For December, 1922 



337 



ature never over forty-five degrees Fahr. in Winter, and 

 one has ideal conditions for growing Lapagerias. After 

 they are well established a top dressing of fresh compost 

 as advised above once a year, together with liberal water- 

 ings with cow manure water, when in active growth, will 

 keep Lapagerias, that are planted out. in good condition 

 for years. 



Years ago, I remember seeing a fine specimen grown in 

 a tub with about three hundred open flowers on it. It was 

 grown by a stonecutter, in a small sash house attached to 

 his dwelling. No fire heat was used in Winter. A few 

 mats over the glass on frosty nights was all that was re- 

 quired for protection, but that was in Scotland. 



Put in some cuttings of Plcrouia clci:;aiis. If well 

 pinched, they will make fine Summer ami V-<i\\ flowering 

 plants. 



Our tub of Eiicharis Amacoiiica is just throwing up its 

 flowering stems. We just gave it a month's drying off, 

 and shall water it well and give it plenty of plant food foi 

 the next three months and then repeat the drying off 

 process. By this mode of treatment we have sometimes 

 had three crops of flowers in a year. 



Plumbago rosea is another plant that flowers around 

 this season. At sixty degrees they can be had in flower 

 for Christmas, and can be had for later use Ijy holding 

 them in a temperature ten degrees lower. 



Keep I'oinsettias at sixty degrees when opening their 

 bracts. 



Dipladenias should be resting, by keeping them quite 

 dry at the roots, until the end of January, forty-five to 

 fifty degrees is warm enough to winter these plants in. 

 They start much stronger when the weak wood is trimmed 

 off about the middle of January, if not kept over that 

 temperatiu-e all Winter. 



This is a good time to make up some hanging baskets 

 for verandas or other suitable locations. Ivy leaved ge- 

 ranitmis are first class for this purpose. They can be had 

 in several colors. Trailing Queen fuchsias are also very 

 effective. We root a number of small plants and arrange 

 about a dozen round the rim of the l.iasket. We tie a 

 few up to a stake in the centre of the basket in the form 

 of a pyramid, or train them round the hangers. We 

 keep them pinched and tied until about eight weeks before 

 they are wanted to flower, and then let everything come. 



Keep the gardenia house at a temperature never lower 

 than sixty degrees at night at this season five degrees 

 higher will give you more flowers, that is, if one has heal- 

 thy plants. Syringe very little at this time of the year, 

 as bud dropping will be sure to annoy you, if the plants 

 are left long with wet foliage. Keep them clean by care- 

 ful fumigating with hydrocyanic gas. Keep the floors 

 well damped until one o'clock in the afternoon, which, 

 with careful watering, will give plenty of moisture 

 until the sun is stronger. There is time yet to 

 make another sowing of all the garden annuals 

 that are usually forced, and there are many others that 

 have as yet been very little tried out for forcing purposes 

 in this country. Many will not grow well outdoors here 

 in Summer, yet in a cool greenhouse, with our bright clear 

 sunnv days they force well and are fine for early Spring 

 decorative work, where large quantities of flowers are 

 required. 



Calatithe z'eitchii and the earlier flowering varieties will 

 be in flower. If arranged among foliage plants in the vari- 

 ous shades of green, they are among the finest of flower- 

 ing plants we have around Christmas. The variety San- 

 hiirstiana is a gem and should be included in every collec- 

 tion of these orchids. 



Lcrlia anccps also flowers around this season. The .gen- 

 eral complaint is that this orchid does not keep well as a 

 cut flower, but there will be little trouble on this score, if 



one scrapes the outer bark off the flower stems about 

 seven inches up from the end of the stem, and also splits 

 the same with a sharp knife several inches in length. 

 After this operation place them in warm water for several 

 hours. Lcrlia aiitumnalis has just finished flowering with 

 us, and flowering at this season, it is very useful. These 

 two orchids we find like plenty of light Summer and 

 Winter, fifty degrees night temperature is high enough, 

 but we find they oj^en their flowers better a few degrees 

 higher. The cross-bred orchids flower at all seasons and 

 now fill in gaps in the flowering season that old-time 

 orchid growers had to do by manipulation of shade and 

 temperature. A good rule is to pot all orchids, that is, 

 if they need it, just as soon as they show the slightest 

 tendency to root action. We do not like to disturb any 

 of them, unless the compost is spent, or the growths run 

 over the rim of the receptacle. We find they like oak 

 leaves in the compost, if cut up and used soon' after they 

 fall oft" the trees. There is also a close growing yellowish 

 looking fibre which we find growing at the roots of the 

 huckleberry around here, where oak is the principal tree 

 in the woods, and they like it better than Osmunda fibre. 

 One-third of good fresh live sphagnum should also be in 

 the compost, and, of course, plenty of broken charcoal. 

 The possibilities of sugar in the water, as a stimulant is 

 very little known, but remember how it is found oozing 

 out of the foliage of a vigorous growth of some of them. 

 It makes one wonder and think a little along that line. 

 We observed it first about fifteen years ago, but have 

 never had the chance to experiment, as we would like. In 

 our climate never keep evergreen orchids too dry, as our 

 bright strong sunshine causes quick evaporation of the 

 sap. 



It is now time to start early fruit houses. Clean and top 

 dress the borders of the early grape house. The easiest 

 and best flavored grape to force early is undoubtedly 

 Black Hamburg, which sets freely, and breaks even. Start 

 the temperature around forty-six degrees and raise it grad- 

 ually to sixty or sixty-five nights, after the border has 

 been fed a little with the standard grape foods and 

 watered. About every ten days raise the night temp- 

 erature five de,grees with a day rise of about ten degrees, 

 but do not get ugly with your assistant, if once in a while 

 it runs a degree or two high ; no harm will be done, except 

 to your peace of mind and health. Syringe several times 

 a day at the start. Do not tie them up to the trellis until 

 they break equal all over the vine. There is no danger of 

 breakin,g the buds, if you keep calm, and are not in too 

 much of a hurry. 



Peaches and nectarines should be started in a similar 

 manner, only keep the temperatures about five degrees 

 lower and do not feed any until the fruit is set. This is 

 better to be done artificially if no bees are around. Avoid 

 draughts in any of the fruit houses. 



Strawberries may also be forced now, and all pot fruits 

 such as apples and pears. Strawberries do well in a 

 carnation house temperature and apples, pears, etc., similar 

 to peaches. Init being in pots they require more feeding. 



If you have plenty of room, and ample assistance, keep 

 up a succession of all forcing vegetables. Sow every two 

 weeks. Get a good book on forcing fruits and vegetables, 

 as in these notes we cannot .go into details, as much as we 

 would like to. There is a good one written by Wm. 

 Turner for this climate. 



The only rational liberty is that which is born of sub- 

 jection, reared in the fear of God, and the love of man, 

 and made courageous in the defense of a trust and the 

 prosecution of duty. — Simais. 



