June 28, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



275 



surprise. I have no doubt its value will be established. The 

 large form of which I spoke in 1891 as coming from the envi- 

 rons of Pergamos has in every way proved its superiority to 

 that coming from the more southern regions. One of your 

 correspondents, in describing the various kinds of Chionodoxa, 

 says that C. Tmolusi, like the not-to-be-found C. Forbesi, is a 

 stronger and larger form of C. Luciliae. Judging by his erro- 

 neous description, he cannot possess this variety at all, as it is 

 dwarf, both in bulb and foliage, more brilliantly colored, and 

 freer-flowering, but not giving larger blooms than C. Lucilias. 

 C. Alleni was found by one of my men while hunting for new 

 Snowdrops for my friend Mr. Allen, and I therefore named it 

 Alleni in his honor. I would call it a very large C. gigantea, 

 the foliage and flowers being much more massive than in the 

 latter variety. I measured some of the blooms and found 

 them in many cases fully two inches across. Their great 

 beauty lies not only in their size, but also in the fact that gen- 

 erally more than three flowers grow on one stem. I have 

 counted as many as ten. The color is as pretty as that of C. 

 gigantea, but the variations are greater. The white, pink and 

 bluish white forms are especially beautiful. As Mr. J. Wood 

 very justly remarks, the bulbs sent to England are all collected in 

 an unripe state, and therefore take more than one year's cultiva- 

 tion to recover their normal strength. The bulbs of C. Alleni 

 are smaller and not reddish, as those of C. gigantea. Another 

 find was a variety of C. Sardensis, with a smoke-colored eye. 

 This looks like a cross between Scilla bifolia and Chionodoxa 

 Sardensis, the flower-scape and the very numerous blooms on 

 it making me think at first it was a fine variety of Scilla bifolia, 

 but on closer examination I perceived my mistake. 



Your correspondent infers that C. Luciliae is the typical 

 Chionodoxa here, and that all the rest are varieties. My opinion, 

 judging from the position in which the various kinds grow, is 

 that all are variations of C. Sardensis. This form is to be 

 found on every mountain-range lying between Sardisand Per- 

 gamos ; whereas the rest are disposed round the limits of its 

 abode, on only single ranges, or, as in the case of C. gigantea, 

 on one lofty elevation alone. 



In Fritillarias I am getting more puzzled daily. The number 

 of varieties and the many variations in those varieties are sur- 

 prising. In F. Armena, the yellow, red and green forms I have 

 already spoken of, but last year one of my men brought down 

 from one of the northern spurs of the Taurus a variety with a 

 larger bell-shaped flower, which deserves a distinct name. 

 It often has two flowers on each stem. The color is a rich 

 purple-brown on the outside and old gold on the inside of 

 the petals. F. aurea varies from pure bright to dark yellow, 

 spotted brown. F. acmopetalis does not show variations in 

 color, but in size. Another variety from the Taurus above the 

 town of Adalia resembles F. Meleagris, and may possibly prove 

 to be F. latifolia. The variations in this variety are numerous. 

 Some plants rise to the height of eighteen inches, with a large 

 pendent flower, superior in size to any of the Meleagris type I 

 have grown. Others are dwarf, rarely reaching six inches, 

 with proportionately small flowers. The color in all is 

 chequered lilac and white. A specialist in this genus would, 

 I am sure, find some interest in the many specimens I could 

 send him. 



The variations in Snowdrops I expect will prove interesting 

 to Mr. Allen, who has kindly undertaken to cultivate and prove 

 all I send him. When I first laid my observations before your 

 readers, I thought that Galanthus Elwesi, sometimes lanky, 

 sometimes rounded, and sometimes short, but Elwesi still, 

 would be the only variety found in our neighborhood. Since 

 then, however, from the island of Nicaria comes a form with 

 green glossy leaves ; from the Taurus above the town of Ce- 

 sarea one with long, thin, whitish leaves and tiny bulbs, and 

 from the Davros Dagh one with broad, but short leaves, and 

 with a globular, but small flower. 



In Scillas, the one kindly named Whittalli by Mr. Baker, of 

 Kew, was found near the town of Elmali, where S. Taurica is 

 said to grow, and for which, by the bye, I have searched in vain 

 for the last three years. The white eye and stamens of S. 

 Whittalli and the large blooms make it an interesting variety 

 of S. bifolia. Another form of this type from the Sultan Dagh 

 may worthily be disfinguished by the additional title of Ro- 

 busta on account of its large flower-scape and massive foli- 

 age. 



I hope the season just commencing will be richer in new 

 finds than any of the past, as I have to a great extent perfected 

 my system of collecting, and my men, besides, will cover 

 more ground and will be aided by their greater experience. I 

 have added to my old hobbies Irises and such alpine plants as 

 are to be found, and the dried specimens sent to Kew will soon 

 testify to the activity of my collectors. 



Cultural Department. 



Chrysanthemums. 



ROOTED cuttings of Chrysanthemums intended to produce 

 specimen flowers are now being potted into thumb-pots. 

 We expect to plant them on the greenhouse-benches during the 

 first week in July. Here they will bloom in November. We 

 use about six inches of good rich, and rather heavy, loam from 

 pasture-land, and plant firmly, eight inches apart each way. 

 The stakes are put in at the same time, and secured in posi- 

 tion by wires, an operation more easily performed when the 

 plants are small. The house should be slightly shaded until 

 the 1st of September, and abundance of air given at all 

 times. 



For green and black aphis and thrips use a decoction of one 

 pound of tobacco-leaf and one pound of whale-oil soap, dis- 

 solved and diluted in twenty gallons of water. Occasionally I 

 add a fungicide in the form of sulphide of potassium. This is 

 put on with a fine sprayer, and is very effective. The chinch- 

 bug, however, is our worst enemy. By means of a proboscis 

 it extracts the sap or juices from the tips of the leaders. The 

 effect of this is at first seen by the wilting of the plant, and aft- 

 erward by aborfive buds or " blinding." If this does not hap- 

 pen later than the ist of September a secondary shoot may 

 develop, but this is not expected to make so fine a bloom as 

 the leader. Since they live by extracting the juices of the 

 plants, there is no remedy which can be applied to the surface 

 of the leaves ; no poison they can be expected to eat, and, con- 

 sequently, it is hard to fight them with the regular insecficides. 

 I noticed last year they were sensitive to disagreeable odors. 

 Part of a batch sprayed with a fcetid compound of whale-oil 

 soap, sulphide of potassium and extract of tobacco was left 

 comparatively untouched. The green, wingless, immature in- 

 sect is more voracious than the mature insect. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. H, 



Plants for Conservatories in Summer. 



"\ rARIOLJS gesneraceous plants are useful in brightening the 

 * conservatory or greenhouse during the summer months. 

 Many plants of this class are profuse in blooming and brilliant 

 in color, besides being quite easy to cultivate. 



There is, however, one point in the cultivation of such spe- 

 cies as the Gesneras, Gloxinias, Tydias, Achimenes, Eucodonias 

 and others of like character, that is not sufficiently observed, and 

 that is to give them an abundance of manure in the compost. 

 The quality of both foliage and flowers is wonderfully im- 

 proved by liberal treatment in this respect. A rather sandy 

 loam, in which from one-third to one-half of short, well-rotted 

 manure is mixed, will usually give more satisfaction to plants 

 of this class than some of the more elaborate composts fre- 

 quently recommended for the purpose, always providing that 

 proper attention is paid to watering. Attention to shadmg is 

 also necessary, the foliage of these plants being quite sus- 

 ceptible to strong sunshine ; this is especially so if any water 

 is allowed to remain on the leaves, when disfigurement soon 

 follows. 



The many improved forms of Gloxinia crassifolia take a lead- 

 ing part in the summer display. Their large and showy flow- 

 ers include a wide range of shades in color, while the massive 

 and velvety leaves frequently attain a length of ten or twelve 

 inches in well-grown specimens. The erect-flowering varie- 

 ties are naturally among the most showy, but those with droop- 

 ing bells have also a peculiar charm. It is difficult to make a 

 selection, but a satisfactory assortment will be found among a 

 few dozen tubers secured from any large bulb dealer. If the 

 cultivator prefers to enjoy the entire process of growing these 

 plants, a small quantity of seed of some good strain should be 

 secured and sown in pans or boxes of light, fine soil and placed 

 in a warm and shaded portion of the greenhouse. The seeds 

 are very minute and should therefore be sown on the surface 

 of the soil in the same manner as Fern-spores. 



The small delicate seedlings require care in watering, and 

 should be pricked out into small pots as soon as they are large 

 enough to handle, and afterward shifted on into larger pots as 

 the growth requires it. Some of these seedlings may flower 

 during the first year, but the majority will make nice little 

 tubers for the next season's work. Special varieties should be 

 increased by means of leaf-cuttings in the same manner as 

 that practiced with Rex Begonias, and these also become avail- 

 able stock for the following season. 



Among the Gesneras there are also a large number of good 

 garden varieties that are pretty both in flowers and foliage. 

 The flowers are usually produced in a large terminal spike, and 



