/SpS. 



■ GARDENING. 



229 



Lawrence Cotter, is entitled to the credit 

 of taking advantage of the fact. Yellow- 

 Rambler and White Rambler are both 

 disappointments as Easter plants. 



E. L. 



MAGNOLIA STELLATA. 



In the small but well kept grounds of 

 F. Jenkins, Jersey City Heights, may be 

 seen one of the most beautiful specimens 

 of the above. 



It is about ten feet high, feathered to 

 the ground and evidently fully developed. 

 On April 5 it was covered with one mass 

 of star-like, semi-double flowers nearlv 

 pure white in color. The mild winter and 

 exceptionally fine weather during the 

 month of March has probably had some- 

 thing to do with this early display. 



Passing by the same lovely object two 

 days later it did not present such an in- 

 viting appearance, the reason being that 

 it had just passed through a severe or- 

 deal in the shape of several degrees of 

 frost. 



Behind the terminal flowers of this har- 

 binger of spring scores of other flower 

 buds were awaiting nature's command 

 to spread forth. So it seems no matter 

 how fickle the weather this lovely mag- 

 nolia can be caught in its best dress, if 

 not to-day then some other day. 



It should be planted by all lovers of 

 hardy shrubs, either as a single specimen 

 or massed. I do not know whether 

 young plants flower as freely as old ones. 

 If they do it would be worth the florists' 

 while to try them, for with little or no 

 forcing they would make attractive 

 Easter plants. B. Hall. 



New Jersey. 



The Greenhouse. 



EXACUM AfFINE. 



This lovely gentianwort is one of a 

 genus of twenty species, and a native of 

 Socotra; though not so gorgeous as its 

 near relative Exacum macranthum, which 

 requires a stove temperature and has 

 much larger indigo-blue flowers, yet the 

 all-round charms and characteristics of 

 the former will, in my opinion, out- 

 balance the georgeousness of the other. 

 One of the good points about E. affine is 

 its natural compact habit, delicious frag- 

 rance, profuse flowering disposition, con- 

 tinuing inits floral garb for quite a length 

 of time. 



The color of the flowers varies according 

 to treatment; if kept in bright sunny 

 quarters the3' assume a bluish lilac color, 

 in the shade, blue to deep blue. It is 

 considered by some authorities an annual, 

 but more properly it is a biennial, though 

 I have kept it in the pink of health for 

 nearly three years. 



Seeds sown in August will produce 

 plants, properly handled, suitable for 

 seven-inch pots the next succeeding 

 August. Seeds sown in March in a warm 

 greenhouse, or greenhouse temperature, 

 will produce plants suitable for five-inch 

 pots. The soil I find best adapted for its 

 culture is good fibrous loam and leaf 

 mound, the latter predominating with 

 clean sharp sand in addition thereto in 

 quantity. 



The seeds are so small, so few and so 

 far between in a seedsman's package of 

 this plant, that the aid of a Lick obser- 

 vatory telescope is necessary to locate 

 them, hence the extreme care that is 

 required to deposit them on their seed 



EXACUM AFFINE. 



bed, which ought to be smooth, and the 

 materials thereof finely sifted. It will 

 propagate, however, as readily as the 

 proverbial weed. Greenhouse tempera- 

 ture is the most suitable for the subject 

 of this note, which, of course, means any 

 way from 55° to 60° Fah. 



The plant must be kept in a cool, 

 but not draughty greenhouse or frame 

 in the summer time, and shaded from the 

 fierce sunlight; it requires lots of water at 

 all times, except in dull cloudy weather, 

 or in a less congenial temperature than 

 55 degrees. K. F. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 



Chrysanthemums to be grown for spec- 

 imen plants are now ready for a shift 

 into 6-inch pots. We begin with this 

 potting to use a richer soil. In addition 

 to the ordinary compost used for potting 

 a variety of plants, we add a dusting of 

 wood ashes and a little pulverized sheep 

 manure; we are careful not to use a large 

 proportion; we know what it is to make 

 mistakes. Free drainage is essential. 

 Charcoal is recommended to be used in 

 the drainage of such varieties as are liable 

 to burn. This probably might be deferred 

 until the final shift, though charcoal is 

 good at all times, especially when we 

 have a heavy soil to handle. Chrysan- 

 themums root freely in coal ashes, as we 

 may notice when they are set on a bench 

 of this material. Ashes used as drainage 

 do quite as well as broken crocks. We 

 pot firmly when the soil is light, and 

 loosely when it is heavy. 



In spite of all our resolutions to the 

 contrary, we find ourselves, as usual, 

 encumbered with a host of varieties we 

 know only by report. This season the 

 total exceeds the hundred mark. When 

 in 6-inch pots the plants are carefully 

 observed, their manner of growth noted, 

 also tendency to break, and liability to 

 disease. The good as well as the bad 

 points are almost certain to appear dur- 

 ing the month or five weeks leading up 

 to the final shift. Only such as promise 

 well are shifted into the larger size, prob- 



ably not more than 60'/c, and some of 

 these will go, later. Varieties with a 

 good reputation, but whose behavior has 

 not come up to the standard, will be 

 planted in the open, in a nicely prepared 

 piece of soil, and if there is anythinggood 

 in them, they will have a fair chance to 

 show it. Then again some of the very 

 best have a habit of running to bloom 

 prematurely. I used to throw them out 

 without further trial, but since I have 

 found when I must persevere, that a 

 goodly majority of such will after this 

 blooming period is past, grow into good 

 specimens. I learned this by planting out 

 the surplus plants. 



Stopping, or pinching in, commenced 

 when the plants are in the smaller sized 

 pots, must be continued in this; in fact, 

 the pinching should not be discontinued 

 until well into July. The plants must be 

 looked at, every day or two. A plant 

 well balanced now will keep so. 



T. D. H. 



The Flower Garden. 



ORNAMENTAL BEDDING. 



PART I. 



Although carpet and ornamental bed- 

 ding is not used as much as formerly, it 

 still has its claim on recognition and its 

 place in ornamental horticulture, and 

 when the design is tasteful, the colors well 

 chosen, the planting nicely executed, and 

 the bed well taken care of, these bright 

 bits of color on nature's green carpet 

 seldom fail to win admiration. 



The soil in these beds should be rather 

 light and mellow; if too heavy, sand or 

 ashes should be used to mix with it; if too 

 light and sandy, then some soil of a 

 heavier nature. Well rotted manure 

 should be applied generously in spring, as 

 the great number of plants in proportion 

 to the space require lots of nourishment 

 to insure good results. If the beds are 

 planted with bulbs or pansies for early 

 spring, they should receive an extra 

 manuring before they are planted. In 



