October i6, 1S95.] 



Garden and Forest. 



417 



earth and planted in frames, will give useful heads until 

 Thanksgiving. A few dry leaves over the heads in the open 

 will protect them from all the frost we are lilvely to have for 

 some time yet. Late-sown batches should now be pricked 

 into frames prepared for them. Endive may be kept in excel- 

 lent condition for some time by lifting it on a dry day and 

 planting in a cold frame. A coating of sand over the surface 

 will prevent the spread of mold. In Great Britain endive is 

 kept all winter in a cool cellar by carefully packing it in sand, 

 two or three inches of the leaves only being allowed to stand 

 above the sand. The plants are always perfectly dry when 

 lifted, tied up, and not allowed to touch each other in the sand. 

 In this way they blanch better than by any other method I have 

 seen tried. 



Asparagus tops should now be cut down, all weeds cleared 

 away and the beds slightly loosened. We give them a mod- 

 erate coating of rotted manure in November, not so much for 

 protection, but to fertilize the ground. We loosen the surface 

 to allow the manure to leach the roots. Seaweed is one of the 

 best of manures for Asparagus ; if this cannot be had a little 

 salt may be mixed with the manure. Plantings of Asparagus 

 may be made either now or in spring ; I preferspring planting. 



Brussels Sprouts and all members of the Brassica family 

 will be benefited by having the decaying and lower leaves 

 removed. From the middle to the end of November we lift 

 these and heel them in frames or outdoors in a warm situa- 

 tion, covering well with dry, light protecting material. Leeks 

 are very hardy, but are best heeled in close together; they do 

 not decay as Celery does when lifted. Cauliflower may be par- 

 tially protected by breaking down the centre leaves over the 

 flower ; those not fully headed up should be heeled in a cold 

 frame early in November. 



Early Tomatoes sown in July now have fruit of good size, 

 and these will commence to ripen toward the end of the 

 month. Our second batch has just been given a shift into 

 fruiting pots. When the pols are well filled with roots liberal 

 supplies of stimulants should be given. From November to 

 the end of February artificial pollination is necessary to secure 

 a fine crop ; this is best done about noon on a bright, clear 

 day. Now is a good time to make an additional sowing to 

 yield ripe fruit about the end of March. May's Favorite is the 

 most satisfactory sort we have grown for spring fruiting. 



Manuring and deep digging or trenching unused ground 

 may now be attended to. If cut-worms and wire-worms have 

 been troublesome a good coating of lime can be given ; and 

 the lime will be useful to the sod also whenever it is of a heavy, 

 clayey nature. We prefer to do as much work of this sort as 

 possible before severe frosts, so as to relieve the pressure of 

 work in the busy spring season. 



Taunton, Mass. 'V. N. Craig. 



Indoor Work. 



THE housing of the fender plants that have been in use in 

 the garden during the summer will now be nearly or quite 

 completed, but after these plants are safely under cover it be- 

 comes an interesting c[uestion to many a grower with but a 

 small area of glass at his disposal how to arrange for this sud- 

 den influx of plants without interfering with those already in 

 the houses. It is atsuch a time that the value of a well-built 

 and slightly heated pit or deep frame becomes apparent, and 

 more than pays for the slight cost of its construction. 



Besides this plan for economizing space some private 

 greenhouses here, and some commercial establishments in 

 Europe, have shelves of heavy glass suspended from the roof 

 by brackets or chains, a much more neat device and much less 

 obstructive to light than wooden shelves. Shelves of this kind 

 are very useful for many light-loving plants, and induce a 

 short and stocky habit. 



Among the lifted plants the Cannas are important, and some 

 of them should be divided up into convenient sizes, potted in 

 rich loam and grown on for conservatory decoration during 

 the winter and spring. Particularly large and brilliant flowers 

 may be had under glass, and the whole spike of flowers and 

 foliage together can be put to good use in filling a large vase 

 wilh cut flowers for a church or hall decoration. 



The various bulbs for winter and spring forcing should be 

 potted at once. Continued exposure to the air is injurious to 

 them, and particularly so to the bulbs of various Lilies, which 

 lose much of their vitality when long exposed. 



Calla Lilies are indispensables in most conservatories, and it 

 is well to know that the California-grown bulbs are now offered 

 so cheaply and of such good quality that it is hardly worth 

 while to keep old bulbs over from year to year, as the fresh 

 bulbs will probably yield more flowers. 



A few specimens, at least, of the brilliant-hued Poinsettias 



should be found in every greenhouse where a temperature of 

 sixty degrees can be maintained. Poinsettias are quite suscep- 

 tible to draughts and sudden changes of temperature ; thouo-h 

 they do not require extreme heat they should have full ligiu 

 and generous treatment as to soil and moisture. Euphorbia 

 Jaquinasrtora, another admirable plant for winter flowers, 

 needs like treatment. Some plants of Begonia incarnata and 

 B. Gloire de Sceaux should now be in their blooming pots, and 

 will need plenty of water and some weak liquid-manure at 

 intervals. Cyclamens will also be rapidly coming into flower, 

 and tobacco stems chopped into short lengths should be 

 spread among the pots as a safeguard against aphides. Chrys- 

 anthemums and Cinerarias need similar applications of to- 

 bacco against the insects, which are the most dangerous 

 enemies to the flowers and foliage of both these plants. 



Roses for winter flowering, if well established, can now be 

 allowed lo flower, and if on side benches will need some tying 

 to keep the shoots away from the glass. If specially laro-e 

 flowers are desired on the Carnations, some disbudding must 

 be done, but those used as pot-plants in the conservatory 

 should not be disbudded, as in this case quantity of bloom is 

 more important than the size of the flowers. Most foliao-e 

 plants are not potted until spring, but they must be kept scru- 

 pulously clean, for with the additional fire-heat comes a fresh 

 outbreak of insects, and scale and mealy-bug multiply a hun- 

 dred-fold, in an incredibly short time. 



Of course, a good supply of potting material should be put 

 under coverfor the winter, and any delayed repairs, like ciaz- 

 ing, painting or alterations to boilers or pipes, must be at- 

 tended to at once. 



Holmesburg, Pa. IV. H. Tap/in. 



Polyscias paniculata. — This plant, more commonly known as 

 Terminalia elegans, is useful botli for the conservatory in 

 winter and for planting out in summer, since it wfll color beau- 

 tifully out-of-doors. The leaves are pinnate, having from five 

 to nine leaflets, the terminal one being about six inches in 

 length. There is little danger that it will ever become com- 

 mon, as the shoots branch very little and there is a difficulty in 

 rooting cuttings, except those hiade from the tips of the shoots. 



Tricyrtis hi:ta. — The Japanese Toad Lily is among the latest 

 of herbaceous plants to come into bloom. The flowers are 

 not showy, but there is a certain individuality and quaintness 

 about the plant which have won for it many admirers. During 

 the summer months while making its growth the plant has 

 rather an ornamental appearance, the pretty shaped leaves 

 being arranged alternately on upright stalks. The curiously 

 shaped purple-spotted flowers are produced in the axils of the 

 upper leaves. This species will not stand a protracted drought, 

 for, without a good supply of moisture, the leaves lose their 

 beauty, and the flowers, even when they appear at all, are 

 very small. 



Botanic Garden, Washington, D. C. G. IV. Oliver. 



Frost Injuries to Pears and Apples. — If is not uncommon to 

 see pears and apples surrounded by a narrow russet zone. In 

 pears this zone is nearly always at the apex, while in the apple 

 it may be situated at the apex or between the apex and stem. 

 This belt is due to an injury to the epidermis of the fruit in its 

 young stage, and is caused by the freezing of dew collected on 

 these spaces. The fruit at this time is upright, and the place 

 where the dew collects is probably determined by the forma- 

 tion and position of the fruit. If is interesting to note that the 

 cells in the frosted zones multiply and produce cells of their 

 own kind, thus increasing the width of the zone during the 

 growing period. The reason for this is not yet known. 

 Cornell University. G. Harold Powell. 



Correspondence. 



Seasonable Notes frotn Wellesley, Massachusetts. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — After a season's growth, or if may be a season's rest, 

 out-of-doors, tender plants of all kinds are returned to the 

 greenhouses, and they again resume their attractiveness. Dur- 

 ing a stroll through the greenhouses at Wellesley we find 

 many rare and beautiful plants, and Mr. Harris, who' has been 

 Mr. Hunnewell's gardener more than forty years, is able to go 

 back to days when horticultural operations were conducted 

 under very different conditions from those which now prevail, 

 and we naturally find here many old plants which carry us 

 back to those days. 



In one of the houses stands a magnificent pan of Hippeas- 

 trum platypetalum. It is one of the earliest and best, with 



