December 19, 18S8.] 



Garden and Forest. 



513 



large size and vigorous habit malce this one of the most 

 valuable of recent introduction. Arthur H. Feivkes. 



Newton Higlilands, Mass. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



Globe Artichokes. — All gardeners know what uncertain 

 plants these are. If one-fourth of those covered up in the fall 

 are alive in the spring we should not complain, for these can 

 be lifted and divided into as many pieces as there are well- 

 rooted divisions, and all will be good flowering plants in sum- 

 mer. They will come in too early, however, for October 

 flowers. For fall flowers seed should be sown now and the 

 plants grown in the green-houses till ne.xt spring. There is no 

 need of hurrying them, but if sown early and grown on moder- 

 ately, they will be sure to flower ne.xt fall. If sown in spring 

 and fed liberally, they often flower nicely in September and 

 October, but this was not the case last summer, which was 

 so cool and moist that few spring raised plants bloomed in the 

 fall. 



Celeriac, or Turnip-rooted Celery. — Although cata- 

 logued and sold by every seedsman, this vegetable is not 

 often grown for use in private families, but it is grown 

 in considerable quantity by the market-gardeners around 

 New York and maybe found in abundance just now in our city 

 markets. The leaves are useless, the Turnip-like root being 

 the edible part. Peeled and sliced they are used for flavoring 

 soups and salads. The flavor is pronounced and agreeable, 

 better than that of the self-blanching leaf Celeries and as 

 strong as the red Celeries. It is very easily grown. The seed 

 should be sown in April or May, the seedlings pricked off in 

 June, and planted out in July or August in rich ground in 

 rows fifteen to eighteen inches apart. It is often a disappoint- 

 ing crop, however, from a failure of the roots to reach a good 

 size. Stored in moist sand, the roots may be kept in a cool 

 cellar and in good condition for use all winter long. 



Spinach. — As soon as the ground is frozen hard a little hay, 

 straw or thatch may be scattered over this crop to protect it 

 from sunshine, sudden freezing and thawing and heaving out 

 by freezing; but until the ground is frozen two or three inches 

 deep, mulch should not be used on account of the field mice. 

 Good Spinach can now be cut from cold-frames, if it was 

 sown early in September, and if a light cover of thatch has 

 been strewn over franres in hard, frosty weather. For an 

 abundant crop, the Viroflay or Long Standing is preferable, 

 but the market growers on Long Island grow the Savoy- 

 leaved. Where a little protection can be given in winter, 

 these varieties are as good as any other, but where grown in 

 the open air, and without any protection, the prickly seeded 

 is the best variety, as it is the hardiest. 



Upland Cress {Barbarea). — A good deal has been written 

 about this plant as a culinary vegetable for the past two years, 

 its use being urged as a salad and as a substitute for Spinach. 

 After a fair trial, we do not find it any improvement upon the 

 other vegetables we have and can grow easily enough. But 

 as it is one of the easiest of all vegetables to grow, and forms 

 large bunches of green leaves that ren-iain in succulent condi- 

 tion all summer long, and as it does not run to flower the first 

 year, it may serve a good purpose as a dry weather vegetable, 

 or in localities where it is difficult to grow Spinach, Lettuces 

 or Water Cress in summer. Nothing in our garden is as fresh 

 and green to-day as a row of this Cress, and it was sown last 

 April. 



Brussels Sprouts. — These were never better than they are 

 this year. Not only are the Sprouts abundant all along the 

 stems, but they are close, solid, heavy and perfectly free from 

 aphides. Generally they are so much infested with insects 

 that many of thein are not worth gathering, no matter how 

 well they have grown. It may have been the copious and 

 frequent rains dm-ing the fall months that have given us 

 immunity from this pest. Of two sowings, one made May 

 23d, another June 26th, of Tall French and Dwarf Improved, 

 both have done well, but with a sliglit advantage in favor of the 

 May sowing. Brussels Sprouts are moderately hardy, but it is 

 well to have them under cover before December. Deep 

 frames, a cellar or a warm shed are good places for them. 

 About the end of October I erected a temporary shelter for 

 Chrysanthemums on the south side of a shed, using some 

 spare sashes ; on the ist of December, as the flowers were 

 about gone, the plants were cut down and removed and 

 Brussels Sprouts planted in their place. In storing them in a 

 place like this all the large leaves that grow on the stems 

 should be stripped off, also the larger ones that grow around 

 the top. When this is done the plants can be stored close 

 together without danger of rotting. Win. Falconer. 



Glen Cove, N. Y., Dec. 7th. 



Rose Notes. 



NiPHETOS. — Well grown flowers of this admirable variety 

 are still sought for, and, under favorable conditions, it con- 

 tinues to rank as a useful and quite profitable Rose, though 

 in many instances it has been supplanted by The Bride. 

 Niphetos has been found to do very well on side benches, 

 where the space above is somewhat limited, as its haljit of 

 growth is rather more spreading than upright. In fact, 

 many of the flowering shoots are inclined to be pendent, 

 the weight of the bud being too great for the slender shoots 

 to support without bending. 



The latter condition is rather a disadvantage at times, and 

 may be corrected, in a measure, by budding this variety on 

 some stronger growing plant. Excellent results have been 

 obtained in some cases by using the Lamarque as a stock, the 

 plants so treated having produced large crops of good buds 

 for eight or ten years in succession. But where this system 

 is adopted, and for such a length of time as that mentioned, 

 the plants will naturally need more space than is afforded by 

 the ordinary side bench. If grown on its own roots, it 

 should be remembered that Niphetos is not a very strong 

 rooting variety, and, therefore, is easily overwatered, and 

 when once in that condition, it needs a long time to recover. 



L.\ France. — This pioneer among the Hybrid Tea Roses 

 has attained great popularity of late years as a valuable 

 variety for all seasons of the year, its pleasing color and 

 delightful fragrance being fully appreciated by the flower- 

 loving public. It is also an excellent Rose for growing in 

 pots, and has given a good return for the space occupied. 

 The plants for this purpose should be struck in February or 

 March and grown on until the autumn, when a short rest 

 should be given to them, when they may be flowered during 

 the following February. Much finer flowers are produced b^- 

 this variety if the shoots are allowed to remain upright, and it 

 is thereforebest foritto begrown in such a situation as to ren- 

 der tying down unnecessary. Experience has shown that the 

 flowers of La France should be allowed to develop almost 

 completely before being cut, as the outer petals will often 

 spread out to their full extent long before the centre ones 

 are ready to open. If cut in that condition they frequently 

 fail to open satisfactorily afterwards, and half their beauty is 

 lost. This Rose is too often condemned, merely on account 

 of the grower's impatience. 



Comtesse de Frigneuse. — This yellow Tea, of recent intro- 

 duction, for which great things were promised, has thus 

 far failed to realize, at least for commercial purposes, the 

 expectations of those who have tested it. The color is 

 pretty and it has a pleasant fragrance, but the flowers have 

 but little size, and the plant itself is not very strong in 

 growth, and thus it is found lacking in two very essential 

 points. The glittering descriptions of new Roses, and the 

 unqualified assertions as to their value made by some of 

 their introducers before any adequate test of their merits 

 has been made, must eventually prove an injury to this line 

 of business. The notable failures of the past few years, 

 such as Her Majesty, Princess Beatrice, and, with a majority 

 of growers, Puritan also, has brought about a much more 

 conservative temper on the part of the large Rose growers, 

 and in future it is highly probable that many of them will 

 test new varieties by die dozen instead of by the hundred. 

 Experience with novelties in Roses has proved very costly 

 in some cases. 'f'^ H. Taphn. 



Holmesburg, Pa. 



Orchid Notes. 



Cypripediiun Spicerianuin.~ln the collection of Mr. De Witt 

 Smith, of Lee, Mass., over 190 flowers of this handsome Lady- 

 slipper Orchid are fully expanded, having dorsal sepals and 

 lips of unusual size. Only within this last four years has this 

 species been seen in quan'tity. Before that time it was exceed- 

 ingly rare, having been introduced about the year 187S by Mr. 

 Spic'er, of England, a great lover of this genus, in whose honor 

 the plant was afterwards named. It is a free grower, enjoys 

 a warm and moist position in the Cattleya-house, and should 

 be placed in a compost of good turfy loam, peat and fresh 

 spagnum, ample drainage being very necessary. All the Cypri- 

 pediums in this collection are well worth a visit to see, as 

 they are perhaps the best grown in this country, and bid fair 

 to equal any that are grown in Europe. Every plant is 

 potted in sphagnum moss only ; not a particle of peat or 

 soil of any description is used. Mr. Norman, the gardener, 

 is not satisfied with the holes put in the pots by the manu- 

 facturer, but manages by a skillful knock with a ham- 

 mer to enlarge them to nearly twice their size. The visitor 



