292 



TAe Hofi'ticuliurist and Journal 



grown in baskets, for sudden checks from heat 

 to cold and drying atmosphere, will often 

 bring on a full crop of insects which will take 

 much trouble to destroy. 



It is not too late to propagate verbenas 

 of any varieties which may be scarce, but 

 plants rooted last month will be best, and 

 furnish most cuttings in the spring. Keep 

 these plants as cool as possible ; a few de- 

 grees of frost will do less harm than a hot, 

 dry house. It is well to give a fumigating 

 with tobacco once a week, as a preventive of 

 insects. 



Heliotroj)e for cut flowers and early 

 cuttings require a warmer place than verbe- 

 nas, for if not kept rather dry, the plants are 

 apt to die during winter. 



Coleiis, Alter nantJier as CoUosice also 

 require a temperature not below 50 ; if 

 placed in a cold, damp house many will die, 

 and the cuttings in the spring will be poor 

 and scarce. 



Tube Roses required to flower during the 

 winter, must be kept in the hottest part of the 

 house, and not allowed to become dry at the 

 bottom, or the buds shrivel up without open- 

 ing. We mention this because the plants are 

 often placed over the pipes and will become 

 very dry at the bottom where all the roots 

 are, while the surface is quite wet. 



Succulents, such as Echeverias and Sem- 

 pervivums, if wintered in cold frames will not 

 require water, and Aloes and Cactus but 

 seldom, in a cool house at this season. 



Begonia sauguinea is recommended by 

 Robert Buist, as a very attractive window 

 plant, and should be in every collection, large 

 and small. The flowers are pure white, leaves 

 blood colored. 



The White Lilac is sold by the million 

 in Paris, and is, next to the violet, the most 

 popular flower. It is simply the common 

 variety of lilac forced into bloom into the 

 dark, and the blossoms are blanched perfectly 

 pure white. Care is taken to avoid even 

 ventilation, for one grower in Paris found 

 when that was resorted to the flowers ex- 

 hibited a tendency to assume their natural 



color. The houses are first quite cool, then 

 the heat is gradually increased up to 80*^ and 

 100°. Abundance of moisture is supplied in 

 the meantime, and not a gleam of light 

 allowed to penetrate the glasses which are 

 kept covered with straw mats. 



Ilgdvungea acamltiatu — A beautiful 

 shrub with this name has just been introduced 

 in Paris, and figured in a colored frontispiece 

 of the Reuue Horticole. It is a very hardy, 

 vigorous growing and handsome species. 

 The umbel bears on its outer margin, a single 

 row of large sterile flowers, the petals of which 

 are of a fine rose color, and are cut or 

 scolloped on the anterior edge. The centre 

 of the umbel contains a great number of 

 very small fertile flowers, the color of which 

 is of a much deeper rose. This species thrives 

 well in the open sunshine. 



An Immense Bouquet. — At a recent ex- 

 hibition at Chiselhurst. Eng., an immense 

 bouquet of violets was put on exhibition ; it 

 measured 3 feet in height, and 2^ yards in cir- 

 cumference at its broadest part. It was com- 

 posed of dark and light colored violets, 

 surrounded with leaves of the same flowers, 

 and around the centre is a circle of flower- 

 ing heather, emblematic of the Scottish descent 

 of the late Empress. 



Cytisus ftagrans. — This is recom- 

 mended by The Garden as one of the prettiest 

 of all early spring blooming plants, and 

 deserves to be more extensively grown than it 

 is for this purpose. It bears an abundant 

 supply of sweet-scented yellow flowers, and 

 is easily grown in any ordinary apartment. 

 All the attention it requires is to cut it down 

 after flowering, and either to syringe or 

 sprinkle the plant every day while making 

 its young growth. It does well in any room 

 window if protected from frost. 



Andrew S. Fuller thinks the Herstine is 

 likely to prove one of the best, if not the best 

 of our native raspberries. It is early as any 

 of the real varieties, fruit large, and with him 

 in New Jersey, it is this year bearing abun- 

 dantly. 



