i8g8. 



• • * GARDEN! ML,. 



293 



ceed to find d and e, as explained for 

 diamonds, cd and c-t\ each three feet three 

 inches, put pegs at d and e. From d 

 intersect a-b with radius r-a, in this case 

 four and one-half feet, which gives the 

 _focii./and.g-. Tie a piece of twine around 



Fig. 23, 11x16 feet. 



d-f-g, lift peg d and with it, keeping the 

 twine stretched, draw the ellipse. The 

 dotted lines indicate some of the different 

 positions of the twine and pegs during 

 this process. Put peg d in place again. 

 It, as well as pegs a-o-c and e , will come 

 handv in laying out the design. Fig. 21 

 shows an easy design for an ellipse of 

 this size. 



Fig. 24. 20x10 feet. 



Fig. 21. 1, Alternanthera paronychi- 

 oides; 2, A. aurea nana; 3, Santolina 

 incana; 4, Alternanthera spatulata. 



Fig. 22. 1, Alternanthera paronychi- 

 oides; 2. A. aurea nana; 3, A. paronychi- 

 oides major; 4; Santolina incana; o.Ecbe- 

 veria rosea; 6, Achyranthes Lindenii. 



Fig. 23. 1, Echereria seeunda glauca; 

 2, Alternanthera amoena spectabilis; 3, 

 .4. aurna nana; 4, .4. spatulata; 5. San- 

 tolina incana. 



Fig. 25. 



These two designs are of a more com- 

 plicated nature. The lanceolate outline 

 of Fig 24 consists of two curves with 

 equal radii; the centers are situated in the 

 perpendicular of the middle, same con- 

 struction as when laying out the diamond 

 and the ellipse, but more about this later. 



Fig. 24. 1, Alternanthera paronychi- 

 oides; 2, Pilea nana; 3, Alternanthera 

 amoena spectabilis; 4, .1. auiea nana; 5, 

 Santolina incana. 



The Maltese cross is a design common- 

 ly asked for; it is easily laid out and can 

 be made to look very presentable by taste- 

 ful planting. 



Fig. 25. 1, Alternanthera paronychi- 

 oides major; 2. Santolina incana; 3, 

 Coleus Golden Bedder; 4, Coleus Ver- 

 schaffeltii. 



This represents a ten-foot cross; first 

 draw a ten-foot square, then from the cen- 

 ter, where the diagonals cross each other, 

 draw the circle, three feet 3 inches radius; 

 from the corners of square measure along 

 each side one foot two inches and set pegs; 

 from the points where thediagonalscross 

 the circle measure to each side six inches 

 and set pegs. Now draw twine around 

 the pegs for each wing; draw the lines 

 and you have the outline of the cross. 

 For the planting of borders one and three, 

 I have allowed six inches. Do not make 

 the mistake to plant different colors in 

 the different wings. H. Hansen. 



AN EXCELLENT flflRDY FERN. 



The ostrich fern, (Onoclea Struthio- 

 pteris), is emphatically the people's fern. 

 In ninety cases out of a hundred it can be 

 grown with perfect success, doing far 

 better in cultivation than in its native 

 wilds. It can be successfully taken up, 

 shipped and planted at any season. In 

 winter one could dig it out from under 

 the snow and succeed with it; in summer 

 it is a perfect success even when three feet 

 high, when carefully taken up and set out 

 where it is wanted. If carefully managed 

 its fronds will not even wilt. It succeeds 

 just as well in the house or greenhouse as 

 outdoors, simply requiring a soil con- 

 taining plenty of rich humus, partial 

 shade and plenty of moisture during 

 seasons of drought. For decorative pur- 

 poses it has few rivals among ferns, sur- 

 passing all other native species except 

 perhaps the huge osmundas, and much 

 easer to handle than these. 



In Michigan, where it abounds, it is 

 most extensively used for decorative 

 wo^k on such public occasions, as Memor- 

 ial Day, Children's Day, Commencement 

 Day, Fourth of July, etc., being taken 

 up from the woods, placed in boxes, pots 

 etc. The writer has a splendid bed of 

 ferns, largely of this species, most of 

 which were planted in 1S78. To be sure 

 most of the original plants have died, 

 but their number has doubled in their 

 descendants, for it multiplies very freely 

 by offsets as well as spores. The root is 

 a huge bulb-like affair three or four 

 inches thick and five to eight inches high. 

 From its top rise five to ten gracefully 

 recurving fronds two to four feet long and 

 six to eight inches wide, gradually sep- 

 arating from the top of the root to the 

 height of about one and one-half to two 

 feet, when they abruptly recurve. So 

 peculiarly graceful is its habit that it 

 never fails to attract attention even in a 

 large collection of greenhouse ferns, and 

 when so grown few would believe that 

 this splendid plant is truly a native 

 species. W. A. B. 



NELUMBIUM SPEG10SUM. 



On nearly every ones grounds the means 

 exist to have beautiful water lilies, and 

 their presence gives so much pleasure to 

 all who see them, that a few T words con- 

 cerning one of the commonest of the tribe, 

 Xelumbium speciosum, may be useful at 

 the present time. 



There are but two species of nelumbium, 

 t' is one, N. speciosum, and N. luteum. 

 Tbe latter is our native one, common in 

 many parts of the country. It is yellow 

 flowered, fragrant and beautiful. N. 

 speciosum is known as the Egyptian 

 lotus, or Egyptian bean. Its flowers are 

 white, with a lovefy pink shade. 



What these plants want is water, fresh 

 but tolerably still, and so situated that it 

 will not be subject to overflows. Very 

 often a light running stream will afford 

 the means to construct just such a place 

 as the plants require, as has been the case 

 in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, as 

 shown in the illustration herewith pre- 

 sented. A little rivulet coursed along to 

 Lansdowne Ravine, and this afforded the 

 opportunity to create not only the water 

 scene the picture depicts but others in 

 different parts of the park before the 

 stream passed into the Schuylkill River. 



The species here shown is N. speciosum. 

 Mr. C. H. Miller, the superintendent, tells 

 me that this plant increases with great 

 rapidity. It was but a very few plants 

 that were placed there when the pond 

 was formed, yet it took no more than 

 about four years to cover the surface 

 almost as well as it is to-day. All it 

 needs, he says, is that a good depth of 

 mud should be there for the roots, and 

 there must be a sufficient depth of water 

 to prevent frost from penetrating to the 

 bottom, for frost will kill the roots. The 

 flow of water is gentle all the time, so 

 that there is nothing to disturb the mud 

 about the roots. 



All kinds of water plants are great 

 attractions to visitors of all public 

 grounds, as witness the number of per- 

 sons viewing them on almost all occa- 

 sions. And when these plants are in 

 proximity to other lovely scenes their 

 charms are still more admired. It will be 

 conceded by readers of Gardening that 

 the picture is a pretty one. It represents 

 a portion of the park near Horticultural 

 Hall, where crowds throng in the hot 

 summer days, because of the grateful 

 shade and the beauty of the scene. A 

 portion of the lovely avenue of pin oaks 

 for which this park is famous, is in sight 

 as well as a view of some of the 

 natural trees which embower the ravine 

 further down the course of the stream. 



The pin oak is one of the best of its 

 family for avenues of the kind displayed. 

 In the first place it is almost as easy to 

 transplant as a maple; it takes to a new 

 location more freely than any other oak. 

 Its deep green, finely divided leaves, are 

 always pleasing to look upon. Then, as 

 will be observed, there is a drooping 

 tendency of the lower branches, which 

 goes on till they touch the ground. These 

 trees have been planted about twenty 

 years. They are about thirty-five feet 

 high, and the branches spread about the 

 same number of feet. At three feet from 

 the ground, the circumference of trunk is 

 about four feet. Joseph Meehan. 



Philadelphia. 



The Greenhouse. 



FORCING FflEONlES. 



Herman Schiller, of Niles Center, 111., 

 has achieved noteworthy success in forc- 

 ing herbaceous peonies for Easter pot 

 .plants. His method is to lift the plants 

 from the field about October l.pot imme- 

 diately, water thoroughly and plunge in 

 a cold frame where they remain chilled 

 just enough to make them dormant until 

 time to bring them into heat. Best 

 results are obtained by leaving the plants 

 in a cool greenhouse or shed for a few 

 days between the removal from the cold 

 frame and the beginning of forcing. An 

 even temperature of 58° to 60° is main- 

 tained until the blooms are out and 

 attempts to retard growth by withdraw- 



