1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



53 



paratively yonnj? and unknown, hence in very 

 many cases an introduction only would be re- 

 qiiii-ed to secure for it another supporter in each 

 case. Once such are subscribers we will try very 

 hard t^> hold them on the intrinsic merits of 

 the paper. 



Hard Putty. The Carriage Monthly gives the 

 follnwin!; for a hard putty that will dry in one 

 daj': Take whitening, ma.sh all the lumiis out on 

 the stone, and mix it into a stiff paste by addintr 

 e<(ual parts of japan and rubbing varnish; then 

 add as mucli keg-lead as .vou think will make it 

 work free with the knife; then add the rest of 

 the whitening until yon have it to suit you. If 

 you want putty that will dry cpiicker, take dry 

 white lead, and mix with enual pai-ts of japan 

 and varnish, to which add a few drops of turpen- 

 tine. This is very soft for putty, but can be 

 sand-papered in from two to three hours, be- 

 coming perfectly hard in that time. 



A Floral Cow, wrought in Hydrangea fiowei-s, 

 was shown at a New England fair, reports one of 

 our subscribei-s. It ma.v have been appropriate 

 to Dairy Hal], as the writer says, but merely as a 

 floral desig[i we are sure it was a marked failure. 

 We have yet to see the often made attempt to 

 represent a hoi-se, cow or sheep in flowers or 

 bedding plants, carried to a pleasing success, for 

 the simple reason that the legs, comparatively 

 slender in each case, cannot thus be delicately 

 enough molded. An elephant or an owl may 

 be made with comparative ease, because of 

 their natural clumsiness of appearance. These 

 have been made in such fine flowers as Violets, 

 to be really handsome in the sight of those having 

 a fancy for extreme oddities. 



School Yard Adornment. In the January issue 

 of this journal there will appear an illustrated 

 article on school yard adornment, to be followed 

 by others throughout the year. It is a subject 

 that is attracting increasing attention, as it well 

 deserves to, and we mean, in coming issues, to 

 give considerable space to practical information, 

 having in riew the improvement of the thousands 

 of school yards of the country. Plans of school 

 yards or other matter relating to the subject and 

 which could be furnished by our readers would 

 be thankfully received by the editor, and would 

 be used for giving it the wide publicitj' which all 

 matter that appears in these columns merits. Let 

 us hear from many teachei*s, parents, and com- 

 mittee men on thLs subject. 



Training Wire for Pots. In tjlng tmt the 

 branches of Pelargoniums, Chrysanthemums, 

 and many other plants in training for good shape, 

 a leading difficulty met is in the matter of places 

 to tie to. Numerous stakes thrust into the pots in- 

 terfere with the roots, besides looking unsightly, 

 and they are apt to bend or become drawn out 

 of place. To render this matter easy some English 

 gardeners employ the simple and convenient 

 wire device shown figured herewith, the same 

 being slipped over the pot from the bottom up 

 and to rest against the rim. The small projecting 

 bends afford places in which to attach the twine. 

 The same may also serve to attach supports in 

 case it is desirable to suspend the pots. By the 

 aid of such a collar almost any plant can readily 

 be tied out for increasing shapeliness of form 

 without the use of a single stake. 



Lilium candidum in the Window. This beau- 

 tiful hard.\- Lily makes one fif the best plants for 

 window culture, and if a number of builds be had 

 can have some of them in bloom from March to 

 .lune, the time when those |ilanted out-of-doors 

 bloom. Do not keep the bnlljs long out of the 

 soil after removing them in the fall, as it is 

 nece-ssary for success that they make their roots 

 and leaves before severe weather. After potting 

 leave them out-of-doors until after a good sharp 

 frost or two, then one at a time can be brought 

 in and placed in the window, giving plenty of 

 light and sufficient water to keep the soil moist, 

 but not wet, as stagnant moisture around the 

 bulb of any kind of LUy causes decay of the 

 roots. If the atmosphere of the room is dry Red 

 Spider is apt to appear on the underside of the 

 foliage, and in order to i)revent them making 

 any headway, sponge occasionally with water. 

 Weak liquid manure is also beneficial as the 

 flower spike develoijs. —3f. Milton, i'tningstown^ O. 



Meddling with the Names— a Protest. Would 

 it not be for the interest vi leading seedsmen to 

 use the proper names for their earliest varieties 

 of vegetables? In numerous cases they prefl.x 

 their own name to the same variety, each claim- 

 ing it to be the best in some respect, when, with- 

 out doubt, they are all the same, but they are apt 

 to mislead the purchasers. We all know that for 



the interest of all we have entirely loo many va- 

 rieties. It is an increased expense to the seeds- 

 men and a perplexity to the jjurchascrs, with no 

 benefit that in any degree pays for the extra 

 trouble, and when tn the already too numy va- 

 rieties is added the different names referred too, 

 the perplexity Is still further a<lded to with no 

 compensating benefit. I am aware that consider- 

 able has already been written and said upon this 

 subject, and I am further satisfied that nothing 

 will be done unless by preconcerted action of the 

 seedsmen together. We who purchase seeds can 

 only enter our protests, it is for the seedsmen to 

 make the <:hange.— iV. J. Sheijlierd. Milki- Co., Mii. 

 Chicory or Succory, a vegetable rarely seen 

 in American gardens. In some other countries 

 it is much esteemed for its lea\es, which are used 



CHICORY OR SUCCORY BLANCHED. 

 as a salad, either in the natural state or blanched. 

 Cut in thin shreds and mixed with vinegar and 

 oil they are largely used as a seasoning for boiled 

 beef. One variety, called the Coffee or Large- 

 rooted Chicory, is sometimes grown in our gar- 

 dens for its roots, which are dried and used as a 

 substitute or flavoring ingredient forCoffee. The 

 culture of the plants for any puri)Ose is of the 

 most simple kind, the conditions suitable for 

 Carrots answering well for them. The plants are 

 perennial in habit, but it is well to raise them 

 from seed every year, clearing out the old plants 

 about to run to seed. The leaves are gathered 

 as they are wanted by cutting near the ground; 

 they may be cut several times in the same year. 

 For forcing as a winter salad this vegetable is 

 quite popular abroad, owing, in a measure, to the 

 ease with which it is managed, no doubt. For 

 the purpose, seed is sown thinlj- in the open 

 ground in June. At the beginning of winter the 

 plants are taken up and their leaves are trimmed 

 off just above the neck of the root. Then in a 

 dark cellar or other place, the temperature of 

 which is not too cold, sloping heaps are made, 

 composed of alternate layers of sand, or of soil, 

 and of Chicory roots placed horizontally with 

 the necks pointing outwards clear of the heap. 

 If the soil is dry a slight watering is beneficial. 

 In about three weeks' time, if the air is not too 

 cof>l, leaves eight or ten inches long may be 

 gathered. The Large-rooted variety grown to 

 the size of a finger is much used thus for forcing 

 in the \ icinity of Paris, Fnince. 



New York Floral Notes. 



People are coming back t<> town now; the sea- 

 son's festivities have begun, and the florists re- 

 joice in proportion. It is too early yet to notice 

 any decided new departures in decorations, as 

 no very great enteitainments have taken place. 



Every big florist nowadays has a regular pot- 

 tery annex, with a large assortment of vases, jars 

 and the like. The new styles are exceedingly 

 artistic, being, for the most part, copies after the 

 antique in the fine grades of majolica. It is a 

 little bit incongruous, however, to see the fac- 

 simile of a Greek cinerary urn, minus its cover, 

 massed with flaming Chrjsanthemums. Mr. Sie- 

 brecht is the originator of a very prett.v candle- 

 stick, to be used in adorning a dinner table. In 

 shape it is like an ordinary candlestick, flaring at 

 the top into the form of a classic three-beaked 

 lamp; the candle stands in the middle of this, 



while the surrounding bowl is packed with mo.ss, 

 and filled with flowers, so that the candle rises in 

 the center of a boucpiet. The stiind.has a long, 

 slender handle, reaching to the top; it is madeof 

 majolica and is very graceful in appearance. 

 ' The chief objects of interest in floral circles are 

 autumn shows; and we have three very hand- 

 some ones to chronicle. The fli-st was that gi\eu 

 by Mr. Le Moult in the Eden Musee. It diffci-s 

 from the others in that it was purely a show 

 of picturesque effects, and therefore was not 

 to be regarded in a professional or scientifii- 

 light. It was intended to show what could be 

 done by picturesque grouping, and the effect was 

 most charming; a group of Palms in the centre 

 was really beautiful. Professionals were chiefly 

 interested in the plant of Vanda Sanderiana be- 

 longing to Mr. Bush. It had a fine spike of bloom, 

 and though not the specimen for which Mrs. 

 Morgan paid such an extravagant price, it was a 

 good representative. 



Mr. Le Moult's baskets were extremely pretty, 

 and presented one very novel feature; each one 

 contained an inner vessel of water, so that the 

 flowers kept as well as in a vase. A very pretty 

 I me consisted of three baskets.fllled severally with 

 pink, crimson and buff Carnations. Baskets of 

 • hrysanthemums were made up with autumn 

 leaves and stiff, heavy foliage— the only proper 

 and fitting accompaniment for these flowei-s. A 

 great many florists make the mistake of mingling 

 fine Ferns with the Chrysanthemums, with \iiry 

 poor results. This was the prevailing error at the 

 two great shows, the New Jersey Society's at 

 Brick Church and the New York show. 



Mr. Le Moult showed some lovely Corsage 

 bunches at the New York Exhibition; long, loose 

 bouquets of graceful shape. One was composed 

 of Lily-of-the- Valley, with a base of purple Vio- 

 lets; another was a combination of American 

 Beauty and Roman Hyacinths. The handsomest 

 hand bouquets shown were simply mas-ses of one 

 sort of Roses, without any mixture. 



The Langtry cup, given by the great beauty to 

 the New York Society, called out some elaborate 

 work. This piize was offered for the best room 

 decorations suitable for wedding or reception, 

 the display filling a space of thirty by fourteen 

 feet. Suitability and taste were counted as giv- 

 ing more points of excellence than value of 

 plants. The winner of the cup showed in fac- 

 simile a portion of a reception room. There was 

 a door space, massed with Palms, and a little 

 nook, sUghtly furnished, backed with a most 

 graceful arrangement of palms and cycads. 

 The melting green of the palms was the very 

 thing to soften the light in a brilliant room, and 

 the arrangement left nothing to be desired. The 

 other entries consisted of fine plants well ar- 

 ranged, bntthey were lessappro|)riate to a room, 

 though very fine as arrangements of decorative 

 plants. A very pretty arrangement for the table 

 was a low plateau of Roses, Perles, Mermets and 

 Cooks, arranged in three divisions, mingled with 

 smaU Palms and Crotons. Selaginella makes a 

 pretty flat plateau, as a ground for fine Bowers; 

 some florists grow it in flats for this purpose. 



Some very fine Chrysanthemums were shown 

 at Brick Church and New York. Among new 

 varieties, G. T. Moseman deserves a very prom- 

 inent place; it is an immense, wildly irregular 

 Japanese, terra-cotta inside and buff without. 

 Mrs. Frank Thompscm is another immense flower, 

 suitable for exhibition purposes. Cullingfordii 

 is a very good thing, comparatively new; it is a 

 recurving Chinese, with a rich, velvety bloom, 

 and a iierfect ox-blood color. It Ls one of the 

 things no floiist should be without. William 

 Battomly is a very fine white, but the best exhi- 

 bition flower on view was Troubadour, a big pink 

 Japanese; it was the nearest approach to perfec- 

 tion in the ey&s of the judges. 



A florist, who grows the flower strictly for trade 

 purposes, can worry along on about twenty-flve 

 characteristic Chrjsanthemums, but amateurs 

 who have the craze badly will run into hundreds. 

 So far, there are not nearly so many Chrysan- 

 themums offered by the street venders as last 

 year; these sidewalk merchants run chiefly to 

 Roses now. But the Mikado's flower has an as- 

 sured place; everj- one has to grow them, and it 

 is no use to grow poor varieties. 



Papa Gontier is meeting with increased favor; 

 it is a verj' satisfactory Rose. Madame de Watte- 

 ville is another new favorite, though the old 

 stand-bys hold their ground. The last new Rose 

 is the white Souvenir d'un Ami, and a pretty 

 thing too. New Roses have been hardly such an 

 epidemic this season as last. 



Emily Louise Taplin. 



