70 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



March, 





PN^C 



I KS.d 



^-^ -. .— - 



When all the autumn leaves were pressed, 



Sighs from the maitlen's bosom came; 

 Her heart with sorrow was oppressed. 



For life was now without an aim. 

 But. as one pleasure takes it flight, 



Another comes and griefs assuaged; 

 The maiden has a new delight — 



In horticulture she's engaged. 

 The upright grand no more she plays. 



The banjo's strings no more she thrums, 

 Enraptured by the latest craze — 



She cultivates Chrysanthemimis. 



—Boston Courier. 



Oh, March ! we know thou art 

 Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats, 

 And out of sight, art nursing April's Violets. 

 —Helen Hunt. 



The plumey Astilbe is in. 



The Lover's Knot is still in vogue. 



One florist forces Clover blossoms. 



Floral muffs is one of the latest ideas. 



How increased sunshine does suit Violets 1 



"Water Lilies are brought from the South. 



The Red Tulip signifies declaration of love. 



Spring Howers have a fascination of their own. 



Flowers nre as gaudy during Lent as at anj'" time. 



Marechal Niel buds sometimes weigh an ounce. 



Would the Forget-me-not really be as pretty by 

 any other name? 



Orchids have taken the place sometime held by 

 Orange blossoms at weddings. 



The exquisite Swanlj' White Violet is a favorite 

 flower for boutonnieres on evening dress occasions. 



Home Dinner Favors. The leaves of the India 

 Rubber Tree, with the name of the guest lettered on 

 them in gilt. They are in use. 



Let our fashionable belles assert their rights, by 

 refusing to carry the monstrous stiff "mushroom 

 Vjouquets.'" Good taste surely repels the innovation. 



To wreath the hand-rail of the stairs with costly 

 Orchids, as on one late occasion was done, seems to 

 be carrying decoration too far. Suppose there be a 

 lame guest present, who needs the rail to lean on. 



Not an Elephant Either. One of the wed- 

 ding presents received at the recent marriage of 

 Princess Marie d'Orange, has a queer sound to 

 American ears. It was from Baron Edmond de 

 Rothschild, and consisted of a splendid collection of 

 Orchids, estimated to be worth 25.0(X1 francs. ($.5,000). 



Have flower lovers noticed how satisfactory is 

 the loose arrangement of some simple kind of a 

 flower in a receptacle of quiet form and color? It's 

 the way we want cut blooms displayed on om* own 

 table. There should also be foliage of the same 

 kind of plant intermixed when possible, Even a 

 few leaves are better than none. 



He Didn't- Young Mr. De L., (in the conserva- 

 tory!— May I i>resent you with a bud, Miss Societie, 

 from this beautiful plants Miss Societie (blushing) 

 —Oh, thank you. You are veiy— Fairy of the 

 Household (tripping in)— I guess papa wouldn't like 

 you to pick any of the flowei-s; they are only rent- 

 ed for this evening.— iV. Y. Sun. 



Some of the pieces at Mrs. Secretary Bayard's 

 funeral, are thus described: At the head of the 

 casket rested a pillow composed of large white 

 Camellias, interwoven with Maiden Hau- Ferns, an 

 offering from President Cleveland. There was one 

 massive cross of purple Violets, with a bunch of 

 Callas bursting from the centre. One pillow was 

 made of Violets, bordered with Lily of the Valley. 



Violets, with their impression of modesty and 

 their sweet clean perfume, are very much sought 

 for the corsage bouquet. These are made up in 

 shaded effects like those of Roses and Carnations. 

 The top of the bunch is composed of the pale Nea- 

 politan Violets, then follow the deeper Marie Louise, 

 and after these the dark purple Czar, and the single 

 Russian Violets. In making up Violets all matting 

 of the flowers should be avoided. The more they 

 show footstalks and foliage the prettier the cluster. 



A floral-gift to new-born babies is quite in order. 

 The cradle, in a small pattern, fifled with bright 

 Roses, and other delicate flowers, stands of course, 

 at the head of appropriate designs. Still there are 

 some othere, quite as suitable, and more dainty. 

 One of these is a pair of tiny silk socks, filled with 

 delicate flowers. They should be fastened together i 



with narrow ribbon. If one contains sprays of Valley 

 Lilies and tlie other Forget-me-nots, and some 

 bright Rose buds, they will be exquisite. 



Smilax in England. When the writer was in 

 Europe, in 1881, he neveronce came across this plant, 

 now so famous in America. Well-informed gardeners 

 there knew of it, if they did not grow it, but again 

 and again when florists were asked about Smilax, or 

 more properly Myrsiphylluin asparagoides^ they 

 had never heard of the plant. However, it seems 

 that our British cousins are slowly waking up to its 

 worth, and some of them now grow and use it 

 judging by this item in a recent issue of the London 

 Garden, on table decorations, to wit: " We find that 

 the Smilax or Myrsiphyilnni aapa ragoides, which 

 is largely employed in table decoration in America, 

 gives great satisfaction here also, and we cultivate 

 a number of plants now, especially to afford a good 

 supply of thriving growths." Americans are entitled 

 to the credit of discovermg the great merits of this 

 plant for decoration purposes. First introduced by 

 the Engli.sh from the Cape of Good Hope as far 

 back as 1702, it was soon discarded. Again it was 

 received at Kew, in 1861, and from there it was dis- 

 seminated American florists being the first to 

 rightly appreciate it. Having been taking lessons 

 in gardening from the English so long, it is some 

 satisfaction to be able, once in a while, to give them 

 points like this one, concerning the use of Smilax. 



Dotanic^lO^cI^et 



Scab on A]ii>le is like mildew, a disease. 



Shelf Fungi four feet across have been found. 



Root fibers are analogous to leaves, being renewed 

 annually. 



Wheat natm'ally an annual, becomes biennial by 

 fall sowing. 



Roots absorb, stems transmit, and leaves digest 

 the plant's food. 



In the main the line of plant migration has been 

 from west to east. 



Because of the bright yellow wood of the Bar- 

 berry, doctors formerlj' administered it for jaundice. 



One Sequoia or Giant tree of Cahfornia which 

 has fallen, measured 31 feet in diameter and 3ti3 feet 

 in length. 



A study of plant distribution, shows a marked 

 tendency in the smaller order of plants, to localiza- 

 tion in a prirtion of the globe. 



It is rumored that Prof. J. M. Coulter, of Craw- 

 fordsville, Indiana, will succeed the venerable Asa 

 Gray, at Harvard College, who desires to retire be- 

 cause of advancing years. 



It is a singular fact, that of the two known species 

 of the Podophyllum or May Apple, one grows here 

 and the other in the far-off Himalaya region. 

 How is this for the theory that different species 

 have descended from the same parent plant, some- 

 thing as varieties have done. 



Mr. Henry Shaw whose well known generosity has 

 done so umch for horticulture and botany about St. 

 Louis, Mo., has founded a school of Botany, endow- 

 ing it with real estate, which even now produces an 

 income of S5,tKX) a year, and turned it over to the 

 city of St. Louis as a gift, it being made a depart- 

 ment of Washington University. 



Mr. Sturtevant, of Bordenstown, N. J., has met 

 with great success in naturalizing the Nelumbium 

 speeiosuui or Sacred Bean of India iu his vicinity. 

 The plant covers about half an acre in a mill pond 

 near his home. Its growth is said to have been 

 marvelous during the past season, as many iis a 

 hundred of the noble flowers appearing daily. 

 This plantation affords in its season one of the most 

 wonderful exhibitions of plant life to be found out- 

 side of the tropics. 



The internal structures of leaves of the same 

 species often varies according to where the plant 

 grows. For example, if it is exposed to the light 

 and air, its palisade cells will be well developed, its 

 fibrous tissues the better marked. If growing m 

 water, the inter-cellular and aerial passages will be 

 large in proportion, and the frame work thin and 

 weak, inasmuch as the water supports the leaf, 

 thus requiring no stiff frame work. Plants of differ- 

 ent species vary a good deal in relation to the effects 

 of air and light on plasticity. 



The Spring-flowering Oxalises are in l>loom. 

 They are among the prettiest of small flowering 

 plants, showing much beauty when the sun shines 

 enough to open then- blossoms. In dull weather the 

 buds have been known to decay, without having 

 once been wooed by a htttle sunlight to unfold. 

 The leaves too, fold at night— a very general habit 

 of the whole family. Mr. Darwin spent many hours 

 of patient watching of the sleep movements of the 



Oxalises, as we may see in what he says of them in 

 "Movements of Plants." 



Ferns. Abundant as these are in the United States, 

 they are vastly more so in tropical America. They 

 reach their maximum concentration amongst the 

 dripping rocks of the higher level of the Andes, the 

 forests of their slopes and ravines, and-the dense 

 humid flats that border the innumerable branches of 

 the Amazon. They require shade and a damp atmos- 

 phere, hence are the most abundant in their native 

 fastnesses, where the sun's rays and the wind never 

 penetrate. The geographical distribution of this 

 order may be summarized something like this: 

 Tropical America, 950 species, (42 per cent, of all 

 known fernsV, tropical Asia and Polynesia, 863 spe- 

 cies, 427 being peculiar; tropical Africa and islands 

 346 species, 127 peculiar; temperate South America, 

 153 species, 21 peculiar; temperate North America, 

 114 species, 37 peculiar. 



pQUJC 



wm. 



This being the People's Paper it is open to all their In- 

 quires^ bearing on Gardening. 



On the other hand, answers to published inquires are 

 earnestly requested from readers. 



The editors and special contributors are ready to do a 

 large share of the answering, but the experience of many 

 being more valuable than of the f etc, however varied that is, 

 and conditions andlocalities being so different, they prefer 

 to receive answers, even several of them to the same qites 

 tion, from readers everywhere. Don't hesitate to write 

 because you may feel you are no fine tcriter; give facts and 

 ideas and the editors will see that they appear in credi- 

 table shape. 



In writing, give the number of the question you are an- 

 8W<ering: your locality and iiame, the latter not for publica- 

 tion unless you desire. IVrite only on one side of the paper 



Flowers will be gladly named provided first, that no more 

 than three be sent at one tiine. Second, that these be fully 

 prepaid. Third, that several specimens of each reach us in 

 good shape. We cannot undertake to name fiorista^ varie-^ 

 tiest 



36.— Petunias. What makes the leaves of a 

 young growing Petunia curl back, and then the 

 plant itself collapse later? What is the best soil? 

 Mrs. L. S. H. Graffan. 



37. —Propagating Roses. What is the best meth- 

 od of Propagation / Can Hybrid Perpetuals be 

 raised from seedy G. Q, S. Mass. 



38.— Violet not Flowering. Mine is seven 

 months old and thrifty, l>ut does not bloom. Who 

 will tell me why? Flora. Holliaton, Mass. 



311 — White Worms in Pots. How can I prevent 

 those minute worms doing injury in the flower pots? 

 How can I destroy them? Maria, 



40.— Camellia. How old must a Camellia Jap- 

 onica be before it blooms y What treatment ought 

 it to receive? Maria. 



41 —Geraniums. I would like to know of a sure 

 way of keeping through the winter, in the cellar? I 

 mean such as have grown in the garden all sum- 

 mer, and are too large for pots? Heretofore, I have 

 lost every one in the cellar. Maria. 



42 —Sword Fern. Are the plum-like growths in 

 the Sword Fern poisonous? E. G. O. 



43.— Hardy Plants for Shade. Please ask m your 

 Inquiry Column for a list. E. D. R., Flushing., N. Y. 



44 —Books. Will you give a list especially adapt- 

 ed, with information, for window gardening and 

 for tht- house conservatory. Mary L. Disbrow. 



45 —Conservatories. I would be glad to see an 

 article on these, their size, location, arrangement 

 and conveniences as best adapted for "non-profes- 

 sional "■ care and for the home. Mary L. Disbrow. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES 



;J8 —Violet not Flowering. The trouble is you 

 have kept the plant too close and warm The run- 

 nel's must also be kept down. A. H. E. 



25.— Tacsonia. -L G. H. will find Tacsonia's grow 

 easily from seed, but they are long coming up. Sow 

 in early spring, in a temperature of 60°, here to be 

 kept until the plants are 3 feet in height. — Mrs. R. 

 W. B., West Eaton, Pa. 



■iS. -Hardy Plants for Shade. On our place the fol- 

 lowing succeed well in a shady yard: Sweet Violets, 

 Dicentra or Bleeding Heart, Bloodroot. Trilliums, 

 Hepaticas, some Campanulas, Vinca, Moneyvine. 

 several of the Herbaceous Spirses and Saxifrages, 

 among plants; Tree-box, Privet, Ivy, Daphne and 

 Kahnias, among hard wood growths. A. H, E. 



31.— Bouvardia. This plant is not strictly a per- 

 petual bloomer. By growing young plants during 

 the summer, keeping them bushy by trimming 

 back occasionally, they will, with careful lifting 

 and handling, flower very freely at intervals later, 

 under glass. W. H Bauks, Galesburg, JU. 



:35 —Puny Fuchsias. We advise cutting in and 

 shifting backwards (see note on page 05, this issue) 

 into light, rich soil: if of decayed turf, with fine old 

 manure and sand added, the best results may be 

 expected. Eds. P. G. 



33. Puny Geraniums. I would encourage the 

 sprouts to gi'ow, and later cut away the parts with 

 small leaves. Root seems to be in better order than 

 is the top. Mrs. H. M. Garton, Willo^ighby, Maine. 



