1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



85 



OrowiDg the Hollyhock as an Annual. For 

 this purpose the seed should be sown now in 

 January, or at latest in February, and the most 

 generous treatment given at every stage of 

 growth. Sow thinly in pans in good soil, giving 

 (JO" or more of heat with something over this at 

 the bottom. When seedlings appear place them 

 on a shelf near to the glass to prevent a spind- 

 ling growth and let tliem occupy the seed pan 

 until March lj>, when thej' may go into 4-inch 

 pots, to remain in these until planted out, beep- 

 ing them after potting a little cooler. With this 

 treatment fine tioweis (if not tiuite so fine as 

 from second year plants) may be expected the 

 same season. The Hollyhock, as a rule, comes 

 quite true from seed. 



A Word for Frames. Growers of vegetable 

 and flowering plants do not as a rule sufficiently 

 appreciate the value of cold frames and mild 

 hotbeds for finishing out the gi"owth of most 

 any kind of jilants before the setting out season 

 in spring arrives. Plants transferred in April 

 from the greenhouse to frames will become 

 more healthy and far more stocky and handsome 

 than they possibly could do if kept in the green- 

 house from that time on. Being comparatively 

 cheap to construct frames may serve most 

 profitably as adjuncts to the greenhouse by per- 

 mitting of the raising of one half more stock 

 than could be done without them andthisshould, 

 through not being crowded, be a half better in 

 quality. Frames are easily managed. This is a 

 good season to provide the sash for such a use. 



Callas. Why don't my sister plant-growers 

 have Callas V Even without their pure and 

 graceful flowers the leaves are elegant, and a 

 great ornament to the plant shelf; but a little 

 study of the needs of the plant will give a suc- 

 cossi()n of flowers for a long time in winter and 

 up to planting-out time. 1 put hen droppings in 

 the bottom of large sized pots, on that, rich 

 meadow earth, then the bulbs, looking as dead, 

 after their summer's rest, as a last year's Cat-tail. 

 After the leaves begin to grow, stimulate, 

 stimulate, stimulate. A CaUa is as hungry as a 

 little.boy. I wish some of our scientific Popular 

 Gahdeninq readei-s would explain why a Calla 

 likes raw oysters. 1 have tried it time and again 

 tucking one or two under the soil each week; in 

 a few days you cannot find them. They easily 

 absorb into the earth, or the plant digests them. 

 At aU events they make splendid blooms. Let 

 othei"s try it.— ^Uiter ijracwus. 



Thermometer Box. At the side of our green- 

 house entrance door we have a convenient ar- 

 rangement for handling the thermometer in 

 the winter. This is shown by the engravings 

 opposite, the lower one of which is a cross 

 sectional view as seen from the bottom looking 

 upwards. Here a is the thermometer attached 

 to the upright board c on the top of which and 

 slanting is attached the roof b. On the board 

 marked e, which is the base of the whole, being 

 secured to the building by screws, are two flange 

 pieces, d cl. Into these flanges the piece c, hold- 

 ing the thermometer and having the roof piece 

 as alluded to, may easily be slid. Then when one 

 desires to consult the thermometer at night by 

 reaching out and taking hold of the roof piece 

 the parts a, 6, c in one, slip up and can be brought 

 quickly to a light inside the door to be read and 

 then returned. The wind has no chance to blow 

 away or otherwise disturb the thermometer. 



Some Sonthern Chrysanthemnms. For some 

 weeks our grounds have been an attractive 

 Chrysanthemum show the like of which has 

 never before been seen, so visitors say. Glorios- 

 um, a fine yellow Jap, was the first to open, but 

 all were more nearly November, than "Octo- 

 ber tiowers." the common name for them here. 

 Blanch Coles, recommended as early, was only 

 medium early and like an Ox-eye Daisy. Tuberi- 

 Uorum seems to be a misnomer and probably 

 should be Tubitiorum, as each leaf is roiuid or 

 tube-like; any way it is an odd variety, rosy 

 maroon in col()r and quite pretty. Mrs. Cleveland 

 is much like it but white, and the flowers I saw 

 (not on our grounds) were inferior. Mrs. Van- 

 naman is probably the finest one we have. It is 

 bright red, tipped and splashed with yellow, and 

 the flowers form great masses that seem almost 

 like one blossom. Diana is a beautiful white 

 and attracts much attention. Many of the 

 varieties lasted well into December.— Henry A. 

 Qi'een, Cheater Co., S. C. 



Thoroaghness with Insects. In cleaning such 

 hardwooded plants as the Ivy, Oleander, Laures- 

 tiuus, etc., and which are quite subject to scale 

 insects, people often are puzzled to know why a 



new lot of these pests show up so soon after the 

 plants have been cleaned of them. Plain enough: 

 the means employed for destroying these were 

 notelfective against the yoimg broods, so small 

 as to escape detection when the plants were gt)ne 

 over. Now to prevent just such vexatious hap- 

 penings we use water in washing plants, that is 

 sharpened to about l-'O" of heat, and by the addi- 

 tion of Tobacco juice to give it a color like weak 

 tea, or else whale oil or common soap to create 

 suds freely. Such a licpiid starts up young and 

 old alike, and the former, if they should not 

 happen to be brushed awaj', Iwcause from their 

 minuteness overlooked, are not likely to settle 

 back at-d thrive. Some advocate the use of hot 

 water alone, we prefer the addition of either 

 Tobacco or soap. The washing thoroughly done 

 then wait a little, after which drench off the 

 strong liciuid with clean water. 



First Greenhouse in this Country. To convey 

 an idea of the advances made in constructing 

 greenhouses in this country an illustration is 

 given of the first known structnre of the kind. 

 The building was erected in lliU in New York 

 citj' on the grounds of James Beekman, the site 

 being the center of what is now .52d street; the 

 sketch shown was made by Mr. B. J. Lossing, L. 

 L. D., in 1852. This style, according to an account 

 before us, gave way to a sort of hooded green- 

 house, with i>artially slanting windows, and it 

 was a great improvement. Then came the lean- 

 to, as it is called, or one with a back wall of 

 brick, 12 or more feet high, with a front wall of 

 4 feet or so, with sloping glass top. This was a 

 vast change for the better, and it was only nec- 

 essary to join two of these together, back to 

 back, to produce the span roof, and except in 

 variations of building, the greenhouse of the 

 present day is the result. The main object of 

 the greenhouse is to admit light— the more the 

 better— and exclude cold. Glass does the one, 

 and fuel the other. With these appliances and a 

 skUled gardener, an atmosphere exactly suited to 

 the wants of a particular plant can be produced 

 with no drouth or winds to destroy. Nature 

 alone rarely shows her produce so faultless as 

 she does with the aid of man. 



Of Course Keep a Diary. Because, three per- 

 sons out of four who start in at the beginning of 

 each year to keep a diary, indulge in skips after 

 a few weeks and eventually quit, is no reason 

 why the fruit grower or gardener should not re- 

 solve at this New Year to undertake it with the 

 idea of keepuis.' at it permanently, for it should 





gJ:5!iLr[Lll i!Jr>II f_>-'^iL li''?!a'r| 

 r— 'i-*t!~ — — — — T """"nT. 



*'fr 



The First Greenhouse Built in America. 



be business to him. That it can be done the 

 writer knows for he has done it year after year. 

 One of the most valuable books on his shelves 

 to day is a dairy kept up on the following plan, 

 and which he now believes is by all means the 

 best plan for a horticulturist's dairy. Instead of 

 starting off with a small dairy such as can be 

 bought at the stationers, he invested in a com- 

 mon well-bound blank book, size 12 by 1.5 inches 

 when open and having 370 pages, or a page to a 

 day. This book served him for four year's, by 

 entering the record for the same date on the 

 same page year after year, keeping the matter 

 for each year well separated from that of the 

 next preceding one. After the first year espec- 

 ially, a diary of this kind becomes a fascination, 

 and this increases with other years for one enjoys 

 looking back to see how the work and the weath- 

 er compare year after year, a thing far more 

 easily done when the record of years is at once 

 under the eye. Of the outright value of such a 

 book no arguments would seem to be needed. 

 Not the least of this is the inspiration to better 

 efforts for the future that arises from seeing a 

 record of the sum of past operations with their 

 attcndcnt results, successful or otherwise. 



New York Flower Notes. 



<_'hrysanthemunis arc over now to the joy of 

 many growers; they have been as fashionable as 



ever, both for decorations and bouquets. At 

 several pretty weddings a screen of these flowers 

 covered the wall, the clergyman standing in 

 front of it while performing theceremony. The 

 bridesmaids usually carried bunches of Chrys- 

 anthemums. The arrangements of these flowers 

 at the various shows around New York were 

 usually of little merit, ami displayed no origin- 

 ality. A big case or jar filled with a hiu'm<inizing 

 mass of Chrysanthemums is very tasteful, but 

 baskets where they are jammed together tightly 

 with the additional insult of light Ferns for gar- 

 niture, utterly ruin their original beauty. 



The original design which received fii*st prize 

 at the New York Horticultural Society's autumn 

 show was the work of John Finn; it contained 

 no flowers whatever. It was an irregular pyra- 

 mid of small foliage plants half buried in Adrian- 

 turn, Little Marantas, Pandanns Veichtii and 

 the like. The whole erection, which was about 

 four feet high, was crowned by a small plant of 

 Anthurium Criptiillinum. It was charming in 

 effect, harmonious in coloring and attracted 

 much more admiration than the pretty but 

 hackneyed baskets of Koses which were in 

 competition against it. 



One beautiful arrangement seen at the Orange 

 N. J., show was a tall trumpet shaped tazza about 

 four feet high. This was loosely filled with Koses 

 mingled with a few smaller flowers with trailing 

 vines hanging over the edge. Such a vase is 

 placed on the floor in a reception room in some 

 prominent position. The high-class florists dis- 

 play very handsome bowls and vases in new 

 styles of French ware for theii- decorations. 

 What is known as "tapestry ware" is new and 

 beautiful. The surface is slightlj' rough and 

 displays bold pijtterns in gobelin colors, giving 

 an effect greatly like tapestry; other Haviland 

 and Limoges ware has a satin cream surface 

 with large figures in dull gold. These vases are 

 loosely filled with fine tiowers. 



Undoubtedly the reigning sensation in the 

 horticultural world is the wonderful new Chrys- 

 anthemum, " Mrs. Alpheus Hardy." All the 

 authorities describe it as the most remarkable 

 and uniiiue introduction of recent years, a \'er- 

 dict in which the general public concurs. One 

 who has only seen illustrations of it, which have 

 all been poorly done, can scarcely conceive its 

 real beauty. The tower is a remarkably pure 

 white, to begin with, and the incurving petals 

 firm of substance. This displays to the fullest 

 extent the strange glandular hairs covering the 

 backs of the petals and it can only be likened, for 

 the fiftieth time, to a snowy ostrich tip. This 

 received special honors at the New York 

 Horticultural Society's show and at Orange, 

 Boston and Philadelphia. 



The prettiest show this autumn, taken all 

 round, was an exhibition of decorative plants 

 held by Siebrecht & Wadley, in the Eden Musee. 

 Quantities of Palms turned the winter garden 

 into a bit of the tropics; there were just enough 

 Chrysanthemums to make a show, and a lot of 

 other good flowers. A miniature Japanese gar- 

 den, arranged on the platform with beds of 

 Primulas and Hyacinths and stiff hedges beyond 

 the little gravel paths, was really very pretty in 

 its prim formality. 



The florists report few notable festivities so 

 far, though they say the season is not really dull. 

 The weddings are over and dinners have not 

 begun; decorations at lunches and teas are not 

 so elaborate as they were. A great many debu- 

 tantes are being brought out, and to the joy of 

 the florists, the fashion of presenting them with 

 bouquets is again revived. A popular girl may 

 receive any number from two dozen to two 

 hundred. They are usually made of Koses, flret 

 quality flowers only being used. Siebrecht & 

 Wadley recently made a very beautiful bouquet 

 for a Chicago debutante, it being sent there by 

 special order. It was composed of Cattleyas, 

 Laelias and Cypripedium Spicerianum with a 

 veiling of fine Ferns 



Some very good American Holly with plenty 

 of berries is to be seen, but the best in the mar- 

 ket is imported. One firm is importing small 

 Holly trees three to five feet high, and covered 

 with berries. There is plenty of English Mistle- 

 toe too. Another very hanilsome E\'crgreen is 

 the so-called California Needle Pine, with \ery 

 long leaves, ft docs not, however, owe its ori- 

 gin to California. Beauties are the most popular 

 Koses; they ranged from fifty cents to one dollar 

 each at retail in December and would go higher 

 at the holidays. 



Emily Louise Taplin. 



