56 



Garden and Forest. 



[January 29, 1890, 



ground level. This will allow a sod to be laid and the grass 

 will cover the unsightly brick border. With a tank of these 

 dimensions a garden-frame and sashes may be placed over it, 

 and the tubs can be set in much earlier so that the sun's rays 

 will warm the water several degrees and the season can be 

 considerably advanced. The same protection can be given in 

 the fall and Water Lilies may be had for Thanksgiving. 



In such a tank I have grown in tubs Nymphcza Zanzibaren- 

 sis, Al. Za?izibarensis azicrea, N. Zanzibarensis rosea, N. alba 

 candidissima, N. odorata rosea, N.dentata andN. Devoniensis, 

 and have cut flowers of the Zanzibarensis varieties ten and a 

 quarter inches in diameter, with leaves which measured 

 twenty-two inches in diameter. N. Devoniensis is a superb 

 night-flowering variety, as is N. dentata. 



N. alba candidissima is the queen of white Water Lilies, but 

 is not fragrant. It is hardy, however, as is also N. odorata 

 rosea and Nelumbium speciostim. The latter will not do well 

 in a tub with the same culture as Nymphaea, but should be 

 planted out in the Lily-pond or aquatic garden. All hardy 

 Lilies should be planted in deeper water than is recom- 

 mended for the Lily-tank, as they will not bear freezing. All 

 varieties of N. Zanzibarensis and N. odorata rosea (the Cape 

 Cod Pink Water Lily) have most delicately scented flowers and 

 can oe raised from seed. 



No mention has been made of an overflow or draw-off in 

 connection with the tank, for I have none. There is always a 

 certain amount of evaporation" going on, according to con- 

 ditions of the atmosphere, and it is only necessary to keep fill- 

 ing the tank up with rain water or spring water. In emptying, 

 I syphon with a length of hose having a fall of two feet in 

 fifty. To keep the water clean and free from mosquito-larvae, 

 a few gold fish are useful and add immensely to the general 

 appearance of the tank. T. W. 



Staten Island. ; 



Perennials From Seed. — II. 



'THE compost which is found suitable for all kinds of peren- 

 -*■ nial plants is a mixture of loam and well decomposed 

 leaf mould, in equal quantities, with the addition of a shovel- 

 ful of charcoal dust to the bushel of soil. Should the loam be 

 of a clayey nature, a shovelful of sand should be added. The 

 .influence of the charcoal is purely mechanical, but the benefits 

 derived from its use cannot be overestimated. Before using 

 it, we often found that, during a period of dull weather, the 

 young seedling plants damped off in quantities, causing seri- 

 ous loss and disappointment. The charcoal has obviated this, 

 but it necessitates a more frequent use of the watering pot. 

 Before using, the soil should be passed through a quarter-inch 

 sieve and thoroughly mixed, keeping a sharp look out for 

 worms, which 'make trouble in the seed-pan. The soil, when 

 in fit condition for use should by no means be dry, but it 

 should not be so wet that any portion of it adheres to the 

 hands. We use shallow seed-pans of two sizes, the smaller 

 being four inches wide and two deep ; the larger, seven inches 

 wide and two and a half deep. Pans are preferable to boxes, 

 unless the latter be new, as in old wood there is always a ten- 

 dency to fungoid growth. The pans should be filled with soil 

 to within a fourth of an inch of the top, and this should be 

 made moderately firm and smooth with the bottom of another 

 pan. The seed may then be sown evenly and covered with 

 soil sifted through a fine sieve made of wire mosquito-netting. 

 The soil left in the sieve should be used in the bottom of the 

 next pan as drainage. Care must be taken not to cover the 

 seeds too deeply ; if they are barely hidden the covering will 

 suffice. Many people advocate sowing small seeds without any 

 covering. This necessitates shading from the sun, and if the 

 seed be not quick to germinate, a mossy growth often covers 

 the surface, through which it is difficult for small seeds to 

 penetrate. Should this growth appear on the surface of the 

 soil it may be smothered by sprinkling sand on it. When the 

 seeds are sown the soil that covers them should on no account 

 be pressed, as this renders germination very difficult with 

 many kinds of plants, especially those that have small seeds. 

 The pans should be watered as soon as sown, and after this 

 must never become quite dry, neither must the pans be filled 

 so full that the seeds can be washed out. Pots may be used 

 in the absence of pans, but pots must be filled half their depth 

 with broken crocks as drainage. Under the above treatment 

 the majority of perennial plants may be raised from seed in a 

 period varying from a week to two months, but, as has been 

 already stated, many kinds are naturally slow to germinate, 

 and the pans containing these may, during summer, be 

 plunged in sand in a cold frame. When treated thus, less 

 water will be required, and the soil will not become sour. 

 Passaic, N. J. E. 0. Orpet. 



Begonia Socotrana. — When this plant was first sent out by 

 the Messrs. Veitch, of London, a few years ago, it was- 

 warmly praised by horticulturists, and many predicted a great 

 future for it. Every one who saw it flowering for the first 

 time, through the dismal fog and general desolation of a Lon- 

 don winter, was charmed with the beauty of its flowers and 

 the healthy luxuriance of its growth ; and, if I remember cor- 

 rectly, there were a few plants of it grown in one of the private 

 houses in the gardens at Kew for some time before it 

 was sent out commercially, that were shown with great satis- 

 faction to visitors of prominence. In beauty or utility it has- 

 not degenerated since that time, and it now stands amongst 

 the best of a group of plants that has been extraordinarily pro- 

 lific of good things for garden and greenhouse. The plant is 

 held in high esteem for the bright pink flowers it produces- 

 through the winter. It is dwarf and stocky, growing from 

 nine to eighteen inches in height, and the flowers are borne 

 in clusters well above the characteristic circular leaves. The 

 leaves are smooth, of a pleasing light green shade, and 

 average about six inches in diameter. Its cultural require- 

 ments do not differ essentially from those of other Begonias, 

 except in the matter of resting. During the summer months, 

 when most other species are full of vigor, this one should be 

 completely at rest; and then about the beginning of October, the 

 roots should be shaken out and the plants repotted in a mixture 

 of good loam and thoroughly decayed farm-yard manure in 

 equal parts, with a little sand and leaf-mould. Little heat is 

 needed until the plants show signs of growth, when they 

 should be removed to an intermediate temperature, as such 

 an atmosphere suits them while growing better than any 

 other. If the plants are kept close to the glass they will assume 

 a neater and more compact form than otherwise. 



Chorizemas. — Where a continuous display of flowers is re- 

 quired through winter attention should be given to this group 

 of plants, for they are most attractive in the greenhouse or 

 conservatory. The most desirable species are all natives of 

 Australia, and thrive most satisfactorily in an. ordinary green- 

 house among other plants. They are hard-wooded, and of 

 free growth. The branches being somewhat slender, how- 

 ever, are all the better for the support of a trellis, or stakes. 

 In most of the species the leaves are spiny and of a dark green 

 color. The bright colored flowers resemble those of the or- 

 dinary Pea in form, but are rather smaller. What they lack in 

 size is more than counterbalanced by quantity, as they are 

 produced most abundantly on the tips of the young shoots. 

 The prevailing colors of the flowers are red and yellow, in 

 different shades and mixtures. The most useful species are 

 C. cordatum, with flowers red and yellow ; C. Henchmanii, 

 scarlet ; C. ilicifolium, yellow ; C. spectabile, orange and red. 

 There are many other species and varieties, but these are 

 among the best, and they afford the widest range of color. 

 Plants raised from seed, sown soon after it ripens, always 

 give satisfaction ; but it is also possible to raise good plants 

 from cuttings of the young wood. Some care is necessary in 

 rooting the cuttings as they are very liable to damp off. Their 

 general culture consists of rather hard pruning when the plants 

 have ceased to flower, and of repotting, when they commence 

 to grow again, in a mixture of fibrous peat, rich loam, and sand 

 in equal parts. Care should be taken to pot firmly and to keep 

 the roots rather confined than otherwise, as the plants flower 

 most freely when slightly pot-bound. Abundance of air and 

 light is essential at all times ; and in summer they should be 

 placed in the open air, that the new growth may become 

 thoroughly ripened. Before removal to their winter quarters 

 the plants should be tied into shape ; and it will add to the 

 gracefulness of their appearance if they are afterwards allowed 

 to develop their flowering shoots naturally. Some growers keep 

 all the shoots tied-in severely, but this process adds nothing to 

 the beauty of the plants. 



Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass. M, Barker. 



Seedling Chrysanthemums. — The perennial Chrysanthemums 

 are so readily obtained from seed that even when one 

 has a choice collection there is a great pleasure in try- 

 ing a few seedlings with a certainty of vigorous, thrifty 

 plants, a profusion of very varied bloom during the same 

 season, and a possibility of a strikingly new and valuable 

 variety. This is the proper season for sowing, which may be 

 done in pans, pots or boxes, as the seeds germinate in ten 

 days or a fortnight in moderate warmth. The young plants 

 should be picked out in flats filled with a rich compost as 

 soon as possible, and kept growing slowly at a moderate tem- 

 perature, as well up to the light as possible. Shift them when 

 necessary, the object being to secure strong, stocky plants 

 with an abundance of good roots. Give all the air practicable 



