544 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 247. 



in spring the young shoots antl leaves are used as a vegetable 

 for food. 



High cultivation here, as in so many other parts of the world, 

 seems to favor the increase of certain pests to vegetation. 

 Large snails are here sometimes much more destructive to 

 foliage than ever comes within the experience of New England 

 horticulturists, and roots of Pear and other young trees are 

 often badly eaten by white grubs. Mildews, too, revel in this 

 rich vegetation, especially on Roses and Vines. To combat 

 these the same formula is used which is employed in the vine- 

 yards of many other parts of France. It is composed of two 

 kilogrammes of sulphate of copper and two kilogrammes of 

 lime in 100 litres of water, and is applied in a fine spray. With- 

 out the addition of the lime the leaves are considered liable to 

 injury by the copper sulphate. 



A short visit to the principal nurseries of IVIessrs. Transon at 

 Orleans introduced me to a collection very different in appear- 

 ance from that at Sceaux, although largely composed of simi- 

 lar material. Trees and shrubs are grown here in very great 

 quantities, and largely sold when quite small, a considerable 

 portion of the stock being shipped to distant places or out of 

 the country. Instead of large specially trained specimens, we 

 find here good-sized areas given up to a single species or va- 

 riety, the plants often not too large to be shipped by mail if 

 necessary. As an example I may mention that I found thou- 

 sands of Spiraea Thunbergii, which were propagated by green 

 cuttings, this mode of propagation being very much resorted 

 to in this establishment for a great variety of plants. The cut- 

 tings are planted almost as thickly together as they can stand 

 in circular patches nearly a foot and a half across in beds of 

 well-prepared sandy soil in the open ground. They are given 

 one good watering and then covered with large bell-glasses or 

 "cloches," which are in turn shaded from the direct sunlight 

 by light mattings of straw. The one watering suffices, and the 

 cuttings require no further moisture until the roots start, which 

 may be in a week or two or a month or two, according to the 

 kind of cuttings. The bell-glasses do away with the use of 

 frames, so much employed in our own country, and they have 

 several obvious advantages over them. They are made of 

 thick strong glass, are about a foot deep and a foot and a half 

 across at the mouth, giving room for a very large number of 

 cuttings when closely planted together. They cost less than 

 twenty cents each. When the cuttings have formed sufficient 

 roots they are transplanted thickly together in rows in the 

 nursery. 



The firm has several branch nurseries in localities most 

 suitable to the growth of particular classes of plants, but lack 

 of time made it impossible to visit any of these. The general 

 topography of the country is not attractive, being almost a 

 plain, and the day spent here was the hottest experienced in 

 Europe. tv /^ tv z. 



Arnold Arboretum. J. G. Jack. 



Notes from West Virginia. 



ON my study-table this morning is a strange bouquet. It 

 consists of white Chrysanthemums, true November blos- 

 soms, and a large spray of purple Persian Lilac, filling the room 

 with fragrant memories of i\Iay. Our beautiful Persian Lilac- 

 tree — for the shrub, fifteen feet in height and twenty in spread 

 of branches, may well be called a tree — has been forced into 

 bloom by the warm sunny days of the past month. Down in 

 the shrubberies a Red Bud is blooming almost as lavishly as it 

 bloomed in April. Such a blending of the flowers of spring 

 with those of November is a strange sight, and befits this most 

 singular of seasons. The fifth month of drought has now be- 

 gun, and all the world hereabout is turning to dust. 



Indoors we find some comfort in the large room given up 

 to plants, where we can control the water-supply. Long ex- 

 perience in window-gardening has taught us that it is wise to 

 liave a background of beautiful foliage-plants for the few flow- 

 ers that can be coaxed into bloom in the dark winter months. 

 Some Palms and Ferns area necessity, and there are some de- 

 sirable plants which are charming both in and out of bloom. 

 One of these, not often seen in windows, is Imatophyllum 

 miniatum, which seems perfectly at home in an ordinary sit- 

 ting-room heated by a base-burner. Our specimen grew finely 

 in a shaded position on the piazza throughout the summer, 

 and is now about to bloom. It has long sword-shaped dark 

 green leaves of good substance, curving out gracefully on all 

 sides. It requires a constant supply of water at the blooming 

 period. It is of the easiest culture, does not seem to have any 

 insect enemies, and is one of the most graceful and orna- 

 mental of plants. The ideal window-garden should be liberally 

 supplied with fragrant plants. A little pot of Thyme is a con- 

 stant joy, and a place should be found for a few sweet-scented 



Geraniums, such as the Rose, Nutmeg, Apple and Lemon 

 scented varieties. Heliotropes are capricious plants, often 

 refusing to live under the most careful treatment. They need 

 plenty of water, heat and sunshine. Olea fragrans blooms a 

 long time, and, with care, makes a fine window-plant, filling 

 the room with its delightful perfume. It needs sun, and the 

 leaves should be frequently sprinkled, but too much watering 

 of the roots will cause it to drop its foliage. 



The plant-room should never be overheated. We endeavor 

 to counteract the drying effect of our base-burner by frequent 

 sprinkling of our plants, giving air in mild weather and by 

 resting the pots on trays filled with moss. 



This is the Chrysanthemum month, and we rely upon these 

 flowers to put the finishing touches of beauty to the window- 

 garden. Next month will be the turn of Roman Hyacinths, 

 Freesias and of Jessamine and Daphne odora, which is now 

 full of promise of bloom. Large smooth-leaved Begonias, 

 that are almost always covered with scarlet blossoms, are very 

 useful to lend a touch of gay color here and there, and some 

 of the rough-leaved varieties, such as Gloire de Sceaux, are 

 always beautiful. This has bright leaves of red-bronze, and 

 should be placed where the sunlight can filter through the 

 foliage. A striking defect in many window-gardens is the 

 commingling of discordant shades of crimson and scarlet. 

 This may be easily obviated by arranging all the light and 

 dark scarletty reds in one window and the deep crimsons and 

 crimson-pinks in another, with some white flowers in each. 



For the past week the atmosphere has been dimmed by a 

 dense cloud of smoke, through which the rays of the sun can 

 barely struggle, while at night the moon gleams faintly with a 

 strange red light. The smoke comes from the mountain fires, 

 which have been burning in every direction north, south, east 

 and west of us. The mountains themselves are obscured in 

 the day-time, but gleam at twilight with an ominous glare that 

 tells of the destruction of untold acres of timber. The aspect 

 of the country is barren and desolate, parched to winter dead- 

 ness. The rivers are so low that they have an unfamiliar ap- 

 pearance ; even the Potomac has dwindled almost beyond 

 recognition. The old people tell us that there has not been such 

 a drought for forty years. Yet a good rain may yet save 

 much of the wheat-crop. 

 Rose Brake, w. Va. Danske Dandridge. 



Plant Notes. 



Dendrobium formosum giganteum. 



THIS Dendrobium has long been known both to 

 science and cultivators as the finest of that section 

 of the genus to which it belongs — namely, the Nigro- 

 hirsute, or those whose stems are clothed with short dark 

 hairs, as in D. Jamesianum and D. infundibulum. Although 

 D. formosum has been known to gardens for over fifty 

 years, its cultivation in Europe does not seem hitherto to 

 have been very successful. It is widely distributed 

 through India and Burmah, and is never found at any 

 great altitude, but usually on the plains, where high tem- 

 peratures are the rule both in winter and summer, with 

 rain in some districts eleven months in the year. From 

 these few facts, made known by those who had seen the 

 plants growing, it has been hitherto thought necessary to 

 grow D. formosum in the hottest house the year round, 

 and we may add that it is fortunate that the plant is plen- 

 tiful in India, otherwise we should not be able to procure 

 it at such a low rate as we can at present All plants need 

 a season of rest, and, even though they come from the hot- 

 test regions of the globe, nature has provided for this period 

 of rest in various ways. In Veitch's Mamial we are told 

 that "the plants are sometimes exposed to a temperature 

 of no degrees, Fahrenheit, in the shade, when the stems 

 are much reduced in size by the heat" During the grow- 

 ing season we keep the plants suspended in the house 

 where Calanthes are grown, which is now kept at seventy 

 degrees at night, and our plants have done remarkably well 

 this season ; the old bulbs made in their native woods are 

 in some cases surpassed in size by those made this year, 

 and they are now commencing to flower freely. After the 

 flowering season the plants will be wintered in a tempera- 

 ture of fifty degrees at night in a cooler house, until signs 

 of growth are apparent next IMarch or April, when all the 

 heat and moisture available will be given and maintained 



