the propa- 

 gating house — which faces the northwest 

 —and give air night and day, and keep 

 the tops as cool as possible, but give a 

 little bottom heat till they emit roots. 

 They are potted from the bench into 

 2-inch pots; from these into 4 inch pots, 

 and when they fill these with roots, get 

 their final shift into 6-inch pots. In some 

 vears when I was busy I repotted them 

 "from 2V2-inch pots into 6-inch ones, but 

 they never did as well as when I took the 

 little extra trouble with them. The 6-inch 

 pot plants are grown altogether indoors 

 in a light airy greenhouse. They are 

 syringed twice a day during the hot 

 weather, that is in the morning and at 

 noon, as the evaporation is very great at 

 that time of the year. The potting com- 

 post consists of three parts good turfy 

 loam and one part well rotted cow- 

 manure to which is added some sharp 

 sand. The pots are well drained, using 

 a little swamp moss over the drainage, 

 and they are washed clean when used for 

 the last shift. 



The only artificial manure I use is sul- 

 phate of ammonia. I use it in this way: 

 I put some cow manure in a bag and 

 place the same in a barrel and fill with 

 water, and put the full of a 3-inch flow-er 

 pot of sulphate of ammonia in the water. 

 I alternate the cow manure every week 

 with sheep manure. I never attempt to 

 give it to the plants till their pots are 

 well filled with roots, and discontinue the 

 sulphate of ammonia when the flower 

 buds show color. Be very careful of over- 

 watering as soon as the plants set their 

 blossom buds; they will not take near as 

 much water at this time as they would a 

 few weeks before, and if over watered 

 their roots will decay. The greenhouses 

 in which they bloom are slightly shaded 

 with whitewash after the flowers open 

 to prevent the color of the blooms from 

 fading prematurely, as the direct sunlight 

 has a bad effect on the dark colored 

 varieties especially. [The above is in 

 response to inquiries from some readers 

 who were particularly anxious to know 

 how Mr. Fanellgrew such splendid flow- 

 ers as those shown in our front page 

 illustration, December 15,— Ed] 

 Orange, N. J. John Farrell. 



now I GROW CftRySflNTflEMUMS. 



In December and January I take cut- 

 tings from the suckers forplants intended 

 for standards, as I find it necessary to 

 root them early for this class. They are 

 potted on as required till they get the 

 final potting into 10-inch pots about the 

 first of June. 



Before throwing out the old plants in 

 December I secure pieces which are potted 

 into 6-inch pots for stock. These are kept 

 in a light place, in a cool house where 

 they will make stocky, robust growths 

 for cuttings In February I put in cut- 

 tings of varieties which are suitable for 

 bush plants. In March another batch is 

 rooted for planting outdoors to be 



Landscape Gardening. 



PLAN FOR fl LARGE CITY FLflCE. 



The accompanving plan designed bv 

 Mr. H. A. Caparn of my office I think an 

 especially good one— ver\- original and 

 artistic— and properly carried out would 

 make a very charming garden. It is 

 designed for a city home, rather than a 

 country one, where it is desirable to 

 secure privacy from numerous pedestrians 

 and to conceal from view surrounding 

 streets and buildings. Some would ob 

 ject to arrangement shown on account o 



