86 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 366. 



There are also some attractive new varieties of Cactus Dahlias, 

 notaI)Iy a v^'hlte one, Mrs. Peart. 



Cannas are so quickly and readily grown from seed that 

 there is a superabundance of named kinds — mostly of no great 

 merit, but the comparatively recent Konigin Charlotte is 

 really a plant of merit and great brilliancy, and will, no doubt, 

 prove of the first order. 



At least one house (Henderson & Co.) offers, this season, an 

 important list of early-flowering Chrysanthemums, the best 

 of the Delau.x varieties. This is a movement quite in tlie right 

 direction and offers an opportunity to enrich our gardens with 

 Chrysanthemum-flowers Ijefore the heavier frosts set in. 

 Some of these Ciu-ysanthemums produce large flowers, though 

 probably not as big as cabbages, nor with stems like weavers' 

 beams, but they can generally be grown with satisfaction in 

 bush form, and when judiciously disbudded they will produce 

 well-formed flowers. 



The early Chrysanthemums do not perfect their growth so 

 much earlier than others, but the flowers come to maturity 

 much quicker after the formation of the buds. In this habit 

 of development there is a most striking difference in the 

 Chrysanthemum varieties. ~ ,, ^ 



Elizabeth, N.;. J . N . Lrerard. 



Angrascum sesquipedale. 



THIS Orchid-has now become so common that it is found 

 in almost every collection of this class of plants. Perhaps 

 no Orchid ever caused such a sensation as this when it was 

 introduced, and it has since become famous. It is one of the 

 Orchids Darwin was especially interested in on account of the 

 exceptional length of the spur, and a plant in bloom always 

 attracts attention. This wonderful Angraecum was found m 

 Madagascar by a French botanist near the close of the last 

 century, and when the history of the plants of Madagascar was 

 published in 1822, Angra'cum sesquipedale became known to 

 science. Botanists and horticulturists were anxious to intro- 

 duce it, and many attempts were made, but these were 

 not successful until 1855. Mr. Ellis, a missionary in Madagas- 

 car, was fortunate enough to bring home three living speci- 

 mens to his garden in England, where one of them flowered 

 in the spring of 1857. There was still great difficulty in rein- 

 troducing the plant, and for many years it was rare and expen- 

 sive. In its native country it is said to grow on the trunks and 

 branches of trees, where it has abundant light and air, and in 

 the hottest and lowest districts. A very tine specimen has 

 been in bloom here for more than a month. It is two feet 

 high, and has two branches or stems, which are well furnished 

 with thick, leathery, dark green leaves about a foot long and 

 two inches wide. The flowers are produced on peduncles ten 

 to twelve inches long. When they first appear they are green, 

 and this color continues until the flowers are almost fully de- 

 veloped, when it turns to an ivory-white. As the flowers 

 begin to fade they become pale yellow. The flowers are not 

 very fragrant during the day, but at night they have a strong 

 odor which is not very pleasing. The color and the fragrance of 

 the flowers at night indicate that tliey are then fertilized by an 

 insect in its native home. The plant in bloom here had six- 

 teen largeflowers fully developedat one time ; these measured 

 six inches across, and the spurs were twelve inches and a half 

 long. The plant is easy to cultivate. It requires a strong, 

 moist heat, and is grown here in the stove. It also requires 

 plenty of light, but must be shaded from strong sunlight 

 during the summer. It grows well, planted in a basket with 

 crocks and sphagnum-moss, and suspended near the roof- 

 glass. Water must be given during the entire year, and to 

 keep down insect pests the plant must be frequently sponged. 

 Another large Angraecum in bloom now is A. eber- 

 neum. It is a large strong-growing plant, with thick, leathery, 

 strap-shaped leaves. The flowers, although not as large as 

 some of the other species, are produced plentifully on nearly 

 erect flower-spikes. The petals and sepals are narrow and 

 green, and the lip cordate and pure white. The flowers are 

 very fragrant, and last for nearly two months. It requires the 

 same treatment as A. sesquipedale. It was introduced from 

 Madagascar in 1826. 



Botanic Garden, Harvard University. Kobert Lameroil. 



Amar3'llis. 



NO bulbous plants show the results of common-sense treat- 

 ment more plainly or promptly than these, and your 

 correspondent's notes on their cultivation are well timed. 

 Having known the excellent strain referred to, and hav- 

 ing raised a number of plants from their seed, I fully 

 endorse what Mr. Orpet says of them. But I would go a step 

 farther and flower the bulbs a month earlier, so as to have a 



longer season for growing and maturing. Just here is the 

 point where many have failed in cultivating these plants. 

 After the flower is spent, the plants have been put in a frame 

 or out-of-the-way place to ripen off. The bulb has lost con- 

 siderably in the production of, perhaps, two spikes of flowers, 

 tlie soil in the pot is exhausted, when the plant is dried off it 

 is found to be much smaller, and the best it can do the next 

 season is to produce one flower-spike widi considerably 

 smaller flowers. Some will not flower at all, but endeavor to 

 recuperate their energies, but with the same result of smaller 

 and weaker plants next year, and flowers unsatisfactory or en- 

 tirely wanting. Then follows the judgment too frequently 

 pronounced that Amaryllises are not worth growing. 



It sometimes happens that very crude metliods have resulted 

 beneficently, and my experience with Amaryllis on this line 

 has been very satisfactory. After the flowering I gradually 

 expose them to sunlight and air, setting them in a frame or 

 cool house where the foliage will not get sunburnt. I make 

 sure that their growth receives no check. As soon as the 

 weather permits they are planted out in well-prepared soil in 

 full exposure to sun and receive a mulching of half-rotted 

 manure to prevent excessive evaporation, and to keep the 

 roots cool. They are watered and cleaned as other plants, 

 and the amount of foliage, deep green and leathery, is surpris- 

 ing. The large, fleshy roots cannot be crowded into the pots 

 intended for finishing their growth. Toward the end of the 

 season, and before frost would damage the plants, I carefully 

 lift them and heel them into deep flats and replace them in a 

 cool greenhouse, gradually withholding water when the bulbs 

 will ripen up and they will keep in excellent condition under 

 the stage. Having some long, narrow boxes convenient, I 

 used them, because they were easily laid on the side when 

 necessary to keep dry. When the flower-spike appeared the 

 bulbs were potted up and the same course gone through 

 again. 



Seedlings should be pricked off into flats, and as soon as 

 the weather permits they should be planted out in a 

 frame. Later on they can have the full exposure of sunlight 

 and air, andean be treated as other plants. In this way a good col- 

 lection of Amaryllis can be grown with, perhaps, the least 

 trouble and with excellent results as compared with many 

 other exotics. 



Ciiiton, N. J. W. Tricker. 



Eiicharis Amazonica. 



T^HIS is one of the most popular of the bulbous stove-plants, 

 ■'■ although it is less extensively grown in this country than 

 in Europe. It is indispensable for market purposes where 

 choice white flowers are in demand. Some of the large trade 

 growers on the outskirts of London devote from six to ten large 

 houses to its cultivation to supply the great flower market of 

 Covent Garden. As a general rule, it is grown in pots. These 

 should be of a good size ; ten large bulbs should have 

 a twelve-inch pot, and six-inch bulbs a ten-inch pot. The 

 bulbs should be planted quite deep, and they flower best 

 when the pots are well filled with roots. Once in two years is 

 often enough to repot them. Offsets are freely made. These 

 may be potted in six or eight inch pots, from six to twelve 

 bulbs to a pot, and they will soon make flowering bulbs. The 

 compost we find most suitable is two parts of heavy clayey 

 loam and one part well-dried cow-manure; to this is added 

 some broken charcoal and a good dash of sharp sand. The 

 pots should be well drained and the soil pressed moderately 

 firm. When the leaves have completed their growth water 

 should be given rather sparingly — never entirely withheld 

 — and the plants rested in an outer house. When the bulbs 

 are starting a brisk bottom-heat is desirable ; with an overhead 

 temperature of sixty-five degrees at night, and a corresponding 

 rise in the daytime a crop of flowers can be had in about a 

 month after the bulbs are planted. Liquid-manure can be 

 given freely as soon as the spikes show, and until the growth 

 is completed, as Eucharis Amazonica is quite a gross feeder. 

 If extra fine spikes are desired a piece ot bench at the warm 

 end of the stove, or other warm structure, should be used. 

 We use a bench at the warmest end of our Rose-house, and 

 plant in four inches of compost, similar to that recommended 

 for pot-plants, with the addition of some pieces of broken 

 brick. Flowers are not freely produced until the bed becomes 

 a mat of roots. When the plants are well established they 

 should give three crops of flowers a year. Good average 

 spikes will carry from five to six blooms each, occasionally 

 more, with flowers four to five inches in diameter. There are 

 several varieties of Eucharis in cultivation, but E. Amazonica, 

 called also Grandiflora, is the best. Other popular varieties are 

 E. Candida and E. Sanderiana. 



