March 20, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



117 



factory as outdoor flowers. A few plants of scented Geraniums 

 should also be included in the cut-flower section of the gar- 

 den. These will provide a plentiful supply of foliage for 

 mingling with the flowers ; for this purpose the varieties hav- 

 ing finely cut leaves are most suitable, as most of the scented 

 Geraniums are likely to make a rather coarse growth when 

 planted out in good soil. 



Holmesburg, Pa. \V . H. Taphll. 



Phajus grandifolius. 

 'X'ff IS evergreen terrestrial Orchid is an old favorite, having 

 ■'■ been in cultivation for more than a century, and, although 

 one of the first Orchids introduced into cultivation, it is still 

 grown in almost every collection of these plants. The first 

 specimens were brought into England from China, where it is 

 a native, in the year 1778, by Dr. John Tothergill. Some time 

 afterward it vvas found to be a native also of the lower Hima- 

 layas, Cochin China and eastern Australia. 



The plants now growing here were collected by me three 

 years ago in the mountains of Jamaica, where Phajus grandi- 

 folius is abundant. Although so plentiful there, I was told that 

 it is not a native of that island, but was introduced about a 

 hundred years ago, and has become thoroughly naturalized. 

 It is found there at elevations ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 feet. 

 I found the largest and strongest plants at an elevation of about 

 3,500 feet. They grew in rich loam in an open space which 

 looked as if it had been a garden at one time, and they were 

 unprotected from the hot tropical sun. In the same piece of 

 ground Bletia Shepherdii grew plentifully. 



Phajus grandifolius has ovate pseudo-bulbs, and these when 

 well grown are the size of a large Hyacinth bulb and are 

 sheathed by the iml^ricating bases of the fallen leaves. The 

 large, dark green leaves are oblong-lanceolate and thirty to forty 

 inches long. Our plants are grown in nine-inch pots, and there 

 are seven or eight flower-spikes to each pot. Many of the 

 spikes are four feet in height and carry twelve to sixteen flow- 

 ers each. The flowers are four inches across ; the sepals and 

 petals oblong-lanceolate, yellowish brown on the inner side 

 and silvery white on the outside. The projecting lip is of a 

 tubular shape, afjout an inch and a half long, white, with a 

 dark crimson-brown throat. These plants are easy to grow 

 and flower, but if large, well-flowered specimens are desired 

 they require attention and care. The plants should be repotted 

 in spring when they are beginning new growth. They flourish 

 in a compost of fibrous loam, leaf-mold and a small quantity 

 of dried cow-manure. Daring the growing season they like a 

 warm, moist atmosphere and plenty of water at the roots, and 

 occasionally a little weak liquid-manure. They do well in an 

 intermediate house during the summer, and when the leaves 

 are fully grown they should have cooler treatment and they 

 will then need less water. 



Harvard Botanic Garden. Robert Cameron. 



\ A Few Annuals. — III. 



iV/rENTION should be made of the so-called Everlasting 

 -'■'-'- Flowers, which are curious and sometimes quite pleasing. 

 Their vogue in cemetery wreaths and bouquets of dyed and 

 bizarre grasses has somewhat abated, and funereal associa- 

 tions have, perhaps, been the occasion of their waning popu- 

 larity ; but a few£)f them are ornamental in a garden, and they 

 are by no means to be despised when dried and tastefully ar- 

 ranged in vases, especially if fresh flowers are scarce. The 

 prettiest of the Everlastings are the Acrocliniums and Rho- 

 danthes. 



Many climbers are useful in furnishing cut flowers as well as 

 ornamental in the garden, where they can be made to cover 

 bare spaces quickly and effectively. As merely ornamental 

 plants they vary greatly in value, and the annual climbers are 

 not as valuable as the hardy ones, with which a garden can in 

 time be more satisfactorily furnished. Of tender vines, after 

 Sweet Peas, which have already been noted among the best 

 annuals, the Morning-glories, ot course, easily lead all others 

 in popularity. Ipomcea major, the ordinary form, has seeds 

 which will grow for any one, and which it will in time dis- 

 tribute only too generously. As can be seen in any catalogue, 

 there is a great variety of Ipomceas, many of which are beauti- 

 ful, and yet have seeds which, fortunately, are not so hardy. 

 The so-called Heavenly Blue, which is the old Ipomcea rubro- 

 cffirulea, is one of the most desirable. The night-blooming 

 kinds are curious, and may sometimes be seen open on cloudy 

 days. The I. (Mina) lobata is scarcely wortli growing, since it 

 is uncertain in flowering, and the flowers, when they do appear, 

 are of unsatisfactory color. Mina sanguinea is better, having 

 bright scarlet flowers, which are borne very freely, and will be 

 welcomed as a change from Cypress-vines (Ouamoclit), whose 



usual supports of strings and hoops are so prominent in some 

 gardens. Many of the Ipomceas flower shyly, but all are very 

 prolific of foliage. The Allegheny-vine, Adlumia cirrhosa, is 

 a native plant of great beauty. It is perfectly hardy, a bien- 

 nial, which during the first year has a Fern-like effect. The 

 second season it runs freely and produces very pretty small, 

 nearly white, flowers. It is more attractive, however, without 

 the flowers, which soon fade, and give a ragged effect to the 

 plants. 



The Cobaea usually proves one of the most safisfactory 

 annual vines, as it produces most effective large flowers. The 

 flat seeds are easily ruined in theseed-bed if carelessly watered. 

 However, if planted on edge and carefully tended in a tem- 

 perate atmosphere, they will germinate safely and grow away 

 rapidly. 



Thunbergias are very pretty in gardens, especially when 

 allowed to grow untrained. Their hard seeds germinate 

 slowly, and they require strong heat. 



Maurandia Barclayana is the prettiest of the (.lelicate or 

 small-foliaged vines. As it has fair-sized handsome flowers, 

 which it produces very freely on the rapidly growing stems, it 

 may be rated as the best of the smaller annuals. 



Climbing Nasturtiums cannot bespared from any garden, but 

 these have been listed among the best annuals. Hamulus 

 Japonicus, Japanese Hops, may more readily be omitted from 

 the garden, unless some wild place is to be covered by a rap- 

 idly growing vine which will surely replace itself by seeds, 

 and these it produces in myriads. 1 do not know of any plant, 

 unless it is the Centaurea and Petunia, which distributes its 

 seeds so uniformly over a garden, and every one of them 

 seems to germinate. Yet I have known people for whom 

 Japanese Hops would not grow. 



If one has available space in the back garden, an assort- 

 ment of Fancy Gourds will be found very interesting, espe- 

 cially to the younger memliers of the family. Their quick 

 growth is of daily interest, and the fruits are so pretty or curi- 

 ous or grotesque, as to make the fruiting time one to be 

 pleasantly anticipated. 

 Elizabeth, N.J. J.N.Gerard. 



Celosias. — These useful plants of the summer months can be 

 grown by any one who will give a reasonable amount of atten- 

 tion to them. Celosia plumosa and C. cristata are both well 

 worth growing, as they are so useful for cool greenhouse, con- 

 servatory or terrace work. In the latter place they will stand 

 a long time, and their showy appearance always attracts atten- 

 tion. Seeds of a good strain are especially needed in growing 

 these plants. Good seeds will germinate in any fairly light soil 

 if placed in a good moist heat. It is best to cover the pan 

 with a piece of glass until the seed is up. As soon as the 

 plants are large enough to be handled they should be pricked 

 off into flats, but kept in a brisk heat, as they should not re- 

 ceive any check after they are once started. As soon as they 

 are large enough they should be potted into four-inch pots, 

 preferalily in a rich compost of loam, leaf-mold and cow- 

 manure in equal parts. At the last, six-inch pots should be 

 used for plants of C. cristata, and a size larger for C. plumosa. 

 I use a little cominercial fertilizer, for they are vigorous feeders 

 and must have plenty if they are to form fine heads. They 

 should be kept in a moist heat to protect them against red 

 spider, and the heat of a slow hot-bed is just the place for 

 them, as the glass keeps them dwarf. 



Different strains of the Cristata type show the combs at dif- 

 ferent periods, some when in small pots, others after the last 

 potting, and some of the best heads are formed from these. 

 This is a good time to sow seed, and some may be sown later 

 to give a second lot. With a minimum temperature of sixty- 

 five degrees and plenty of moisture and manure strong plants 

 will be assured. 



South Lancaster, Mass. W. DoWltS. 



Correspondence. 



The Hardiness of the Rose Crimson Rambler. 

 To the Editor of Gakden and Forest : 



Sir, — I have been much interested in what you have said 

 about the Rose Crimson Rambler at various times for several 

 years past, and now that American dealers have plants on sale 

 I should like to inquire whether the experience of the past 

 winter has proved that they are hardv 1 , ^ 



Babylon, L. I. ' .i. A. 



[It is too early to answer such a question definitely. 

 Plants may survive one year, even a very severe one, and 

 yet fail at another time under apparently less trying cir- 

 cumstances. We have inquired of several of the firms who 



