8o 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 2bo. 



A. tenuissimus is another valuable sort, and also grows to a 

 considerable height when planted out in a greenhouse ; the 

 leaves are extremely fine and the branches less regular in ap- 

 pearance than those of the preceding varieties ; it is also of a 

 much lighter green. By cutting back from time to time, A. 

 tenuissimus may be grown into a desirable pot-plant, and in 

 this condition makes an admirable addition to a decoration. 

 This species may be multiplied easily by cuttings made from 

 the small side shoots, providing the wood is not too soft, and 

 also that the cuttings are given some bottom-heat, the young 

 plants soon starting into growth from the bottom after they 

 are potted oil These three sorts are the ones chiefly grown 

 by commercial growers at the present time and form an im- 

 portant part of most house-decorations. There is no other 

 foliage so well suited for draping a large mirror or forming a 

 delicate tracery of green on a table. 



Asparagus decumbens is of somewhat similar character to 

 A. tenuissimus, but has coarser foliage of a slightly glaucous 

 hue ; the branches are of irregular form and the habit of the 

 plant is scandent. This species has not been received with so 

 much favor as some others, but it becomes an attractive plant 

 when well grown. A. virgatus is a later introduction than the 

 sorts already mentioned and seems to have a compact habit 

 and frond-like branches, the growth being quite unlike the 

 other members of this family. The leaves are very fine and 

 are produced in great numbers on the much-divided branches, 

 which are erect. 



It may also be noted that the so-called Smilax of the florists, 

 generally known as Myrsiphyllum asparagoides, has now 

 been referred to Asparagus, so that this charming vine can 

 safely be included among the decorative Asparagus ; the con- 

 ditions favorable for the development of Smilax will gener- 

 ally give good results when applied to the other members of 

 the family. Asparagus-seeds should be sown in light soil, 

 and will germinate at irregular intervals, some of the seeds 

 possibly remaining dormant for nearly a year. 



Holmesburg, Pa. ^- H. TapUn. 



Winter-flowering Plants. 



A LARGE assortment of plants has to be grown to keep 

 the conservatory or greenhouse supplied with flowers 

 during the dull winter months. For this purpose there are 

 some plants which are indispensable, owing to their free- 

 flowering habit and to their simple cultural requirements. 



Notwithstanding that Peristrophe speciosa, often seen in 

 gardens under the name of Justicia speciosa, lias been in cul- 

 tivation since 1826, it is still one of the favorite plants for 

 brightening up the conservatory at this season of the year. It is 

 so well known that it requires no description. Although easily 

 grown, it is often seen in bad condition, with long, naked stems. 

 This is due to bad treatment, for the habit of the plant is good, 

 but, like other free-growing plants, it is apt to lose its lower 

 leaves under bad management. To get good results this plant 

 should be propagated every spring. When the old plants are 

 done blooming a few should be saved and cut back so as 

 to get good cuttings from the young growth. The cuttings 

 should be struck in March, and if put in sand with a gentle 

 bottom-heat they will root in a few days. When rooted, they 

 should be potted off singly into small pots and placed near the 

 glass in a warm house. As soon as the roots get hold of the 

 soil the points of the shoots should be stopped so as to induce 

 a bushy habit. They should be planted out in the garden 

 about the end of May and given plenty of space, as they will 

 make large plants by the time they are lifted in the fall. Dur- 

 ing the summer the young shoots will require to be stopped 

 frequently, and as the plants are free growers they will need 

 an abundance of water. When they are about a foot high 

 they should be staked, as they are very easily broken by wind, 

 and in September potted and put into the greenhouse and kept 

 close for a few days. Although this plant will grow in a cool 

 greenhouse, it can easily be seen by its sickly foliage that it is 

 not happy in such a place. It is a native of India and requires 

 a temperature of fifty to sixty degrees to produce its beautiful 

 carmine-purple flowers. 



Another exceedingly floriferous plant in bloom now is Stro- 

 bilanthes isophyllus. The plants in bloom were raised from 

 cuttings struck last spring, and are about two feet highand one 

 foot across. They are completely covered with their beautiful 

 lavender-colored flowers, which will last five or six weeks if 

 the plants are kept in a warm greenhouse. This plant has a 

 rather erect bushy habit, with dark green lanceolate leaves. 

 Strobilanthes anisophyllus is also in bloom. This species has 

 not such an erect or bushy habit as the first-named. It 

 grows higher and its branches have a beautiful, graceful 



habit. The flowers are almost the same as those of S. isophyl- 

 lus, but the leaves are larger and are very unequal. They 

 both require the same treatment. Although the two species 

 are very like one another in their flowers, they are quite 

 distinct otherwise, and they are well worth growing together. 



For continuous blooming during the dull winter months- 

 Libonia floribunda has few equals. It is a South American 

 plant, and was introduced from Brazil in 1862. It has elliptic, 

 oblong leaves. The tubular flowers are scarlet, with yellow 

 tips, and are produced very abundantly, one or two from each 

 axil of the leaves. Some time after its introduction it was 

 crossed with Sericographis Ghiesbreghtiana. By this crossing 

 Libonia Peurhosiensis was obtained, which is in many ways 

 an improvement on its parent. It is dwarfer and of denser 

 growth. The flowers are more abundant, there being from 

 four to six at the axils of the leaves instead of two, and their 

 color is a bright rich crimson. At this time both these plants 

 are blooming very freely here. When the plants are done 

 blooming they should be cut back and additional heat given 

 to them, and they will soon make a new growth. From the 

 young growth cuttings may be made and inserted in the cut- 

 ting-bench, where they will root in a few days. When rooted 

 they should be potted; they will require to be occasionally 

 checked, so as to encourage a bushy habit. In June they may 

 be planted out in the garden, where they must be well 

 watered ; and as they are liable to be attacked by red spi- 

 der they must be syringed frequently. In September they 

 ought to be potted and taken back to the greenhouse. When 

 the pots are full of roots the plants are greatly benefited by oc- 

 casional doses of liquid-manure. 



For the last six weeks. Winter-sweet, or Toxicophlasa spec- 

 tabilis, has been one mass of white flowers. The Jasmine-like 

 flowers are not only beautiful, but are also very fragrant, one 

 plant being sufficient to perfume a whole house. It is a small 

 shrubby plant with lanceolate, leathery leaves, and the flowers- 

 are produced in axillary corymbs, making a long dense spray. 

 This plant was introduced from South Africa in 1872, and 

 although it has been in cultivation twenty years, it is seldom 

 seen. The popular belief is that this Toxicophlaea requires a 

 stove-temperature, but this is a mistake ; it grows and flowers 

 more freely in an intermediate temperature. The plants in 

 bloom here have been grown in a house where the tempera- 

 ture runs from fifty to fifty-five degrees. In the spring they 

 are potted rather firmly in good rich soil, and in summer 

 placed out-of-doors in a position where they can get plenty of 

 light. After they are taken back to the greenhouse in the 

 autumn they are greatly benefited by a few waterings of weak 

 liquid-manure. During the spring months cuttings are easily 

 struck from the half-ripened wood. 



Among New Holland plants the Chorizemas are the showiest 

 at this time. Chorizema ilicifolia, with its deep green Holly- 

 like leaves, is completely covered with orange-yellow flowers, 

 which will last in bloom a long time. The Chorizemas are not 

 so hard to grow as some other hard-wooded plants. When 

 they are done blooming they should be pruned so as to make 

 compact plants. Just as they begin to make new growth the 

 plants ought to be potted in a mixture of fibrous loam, peat 

 and sand. Like most other hard-wooded plants, they need to 

 be potted firmly, and given plenty of drainage, as they require 

 an abundance of water during the growing and flowering sea- 

 son. Abundance of light and an- is very essential to their wel- 

 fare, and in summer they should be placed in the open air, 

 where the new growth will become thoroughly ripened. Be- 

 fore taking them back to the greenhouse the plants should be 

 staked up, and the small shoots lett loose, that is, not tied in 

 tightly on trellises, as they are treated sometimes. Chorizemas 

 can be raised from seeds or cuttings. Tne small side-shoots 

 are not hard to strike, and plants raised in this way flower 

 while small, whereas seedlings are not so free-blooming while 

 they are young. 



Cambridge, Mass. Robert Cameron. 



Manettia bicolor. — Running over a Grevillea is a noteworthy 

 specimen of the Manettia bicolor, which is planted with it 

 in the ground. This seems to be the only satisfactory way of 

 growing this vine, as I find it but seldom blooms with pot-cul- 

 ture. Upon this plant, which is now a little more than a year 

 old and which has been eight months in its present position, I 

 estimated about 800 flowers. This floriferous condition has 

 been maintained ever since the plant became established in 

 the new ground. In the greenhouse it is subject to attacks of 

 the mealy bug, but this insect can be successfully held in 

 check by frequent syringings of Fir-tree oil. Some of the 

 catalogue wood-cuts exaggerate the size of this flower by rep- 

 resenting it to be as long as the leaf, and I have even seen it 



