104 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 21a, 



Covering Greenhouse Walls. 



A""" BLANK wall, such as is often seen in small conserva- 

 tories, especially those attached to dwellings, detracts 

 greatly from the appearance of the house. Such a wall may 

 be covered in various ways, and one very pretty way is by a 

 screen of earth attached to the wall in which are planted a va- 

 riety of small plants. Probably the easiest and best plan for 

 such planting is to put strong screw-eyes into the wall at short 

 distances apart, using eyes large enough to project three or 

 four inches from the wall, and to these to fasten strong 

 galvanized wire netting with meshes measuring from three to 

 four inches. The space so formed should then be filled in 

 with a coarse, open compost, in which the plants may be set 

 through the meshes of the netting. A charming effect can 

 thus be secured by a proper mixture of plants with bright foli- 

 age and Ferns. Among the former are Marantas, small Cro- 

 tons, Anthuriums, Peperomias, Isolepis gracilis, Hofl'mannia 

 refulgens, small Dracaenas and many others, while the list of 

 Ferns may be an extended one. The Adiantums will naturally 

 take a prominent place, such sorts as A. cuneatum, A. his- 

 pidulum, A. capillus veneris and A. assimile being almost 

 indispensable, while some of the Nephrolepis, Pteris serru- 

 lata and P. cretica, in their various forms, are almost equally 

 useful. If the wall to be covered is in a Fern-house, the cov- 

 ering may consist entirely of Ferns and Lycopods, without any 

 admixture of other foliage-plants. Among the Lycopods, Sela- 

 ginella Wildenovii is especially handsome for such use, the 

 bluish tint of its fronds being remarkably attractive, but as the 

 shoots of this species will sometimes attain a length of six or 

 seven feet it becomes necessary to peg them into the soil in 

 order to keep them from falling down. S. uncinata is also an 

 admirable sort, and will cling closely to the soil without any 

 special attention. S. Martensii and its variegated form are 

 also useful plants for this purpose. Among Ferns the Daval- 

 lias, and some of the Polypodiums and Aspleniums, should 

 not be neglected. Little need be said as to cultivation, for 

 unless the soil on the wall be overvvatered before the plants 

 become established, there will be but little difficulty in secur- 

 ing a healthy growth of the Ferns and other plants recom- 

 mended. I 



Where the use of this plan would be inconvenient or im- 

 practicable, the wall may be readily covered with Ficus 

 stipulata or Pothos argyraea, or other close-growing creepers, 

 these two being decidedly among the best for the purpose, 

 from the fact that their rootlets cHng as firmly as those of the 

 "Virginia Creeper, and their foliage is neat. But whatever 

 plants are used for this purpose they should be entirely free 

 from scale, mealy bug or other insects, as it is practically im- 

 possible to clean them afterward, and when once infected 

 with such vermin plants soon become disfigured or entirely 

 ruined. -7- ^^7- 



Holmesburg, Pa. l^- ■". lapllJl. 



^Two Good Climbers. 



D""" URING the winter months no plants are more attractive 

 than Bignonia venusta on account of its abundant flowers 

 and their bright color. The flowers are tubular, three inches 

 in length, with five oblong lobes, and a very bright orange 

 color. They are produced in terminal axillary clusters in great 

 profusion. A well-grown plant on the roof of a conservatory will 

 have pendent sprays from two to five feet long, bearing hun- 

 dreds of tlower-clusters. The Bignonia, to attain such luxu- 

 riance, requires a good border to grow in, but it will also suc- 

 ceed well in a box three feet square and nine inches deep. 

 Perfect drainage is necessary whether the plant is in box or 

 border. Good turfy loam, with an admixture of one-third leaf- 

 soil, or well-decomposed manure, makes a suitable soil, and if 

 the loam is heavy sand may be added to keep it porous. 

 Watering must be liberal during the growing season, with 

 occasional liquid manure, and the foliage must be kept clean 

 and healthy by syringing. The plant enjoys full light and an 

 ordinary greenhouse temperature, requiring little shade in 

 summer, as the matured wood produces more and better 

 flowers than soft unripened wood. It continues in bloom for 

 several weeks during the winter months. After flowering, all 

 weak growths and branches that have produced flowers should 

 be cut away, and new growth should be encouraged for next 

 winter's flowers. The young shoots should be trained and 

 tied to wires or rafters, as the tendrils, if not attended to, will 

 soon form a tangled mass. This Bignonia is easily propagated 

 by ordinary methods from young stiff side shoots in spring. 



Lophospermum (Maurandya) scandens is a most graceful 

 plant, and adapted to many modes of culture. As a winter- 

 flowering plant it can be trained to wires under rafters of the 



greenhouse or along under the angles of the rafters length- 

 wise, from which graceful branches will hang, producing freely 

 rich Gloxinia-like flowers of a deep rosy tint. It is also adapted 

 for trellis-work, but climbers on such pieces are usually stiff 

 and formal. Most of them are best trained to wires under 

 rafters or along the edges of benches lengthwise of the house. 

 The stronger ones can be trained near the top of the house, 

 others near the angle of the rafters below. The Lophosper- 

 mum thrives well as an ordinary house or window plant in 

 winter. Out-of-doors it is one of the best climbers for sum- 

 mer decoration, and it can be planted against rustic-work 

 fences, poles, trained to wires or strings by the dwelling- 

 house, piazza, or any other place where such plants delight to- 

 ramble. For pot-culture the soil should not be too rich. A 

 mixture of good turfy loam and manure that has been laid up 

 a season is useful for most kinds of greenhouse-plants, with 

 an admixture of leaf-soil and sand to keep the soil porous. 

 Good drainage is indispensable with all pot-grown plants. It 

 is easily raised from seeds or cuttings early in the season, for 

 summer use, and in August for winter-flowering. 

 Dongan Hills, N. Y. ^m. Tricker. 



Veltheimia viridifolia (Aletris Capensis) is one of those odd 

 bulbous plants often to be found in private greenhouses, a 

 reminiscence probably of the time when Cape bulbs were more 

 popular than at present. Like most Cape bulbs, it seems to 

 need cool treatment, with very cautious forcing and a perfect 

 rest after flowering. At least, I find that the bloom is made 

 abortive by too much heat. In the cool house bulbs started in 

 the early iall form thick undulated dark green leaves. The 

 flower-scape is smooth, spotted with brown, and about a foot 

 high, and is furnished with numerous flowers in a rounded 

 raceme. Individually these are rosy pink and spotted, and 

 about an inch long, and make the plant, which is not a showy 

 one, interesting in a collection. The bulbs are increased by 

 offsets, or if the leaves are stripped and inserted in earth they 

 are said to produce bulbs at the base. 



Saxifraga cuscutaeformis. — The Dodder Saxifrage is an inter- 

 esting Japanese species, but owing to its peculiar cultural wants- 

 is not often seen in gardens. In habit it seems allied some- 

 what to S. sarmentosa, but the runners are fine and Dodder- 

 like, whence the name. The plant is low-growing, with ovate 

 leaves, which are beautifully reticulated with white. In the 

 open it flowers in early summer, with abundant but smali 

 white flowers. It is not at all hardy, and its principal value is 

 found as an ornament to the cool house, where, if kept free 

 from too much moisture, it grows freely, and shows finer 

 markings than when grown in the border. Outside, during- 

 mild weather, it flourishes in the raised border, push- 

 ing stolons underground to throw up leaves in unexpected 

 places, but let dry hot weather come the plant quietly disap- 

 pears ; not to be lost, however, for it forms small corms, 

 which are ready to revive under favorable conditions. A plant 

 of this character is apt to exhaust the patience of all but those 

 fond of peculiarly dainty subjects. 



Saxifraga Camposii, or S. Wallacei of gardens, is a striking- 

 contrast to the above-named variety, and is probably one of 

 the best of the smaller Saxifrages. It is hardy it protected froi-ri 

 excessive moisture, and is also useful in the cold house. In 

 such a house the flowers are just opening. These are white, 

 not quite an inch in diameter, and very freely produced on 

 stems three to six inches long. The foliage is flabellate, deeply 

 cleft and toothed. 



Elizabeth, N.J. / . N. G. 



The Forest. 



Forestry for the Farmer. 



A FEW weeks ago Mr. Gifford Pinchot read a paper oi> 

 the above subject before the " New York Farmers," 

 and we give below an abstract of it. 



The term forestry has come to be associated in the United 

 States very largely with the climatic influence of forests, 

 and the much more important matter of forest-management 

 has been almost wholly overlooked. This is unfortunate. 

 Forest-management we can speak of in definite terms, but our 

 knowledge of the influence of forests on climate is vague and 

 incomplete. Moreover, much that has been said about it is 

 palpable exaggeration. The whole question lacks the imme- 

 diate interest to. make it thoroughly practical. It cannot be 

 expected that the average farmer will stint liimself for fire- 

 wood or refrain from increasing his winter supplies because of 

 the climatic influence of the trees in his wood-lot. The climate 



