March ii, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



107 



severely as Dendrobiums, Laelias, Cattleyasand the like, which 

 have a reserve in their pseudo-bulbs to prevent any sudden 

 dangers from a longer drought than is necessary. 



Potting should now be attended to, and Laslias, in particular, 

 need working over wherever the peat is sour or sodden. If 

 the plant has settled too low or has overgrown its receptacle 

 it should be repotted. Some will only need a little new fibre 

 tucked under them here and there. L. autumnalis and its 

 varieties which have shown a good start in the roots need 

 immediate attention. After covering the bottom of a basket 

 with potsherds a thick layer of peat fibre should be added 

 with the fibrous material loosely shaken out. After trimming 

 old shoots close up to the stem and cutting out any diseased 

 or bruised pseudo-bulbs, basket them with more peat. If 

 proper-sized pieces of fibre are used and skillfully worked in, 

 little or no wire will be needed. When finished the plants 

 should be entirely inside the margin of the basket and raised 

 above the edge. A little live sphagnum can be used on the 

 top layer when basketed. By all means have the plant firm, 

 the stems not buried, and in a position that allows the devel- 

 oping break to push on unobstructed. When finished, hang 

 up and do not water for three or four days, to avoid any dan- 

 ger of starting decay at the roots. In a week or two baskets 

 may be top-dressed with live sphagnum and watering can be 

 increased. An intermediate house suits these plants and they 

 need abundant light and air, although, of course, they never 

 should be subjected to a draft. If Vanda Catharti has made 

 a good growth and appears healthy, but refuses to flower, 

 bend the stem to an oblique position, and this will sometimes 

 have the desired effect. A light form of Cattleya Schrcederae, 

 with a beautifully marked and wide throat of orange, is now 

 very handsome. The good forms of any recently imported 

 plants can now be gone over and selected. Albinos usually 

 have the outside of the base of the leaf of the same color as 

 the remainder, while the usual forms are mottled with pink or 

 red at the point of attachment. Albinos should be tried a 

 second year before they can be considered lasting. They 

 often assume a pinkish tinge after the first year. 



Missouri Botanic Garden. Elllll Misch. 



Begonia Socotrana. 



"J T is difficult to understand the force of Mr. Miller's remark 

 *■ on page 97 that the effort to cross Begonia Socotrana directly 

 with the fibrous-rooted section would be a waste of time. In 

 B. Gloire de Sceaux (Socotrana x metallica) we have had for a 

 decade a very beautiful hybrid which is valued wherever it is 

 known. B. Bijou (Socotrana x insignis) is also a distinct and 

 pleasing hybrid, perhaps not so well known. Monsieur Le- 

 moine's hybrids Triomphe de Lemoine and Triomphe de 

 Nancy, crosses between B. Socotrana and perhaps B. 

 Roezlii, are interesting plants with succulent stems and 

 rather stiff habit, having very numerous persistent flow- 

 ers. These plants offer much encouragement to hybrid- 

 izers, and it is singular that they have not been followed 

 by crosses with other herbaceous kinds which would be 

 more likely to prove valuable than crosses between tuberous 

 kinds to ordinary cultivators. B. Socotrana was quickly taken 

 in hand after its first flowering in 1881, and though a number 

 of hybrids have been offered by Veitch and Lemoine they do 

 not seem to have become at all common in cultivation. 

 Veitch's productions — John Heal, Adonis and Winter Gem — 

 are not rapidly propagated, and I found Adonis, the one tried 

 here, an obstinate plant. The Lemoine hybrid, Gloire de 

 Loraine (Socotrana x Dregii), has wonderful racemes of flow- 

 ers which persist for many weeks, but the plant is of a rather 

 stubborn character, and it can scarcely be classed among 

 varieties likely to become popular. In fact, it is not clear that 

 tuberous hybrids are desirable unless they prove to be readily 

 reproduced from seed. Tuberous Begonias are short-lived, 

 and, with the exception of B. Marliani, they require frequent 

 propagation from seed or cuttings. In view of such crosses as 

 have been made it would appear that the infusion of the blood 

 of B. Socotrana militates against the latter mode of propagation. 

 Begonia Socotrana is very interesting botanically and horti- 

 culturally. It is distinct, but scarcely as beautiful as many of 

 its interesting relatives, for, among the numerous species and 

 hybrids of Begonias are a great many which, if well grown, are 

 most charming plants both in foliage and flower. They are 

 easily cared for, but, as a rule, the plants have one serious 

 fault. If one may use the expression, their articulations are 

 very unstable, and a sudden falling of temperature, a little gas 

 or carelessness in watering will cause them to shed their leaves 

 and flowers with great promptness. The small-flowered kinds 

 are as handsomeas those with large flowers, and we do not need 



any addition to the size, an illusion or delusion which too often 

 misleads the hybridizer. But if we could have a few additions 

 to the herbaceous kinds possessing some of the stability of B. 

 Socotrana, with little or none of its resting or deciduous habit, 

 they would be great gains and be appreciated by all lovers of 

 greenhouse plants. 

 Elizabeth, N.J. J. N. Gerard. 



Seasonable Greenhouse Notes. 



V\7TTH lengthening days and increasing sunlight greater 

 ' » watchfulness in such matters as temperature, ventilation 

 and watering is necessary. All possible potting should be 

 completed before the spring rush commences, and nothing 

 left undone which may as well be done now as later in the 

 season when other work is pressing. 



The propagation of bedding-plants will now require atten- 

 tion. Coleus quickly roots in a bottom-heat of seventy-five to 

 eighty degrees. If a few old plants have been kept for stock 

 and judiciously pinched in a moderately warm house plenty of 

 cuttings may be procured. The tips taken from these young 

 plants late in the season may be inserted. The old plants are 

 liable to attacks of mealy-bug and should be consigned to the 

 rubbish heap. Alternanthera delights in a warm moist atmos- 

 phere, and nothing equals a good hot-bed for these conditions. 

 We cut our old plants well back, and these give a plentiful sup- 

 ply of cutting's in a week or two. If there is likely to be any 

 shortage of Zonale Pelargoniums, cuttings inserted now will 

 make good plants by bedding-out time. We find the middle 

 of March early enough to start a lot of Madame Salleria Gera- 

 niums ; this variety still remains unequaled for borders. 

 Fuchsias, Lantanas, Heliotropes, Steviasand many other plants 

 require propagating now, and the cutting-bench should be 

 fully occupied. Geraniums which have been carried over win- 

 ter in boxes of sand with only sufficient water to prevent 

 shriveling have recently been placed in two-inch pots in a 

 warm house. These are shifted about April 1st to four-inch 

 pots in which they make neat little plants. 



Cannas are among the most useful of summer bloomers ; 

 this is a good time to start the main supply. We cut the roots 

 up, leaving an eye to each piece and pot in small pots, in light 

 sandy loam. A temperature of not less than sixly degrees 

 should be afforded them, and if bottom-heat can be used it is 

 all the better. A shift into five-inch pots when the smaller 

 pots are well-filled with roots will make good plants by the 

 middle of May. Tuberous Begonias can now be started in 

 boxes of light compost, and should be watered sparingly until 

 well started. These we transfer to pots later on, and we find 

 that tubers started later in the season and planted out from 

 boxes do almost as well. Seedlings make excellent plants 

 the first season. We sowed our seed early in February ; when 

 sufficiently large to handle these are pricked off into shallow 

 boxes, and from these transferred to a gentle hot-bed where 

 they are planted four inches apart each way, in light, rich 

 compost. Strong plants are produced by the first of June. 



Our earliest sowings of Asters and Stocks are now in rough 

 leaf, ready to prick off. Of Asters we find Queen of the Earlies 

 the best for an early crop, while Boston Florists' Stock comes 

 in much ahead of any other sort we have tried. The latter 

 makes a useful pot-plant, and we usually have some in flower 

 for Easter bv sowing in December. The main batch of Asters, 

 Stocks, Zinnias, Phlox Drutnmondi, Gaillardias, etc., we sow 

 about the middle of March. Petunias, Lobelias, Verbenas and 

 a few other kinds are started a month earlier. Salvia splen- 

 dens and its varieties, Compacta and Le President, are so easily 

 raised from seed that it is not worth while keeping any plants 

 for propagating purposes, and seed sown now will produce 

 good-sized plants by the time they are required. As bench and 

 shelf room is now pretty fully occupied, boxes of newly sown 

 seeds can be stood several deep after being watered. This 

 prevents the surfaces from drying and germination is likely 

 to be better better than when the boxes become more dry and 

 require almost daily waterings. Sowings maybe made now 

 of Aralias, Grevilleas, Solanums and similar plants useful for 

 winter decoration. Such seeds as Cannas and Ipomcea nocti- 

 flora hybrida germinate more quickly ifsoaked in warm water 

 for twenty-four hours before sowing. 



Everv one having a glass house plans for an attractive show 

 of flowers for Easter. Easter Lilies constitute the most impor- 

 tant crop and the one most difficult to have exactly on time. 

 We like to see the buds distinctly on I. ilium Harrisi, I., longi- 

 florum and L. candidum when Lent begins, and then, what 

 vagaries of weather may follow, by forcing or retarding, the 

 flowers may be had on time. A good deal of nice calculation 

 is required to get all Easter flowers in at the right time. Green 



