October 17, 1888.] 



Garden and Forest. 



403 



of flowers conies from out-door plants, but if wet, frosty or 

 windy weather renders tlie out-door flowers unfit to pick, we 

 liave a supply in the green-house; also when severe frost de- 

 stroys the out-door crop, as it usually does between the 20th 

 and last of November, late green-house plants are then most 

 welcome. 



About the end of September or first of October we empty 

 some beds — warm, sunny, sheltered beds against the south 

 side of the house — of their tender summer occupants and fill 

 them with Chrysanthemums, lifting and planting them with 

 as good balls of earth to 



the roots as can be had _ 



and crowding the plants 

 pretty closely against 

 each other so as to form 

 a solid bank. Tlie Chrys- 

 anthemums not only live 

 and blossom as well as 

 if they had not been 

 transplanted, but they 

 lose very few leaves. As 

 planting proceeds they 

 are well watered, and 

 they are afterwards kept 

 well watered lioth at the 

 root and overhead. 



hi another warm, shel- 

 tered place we set out, 

 about the first of October, 

 a large solid bank of 

 Chrysanthemums con- 

 taining several hundred 

 plants for cut flowers. 

 A light wooden fi'ame- 

 work is erected over this 

 bank, and in the event of 

 wet or frosty weather, 

 calico cloth is spread over 

 this frame. Here we can 

 have fine Howers from 

 the end of October till the 

 first of December. 



Raisin'g Chrysanthe- 

 mums from seed is very 

 ])leasant work. Diu'ing 

 the last five years we have 

 raised hundreds in diis 

 way and nearly all have 

 been beautiful. The 

 majority have single 

 (lowers, still a large num- 

 ber have semi-double 

 or double flowers, and 

 of many shades of white, 

 yellow and red. But of 

 all these hundreds of 

 seedlings only three have 

 l)een worUi perpetuating. 

 The anioimt of rubbisli 

 annually distributed 

 among new Chrysanthe- 

 mums is simply appall- 

 ing. Of si.\ty-two new 

 kinds we bought last 

 year we have thrown fifty 

 away, as being not onlv 

 poorer than old varieties 

 of the same types and 

 colors, but not worth 

 growing. We greatly feel 

 the need of some cent- 

 rally situated, competent 

 and responsible body of 

 horticulturists to whom 

 new Chrysanthemums 



and other flowers could be submitted for their opinion; such a 

 body as the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society of London. A first-class certificate from such a body 

 would mean sometliing. In fact, even here in .'\merica, 

 horticulturists regard a first-class certificate by the Roval 

 Horticultural Society as the highest award a plant can have, 

 and^ we buy such a plant with full confidence that we are 

 getting something distinct from anything else in its wav 

 and also something well worth growing. 



Chrysanthemum seeds germinate in seven to nine days and 



the plants grow readily. Sown in tlie house in March, the 

 plants will "be big enough to set out in IVIay, and they will 

 attain a large size during summer. They will show flower 

 buds in September, and all will bloom in October or 

 November of the same year. We have now 150 plants in 

 one bed which have been raised from seeds sown last 

 spring. They are larger than the named varieties which 

 havebeen raised from cuttings ; all are now full of buds, 

 and in form and foliage they are distinct from one another. 

 GlcR Cove, N. Y. ' W'illiam Falconer. 



View in (he "Arizona Garden," Monterey. — See page 39S. 



The Cultivation of 



Phalrenopsis. 



TT would l>e a great 

 ■'■ mistake to class all 

 the Phalaiuoiisis with 

 t h e easy-growing Or- 

 chids, as there are sev- 

 eral which I have never 

 yet seen in a lu.xuriant 

 contlition. Nevertheless, 

 st)nie of the species are 

 amongst the finest Or- 

 chids known. They all 

 flower freely, and con- 

 tinue a long time in per- 

 fection. I never found 

 any difficulty in cultivat- 

 ing P. ainabilis, P. aiiic- 

 tliystina, P. Esiiicyalda, 

 J', gyandijlora, P. inter- 

 media, P. leucorrliodn, P. 

 rosea, P. Sanderiana, P. 

 Scliilleriana, P. Siuarli- 

 ana or /'. violaeea. Oi 

 P. Sehilleria/ia I have 

 many leaves made this 

 season which measure 

 from fourteen to eighteen 

 inches long and fiom 

 tlu-ee and a half to four 

 and a halt inches wide, 

 and I am justified in ex- 

 pecting some very strong 

 spikes of flowers. 



Tlie species of Phalje- 

 nopsis are best grown in 

 baskets, as a more equal 

 supply of moisture can 

 thus be supplietl to the 

 roots. I always re-moss 

 them in April or May, 

 and re-basket any thai 

 require it. Every pre- 

 caution is taken with the 

 heart of the plant to have 

 it leaning over the edge 

 of the bask-et, so as to 

 prevent any drip from 

 entering, as decay is 

 ]>rettv sure to result. 

 ^X'hen the plants are re- 

 mossed all decayed mat- 

 ter should be removcil, 

 and clean potsherds, 

 with large pieces of char- 

 coal, should be returned. 

 A large piece of charcoal, 

 so placed as to protrude 

 through the moss, is 

 beneficial. The roots will 

 cling to it tightly, showing 

 their relish for it. 

 a low, narrow house. They 

 all other conditions being pro- 



Phatenopsis cannot endure 

 must be close to the glass ; but ; ._ . 



videil for, the more spacious the apartment, the better they 

 will thrive. I take mv largest specimens and hang them in 

 the south end, where thev will get the benefit of the light and 

 warmth from the sun. They get a syringing underneath the 

 baskets every bright morning in order to thoroughly moisten 

 the i-oots, and the'v need enough water to keep the sphagnum 

 moist, but not sat'ui-ated. Syiinging the leaves is a great mis- 

 take, as it tends to make fliem soft, so that they lack that 



