October 30, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



437 



cracking. This attention is even more important tlian that 

 required by the plants, as in most cases the water is suffi- 

 ciently deep to prevent the plants from freezing. This is the 

 best vvfay to winter the hardy varieties, provided the masonry 

 is not above the ground-level ; in that event it is safer to 

 remove the plants and empty the tank or basin and place a 

 few poles or pieces of lumber across the tank to bear the 

 weight of the protecting material and keep it out of the water. 

 On this, old lumber should be laid near to the edge and pro- 

 jecting about two feet beyond the tank. Above this cover leaves 

 should be heaped and the ground also covered about two feet 

 from the tank with a thickness of twelve to eighteen inches. 

 On these leaves there should be a covering of salt hay or fresh 

 stable-manure to keep them in place, and l)ranches should be 

 laid over the whole to hold the covering against winds. This 

 protection can be regulated according to the severity of the 

 winters in different sections of the country. 



Tender Nymphasas may be wintered in a warm cellar, but 

 to avoid the inconvenience of moving the tubs when full of 

 soil the plants may be taken out of the tubs, cutting off a 

 quantity of the largest leaves and roots, and putting the same 

 in pots just large enough to conveniently hold the plant. 

 Several plants can be put into one tub in this way, and will 

 finish their growth and ripen the tubers, which may then be 

 placed in pots of sand and stored away until wanted in spring. 

 Give the plants all the light possible until they die down. The 

 tubers should not be allowed to dry, although they should not 

 be put into water until it is intended to start them. If a green- 

 house is available, the tubs can be stored away under the 

 benches, and the plants can be brought forward much better 

 and earlier in the spring. 



Riverton, N.J. - IV. Tricker. 



Elaeagnus longipes. — Although this shrub has attracted not 

 a little attention m recent years (see Garden and Forest, 

 vol. i., fig. 78), it has not come into such general use 

 as. its merits would warrant. It is, however, planted more 

 and more every year. The shape of the shrub, together with its 

 curious leaves, gives it a distinct value for ornamental planting. 

 It is of a low-growing, rather spreading habit, with dark red- 

 dish-brown twigs, which are thickly coated with small scales. 

 The leaves are very attractive, being of a heavy texture with 

 a dark green upper surface, while the under surface is of a 

 glistening silvery shade, sparingly dotted with small scales 

 similar to those that occur on the branches. It bears an abun- 

 dance of bloom in May, but the flowers are small and unat- 

 tractive. The berries are as large as the smaller cherries, but 

 are more oblong in shape. The skin is of a dull brownish-red 

 color, covered thickly with the small scales similar to those 

 that are found on the branches and leaves. The pulp is sweet 

 and pleasant, but the skin is somewhat astringent. Each fruit 

 contains a single conical-ribbed seed. The berries ripen in 

 July and are produced in great abundance, but they would add 

 more to the attractiveness of the shrub if they were less dull in 

 color and were not partially hidden by the leaves. Some 

 writers have advocated the extensive planting of the Elaeagnus 

 for the sake of its fruit, but its value for tliis purpose remains 

 to be demonstrated. With proper attention to cultivation and 

 selection there would seem to be no reason why a strain of it 

 could not be secured which would be useful for its fruit. It 

 already possesses two desirable qualities, namely, productive- 

 ness and hardiness. Plants received at the Experiment Sta- 

 tion in 1892 have made good growth and are now in excellent 

 condition, though they have received no protection in winter. 

 The plant is propagated either from seed or by cuttings. 



Citrus trifoliata. — While this member of the Orange family 

 has not come up to the expectations of some growers as a 

 hedge plant for the north and west, yet it is of interest to note 

 that a plant received at this station in 1892 is still alive, though 

 it has had no protection. It makes a sturdy growth each sea- 

 son of about three feet, which is as regularly killed back to 

 the snow-line in winter. 



Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. y • -^» 



Leonotis Leonurus.— Last autumn a spray of a plant with 

 labiate, orange-red blossoms was brought to me for identifica- 

 tion. I set it down as a near relative of the cominon garden 

 Salvia. I have since found it to be Leonotis Leonurus, the 

 Lion's Tail plant, a native of the Cape of Good Hope. It is 

 not a new plant, having been introduced to European gar- 

 dens in the early part of this century, and a few years ago was 

 offered by Peter Henderson & Co., of New York. It was quite 

 largely disseminated at the time, but is now scarce in northern 

 gardens. As it will endure a few degrees of frost and is a 

 vigorous plant it may bg common in southern gardens, where 



a friend tells me he has seen it under the name of the Devil's 

 Paint Brush. Gardeners who have grown it tell me they never 

 succeeded in getting it to bloom. Whether it be the season 

 or the haphazard treatment accorded, it certainly has done 

 well with me, and is now blooming quite freely in a dug-out 

 garden frame. It has a distinct Sage-like appearance, and 

 casually might be taken for a Salvia. The liowers, however, 

 are not borne in terminal clusters, but in whorls, as they occur 

 in the genus Phlomis, to wliich it was at one time referred. 

 Cuttings were struck early in December, and the plants grown 

 to a goodly size, though starved, in four-inch pots. When the 

 month of May came they were planted out in the regular 

 order, and made bushy plants three teet high and as much m 

 diameter. Some were topped and others untouched. These 

 latter have bloomed best, showing, as my friend suggested, 

 that a good foundation of solid growdi is needed in order to 

 have the plant flower well. In lifting such plants it is difficult 

 to get any considerable ball of earth, and it is well to have pots 

 at hand to drop the plants into. After a few days in the shade 

 of a Pear-tree our plants soon established themselves, with the 

 loss of very few leaves. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Correspondence. 



Small Conservatories. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — I have lately inclosed one of my piazzas, facing south, 

 with glass, and propose to use it as a winter garden or con- 

 servatory for a miscellaneous collection of flowering and dec- 

 orative plants, most of which have been transferred from the 

 borders and are now in pots. I suppose that the surplus heat 

 from the dwelling, with the help of an oil-stove, will keep out 

 any frost likely to occur in this latitude, so that with the sunny 

 exposure I shall have no trouble from lack of warmth. But I 

 have often noticed that plants in such places wear anything 

 but a happy look, and I should like some hints on managing 

 a winter garden of this sort. 



Lebanon, Pa. o. A. A. 



[Our correspondent opens up a subject which will be of 

 interest to many, as such inclosures are often the most 

 available as well as the cheapest arrangements for winter- 

 ing plants where they may be enjoyed. Often they are 

 not enjoyed for the reason that their wants are not under- 

 stood and they fail to grow. The cultivation of the large 

 majority of plants out-of-doors is a comparatively simple 

 matter. Nature supplies most of their wants so long as 

 they are not under artificial conditions. But when they 

 are under shelter then their wants must all be anticipated 

 and met It is too often forgotten that the leaves are the 

 principal assimilating organs of plants, and as the carbon 

 which they absorb occurs in air in very minute proportion 

 they require a great abundance of that element. Water is 

 ne.x't needed to dissolve the food they take and fill their 

 tissues. Without warmth and light no plant activity is 

 possible. Hence, we have the simple problem to provide 

 an abundance of pure, properly warmed air with liberal 

 but not too great a supply of water. The first requisite in 

 an inclosed garden is sufiicient energy in the way of heat 

 to keep the water moving and the fresh air warmed up. 

 Too many, like our correspondent, trust to makeshift 

 arrangements, which, while they may suffice to prevent 

 freezing, yet fail to supply sufficient heat energy. In cold 

 weather it is, therefore, necessary to close all ventilators, 

 so that the air is devitalized and the soil in the pots be- 

 comes cold and perhaps sodden with stagnant water, 

 under which condition the bestintentioned plants cannot 

 grow, for there are many cloudy days and one cannot rely 

 on sunlight. A s.mall heater, which may be placed in the 

 cellar, with two or more pipes in the conservatory for hot- 

 water circulation, is the best method of heating such struc- 

 tures. These heaters are now cheap, and burning slowly 

 at ordinary temperatures they consume comparatively little 

 fuel. In fact, they are more economical than oil-stoves, to 

 say nothing of their freedom from danger and offensive 

 and destructive vapors. Ample ventilation should always 

 be provided in plant-houses, and while plants do not like 

 draughts, they do not mind fair amounts of fairly cold 

 fresh air if they have not been unduly forced and made 



