54 



Garden and Forest. 



[January 30, 1889. 



thousands in a night. The best remedy, at the first signs 

 of its appearance, is to sift heated sand amongst the young 

 seedlings, using a very fine sieve. This looks like heroic 

 treatment for plants of this tender age, but it is very 

 effective in destroying the fungus, and does not injure the 

 young plants. About the first of September more air and 

 less moisture may be given, so as to harden the plants 

 preparatory to their removal to winter quarters, which 

 should be a deep frame or pit in some sheltered situation. 

 They may l)e put in this pit the first of October; or sooner, 

 if the house is needed for other purposes. In this pit 

 they should have plenty of air every pleasant day, but 

 should be covered every night to keep them from frost as 

 long as possible. This can readily be done in most sea- 

 sons up to the middle of December or the first of January 

 by a single mat ; they can then be covered with mats 

 or meadow hay, and will need to be uncovered only once 

 in every two weeks for an hour or so to guard against damp 

 or excessive moisture, which often will induce a growth 01 

 fungus even in a cold pit if it is kept long without airing. 

 In the spring, about the first of May, the young plants 

 can be transplanted into well-prepared beds of peaty soil, 

 or a light, sandy loam of good depth. If dry weather sets 

 in, they will require plenty of water, as they are not deep- 

 rooted at this time ; if water is handy, a good syringing 

 may be given every evening as soon as the sun begins to 

 leave the bed, until the middle of August, when all moist- 

 ure should be withheld, so that the plants may ripen well 

 before winter sets in. If they have been well cared for, 

 they will be from six to seven inches high at the end 01 

 the second season. 



At the approach of cold weather a slight covering of 

 leaves between the young plants with Pine boughs or 

 coarse meadow hay, over the tops, to keep the sun off, 

 will carry the plants through the winter in safety. The 

 following spring they may be planted in the nursery, where 

 they can remain until used. The same treatment will ap- 

 ply to Azaleas, Kalmias, and other Ericaceous plants, only 

 the Azaleas grow much more rapidly than the others, and 

 at the end of the second season such species as A. mollis 

 and A. calendulacea should have quite a number of flower- 

 buds on them, while the Rhododendrons will not show 

 signs of flowering until the fourth or fifth year. — Ed.] 



The Fruit Garden. 

 "|\/r ULCHING Strawberries in Winter.— Much has been 

 iVi written about this, and no one doubts the benefit of it. 

 In northern Vermont, however, we can pretty safely depend 

 upon a snow mulch from December ist to April. This winter 

 is an exception. We have had no snow yet, to amount to any- 

 tliing, and in the middle of January our roads are bare, and as 

 smooth as the best Macadam. The fields have but a sprink- 

 ling of snow, and the strong Strawberry plants stick up through 

 it ; but though somewhat seared, they seem yet little the worse 

 for the exposure. As regards material, the ideal mulch for 

 almost everything is evergreen boughs; but it is not often prac- 

 ticable to get enough of them. Oat, wheat and rye straw are 

 used, and the last is best of the three ; but better still is bean 

 straw. If evenly applied, it is not beaten down by the snow 

 so as to smother or rot the plants, and it holds even the light- 

 est snow in its open meshes, thus utilizing to the utmost all 

 that comes. 



Protection of Trees from Mice. —Binding the trunks 

 with tarred paper is what is conimonly advised for this pur- 

 pose ; but the paper is apt not to give complete protection 

 near the ground. It also costs more and does not last so long 

 as the laths and barrel staves that I have used for many years. 

 These are cut in two in the middle, driven or pressed slightly 

 into the soil, and tied with a single turnof strongcotton twine. 

 They may be left on the year around, and in the fall are utilized by 

 the codliii worms as an apparently safe retreat. But late in the 

 fall they are tied again, being reversed, so that the spun-up 

 worms are left exposed to a cold world, and are cleaned oft 

 very quickly by the birds. Quarter-inch board is preferable to 

 barrel staves, on account of The bilge-curve of the latter, which 

 does not allow them to be turned ; but if the strings are cut a 

 few days in advance, and the staves laid on the ground so that 

 the inner sides are exposed, the birds will clean off the worms 

 in a short time. 



When to Prune. — It has a smart, snappy sound to say 

 " prune when your knife is sharp," and for such pruning as 

 may be easily done with a knife, it is well enough. But for the 

 larger limbs that must often be amputated, pruning when your 

 saw is sharp will not answer always and everywhere. Where 

 all trees are so hardy that a cut, however large, never blackens 

 or "bleeds," one may prune at any time with safety, while 

 trees are not in leaf. But in the northern tier of states there 

 are many trees planted that are more or less injured in their 

 wood by hard winters. Such trees are best pruned after the 

 severe weather is over, but then as early as possible, so that 

 the wound will get pretty dry before the sap starts. This will 

 not- always prevent " bleeding" when a tree has been much 

 hurt by low temperature, but it is the best that can be done 

 for them. 



What to Apply to the Cuts.— I have tried grafting-wax, 

 Ijoth solid and liquid, and various cements. Wax cleaves or 

 crumbles off too soon. The best cement I have used is made 

 by boiling pine-tar slowly for three or four hours, adding half 

 a pound of beeswax to a quart of the tar. Have ready some 

 dry and finely-sifted clay, and when the mixture of tar and wax 

 is partially cold, stir into the above named quantity about 

 twelve ounces of the clay, continuing the stirring until the 

 mixture is so stiff, and so nearly cool, that the clay will not set- 

 tle. This is soft enough in mild weather to be easily applied 

 with a knife or spatula. But of late I have found that any thick 

 ochreous paint, put on with a brush, answers every purpose, 

 and can be applied faster and more easily than anything else. 

 On large woimds it may need renewing, and if a red paint is 

 used they are more easily seen. 



Cutting and Keeping Cions. — I have always been best sat- 

 isfied with the growth of cions cut in the fall. This, I know, is 

 not so necessary in milder localities, but I believe It is best 

 everywhere. It is often said that cions should be cut from 

 bearing trees ; and many believe that this favors early fruiting 

 of the graft. I wish I could see some proof of so easy a 

 method of bringing late-bearers forward. I think, if one is 

 sure of the variety, there is no good reason why the cions may 

 not be taken from the youngest trees — even from the nursery. 

 To keep them well over winter, it is usually advised to pack 

 them in damp moss or sand. It is. difficult to get moss just 

 right in dampness, and sand endangers the sharpness of the 

 knife in grafting. The very best packing material is green- 

 wood sawdust, just as it comes from the log. Cions nicely 

 tied in biuidles and labeled securely, and so packed, firmly 

 compressing the sawdust under, over, around and between 

 the bundles, well covered and kept cool, will come out in the 

 spring in perfect condition. 



Newport, Vt. T. H. Hosktns. 



Orchid Notes. 



The most conspicuous objects in the cool house at present 

 are specimens of Ada aiirantiaca, the showiest of all cool 

 Orchids, excepting Epidendrum vitellinum. It grows in masses, 

 with tapering bulbs and narrow, deeply channeled, dark green 

 leaves about one foot high. The distichous racemes spring 

 from the base of the bulbs, bearing about a score of reddish 

 orange flowers, in which the segments are compressed near 

 the base and spreading at the apex. The whole flower is 

 from one to two inches long, according to the variety. This 

 is a strong grower and may always be depended upon to give 

 a good crop of bloom. It requires an open soil with good 

 drainage, and should have a plentiful supply of water at all 

 seasons. Near the Ada and helping to relieve its brilliant 

 hues, are plants of the Lily-of-the-Valley Orchid {Odofitoglossm/i 

 ■bulchellum). This is a most attractive species, growing in 

 dense masses, with ancipitous, shiny bulbs and long, grassy 

 leaves. The half pendulous racemes bear about a dozen 

 flowers, which are pure white, excepting the prominent golden 

 crest. They last a long time in perfection, and their useful- 

 ness as cut flowers is greatly enhanced by a delight- 

 ful Hyacinth fragrance. Some three or four varieties of this 

 sjiecies are known, the best being probably a very large form 

 called Dormannianum. Maxillaria picta should be grown, 

 if only for its powerful aromatic fragrance. This is a dwarf 

 kind, with tapering, yellowish and furrowed bulbs and short, 

 leathery leaves. The single-flowered scapes spring in abund- 

 ance from the base of the bulbs — more than a score from one 

 bulb. The flowers are cream colored, dotted with purple and 

 chocolate. It does well in a cool house, with a good rest, 

 after growth is finished. 



Odojitoglossiiin triumphans is a showy Orchid introduced 

 nearly fifty years ago from New Granada, where it is met with in 

 dense forests, in company with 0. Pescatorei, but it is not at all 

 plentiful. The bulbs are ovoid, compressed, and attain a good 



