208 



Garden and Forest. 



(Number 378. 



uncommon kinds that do well. It is very late in blooming, and 

 resembles the Tazetia section in general appearance, having 

 several flowers to each stem, and these fragrant. Muticus, 

 the last of the Trumpet Daffodils, has taken longer to die than 

 any other, and there are still a few left. These were evidently 

 collected bulbs, as no two were alike, but they did not take 

 kindly to cultivation. We have now a fine reserve stock of 

 bulbs to dig from to grow in pots in winter. Home-grown 

 stock is far preferable to any that can be imported, and after 

 flowering these are replanted in among the shrubs, and in two 

 years are as good as ever. Those who intend to plant Daffo- 

 dils will do well to make out a plan of the bed after the work 

 is completed, and keep it for reference. Had this been done 

 in our case the loss of our laliels would have been less of a 

 disaster. No one can go amiss in planting such kinds as 

 Emperor, Empress, Horsfieldii, M. Foster, Grandee, Countess 

 of Annesley, Princeps, Golden Spur, Obvallaris, Sir Watkin and 

 Henry Irving. Maximus and Ard Righ have not done so well 

 as we anticipated, and have now almost died out. 



Border culture has one disadvantage in that after every 

 April shower the purity of the flowers is marred by the earth 

 that has been splashed over them, and there seems to be no 

 wav of preventing this except by planting in the grass ; this we 

 shall try on a much more extensive way next fall. Regular 

 masses should be avoided, or the effect would be more or less 

 artificial. I have seen acres of the common kind growing wild 

 in pastures in the southern counties of England, and cattle do 

 not seem to eat the foliage, or these wild Datf'odils would have 

 been extinct long ago. -n- n n j, t 



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



Coreopsis grandiflora. — For cut-flower purposes or for a bor- 

 der plant there is nothing which bears yellow flowers to equal 

 Coreopsis lanceolata and C. grandiflora. I was never aware of 

 its value as a pot-plant until this year. We wintered a few 

 plants in a cold frame in five-inch pots and brought them in- 

 doors about the middle of January, and a shift was given them 

 to eight-inch pots about the middle of April, when the flower- 

 stems were well advanced. Since the last week in April our 

 plants have been loaded with flowers some three inches in 

 diameter, liorne on fine stems eighteen to twenty-four inches 

 long. For cutting" this Coreopsis is much superior to any other 

 variety, and its easy cultivation should ensure its wider use as 

 a pot-plant. We sow our seed in the open ground the last 

 week in July, and those required for indoor use should be 

 potted about the end of October. ,,, ,, ^ . 



Taunton. Mass. ^V- N. Craig. 



Dioncea muscipula — This little plant, popularly known as 

 Venus' Fly Trap, well deserves a place in the greenhouse. 

 The ordinary observer may look on it only as a curiosity, but 

 to the plant-lover it has a beauty all its own. The upper por- 

 tion of the leaf, which constitutes the trap, is dilated into a 

 two-lobed irritable limb, furnished at the margin with a row 

 of long stiff bristle-like teeth. When a fly or other insect 

 alights on the inner side of this portion it immediately folds 

 up and holds the insect while it makes the least motion, but 

 gradually assumes its normal position again after the insect is 

 killed and ceases to struggle. It is of easy cultivation and 

 does well in a greenhouse temperature and should l>e placed 

 in a position where it will be shaded from direct sunlight, but 

 at the same time have abundance of light and air. First place 

 the plants in small pots half filled with crocks, using live 

 sphagnum moss as potting material, then place the pots about 

 SIX in a ten-inch pan, and pack them firmly around with sphag- 

 num, place the pan in a saucer and keep this all the time filled 

 with water. 



Tarrylown, N. Y. UlUiam Scott. 



Saponaria ocymoides, a dwarf-growing perennial Soapwort, 

 from the south of Europe, is one of the few really good rock- 

 work plants which stand our hot summers ; it has very preity 

 ])ink or red flowers, produced in such great profusion as 

 almost to cover the foliage from view. Seed sown in the fall 

 will give flowering |ilants for the following spring. Cuttings 

 root well enough in a cold frame, but seedlings are preferable, 

 as they form more Imshy plants than those from cuttings. 



Fritillaria imperialis aureo-marginata. — The variegated Crown 

 Imperial is a most striking object now in the herbaceous bor- 

 der. The common kinds are handsome when well developed, 

 but this form has, in addition to its flowers, beautifully varie- 

 gated foliage. The Crown Imperials ought to have a place 

 where they can remain undisturbed during the summer, as 

 after flowering they soon die down to the ground. It is well 

 to have the places wtiere they are planted indicated by a good 



stout label. As it is an early bloomer, this species is very liable 

 to get hurt from cold winds, therefore a sheltered position is 

 desirable. 



Eulanic Garden, Washington. G- ^^. O. 



Correspondence. 



Winter Storage for Tender Evergreens. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — -Two years ago I imported from England about a hun- 

 dred tub plants for the decoration of my terraced garden. 

 The invoice included Cephalotaxus Fortunii, Cupressus Law- 

 soniana and several garden forms, Taxiis elegantissima, T. 

 baccata, etc.; Ilex crenata, Evonymus, Box, Portugal Laurel, 

 Holly and Retinospora. 



This spring more than half of the plants are dead or dying, 

 owing, I think, to faulty management during the winter. I 

 shall esteem it a favor if some of your correspondents will 

 enlighten me as to the best methods of winter storage and 

 care of such plants. My storage-house is of brick, fifty feet by 

 twenty on the floor and eighteen feet high, with perfect means 

 of controlling light and temperature. The questions I should 

 like to have answered are : Can the above-named plants be 

 satisfactorily wintered in common ? If yes, what should be the 

 light and temperature of the storage-house, and the arrange- 

 ment of plants v.'ith reference to sources of light and ventila- 

 tion, and how much watering should they receive ? 



Weston. Mass. Fraiicis Blake. 



[The above inquiry invites attention to the fact that there 

 are many beautiful evergreens which cannot endure the 

 outdoor rigors of a New England winter, but which in suit- 

 able quarters can be easily carried through the trying sea- 

 son, and then be most useful plants for decorating lawns 

 and terraces in summer. The variegated Hollies, Evony- 

 mus, Yews and various forms of Cupressus, Retinospora, 

 Laurel, Sweet Bay are all in this class. It should be un- 

 derstood at the outset that all these plants will stand a 

 large amount of cold, and in the moister climate of Great 

 Britain they very frequently go through periods when the 

 temperature ranges very near the zero line. Owing to the 

 better maturing of the growth here in fall there is no reason 

 to doubt that the evergreens named above_would endure 

 even more cold here than in Great Britain ; but our cold 

 weather is often accompanied by winds of high velocity, 

 while the sun is as high in our skies during February and 

 i\Iarch as it is in Great Britain in May and June. This 

 combination of hardships is too formidable for these choice 

 evergreens which have been developed under more equa- 

 ble conditions of climate. An illustrative case is that of the 

 common English Ivy, which is fairly hardy even here in 

 Massachusetts if planted on a north exposure, but a south- 

 ern aspect is sure death to it the first winter. Taking it for 

 granted, then, that a frost-proof structure is not essential to 

 these plants, the matter of providing a place of storage for 

 them is much simplified. Ours are placed in the cellar 

 under the coach-barn, where it freezes every winter soon 

 after the advent of reallv cold nights; but once frozen, 

 there is no thawing out until the month of March, 

 and there is never any need of watering until after 

 the plants are taken out-of-doors. As long as this com- 

 i:)lete rest is obtained without admitting air by means 

 of ventilators, all goes well, but should the structure be 

 actually frost-proof, it will be necessary to give air enough 

 to bring down the temperature to from tvi'enty-five to 

 thirty degrees ; it may go lower than the first, but never 

 higher than the last-named figure until the time arrives to 

 prepare to get them out in spring. Pure air is, of course, 

 essential ; asphyxia and dyspepsia are as common S3nTip- 

 toms in the vegetable as in the animal world. If a cellar 

 is used, perfect drainage must be secured and no delete- 

 rious gases that the plants cannot breathe should be ad- 

 mitted. An e.xcess of ammonia from adjacent horse-stables, 

 for example, might be fatal. The soil should be made 

 porous by good drainage, and the admixture of charcoal 

 and lime refuse with it is advisable on account of the puri- 

 fying action of both these substances. 



Tubs are the best receptacles for these plants, as the 



