September 4, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



357 



this gigantic Orchid ever seen in Europe is in the Kevv col- 

 lection, where it has been three years, it having been pre- 

 sented by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., who imported it from 

 IVIalaya, intending to exhibit it at the Chicago exhibition, 

 but it arrived in too damaged a condition to send to 

 America. It has recovered surprisingly since it came to 

 Kew, where it is placed on a large tub in a corner of the 

 Victoria regia tank, so that it obtains plenty of sunlight and 

 moisture, both atmospheric and at the root. Mr. Watson 

 writes that it has made new pseudo-bulbs over six feet in 

 length and as thick as a man's wrist, clothed with ensiform 

 leaves, nearly two feet long. In some parts of Asia its 

 pseudo-bulbs grow to a length of ten feet and its enormous 

 branched racemes are over seven feet long, clothed with 

 fleshy flowers six inches in diameter and colored yellow 

 with red-purple blotches. Plants of it have produced flow- 

 ers in England, but only imperfectly, and a characteristic 

 spike is yet to be seen in cultivation. Travelers describe 

 wild specimens, which consist of a hundred or more pseudo- 

 bulbs, forming a mass tvi'elve feet in diameter and bearing 

 about thirty spikes of flowers. It is epiphytic on very large 

 trees. 



Cultural Department. 



Carnation Notes. 



THE time for lifting Carnations has now arrived. We prefer 

 to house our plants from the 5th to the lolh of September, 

 waiting until the later date if the weather is very warm, as the 

 plants suffer considerably if planting is followed by several hot 

 days. Opinions differ as to whether the plants should be lifted 

 with a ball of earth. One successful grower in this state 

 always shakes every particle of earth away. Last year we tned 

 a number of plants lifted each way ; those with the earth at- 

 tached wilted less and started into growth much better tlian 

 the others. Where the soil is of a sandy nature, and shakes 

 away readily, there is less liability of injury to the root-fibres 

 than where it is heavy. 



The distances the plants are to be set apart depends alto- 

 gether on their size. Slender-growing sorts, like Lizzie 

 McGowan, can be set much closer than robust kinds, 

 such as F. Mangold and William Scott. The compost should 

 be of a generous nature, as Carnations require more feeding 

 than they usually receive. The plants should be pressed 

 firmly in the ground with the hands and set sufficiently deep 

 not to topple over. After planting, a thorough soaking of 

 water should be given, and syringing attended to three times 

 daily on all bright days. In a week's time all signs of wilting: 

 should have disappeared. The ventilators and doors should 

 be left wide open night and day for some little time. When 

 the plants are set out a light shading on the glass for a few 

 days is beneficial. A little lime-water, applied with an ordi- 

 nary syringe or force-pump, answers very well. It will not 

 need to be washed off, as one or two heavy rains remove all 

 traces of it. 



Our plants, placed in the benches last September, are still 

 (August 29th) loaded with flowers of fully as good quality as 

 those borne in spring. We have fed them heavily all summer, 

 using liquid-manure fully as strong as we give Chrysanthe- 

 mums. These will be pulled out in a few days. After remov- 

 ing the old compost we wash the benches with crude petro- 

 leum and lime, and then refill and plant at once. 



Among the new Carnations sent out last spring, the finest 

 growth has been made by Bride of Erlescort, a white Canadian 

 variety, which attracted considerable attention in Boston last 

 February. Complaints are general that this variety is badly 

 affected with rust, but we have not seen a trace on our plants, 

 which have made the best growth of any sort we grow. Alaska, 

 the late Mr. Vv. E. Chitty's new white introduction, also proves 

 a fine grower. Bridesmaid has made very good plants, but 

 Rose Queen looks rather small and sickly. The Stuart, a 

 variety sent out last year by Mr. Dorner, has made the poorest 

 growth of any kind here. The fine variety, Helen Keller, 

 which grew indifferently and bloomed unsatisfactorily under 

 glass, has made large plants in the open. We have not ob- 

 served a vestige of rust on any plants. No diseased stock 

 should be allowed inside a greenhouse. It is better to buy 

 clean stock from a neighboring florist than to house plants 

 which will probably never give satisfaction and be an eyesore 

 all the season. 



In many places benches now filled with Chrysanthemums 



can be utilized for Carnations after the middle of November. 

 A quantity of plants lifted and potted into five and six inch 

 pots and held over in a frame can be used for tliis purpose. 

 It is always well to pot up some of the surplus plants. They 

 are useful to fill up blanks which may occur, and also for the 

 greenhouse or conservatory. For pot plants the following 

 sorts are excellent •■ Mrs. Fisher, William Scott, Hector, Win- 

 ter Cheer and F. Mangold. As there is usually a scarcity of 

 bench-room during the Chrysanthemum season, these plants 

 can be carried over in a frame safely by taking proper precau-" 

 tions when cold nights come on. 



Summer-flowering varieties in tiie open ground are still 

 yielding an abundance of flowers and will continue to do so 

 for some weeks. Last year we picked excellent flowers on 

 November 5th. Dead flowers should be removed and the 

 plants occasionally tied up. A sprinkling of chemical fertilizer 

 and watering with liquid-manure will be appreciated, and the 

 surface soil sliould be stirred constantly. 



Taunton, Mass. IV. IV. Craig. 



The Garden in Late Summer. 



l\/r y garden just now seems to me less interesting than at 

 -'-*-'■ any other time in the year, in spite of the fact that flowers 

 are at this time very plentiful. What with the fierce August 

 sun, which hardens up the foliage and at midday causes most 

 flowers to flag, and brings a lassitude more suggestive of va- 

 cation ramblings than worrying the soil, the garden at this 

 time lacks its usual inspirations. Fortunately, there is little at- 

 tention or labor actually necessary now, and one may for pas- 

 time review some of his season's successes and failures and 

 plan for a new season. 



Among my earliest failures this year were the Calochorti. 

 These flowered beautifully last year when planted in the open. 

 In order to give them a severe test the bulbs were left in the 

 ground, where they apparently survived, for they threw up 

 good foliage early in the winter, which stood unscathed during 

 some severe weather. Later on we had some extreme cold 

 weather, with a temperature about zero for a week or more 

 day and night, and this proved too much for the Calochortus- 

 leaves, which were ruined. As they make very little foliage, 

 this was fatal to their further progress, and no new foliage or 

 flowers appeared. Calochorlus-bulbs are perfectly hardy and 

 very easily grown and flowered in the open, but they are safe 

 only under certain conditions. The bulbs should be planted 

 as late as possible, about the end of November here, and 

 lifted soon after they have flowered. No covering is necessary 

 here, though it is well to protect them from excessive mois- 

 ture. They are not particular as to soil, though it is better not 

 too heavy, and free from manure, of course. One cannot 

 overdraw the beauty of these California flowers, especially the 

 Venustus kinds. They are very charming and unique, and 

 can be recommended without reserve to everyone. Curiously, 

 they are rarely seen in gardens, though the bulbs are cheap 

 and readily obtainable. 



Romneya Coulteri is another California plant which retro- 

 graded with me this year. Its new shoots scarcely made an 

 appearance before May ist, and these, instead of forming a 

 growthsomesixfeetindiameter, as they did last year, have made 

 hardly a tithe of that amount, and flowers seem as far distant 

 as ever. However, that the plant survived the rigors of last 

 winter with trifling protection is great encouragement, as the 

 main point is to find that it will live in the open. The flowers 

 are, no doubt, as handsome in my anticipation as they will 

 prove to be in reality when they arrive, if they ever do. 



My Bamboos also made a new record this year ; that is, their 

 canes were cut to the ground by freezing weather for the first 

 time in five years during which they liave grown here. Usu- 

 ally they lose all their leaves, but new breaks are made in the 

 spring on the old stems. My collection comprises Bambusa 

 palniata, B. aurea, B. viridi glaucescens, B. Simonii, B. Raga- 

 moskii and B. Ouilioi, which are certainly hardy here in roots 

 and runners. Unfortunately, they are not planted in suitable 

 earth and do not make great progress. To do their best they 

 should have a rich, <5pen moist soil, full of humus and a moist 

 warm atmosphere. A plant of B. Ragamoskii, a large, broad- 

 leaved species, wdiich was transferred to a tub in the. green- 

 house, makes more and better growth there than it has 

 previously made out-of-doors in a season. Another broad- 

 leaved species, B. palmata, may possibly be rather more 

 hardy than the other species named, as it was the only one 

 which retained any green leaves last winter. After havinggrown 

 Bamboos so long, I am as yet quite undecided as to their 

 merits. They cannot be said to be very striking plants, bv 

 which I mean they will not arrest the attention of a casual 



