January 4, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



named being the stronger-growing of the two, and having 

 leaves some two or three inches long, bright green above and 

 reddish beneath, witli pink flowers, produced in clusters. C. 

 floribunda is smaller in all its parts, the flowers being white or 

 pinkish, and the leaves dark green, the plant making a com- 

 pact little bush and flowering most abundantly. Both are very 

 readily propagated by means of cuttings, and of the easiest 

 culture. 



Tabernaemontana Coronaria and its double form are also 

 desirable plants for a warm conservatory, their pure white 

 and fragrant howers reminding one of small Gardenias. The 

 plants also bear some resemblance to Gardenias, the foliage 

 being very bright and glossy, and, as cuttings root readily, 

 there is but little difficulty in securing a stock. 



Holmesburg, Pa. ^- H. TupHn. 



Diseases of Gloxinias. 



TOURING the past season Gloxinias in France have been con- 

 ^-^ siderably injured by various diseases. The exact nature 

 of the troubles does not seem to be very well understood, as 

 some are supposed to be due to fungi, and others to bacilli. 

 The remedies proposed are not always efficient, but good re- 

 sults appear to follow the use of some of them. The presence 

 of so much disease can partially be explained by the fact that 

 when the young plants are moved from the propagating-house 

 to their flowering quarters the sudden change in temperature 

 weakens them and lowers their powers of resisting disease. 

 The change should be made as gradual as possible. Another 

 suggestion is found in the fact that Gloxinias which are 

 grown in new houses, or in houses before unoccupied by 

 them, are quite free from disease, while their successful culti- 

 vation is an utter impossibility in houses which have been 

 filled by them year after year. Great care in growing only 

 healthy plants will undoubtedly soon become a very important 

 factor in their cultivation, for these plants now appear to be 

 the prey of an ever-increasing number of enemies. 



Eugene Vallerand mentions four diseases of Gloxinias in 

 Revue Horticole, and gives brief directions for combating 

 them. One disease that has occurred more or less during the 

 past thirty years is known as the grise. It attacks strong as 

 well as weak plants. It first appears in the form of spots upon 

 the leaves ; these extend, and the bloom is soon destroyed. 

 Finally the entire plant succumbs. In some places this disease 

 is so serious that the cultivation of the plant has been given 

 up. No good remedy has yet been recommended. 



Another disease, which is sometimes very serious, is fre- 

 quently found in the fall upon plants which were started in the 

 spring. It is first seen when the nights begin to get cooler. It 

 works upon the foliage, and appears to dry it, so that it soon 

 becomes very britde. The disease spreads rapidly, and in a 

 few days will attack many frames in which the plants are kept. 

 The best remedy is to keep the plants in a warm temperature, 

 as the trouble, at least, is partially due to cold. 



Gloxinias are also subject to the attacks of a third disease, 

 but this is much less serious. Like the preceding, it is found 

 upon grown plants, particularly when in full bloom, but only 

 in certain places. The stem of a branch, leaf or flower is sud- 

 denly attacked by a rot, and unless something is done the de- 

 cay will extend to the centre of the diseased part. The remedy 

 is to cut away all unhealthy parts as soon as the injury is 

 discovered. 



The fourth disease is also a rot, found principally upon ma- 

 ture plants. The stems blacken and decay, and the entire 

 plant soon succumbs. All diseased parts should be cut away. 



Cornell University. E. G. Lodeman. 



Irises and Their Cultivation. — III. 



T N March or early April, the Persian Iris, I. Persica, begins to 

 ■*■ open its flowers while the leaves are still inconspicuous. 

 This is an old variety known to Parkinson as the Persian 

 bulbous Flower-de-luce. While interesting and of a dainty 

 order of beauty, it is quite inconspicuous in a border. The 

 color is a very pale blue with a very dark purple blotch 

 at the end of the blade of the falls, and it has an orange crest. 

 It is extremely dwarf, and, in an unfavorable season, will 

 scarcely clear the surface of the earth, where it appears as an 

 Orchid-like waif, apparently too frail for its exposed position. 

 With genial weather it will rise two or even three inches above 

 the soil. 



Iris Caucasica blooms at the same season. While it is a 

 distinct type, the form flowered by me has little garden value, 

 the flower being a dull washy yellow. There are said to be 

 flowers of a more satisfactory hue. Iris orchioides is a species 



very close to I. Caucasica ; with this and f . Sindjarensis I have 

 had but little experience, the bulbs not yet having flowered. 

 These Irises are all of the same botanical section. They have 

 thick, fleshy, persistent roots, and for tliis reason should not 

 be moved unnecessarily or kept out of the ground long. It is 

 said they do well in a soil rather more stiff and moist than the 

 other bulbous kinds. 



The Vartans Iris (I. Vartani), from Palestine, seems a hardy, 

 reliable producer of long, green leaves, but as it is due to 

 flower in November, it must either be removed to shelter or 

 await the opportunity of a mild season to show its flowers 

 here. I. Tingitana is also one among several others of the 

 bulbous Irises the flowers of which have so far eluded me. 



Iris bulbs may be secured in late summer, being mostly dor- 

 mant in August. These are known as summer-ripe bulbs in 

 the gardens. It is, of course, good practice to plant them as 

 soon as secured, burying them in an envelope of sand. It is 

 well to plant the early-flowering kinds where they will besome- 

 what retarded, if possible, but it is difficult to find a warm and 

 rather dry spot where they will not come on in the first warm 

 spell of the year. After flowering, the greatest care must be 

 taken to ripen them up for the next year by preserving their 

 foliage in growth as long as possible, as on this will depend 

 their successful flowering another season. 



The Snake's-head Iris (I. tuberosa), or, properly, Hermo- 

 dactylus tuberosus, while neither bulbous, nor properly an 

 Iris, is curious and interesting with its greenish falls and 

 deep brown markings. It is, however, of little garden value, 

 and by no means a reliable flower-bearer in this section. 

 «The Mora^as and Vieusseuxias, which in the garden are 

 rated as Irises, are, properly, greenhouse-plants, though, in a 

 favorable season, the Peacock Iris (I. pavonia) will live out and 

 flower in this latitude. This variety is a gem for pot-culture ; 

 its small flowers, though fugacious, are beautiful with the 

 white falls and curious peacock-blue eye. Even more fuga- 

 cious are the flowers of Morsea iridioides (I. mora^oides), 

 though the charming little pale lilac blooms, with broad falls and 

 high standards, are miniature fac-similes in form of the large- 

 bearded Irises. The strongest-growing plant of this section is 

 M. Robinsoniana, the flowering of which at Kew was illustrated 

 in Garden and Forest (vol. iv., p. 355). The timeand attention 

 given to the culture and flowering of this plant also illustrates 

 the fact that in the garden patience is often necessary. To the 

 fancier of odd choice flowers the Moraeas and Maricas, a group 

 with Iris-like flowers, are very interesting, and will repay the 

 trouble of cultivation. They are fairly numerous, as the list of 

 names in the catalogues show. 



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



Foreign Correspondence. 

 London Letter. 



Plant Certificates. — The practice of awarding certificates 

 to plants, to indicate their value in horticulture, was insti- 

 tuted many years ago by the Royal Horticultural Societ3^ 

 As a rule, every plant which receives this certificate does 

 so after having been submitted to the judgment of a com- 

 mittee of experts representing the best English practice in 

 horticulture. The Society has prepared a complete list of 

 all the plants, flowers, including Orchids and Ferns, fruits 

 and vegetables which have been awarded certificates from 

 the year 1859 to December, 1892, and offers it for sale at 

 two shillings and sixpence per copy. This list will be 

 valuable to all who are interested in the introduction and 

 history of garden-plants, as it comprises almost everything 

 of special value introduced in the period here named. 

 Other societies, such as the Chrysanthemum and the Bo- 

 tanic Societies, award certificates, but the certificate of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society is by far the strongest recom- 

 mendation that a plant can receive in England. 



A Monograph of Bulbous Irises, by Professor Michael 

 Foster, F. R. S., will shortly be published by the Royal 

 Horticultural Society. Professor Foster has paid special 

 attention to the introduction, cultivation and classification 

 of Irises of all kinds, and in his garden at Shelford, near 

 Cambridge, he has collected together all the species and 

 varieties procurable. He unites with his professional du- 

 ties as a physiologist a keen love of practical horticulture, 

 taking an interest, not merely in his special hobby, the 

 Iris family, but in gardening of every description. The 

 present flourishing condition of the Royal Horticultural 



