l62 



GARDENING. 



Feb. 1 5, 



however, has been used during the past 

 two years, simply becauseit was thought 

 to be a superior form of C. Drummondi. 

 The two are given as distinct species in 

 Nicholson's "Dictionary of Gardening," 

 but it is probable they are only forms of 

 one tyoe, as both come from Texas. C. 

 covoaata is the tallest and more likely to 

 show the biennial character in going to 

 rest in winter, if not started early. The 

 flowers are of a deep yellow color, with a 

 reddish brown crown, and borne on long, 

 stiff stems. If picked as soon as they 

 open they will last as long as the disk 

 florets take to develop, which is aboiit 

 ten days. 



Erica Mediterranea. — Comparatively 

 little success has attended the efforts of 

 heath growers in this country. Some say 

 this failure is due to the absence of suit- 

 able material in which to grow the plants, 

 while it is the opinion of many that our 

 summers are too hot. In E. Mediterra- 

 nea we have an exception to this general 

 experience, and a plant which has the 

 additional recommendation of being 

 almost hardy. It is popularly supposed 

 that heaths need shade, but this species 

 has done well with me in full sunshine. If 

 the plants are trimmed into shape before 

 planting, and pinched occasionally after- 

 wards, they make neat bushes. They 

 may be stored in cold frames, or in pits 

 with evergreens, and moved to the green- 

 house a week or two before they are re- 

 quired to bloom. The twiggy stems are 

 clothed with small pink flowers, tipped 

 with black, and the plant has much of 

 the general appearance which renders the 

 common heather so fascinating. 



Clematis indivisa. — There are few 

 establishments where some cool corner 

 could not be found to suit this grand New 

 Zealand species. Atthe H. H. Hunnewell 

 place there is a fine specimen trained to 

 the roof of what is known as the orangery. 

 The house is kept at a minimum tempera- 

 ture of 45°, and accommodates besides 

 acacias, euryas, oranges, and the hardiest 

 palms, all of which do duty outdoors in 

 summer time, and are here for a season 

 of rest, The house has a northwestern 

 aspect. From this it will be seen what 

 conditions suit it best. Its blooming 

 season lasts from the middle of March 

 onward for five or six weeks. It bears 

 cutting freely, as the flowers are borne on 

 the current season's wood. Sprays from 

 four to five feet long are produced in 

 abundance, and these are excellent for 

 decorative purposes. C. indivisa is to 

 winter and the greenhouse what the Jap- 

 anese C. paniculataisto late summer and 

 the garden. 



Lychnis Flos cuculi fl. pl.— This has 

 given great satisfaction as a winter 

 flowering plant. The single form in the 

 wild state is popularly known as ragged 

 robin, growing so plentifully in moist 

 meadows in the Old World as to be 

 almost beneath notice. The double form 

 makes an excellent rock plant, or for the 

 front rank of the herbaceous border, con- 

 tinuing in bloom from spring until well 

 past midsummer. It is one of the few 

 hardy plants which thrive in the green- 

 house in winter. The delicately fringed 

 lilac pink flowers are produced in great 

 profusion for two or three months, and 

 even after being planted out of doors for 

 a summer's growth. I divided half a 

 dozen plants last spring, which made 

 three dozen large enough for 6-inch pots 

 by the autumn. When winter comes thev 

 are placed in a cold frame, and likely 

 enough get a touch of frost before they 

 are brought into warmer quarters. This 

 check probably is beneficial, as we have 



had occasion to notice in the case of other 

 hardy plants which are intended for 

 forcing. They start into growth readily, 

 soon making good bushy plants. 



Nephrolepis.— These are among the 

 most serviceable plants known in gardens. 

 They furnish an elegant and at the same 

 time endurable green. Few ferns possess 

 these qualities, and they are found in 

 none of such easy culture as the nephro- 

 lepis. Forthedwellinghouse, stores.and 

 decorations in general where the air is 

 drv, they are unequaled. This may be 

 accounted for largely by the fact that a 

 drv season is one of the climatic condi- 

 tions imposed upon them in nature. All 

 are readily grown, increasing rapidly by 

 means of stoloniferous growths, as illus- 

 trated in the case of strawberry plants. 

 N. exaltata is the familiar Boston fern, 

 though why it should be given the latter 

 name is a mystery, for it is not known 

 that the citv in question has any particu- 

 lar claim upon the plant. No description 

 is necessary. Some less common kinds 

 are equally valuable. N. darallioldes 

 fitrcans is, if anything, more graceful in 

 habit than the Boston fern. The fronds 

 as well as the leaflets are divided. It is 

 distinct in other respects, and may be 

 recognized by a lighter shade of color, 

 and bv the absence of a reddish coating 

 along "the midt>ib. A r . falciformis is a 

 much smaller species which does not 

 appear to have attained the popularity 

 given to N. exaltata, but there is no 

 reason for this except that it is dwarfer 

 in habit. It has all the good qualities of 

 its relative, and frequently makes a better 

 pot plant. For a delicate setting to a 

 bouquet it will never displace the adian- 

 tums, but there are many persons who 

 prefer a bolder arrangement, and this can 

 be secured by the judicious use of a few 

 sprays of A. "falciformis. N. cordata com- 

 pacta has recently come into favor, and 

 it is a welcome addition to the florist's 

 limited stock. It has all the enduring 

 qualities of the others, and is of a deeper 

 green color, more glossy, and a trifle 

 stiffer in growth. The fronds arch out 

 gracefully on all sides, which renders it 

 well adapted forgrowing into a specimen. 

 The nephrolepis do well potted in ordinary 

 loam, with which a small quantity of coal 

 ashes is incorporated, and a minimum 

 temperature of 60° appears to suit them 

 best T. D. H. 



CARNATIONS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



The carnation is one of the most popu- 

 lar winter flowering plants, and for cut- 

 ting purposes a close rival of the rose. 

 At this season of the year the plants 

 should be at their best, giving good 

 returns in flowers of large size and fine 

 color. The cultural requirements of the 

 carnation are simple, but care and per- 

 sistence are needed in their application. 



Cuttings should be put in during the 

 present month, They start very readily 

 in sand, and should be potted off when 

 rooted, for if allowed to remain in the 

 cutting bench much later they do not 

 make such strong plants. It is a common 

 practice to transplant the cuttings from 

 the sand into boxes, but where space can 

 be given them the pots are to be preferred. 

 The plants lift with little soil attached to 

 their roots when grown in boxes, and for 

 this reason it takes longer to establish 

 them in the soil when planted out in 

 spring. \ better way is to transfer them 

 to boxes when the small pots are full of 

 roots. They then come from the boxes 

 with nice balls of soil and receive little or 

 no check in the removal. The plants need 

 less care as to watering when in boxes, 



and they can be moved from one place to 

 another more handily. 



About the 1st ol" April they can be 

 placed in a cold frame, and given plenty 

 of air when they once start to grow, at 

 which time the heart should be pinched 

 out of each plant. This pinching will 

 cause them to break and form bushy 

 plants. Toward the middle of May they 

 can be transferred to thegarden, planting 

 nine inches apart in rows fifteen inches 

 asunder, the soil having been previously 

 well prepared. They will need frequent 

 cultivation, and pinching will require 

 attention. It is well to go over the plants 

 once a week, removing all flowers. 

 Plants required for summer blooming 

 should be propagated in January, oreven 

 earlier. 



The plants will be ready for taking up 

 about the 1st of September, and this 

 work should not be delayed much beyond 

 that time, for it is a considerable advan- 

 tage to have the plants well started 

 before the dull days come on. If they are 

 to be grown in benches, one of the most 

 important points is good drainage. The 

 boards forming the bottom should be an 

 inch apart and covered with a layer of 

 such rough material as sods, sphagnum or 

 decayed manure. Five inches is a suffi- 

 cient depth of soil, but I generally plant 

 in four inches, preferring to leave space 

 for a top-dressing of richer material. It 

 is well in planting to leave a space ol 

 about an inch between the surface of the 

 soil and the neck of the plant. This 

 leaves room for two top-dressings, one 

 in December and the second in February. 

 If the stems were buried clear to the 

 leaves at first, the additional soil of the 

 top-dressings would cause the latter 

 to rot. 



It is hard to say just what sort of soil 

 is the best for carnations. Here in Pitts- 

 burg the soil is a heavy clay, and the fif- 

 teen varieties I have planted in the 

 benches appear to take kindly to it. I 

 use about three parts of this soil to 

 one of good rotted cow manure, and in 

 top dressing, soil and manure are applied 

 in equal parts, adding a quantity of 

 bone meal. Carnations can be grown 

 very successfully in pots, but need 

 more attention as regards watering. 

 Pot plants should not be grown close 

 together on a level bench, but arranged 

 in terrace form. This permits of a better 

 circulation of air about the foliage, and 

 more plants can be grown in the same 

 space. I have had some success with 

 them in boxes, and would prefer the lat- 

 ter to pots. A good size of box would be 

 four feet long, seven inches wide and five or 

 six inches deep. This would hold six plants 

 of the vigorous kinds, such as Wm. Scott 

 and Portia, and eight of smaller growing 

 varieties like Buttercup and Lizzie Mc- 

 Gowan. The boxes should have ample 

 drainage, leaving also, as in the benches, 

 sufficient space for the top-dressings. The 

 plants in boxes would not require such 

 persistent watching in the matter of 

 watering as those in pots, and they afford 

 larger and better flowers. 



While the foregoing particulars require 

 strict attention, watering is the most 

 important of all the operations connected 

 with carnation culture. When grown on 

 benches the plants should be examined 

 every day, for different benches in the 

 same house do not dry out at all evenly. 

 The watering should be done thoroughly, 

 when it is necessary to water, saturating 

 the soil through and through. The soil 

 at the bottom of the benches often dries 

 very quickly on account of the pipes 

 underneath, and although the soil is quite 

 moist at the surface, the plants are some- 



