i8 9 8. 



GARDENING. 



309 



efforts give to tens of thousands the 

 profit that may accrue to all citizens from 

 the facts already noted; and the healthy, 

 happy feeling that actual good has been 

 done to so large a part of the inhabitants 

 of the city in which thev offi iate. 



THREE FINE FYRUSES. 



The pyruses made a singularly beauti- 

 ful display at the Arnold Arboretum this 

 year while they lasted, but severe wind 

 and rain cut their season shorter than 

 usual. Pyras betulse folia , which is the 

 subject of one of our illustrations, is a 

 comparatively recent acquisition from 

 the mountains near Pekin, China, and is 

 not yet in general cultivation. The flow- 

 ers are pure white; appearing in clusters 

 before the leaves. The fruit is very small, 

 rusty brown, resembling a Seckel pear in 

 color. Apart from its good qualities as 

 an ornamental tree, Mr. Dawson advo- 

 cates it as a stock for pear grafting, espe- 

 cially valuable on light soils. 



Pyrus baccata is the well known berry 

 bearing apple. It is an early bloomer, 

 following close on the cherries. When 

 full grown it makes a shapely tree fifteen 

 to twenty feet high, but it begins to 

 bloom when very young and with its 

 long stalked flowers of good size makes 

 an attractive picture. It comes in innu- 

 merable varieties with fruit yellow, red 

 or green. The plant shown in our illus- 

 tration is a seedling raised b} r Mr. Paw- 

 son and called by him the Hillside variety. 



Pyrus spectabiiis floribunda Scheideck- 

 crii is a novelty received from Spaeth's 

 famous nursery at Berlin a few 3-ears ago. 

 It is now about four feet in height and 

 has bloomed every spring for three or 

 four years. Mr. Dawson thinks it is a 

 hybrid between P. baccata and P. spectab- 



PYROS BETUL.EFOLIA. 



ilis. The flowers are deep rose and are 

 produced in great abundance. Its dwarf 

 habit would indicate that its maximum 

 height when full grown might be about 

 eight or ten feet. 



Another pyrus, of the Japan quince sec- 

 tion, worthy of special notice is Pyrus 

 Japonicapygmea. Thespecimen in bloom 

 at the Arboretum is from seed gathered 

 by Prof. Sargent in Japan five years ago. 



It has bloomed already three years. The 

 branches are reclining, almost trailing, 

 the flowers clear orange vermilion, and 

 the foliage soft and flexible, superior in 

 many respects to the ordinary type of 

 Pyrus Japonica. 



The Greenhouse. 



t'YRUS BACCATA. 



THE CULTURE OF DENDROBIUMS. 



The following is an abstract of an 

 excellent paper read by John Thatcher at 

 the June meeting of the Pennsylvania 

 Horticultural Society at Philadelphia: 



These include some of the most useful 

 and beautiful sptcies of orchids in cultiva- 

 tion. By growing about twelve different 

 varieties, one or the other can be had in 

 flower nearly the whole of the year. The 

 general culture of them is easy; no one 

 who owns a warm house should be with- 

 out a small collection. I will now give 

 the mode of cultivation that I have used 

 for several years, and with the majority 

 of varieties I have always been fairly 

 snccessful. 



To insure success the roots must be in a 

 healthy condition, and to secure this the 

 plants should be repotted even- two 

 years, the compost to consist of good, 

 clean, fresh sphagnum and broken crocks, 

 these latter to be about one-half inch in 

 size. Potting is a work that cannot be 

 rushed along, as though you were pot- 

 ting geraniums, but should be done care- 

 fully, so as to injure the active roots as 

 little as possible. When the plants are 

 taken out of the pots or baskets all the 

 old material and dead roots should be 

 carefully removed. If pots are used they 

 should be about three parts full of crocks; 

 if baskets are used a few crocks over the 

 bottom will be sufficient, for when hung 

 up they dry out much more quickly than 

 otherwise. Spread a thin layer of com- 

 post over the top of the crocks and then 

 spread the roots over the surface, filling 

 in between with compost. When finished 

 the compost should be about one inch 

 above the rim of the pot. One great point is 

 not to use too large a pot or basket. The 



