r8gS. 



GARDENING. 



245 



appears the flower stalk, growing six to 

 eight feet high, somewhat ramified, but 

 the twigs straight and directed upward, 

 so that the whole inflorescence has a very 

 peculiar appearance. The old variety has 

 yellow flowers, which appear in great 

 quantities and furnish after some weeks 

 dark blood-red fruits. But it is a curi- 

 osity of the plant that it yields good seeds 

 only in a colder climate, or if propagated 

 in warmer climates by seed, only during 

 the first two or three years. Afterwards 

 the seeds, though full grown are sterile. 

 The new variety flore roseo has flowers 

 of a very fine rose color. 



I" do Dammer. 



fl NEW ASPARAGUS. 



In addition to the well-known nanus, 

 another form of Asparagus plumosus has 

 now appeared, and is grown bv Mr. T. 

 Jannoch, at Dershingham, near King's 

 Lynn. The new variety, called cristatus, 

 has deep green branches, somewhat more 

 densely clothed with verticillate clusters 

 than the ordinary A. plumosus. The 

 chief charm of the plant, however, con- 

 sists in the main rachis being several 

 times divided toward the tip, then pro- 

 ducing a beautiful cresting after the stvle 

 of the crested varieties of Pteris serrulata 

 cristata, only, of course, much finer and 

 more graceful in appearance. In addition 

 to the crested peculiarity it may be added 

 that the plant is not a climber, so that if 

 grown in pots it should prove very 

 attractive and a great acquisition. — The 

 Garden. 



The Greenhouse. 



PRIMULA VULGARIS. 



The genus to which the above belongs 

 is rather prolific in species, from seventy 

 to eighty being chronicled, a large num- 

 ber of them being very elegant and choice 

 subjects for either the hardy herbaceous 

 border or the rock-garden. They are also, 

 as a rule very submissive to forcing, and 

 therefore good subjects for the cool con- 

 servatory, the most popular being Prim- 

 ula Sinensis (Chinese primrose), P. ob- 

 conica, P. variabilis (or polyanthus), P. 

 officinalis (cowslip), P. elatior (oxlip), 

 P. auricula, P. cortusoides, P. Japoniea, 

 and the one that heads this note, P. vul- 

 garis, all of which are well adapted for 



PRIMULA VULGARIS. 



PRIMULA OBCONICA GRANDIPLORA. 



rose, which must of course be treated as 

 a greenhouse plant, P. obconica being 

 also partial to greenhouse protection. 



The chief distinctive feature that char- 

 acterizes vulgaris from its immediate rel- 

 atives officinalis and elatior, are that in 

 the former the peduncle or primary flower 

 stem common to the latter is suppressed. 

 To compensate for this short-coming the 

 pedicels or secondary flower stems are 

 much longer than those of the bunch- 

 flower polyanthus, enabling the flowers 

 to appear well above the foliage of the 

 plant. 



Primula vulgaris seeds should be sown 

 in earlj- April in a cool greenhouse in 

 order to get large flowering plants by the 

 middle of the following winter. Pricked 

 off in boxes, or any other convenient 

 receptacle in which they are to remain 

 until well established; transferred to the 

 open garden from the said receptacle in 

 well-enriched soil, and in partial shade if 

 procurable, they will make greater prog- 

 ress than if transferred to pots. They 

 ought to be lifted and potted in the latter 

 part of October, if intended for conserva- 

 atory work, otherwise lifted and planted 

 in cold frames for spring work. As they 

 require but a few weeks to re-establish 

 themselves in the pots, they are available 

 for flowering any time thereafter, though 

 the greater success is attained by defer- 

 ring forcing until the near approach of 

 spring, when their natural proclivities 

 may be tickled by the florist with the 

 assurance of success. They are gross 

 feeders and require lots of water. K. F. 



pot culture, and will do equally well in 

 cold frames, excepting the Chinese prim- 



GROTONS. 



Crotons are exceedingh' useful as dec- 

 orative plants, and it is to be regretted 

 that they are not more generally used by 

 our florists; their varied hues far surpass 

 any of those autumnal effects which 

 artists are so fond of painting. They are 

 not only fine decorative plants for winter 

 work, but in the summer season thev are 

 equally as effective for bedding out "pur- 

 poses. 



There are so many varieties suitable for 

 both purposes that it will perhaps suffice 

 if I enumerate a few of the best. For 

 indoor work I would recommend Reedii, 

 Dayspring, Madame Seilliere, Mortii. 

 Johannis, Aneitumensis, Carrieri, Lord 



Belhaven, Disraeli, Lad}- Zetland, Han- 

 buryanus and Chrysophyllas. For out- 

 door planting the following will be found 

 reliable, Baroness James De Rothschild, 

 I layspring, Interruptus, Aurea maculata, 

 Fasciatus, Multicolor, Lady Zetland, 

 Yeitchii, Rubra variegata, Evansianus, 

 Mooreana and Queen Victoria. 



They can be propagated from cuttings 

 put in sand, or by ringing; the latter plan 

 I prefer, as it enables much larger tops to 

 be taken than could possibly be done 

 from cuttings. They should, if rung in 

 March, have made a growth of from two 

 to four feet by the end of September. In 

 order to grow them on successfully, it is 

 necessary as soon as they have rooted 

 through the moss, which usually takes 

 about twenty days, to take every particle 

 of moss carefully away, then either pot 

 them while on the plants or cut them off 

 and place them in a close propagating 

 box until they have taken hold of the soil, 

 when they should be transferred to quar- 

 ters where they can have more air and 

 light; it will then be necessary to keep 

 them potted on as often as they may 

 require it, inacompost consisting oi good 

 fibrous loam, sand and bone dust. 



During the time between March and 

 September, which is the season they make 

 their growth, it is necessary to keep them 

 in a moist atmosphere with a tempera- 

 ture of from 80° to 90° during the day 

 and 70° to 75° at night, During the first 

 three months of their growing season, 

 only sufficient ventilation should be given 

 to prevent them from making a weak 

 growth and at no time should ventilation 

 be given which will reduce the tempera- 

 ture below 75°. A house with a southern 

 aspect is best adapted to them, which 

 should be kept shaded until the end of 

 September, when they may be gradually 

 exposed to the sun. 



The stock plants after the cuttings have 

 been removed can be planted out in the 

 nursery during the summer when they 

 again will furnish another batch of cut- 

 tings by the fall. Another way of utiliz- 

 ing the stock plants is to cut them down 

 to within three or four inches of the pots, 

 then shake all the soil from them and 

 reduce the roots so as to be able to get 

 them into considerably smaller pots than 

 they have been grown in, when if given 

 similar treatment to that recommended 

 for the young plants it will be found that 

 satisfactory results will be obtained. 



A syringing with a solution of tobacco 

 extract, in the proportion of one 2-inch 

 potful to two gallons of water once a 

 week will be found an excellent preventive 

 against mealy bug and scale, two pests 

 which they seem to be particularly sub- 

 ject to. 



With reference to outdoor planting I 

 would suggest the advisability of plung- 

 ing the pots, as it will be found that after 

 having been taken up in the fall, the risk 

 of losing their lower leaves will be reduced 

 to a minimum. D. C. 



Trees and Shrubs. 



NOTES FROM EGANDALE. 



Experience has taught me — and the fact 

 has been strongly brought h^me to me 

 this season — that in our soil and climate 

 it is best to make flowerbeds a few inches 

 higher than the surrounding turf, espe- 

 cially for low growing, and not over 

 robust plants. Strong, vigorous plants, 

 like most of the perennial asters and sun- 

 flowers, or moisture-loving subjects, such 



