April 13, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



177 



rapidly into too premature bloom without waiting for fall de- 

 velopment of foliage. In only three days Narcissus Pseudo- 

 Narcissus and N. bicolor prrecox led the van of Daffodils, fol- 

 lowed rapidly by Ard Righ, the Tenby, Countess of Annesley 

 and Scoticus, in this order. One welcomes the Narcissi at any 

 time, however, for from the time of their (lowering till the last 

 of the Chrysanthemums in November there should be no lack 

 of useful flowers in the garden if it contains a good supply of 

 bulbous plants for the early year. Good early-blooming her- 

 baceous plants are not so plentiful, and reliable ones are, in 

 fact, rather scarce and difficult to maintain in this latitude with 

 its vicissitude of frosts and thaws. Rock-cress is one of the 

 few satisfactory things Howering just now. The first of the 

 hardy Primulas are just opening, and, of course, Bellis perennis 

 expands with the first warmth. The Hellebores also are apt to 

 give some flowers now — my garden not being one of those 

 fortunate ones where the Christmas Roses fiower amid ice and 

 snow, as so beautifully figured in the catalogues. SomeSnow- 

 drops are still in full beauty, making a season of five months 

 of this charming flower. 



This is a good time to arrange for a water-garden if not 

 already provided for. No feature of gardening is more satis- 

 factory and enjoyable, and no garden should be without some 

 arrangements for growing water-loving plants. If Nymphaeas 

 are grown it is necessary to remember that the tank should be 

 an aquarium, so that it be properly stocked with fish as well as 

 plants. Mytankcontainsonly i5ocubicfeetof water, andis only 

 twenty inchesdeep, so that when the hardy Nymphseas were left 

 in last winter, some with crowns within six inches of the sur- 

 face, it was with considerable doubt as to their safety. The 

 tank was covered with a layer of boards, and a thin covering 

 of leaves over these. There seemed to have been not over two 

 inches of ice at any time during the winter, and with more 

 leaves there would probably have been none. The Nymphaeas, 

 Sagittarias, Limnocharis and Aponogeton came through the 

 ordeal safely, and only need a replanting in boxes and a little 

 warmth to start them into full growth. Some of the Nymphseas 

 start up very quickly. A large plant of N. chromatella, which 

 was wintered in the cellar and was entirely dormant, woke up 

 in three days when placed in a pail of water in the greenhouse 

 at sixty degrees. There seems to be no difficulty in wintering 

 hardy Nymphsas, and the tender ones after they have made 

 tubers, but some varieties, like N. Zanzibarensis, are very unre- 

 liable keepers with most growers, and it is to be hoped that 

 some one will explain how they may be wintered with certainty 

 when they have not formed tubers. In my small experience a 

 check from leaving them out too late, or a low temperature at 

 any time, seem fatalides from which they do not recover. 



Elizabeth. N.J. J- ^- G. 



The Water-garden, 



AFTER months of anxious waiting April is a busy time in 

 the water-garden, and this year in particular, when 

 severe January weather followed hard after a few softly beau- 

 tiful days in March, one cannot help feeling some excite- 

 ment as the covering is cleared away and the eftect of the 

 winter upon some water-plants of suspected hardiness is 

 examined. This clearing away of all litter is the first thing to 

 be done in water-gardens north of New York, where the tanks 

 have had a covering, and in many cases where the water is 

 deep, it will be necessary to draw off some of it, so that the 

 plants can be more readily examined. In the neighborhood of 

 New York I have not yet heard of any Water-lilies perishing 

 on account of the hard winter. Marliac's yellow Nymphjea has 

 already made large growth as compared with our native Pond 

 Lily, and the Nelumbiums — N. speciosum, N. nuciferum and 

 N. luteum — are also showing growth above the soil. Little 

 difference can be seen between these Nelumbiums wintered 

 under water and those with the water drawn off and covered 

 with leaves and litter alone. Some persons find difficulty in 

 establishing N. speciosum, the Egyptian Lotus, and the plant 

 deserves attention at once. If tanks are to be built, the work 

 must be pushed. In tanks already in use, the water should be 

 drained off and a top-dressing of rich com post should be given. 

 If this compost was prepared last season of turfy loam and 

 thoroughly decomposed manure, in equal portions, it will be 

 all the better. The compost to the depth of three inches may 

 be placed directly upon the accumulation of dead leaves, 

 where there is any, and upon it should be spread a dressing 

 of clean sand. 



If fresh roots are to be planted and the tanks are not ready 

 or the weather is yet too cold, it will help a great deal if the 

 plants are started in tubs, where they can be sheltered in ex- 

 cessively cold spells, to be planted out when settled warm 



weather comes and growth is active. Dormant roots should 

 not be set in deep water, nor should growing plants have their 

 leaves submerged. Roots dormruit or just starting should 

 be placed in tanks and covered with about six inches of water, 

 which should be gradually raised as the plants advance. If it 

 is desirable to set them in ponds or lakes, half-established 

 plants may be placed near the edge, where they will be but a 

 few inches deeper in water than where they were grown be- 

 fore. They require but gentle pressing in the mud, but where 

 they show any tendency to rise a few bricks or stones will keep 

 the roots in position until they take hold of the soil. Detective 

 duty against musk-rats should be unceasing, for should these 

 animals once get a taste of the plants they are doomed, and 

 the same is true of Nymphaeas. I am also of the opinion that 

 turtles eat the buds of Nymphfeas, and just now I am keeping 

 them under close watch until convinced of their friendliness. 

 Where the hardy Nymphasas need to be thinned out this work 

 should be attended to at once and top-dressing sliould be given 

 them, as has been recommended for the Lotus. Where new 

 plants of Water-lilies are to be set in a tank they should have 

 at first no more than six inches of water, until a stronn-er 

 growth makes need for more. 

 Dongan Hills, N. Y. IVm. TricJcer. 



Primula Sieboldi. 



'T^HESE Japanese Primroses deserve a wider cultivation than 

 J- they now enjoy. They are easily grown, soon form large 

 clumps, have handsome foliage, flower freely, and are in full 

 beauty from the middle of April to the middle of May, when 

 there are not many flowers of any kind to be had. Since they 

 flower so early, it is better to plant them in sheltered nooks, 

 where they will be protected from cold winds, or to keep a 

 temporary frame over them from the time they begin to grow 

 till the bloom is over. Give air at all times during the day and 

 mild nights, and take the lights off on calm days. This little 

 extra trouble is well repaid by larger flowers of a brighter 

 color, produced a week or fortnight earlier. A fairly light soil, 

 well enriched with decayed leaf-mold or stable-manure, is well 

 suited for their culture, but is not essential. I have seen these 

 Primroses flourishing in full sun and in partial shade, but they 

 last longer in beauty in the shade. A top-dressing of well- 

 decayed leaf-mold or soil should be given in the fall, as the 

 crowns are often above the soil when the~ plants have done 

 growing. When hard frost sets in a slight covering can be 

 given of boughs, with some litter thrown on the top (so that 

 the litter does not rest heavily on the soil), or a temporary 

 frame covered with a wooden shutter or boards can be used. 

 Protection from frost is not necessary unless the winters are 

 very severe or on soils where plants are much lifted by frost. 

 The covering should be taken off as soon as frost is out of the 

 soil, and where a frame is used a light can be put on. 



The following varieties are distinct : P. Sieboldi, the type, 

 has large umbels of bright magenta flowers with light centre ; 

 Intermedia, improved, has bright reddish crimson flowers in 

 large umbels, freely produced ; Lilacina has large fringed 

 flowers, lilac, feathered with white, and light centre ; Lilacina 

 marginata has bold flowers, nearly as large as a dollar, with 

 petals overlapping, the exterior of the flower light slate, the 

 interior white, margined and slightly feathered with lilac ; 

 Magenta Queen has large dense umbels of clear magenta 

 flowers, slightly fringed, andis one of the first to flower ; Rosea 

 alba bears abundantly flowers whose exterior is light, interior 

 white ; Rosea striata, flowers light lilac, shaded and striped ; 

 Violacea, flowers reddish violet, borne freely in rather loose 

 umbels. 

 Norwood, Mass. Charles H. Rca. 



Correspondence. 



Mid-March in Northern California. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — After an unusually mild winter there came in late Feb- 

 ruary a series of clear warm days, with pleasant nights and a 

 midday temperature which rose to eighty degrees in the shade. 

 This continued for three weeks, and its effect on an already 

 advanced vegetation may well be imagined. Narcissi were 

 m blossom by the middle of February, and are now (April 

 1st) nearly gone, and so are Hyacinths. Early Tulips are well 

 along ; Violets, Primroses, Verbenas, and the whole line of 

 spring flowers are in the full tide of bloom. Rose-bushes are 

 a mass of buds, and in sheltered positions a few are in flower. 

 At San Francisco, Callas and Roses are in full bloom, Japan 

 Quinces have come and gone, Laurustinus and Photinias in 



