May 31, 1893. 1 



Garden and Forest. 



237 



One advantage of commercial fertilizers is that we can vary 

 the ingredients in an experimental way — that is, we can try the 

 effect of different proportions of potash and phosphoric acid 

 and nitrogen, while it is almost impossible to do this with sta- 

 ble-manures. No hard and fast rules can be laid down, of 

 course, but when I find my Strawberries lacking in vigor I give 

 them some nitrate of soda as a stimulant, and its effect is 

 plainly seen very soon. This salt should be applied during the 

 growing season, and preferably in frequent small applications 

 rather than all at once. Potash, bone, wood-ashes, etc., can be 

 applied in the fall and winter, as they possess staying qualities, 

 and will not leach away. In applying substances strong in al- 

 kalis it is best to keep them away from the foliage. When soil 

 is deficient in humus the cleanest method of supplying this is 

 by turning under some green crop, but in vineyards and 

 among growing plants this is not always practicable. Unless I 

 use some of the so-called complete mixed fertilizers, my pot- 

 ash, bone and nitrate are applied separately, and the mixing is 

 done in the soil with the cultivator. I have just been making 

 a large application of potash to some Peach-trees simply be- 

 cause I feared that the Canada ashes I had used would not suf- 

 fice to bring on the crop, and I preferred to give the trees too 

 much than to risk any deficiency. 



It must be remembered that none of these fertilizers will be 

 of any avail unless there is sufficient moisture to make them 

 soluble and available. Last year I planted Potatoes among my 

 Peach-trees, and I used a Potato fertilizer liberally. I had no 

 crop of potatoes because it was so dry that the plants could not 

 take up the plant-food provided, and so my Potatoes failed and 

 my Peach-trees showed no benefit. However, I do not con- 

 sider the application as lost, for it will be in the ground this 

 year ready to feed my Peaches. 



Montclair, N.J. E. Williams. 



Filmy Ferns. 



'T^HE various species included under the general heading of 

 -•■ Filmy Ferns have received but scant attention from culti- 

 vators of late years, and are rarely seen, either at our exhibi- 

 tions or among the stock of our growers. This class includes 

 some of the most exquisite members of the Fern family. They 

 are of easy cultivation and of moderate growth, and are thus 

 adapted for small ferneries, such as may be found in many 

 private establishments. They require abundant moisture and 

 shade to secure free growth, and a case or frame in the green- 

 house is necessary, in which these conditions may be main- 

 tained without interfering with the proper ventilation of the 

 main fernery. The case should be stood on or near to the 

 ground rather than on a high bench, and generally these Ferns 

 grow better without bottom-heat, many of the species flour- 

 ishing in a temperature of fifty to fifty-five degrees. 



The potting material should be of the most open character, 

 and consist of coarse peat or pieces of Fern-root, some sphag- 

 num and pieces of charcoal or broken sandstone, or both, with 

 plenty of potsherds and broken stone in the bottoms of the 

 pots or bed. The planting-out system is probably the best, 

 unless the plants are very small. No sunshine should be per- 

 mitted to strike these plants, the foliage being too thin and 

 delicate to stand such exposure, and while some ventilation 

 during the night should be given to the case in which they are 

 grown, it should be kept closed during the day, unless the 

 weather is quite damp. The practice of syringing or watering 

 overhead is not to be recommended ; quite enough moisture 

 will gather on the foliage if the soil is properly wet, and syring- 

 ing tends to brown the tips of the fronds. Frequent repotting 

 or replanting should be avoided, for these Ferns are not hun- 

 gry feeders, and the roots are quite delicate in texture and 

 easily injured. 



A few species of Filmy Ferns are inclined to be arborescent 

 in habit, though in a very limited degree. The Todeas show 

 this characteristic, but make only quite short stems, and are of 

 slow growth. This genus includes some admirable examples 

 with which to begin a collection of Filmy Ferns. Todea su- 

 perba is one of the most beautiful Ferns in cultivation, while 

 T. hymenophylloides and T, Fraserii are also very handsome, 

 the fronds of the latter being lighter than those of T. superba 

 and less profusely divided. 



The Trichomanes are the largest genus among the Filmy 

 Ferns, and the Killarney Fern, T. radicans, is the most widely 

 known species, and also one of the best ; it succeeds in quite 

 a cool house. This Fern has been found in various forms in 

 such widely separated portions of the globe as the East In- 

 dies, the West Indies, South America, Great Britain and other 

 countries. T, reniforme is one of the most peculiar members 

 of this family ; it has nearly simple reniform or kidney-shaped 

 leaves of small size, much veined and of bright green color. 



the fertile fronds having a very distinct appearance from the 

 sori, being exserted around the edge like a fringe. Tricho- 

 manes trichoideum, T. alatum and T. augustatum are also 

 interesting members of this genus and deserving of culti- 

 vation. 



The Hymenophyllums are the next important genus among 

 these Ferns, and of these H. demissum is one of the best, hav- 

 ing finely divided leaves of dark green color, while H. Tun- 

 bridgense and H. Wilsoni are also good cool-house sorts, and 

 H. dilatatum, H. flexuopesom, H. asplenioides, H. ciliatum and 

 others may readily be added to the list if greater variety is 

 desired. 



Holmesburg. Pa. W. H. Taplin. 



Hardy Plants in Flower. 



DARWIN TULIPS, which are said to be a strain of Flemish 

 origin, were introduced last year by Kreelage. They are 

 late garden Tulips, self-colored and correct in form, accord- 

 ing to the florists' standard of wide, well-rounded petals and per- 

 fect cups. They are on stems some two feet tall, like most of 

 the late varieties. I do not know that the half-dozen named 

 kinds grown by me are fairly representative of the strain ; but 

 mine are rather dull-colored and lack lustre and brightness, 

 two of the most desirable characters in garden Tulips. 



Camassia Leichdini, a form of C. esculenta, is the most at- 

 tractive garden-plant of the family. It is bold in habit, with 

 large leaves and robust stems about two feet high, carrying 

 many star-shaped creamy white flowers, about two inches in 

 diameter, these blooming in succession from base to tip of 

 stem. As a decorative plant its drawback is that it is an 

 evening-bloomer, its flowers opening in the afternoon. 



Zygadenus Fremonti is a Californian liliaceous plant, hardy 

 here, and with attractive, quiet-colored flowers. These bulbs 

 start early and strongly, and at this time are furnished with 

 fleshy-flowering stems about a foot high. The flowers are 

 numerous on paniculated racemes, individually about an 

 inch in diameter, star-shaped, with pointed creamy white 

 petals, with deep yellow bases. Though the first shoots of 

 this plant appeared above the ground in early April, they were 

 not affected by the subsequent frosts. Z. paniculata, also in 

 flower, is a species smaller in all its parts than Z, Fremonti, 

 but has the same general characteristics and habits. The 

 slender stems are about a foot high and bear numerous small 

 flowers, an inch in diameter, which are creamy white, with 

 a yellow dot at the base of the narrow petals. 



Thalictrum aquilegifolium, the meadow Rue or feathered 

 Columbine, is a plant of graceful habit ; the white form is 

 especially enjoyable, though the panicle of fine flowers is 

 smaller than that of the purple variety. The plants appear 

 with the Columbines and die down soon after flowering, so 

 that it is not a thing for borders which are frequently upset. 

 The Maiden-hair Thalictrum (T. adiantifolium) is a beautiful 

 little plant with fern-like foliage, well worth growing in the 

 front of the border. Both of these are readily had from seeds. 



SaxifragaAizoon minor has become established, and is gradu- 

 ally making a mat of dainty rosettes among some stones in a raised 

 border. These individually are less than an inch in diameter, with 

 thick spathulate leaves having finely serrated white edges. At this 

 time a flower-stem rises six inches from the centre of the elder 

 rosettes, with numerous small flowers, white, with dark dots 

 at the base of the petals. The plant and flower, it will be seen, 

 are of a dainty order of beauty. The various small Saxifrages 

 are very interesting, but I find them difficult to establish, and 

 they do not take kindly to the climate. The larger rosetted 

 kinds, and many of the mossy ones, resent wet, and inconti- 

 nently decay. Besides this, the sun works havoc among them 

 if they are not well established before it becomes powerful. 

 S. Wallacei is one of the most attractive of garden Saxifrages, 

 with deeply cut foliage and pure white large flowers, but has a 

 bad habit of hardening its stems with the browning of its 

 foliage. It would probably do better in a colder climate. 



The white Wake-robin (Trillium grandiflorum) is decidedly 

 the best garden-plant of this genus, with its large pure white 

 flowers daintily placed on the abundant foliage. It is equally 

 good in the open border or in the shade. Among the numer- 

 ous other species, T. recurvatum is quaint and one of the 

 most attractive. It is happily named ; the buds appear above 

 the leaves, between which they soon droop and open with a 

 large flower ; the inner segments are dark rich maroon in 

 color and reflex tightly over the outer green segments, form- 

 ing a triangle. A friend who noted its careful and regular 

 folding aptly characterized the flower as tailor-made. 



With the flowering of the double white Poet's Daffodil the 

 Narcissus season is about at an end. These uncertain plants 

 have flowered unusually well this season. Perhaps a very dry 



