92 



Garden and Forest. 



[February 19,' 1890. 



less detrimental to the plants. Gardeners and entomologists 

 are at last pretty well agreed that some protection placed over 

 the hill before the plants appear above ground will prove most 

 satisfactory in the long run. The fact that such protection 

 often aids 'materially in preventing injury from frost is an im- 

 portant point in its favor, as the Cucurbitacea are among our 

 tenderest open-air plants. 



Fig. 21. — A Simple Plant Protector. 



3|The protector illustrated in the accompanying sketchfhas 

 the merit of being strong, light, durable and economical of 

 storage, as well as being entirely efficient and cheap. The 

 difficulty with most of the plant-protectors in use is that 

 they are too fragile, too costly or too bulky for convenient 

 storage. The one here shown is made of five-eighths-inch 

 undressed pine lumber, covered over the top with ordinary 

 wire mosquito netting. The frame may be made sixteen 

 inches square at the top, and the sections are cut so that the 

 bottom is slightly larger, giving flare enough to admit of nest- 

 ing the boxes together for convenient storage. By cutting the 

 boards in the manner shown in the drawing, they may be 

 " double-nailed," which greatly adds to the strength of the 

 frame without increasing the weight or cost. 



University of Wisconsin, Madison. -&• *J. (*Ojf. 



Orchid Notes. 



JErides Roebelenii is now flowering here. It is one of the 

 later additions to this extensive genus, but is no great acqui- 

 sition. It much resembles A. quinquevulnerum in its erect, 

 sturdy habit and dark green, glossy leaves. The ascending 

 racemes are about one foot long, bearing about thirty flowers, 

 small and greenish white, with a fringed incurved lip tinged 

 with rose at the apex. There is little to recommend this spe- 

 cies except its free blooming quality and the pleasant fragrance 

 of the flowers. It was introduced some five years since from 

 the Philippines, and grows freely in the warmest house. 



Odontoglossum Rossii was imported in such vast quantities a 

 few years ago and sold so cheaply that it became the best 

 known of the genus ; but, to keep it in good condition for any 

 great length of time, it should be given the treatment recom- 

 mended for Lcelia anceps and other Mexican Orchids. It quickly 

 deteriorates in the damp, sunless houses usually occupied by 

 this genus. It is an extremely free blooming kind, and a well 

 grown plant is literally covered with flowers, which re- 

 main a long time in perfection in a cool, dry atmosphere. It 

 is admirably adapted for cutting, and if a number of plants are 

 grown and care is used in forcing or retarding the flower- 

 buds, they may be had in bloom more than half the year. 0. 

 Rossii has a very wide distribution in Mexico, and in some lo- 

 calities it grows in immense quantities. There are also a great 

 many varieties, consequent on the great variation of climate ; 

 and in some few cases on supposed cross-fertilization with allied 

 species. Since the variety Majus was introduced the typical 

 form appears to be lost, for one seldom hears of plain O. 

 Rossii. 



Odontoglossum elegans, a very rare and beautiful plant, is 

 flowering freely with us. It is supposed to be a natural 



hybrid between 0. cirrhosum and O. cristatum or 0. Hallii. 

 The habit and inflorescence much resemble those of O. cir- 

 rhosum, but the flowers are larger and have broader segments. 

 The color is pale yellow, with heavy blotches and bars of 

 reddish brown, and a purplish crimson blotch near the 

 base of the petals. The narrow lip is reddish brown at the 

 base, with the front portion white ; the crest is yellow, and 

 the column white. The plant was introduced from Ecuador 

 about ten years since, and but few are now in cultivation. It 

 grows freely at the warmest end of the cool-house, but re- 

 quires a good season of rest and must not be overpotted. 



Kenwood, N. Y. F. Goldritlg. 



Vanda Amesiana is. one of the most pleasing of the Orchids 

 now in flower. I lately saw a large number of plants, each 

 bearing several spikes of bloom, in the houses of Messrs. 

 Low & Co., of Clapton. The flowers are so delicate and 

 pretty, and, moreover, are so deliciously fragrant, whilst the 

 plant itself has such a healthy, business-like appearance, that 

 this species cannot fail to become one of the most useful and 

 popular of tropical Orchids. IV. 



Kew. 



Brussels Sprouts. 



THE seeds of this excellent form of Cabbage should be 

 planted in the house, hot-bed or greenhouse as early as 

 the first of April, as it requires a long season to perfect its growth. 

 The young plants resemble those of the Cauliflower, and will 

 be large enough to set in the open ground as soon as the 

 weather and soil favor a free growth ; till then they should be 

 kept in flats of earth, not crowded, and they may need more 

 than two transplantings. If so, each change will have a ten- 

 dency to develop roots, and if the plants have also been 

 exposed to the free air and sunlight, they will be strong and 

 healthy. A soil to grow Brussels Sprouts should be strong, 

 and also well enriched. The early part of the season's growth 

 is required to develop stature and leaves to the plant ; later in 

 the season, the leaves, beginning with those first formed, and 

 near the ground, fall off, and from their axils buds or small 

 heads of Cabbage develop spirally around the stem, and 

 quite as thickly as they can cluster. This process continues 

 till fall. At maturity the plants having the most perfect col- 

 lection of buds are saved for wintering. Some never have 

 heads large enough to use, and some will bloom like a green 

 Rose ; these are failures. Take up the selected plants before 

 the hard frosts, with abundance of earth ; bring them into a 

 cool cellar, either light or dark ; set the roots not too close 

 together in the ground, give them water once, and the season 

 can be prolonged till the spring months. The green worm is 

 as troublesome as it is to other members of the Cabbage- 

 family, but the plants are quite hardy, and repay the endeavor 

 to grow them. 



They are prepared for the table by first separating them 

 from the stalk and removing the imperfect leaves. After 

 lying in salt and water for half an hour, they are boiled for 

 twenty minutes in water to which a little soda has been 

 added, and are served with either cream, butter, or vinegar 

 sauce. They have a very pleasant cabbage-flavor, peculiar to 

 themselves. 



West Springfield, Mass. ^ H. Bull. 



Doronicum Harper Crewe. — This is a most interesting plant, 

 belonging to the Composite, with flowers of the very bright- 

 est yellow, somewhat larger than a silver dollar, with 

 about forty-four very narrow florets. As a winter-blooming 

 plant in a cool greenhouse it is most effective, the flowers re- 

 maining wide open all night. The leaves are heart-shaped, of 

 a very dark green, and growing close to the soil. I have plants 

 in six-inch pots which have been in flower for two months, and 

 at no time have there been fewer than three flowers at once. 

 It delights in a sunny position and a temperature of forty-five 

 to fifty degrees at night. This plant can be recommended as 

 a very good subject for amateur culture. 



Seed-Sowing. — The many failures experienced in the germi- 

 nation of very small seeds, such as those of Begonia, Gloxinia 

 and Calceolaria, is the result of too deep covering in nine cases 

 out of ten. My plan of treating all small seed is this : I use 

 light sandy loam, which is heated to a temperature of 120 de- 

 grees; one-half is then passed through a sieve having meshes 

 half an inch in diameter. This is then spread to the depth of 

 an inch in boxes. The other half of the soil is passed through 

 a sieve having meshes a quarter of an inch in diameter, and a 

 portion of this is spread over the first soil, made very smooth 

 by being slightly pressed with a board having a planed surface. 

 The seed is then evenly sprinkled over it, and in the case of very 



