8 4 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 418. 



Two men, however, broke away from the current tradi- 

 tion, and with conspicuous success. One of the first of 

 these was Joseph Cooper, gardener to Earl Fitzwilliam, at 

 Wentworth (1835). A still bolder innovation was adopted 

 shortly afterward by Paxton, at Chatsworth. In both cases 

 the essential innovations were lower temperature and in- 

 creased ventilation. The old tradition still, however, held 

 its ground ; plants perished under the barbarous treatment 

 they received in the hot-houses of this country almost as 

 fast as they were imported. To such an extent were the 

 losses felt that Lindley, in a remarkable article published 

 in The Gardeners' Chronicle toward the end of 1859, pro- 

 nounced their treatment " a deplorable failure," and which 

 Mr. Bateman also some years later characterized as " in- 

 credible folly." 



Even within the last twenty years considerable advance 

 has been made in the art of Orchid culture. We now 

 recognize that fresh air at all times is essential, that many 

 Orchids enjoy bright sunshine, that while some require 

 plenty of moisture all the year round, others require it only 

 for a portion of the year, and that some even thrive only 

 when treated as if they were Cacti. The temperature for 

 exotic Orchids varies from a purely tropical to that of a few 

 degrees above freezing point, and while some species 

 during growth are kept in a hot steamy atmosphere, and 

 after growth is completed are removed to comparatively 

 cool and dry conditions to afford them a rest, others suffer 

 if the conditions are not fairly uniform all the year round. 



London. W. WalSOIl. 



New or Little-known Plants. 

 Viburnum erosum. 



THIS is one of a small group of North American and 

 Asiatic Viburnums whose leaves are furnished with 

 small linear stipules. It is a stout shrub five or six feet in 

 height, with slender much-forked branches covered with 

 orange or reddish brown bark. The leaves are oblong- 

 ovate or oblong-obovate, acuminate, gradually narrowed, 

 wedge-shaped and often unequal at the base, erose-serrate, 

 with slender spreading rigid teeth, stellate-pubescent, mem- 

 branaceous, dark yellow-green on the upper surface and 

 pale and rather lustrous on the lower, and rusty-pubescent 

 on the under side of the thin midribs and in the axils of the 

 remote primary veins ; they are from two to three inches 

 in length and from an inch to an inch and a half wide, with 

 stout pubescent petioles about a quarter of an inch in 

 length. The flowers appear in May in lax pubescent long- 

 stalked corymbs about three inches across, with linear- 

 lanceolate scarious reddish bracts and bractlets. The 

 corolla is rotate and greenish white, with rounded lobes 

 about half as long as the stamens. The fruit is red, with a 

 flat stone, slightly thickened and obscurely two-ridged on 

 the back, and furnished with a short mucro at the apex. 



In Japan Viburnum erosum inhabits the southern island 

 of Kiushiu and southern and central Hondo, where it is not 

 rare at elevations of three or four thousand feet above the 

 sea in the mountain districts crossed by the Nakasendo ; it 

 also inhabits Formosa, southern and central China and 

 Corea. 



Viburnum erosum* has been cultivated in the Arnold 

 Arboretum since 1880, having been received in that year 

 from the Parsons' Nursery in Flushing, Long Island ; and 

 the flowering branch in the illustration on page 85 of this 

 issue is from a specimen grown in the Arboretum ; the fruit 

 represented on the plate is from a wild Japanese specimen. 

 Of considerable interest botanically, Viburnum erosum is 

 less desirable as an ornamental plant than several of the 

 North American and Japanese species now to be found in 

 gardens. C. S. S. 



* Viburnum erosum, Thunberg, Ft. Jap,, 124 (1)784). — De Candolle, Prodr., iv., 

 327. — Maximowicz, MtH. Biol,, x., 666. — Franchet& Savatier, Eniun. PL Jap,, i., 200. 

 — Hemsley, your. Linn. Soc, xxiiL, 351. 



Viburnum erosum, var. Formosanum, Hance, Ann. Set, Nat. sth; 5, v., 216 (1866). 



Viburnum dilalatum, B. Formosanum, Maximowicz, /. c, 666 (1880). 



Cultural Department. 



Vegetable Notes. 

 A LTHOUGH the cultivation of Cucumbers during the win- 

 •**- ter months is somewhat troublesome, they are compar- 

 atively easy of management during the longer and brighter 

 spring days. Plants from seeds sown at the end of February 

 will give a supply of fruit from about the middle of April until 

 plants outside begin to bear. The starting of seeds is some- 

 times troublesome on account of damping off just after germi- 

 nation has begun; this can be prevented by careful planting. 

 A little study of the habit of the seed will show that the embryo 

 breaks through the shell at the point or thin end, the root 

 being first produced. The seeds should be set so that the 

 root can go directly down into the soil and the top shoot 

 upward. If the seeds are sown at random the little plant, after 

 germination, is sometimes in a position from which it cannot 

 extricate itself. They should be sown in small pots in a light 

 sandy soil and placed in a good bottom-heat ; as soon as the 

 plants are up they should be removed to a light situation 

 near the glass, but shaded from strong sunlight. They must 

 be shifted into larger pots as soon as they are strong enough, 

 using a heavier soil than before, and which the roots will 

 now be able to take hold of. When planted into their permanent 

 quarters a few tobacco-stems spread about will help to keep 

 off the black fly, which is always a ready enemy. It is neces- 

 sary to keep the atmosphere moist and to syringe twice daily 

 on bright days, but the syringing must be done lightly, as the 

 leaves are tender and easily damaged. On this account smok- 

 ing should never be resorted to as a means of destroying the fly, 

 but if this pest becomes troublesome fresh tobacco should be 

 spread over the pipes and sprinkled with water. This should 

 be done when the pipes are warm and the house is closed. 

 A night temperature of sixty degrees is sufficiently high, 

 with a rise of fifteen degrees through the day. The plants may 

 be slightly shaded to advantage when the sun is bright. We 

 have tried several varieties, but find none equal to Telegraph 

 for quality, productiveness and free growth. 



A sowing of Cauliflower seed for frame work should be made 

 toward the end of February, and the last batch should be planted 

 indoors. It is not advisable to plant indoors any later, as the 

 bright sunlight proves too much for them after the beginning 

 of April. No matter how carefully they are watered and aired 

 after that date the plants will flag on bright days. This flag- 

 ging has the effect of injuring the quality and reducing the size 

 of the head, and also induces a number of heads to come hard 

 and open and unfit for table use. While in frames the plants are 

 not subjected to the same drying influences andean have more 

 air by removing the sashes during favorable weather. If the 

 soil in the frames has already been used for a similar purpose, 

 about a foot of it should be removed and replaced with well- 

 enriched fresh soil. For this, as for greenhouse work, the 

 dwarf varieties, such as Snowball and Dwarf Erfurt, should be 

 chosen, since they give the best returns in the least space. 



Sowings of Boston Market and Tennis Ball Lettuce should 

 be made in flats for planting in frames later on, and of Golden 

 Queen for indoor work. We find this latter variety resists heat 

 better than any we have yet tried and can, therefore, recom- 

 mend it to keep up the supply. During the winter months it 

 can be grown at a night temperature of fifty degrees, while 

 such varieties as Rawson's Hot-house and Boston Market do 

 better ten degrees lower. The latter varieties would probably 

 take from ten to twelve weeks to mature, while Golden Queen, 

 at a night temperature of fifty degrees, can be had fit for use 

 in eight weeks from the time of sowing. It also does well at a 

 lower temperature, though the growth is correspondingly 

 slower, and it is questionable if it pays to maintain a high temper- 

 ature for Lettuce during winter, except in cases of emergency. 



Early Warwick and Red Valentine Bush Beans still prove 

 the most suitable varieties. Successive sowings may be made 

 in benches or in pots. They are convenient in pots during the 

 spring months, as they can be shifted about to economize space 

 in the benches. The Beans are sometimes hard to start for 

 lack of bottom-heat, but the pots can be set directly over the 

 pipes, and if kept well supplied with water the seed comes up 

 quickly. Ten-inch pots are a convenient size. They should be 

 only two-thirds filled with soil when the seed is sown, the 

 other third being added after the plants are large enough to 

 permit of it. Five or six plants are enough to a pot of this 

 size, but it is better to sow plenty of seed and thin out after the 

 strongest plants can be selected. If subjected to a dry atmos- 

 phere red spider is apt to be troublesome, but syringing may 

 be freely practiced, and this will help to keep the plants clean. 

 A light situation and full exposure to sunlight suits them best. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. William Scott. 



