•J 70 



110 UTl CULTURE 



February 27, 1915 



Rhipsalis pachyptera, Pfeiff 



iiition for a iiuinher of years. It was figured in tht' 

 r.'i.iiiuiil Majfuziiic for 1828 under the name of Cactus 



•I I IIS. 



It8 cultiiri! is iiisy, if potted in opoii soil containing 

 a |in>j>()rtion of [ifat, and grown in a greenhouse with a 

 niiniiinini tenipenilure of 50 degrees. It should be 

 L'lven a sunny position. Propagation is readily effected 

 l>y means of fiiltings of the joints, taken from the plants 

 ;is soon as they have finished (lowering, and inserted in 

 -:ind. Like niosl of the Cactaceous ]jlaiit.s they are 

 lieiiefiled hy being ])lungc'd out-of-doors during the 

 Slimmer months and, in the case of the subject now un- 

 der consideration, it results in the joints assuming a 

 reddish color. 



TVl r*v/::^«^-^<yuo» — ^ 



llroii/ili/ii iUilniilr (iarden. 



Rllll'SAI.lS I'A( IIVI'TKIIA 



Kfi>ru(luc-ed liy pc-riiiissluu of Brucikl.vn Uotuntc Gardeo. 



The genus Rhipsalis, whilst not possessing any great 

 claim to horticultural consideration, contains one or two 

 species that are wortliy of culture on account of the 

 weird and interesting forms that they assume. 



Ehip^aJis pacliypicra, a jjliotograpli of wliich, taken 

 from a j)lant in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, appears 

 herewith, presents a rather pleasing appearance when in 

 bloom. Its blossoming period is late winter or early 

 spring, and the flowers are produced in great abundance 

 along the edges of the flattened leaf-like stems. Owing 

 to the unsuitable backgiouiid these flowers do not show 

 up so well in the ])hotogra])]i as they should do. The 

 color of the flowers is creamy yellow, and they ha\e 

 numerous, conspicuous, white stamens. 



The plant is a native of Brazil and has been in cnlti- 



The Chinese Tree Lilac 



'J'lio .Ui|ian tree lilac created quite a furor when it 

 was introduced and Jac^kson Dawson's favorite one which 

 he raised from seed made a remarkable showing and 

 was a mark for the kodak for a long time. But after 

 Years of acquaintance with both we have decided prefer- 

 ence for the Chinese — Pekinensis. With us it is a more 

 rapid grower aiul a far more satisfactory bloomer. The 

 foliage is finer, the twigs are smaller. We have some 

 17 years old which are seven inches through and 20 feet 

 tall and in summer they are overwhelmed with great 

 masses of snowy white, honey-scented flowers. Sixteen 

 years ago we sent one to Mr. Campbell, publisher of 

 "The Fniit Grower," St. Joseph. Mo., and he reporta it 

 as 11 inches in diameter and 25 feet tall. It is destined 

 to be a foot through or more and 50 feet tall. It en- 

 dures our hot dry weather better than the Japs, wliich 

 are somewhat inclined to sunscald. For lining walkfl or 

 as an individual tree it is a grand success. 



York, Neb. 



OSIt^'^^^M^ 



HOLLY CULTURE. 



Editor HOUriClLTrUI': : 



M.v Dear Sir: — In Mr. Viiioeiit's leolure 

 3it Easlon i»ii Febrnar.v 10 he referred to 

 the riiiestion of holl.v trees and Ihcjr eoin- 

 Ing value. I am writing to ask in what 

 wn.v they will prol)al)Iy liecome valuable 

 and how the.v might he propagated. I have 

 had poor e.\perience in transplanllnc Ilieiu 

 .and wonder if lliey eould he seeured from 

 the seed of the hcrr.v, and if so. when they 

 should he planted out. It seems to he hard 

 to find a .season for transplanting' them. I 

 have some ground that would he adapted 

 to them. 



Thanking you for any Information you 

 may give me. Yours very truly. 



Md. .1. B. S. 



In answer to the foregoing inquiry 

 in regard to liolly trees, etc., I would 

 say that there is no doubt of the com- 

 ing value for good well-berried holly, 

 as the supply is getting more limited 

 each year, more by wanton careless- 

 ness in cutting than necessary; the 

 whole tree being slashed down to ob- 

 tain a few scattering limbs. A great 

 deal of the holly cut at random is of 

 poor quality and very little is obtained 

 for it. but a good brand always did and 

 will command a good price, especially 

 in the near future. 



My reference has much to do with 

 the natural plantations, much of this 

 land ii'n boins; suitable for the best 



farming purposes. These natural plan- 

 tations would require but little atten- 

 tion except to keep some other growth 

 Ironi smothering the holly out. This 

 could be easily ac«omblished by cut- 

 ting such trees or bushes out as were 

 crowding the holly crop. 



.\s to the transplanting; most people 

 try for too large a bush; small bushes 

 transplant easier and are more apt to 

 grow. Good seed gathered from the 

 best bearing trees can be sown in a 

 bed in the wood lot as soon as mature; 

 not sown very deep, so that the 

 winter's freezing will easily reach 

 them. These do not always come up 

 til! the second spring. These, when 

 young, can easily be transplanted and 

 even then after they get a few years' 

 growth on them can be handled much 

 better than wild ones dug up, and will 

 make an appearance after a while. 

 Please do remember that the holly 

 tree runs in sexes and you will find 

 large trees in the woods that have not 

 been cut simply because they were 

 male trees and never bore any berries. 

 You have got to have a few of these 

 in a grove or the insect will fly away 

 hunting other pollen and neglect 

 vours. 



I hear a party advocating the 

 moving of large trees of holly and 

 other varieties of trees growing wild. 

 This is a hard and expensive job if 

 followed out under his suggestions, 

 which, I would not advise. The best 

 time to transplant these from the 

 woods would be early after the first 

 hard frost. Protect and shade them 

 with pine or cedar brush for a limited 

 time. 



K. ViNIKNT. .111. 



Whitemarsh, Md. 



DO YOU KNOW THAT— 



Mr. Bennet, of Toulouse, France, was 

 the first man on record to select and 

 sow seeds of the chrysanthemum: this 

 was in 1826. 



One of the best formulae tor the 

 compost heap for roses is the follow- 

 ing: First a layer of sod one foot 

 thick, then a six-inch layer of cow 

 manure with a good sprinkle of air- 

 slacked lime over sam«, then another 

 foot layer of sod and again a six-inch 

 layer of cow manure with a good 

 sprinkle of air-slacked lime, and top 

 off with from four to six inches of fine 

 sod. 



