Floral Notes. 



31 



at the top, and secure the taller ones to a 

 strong wire ring, six inches in diameter, and 

 then run a wire around the tops of the 

 shorter ones, and brace and secure all well 

 together. Then plant the bed as follows ; 

 Lay alternate layers of smooth, damp straw 

 and good garden soil out as far as the poles, 

 inserting, while thus building, successive 

 rows of plants for blooming. A strong, con- 

 spicuous plant is placed at the top. When 

 finished, pare off all the projecting straws. 

 Fill all the cracks with moss. The moss, if 

 abundant, will give a good facing, and pre- 

 vent the bed from becoming dry ; and, 

 when thus made, they have kept moist and 

 needed but little watering. 



Rustic Plant Baskets. — The Floral 

 Cabinet makes hanging baskets for orna- 

 mental plants as follows : Get a wooden 

 bowl, six inches deep, and a foot or more in 

 diameter, and a few pieces of red cedar, with 

 the bark on, and some crooked pieces of 

 root and a yard or two of rattan. Split the 

 cedar into two, and nail it neatly with fine 

 brads to the outside of the bowl. The roots, 

 fastened to the bottom, serve as a finish, 

 and the rattan is attached to the edges as a 

 handle. Fill this basket with ferns, ivy, etc. 



G-erman Ivy, Soil and Treatment.— 

 The Rural i\^ez^;-YorAer answers a correspond- 

 ent as follows : The climbing vine known 

 as ''Grerman Ivy" is not, in fact, an ivy, 

 or any relation of one, but a climbing 

 species of Groundsel from the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Its right name is Se7iecio scaiidens, 

 and it resembles ivy only in its leaves, 

 which are heart-shaped or angled. The 

 flowers are yellow, and produce abundantly 

 on old plants which are exposed to the sun 

 and dry atmosphere ; but, under such con- 

 ditions, the plants lose their beauty, as the 

 leaves become brown and burnt in appear- 

 ance. The plant grows rapidly in almost 

 any good, rich soil; but a light leaf mould, 

 with a little decomposed barnyard manure 

 added, is probably the best. Shade is in- 

 dispensable, if a deep, rich green color is 

 desirable in the foliage, consequently it is 



very suitable for room decorations, and may 

 be trained on trellises or around the walls 

 where the direct rays of the sun never reach 

 it. It is readily propagated from cuttings 

 or layers, any small piece of the vine taking 

 root and growing with great rapidity. 



Variegated Vincas.— The best known 

 Vinca ( V. minor) is a common garden plant, 

 and is known as Periwinkle or Running 

 Myrtle, In old gardens, its creeping stems 

 cover large patches with bright green foliage, 

 from amongst which delicate blue flowers 

 appear in early spring. The larger Vinca 

 (F. major) is less hardy and not so common. 

 It has larger and more rounded leaves than 

 the other. Both these species have pro- 

 duced varieties with the leaves marked with 

 yellow in such a manner as to make them 

 decidedly ornamental plants. These varie- 

 gated forms are frequently used for hanging 

 baskets, but they do not hold their leaves 

 perfectly during the winter, and are not well 

 suited for house cultivation. For baskets 

 and vases outside it, they are most useful 

 plants, and when planted in a basket or 

 vase, they hang over the edge with a very 

 fine effect. — Ex. 



Preserving Cut Flowers.— Cut flowers 

 in vases will keep much longer if the vases 

 are filled with white sand, and with water 

 enough barely to cover it, or rather to keep 

 it thoroughly wet. Water by itself rots the 

 stems, so that they lose the power of draw- 

 ing up moisture ; but this does not occur so 

 readily where they are thrust into wet sand. 

 The sand should be washed by having water 

 poured on it and drained ofl" before use ; 

 otherwise, the salt which all sea sand con- 

 tains will prove injurious. As wet sand is 

 an unhandy thing to put into vases, it is 

 well to have it washed and dry beforehand, 



Mr. Pynaert has discovered, it is said, 

 that TMium auratujn is a grand specific 

 against house flies — that a small specimen 

 of it in an apartment will keep it clear of 

 these troublesome insects, 



