December 7, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



585 



vent their settling down, and fill in with the fermenting mate- 

 rial, covering this with soil about six inches deep. When the 

 Lettuce-plants are set out Radishes are sown between the rows, 

 and as the Lettuce is used from alternate rows. Cauliflowers 

 are set in their places. Beets take long to mature, and are 

 given a frame to themselves. In a word, there is no end to 

 the ways in which cold frames can be utilized. We have sixty 

 sashes, six by three feet each, all arranged on frames, three 

 sashes on each. In this way they are easily moved from one 

 place to another, and winter and summer these frames are 

 always fully occupied. Mice are sometimes to be found with 

 snug winter quarters in the bulb-frames, and a happy time 

 they have until Felis domesticus comes on the scene. The 

 moral is, examine the frames regularly, even if they are not 

 opened daily. jp r, r, j. * 



South Lancaster, Mass. -C- U. Urpet. 



Flowers in the Conservatory. 



DECEMBER is a "between time" and usually the dullest 

 month of the year in the conservatory. The Chrysan- 

 themum is gone, and the usual array of Dutch bulbs, forced 

 roots and shrubs are yet to come. Freesia refracta alba, with 

 its graceful cymose-scapes of lovely, sweet-scented tubular 

 flowers, is at this time very common. It is one of the most 

 useful bulbs to grow for any purpose, and competes for popu- 

 lar appreciation with the better-known Roman Hyacinths and 

 Narcissus. Cyclamens, which were formerly not considered 

 in season until spring, may be had in bloom early by a little 

 forcing. Reinwardtia trigynia, a bright yellow sub-shrub be- 

 longing to the Flax family, is quite ornamental at this season, 

 yellow being rather an unusual winter color. 



The indispensable Jerusalem Cherry (Capsicum capsicas- 

 trum) is serviceable, as it bears a great deal of hard treat- 

 ment. Species, varieties and hybrids of Hippeastrums are 

 among the rarest and most beautiful of winter-flowering 

 bulbs. Like most South American Amaryllidacece, they have 

 a short season of growth and a long rest. One secret of suc- 

 cess with these plants is, that they need quite a hot dry season 

 of ripening to get them to bloom well. Dr. Masters is one of 

 the earliest and best of the hybrids, many of which, unfortu- 

 nately, are held at high prices. There are, however, a few of 

 the types, notably H. equestre, H. Johnsoni, H. psittacinum 

 and H. vittata, which are reasonably cheap and handsome 

 enough for any one. Hippeastrums will bloom well for sev- 

 eral seasons in one pot, provided a little fertilizer be given dur- 

 ing their growing season. 



The practice of growing Mignonette in pots for winter use 

 is not carried to such perfection in this country as in England. 

 Without the care necessary to grow specimens, a few plants in 

 six-inch pots, carrying five to six spikes of flowers, will remain 

 in bloom a long time, giving a continuous, delicate and agree- 

 able odor. Lachenalias are coming along ; why they are so 

 seldom grown is a mystery, unless it be the exorbitant prices 

 asked for some of the kinds, as L. Nelsoni. Lachenalias are 

 very easy to grow, and multiply rapidly if given generous 

 treatment. Last spring I bought three packets of seed at 

 twenty-five cents each, and have now over three hundred 

 seedlings, several of which, I noticed the other day, are show- 

 ing flowering spikes ; next year they will be flowering bulbs. 



At Mr. H. H. Hunnewell's place I noticed a neat little Poly- 

 antha Rose, named Mathilde Soupert, nicely in bloom in a cold 

 frame. During the winter, when cultivating cuttings of 

 Mignonette and White Pet, varieties of this class, I was struck 

 with their free-flowering qualities ; small plants grew and 

 bloomed on every inch of growth, and I have often thought 

 since that they might be effectively used for the decoration of 

 conservatories in winter. 



Statice Halfordii is an uncommon tender Thrift, bearing 

 large compound panicles of bright blue flowers, which last a 

 long time in perfection. The young plants are specially beau- 

 tiful, old plants, unfortunately, becoming tmsightly through 

 the loss of the lower leaves, a condition unavoidable in a 

 sub-shrub. 



The winter-blooming Begonias are universal favorites. B. 

 Bismarck!, a garden hybrid of doubtful origin, but evidently 

 related to B. rubra, is one of the very best. It is always in 

 bloom, winter and summer, and bears a large truss of lovely 

 pink flowers. B. semperflorens rosea-gigantea is another use- 

 ful variety for any purpose. It produces handsome cymes of 

 red-rose flowers, excellent for bouquets. B. incarnata, B. 

 Socratana, B. Verschaffelti and B. Scharffiana are among other 

 useful kinds. 



French Cannas have lately become popular for winter deco- 

 ration. After a short season of rest they will start up again 



and bloom and increase in size all through the winter. These 

 notes presuppose the careful and appropriate use of Palms, 

 Ferns and other good-foliaged plants. 



Wellesley, Mass. 



T. D. H. 



Orchid Notes. 



A- 



LARGE plant of Epidendrum cochleatum in bloom is an 

 interesting, and, in its own way, a beautiful, object. The 

 oblong, compressed pseudo-bulbs are from four to five inches 

 high, and they bear two oblong-lanceolate leaves of rich green 

 color, and somewhat leathery texture at the apex. The leaves 

 are from nine to twelve inches in length, and the erect termi- 

 nal racemes a trifle shorter. Six or seven flowers are closely 

 arranged at the top of each peduncle, and the drooping sepals 

 and petals are linear-lanceolate and of a whitish or very pale 

 green shade. The lip, however, is the most characteristic por- 

 tion of the plant, being erect, an inch in diameter, shaped like 

 a cockle-shell, and of a rich black-purple color, with a small 

 area of green at base and apex. E. cochleatum is not at all 

 common in cultivation, but it well deserves the attention of 

 gardeners. It should be grown in an intermediate tempera- 

 ture, with the roots in rough peat, sphagnum. Plenty of 

 water and drainage is needed during the growing season. 

 The water should be almost totally withheld for at least two 

 months after flowering, and then the plant may be repotted, if 

 necessary, and again prompted to grow by the application of 

 water. This plant is common in Central America and the 

 West Indies, and it is also said to occur sparingly on the coast 

 of Florida. 



Epidendrum nocturnum, the night-scented Epidendrum, is 

 a widely different plant, also in flower now. This species was 

 one of the first epiphytal Orchids cultivated in Europe, having 

 been introduced from Martinique in 1816. The much-com- 

 pressed stems are from twelve to eighteen inches high, bear- 

 ing several oblong leaves, from three to four inches in length, 

 on the upper portion. It is rare that more than one flower ap- 

 pears at the apex of a single stem at the same time, but they 

 are produced in rapid succession for months together. The 

 sepals and petals are of a greenish or light bronzy yellow 

 color, about two inches in length, sometimes longer, linear- 

 lanceolate, with the edges recurved, so as to give them a cylin- 

 drical appearance. The lip is pure white, with a bright yellow 

 surface at the base ; three-lobed, the lateral lobes large and 

 spreading, the central one narrow, long and pointed. The in- 

 dividual flowers are borne on long slender pedicels, and they 

 last from three to four weeks on the plant. Their fragrance is 

 strong and agreeable at night, but scarcely perceptible during 

 the day. The plant should be grown in a basket or on a block, 

 with a little rough peat-fibre about the roots. An intermediate 

 house suits it best, and it likes plenty of light. Water should 

 be given freely during the growing period, and a very small 

 quantity will suffice when the plant is flowering or at rest. 



Cambridge, Mass. M. Barker. 



Notes from the Harvard Botanic Garden. 



Alpinia nutans. — In the general appearance of its stems 

 and foliage this plant resembles a tall-growing Canna. It is 

 from ten to twelve feet high, quite rigid and erect. The ob- 

 long lanceolate leaves of deep green, with paler midrib, are 

 about two feet in length and six inches wide, the long sheath- 

 ing petioles circling the stem from the base of the blade. The 

 tubular flowers, each of which measures two inches in length 

 by one and a half inches in perpendicular diameter at the 

 mouth, and one inch horizontally, are liorne in large pendu- 

 lous racemes eighteen inches long. There are in each raceme 

 from thirty to forty such flowers, the outer parts of which are 

 pure white, tipped with bright rose. The central portion orlip 

 is quite large in comparison, and very beautiful. The sides at 

 the base are incurved, covering the conspicuous column-like 

 arrangement of reproductive organs, and the margin fringed 

 in front. The ground-color is a rich orange-yellow, with a pro- 

 fusion of deep crimson markings in the centre. The flower- 

 buds are extremely pretty even before they expand. They are 

 of ovate, oblong form, the color being pure waxy white, tipped 

 rose. A. nutans is an excellent plant for large conservatories 

 and Palm-houses. The foliage is pleasing at all times, and the 

 flowers appear at various seasons, the racemes retaining their 

 attractiveness about two months. Small specimens of the plant 

 have little or no decorative value, but it develops rapidly. Its 

 growth should be hastened until it is of sufficient size to fill a 

 large tub with roots, and then it may be expected to flower 

 freely. Large specimens require repotting about once in three 

 years, and for these a small quantity of lumpy charcoal should 



