tS 97 . 



• ' • GARDENING. 



33i 



ERICA CAVENDISHII 



ing is more injurious than otherwise to 

 most ericas, and ought not to be prac- 

 ticed except when insect pests appear on 

 the scene, which is seldom it they are kept 

 in their proper atmospheric element, as 

 the atmospheric conditions suitable to 

 ericas are very uncongenial to thrips or 

 red spider. 



There is, however, another dreaded pest 

 which attacks heaths, and that is mil- 

 dew. The circumstances that make 

 heaths liable to this disease are an over- 

 moist and stagnant atmosphere, also 

 cold draughts blowing directly on them 

 from the ventilators. The remedy for this 

 evil is to dust the affected parts with 

 flowers of sulphur and sweeter and drier 

 surroundings. 



Erica Carendishii will make larger 

 plants in a comparatively small pot, con- 

 sequently it ought not to be overpotted; 

 but it should never be allowed to become 

 badly pot bound for in this condition it 

 will not take kindly to a new shift, the 

 small slender rootlets rebelling against 

 entering the new soil from their matted 

 state; this is characteristic of most all 

 hard wooded plants. 



Kept in the temperature recommended 

 above it would come in flower naturally 

 at Easter and keep in good shape for six 

 weeks or more in a semi-moist situation. 



K. F, 



Superintendent F. W. Taylor, of the 

 horticultural department of the Trans- 

 Mississippi and International Exposi- 

 tion, to be held at Omaha, Neb., June to 



November, 1898, is making strong efforts 

 to have every division of horticulture well 

 represented at the exposition. 



The Cold = Frame. 



IXIAS IN COLD FRAME. 



J. W. Collins, Chicago, asks the follow- 

 ing questions in regard to growing ixias 

 in a cold frame: "What kind of soil to 

 use? When to plant? What protection 

 during winter other than a sash? How 

 deep and how far apart to plant? When 

 the bloom may be expected? What treat- 

 ment after flowering? What situation 

 for the cold frame, sunny or partly 

 shaded?" 



A sandy open soil is the best to grow 

 these bulbs in. Have it quite dry when 

 planting. This can be done by preparing 

 the soil some time before planting and 

 putting on the sashes. No manure should 

 be used in the soil unless it is put down a 

 few inches below the bulbs (we use no 

 manure in our bulb frame and have good 

 results). One of the most important 

 points is to provide plenty of drainage, 

 and be sure to have a tight frame, that 

 no mice can get into, as they are very 

 fond of these bulbs. Moles are also 

 troublesome if they once get a foothold, 

 and every precaution should be taken to 

 guard against these pests. 



Plant in November and December. If 

 planted too early they may begin to grow 



iu the fall months, and this isnotwanted, 

 as in your cold latitude the frost might 

 get at them. By having the soil in the 

 frame dry the frost will not have so much 

 effect as if the soil was wet. We always 

 bank around our bulb frame with long 

 manure, but anything will do so long as 

 the frost doesn't get at the bulbs. A 

 mulch of hay or straw could be put over 

 the soil, but take it off as soon as the 

 young leaves begin to come through the 

 ground, or it will cause them to bleach 

 and draw. 



Plant three to four inches deep and the 

 same apart. If the spring is mild and 

 warm they will begin to flower early in 

 May and last for some time in bloom. 



When the plants have died down give 

 no more water, put on the sash so as to 

 shed all rains, but give plenty of air by 

 tilting the sash atthe back, orif anything 

 else is wanted in the frame they can be 

 taken up and stored away in dry sand 

 till planting time again. 



The frame should be situated in an open 

 sheltered place, that is, sheltered from the 

 north and west winds. In such a situa- 

 tion the covering can be greatly reduced. 



There is a multitude of varieties and all 

 are good. It is well to get the choice 

 named varieties, as the mixtures are often 

 poor and the colors near alike. There are 

 many other tender bulbs that can be 

 grown in the same frame, such as the 

 sparaxis, tritonias, babianas and calo- 

 chortus. The last named are very showy 

 and well worth a place in the frame, but 

 they are not so good for cutting as the 

 ixias. David Fraser. 



Mahwah, N.J. 



EARLY STOCKS AND ASTERS. 



Last year I sowed asters July 20th in 

 hope of bloom before winter. It was too 

 late, and as cold weather advanced I put 

 them in cold frames which I had alreadv 

 regarded as filled with pansies, still in 

 hope of fall blooming. But they did not 

 bloom; only a few ot the most advanced 

 perished from the cold; I think there was 

 light matting over the glass. In the 

 spring the pansies were taken out and the 

 asters left in the frames; they soon filled 

 the space and began to bloom by the mid- 

 dle of May. and are yet (July 1st) bloom- 

 ing freely. The Queen of the Earlies, a 

 fine white aster, flowered earlv in June 

 from spring sowing, so that we have had 

 asters for cutting since early in May. The 

 experiment was so successful that I intend 

 to sow again and I think that for winter- 

 ing in frames the first week in 4ugust 

 will probably be better than 20th of July. 



Late sown Victoria, Perpetual, and fall 

 Cocardeau stocks also wintered well in 

 the frames and began blooming about the 

 middle of April; some of them are still 

 fine, even after the spring sowings have 

 begun and even like the Snowflake, passed 

 out of bloom. The Snowflake has been a 

 very pretty stock, flowering from spring 

 sowing before the first of June. The 

 French autumn Cocardeau, sown in fall, 

 "though presenting only three or four 

 colors, is a magnificent bloomer in late 

 spring. The Parisian florists are said to 

 have it in flower the last of March. 



Wall flowers of last year's growth win- 

 tered well in the frames, some in pots and 

 some in the ground. They began to 

 bloom late in March and lasted till July 

 1st, the older plants, which were the only 

 ones in pots, but also in the open ground, 

 flowered earlier and longer than the 

 plants from late summer sowing. An 

 early spring sowing of the early Parisian 

 should be made to follow the summer 

 sown plants, and then one may have 



