July io, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



33 J 



Tlie Maiden-hair Fern {Adiantuiii pedatum) is one of our 

 prettiest species, and larger numbers of this are exported to 

 Europe tlian any other. It grows in tufts, about a foot high, 

 and fine, strong clumps of it are very beautiful. It is not a 

 difficult plant to grow, but should be set in autumn. 



Asplenhim Trichoinaiies is one of the prettiest of the smaller 

 Ferns and not difficult to grow. It is found in tufts on shaded 

 cliffs, but we have grown it in moist, loamy soil in the shade. 

 It is a fine plant for sheltered corners of the rockery. 



The common Wood Fern {Aspidiuin inarghtale) is a pretty 

 plant and its fronds are evergreen. The plant is generally 

 about eighteen inches high, and grows naturally on rocky hill- 

 sides, in the shade, and in low woods. It can be successfully 

 grown on any ordinary soil in the shade. 



The Walking Leaf {Caniptosorus rhizophy litis) is a low, 

 evergreen Fern, growing in dense mats or tufts on shaded 

 rocks. In the right location it spreads very rapidly, but it 

 needs shade. We have seen it successfully grown in the 

 shade in fine, loamy soil with ordinary culture, but for its 

 best development it needs a light, moist soil. 

 Charlotte, vt- F. H. Horsford. 



Orchid Notes. 



Lcelia Amesiana. — This most beautiful and rare hybrid is 

 now in flower with us. It is the result of crossing Cattleya 

 7naxima with Lalia crispa, and is a great improvement upon 

 both. In habit it much resembles C. crispa, though by no means 

 so strong. It is a robust, free-growing kind, producing four to 

 live flowers on a peduncle, though larger plants may produce 

 more. They are about six inches across, the narrow, white 

 sepals tinted with purple, which is more intense on the 

 broader undulate petals. The lip is beautifully crisped with a 

 pale margin, while the front lobe is a rich purple which is ex- 

 tended into the throat. This species is of recent introduction, 

 and is as scarce as it is beautiful. It is named in compliment 

 to Mr. F. L. Ames, of Boston. 



Brassia verrucosa is an old and well-known Orchid which 

 produces many-flowered racemes of curious flowers with at- 

 tenuated sepals and petals of pale green, dotted near the base 

 with dull purple. The spreading lip is white, marked with the 

 green, wart-like excrescences which give the specific name to 

 the plant. It is a native of Guatemala, and is particularly easy 

 to grow in open soil of peat and moss, the temperature of the 

 intermediate house suiting it best. At this season of the 

 year its flowers — though by no means showy — are wel- 

 come, and their grotesque appearance always attracts atten- 

 tion. There is a strong-growing variety with superior flow- 

 ers called Grandiflora. 



Dendrobuim moschatum is a very strong-growing, evergreen 

 species introduced from India more than sixty years ago, and 

 formerly to be seen in nearly every garden, where 

 stove-plants were grown. The best grown plants 

 I have yet seen were trained to the roof of one of 

 the old-fashioned stove-pits, and subjected to the 

 strong, dry heat of a brick flue. Under this treat- 

 ment the immense bulbs were thoroughly ripened, 

 and produced every year a tremendous crop of 

 bloom which hung from the roof like bunches of 

 grapes. Of late years this old plant has had to give 

 way to newer and more showy kinds, and is now 

 seldom seen. The bulbs are very stout, six to eight 

 feet long, furnished with oblong, ovate, leathery 

 leaves, The flowers are produced in pendant 

 racemes about a dozen in number, usually from 

 the sides of the leafless bulbs. They are about four 

 inches across, creamy-buff suffused with rose ; the 

 slipper-shaped lip is 'pale yellow, ornamented with 

 two large blotches of dark purple. They last about 

 a week. This is one of the easiest Orchids to grow, 

 preferring strong heat and abundance of water 

 during growth. A long rest with good exposure 

 to sunlight will insure abundance of flowers. If pot- 

 bound, liberal applications of liquid manure will 

 be beneficial. 



Anguloa Clowesii is a Colombian Orchid found at 

 medium elevations, and does best when treated as 

 an intermediate. A compost of peat and loam with 

 chopped leaves, with plenty of sand, suits it, and so 

 do an abundance of water and air during growth, 

 and a long and somewhat dry rest. It is a large- • 

 growing kind with oblong, ovate bulbs and plicate leaves 

 about two feet long. The scapes are produced from the base 

 of the young growths, and bear a .single, large, Tulip-like 

 golden-yellow flower, with a pure white lip and very fragrant. 



Kenwood, N. Y. F. Goldring. 



Savoys for Winter. — For home use the coarse Drumhead 

 class of Cabbages should be discartled for the moix- delicate 

 Savoys. The Netted Savoy is best, but the American Drinn- 

 head .Savoy is larger and fairly good. I set the plants generally 

 upon a strawberry-l)ed after the fruit has been gathered, bury- 

 mg the strawberry-sod deeply with a large plow. Then a 

 heavy coat of fine stable-manure is spread over the plowed 

 surface, which is harrowed lightly, and rows are cut to set the 

 plants three feet apart each way. In all late summer crops in 

 the garden it is better to spread the manure on the surface 

 after plowing, and keep it there by shallow culture. It thus 

 serves the doidjle purpose of a fertilizer and a mulch. If sta- 

 ble-manure is not to be had good raw-bone or bone-black 

 superphosphate, at the rate of about 1,000 poimds per acre, is 

 the best substitute. As soon as the plants recover from the 

 transplanting, cultivation should begin, and the surface should 

 be kept constantly stirred. There is an old superstition that 

 Cabbage must not be cultivated during dog-days, but the only 

 time when cultivation should be suspended is when the leaves 

 are wet with dew or rain. To keep off the Cabbage caterpil- 

 lars we use Pyrethrum, the Pieris rapcc, which come first. 

 The later enemies are the larva; of Pliisia brassica, which 

 generally come in larger numl^ers, and are so much more dif- 

 ficult to destroy, that of late years we have given up the flight, 

 and try to encourage such a rapid growth of the plants 

 that the caterpillars cannot keep up with the increasing heads. 

 For this purpose we use nitrate of soda, mixed with super- 

 phosphate, scattering about roo poimds per acre at two appli- 

 cations, just before working the plants. Its effects are won- 

 derful in promoting a rapid growtli, and we generally succeed 

 in outwitting the worms and making a crop in a good season. 

 Here we defer planting our Winter Cabbage until late in July, 

 to avoid the Harlequin Beetle. This insect has not been 

 troublesome in the north yet, but here it is the worst mid- 

 summer pest we have on Cabbage. Every leaf attacked 

 withers as though fire had passed over it. North of Virginia 

 Winter Cabbage had better be planted the first week in July. 



Crozet, Va. ^- P- MaSSCy. 



Orchids in New Jersey. — Although small in comparison with 

 the area of many other states. New Jersey possesses a surpris- 

 ingly rich flora of its own. Its shady hill-sides and extensive 

 swamps are peculiarly adapted to the growth and reproduction 

 of the various members of the Orchid family indigenous to the 

 eastern States. I have found places in shady woods where 

 Cypripediiim pubescens and C. parvifloriDii were found cover- 

 ing acres of ground, the fragrance of their flowers being 

 especially noticeable. This I have never foimd so pronounced 

 when plants were grown in gardens. These two plants are 

 foimd growing in clumps together here, and it would appear 



Oak Woods at Belmont.— See page 326. 



as if the one might be a minor form of the other. Orchis 

 spectabilis is plentiful in the same locality, and so are Habe- 

 naria Hookcri and H. orbiciilata, all thriving luxuriantly in the 

 rich vegetable mould, the result of ages of growth and decay. 

 C. acaiile grows on lower levels, and appears to thrive best in a 



