524 



Garden and Forest. 



[OCTOHEK 30, 1SS9. 



making' their growth, tlic roots soon sul'lei" if the soil becomes 

 sodden. 



If hfted plants of Deuizia gracilis are to be used for forcing, 

 it is now time to secure them, so that they may be potted or 

 planted in boxes and stored away in a cold frame imtil needed. 



This Deutzia is among the easiest plants to force, but, if used 

 to any great e.xtent, it is better to grow it in pots for this pur- 

 pose. If the ])lantsare plunged out-doors in summer they need 

 but little attention. By growing them in this manner the roots 

 are well established, and, in consequence, finer flowers are 

 produced. Besides, the flowers last longer than those on 

 plants which have been lifted from the open ground in the 

 fall and potted up. Some shapely little Lilacs in pots will also 

 make charming objects for conservatory decoration, and these 

 may be readily forced in a Rose house, after they have been 

 treated in much the same way as the Deutzias.* 



Imported clumps of Astilbe Japonica are still used largely 

 for winter and spring forcing, and are usually stronger and 

 therefore better than home-grown plants. They should be 

 potted up as soon as received (which is usually about the 

 beginning of November), and require but little heat to start 

 them into growth, though naturally they will not start in so 

 short a time in midwinter as toward spring. Their feathery, 

 graceful spikes of bloom are acceptable at any tiriie, and form 

 a welcome addition to almost any arrangement of cut flowers. 



The Astilbe is of the easiest culture, the chief requirements 

 for growing it being a light, rich soil, full exposure to sun- 

 light and an abundance of water. 



Ho)mesbui-g, Pa. W. H. TapUn. 



Water Cress Under Glass. 



AIJATER CRESS is not, necessarily, a plant that can grow 

 • * only in water ; it can be grown from the same roots all 

 ■winter by any one who can grow a plant. No special care or 

 preparation is necessary. It thrives in cool green-houses, and 

 will grow very rapidly in abundant heat. I have raised VVater 

 Cress in this manner for several years, and have it now ready 

 for market, fresh, clean, tender, pungent, in sprays more appe- 

 tizing than when it is taken direct from its home in or near 

 running water. Cuttings or slips of Cress, preferably the termi- 

 nal shoots, four inches apart, shoidd be planted about Sep- 

 tember 1st in the green-house bench in rqws five inches apart. 

 The first cuttings are made in about one month or six weieks, 

 leaving a long stub of the first growth and the root undis- 

 turbed, and from these will again start another growth, which 

 can be gathered as before. 



No .special treatment is required. Any soil that will raise 

 good Lettuce will raise Cress ; any kind of fertilizer used for 

 vegetables stimulates the growth of this plant; six inchesofsoil, 

 which should be kept free from weeds, is deep enough for it 

 to grow in. 



It is tender in the winter months, and is much better when 

 grown in this way. Those who have used Cress gathered 

 in late fall or in early spring, have noticed the tough leaf and 

 dark foliage of plants grown out-of-doors. No more water 

 should be used than is necessary to keep the level ground 

 damp, not wet. 



It is a profitable crop to raise. I retail the strawberry bas- 

 kets, in which I put the freshly picked sprays, at ten cents each, 

 and there are from three to five cuttings, according to the tem- 

 perature at which the Cress is grown. It also grows well in 

 frames, when the thermometer does not fall to thirty-two de- 

 grees ; but- if raised with heat, it grows more rapidly. I trans- 

 fer my roots from the green-house to hot-beds in March or 

 April, and there they continue their growth. 



Any one having even the smallest space at command can 

 grow Cresses. They will flourish in a box or large pot or vase, 

 filled with rich earth, if the roots are strong, in a corner of the 

 conservatory or in a sunny window, and yield a treat both to 

 the sight and taste. Let those try it who love a healthful salad- 

 plant. 



West Spiingfield, Mass. ^V. H. Bull. 



Oxalis.— The genus Oxalis is a very large one. We are told 

 by the most recent authorities that it contains upward of 

 220 species, one of which, the common Wood Sorrel of Brit- 

 ain, is often spoken of as the Shamrock, as it is found 

 growing in great luxuriance in Ireland. We have seen 

 it covering acres of ground in moist shady woods, and it is not 

 a matter of surprise that the honor of being a " national plant" 

 is sometimes accorded to Oxalis aceto'sella. Here in the east- 

 ern states we have also an Oxalis violacea,a. very pretty plant, 

 with a small_bulbous root. It is very suitable for naturalizing 

 in shady places or on rock-work, where the pale violet flow- 

 ers present in spring a pleasing appearance. We have culti- 



\'ated here for several years another charming species. This is 

 O. lobata, a native of South America, and said to be hardy in 

 England, but we have never dared to risk it out here during 

 winter; and, moreo\'er, the heavy rains would complete!}' dis- 

 figure its delicate beauty, for foliage and flowers are borne on 

 slender stems about four inches high. The flowers are the size 

 of a dime and the brightest yellow imaginable. In the green- 

 house this plant lasts for fully two months in bloom, with ii con- 

 stant succession of flowers. Another plant, O. Bowei, per- 

 haps the showiest of the genus, deserves mention as an excel- 

 lent pot plant. Its foliage is very large, often three inches 

 across, and surmounted by a stem bearing flowers of a 

 bright rose color. These, lik-e all others of this family, close 

 up in the evening to reopen the next day to the genial 

 influence of light and warmth. O. Bowei is a bulbous 

 plant also, and is increased rapidly by this means, for where 

 one is planted now there will be five a year hence. After the 

 leaves die down the i)ulbs should be kept perfectly dry until 

 it is desired to start them again, and by judicious planting at 

 intervals in rich soil, using six-inch pots for three bulbs, O. 

 Bowei can be made to flower all through the dreary months 

 of winter, and is a very suitable sul)ject for conservatory or 

 room decoration. 

 Passaic, N. J. E. O. Or pet. 



Orchid Notes. 



Lcelia graiidis. — This very distinct and handsome Lielia, 

 first appeared in cultivation in 1849, when M. Morel, of Paris, 

 received a few plants from near- Bahia, Brazil, tlirough M. 

 Pinel. In May of the following yeara plant flowered with him 

 and was exhilMted in London at one of the Regent Park shows. 

 After this event, however, it seems to have disappeared alto- 

 gether until about 1864, when Messrs. Low & Co. succeeded in 

 importing a limited number of plants through their Bahian 

 collector. Although lost so man}- years from cultivation 

 since its first appearance, its name, however, was kept up, 

 having been applied to a form of Lcelia purpurata. Within 

 the last few years Lcelia grandis has been often imported, but 

 never in very large quantities, and it is this fact which 

 accounts for its scarcity even at the present day. 



For the last two months and a half, plants of this species 

 have been m flower here, and have been a great attraction. 

 They have clavate, fusiform stems, which become furrowed 

 when old, bearing a single oblong-elliptic, very leathery leaf 

 of a deep green, while the peduncles which emerge from a 

 large greenish sheath on top of the stem usually bear five 

 flowers, each from four to five inches across. The sepals and 

 petals are nankeen-yellow, the former being lanceolate-acute, 

 wavy and recurved at the tips, while the latter are broader and 

 more crisped on the margins. The trilobed, funnel-shaped 

 lip is cream}' white, suffused pale rose and conspicuously 

 veined with piuple lines which diverge on the anterior lobe. 

 It might be mentioned that great variation in color exists in 

 the flowers of this species as in others. Sometimes the sepals 

 iind petals are veined with purple, especially on the outer sur- 

 face, while the color of the lip varies from \'ery pale to deep 

 rose-purple. 



Tins species should be treated like Lctlia ptirpiiraia in 

 many ways and may be grown with that species. During the 

 flowering season, which lasts from Jifly to September, the 

 plants require not too much water, although growing- slowly. 

 At the end of this period n-iore rapid growth begins and conse- 

 quently more attention to watering is necessary. Being a 

 native of a warm, moist: cliniate, the winter teniperature 

 should be about sixty or sixty-five degrees Fahr., and this may 

 be allowed to rise several degrees during the spring and sum- 

 mer when the sun becomes niore powerful. 



Graniinatophylliun Measuresianuni (new species). — This re- 

 markable species has been recently introduced fron-i one of 

 the Philippine Islands by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, 

 England, and dedicated to R. H. Measures, Esq., of The Wood- 

 lands, Streathaii-i. A great nuniber of plants having been 

 already distributed among various collections, the following- 

 rSniarks may be, therefore, of more than ordinary interest : 



G. Measicresianutn is characterized by its masses of oblong, 

 elliptic, slightly con-ipressed pseudo-bulbs, clothed with silvery- 

 membranous sheaths, and varying in length from eight to six- 

 teen inches, more or less furrowed when young, and deeply 

 wrinkled when old. Each pseudo-bulb bears at its sumniit 

 from fom- to six deep green, persistent, broadly lanceolate, 

 acute leaves, eighteen inches or two feet long. In a wild state 

 from sixty to seventy flowers, each about four inches across, 

 are borne in April on stout, erect scapes, which spring from 

 the base of the pseudo-bulb and are from five to seven feet tall. 

 The narrower petals vary in color from cream to greenish yellow,. 



