1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



filled with turfy loam; sow thinly, cover 

 slightly, and place jn a warm moist situation 

 as close to the glass as possible. As soon as 

 the young plants are well up and strong 

 enough to handle they should be transferred 

 to other pans or shallow boxes similarly 

 prepared and placed in rows an inch and a 

 half apart each way, and grown on in a cool 

 airy situation until the tenth of May, when 

 they can be removed to the places where 

 they are to bloom. Or the seed can be sown 

 in a cold frame, as above advised, about the 

 first of April, or on a nicely prepared border 

 about the first of May, and the plants re- 

 moved to their blooming places as soon as 

 they are large enough to handle. Under 

 this treatment, however, the plants will not 

 flower so early. 



The following are the varieties briefly 

 described: C. .spcff'o.srt (or A/oisicsi/) flowers 

 of a rosy purple color and the plant which 

 grows about six inches in height is a most 

 profuse bloomer, a native of California. 



C. spcciosa alba is a very beautiful and 

 distinct white flowering variety of the pre- 

 ceding. C. grnndiflara (or discolor) 

 grows about one foot in height, produces 

 flowers of a rosy pink color and is a 

 native of Chili; C. umbellata is an exceed- 

 ingly beautiful variety from Peru, growing 

 about six inches in height, and producing 

 its rich rosy-violst-colored flowers in the 

 greatest profusion. 



A Portable Propagating Case. 



MARY A. NEWCOME, BUREAU CO., ILL. 



I herewith enclose a sketch of a propagat- 

 ing case now in use in my conservatory, and 

 which pleases me better than anything I have 

 ever beforeseen. Water (having an oil lamp 

 below) is the heating medium for the sand, 

 and this is preferable to a body of heated air 

 as sometimes used, a fact that any good 

 propagator will, I think, substantiate. 



In the construction of this case (size three 

 feet by four) a strong board outer case with 

 no bottom is made. A tight-fitting glazed 

 sash should be hinged on, and the woodwork 

 Is in the main finished. Two feet of the lower 

 part is made double with pro.iecting pieces 

 as shown, upon which the water tray rests, 

 and other projections on each side about 

 an inch wide should be fixed inside the 

 frame, and about four inches from the bot- 

 tom, which will hold the sand tray. 



Assuming the frame to be four feet long, 

 three feet wide and two feet deep inside, 

 a tray of fairly stout galvanized iron, three 



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"^ GLASS '^ 







1 



A Ptyrtahle Prnpai/ating Came. 

 feet nine inches long, two feet nine inches 

 wide, and four inches deep should be had to 

 form the water tank, and the one for the 

 sand to be half an inch less than the frame 

 in length and breadth, and about six inches 

 deep. Besides these a kerosene lamp of 

 ordinary form will be necessary to stand 

 under the case to keep the water warm, but 

 not touching the tray standing on a sup- 

 port to raise it to the proper height. The 

 bottom tray is placed in position and nearly 

 filled with hot water. Then the second tray 

 half filled with sand is put into place, and 



the case covered down. The lamj) should 

 be lighted, and after the sand has become 

 warmed the cuttings or seed pans can be 

 placed in, and by regulating the distance 

 between the lamp and the water tray, a 

 proper uniform heat can be maintained. 



Double Gladiolus, and A New Form. 



V. S. MARVIN, JEFFERSON CO., N. V. 



Again this year I have observed Howers 

 with a double .stigma five and .six stamens, 

 and ten petals and one with but two; but 

 the most singular form was caused by the 

 two and a half inches of rainfall early in 

 August. A normal spike has flowers upon 

 two sides, and it requires two or three spikes 

 tied deftly together to present a show all 

 around, with no vacant spaces, but these 

 spikes have four rows, and a single spike is 

 a full bouquet in itself; some of them that 

 have doubled began half way up, commenc- 

 ing just where the rain commenced to stim- 

 ulate the growth. 



Dracocephalus is a most singular form, 

 yellow specked with red, upper petals curved 

 downwards so as to force insects to rub the 

 stigmas with their backs and thus fertilize 

 the ovules, but even this device usually 

 fails, for in order to get seed 1 have had to 

 fertilize them by hand. 



Purpurea seems a hybrid similar to 

 Madam Lemoine with longer flower stalks 

 and slimer growth, but inferior to them. 

 Among my liCmoinei and Lemoine seed- 

 lings, I find similar but handsomer flowers. 



The climate at Watertown seems propiti- 

 ous, for originating the most vigorous and 

 gayest seedlings. It has been a great source 

 of enjoyment to me this fall to watch these 

 opening seedlings, with expectation on tip- 

 toe, and the show has been most gorgeous. 

 Nothing was lacking but fragrance, and I 

 see it stated in a Washington Territory hor- 

 ticultural paper that they have fragrant 

 Gladiolus there. Who knows about this? 

 Where can the bulbs be had? 



The Care of Plants in Winter. 



MISft C. L. v.. CRAWFORD CO., PA. 



Much heat is not so necessary for the 

 welfare of the window garden in winter as 

 many seem to believe. As plants get but 

 little sunlight at this season, they are apt 

 to grow spindling if kept at too high a tem- 

 perature, and red spider will prove most 

 troublesome, unless moisture is provided 

 by keeping a vessel of water on the stove 

 and the plants be frequently sprinkled. 



A temperature of 7.5° through the day, 

 and 4(1 at night, seems most suitable, though 

 even the quite tender ones will endure 

 .3.5° for a short time if the wind is not blow- 

 ing directly upon them; therefore, all 

 cracks or crevices about the windows should 

 be stopped up early in the season. If incon- 

 venient to keep fires at night, the plants 

 may be moved to the center of the room, 

 —when the mercury outside indicates the 

 advisability of such a course— carefully 

 wrapped in papers, and the windows like- 

 wise covered. 



A lighted lamp in the room will do much 

 to prevent a freeze; an ordinary sized one 

 will raise the temperature 5°; for the reason 

 that some houses are warmer than others it 

 is inexpedient to make rules; we must keep 

 an eye on the thermometer. 



There is a large class of plants that require 

 or are benefitted by, an annual rest of one 

 or two months, that may be kept in an or- 

 dinary cellar, through the coldest season. 

 As the catalogues give names, a lengthy 

 list is unnecessary. Even Tricolor and Sil- 

 ver-edged Geraniums and Pelargoniums are 

 not such hot-house plants as might be sup- 

 posed had not our lengthy experience with 

 them proven otherwise. 



Lead Glazing. 

 Judginpr from the attention the subject of 

 lead glazmg is receiving in England it mu.st 

 be possessed of some merit. As is well 

 known, sheet lead is one of the most pliable 

 of metals, and it seems to be in certain ways 

 well adapted for holding glass securely in 

 place on sash bars and ensuring tight joints. 



»»> 



Lead Glazing for Oreenhottses. 

 One of the most simple methods of using 

 lead for this purpose is shown in our illus- 

 trations. The sheet is cut into narrow strips 

 which are bent lengthwise to the shape of 

 the letter T in the manner shown by the 

 left hand cut; annexed. Then the T is in- 

 verted on the sash bar, and small nails with 

 good heads are driven at intervals through 

 it to attach it securely to the bars. The 

 nails easily penetrate the lead, no punching 

 being required. To complete the glazing 

 the panes of glass are placed on the lower 

 doubled part of the metal strip lapping the 

 glass in the usual manner, and the upper 

 edges of lead are folded down over them, 

 being pushed closely down at the corners 

 formed by the laps to prevent the glass from 

 slipping. No tacks for the lights and no 

 putty are required. To replace a pane of 

 glass in case of breakage is far more easily 

 done than when putty and tacks are used as 

 in the ordinary way of glazing. 



1010. Stones in Soil. Many times mischief is 

 done rather than good by the practice of closely 

 removing stones as they serve more than one 

 useful purpose. When laying on the surface 

 they act as a mulch, checking evaporation. 

 Their slow decay and disintegration by the frost 

 and the action of the elements contribute to the 

 replacement of the food extracted from the soil 

 by the roots of plants. Their action is specially 

 beneficial on stiff clay, breaking up and modify- 

 ing its te.xture. Professor Wrightson says ; 

 " Many soils now worked as light lands would be 

 unworkable clay were the.v not lightened up and 

 divided by countless stones." Yet light, stony 

 soils soon dry up, as the subsoil is usually of the 

 same character and the water is soon 

 drained off ; but while the amount of moisture 

 absorljed by the soil ordinarily decreases with 

 the quantity of stones it contains, removing the 

 stones wilt not remedy the evil, as the only effect 

 would be to render the soil shallower. Stones 

 check capillarity in the iiinvard morion of the 

 moisture, and so indirectly retard c\'up(.>ration. 

 However; if the subsoil contains material of 

 sufficient quantity and it is practii-alilc I)j' deep 

 trenching to form a soil of rigtit depth and 

 texture tor plants' growth, then removing the 

 stones might prove an advantage.— Kemle. 



1009. CornflowerB. These belong to the family 

 of Centaureas, which includes many species, 

 among which are the well known tender annuals, 

 C. candissima and C. gymnoearpa. The Com- 

 Hower (C. cyaniis) is also called Bachelor's But- 

 ton and Bluebottle, and is largely grown for the 

 flowers, which bloom in a variety of coloi-s rang- 

 ing from rich blue thrimgh pinks and purples to 

 white. It is justly a favorite garden plant for 

 cutting from, but for pot culture it may be said 

 to be rather weedy looking. In this respect the 

 Dwarf Centaurea (('. {(cprfssai might well super- 

 cede the Cornflower, as it only grows about one 

 foot high and is altogether neater in appearance 

 while having as large flowers of the same rich 

 blue, with broader, silvery hued leaves.— Resile. 



1012. Begonia Eex. The cause was probably 

 defective root action brought about by unsuita- 

 ble soil or injudicious watering. This Begonia 

 likes a i-ather moist atmosphere when making its 

 growth in the spring. With a temperature of 

 5,5° or t)0° from March to ,Iune this fine-leaved 

 Begonia will grow very well, l)ut not without. 

 From now on 50° will he enough with .just keep- 

 ing the soil moist. During March shake away 

 the old soil and put in a pot only large enougn 

 for the roots, using fibrous soil with plenty of 

 sand. Be careful only to water as the soil gets 

 dry, giving good light but not sun.— E. E. S. 



1007. Dividing Fern Boots. As the variety is 

 not mentioned definite advice cannot be given. 

 Usually the best time to divide them is in the 

 spring, just before they stjirt into growth, but 

 some species of Fern do not take kindly to divi- 

 sion and others are not at all injured.— Remle. 



