37 2 



Garden and Forest. 



[July 30, li 



flowers. All of these Sundews are easy to grow, but the first, 

 when brought from as far south as Florida or Georgia, might 

 not endure our cold winters without protection. They thrive 

 well in a wet sandy soil with the Venus' Fly-trap and suchSar- 

 racenias as are found in sandy bogs. 



The common Floating Heart {Limnanthemum lacunosum) is 

 a valuable little aquatic, and is especially adapted for small 

 aquaria. Its round, heart-shaped leaves-, usually a little more 

 than an inch long at this season, are of a reddish purple shade 

 and variegated with a greenish centre. The several small 

 white flowers are a third or half an inch wide on thread-like 

 petioles, which come from about an inch below the leaf. They 

 succeed each other in long succession, and, like the leaves, 

 Moat on the surface of the water. It is a native of shallow 

 ponds from Canada to Florida. 



The value of our native white Water Lilies for cool waters 

 cannot be too highly estimated. The sweet-scented one, 

 Nymphcea odorata, is already too generally known to need any 

 mention. Its variety, Minor, with smaller leaves and flow- 

 ers, is also a desirable plant, and may be grown with it in sim- 

 ilar situations. The largest of our Water Lilies, N. tuberosa, 

 is not so generally known. It is a larger and stronger plant, 

 and when given an equal chance bears larger and handsomer 

 flowers — nearly a third larger than N. odorata. The leaf is 

 also a third larger, not rarely fifteen inches wide. The flower, 

 though not so strongly scented as the other, has a' delicate and 

 delicious odor peculiar to itself, and it remains open later in 

 the day after those of N. odorata have closed. Both sides of 

 the leaves of N. tuberosa are green, while in all the plants of 

 N. odorata I have seen the under side of its leaves were of a 

 reddish purple color. The pinkish color of the sepals, so com- 

 mon in N. odorata, is said to be always lacking in N. tuberosa, 

 and the small tubers, which are so numerous in A', tuberosa, 

 attached to the main root-stalk, are lacking in the other. 



There are other handsome species native to North America, 

 such as the N.flava of the southern states, with yellow flow- 

 ers, the beautiful blue flowered A^. elegans from southern 

 Texas and Mexico, and the N. amp la and N. gracilis, but none 

 of these thrive in our cool, clear waters of New England. 

 Even in the hottest summer weather, such as the present sea- 

 son affords, they only manage to exist, sending up a few weak 

 leaves with no promise of flowers. 



One of the most attractive little plants of the Heath family, 

 and which is now in flower, is the Spotted Wintergreen (C/iima- 

 phylla maculata). The plant is seldom over six or seven 

 inches high, and bears four or five nodding, white, deliciously 

 fragrant flowers, three-fourths of an inch wide. The ovate- 

 lanceolate leaves are dark green, variegated with a lighter 

 centre along the middle the whole length of the leaf. It is a dif- 

 ficult species to transplant, and the only way is to take up 

 large sods and set in a fine shaded soil. 



The White Fringed Orchis (Habenaria blephariglottis) is just 

 beginning to bloom. It is one of the rarest and most desira- 

 ble species we have. It grows in bogs and on borders of ponds, 

 usually only a foot high, with oblong-lanceolate leaves, and at 

 the summit a short, round spike of pure white flowers. It is a 

 good plant for artificial bogs, and blooms a little before Haben- 

 aria psy codes, when flowers are few. 



Aletris farinosa (Star Grass) has its leaves in a cluster close 

 to the ground, from among which comes a long, slender, 

 naked scape, two or three feet high, bearing a wand-like 

 raceme of pretty white flowers. The spike or raceme is about 

 three-fourths of an inch in diameter and five to eight inches 

 long. It is useful for cutting. The plant is not rare, and may 

 be easily grown in the sun or shade in a sandy soil. 



Silene stellata, Starry Campion, sometimes called Colic 

 Root, is an attractive plant when in bloom. Its numerous 

 flowers are three-fourths of an inch across and pure white. 

 The petals are cut into a fringe, which adds to its beauty. The 

 stems are two or three feet high and rather weak at time of 

 flowering, for the stalks with flowers are usually bent down. 

 The taper pointed, narrowly ovate leaves are in whorls of 

 four at considerable distances apart along the stem. It is a 

 native of wooded banks from Rhode Island to Wisconsin and 

 southward. Although it grows in shade or partly shaded situ- 

 ations it seems to thrive equally well in the sun. 



The Bristly Sarsaparilla or Wild Elder (Aralia hispida) is 

 not a showy plant. The stems, which are a foot or two high, 

 aTe bristly, with a moderate amount of foliage, and terminate 

 in a head bearing several hemispherical umbels of greenish 

 white flowers. Its best season is when in fruit and it bears an 

 abundance of dark berries much resembling those of the com- 

 mon Elder. It grows in rocky places, also on dry sandy soil, 

 and does fairly well in either sun or shade. 



Southwick, Mass. F. H. Horsford. 



Cinerarias. 



C IN ER ARIAS are among the most useful and showy plants for 

 the embellishment of the conservatory and green house dur- 

 ing the winter and spring months. They are easily managed, 

 too, but are seen much more rarely than they deserve, and still 

 more rarely grown up to the recognized standard of a florist's 

 flower. One great drawback to the successful cultivation of 

 Cinerarias in the United States is that growers follow the cul- 

 tural notes given in European periodicals and catalogues. 

 Rules which ensure success in England would bring disaster if 

 strictly adhered to in this country, and yet these plants can be 

 grown successfully by every one who can command an ordi- 

 nary garden frame and a greenhouse from which frosts and 

 excessive damp can be excluded. 



Cinerarias are classed as greenhouse perennials, and many 

 varieties are grown as such in Europe and propagated by off- 

 shoots after flowering; but the difficulty here is that the plants 

 cannot survive our summer sun and heat. This fact must also 

 be borne in mind by those who treat them as annuals. Plants 

 from seed sown in May and June lack the vigor of later 

 sown seedlings, and this is a vital point in cultivation. Seed 

 of an extra good strain should be obtained from a reliable 

 source, and two sowings made; the first from the middle to 

 the latter end of July, with another about three weeks later. 

 The seed should be sown in pans or shallow boxes upon light 

 sandy soil, moist, but not wet, and they should be covered 

 lightly with finely sifted soil. A cold-frame, pitched north, 

 with sashes shaded and a bed of coal ashes two or three inches 

 thick, makes a good place for seed-pans, as well as for the 

 seedlings in all stages of growth, if no other suitable structure 

 can be commanded. The seed-pans should be covered with 

 glass or paper to prevent evaporation during the day, but the 

 glass must be taken off for some time daily, as the close at- 

 mosphere will help the development of bench-fungus, which 

 will destroy the seedlings before they can be safely handled. 

 I prefer to cover the pans during the day and leave them un- 

 covered at night. In watering seed-pans a fine rose watering- 

 pot or a rubber sprinkler should be used. When the seedlings 

 are large enough to handle, prick them off into shallow boxes 

 and return them to the frame, where they should be constantly, 

 but discreetly, ventilated. Newly pricked off or potted plants 

 must be kept somewhat close for two or three days after shift- 

 ing or the plants may flag, a result to be avoided always; and 

 yet the night air is beneficial. Keep a sharp look out^for slugs 

 and snails, as the tender seedling is a tempting morsel, and if 

 one slug can reach a plant at this stage it is gone. Young 

 toads also like to bury themselves in the cool sandy seed- 

 boxes, not to the benefit of the plants. 



As soon as the plants are large enough, and before they get 

 crowded in the boxes, pot them off singly into three-inch or 

 three-and-a-half-inch pots, using well decayed sod and rotted 

 cow-manure or manure from a spent hot-bed. The soil should 

 be rubbed through a sieve of half-inch mesh with sharp sand, 

 broken charcoal or coal ashes to keep it porous. The pots 

 must be clean and well crocked for drainage. Care must 

 be taken in handling the young plants from the seed-pans that 

 a leaf is not broken or the tender roots bruised by pressing 

 the soil too firmly into the pots. The plants may be lifted 

 with a stout label with as much soil as will adhere to the roots, 

 and should not be planted too deeply or they may rot off. As 

 soon as the plants have partly filled the pots with roots they 

 should be shifted into five-inch and six-inch pots. In the lat- 

 ter size they may be left to bloom, but those in the smaller 

 pots will need another shift. Use the same soil as at first pot- 

 ting ; give a light sprinkle of bone-meal and place the pots 

 once more in the cold-frame, giving attention to shading, 

 watering and ventilation. 



As the plants advance in growth those in five-inch pots may 

 be shifted into pots two or three sizes larger, using the same 

 compost as before ; those in six-inch pots should receive weak 

 liquid manure once a week, and the application should be 

 increased in strength and frequency as the plants require 

 watering, until every second watering is with liquid manure. 

 Give each plant abundant room for developing its foliage, and 

 use every possible means to keep the foliage clean, healthy 

 and vigorous. During hot and dry weather a light sprinkling 

 overhead will greatly assist them. As autumn approaches 

 every precaution must be taken against frost, but the plants 

 should not be hurried into the greenhouse, for mild weather 

 is often experienced after a light frost or two. 



The Cineraria dislikes sun heat and fire heat and extremes 

 of temperature, and when it is necessary to bring the plants 

 into the greenhouse place them in the cool house, giving air 

 on all favorable occasions, but guarding against cutting 

 draughts of cold air, a glaring sun and a dry atmosphere. A 



