56 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 206. 



others which are interesting from everv point of view. They 

 may be had in almost any color from pure white to yellow, or 

 thfough various shades of pink and red to purple. They differ 

 widely in habit of growth, in shape and disposition of flowers 

 and leaves. Some of them bloom in October, and a succes- 

 sion of flowers can he had until May. 



The propagation of Ericas from seed requires much care and 

 patience. The seeds are very minute, and the young plants 

 tender and liable to damp off in a dull season. Still, as new 

 and valuable varieties may be raised bv this means, it is some- 

 times resorted to. The seed should be sown as soon as ripe 

 in well-drained pots of finely sifted peat and silver sand. Pack 

 the soil well in the pots by shaking them, and if the soil is very 

 dry it should be thoroughly soaked before sowing. Sow the 

 seeds evenly, and a gentle sprinkling will cover them suffi- 

 ciently. The seed-pans must be kept in an even temperature 

 of about sixty degrees in a light greenhouse. The air should 

 be pure and dry, while the pots should be kept moist, without 

 too much sprinlvling, which will cause the seeds to decay, 

 especially if they are old. Each pot should be covered by a 

 pane of glass, and this must always be kept free from moisture, 

 especially at the time of germination. Moist or overheated air 

 at this period is almost certain to cause serious loss. When 

 the plants are large enough to be handled they should be 

 pricked off in other pots or deep pans of well-packed soil. 

 After this they must be kept close until a strong healthy 

 growth has begun. Water containing alkaline or mineral 

 substances in solution should be strictly avoided. Rain-water 

 is at all times the best for Ericas. 



When the flowering season is over and growth commences 

 a number of young shoots will be formed at the base of almost 

 all larger plants. These shoots invariably give the best cut- 

 tings. As soon as they are half-ripe these shoots, with their 

 lower leaves removed, should be cut, inserted obliquely in 

 shallow pans filled with the same kind of soil as for seeds, e.x- 

 cept it may contain more sand. It is of importance not to in- 

 sert the cuttings too deeply ; in fact, the base should be covered 

 only sufficiently to keep them firmly in place. All pans should 

 be covered with bell-glasses, which must be keptdry by wiping 

 away, as often as possible, all water condensed on the inside of 

 the glass. If a propagating-house entirely devoted to Ericas, 

 Azaleas and the like is used, no bell-glasses are required. The 

 stage of such a house should come close to the glass, and a 

 couple of hot-water pipes will be wanted to supply a gentle 

 bottom-heat. When in use for this purpose all ventilating 

 ought to be given below the stage when this is necessary. 

 Facilities for shading on very bright days should be provided. 

 The pans containing the cuttings should be plunged to the 

 rim in coarse sand. Only one variety should be inserted in 

 each pan, so that the growth of all may begin at once. 

 When the cuttings are well-rooted abundant ventilation is 

 needed. 



In the following spring the young plants are to be potted 

 singly in two-inch pots, and if kept in close frames for some 

 time they will soon root well. As the plants go on growing 

 , attention must be paid to repotting before they become pot- 

 bound, and the young shoots should be trimmed to make the 

 growth dense and uniform. 



Young plants should be repotted every spring and removed 

 to the open air early in summer. Beds should be prepared in 

 the open grounds for this purpose by covering them a couple 

 of inches deep with cinders or ashes and leveling the surface. 

 The beds are made four feet wide, and the plants placed at a 

 sufficient distance to allow light and air on all sides. Young 

 plants must be trimmed several times during the season. 

 They can be cut in such form as the natural tendency of each 

 species suggests. This cropping should not extend below the 

 soft wood. Plants for flowering must not be trimmed in this 

 manner, as they must havQ^ sufficient time to ripen their 

 shoots. 



Ericas must never be allowed to dry up, but overwafering 

 is very injurious. When potting, the roots must not be in- 

 jured or disturbed except at the bottom, when the young roots 

 should be gently disentangled and the soil should be packed 

 in very firmly. Common peat, with very little sand, is best for 

 the more robust, soft-wooded kinds, which can also be potted 

 less firmly than the smaller hard-wooded species, which in 

 their native land grow in crevices of rocks, on hard stonv 

 ground, chiefly in soil produced by their own decaying leaves. 

 For old and large specimens it is advisable to put some bone 

 or horn-sJiavings in the bottom of the pot or tub, or use well- 

 decayed cow-manure. 



During dull moist seasons Ericas are apt to suffer from mil- 

 dew. The only way to counteract this evil is to sprinkle them 

 with sulphur. If planted too deep the water is liable to cause 



the bark of the lower part of the stem to loosen and decay. 

 It is better to plant a little too shallow than too deep. 



New York. N. J. Rose. 



The Value of Wind-breaks. 



AITHEREVER winds have a destructive sweep there is 

 ^^ a lack of those provisions that nature would sup- 

 ply if let alone. Run an old-fashioned fence across a lot, 

 and in ten years it would be the centre of a row of young trees, 

 forming a solid wind-break. On knolls hereabout, if barred 

 from cattle. Hemlocks and .Pines start. Fifty years ago I 

 dragged rails to enclose a bit of land, which, to my boyish 

 eye, was a delightful spot, where some tiny evergreens were 

 trying to get a start on ridges and slopes and knolls. I was 

 not interfered with, and so the cows were shut out. The re- 

 sult is now a thing of beauty. But that is not all ; the winds 

 that used to leap off the hill-top down on oiu" orchards and 

 barns are now decidedly broken. The only conifer native to 

 our hills is the Hemlock, and its beauty is hardly equaled. But 

 the Arbor-vita; readily takes to our soil, and I have used that 

 for my hedges. Under the lee of these the sharp winds never 

 are felt, and the effect is largely to restore climatic conditions 

 that existed before the forests were so extensively cut away. 

 Quinces, for example, bear once more as they did fifty years 

 ago. 



On one side of a street here fruit abounds that cannot be 

 grown across the way. I have no trouble with Diana, Isabella 

 and Iowa Grapes, while even Concords do not get a fully ripe 

 flavor a few hundred rods away. This is, to be sure, owing 

 partly to the contour of the land, but it is also due largely to 

 the additional protection given. The advantages are not only 

 general, but special and local ; we cannot only affect climate 

 on a large scale by forests and by our plantations of screens 

 and wind-breaks, but we can make our own lawn or orchard 

 climate. 



Where land is abundant a belt of evergreens may be set. I 

 have in mind one large orchard in this town, about one-third 

 of which is sheltered in this way, and is in perfect health ; two- 

 thirds are exposed to the sweep of north-west winds, and the 

 trees are of no use except for fuel. The line of demarkation 

 is plain to every one who drives by, and the contrast is almost 

 startling. The effect on annual crops may not be so apparent, 

 but it is logically sure. I am confident that one of the first du- 

 ties of a purchaser of land is to study its exposure and 

 plant screens against the most trying winds. While we are 

 waituig for the Government to solve the forestry problem, we 

 can in a small way control our own local climates to advantage. 



Cliiiion, N". V. -£. P. Powell. 



Altenianthera Leaf-blight. 



T^ISEASED specimens of Alternantheras have been recently 

 -L^ received from four widely separated greenhouses in the 

 eastern states, and a visit to several propagating-beds in New 

 Brunswick shows that the trouble in question is prevalent here. 

 In its worst form the leaves blight, coil up and fall away, leav- 

 ing the short stems of the plants bare. When the disease is 

 in a mild form only, here and there a leaf is seen with a brown 

 spot upon one side or at the tip. These spots contain count- 

 less threads of a parasitic fungus, pushing into the healthy por- 

 tions of the leaf and spreading the spot. Upon the older por- 

 tions of the brown patch a considerable number of nearly 

 spherical buds may be seen half-sunken within the substance 

 of the leaf. At the upper free side in the centre is a small 

 opening, through which, when mature, the small colorless 

 spores exude in large numbers, and by means of which the 

 blight fungus is able to spread through the propagating-bed. 

 This disease is caused by a species of Phyllosticta, which, while ■ 

 probably not the same, is closely related to Phyllosticta 

 Amaranthi, upon a species of Pigweed (Amaranthus retro- 

 flexus), a near neighbor of the Alternantheras, and a member 

 of the same family. One reason why this blight is not particu- 

 larly conspicuous is due to the variegated folia.ge of the host. 

 Upon plants with uniformly green foliage a blight equally 

 abundant would be quickly observed. It is, however, none 

 the less destructive because not easily seen, and should it con- 

 tinue to prevail it is quite certain that some preventive measures 

 will be needed. As this blight is similar in nature to the black 

 rot of the Grape, it is doubtless true that the Bordeaux mixture 

 would prove effective. Better than this, because not coating 

 the plants with lime, would be the carbonate of copper com- 

 pound, made as follows ; Dissolye three ounces of carbonate 

 of copper in one quart of ammonia, dilute with water to twenty- 

 two gallons, and spray the affected plants at least once a week. 



