- 



HORTICULTURE 



October 21, 1911 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists' Stock 



BRIOAS 



Ericas such as Erica melanthera, E. hyemalis and E. 

 gracilis, thai are wanted for Christmas, should be run 

 anywhere from 15 to 50 degrees at night, hut at no time 

 should this temperature be exo >r they resent 



am - extrei are used to force other plants 



into flower. In ventilating beware of all piercing winds 



at this changeable part of 



the war. inn always trj to keep the atmosphere from 



ing m any way stuffy or stagnant, a condition 



which l- rerj injurious to this class of plants. Keep 



your air in a buoyant condition and you will greatly 



them in warding off an aitack of mildew. When 



ows itself on any plant remove the plant 



as it i.- very contagious, and blow sulphur 



through and over the plants until the attack is checked. 



Ill IES FOR THE HOLIDAYS 



Plants of T .ilium Ilarrisii that are wanted for the 

 Christmas trade should be pushed from now on. Where 

 you have lilies that have their pots well filled with 

 roots and are in a healthy condition, you can force them 

 say anywhere from 65 to 70 degrees at night, 

 witli ten" to fifteen degrees higher during the daytime 

 with sunshine. Give them a bench where they will be 

 as near the glass as possible. Lilies delight in atmos- 

 pheric moisture, so it is advisable to thoroughly damp 

 down your house twice a day. especially in bright 

 weather, so as to prevent a harsh and dry atmosphere; 

 _:ive them free s] nuging overhead on all good days. 

 To en the flowers and give color to the foliage, 



apply liquid manure twice a week. To keep the aphis 

 from getting a hold fumigate once a week. Now that 

 are growing shorter, and with the solar heat on 

 the decline, you should be able to count the buds the 

 first week in November, if you want to he sure of your 

 lilies being on time for the holidays. It is a very easy 

 matter to hold them bark at this season of the year. 



POINSETTIAS 



When the bracts begin to form they will need an ad- 

 vance in the temperature, say to about 60 degrees at 

 night. These plants soon impoverish the soil, so just 

 as soon as the bracts can be seen give them manure 



: twin- a week, but only in moderately weak doses, 

 for if made too strong it will cause them to lose their 

 foliage. Keep them nicely tied up. Pay attention to 

 . for an even amount of moisture at the 

 roots is necessary if you want good foliage and intensity 

 of color in the bracts. Where you are troubled with 

 ,i will ho obliged to apply quite a strong 

 force ter to dislodge them, for th only 



means to keep down this pest. In order to havi 

 poinsettias in a presentable shape for decorative pur- 

 pose they should, immediately after they are cut. he 

 immersed for about one inch of the ends in boiling 

 water for a minute or so ; this does not prevent the 



rption of water by the stems, and the folia 

 well as the bracts are consequently preserved fr< 



SWEET i 



To grow swa uccessfully, ventilation i~ one of 



the first points to be observed. Xow that the cool 

 night ep a little heat running through 



the pipes and at the same time keep the venti 

 open a little at the top; this will give them a cool dry 



atmosphere which is a good preventive for the dropping 

 of buds. To ensure a free healthy growth it is always 

 better during spells of rainy or misty weather to have 

 a little heal and ventilation at the same time. Don't 

 run your sweet peas too high, which only leaves them 

 weakened in constitution, from which they do not easily 

 recover. Keep them anywhere from 45 to 50 degrees at 

 night and during sunny days 65 to 70, which will al- 

 low them to develop gradually in their proper temper- 

 ature. Keep them well supported from time to time 

 so as to have nice straight growth later on. As the days 

 grow shorter the utmost attention should be paid to 

 watering. While they always like plenty of moisture 

 at i he roots they will not stand a continual over-moist 

 condition at the roots, so let them dry out once in a 

 while. Make a sowing now in 4-inch pots; these will 

 bring you a crop in February which will last for about 

 three months if cared for properly. 



WINTERING CANNAS AND DAHLIAS 



When storing these roots away you cannot use too 

 much care in having the different varieties labeled and 

 placed by themselves, so when you need them again you 

 will know just what they are and where they are. 

 Leave all the soil that will cling to roots of cannas and 

 they will keep in a much better condition for it. They 

 will keep fine on boards beneath a carnation bench. 

 When lifting dahlia roots choose as dry a day as possible 

 and shake most of the soil off, then turn them upside 

 down to allow any water to run off the crowns before 

 storing them away. They will keep in a cool, dry 

 cellar that is secure from frost. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the following: Care of 



Roses: Cymhidiuuis: Callas: Ferns for the Table; Freesias for 

 Christmas; lifting Shrubs for Forcing; Primulas for the Holidays. 



Cypripedium x Mabeliae 



This beautiful cypripedium is a hybrid between C. 

 Rothschildsianum and C. superbiens and is fairly inter- 

 mediate between those two species. The ground color 

 is white, suffused with greenish yellow towards the cen- 

 ter. The many spots on the petals and the lines on 

 the dorsal sepal are deep purple, and the lip is suffused 

 with dull purple on a pale green ground. As to size 

 and shape of the flowers, the picture speaks for itself 

 being just a trifle under life size. The flowers are car- 

 ried on a stout, hairy scape a foot or more in length 

 and last a long time in perfection. The leaves are 

 broad, shiny, bright green beautifully tessalated with a 

 darker shade of green. It is a free grower and well 

 worth a place in any collection of orchids. 



This fine hybrid was first raised and exhibited by 

 W. E. Lee (England) in 1894. It has since been 

 raised in several other places and has been exhibited 

 under at least seven or eight different names; Cypr. 

 W. R. Lee and C. Lord Derby are perhaps the two most 

 common names for it. Cypripedium Mabelianum, C. 

 Massaianum, C. Andronicus, C. Mrs. Harry Smith, C. 

 Rothshildsiano — superbiens are other names for the 

 same hybrid. 



latuck, Conn. 



(fr.jza^ 



