I883.J 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



43 



A New Water Lily. — Mr. E. Sturtevant has 

 raised a new variety of lily from Nymphaea De- 

 voniensis, which, though not a species, Dr. Asa 

 Gray thinks may be called N. Sturtevanti, provided 

 a cross (x) is placed before the name in writing it. 

 According to the description the flower is paler 

 than the original. N. Devonicnsis was produced 

 from N. dentata, which is a white flowering spe- 

 cies, N. Devoniensis being dark red. 



Camellias and Roses. — Since the taste for 

 winter roses grew so wonderfully, the Camellia has 

 been undeservedly left far in the background. 

 There are few more beautiful sights than a well- 

 grown and well-formed Camellia. It is the gen- 

 eral impression that there will be a reaction in fa- 

 vor of this beautiful flower before long. The 

 English seem to foresee this, and among the an- 

 nouncements of new plants by Mr. Wm. Bull we 

 note " Cafnellia Don Pedro " has a prominent place. 

 A colored lithograph adorns the December Florist 

 and Pomologist. 



New Chinese Primula. — The new Primula 

 which Mr. Maries collected for Messrs. Veitch, at 

 Tchang, will probably be useful for hybridizing pur- 

 poses on account of its distinct habit ; no other 

 cultivated Primula that we know of possesses fo- 

 liage which lies, as it were, flat on the soil. The 

 delicate mauve-tinted flowers with their bifid petals 

 will doubtless become larger, and hence more at- 

 tractive under cultivation. — The Garden. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Raising Fine Seeds. — A correspondent from 

 Sarnia, Ontario, writes : " I find a good plan to 

 sow small seeds like Begonia, &c., on a very soft 

 brick, dug out enough to hold say one-quarter of 

 an inch of soil. Place the brick in a pan of water. 

 The brick draws moisture enough to keep the soil 

 in a nice condition. If this is any use, publish it. 

 Have been a subscriber for three years, and am 

 much pleased with your paper." 



[This is also a capital way to raise ferns, orchids 

 and other fine seeds. Sown on a shallow brick, 

 set in a pan of water, they will be almost sure to 

 grow, the only care required being to see that the 

 water is always kept in the pan. When done in 

 the usual way, these fine seeds are sure to be 

 washed away by the watering pot, no matter how 

 carefully the watering is tended. — Ed. G. M.] 



Chrysanthemum Maywood. — Mr. James Tap- 



lin, Maywood, N. Y., writes : " I have to-day 

 mailed to you flowers of my new single Chrysan- 

 themum Maywood, which received a first-class 

 certificate at a recent meeting of the New York 

 Horticultural Society. I sent with it flowers of the 

 ordinary Marguerite, or Paris Daisy, that the two 

 might be compared." 



[These were semi-double, and a great advance 

 in improvement on the original. — Ed. G. M.] 



P'lR Tree Oil. — Mr. Robertson, of the Govern- 

 ment grounds, Ottawa, Canada, writes : " I have 

 also tested the Soluble Fir Tree Oil Insecticide, and 

 think that its merits cannot be too well known. I 

 have used it on the most tender plants, diluted to 

 about half a pint to one gallon of water, and it not 

 only cleanses the plants from insect life, but adds 

 appearance to many foliage plants. I do not wash 

 it oft", as I have seen recommended, and as yet 

 have been unable to see any injurious eft"ect from it. 



" It must be of great value to those growing 

 house plants, or where greenhouses are attached to 

 a house where smoking cannot be done. I would 

 recommend it to such people. In it they will find 

 a remedy that they have much longed for." 



Seedling Carnations. — "J. S.," Louisville, 

 Ky., says : " I send you this morning a sample of 

 a Seedling Carnation that I raised two years ago. 

 I have tried it out of doors and in the greenhouse, 

 and find it to bloom better in either situation than 

 any other I know of. It has a very compact habit. 

 The flower spikes get about fourteen inches high. 

 It is a free, robust grower, and is easily cultivated. 

 I have about one hundred strong plants on a bench 

 which are loaded with buds and flowers. There 

 are fully one-half more buds on them than on any 

 Carnations I have seen or raised. What do you 

 think of its shape and color?" 



[These appeared to be fine flowers, but being 

 addressed to the publication office in Philadelphia, 

 instead of to the editor in Germantown, they were 

 nearly rotten before they came to hand. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



Aiding the Draft of Flues. — Under date of 

 December rSth, a correspondent from Sarnia, On- 

 tario, furnishes the following excellent hint : " About 

 this time many a poor florist will be grumbling if 

 he has smoke flues — how they smoke. Stop it by 

 making a small hole in the chimney, say for seven- 

 inch thimble at the base. Put a few handfulls 

 of shavings in the chimney. Light them. Then 

 start the fire in the furnace, and everything will 

 work like a charm. No smoke and good draft." 



