Ferruary 27, 1S95.] 



Garden and Forest. 



87 



A night temperature of sixty to sixty-five degrees in winter, 

 and a bottom lieat of seventy-five to eiglity-five degrees, suits 

 the plants admirably, although they sometimes do well in a 

 much lower temperature. Abundant watering is necessary in 

 the growing season and frequent syringings. The plants need 

 shade from bright sunshine, but must not be shaded too 

 heavily. Mealy bug and thrips are two of the pests which 

 trouble them. A well-directed force of water from the hose 

 will keep both in check, ff they have been allowed to get a 

 foothold, fumigation will destroy the thrips, while sponginc' 

 with some kerosene emulsion or Fir-tree oil, dissolved in 

 water, will be found the most effectual way to get rid of the 

 mealy bug. Should the Eucharis mite make its appearance 

 all affected plants must be thrown away. We have seen many 

 less heroic remedies tried to get rid of this mite, but none 

 have been successful. 



Taunton, Mass. iV. N. Craig. 



Violet Notes. 



MUCH has recently been written on the Violet and its lia- 

 bility to disease, and it is generally admitted that there is 

 no cure for the dread spot when once it has got well started. 

 We have had considerable trouble in fighting off this disease, 

 and have come to the conclusion that enough runners pulled 

 off in the fall to supply plants required for the next year's crop 

 should be kept in a cold frame all winter. In this way the stock 

 will become strong and vigorous and better able to withstand 

 the attacks of disease should this appear. Our plants are, in 

 everyway, better this winter than we have ever had them be- 

 fore, and the crop of flowers is much larger. These plants have 

 not been subjected to fire-heat for three generations, and we 

 hope in this way to keep them altogether free from disease. It 

 is not fair to subject Violets to the heat of our cool,"greenhouses 

 even as they are kept in the spring months, and after the plants 

 have been forced to produce big crops, to take off stock for 

 the ensuing winter and subject this stock to the excessive heat 

 of our summers. The boxes of cuttings are frozen for several 

 weeks in severe weather in the frames, but if they have made 

 roots in the fall this does not injure them in the least, and they 

 remain there until planting-out time in May, thus saving much 

 valuable time and space in the greenhouse in the busy spring 

 months. 



The Violet known as the Farquhar is identical with the kind 

 long grown, both here and in English gardens, under the name of 

 New York, and it would be interesting to know more of its origin. 

 That it is a sport from the well-known Campbell can scarcely 

 be considered, it being in every respect a direct antithesis to 

 that variety, and resembling much more the Marie Louise ; 

 indeed, it is hard to distinguish between Farquhar and Marie 

 Louise as usually grown. 



If Marie Louise will do well, there is no other kind as good. 

 Growers recently had an opportunity of noting their excellence 

 when these flowers were exhibited in Boston by Mr. Mackay, 

 of Framingham, Massachusetts. They had been grown in 

 pots in a cool house and were of superb color, large size, and 

 very fragrant. As long as such fine flowers can be grown 

 there is still a future for the old Marie Louise, 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Chrysanthemums. 



AS the season for the distribution of new Chrysanthemums 

 approaches, some suggestions as to their treatment may 

 be timely. The stock sent out now is better than that of a few 

 , years ago, owing, in a measure, to competition, but due even 

 more to careful attention to the time of propagation, so that 

 the plants are brought into good condition at the time of dis- 

 tribution, and also to a better general knowledge of their cul- 

 tivation. Formerly we had a considerable proportion of 

 overdrawn plants, grown crowded and pot-bound. A small 

 percentage come in that condition now, but the majority are 

 dwarf, healthy plants in a growing condition, showing that they 

 have been struck and rooted as they should be — within a pe- 

 riod of five or six weeks. It is hard to deal with a woody pot- 

 bound plant. The best thing to do is to take the tip out, and 

 this will probably make a better plant than the original would 

 have made under equal conditions. We may force a few cut- 

 tings out of the remainder of the plant in a warm moist house 

 or a propagating-frame. With younger plants the task is 

 easier. The treatment must depend upon whether the object 

 is specimen plants or blooms. For a specimen plant we take 

 out the tips merely, thus inducing it to break freely ; for at 

 all stages the softest wood always breaks best, and, therefore, 

 during the whole season, if neat bushv specimens are desired, 

 the shoots must not be allowed to run on for a week or 

 two, and then be cut off six or eight incnes, but they must be 



stopped every day. For specimen blooms we cut the plants 

 in rather hard, so as to get suckers, if possible, since these 

 make the best cuttings for blooms. In doing this it should be 

 remembered that good plants can be raised from leaf-eyes. 

 Occasionally in cutting down a novelty we have managed too-et 

 three or four leaf-eyes in addition to the tip, which we have 

 sometimes had to secure with a piece of bast to make it firm 

 in the cutting-bench ; such a cutting will root with as much 

 certainty as any others. 



It often happens that in packing for shipment the balls are 

 pressed hard when the soil is wet, to keep the roots together 

 and to keep them from drying out. This solid ball should be 

 removed and the plants put into loose soil composed mainly 

 of leaf-mold and sand. The plants intended for specimens we 

 put into three-inch pots, and gradually shift them along in the 

 ordinary way as they become rooted. Stock intended for 

 blooms we put into ordinary flats, and if given room enough 

 they can stay here until the season for striking cuttings is past, 

 which will not be until the first week in July. 



Our plants intended for specimen plants have lately been 

 put into three-inch pots. In the course of three or four weeks 

 they will be rooted sufficiently to have another shift, a little 

 heavier soil being used this time. Our stock in frames will 

 soon begin to move as we admit sunshine and air; those in 

 the cool greenhouse may be cut down early in March, and these 

 will furnish a good crop of root-cuttings in May. 



Wellesley, Mass.' • T. D. H. 



yl 



Grapes under Glass. 



'HE second house may now be got ready and started for a 

 successional crop of grapes. In the first house, started at 

 the end of December, the eyes are now well advanced, espe- 

 cially those of the Black Hamburg variety, which is always the 

 first to start, and disbudding should be begun as soon as the 

 strongest shoots can be distinguished. These are in all cases 

 selected, although one is often tempted to sacrifice a strono- 

 shoot if it is far from the rod, for the sake of keeping the spurs 

 short ; but it must be borne in mind that in doing so a better 

 bunch of grapes is also sacrificed. One shoot is left to each 

 spur, and we find this quite enough, though some growers 

 leave two. This is undoubtedly a mistake, as it causes over- 

 crowding of the foliage and otherwise impairs the vine. One 

 healthy, well-developed leaf is preferable to a dozen weak, 

 overcrowded and sickly ones, and upon the foliage, to a great 

 measure, depends the success of the crop. Tying down should 

 never be attempted until the shoots are strong and firm, as 

 they are easily broken oft" at the joints, and should be brought 

 down to the wires gradually and carefully. Pinching must 

 soon be attended to. Several bunches will form on each 

 shoot, but all should be removed, with the exception of the 

 strongest, which is generally, thougli not alwavs, the one 

 nearest the rod. After the bunch has been selected the point 

 of the shoot should be pinched out two joints beyond it. In 

 the case of young vines the leaders are allowed to run, the 

 length being regulated according to the dimensions of the 

 house. A top-dressing of fresh cow-manure is then given, and 

 well watered in, as this watering will have to carry the vines past 

 the flowering and setting stage. A thorough soaking is given, 

 after which the atmosphere of the house is gradually dried up 

 and kept dry through the flowering period. The pollen is 

 thus kept dry, and the free setting of the fruit is promoted. 

 As soon as the fruit is set the syringe must again be used 

 freely, and the atmosphere kept moist to prevent tlie attacks of 

 red spider and thrips. The latter is probably the most trouble- 

 some of all insect pests that attack the Grape-vine, and a sharp 

 lookout must be kept to prevent its getting a hold. It makes 

 its first appearance either at the top or bottom of the rods, and 

 as soon as it is seen we syringe the infected parts with a solu- 

 tion of antipest, which we try to keep ott" the fruit as much as 

 possible. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. William ScOtt. 



Correspondence. 



Inscriptions on Public Monuments. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — You explained some time ago the superiority of the 

 statue of Nathan Hale as a work of art to most of the others 

 which profess to adorn New York, and you noted the fact that 

 its excellence .was instinctively recognized by the public, so 

 that it is a source of genuine popular instruction as well as 

 delight, while its inferior rivals neither please the eye nor in- 

 spire the soul. May I add a word with regard to the matter of 

 inscriptions upon public monuments, as no better instance of 



