Derember 9. 1905 



HORTICULTURE 



A City Home Conservatory 



Eucharis Amazonica 



'I'lir illii^l rat inii alxivo slinws the entrance from the 

 (Irawin.i; i-ikuh tn the i/onservattirv illustrated on the 

 front pa.ur oC tliis )ia|icr. This stnictiire is without 

 douht the most iinii|Uc |irivate consorvatorv in the 

 vicinity of Boston and it depicts how a home can be 

 made attractive. The conservatory is placed over a 

 basensent extension in the rear of the residence, the base- 

 ment being divided thronsrh the center by a corridor 

 leading to a servant's silting room and a store room, 

 covering a total tlo.)r space of about 26 x i'2 1-2 ft. The 

 exterior masonry walls extend to a height of about 2 ft. 

 above the floor of the c.onservatory and are Imilt of 

 pressed brick capped with a brown stone coping. The 

 structural portion of the conservatory is built on these 

 walls and the materials consist of steel, copper and 

 glass, no wood-work being used excepting the sash 

 around the sides. The roof is glazed with cathedral 

 glass 1-4 inch thick, the lower side sash with clear jilatc 

 glass the transom sash with obscure leaded glass. The 

 copper work is left in its natural color, giving a beauti- 

 ful effect especially at night when lighted with elec- 

 tricity. The interior of the conservatory is finished 

 with a marble mosaic floor laid out in unique design; 

 the interior walls below the sill and the exposed walls 

 of the residence are faced in white enamel tile. Port- 

 able tables constructed with steel frames and slate bot- 

 toms are arranged around the sides of the room and the 

 heating is effected by a low pressure hot-water ap- 

 paratus, with radiators located under the tables. 

 Ventilation is furnished through the roof, also around 

 the sides, and all sash are operated by an apparatus of 

 special design. The entire structure is devoid of the 

 ordinary greenhouse effect, resembling more an exten- 

 sion to the drawing room. Burnham, Hitchings. Pier- 

 son Co. were the architects and builders. 



El 



.Vinazoiiica, being of easy culture under 

 glass and producing as it does under proper treatment 

 an abundance of beautiful white flowers, is so admir- 

 ably suited for use as pot plants for decoration or for 

 cut flowers, that it is a wonder it is not grown more 

 extensively than it is. 



Eucharis does almost equally well when planted in a 

 bench or potted, but growing them in pots gives better 

 control as regards the time of flowering and their pro- 

 tection from thri])s and green fly both of which persist- 

 ently attack them. When eucharis is wanted to flower in 

 winter the roots should be given a season of rest when 

 but little water is necessary. In potting great care 

 should be given to the handling of the roots so that none 

 get broken, at the same time removing all the old soil 

 safety permits, repotting with a rich compost of fibrous 

 loam, rotted manure, leaf mould and sand. 



Wiien possible the pots should be placed on a bench 

 where bottom heat is available and the temperature in 

 the house not much under 70. While growing vigorous- 

 ly they require careful and copious watering and occa- 

 sional stimulating with liquid manure. They have to 

 lie syringed constantly to be kept clean and in good con- 

 dition. 



Eucharis delights in an abundance of moisture and i& 

 seldom injured by too high a temperature. 



Gardening 



Although within the last twenty years gardening as a 

 pursuit and profession has advanced with bounds un- 

 dreamed of even by the most ardent enthusiasts, still 

 there is yet open a field wider by far and more fertile for 

 the intelligent and industrious young men of the present 

 and rising generation to engage in. 



Sometimes alluring prospects of success create within 

 us a feeling of over-confidence — an unwarranted reli- 

 ance on our own resources. Doubtless good qualities 

 provided that along with them we possess the knowledge 

 and experience always necessary as convincing agents. 

 A thorough knowledge of gardening is not acquired in 

 a few years, and by but few in a life time, but our oppor- 

 tunities nowadays are so vastly superior to those of a 

 former generation for gaining an insight into our pro- 

 fession that we have no excuse if, by not taking due ad- 

 vantage of these opportunities, we are not classed 

 among those who survive as the fittest. 



Wliile experience is the sternest and soundest teacher 

 of gardening as of all other professions, intercourse and 

 exchange of ideas are absolutely necessary in order to 

 keep up with the march of progress and, while personal 

 intercourse is always beneficial, the horticultural press 

 of the present day affords a medium for the expression 

 of ideas that no young man should be without. I em- 

 jihasize "young man" because it is while we are still 

 young or comparatively young that we are most suscep- 

 tible to the influence of the teaching of those who by 

 their own successes add weight to what they teach, be- 

 sides giving us reason to hope that by applying their 

 rules to our own conduct we may ultimatelv succeed as 

 they did. 



