36 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 361. 



Seed-sowing. 



T F a greenhouse is available this is the best possible time to 

 -'■ sow seeds of herbaceous plants that were not sown in the 

 fall when gathered. An ordinary greenhouse temperature is 

 most suitable — that is, a temperature such as is required for 

 Carnations, of fifty degrees at night, with a corresponding rise 

 during the daytime with sundieat. When first sown, the seeds 

 should be covered with some non-conducting material, as a thick 

 sheet of paper. Chopped moss is advocated by some growers, 

 and this answers well enough if it is known about what time 

 the young plants will appear. But if, as often happens, the 

 seeds are slow in germinating, it is not well to use the moss. 

 If the seeds are covered with glass it must be turned each day 

 to get rid of the superflous moisture, or they will decay. We 

 never use glass except for very small seeds, to avoid too fre- 

 quent watering and the consequent washing out of the soil 

 that sometimes takes place even from spraying. All the 

 smaller seeds should be placed by themselves, so that they 

 can have special care and attention. Small seeds are often 

 sowed too deep, and so fail to germinate. A safe rule is to 

 cover them with a depth of soil equal to the size of the seeds. 

 A suitable soil is one composed of equal parts of loam and 

 leaf-mold, with plenty of sand to make it porous, and, if it is 

 possible to obtain charcoal-dust, this is beneficial, but this is 

 not easily obtained now. When Japanese Lily-bulbs were 

 exported in this material it was more generally used, and 

 proved of great value in all potting soils. Any one who lias 

 charcoal-dust for sale would do the gardening public a kind- 

 ness by making the fact known. ' 



Seeds of hardy plants especially are best sown thinly over 

 the surface. Seedlings which are thickly crowded are neces- 

 sarily weak, and if decay does not set in in the seed-box it is 

 likely to attack them after they are transplanted. A heavy 

 watering followed by a dull day is often the cause of great 

 mortality and disappointment. 



Seeds sown now will make strong plants by April, when 

 they can be hardened off in a frame, and later on planted in 

 the open ground. By sowing seeds of herbaceous plants now 

 this work will be out of the way before the seeds of garden 

 annuals require to be sown, a real advantage where many 

 annuals have to be sown each year. -c n, n a , 



South Lancaster, Mass. -C. U. Urpct. 



The Newer Chrysanthemums. 



ON page 18 of the current volume of Garden and Forest 

 Mr. J. N. Gerard comments on the newer varieties of 

 Chrysanthemums as compared with the older kinds, and adds 

 that little attention has been given to the raising of such varie- 

 ties as will bloom in the open garden. In part this is true, and 

 in part it is misleading. For many years much attention has 

 been given by European growers to early-flowering varieties 

 that will bloom to advantage, and thus make attractive out- 

 door plants. These are known as the Madame Desgranges 

 (syn. G. Wermig) type, and in Europe they have been found 

 to" be a ,jjsef ul class of plants. Messrs. Peter Henderson & Co. 

 enumerate a lar^e number of the more recent early-flowering 

 varieties in their catalogue of last year, and doubtless there 

 are many other growers in this country who devote considera- 

 ble space to them. But, so far, they are an unsatisfactory 

 group in our climate. The hot days and cold nights of our 

 autumn months can hardly be called favorable to their best 

 development, and hence, to insure a crop of good flowers, 

 they must be grown under glass, like the later-blooming kinds. 

 A great deal is said about the beauty of those old-fashioned 

 varieties that will survive a few degrees of frost. As a matter 

 of fact, most of the modern varieties placed in commerce 

 before 1S90 — I have not seen the later sorts tested — will live 

 and bloom through similar hardships. It is believed by many 

 persons that the flowers of such plants, old as well as new, are 

 still exquisite when in reality they are seriously disfigured by 

 eight or ten degrees of frost, and I never could see any great 

 beauty in a bloom one-half of whose fforets had been black- 

 ened by the cold. There are, of course, various contrivances 

 by which plants out-of-doors may be protected from early 

 frosts ; but in the case of a plant so indisputably tender as the 

 Chrysanthemum, it seems to me that the expense of a green- 

 house would be slight in comparison with the constant trouble 

 and worry in watching the barometer and in placing and re- 

 moving the protecting material. Many plants of a far hardier 

 nature than the Chrysanthemum, such as the Hellebores, for 

 instance, have their beauty much marred by exposure to the 

 elements, and, judged alike from the standpoints of pleasure 

 and expense, I know that it pays to place a cold frame or a 

 greenhouse over such plants. 



Peter the Great has been cited as a very desirable variety, 

 and with many others of a bygone generation it deserves 

 commendation. It is one of those good old varieties which 

 have endured the test of time, Itut which are now being 

 crowded out by the newcomers. Many considerations prompt 

 us to plead for these veterans ; they tiave done yeoman ser- 

 vice in the past, and we must feel sympathy for their past 

 triumphs. But their day is over, and the laurels must now go 

 to the newer, and, it must be admitted, the better races. Peter 

 the Great, as I remember it, bore magnificent blooms. But as 

 I have seen if in recent years it is quite as good, so that it is 

 the advance of other kinds, and not the deterioration of this 

 one, that has left it in the rear. The habit of Peter the Great, 

 like that of many old varieties, was ungainly, and to obtain 

 flowers from them of good size and quality it was and, with 

 all our improvements in methods of culture, is still necessary 

 to grow the plants with stems from six to eight, and even nine, 

 feet high. Compare this with many of our modern American 

 varieties, producing blooms of the greatest excellence.on stout 

 stems from three to four feet higii, and clad with luxuriant 

 foliage almost to the base of the flower. 



It may be said that these fine single heads are not the true 

 test of the value of a Chrysanthemum. But when the new 

 varieties will not only endure this test, but will equal or excel 

 the older ones when judged by any other standard, it will be 

 seen that there is little besides sentiment to justify the cnlliva- 

 tion of the good old sorts. No doubt, flowers are worth grow- 

 ing for sentiment alone, and if so, let it be admitted frankly. 

 This is certainly better than to claim for old favorites a grace 

 or beauty which they do not possess. 



Cornell LIniversitv. 



71/. Barker. 



Primula Sinensis. 



'X'HESE plants are in good form now and will continue to 

 -'- make a fine show for months to come. For the decora- 

 tion of a cool greenhouse they are indispensable during the 

 winter months, while the double varieties are very useful for 

 cut flowers. The best time for sowing seeds is the end of 

 March or the beginning of April, and a very suitable soil for 

 the seed is equal parts of loam, leaf-mold, with sand to cover 

 the seeds lightly. Heat and moisture is what the seeds need 

 until they have germinated, after which they should be grad- 

 ually exposed to light and air to prevent them becoming 

 drawn, to which they have a tendency during all periods of 

 their growth. They should be potted singly into small pots 

 when large enough to handle ; the soil should be finely sifted 

 and have a little dry, well-rotted cow-manure added. They 

 should never be allowed to become pot-bound, as it causes 

 premature flowering, which greatly retards the growth of the 

 plants. For the final shift six-inch pots are quite large enough, 

 and good specimens can be grown in five-inch pots. 



A cold frame in as cool a position as possible suits them 

 best during the summer months; the roots, especially, must 

 be kept cool, which is best done by plunging the pots in ashes 

 or half-rotted leaves, they may be shaded from strong sun, 

 but should have abundance of light and air to keep them strong 

 and bushy. All flower-buds should be pinched oft'as they ap- 

 pear until about the middle of October, which is also a good 

 time to get them into winter quarters. After flowering com- 

 mences, occasional applications of liquid-manure is very bene- 

 ficial, but this must always be applied in a weak state. 



The double varieties are hard to procure from seed and are 

 generally propagated by divisions. This is best done by re- 

 moving a few of the bottom leaves and plunging the plants 

 well down into a bed of leaf-mold and sand, where they will 

 make fresh roots from the bare part of the stem and can be 

 divided into single crowns and potted up separately. 



Tairylown. N. Y. William Scott. 



Celeriac. — Almost every one who relishes celery will like this 

 vegetable quite well, and yet it is rarely seen in country 

 gardens, altliough it would seem that everything which adds 

 variety to the home table would be tried. The edible part of 

 this turnip-rooted Celery, as it is popularly called, is the root, 

 although the top can be blanched and used, but this is strong-er 

 in flavor than celery and not as crisp. The seed should'^be 

 sown in a flat and covered lightly, and if paper or glass is laid 

 over it any sunny window will be a good position for it, al- 

 though wliere there is a greenhouse this is the best place. The 

 covering should be removed before the plants become drawn, 

 and they should be transplanted when an inch high into other 

 boxes two inches apart, where they may remain until they are 

 set into the ground the first of May. The rows should be two 

 feet and a half apart, and the plants may be set nine inches 

 apart in the row. The roots will be large enough to eat early 



