264 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[September, 



trata is another grand addition to basket plants ; 

 its beautiful, tiny, marked foliage, resembling ar- 

 gentea. It will undoubtedly be much prized. 

 Philodendrum Carderi will be much thought of. 

 It has been well said that the glossy, shaded 

 green, satiny surface of the leaves imparts a won- 

 drous degree of beauty to it. Pothos aurea ; of 

 this plant I cannot say much as my plant is very 

 young, and as yet does not bear out its charac- 

 ter, none of those " fantastic shaped blotches of 

 creamy yellow " having yet appeared. Another 

 plant which is said to have the fault of losing 

 its variegation for a time is Lavatera arborea 

 variegata. It came from the seed at first, and, 

 with all the markings represented to have, but 

 has lost them since. If they come out again as 

 they did at first, it is truly represented in Ficus 

 Parcelli. I have many more, but will wait their 

 further development before I express any opinion 

 on them. 



To fern lovers Adiantum Williamsii will cer- 

 tainly be thought very fine, especially when the 

 fronds are in a young state. It is truly said that 

 its. value cannot be overestimated. Microlephia 

 hirta cristata fully bears out all that has been said 

 of it. The fronds have a charming drooping 

 habit, making it a beautiful plant for baskets as 

 well as a fine ornament in a pot. Nephrolepis 

 Duffi, now introduced some years, but not yet 

 often seen in collections, is perhaps one of the 

 neatest and most beautiful of all ferns, from its 

 upright and unique habit. It is of easy propaga- 

 tion, hardy constitution, and will make a lasting 

 addition to this class of plants ; besides this, it is 

 always a splendid ornament on a table. Lastraea 

 Richardsii multifida is a variety that deserves the 

 descriptions given of its beauty. It is one of the 

 most handsome among ferns ; no one should be 

 without this one in their collections. 



It would be of great benefit to many if growers 

 of new or rare plants would let us know what are 

 their views on many of the new introductions. 



its parents was a Baroness Rothschild cannot be 

 questioned, the short heavy wood and the quantity 

 of its peculiarly arranged leafage furnishing ample 

 testimony on that point. But there was evidently 

 another and considerable factor at work. I know 

 it is spoken of as a sport but do not recollect that 

 the raiser is responsible for the statement, and the 

 flower is strong presumptive evidence to the con- 

 trary. The rare beauty of Baroness Rothschild 

 consists in the shell-form of its large petals and 

 the pearly, glistening freshness of its color. Now 

 we miss both these qualities in the new variety. 

 The outer petals are of good size, but the center is 

 closely filled with shorter ones arranged wonder- 

 fully like those in Malmaison, and the ground 

 coloring of white is creamy, not clear. I hardly 

 need mention that in these respects it has wandered 

 far from its nominal source. The rose is beautiful, 

 the fine outer petals recurving so softly as to charm 

 even a virtuoso. Its size is good, not great, and 

 the buds open readily, which argues well for its 

 use in forcing. In all the specimens I met with 

 there was a very apparent shade of pink — absent 

 in the extreme outer row but showing through from 

 the center — which lacked brilliancy from being on 

 a creamy base. In short it is a beautiful white 

 rose but not what would be naturally expected 

 from a white Baroness Rothschild, and in my 

 estimation, not so fine as Madame Lacharme when 

 that rose happily consents to open. 



MERVEILLE DE LYON ROSE. 



BY W. F. HIBBERD, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. 



We hear much about the rose Merveille de Lyon 

 as a white Baroness Rothschild and I fear some 

 misconception of its characteristics will result. 

 Early in the spring I saw at one of our florists' 

 very perfect flowers, on imported plants that 

 had bloomed as I venture to say few imported 

 plants are ever bloomed ; and later I found a 

 number at another establishment. That one of 



HOW TO GLEAM A COMMON FLUE. 

 BY CHIP. 



While it is to me very interesting to read the 

 pros and cons in favor of steam or hot water 

 heating, I venture to give my " How to Clean a 

 Common Flue." In one house I heat with a flue. 

 It is made in the best manner, is over 70 feet long 

 and has 14-inch square tiles on top, lapped in 

 grooves. To clean it without taking off every ten 

 feet or so, was of some consideration to me. Well, 

 I take off one tile, say about 7 or 8 feet from the 

 fireplace, also one next to the bend or entrance of 

 the chimney. Then I get a cat, take a ball of 

 cotton twine, such as is used for tying up flowers, 

 fasten one end to one of pussy's hind legs, intro- 

 duce her in one of the openings, and by kind per- 

 suasion make her creep through the flue, playing 

 out twine as quick as she goes. If she stops on 

 the way, a gentle pull will soon set her in motion ; 

 watch for pussy on the other end, relieve her ; 

 then fasten a rope or strong garden line to the 

 twine and draw it through. Get old bags, tie up 



