1 88 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 217. 



be sown in early spring in the greenhouse. The seeds are so 

 small, and the seedlings so delicate for a long time after germi- 

 nation, that it is almost useless to sow them in the open border. 

 Years ago I grew some fine specimens of this plant in pots, 

 but, although I was thus able to keep the roots dry and cool, 

 I vet failed to save over thirty per cent, of them through the 

 winter. If I have the good fortune to try them again in pots, 

 I shall let Ihem freeze. 



Lenten Roses.— These plants, mostly hybrids of Helle- 

 borus Colchicus, H. guttatus, H. Olympicus, H. purpurescens, 

 H. orientalis and others, of which "the varieties Irene Heine- 

 mann, Hotgarten Inspector Hartweg and Willy Schmidt are 

 representatives, are now in bloom. "They are very hardy and 

 desirable plants, and some are really beautiful, many of the 

 hybrids being far superior to the types in distinct and bright 

 coloring. In this country they take the place of the Christmas 

 Rose, which, however beautiful, is unsatisfactory, since its 

 natural blooming season is at a time when our winters are too 

 severe to allow of anything in the shape of active vegetation 

 to flourish ; and, on the other hand, the summers are too hot. 

 The raising of hybrid Lenten Roses is slow, but very interest- 

 ing work. The seeds are very slow to germinate. A year ago 

 last August I sowed a lot in a box, and e.xpected to see them 

 come up last spring. Out of five hundred seeds sown only 

 twelve germinated ; but this year, I think, nearly all the others 

 must have started, as the box is quite full. 



The best plants I have seen were grown under Quince- 

 bushes, which seemed to give them just shade enough. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. H. 



Narcissus Bulbocodium. 



IT is a matter of surprise that this Narcissus, the Hooped 

 Petticoat Daffodil, is not more generally known and culti- 

 vated by those who grow bulbous winter- flowering plants; 

 while many others are grown in immense quantity, these little 

 gems are seldom seen. When trying to obtain some bulbs 

 last fall I was told they could not be found to the number re- 

 quired in any of three large cities, and they had to be im- 

 ported before an order for 500 could be filled. No bulb gives 

 more flowers in proportion to its size, as it is quite common 

 to see five flowers to a bulb, so that when planted thickly in 

 shallow pans the effect is very pleasing. It is possible "that 

 many have failed with this Narcissus because of attempts to 

 force it. Under this treatment nothing but leaves will be pro- 

 duced, as is the case with the Snowdrop or Crocus. After be- 

 ing potted they should be wintered in a cold frame until the 

 end of February, when the flowers will be produced with very 

 little heat in a greenhouse or in a sitting-room window. N. 

 Bulbocodium is of a bright yellow in the typical plant, but 

 there is a variety known as Citrinus that has flowers of a lovely 

 lemon-yellow, but this form cannot yet be obtained in quantity 

 at reasonable prices. This last remark applies also to N. cy- 

 clamineus, the Cyclamen-flowered Narcissus, which to me is 

 the prettiest of the whole genus. Its dainty and quaint ap- 

 pearance, so different from all others, makes one wish it would 

 live longer in cultivation, but complaints are common that 

 after once flowering it dwindles away, and such has been my 

 experience. Mr. Barr, the Narcissus specialist, tells us it needs 

 a moist situation when planted out ; but, then, a New England 

 winter is vastly different from that of Portugal, and planting 

 outdoors here is not to be thought of. This kind was lost to cul- 

 tivation for over one hundred years, owingpossibly to the diffi- 

 culty in growing it, and now that it is rediscovered there is a 

 danger of its being exterminated by collectors unless better 

 success is obtained with it under cultivation. 



South Lancaster, Mass. L/. C/. 



Permanent Narcissus Beds. 



AFTER Narcissi, and the same maybe said of other bulbous 

 plants of this class, have done flowering they should not 

 be disturbed until the leaves ripen. A good way to treat beds 

 in which Narcissi have been planted, say from a foot to 

 eighteen inches apart, is to sow the seed of Mignonette be- 

 tween the rows, which will about cover the ground by the 

 time the foliage of the Narcissi has died, or, at least, has so far 

 ripened that it will sustain no injury from the Mignonette. 

 After the first frosts in fall the Mignonette may be removed 

 from the bed and a good top-dressing of well-decorn posed 

 manure given. The fall rains will wash the plant-food down 

 to the roots of the bulbs, which are in need of just such en- 

 couragement to enable them to start again and flower the next 

 year better than before. Many other tender annuals might 

 with advantage be used in this same manner, and a permanent 



bed of Narcissi can be had which will yield from year to 

 year an abundance of flowers bright and fresh without any 

 torcing-house feebleness. Then, too, the bulbs need not be 

 thrown away after flowering, but they can be left in the ground 

 to increase and produce double the quantity of bloom the next 

 season. After the third year they should be lifted, separated 

 and replanted. When the soil is a heavy tenacious clay the 

 bulbs will be better if lilted every second year. The reason 

 for this is that as the bulbs expand their growth is more or less- 

 hindered by the resistance made by the soil against which 

 they press. If we lift a clump of any strong-growing Narcissus- 

 the third year from planting in a heavy soil, it will be found a 

 compact mass of bulbs, small and imperfectly developed for 

 want of space. These would hardly be able to flower another 

 season ; perhaps they would not flower well the third year 

 even. Where the soil is light the bulbs meet less resistance, 

 and they will be larger and stronger. 



One who buys imported bulbs of Narcissi, such as Sir 

 Watkin or Bicolor Horsfieldi, is at once struck with the differ- 

 ence between these and home-grown bulbs of the same varie- 

 ties. The foreign bulbs have much shorter necks because of 

 shallow planting, while home-grown bulbs have long necks,, 

 and present a very different appearance. Home-grown bulbs 

 planted in August will prove far superior to imported ones in 

 quality and abundance of bloom. There is a wide difference 

 of opinion in Europe as to the best depth and time to plant. 

 Our climate certainly calls for deep planting to guard against 

 the action of frost, which may force the bulbs out of the soil 

 and otherwise injure them. The lifting may safely be done as- 

 soon as the foliage begins to turn yellow. Roots will be found 

 adhering to the bulb, but their work is done, and they are use- 

 less. It is good practice to reset the bulbs as soon as possible. 



South Lancaster, Mass. O. 



Growing Plants in Moss.— Sphagnum has some advantages 

 over soil, as a medium for the roots of plants, especially where 

 it is desirable to have them in boxes or stands, and more par- 

 ticularly under the shade of trees, which, like the Silver Maple, 

 are always ready to throw out their feeders and appropriate alt 

 the plant-food within reach. There are many plants which will 

 thrive and make a good display all summer in such situations 

 if they can be protected from the encroachments of the tree- 

 roots,"^ and this can readily be accomplished by growing them 

 in boxes, which may be either placed on the ground or ele- 

 vated by means of rustic supports, as taste may dictate. One 

 of the most satisfactory flowering plants for such a position is 

 the Fuchsia, and many plants with ornamental foliage do well. 

 These boxes need not be over three or four inches deep, and irk 

 filling them I generally put in about an inch of soil first, although 

 this is not absolutely necessary. I then fill in the moss in lay- 

 ers, with a good sprinkling of hen-manure or other good fer- 

 tilizer between the layers, and, if the box is shallow, carry the 

 moss somewhat higher than the sides and round it up in the' 

 centre. The plants are then dumped out of pots and the balls 

 of earth well covered in the moss. Some of the advantages 

 in using sphagnum are its readiness to take up and retairk 

 water, it does not crust over, and its porous nature admits 

 air so freely that there is very little danger of injury by over- 

 watering. Sphagnum is now offered by several firms in va- 

 rious parts of the country at low prices by the barrel, and 

 those who cannot have ready access to swamps that produce 

 it can easily procure it. ,,, „ „ 



Hammonton, N. Y. Will. F. Bassett. 



Papyrus Antiquorum, the Egyptian Paper-plant, as it is often, 

 called, has long been prized as an aquatic plant, and when as- 

 sociated in the water-garden with the so-called Lotus (Nelum- 

 bium speciosum) it can hardly be excelled in gracefulness. As 

 a general decorative plant for the conservatory and dwelling- 

 house it is rarely met with, but it is equally adapted to this pur- 

 pose, and good plants can be produced in eight or ten inch 

 pots. Large specimen plants require to be grown in water- 

 tight tubs, and when used as the centre or as a background for 

 groups and masses of plants it becomes a conspicuous object, 

 towering ten to twelve feet high, with plumes two feet in 

 diameter. As a pot-plant it is as readily grown as Cyperus al- 

 ternifolius, and requires the same treatment, but being much 

 stronger, it is not adapted to such small pots as the Cyperus. 

 The soil should be good turfy loam, enriched -with thoroughly- 

 rotted stable-manure. With the same soil in tubs without 

 drainage it can be readily grown into large specimen clumps- 

 by using several pieces in one tub. When growing freely 

 the tub should be occasionally filled up with liquid manure- 

 General greenhouse temperature and treatment suits it admira- 

 bly. As a summer decorative plant for the mixed border, or 



