io6 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 473. 



shown me, however, that this sympathy is misplaced, for 

 these apparently fragile flowers will brave snow and storms 

 as sturdily as the Snowdrops. Iris Bakeriana, quite the pret- 

 tiest and daintiest of these flowers — in fact, among the choicest 

 of all flowers — has sometimes had its season prolonged in my 

 garden because its flowers were frozen in position so rigidly 

 that they could not change. These little bulbous Irises 

 must have care in the garden or they will fail to make strong 

 new bulbs. Professor Foster recommends that they shall be 

 often lifted, which seems sage advice. They are all hardy 

 except I. Histrio, which is unreliable, and may or may not sur- 

 vive. It has flowered here, but usually a late freeze after the 

 leaves are well grown will finish it. However, there are 

 others just as good, and there are none of the section which 

 are bad. It is well to grow, say, I. histrioides, I. reticulata 

 cyanea, I. Foster, I. Krelagii, I. Kolpokowskyana, I. Dan- 

 fordise, etc. My earliest Iris this year was a particularly small 

 form of I. reticulata from Harpoot. These Irises are easily 

 increased from offsets and seeds, if one has the patience. The 

 seeds will germinate freely in about twelve months from sow- 

 ing. The seedlings should be kept in the pans till the bulbs 

 are fairly formed, and in another year they will make bloom- 

 ing bulbs. 



Grape Hyacinths are also in evidence, the dark purple kind, 

 which is a gloomy flower. Later we shall have the more 

 cheerful Muscari azureus, which is a real blue flower, which, 

 with another celestial-blue, M. Szovitsianus, and the white 

 variety of M. botryoides, seem to be the best of these rather 

 pretty, if dumpy, flowers. 



Life is active in the garden, but, aside from these flowers, 

 the only color is found on a few Cyclamens, whose red flowers 

 are small, but striking. Altogether these flowers do not make 

 a great impression of color in the prevailing wet desolation of 

 March, when the garden is at its worst. 



Elizabeth, N.J. 7- N - Gerard. 



Notes on Ferns. 



THE regular cleaning and repotting of Ferns should be 

 attended to when the new fronds push up in spring. If 

 potting is done too early there is some risk of the new soil 

 becoming sour in the case of delicate-rooted species, and if 

 this occurs a good start is seldom had. Some of the strong- 

 growing kinds, as some of the Adiantums, will bear the 

 removal of all the old foliage before the new growth has 

 started, but, unless the plant is infested with scale or other 

 insects, I prefer to leave the old fronds on the plant, or, at 

 least, all that are in fair condition, until the new growth is fully 

 expanded. A stronger growth is thus secured. 



Large specimen plants do not need repotting every season, 

 and a top-dressing in spring and some extra stimulants during 

 the summer are all that is necessary. Elaborate mixtures of 

 compost are not required for the majority of strong-growing 

 Ferns, though necessary for some delicate species. A light, 

 fibrous loam, moderately enriched with dry cow manure is 

 suitable. The house in which the Ferns are grown should be 

 kept closer for a few weeks after repotting, and shaded, for 

 while a reasonable amount of light is required to develop 

 foliage of firm texture, too much sunshine will bleach the 

 Ferns and thus destroy one of their greatest charms — the 

 deep and restful green that is so characteristic of many 

 species. 



The watering of the newly potted plants also needs care, for 

 too little is quite as injurious as too much. The main object 

 is to keep the soil in a moist, but not sodden, condition, and 

 thus tempt the tender young roots to further activity. 



Adiantum Farleyense sometimes has a reputation for fickle- 

 ness of growth that this noble Fern does not deserve. The 

 mistake is made of trying to grow it in poor soil, whereas the 

 soil best adapted for this variety is three parts strong turfy 

 loam and one part of fine dry cow manure well mixed 

 through the loam. In such soil, and placed in a shaded 

 house with a temperature of seventy degrees, I have grown 

 A. Farleyense from a fair plant in a two and a half inch pot to 

 a good, well-furnished specimen in a ten-inch pan, and with a 

 spread of more than two feet, within one year from the time 

 of the first shift. 



The much-advertised so-called Boston Fern, a handsome 

 form of Nephrolepis exaltata, also makes remarkable progress 

 in a strong soil, in common with the other strong-growing 

 species of this same genus. 



A few cool-house Ferns will give much satisfaction where 

 the facilities are not adequate for a complete collection. The 

 Gleichenias are prominent among these, and are worth all the 

 care they need. G. flabellata, G. dicarpa and G. dichotomaare 



three of the best types, and can be grown well where a tem- 

 perature of forty-five degrees is maintained during winter. 



Special cultural directions for Gleichenias have been given 

 in Garden and Forest in former years. But it may be well to 

 repeat that well-drained and rather coarse soil is preferable, 

 and pans are preferable to pots, because these plants are largely 

 surface-rooting. 



Pteris scaberula and Hypolepis distans are readily obtained 

 and are highly satisfactory for the cool house, though both these 

 Ferns are nearly or quite deciduous, according to the condi- 

 tions under which they are grown. Another charming Fern 

 for the cool house, notwithstanding its deciduous habit, is 

 Asplenium Goringianum pictum. The foliage is not only 

 very graceful but prettily variegated. For large specimens 

 Woodwardia radicans, W. orientale and Todea Barbara are all 

 excellent, while Cyrtomium falcatum, Camptosorus rhizophyl- 

 lus, Fadyenia prolifera and some of the many Polypodiums 

 add singularity and variety to the collection. 



The worst pest to which the cool-house Ferns are liable is the 

 thrip. This insect multiplies with great rapidity during our 

 hot summers, but with proper care as to moisture, both at the 

 root and in the atmosphere, and careful examination of foliage 

 from time to time, serious injury from this cause may be 

 avoided. 



Holmesburg, Pa. IV. H. Taplin. 



Erythroniums. 



T CONFESS myself a lover of Erythroniums, or Dog's-tooth 

 •*■ Violets. They blossom when flowers are scarce, and the 

 many varieties are in bloom during a long time. Erythroniums 

 are unexcelled among early-flowering plants for beautiful 

 foliage and flowers in which grace and delicately beautiful 

 tints are happily combined. The plants are quite hardy, and 

 if their needs are understood are quite easily grown. 



Erythroniums are woodland plants and need some shade to 

 develop the leaves and stems. Partial shade by trees will 

 answer. I give my beds a lath shade. I have for several 

 years been experimenting with soils for them. They are 

 woodland plants, and, while often found in heavy soils, make 

 better growth in a soil of rocky debris mixed with mold. 

 Much of the chaim of Dog's-tooth Violets is in their large 

 leaves and tall slender stems. Rocky debris has not been 

 available, and I have tried several substitutes. Composts of 

 rotten grass and well-fined manure soon packed. I also 

 experimented with old pine sawdust with good success, but 

 have discarded all for a soil of one-half to one-third half-rotten 

 spent tan-bark with sandy loam. Our tan-bark here is the bark 

 of the Tan-bark Oak, Quercus densiflora, and is ground at the 

 tannery. This gives a soil rich in mold and always loose and 

 porous. It suits the needs of Erythroniums exactly and 

 answers well for many other bulbs. 



Erythroniums should always be planted early. With few 

 exceptions, the bulbs are not good keepers after fall, and the 

 sooner they are in the ground after the first of October the 

 better. I plant them so that the top of the bulb is about two 

 inches from the surface. The drainage should be perfect. 

 With these essentials of shade, drainage and a loose soil, suc- 

 cess is very probable. Although quite hardy, a heavy coat of 

 leaves, such as nature protects them with in their woodland 

 home, would probably be a wise precaution in cold climates. 

 They do not seem to have any peculiar disease, and growing 

 and flowering as early as they do, artificial watering is not 

 necessary. 



In the region including the Rocky Mountains and the country 

 westward to the Pacific, fifteen forms are now known, classed 

 as species and varieties. A more charming group of bulbous 

 plants does not exist. Their leaves show a variety of mottling, 

 and in the flowers delicate shades of white, straw-color and 

 deep yellow, deep rose, pink, light and deep purple, are rep- 

 resented. To describe all of these forms so that even a 

 thorough botanist could readily identify them by the descrip- 

 tions, would be difficult, but in the garden each has some 

 charm of leaf, of tint or of form, which endears it to the 

 possessor. 



In their native homes they grow throughout a wide range as 

 to climate and altitude, and in cultivation they maintain their 

 seasons, so that the display which is opened by Erythronium 

 Hartwegii with the Snowdrops and earliest Narcissus, is closed 

 by E. montanum and E. purpurascens when the others have 

 flowered and become dry. 



Erythronium Hartwegii is not only the earliest, but also the 

 most easily grown of all, and unique in its habit. Its leaves 

 are mottled in dark green and dark mahogany-brown. The 

 two to six flowers are each borne on a separate slender scape 



