1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



35 



tliiriK with these bulbs after flowering they 

 are then thrown away. 



Immediately succeeding the foregoing, 

 comes the Cyclamen. I have about fifty, 

 mainly of the giganteums, though I know 

 that many say the flowers are sparingly pro- 

 duced and are coarser, with not so compact 

 a plant, nor as fine foliage. It perhaps is 

 true, but they are grand, and if desirable, 

 one can have both sorts. 



Most of my Cyclamen have been raised 

 from seed, which was sown as soon as ripe; 

 the young plants remained in the seed pans 

 until spring, when they were potted off into 

 2'.;-inch pots, in a compost of equal parts 

 loam and leaf mold, with plenty of 

 coarse sand and charcoal. They are 

 grown on until the foliage fades, 

 when they are laid upon their sides 

 until August, and then repotted in 

 fresh compost, placed in a cold frame, 

 and as cold weather comes on, re- 

 moved to the green house; they 

 make good flowering bulbs the 

 second year. 



After tlie colored Hyacinths have 

 finished blooming, they are gradu- 

 ally dried off, and the soil shaken 

 from them; at the proper time 

 they are planted in the garden, 

 where they keep on flowering from 

 year to year, giving much satisfac- 

 tion; my borders now are full of 

 bulbs thus treated. 



After these, the Freesias show 

 bloom; of these I have about ten 

 pots, and I find their cultxire very 

 simple. There may be some little 

 difficulty with bulbs just imported, 

 but I am sure there is none with 

 them afterwards. The great secret 

 of .success I believe, is, as I learned 

 from an English grower, to thor- 

 oughly roast the bulbs after flower- 

 ing, when yet in the soil and pots, 

 by placing on a shelf fully exposed 

 to the sun, there remaining until 

 the foliage is completely withered 

 and the soil dust dry. 



They are then taken down, and 

 laid on their sides under the stage, 

 being left there until potting time. 

 I use the same compost as for the 

 Cyclamens, planting six or eight 

 in a six-inch pot. They are kept 

 in a cold frame until winter sets 

 in, and then brought inside. By 

 this treatment I have had them 18 inches 

 in height,with three or four scapes of bloom 

 from a bulb, and they increase very rapidly. 



Another bulb is the Ixia, and I hardly 

 know of a more quaint and peculiar flower 

 than the variety viridiflora; but I have not 

 been so successful with them, having to pro- 

 cure new bulbs every year, and the tips of 

 the foliage are apt to get discolored. With 

 the allied genera of Babiana and Sparaxis, I 

 however have no trouble, but they are not 

 nearly as handsome as the Ixias, of which I 

 have this year treated some of my last year's 

 bulbs as I did the Freesias, thoroughly 

 sun-drying the bulbs and potting them. At 

 present they look well, but whether they 

 will so continue is the question. 



Tritonias I have no difficulty with; they 

 bloom on year after year, and increase in size 

 and vigor. There are few more satisfac- 

 tory bulbs than the Lachenalias, and I heart- 

 ily endorse all that was said in the last 

 number. They are easily grown, and pro- 

 duce their flowers freely (an object I always 

 keep in view in selecting my stock,) and so 

 being valuable. A pretty way to grow 

 them is in hanging baskets as well as in pots. 



The Alliums are very satisfactory for 

 flowering in the house; their large umbels 

 of pure white flowers coming in early spring 

 make them attractive. Neapoliatnum is the 

 variety most generally used; but I received 



ast year, a variety called Hermelti grandi- 

 florum, which is much superior to it, 

 stronger in foliage, .and larger flowers. 

 Neither of these have the unpleasant odor 

 which belongs to most of the tribe. The 

 compost that I use, and the treatment, is 

 much the same as for Freesias; in tact, I 

 find that for the most of these spring-flow- 

 ering bulbs, this treatment is the best. 



One of the Newer Perennial Plants. 

 Heuchera Sanguinea. 

 There is a genera of low-growing perenni- 

 als found growing all the way from Mexico 

 to near the Arctic circle, and known by the 



To say that the Heuchera is a near relative 

 of the Saxifragas should be to give a good 

 idea of its general value. Take the common 

 Saxifraga samentosa, known as the Straw- 

 berry Geranium by most plant growers, 

 and it is one of our most ornamental house 

 and basket plants; the variegation of the 

 foliage being especially attractive. In the 

 line of hardy plants, there are a number of 

 Sa.xifragas with red and rose colored flowers 

 that appear very early in the season, which 

 rank among the best of plants. From our 

 favorable actiuaintance with them, we also 

 look upon the subject of this present sketch 

 very ho[)efully, believing, as we do, that it 

 may form a desirable aildition to 

 our list of hardy plants. We find 

 it offered in but a single American 

 catalogue, that of the B. A. Elliott 

 Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. 



The 



new Perennial, Heuchera sanguinea, (Flowers deep red.) 



name of Heuchera, which has usually been 

 looked upon as containing only inconspicu- 

 ous weeds, for although their foliage and 

 habit is pleasing, the generally purple flow- 

 ers are small. 



One plant of this genus has attracted some 

 special interest also, from the peculiar pro- 

 perty of the root, which posesses the astrin- 

 gent qualities of alnm in a surprising de- 

 gree, and this one is known, commonly, as 

 the Alum Root (H. Americana.) 



Not many years ago, however, the late 

 Dr. Engelmann, described a species, H. san- 

 guinea, from Arizona, which seems to have 

 been not widely noticed; and this now 

 promises to be one of the handsomest 

 of recent herliaceous acquisitions; from its 

 hardiness, ease of management, and beauty 

 of flowers and foliage, it might yet have a 

 place in every garden. This plant is also 

 spoken of as being especially excellent for 

 planting in .the rockery, doing well also in 

 the cool greenhouse. 



The flowers of this species are of a rich, 

 red color, with foliage dark, faintly marbled 

 with light green. The plants will grow in 

 any ordinary garden soil that is deep and 

 does not contain much clay. They propa- 

 gate in the spring by divisions of the crowns. 

 The general character of the Heuchera is 

 well shown in our illustration, a reprint 

 from the English Gardeners' Chronicle. 



On the Wintering of Pansies. 



BY DANIEL K. HERU. LANCASTER CO., PA. 



To^have fine, early blooming Pan- 

 sies, get the plants a month or more 

 before the usual freezing up of the 

 ground. Choose a place where no 

 water will stand, dig ten inches 

 deep, and work into the soil one- 

 fourth bushel well-rotted stable 

 manure, or one pound fine bone 

 meal per square yard; rake the bed 

 up mellow; then set the plants three 

 inches apart each way, putting the 

 roots well down into the soil which 

 is to be moist. 



Before freezing weather sets in, 

 surround the plants by a frame of 

 boards, one foot high on the nor.th 

 side, and six inches on the south; 

 cover this with lattice of lath nailed 

 three fourths of an inch apart on 

 strips strong enough to withstand the 

 weight of the snow, or sashes may 

 be used, fastened on with a space 

 of one inch left open at the ends 

 of the frame and between the .sashes, 

 to allow the circulation of air, this 

 will save all attention to airing dur- 

 ing winter; if the soil gets dry, 

 water on mild days. 



As spring comes take the lattice 



oflE, but replace during cold spells. 



If sash were used, air freely for 



a week, then remove them to keep 



the plants from growing soft, 



replacing only if the weather gets very cold. 



Plants so wintered are very hardy, antl may 



be planted where they are to bloom as early 



as the bed can be prepared. As Pansies 



must have rich soil, it is well to manure 



such bed heavily in the fall, and dig in 



roughly; work it over in the spring, setting 



tlie plants as above directed. 



Keep the bed moist, and when hot days 

 come mulch, two inches deep with anything 

 at hand, to keep the soil cool. It probably 

 will be necessary to water once a week, and 

 oftener, as the heat increases — do not plant 

 Pansies close to trees, but the afternoon 

 sliade from a building or fence is beneficial. 



SM. The Gnii Flam. The Guii Plum orisrinated 

 with Mr. Hatfaraan, Laiisingbur^f, N. Y., ulxiut 

 .tO years agii, and wa.* first cultivated largely b.v 

 John Goeway (pronounced Guii, Gweli or Gueii), 

 and was called and mostly known under that 

 name. Tree hardy and a \ifforons upright 

 grower, said to be an early and abundant bearer, 

 fruit large, roundish oval, suture slight, skin 

 dark purule with a thick blue bloom; cavity 

 large, with a long slender stalk; tlesh pale yellow, 

 sweet and juicy, with a sprightly sub-acid flavor, 

 n<»t rieh, but good for culinary purposes and 

 market. .Vlmost a tree stone and ripens about 

 Septemlier 1st.— W. H. Arendt, MUsnmri. 



914. Mulberries Fraiting. Downing's Mul- 

 berry produces immense quantities of fruit with 

 me every season, and my tree stands as a single 

 specimen on the lawn with none near it.— C. E. 1'. 



