no 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



«10. Lettuce in the Greenhouse. -To start 

 rightly in this business it is necessary to arrange 

 the details forsoil, etc., during the season before. 

 A light loam, inclining to sand makes a very 

 good soil for forcing Lettuce. It should be well 

 manured by mi.xing with it Yt its bulk of weU 

 rotted stable manure, the spring before being 

 used. It should be thoroughly mixed by being 

 handled several times and having the beneUt ot 

 the summer rains. If the sash or glass can be 

 easily removed, this can be done on the green- 

 house benches. Provided the old soil in the 

 benches is of the right character and can be 

 "weathered " by rerao\ang the glass it will an- 

 swer bv being treated as direcii I ihoM i-oi 

 the locality of Buffalo, it is 

 necessary to sow seed about 

 Aug. 10-15, in order to get 

 good plants for the benches 

 about Sept. 20-25. Advantage 

 should be taken of a rainy 

 spell about that time for 

 planting, as these outdoor 

 plants wilt very easUy. If the 

 weather is dry, watering and 

 shading must be resorted too, 

 to prevent wilting and check- 

 ing the growth. It is better 

 to wait a week or more for a 

 wet speU than to plant with- 

 out rain. Plants should be 

 set about 6 or 7 inches each 

 way for compact growing . 

 sorts. The crop should be 

 kept growing rapidly while 

 the weather is warm so as to 

 be well grown by Dec. Ist, for 

 from Nov. 1st to Feb. 1st is 

 the most difficult season to 

 get growth on Lettuce owing 

 to the lack of sunshine. The 

 pot system of bringing on 

 young Lettuce plants is an 

 excellent one. On the score 

 of transplanting easier it 

 would probably pay to pot 

 the first lot to be planted in, 

 but for all succeeding crops 

 the advantage is great in a 

 number of other respects 

 besides. By the time the first 

 crop is sold in December, 

 there should be sufficient 

 good strong plants in pots to 

 fill the space as quickly as 

 cleaned. These can be had 

 by potting good strong plants 

 about Oct. 15th to 30th from 

 outside. Plant about 7 to 8 

 inches apart this time as, on 

 account of cloudy weather, 

 more room is needed than for 

 the earliest. About Oct. Ist 

 a good supply of seed should 

 be sown in boxes for refilling 

 pots in December, as soon 

 as they are emptied. After 

 this, throughout the winter a - 



lot of seed for the second succeeding crop, should 

 be sown about the time of removing each crop. 

 Before the planting of each new crop, the soil 

 should have a dressing of very fine rotted ma- 

 nure, or some good fertilizer, and be well spaded 

 and worked. For fall management the sash 

 should be left entirely off from the houses until 

 there is danger of frosts, for on no account 

 should the Lettuce freeze, as it will check growth 

 for several weeks. A temperature of about 40° 

 to .50° at night and from 50° to 70° in day time, ac- 

 cording to the amount of sunshine, should give 

 good results; ventilation on all days that the 

 outside air is above freezing and a little air should 

 be given once a week at least, unless weather Is 

 extremely cold. Towards spring when the sun 

 is higher the temperature can safely run up to 

 80° or 85° in day time and need not be much be- 

 low 60° at night, if considerable ventilation can 

 be given. Water only when the soil becomes 

 dry, which will be very seldom from Nov. 1st to 

 Feb. Ist. During March, April and May, a crop 

 can be cut in from three to six weeks from time 

 of planting into beds from the pots, if everything 

 is well done. From May 1st to 15th the benches 

 can be sown to Cabbage and Cauliflower seeds, 

 which will do very well if sash are removed as 

 soon as the plants begin to crowd (this plan, it 

 may be remarked, overcomes the gi-eatest obsta- 

 cle to raising Cabbage and Cauliflower plants, 

 namely the flea. The root maggot also does very 

 Uttle mischief compared with sowings made in 

 the open ground, as , the sash can be kept on till 

 within a week or two of time when plants are 

 ready to transplant, and thus shut out the fleas 

 and I'uaggi )t-fl\- up to that time). Tomato Pepper, 

 Egg-plaiit.i'tc.',can also be raised after theLotr.uce, 

 but should be sown two or four weeks earlier 

 than Cabbage. When setting out the plants from 

 the pots, they should be graded to uniform sizes, 

 or rather, as soon as ten feet or more of bed is 

 cleaned, pick out the largi-st plants in pots for 

 planting, which will give tlic remaining ones more 

 room; be careful to haw all plants of uniform 

 size when planted in bed, .so that when one is 

 ready to cut, they all arc, and the bed can be 

 cleared and replanted the same dav. This is very 

 important towards spring as each day is valu- 

 abfe, for on a sunnv day when the temperature 

 can lie kept from 75° to 80°, the Lettuce will make 

 more growth than in a week in December. After 

 ,Ian. l.'^ith tin- new stands of Lettuce can again be 

 set ilos<'r, say to 6 or 7 inches, if ot the compact 

 sorts. There are a niimlicr of varieties used for 

 forcing. Each market seems to favor someone 

 sort above others; for Buffalo market nine-tenths 

 of the winter lettuce is Hubbard Market, which 



seems better adapted for forcing at the different 

 seasons and also for outdoor growing than any 

 other variety we have tried. This variety seems 

 not to be generally known outside of this vicinity. 

 The price received for Lettuce usually runs 

 from 40 cents to 75 cents per dozen in the Buffalo 

 market, according to season and quality. It 

 averages, perhaps, .55 cents, at which price it is 

 a good paying business, especially if the_^pot sys- 

 tem is handled rightly. Near cities which employ 

 illuminating gas, the coke makes an e.xcellent 

 cheap fuel.— D. N. Long, WlUiammUe, N. Y. 



561. Material for Protection. It the land Is poor 

 perhaps manure. If quite coarse and strawy, would be 

 lii~t if n I 1 It fl k'vnst- t— >', and injure the 



PLUMBAGO CAPENSIS. 



canes. If the plants need manure this would be an 

 economical way to supply it; If they do not, covering 

 with soil would be much the cheapest and is always a 

 perfect one if not left on too late In the spring. It need 

 not, nor should It be thick, just enough fo cover them 

 out of sight. E.'tcept in very severe climates where the 

 snow Is flable to blow away simply laying Grape-vines 

 flat on the ground with anything on them, such as the 

 stakes they are tied to, or a few lumps of soil, is sum- 

 cient protection for them.— D. B. W . 



Some Good Plants for Garden and 

 Pot Culture.— The Plumbagos. 



The subjects of our sketch, even though 

 long-known, have merit In a degree to 

 render them worthy of more general atten- 

 tion than they usually receive. The more 

 valuable sorts are as follows, beginning with 

 one that is probably the finest of the genus: 



Plwmbago capensis, of which we present 

 a spirited engraving, is a native of Africa 

 on the Cape of Good Hope, and is a plant 

 that certainly well deserves a high degree of 

 praise. It is easy of management both as a 

 pot plant and for bedding. Its habit of 

 blooming is free and long continuous, and 

 in its flowers we have one of the rarest and 

 most delicate colors in cultivation, namely, 

 a beautiful lavender-blue. While it is true 

 that the individual flowers last but a day, 

 yet others on the same head for a long time 

 continue to open, so that each head is ap- 

 parently a mass of bloom on the current 

 year's growth. Were it not that the flowers 

 lack fragrance they might be called almost 

 ideal blooms. When this species is well 



grown a shrubby bush some thirty inches 

 high is formed, the appearance of which 

 when in bloom is not easily surpassed. 



The treatment ot P. capensis is simple: 

 Propagated from cuttings, or, better, by off- 

 sets from old plants rooted in bottom heat, 

 small plants can be planted in full sunshine 

 outside, in a soil not too rich, after danger 

 of frost is past. Until cold weather it may 

 be expected to flower with considerable 

 freedom, and then if the plants be lifted, 

 cutting back their shoots say two thirds, and 

 potting in light, moderately rich soil and 

 placed in a sunny situation, with fair 

 warmth, they will give many flowers during 

 the winter. Where this is done, however, 

 it is better each year to start new plants, as 

 these are on the whole more satisfactory. 

 Required for summer flowering only, they 

 may be stored during the winter in a cellar 

 or cool greenhouse, having the roots covered 

 with soil to prevent drying 

 and planting out in spring 

 after cutting back a third 

 or less of the old wood. 



In greenhouse culture 

 good effects may be pro- 

 duced vpith this species 

 by training the plants as 

 climbers. With a little 

 care, it placed in various 

 degrees of heat, bloom 

 may be had steadily the 

 year round. 



PUunhcuio rosco,an East 

 Indian species, requiring 

 more heat than the above, 

 is an old sort, valuable for 

 decoration from its free 

 blooming habit and grace- 

 ful appearance. 



Cuttings are struck m 

 the spring and grovsTi in 

 good light soil, having a 

 cool airy place during the 

 summer in small pots, 

 pinching several times 

 and not allowing them 

 to become dry. As cold 

 weather sets in they should 

 be brought into heat, and 

 then bright masses of 

 pinkish-salmon flowers 

 will soon follow, continu- 

 ing to appear through- 

 out the winter. Where old plants are de- 

 sired, simply keep the stock well cut back 

 to induce young growth, and for several 

 months water can be partially withheld as 

 a sort of rest, then repot and start in heat. 



Old flower stems, if left undisturbed on 

 the plants, will have a second crop early in 

 the spring, not as fine as the first, however. 

 Weak manure water occasionally is of use. 

 P rosea cocfinca is a variety of the last 

 both larger and brighter than the paretit, 

 and excellent for winter decoration. The 

 plant is of free branching habit, producmg 

 panicles of blooms of a deep red color, and 

 nearly two feet in length sometimes, during 

 the whole vrinter. . 



P. Lnrpenta, introduced from Shanghai, 

 by I.ady Larpent, is a dwarf, hardy herba- 

 ceous kind, freely producing flowers of deep 

 blue, changing to violet. It grows from six 

 to twelve inches high and is useful for rock 

 work and sunny borders, as well as for edg- 

 ing beds and walks, being attractive and 

 requiring but little attention. The most 

 ordinary soil will answer its needs. In the 

 colder sections a light mulch at the approach 

 of winter is beneficial. It is propagated by 

 cuttings, or by dividing the roots early in 

 the spring before growth commences, or by 

 seed sown when ripened. Aside from its 

 intense and not common color, this sort 

 ought to be welcomed because of its bloom- 

 ing late in the summer, and when most 

 hardy plants are out of flower. 



