136 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 423. 



young they should be shaded from the direct rays of the sun. 

 The bulbs should be set with the crown or upper part even 

 with or a little above the surface of the soil. In all transplant- 

 ing or repotting of this bulb the roots must be disturbed as little 

 as possible. 



For the first six months the bulbs grow slowly, but after- 

 ward they increase in size more rapidly, and will bloom — if it 

 is their season of bloom — when about one inch in diameter; 

 and will increase in size and blooming power as they grow 

 older. A mature bulb, say three inches in diameter, will bear 

 hundreds of flowers in a season, producing from twenty-five 

 to fifty at once, and continuing to bear thus lavishly for 

 about three months each season. 



The Cyclamen comes into flower in January or December, 

 though seedlings at their first blooming season may be some- 

 what later than this, and they will bloom if they have been well 

 cared for when a little less than a year old. The plants require 

 considerable moisture, but the soil should not be be kept wet, 

 — that is, not saturated with water. Excessive moisture would 

 be fatal to the seedlings. Neither must they be allowed to 

 become dry, or their growth will be checked. They do not 

 require great heat. An even temperature of about sixty de- 

 grees will produce the best results. During the summer 

 the seedlings may be kept upon a porch, or on the north side 

 of the house where they will get the morning sun only. They 

 should be washed or sprayed occasionally to keep down the 

 red spider, which sometimes attacks them. 



The plant has a neat, dwarf habit of growth, and bears its 

 flowers, which are white, pink blush, red, or striped and mot- 

 tled, on slender stems well above the foliage. After blooming, 

 the bulbs require a season of rest, and water should be par- 

 tially, but never wholly withheld, until it is time to repot them, 

 in late summer, for winter use. 



This plant is best propagated from seed, though some have 

 succeeded in growing it from large leaves. The stem of the 

 leaf is placed in water in a sunny window, and after a time a 

 small bulb may form on the end of the stem, which is then 

 transferred to suitable soil and treated as a seedling. 



Seedlings do not always resemble the parent plant in the 

 color of their flowers, and often new and valuable varieties 

 are produced. It is this element of chance that helps to make 

 the growing of bulbs from seed such a fascinating pastime. 



Considering the number of its flowers the Cyclamen does 

 not seed freely. When the seed is ripening the stalks bend or 

 curl down until the seed-pod rests on the soil. 



South Kankanna. Wis. Beth Day. 



Hippeastrums. 



SOME new Hippeastrums, now in bloom in the greenhouses 

 of H. H. Hunnewell, Esq., Wellesley, Massachusetts, are 

 remarkable for immense size and fine coloring. They came 

 from Messrs. Veitch, of London, and the selection being 

 left to them there is no doubt they represent the highest 

 attainment of the hybridists' art up to this time. They are 

 certainly great improvements on the older kinds. These nov- 

 elties are altogether free from the green lines and reticulation 

 on the petals so commonly seen in the earlier hybrids. 

 Messrs. Veitch grow their plants in houses specially con- 

 structed for them. They are potted or top-dressed, as need 

 be, immediately after the flowers fade. They are continued 

 in a fairly high temperature, with abundance of water — man- 

 ure-water alternating frequently, until the annual growth of 

 leaves is fully matured. After this less and less water is given ; 

 but it should never be altogether withheld. The leaves will fade 

 away, but may not do so entirely. Some hybrids remain with 

 considerable green all the year round, and common sense 

 suggests that these have slightly more water. Hippeastrums 

 respond to artificial hybridization so freely that several garden- 

 ers hereabout are growing large numbers of them with pleas- 

 ing results ; for while they may get few which come up to the 

 highest standard, there are, nevertheless, many highly decora- 

 tive varieties which are useful at all times in winter. These 

 seedlings are grown without rest until they bloom. The 

 majority will bloom at two years, but probably the better 

 varieties will need to be grown three years before they flower. 

 Where a special house is provided, cocoanut fibre or litter is 

 used as a plunging material. These imported varieties had 

 made roots over the edges of the pots during last season's 

 growth. In houses specially constructed for them it makes no 

 difference whether the roots are in the pots or outside, for the 

 plants bloom where they grow. With our facilities it is dif- 

 ferent ; where no general collection is grown no special cul- 

 ture can be given. 



Hippeastrum Johnsoni is one of the earlier hybrids. 

 Although the flowers are small, by comparison, it is still a 



handsome kind. A neighbor who grows it largely for market 

 succeeds well by plunging the deep flats in which he grows 

 them out-of-doors for the summer. This suggests the idea 

 that raising Hippeastrums might become part of the bulb 

 industry proposed for the south. Some few are already 

 offered by Californian growers, but, as far as I have seen, they 

 are quite common kinds. A few of the choicest types should 

 be imported as a basis to work on. My experience with the 

 few I have is that they are hardier than is generally supposed. 

 By an oversight some pans were left out last year until the 

 middle of November. What few leaves remained were cut off 

 at once, but the bulbs were uninjured, and they have flowered 

 well this winter. 



Mr. F. L. Harris, gardener of Mr. H. H. Hunnewell, exhib- 

 ited a collection of Hippeastrums at a recent meeting of the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and received honorable 

 mention for them. The most noteworthy were Calabar, scar- 

 let, with orange shading and crimson reticulation. The flow- 

 ers were eight inches across and finely recurved. Olympia 

 resembles Calabar, except that the markings are better defined. 

 The flowers are equally as large, but not so finely formed. 

 Madonna is a most chaste and beautiful variety. It is creamy 

 white, with light scarlet pencilings. The petals are wavy and 

 finely revolute. Fresca is crimson, with maroon lines and 

 reticulation. It is the best of all the dark-colored varieties. 

 The flowers are eight inches across and beautifully formed. 

 Cupid is the gem of the group. The flowers are creamy white, 

 with a heavy reticulation ot crimson. They measure six 

 inches across and are finely formed. The habit is dwarf, and 

 the plant bore two large scapes of four flowers each, in a seven- 

 inch pot, showing high culture. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Seasonable Suggestions. 



ALTHOUGH April is close at hand, winter still reigns, and 

 practically nothing has been done in the garden. We 

 might attempt some pruning, but, with the exception of Grape- 

 vines, which should be pruned before the frost leaves the 

 ground, it is better to leave shrubs until the weather is settled. 

 Especially where the ground is heavy, much harm may come 

 from treading on it. Roses of the Hybrid Perpetual kind will 

 need cutting below the frozen growth. In varieties such as 

 La France and other hybrid Teas it is best to leave on as much 

 sound growth as possible, and Paui Neyron, Ulrich Brunner, 

 Marie Baumann and the majority of sparsely thorned varie- 

 ties also. As a rule, the heavily thorned varieties will bear 

 harder pruning. The Prairie Rose, Scotch, Persia, Dawson 

 and rambling Roses, such as the Multiflora group, need no 

 more pruning than is required to clean off decayed growth. 

 Hydrangea paniculata and all other flowering shrubs which 

 bloom on the current year's growth may be spurred well in, 

 and Yellow-barked Willow and Red Dogwood will be brighter 

 in the autumn if pruned yearly ; but spring-flowering shrubs 

 should not be touched until past blooming, beyond clearing 

 away dead growth, and, in fact, this is all that is necessary at 

 any time. Climbing plants need looking over and bare spaces 

 covered. Wistarias which have covered their allotted space 

 should not be allowed to develop useless canes. All slender 

 spiny shoots with light-colored bark must be cut away. Cle- 

 matis paniculata may be cut back to within five or six feet of 

 the ground and tied into shape. This yearly pruning keeps 

 the vines well clothed below, where there would be only con- 

 gested growth from the live tips. All planting of trees and 

 shrubs should be done early, as drought too often quickly fol- 

 lows the breaking of winter. There should be at least a yard 

 of good loam to every plant, and this can only be counted upon 

 to last a year or two, before the area of deep soil will need 

 extension. If herbaceous borders need replanting or filling 

 from the reserve garden this work must be done at once. The 

 common practice of digging borders in spring is objectionable. 

 It is a work needing extreme care, and is seldom done in a sat- 

 isfactory way. We only clear away leaves and litter remaining 

 from the top-dressing of manure lain over winter. The rock- 

 garden is still frost-bound and covered with pine-needles, but 

 as soon as practicable it will be cleaned and receive a top- 

 dressing of lawn fertilizer. This mixture we have found to 

 answer perfectly, having discarded barnyard-manure in its 

 favor. The latter carries too many weed-seeds, and as only 

 hand-weeding is practicable, the work of keeping the place 

 clean is quite tedious. 



Spring-bedding must be prepared for. Pansies, Forget-me- 

 nots, Silene pendula and Daisies are used in masses with bet- 

 ter effect than in mixed beds. Dutch bulbs have been used, 

 but these are short-lived and seldom satisfactory, as it is hardly 



