I 



06 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 420. 



M. ignea, was exhibited in flower last week by Sir Trevor 

 Lawrence, and was awarded a certificate. It bears some 

 resemblance to the last-named hybrid, differing mainly in 

 the color of the flowers, which are yellow, tinged with 

 rose and red-brown. 



Pleurothallis Roezlii. — This, which is one of the most 

 remarkable of the three or four hundred species of Pleuro- 

 thallis known, is represented in the collection of Sir Trevor 

 Lawrence by a very large healthy specimen which was 

 exhibited last week bearing six flower-scapes springing 

 from a cluster of healthy green leaves, the blades measur- 

 ing a foot in length and the petioles six inches. Each scape 

 was a foot long, nodding, and bore about a dozen partially 

 opened, inflated, crinkled flowers nearly two inches long 

 and an inch across and colored deep claret-purple, the 

 color of Veratrum nigrum. English cultivators were first 

 made acquainted with this plant in 1885, when it was 

 shown in flower in London by Monsieur Godefroy-Lebeuf, 

 of Paris. There is a plant of it in the Kew collection which 

 was raised from a leaf of Monsieur Godefroy-Lebeuf's 

 plant, Pleurothallises being readily multiplied in this way. 

 According to Veitch, P. Roezlii was first described in 1862 

 under the name of P. laurifolia, a name which is descrip- 

 tive of the sturdy healthy green leaves of the plant. It is 

 a native of Colombia. 



Cvpripedium nigritum. — Collectors of Cypripediums may 

 like to know that Messrs. Low & Co. have plants of this 

 practically unknown species. It was first described in 

 1882 by Reichenbach from specimens supplied by Messrs. 

 Wallace, of Colchester, who had imported it from Borneo. 

 It has the leaves and habit of C. virens and the flowers of 

 C. barbatum, but smaller, darker, with narrower, paler 

 petals and smaller, more numerous marginal warts. The 

 dorsal sepal is only an inch long. Reichenbach said it 

 was near C. barbatum, but quite distinct. Plants of it have 

 recently flowered in the Clapton nursery, and have been 

 determined by Mr. Rolfe. 



Selenipedium Sargentianum has an exceptionally tall 

 scape, a plant of it now in flower at Kew having a scape 

 two and a half feet high. The flowers are developed singly 

 on the upper portion, and they are about three inches 

 across, yellowish green, with red margins to the segments. 

 It is not likely to become a general favorite. 



London. W. WtllSOtl. 



Cultural Department. 



The Essentials of a Good Lawn. 



nTHIS is the season when we are often asked how to estab- 

 ■*■ lish a good lawn and insure its permanence. Downing 

 names three essential requisites : (1) Deep soil ; (2) proper 

 kinds of grass, and (3) frequent mowing. For this climate I 

 would add a fourth — that is, plenty of water. The air of an 

 average American summer is not so well adapted to the pro- 

 duction of a fine lawn as is the humid atmosphere of Great 

 Britain. There, not so much attention need be given to the 

 richness of the soil, as the moisture takes its place in a mea- 

 sure. But in this country the soil should be deep and rich, 

 with a subsoil capable of retaining moisture, but not in excess. 

 If the subsoil is hard and tenacious it should be well under- 

 drained and trenched, or subsoiled to a depth of sixteen or 

 eighteen inches, so as to create a reservoir for holding mois- 

 ture which may be drawn upon by the plants as needed dur- 

 ing dry times. This matter of subsoiling does not receive the 

 attention it deserves in our climate. Many persons seem to 

 think that if the surface soil is in good condition nothing fur- 

 ther is needed. Such persons should bear in mind that it is a 

 deep soil only which will furnish moisture for grass roots 

 through continued drought, so that the lawn will remain green 

 during the entire summer and autumn. 



Again, too much attention cannot be given to the prepara- 

 tion of the soil before the seed is sown. It should be plowed 

 and replowed, cultivated, harrowed and rolled until the whole 

 is thoroughly pulverized and mixed to a depth of ten inches. 

 This work should be done in the fall, and then the plot should 

 be lett to settle all winter before the seed is sown. The foun- 

 dation will then be firm. This not only makes a compact bed 

 which the tender grass roots need, but it will insure the lawn 



against those little knolls and hollows which are so objection- 

 able in appearance and do so much to obstruct the use of the 

 mower. 



Only two kinds of Grass are really worthy of consideration 

 for this climate. These are Kentucky Blue Grass, Poa praten- 

 sis. and Red Top, Agrostis vulgaris. There are a few others, 

 such as Rhode Island Bent Grass, a finer kind of Agrostis, 

 which may be sown, but it is more expensive and little supe- 

 rior to a good strain of Red Top. A little Sweet Vernal Grass, 

 or White Clover, may be added, but neither is essential. The 

 coarser Grasses, such as Timothy, Orchard Grass or Meadow 

 Fescul, should never be sown in a lawn. They are short-lived 

 and too coarse and stiff to make a soft, velvety carpet. There 

 are many lawn mixtures advertised and sold at high prices ; 

 some of them are good and will make excellent lawns ; but, if 

 analyzed, the best of them will be found to consist mainly of 

 Blue Grass and Red Top, which may be bought in the market 

 for from $1.50 to $2.50 a bushel. 



To seed properly, from two to three bushels will be required 

 to the acre, owing in some measure to the amount of chaff 

 mixed with the seed. This should be sown as early in the 

 spring as possible, so that the young plants may become well 

 established before the hot dry weather of midsummer. The 

 sowing of oats with the seed has been recommended as a pro- 

 tection to the young Grass-plants, but I have never yet found 

 that a strong, gross-feeding plant like the Oat would furnish 

 protection to a delicate, slow-growing one. On the contrary, 

 the so-called protector will rob the weaker plant of its nourish- 

 ment. Red Top germinates much more quickly than Blue 

 Grass, and will furnish all the protection necessary, besides 

 covering the surface with a green coat almost as quickly as 

 Oats will. After the Blue Grass gets its roots well established 

 in deep rich soil it will need no further protection, but will 

 assume entire control in a very short time. 



The third essential is early and frequent mowing. If the 

 grass is allowed to get too large before being cut, the stubble 

 will be too stiff, and we lose that soft velvety character which 

 is only produced by frequent mowing. It is time to begin as 

 soon as the grass is tall enough for the mower to catch it. A 

 few annual weeds which may make their appearance during 

 the summer will do no harm, as they will be kept down by the 

 mower and not allowed to ripen their seeds ; but such peren- 

 nials as the Docks, Dandelion, Plantains and their kind should 

 be dug up as soon as they can be seen, and water must be in 

 constant supply to feed the grass, keep it green and growing. 

 The deep-soil preparation will help to do this, but he is fortu- 

 nate who can draw on some reservoir for occasional irrigation. 

 Where water is always abundant less care need be given to 

 fertilization, otherwise it will be well to top-dress the lawn 

 early every spring with thirty or forty bushels of unleached 

 ashes and three or four hundred pounds of bone-meal or 

 superphosphate to the acre. This will keep the grass in thriv- 

 ing condition. Barn manure is too unsightly, and should not 

 be used except in localities where snow covers the ground all 

 winter, and then it should be raked off as early as possible in 

 the spring. By following out the suggestions given here in 

 providing the four essentials, we may have as fine lawns in 

 this country as they do in England ; lawns which will last a 

 lifetime and be a continual source of pleasure to all who see 

 them. 



La Fayette, Ind. / ■ troop. 



Orchid Notes. 



DENDROBIUM THYRSIFLORUM is usually an easy plant 

 to manage, and yet we often hear of its failure to bloom. 

 While it is growing it should be helped as much as possible to 

 make a strong, unchecked growth until December, when it 

 should begin to rest. In January and February the plants 

 should be dried until the pseudo-bulbs show signs of shrink- 

 ing, and then water should be given. If this is kept up the 

 bulbs ought to be one or two inches long by the middle of Feb- 

 ruary. If dried too completely the buds blast, if kept too moist 

 new growths are encouraged at the expense of flowers. Den- 

 drobium Hookerianum and D. Dalhousianum, in order to be 

 flowered successfully, need more severe drying. It treated as 

 evergreens they flower sparingly. Indeed, I have known 

 specimens of D. Dalhousianum to be five feet high that have 

 not bloomed for years. With a good root-system and large, 

 healthy pseudo-bulbs a little shriveling does not hurt them 

 in the least. 



Vandas which have flowered well have a tendency to give 

 a second crop and should have the stems nipped out. Second 

 flowering will debilitate the plants, and the lower leaves will 

 be lost and those which remain will turn pale. Vandas, An- 

 grcecums, Aerides and Phalasnopses should not be dried as 



