248 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 487. 



as petals. Irises are not much affected by insects, but the nec- 

 tar of I. ochroleuca seems to be very attractive to black ants, 

 some of which will always be found busily engaged on the 

 flowers. 



Early June is also the flowering -season of some of our 

 native Irises. The light purple flowers of I. prismatica (Vir- 

 ginica) appear in our meadows at this time, and the small 

 flowers with grass-like foliage are attractive in the garden. 

 This Iris is a sturdy grower and can hold its own among the 

 thickest grasses. Like our other common but larger "Blue 

 Flag," it grows equally well in wet or dry places. Some ten 

 years ago Mr. W. A. Manda found, near Wilmington, North 

 Carolina, a new " Blue Flag," which had hitherto escaped the 

 notice of the botanists. This is an attractive species, with lax 

 foliage, brown spathe valves and light purple flowers. It has 

 since been found as far north as Bordentown, New Jersey. 

 One of our quaintest and most distinct Irises is I. fulva, or 

 cuprea, which is a southern species, but perfectly hardy here. 

 This has drooping petals of a terra cotta color quite distinct 

 from any other Iris known. 



Among all the tall native Irises, however, we could safely 

 give the palm to I. hexagona, the best varieties of which are 

 attractive in form and coloring, bold in size of flower and dis- 

 tinct in habit. It seems to have a wide range, and I have had 

 it from as far west as Idaho and as far south as Florida. It 

 forms thick rhizomes sometimes two feet long, and flowers 

 freely on stems with several heads and several large leaves. 

 These stems are partly prostrate at flowering-time, and the 

 effect is that of a shower bouquet of rich blue flowers with 

 greenish white centres. The best variety which I have seen 

 is that collected in Arkansas by Mrs. La Mance and which bears 

 her name. Besides this, I have varieties with light coloring, 

 and one with an intermediate shade of purple. My friend, Mr. 

 Mead, found in a Florida swamp a pure white variety, but this 

 has not yet been proven to be hardy here, although there seems 

 to be no reason why it should not be. The type is reliably 

 hardy with no protection, and the while variety is evidently 

 only a sport, as seedlings mostly revert to the type. Another 

 winter with plants better established will test the variety more 



Elizabeth, N.J. /• -"V. (jerard. 



Strawberries under Glass. 



AN attempt was made last winter at growing Straw- 

 berries under glass in Cornell University, and some 

 details of the experiment are given in a late bulletin pre- 

 pared by Mr. C. E. Hunn and Professor Bailey. The 

 cloudy climate of Ithaca, where there was not a full day 

 of clear sunshine during the months of December or 

 January, the lack of well-established plants of suitable 

 varieties, and the fact that the only houses available were 

 too high and too dark for the best growth of the crop were 

 serious drawbacks, and yet the success achieved was so 

 considerable that we feel warranted in presenting in a con- 

 densed form the main features of the practice adopted : 



The plants from which runners were taken were set in rich 

 ground on the 6th of May, but the season was so dry that they 

 made small growth. It is probable that the best results could 

 be expected from the runners of maiden plants set early in the 

 spring or in the autumn before. In these experiments the first 

 lot of plants were grown in two-inch pots plunged under the 

 runners on the 10th of July, the second lot on the 27th of July, 

 and the third on the 22d of August. After growing in the pots 

 for two weeks the plants were shifted into four-inch pots and 

 put in cold frames upon which no glass was placed until very 

 cold weather. They were shifted on into five-inch and finally 

 into six-inch pots and brought into the forcing-houses in suc- 

 cession and carried through to fruiting. The plants remained 

 out-of-doors until nearly midwinter, with no protection except 

 the glass covering, so as to give them a thorough rest by 

 allowing them to freeze perfectly solid. Perhaps this freezing 

 is not essential. Indeed, it is probable that the berries can be 

 raised as well without it, and yet it is believed that a decided 

 check should be given to the plants before they are taken into 

 the houses, and the freezing may help to destroy the red spider 

 and other pests. 



Four hundred and fifty pots of the first lot were brought, on 

 the 21st of December, into a house with a temperature of forty 

 to forty-five degrees at night. Dead and diseased leaves were 

 trimmed away, and on the 6th of January the young leaves 

 began to appear freely. The plants were sprayed with ammo- 

 niacal carbonate of copper as soon as the first spot of rust 

 appeared, and the house was vaporized at intervals with extract 



of tobacco to keep down insects. Many plants were in flower 

 on the 1st of February, and nine daysjater they were staged near 

 the glass at a temperature of sixty-five degrees at night. The 

 berries were well colored by the 6th of March, and on the nth 

 the first pickings sold for $2.00 a quart in Ithaca. The crop 

 continued for about ten days. Most of the plants were of the 

 Beder Wood variety, and although they began to flower when 

 the foliage was very small and scanty there seemed to be 

 enough to carry the plants to maturity. The stamens did not 

 develop strongly in cloudv weather and there was some diffi- 

 culty in getting enough pollen. The Beder Wood is a perfect- 

 flowered variety, but it only produces enough pollen to fertilize 

 its own flowers. The pollen was transferred every bright day by 

 means of a brush rubbed over the anthers and again over the 

 pistils. The operator always carried a little spoon-like imple- 

 ment made of a watch crystal glued to the end of a small ladle, 

 and whenever any flower contained a superabundance of 

 pollen the dust was shaken into this receptacle for flowers 

 where the pollen was deficient. This process was repeated 

 every clear day, for, as in the case of Tomatoes and other 

 forced plants, the pollen is discharged most freely when the 

 sun is bright and the house is dry. It is essential to pollinate 

 every flower completely, for if one side of the pistils is left 

 unfertilized that side of the berry will fail to develop. After 

 the berries were well set, on the 19th of February, a little 

 manure-water was given, and repeated until the berries were 

 about full-grown. The surface of the pots was at first covered 

 with sphagnum moss to hold the berries from the earth, but 

 two or three days of dull weather brought on indications of 

 rot, and the moss was removed. Some of the pots were then 

 covered with cork-dust, such as is used in packing foreign 

 grapes, which answered the purpose well, but the most suc- 

 cessful device was the use of small pieces of wire screen, 

 which kept the berries away from the earth and showed them 

 off to the best advantage. 



The second and third lots contained some plants of the 

 Sharpless, Van Deman and a few of Hunn, but the Beder 

 Wood proved the best variety. One of its peculiarities is the 

 small amount of its foliage and the greater prominence of the 

 fruit on this account. The light color of the berries is against 

 it, but it has the advantage of being very early. Hunn is the 

 handsomest berry tested, being large and dark-colored, but it 

 is too late for profitable forcing. The plants of Beder Wood 

 set from eight to twelve berries each, but when small and 

 imperfect ones were removed about six first-class uniform 

 fruits were the average on each plant in the whole lot of four 

 hundred. With stronger plants no doubt eight fruits could be 

 averaged. Because the pots are set so close together it is pos- 

 sible to secure a larger yield to the square foot under glass 

 than is obtained in the field — that is, a quart can be grown on 

 from two to three square feet of floor-space, and allowing for 

 walks and other waste the yield would figure up to four hun- 

 dred bushels to the acre. 



The bulletin gives the following summary of points which 

 should be especially noticed in the cultivation of Strawberries 

 under glass : (1) Very strong plants to begin with, which have 

 been kept in vigorous growth and not allowed to become pot- 

 bound until they have reached six-inch pots. (2) Varieties 

 which are early, or, at least, not later than midseason, and 

 preferably those which themselves produce an abundance of 

 pollen. (3) The exercise of great care to have the plants free 

 of fungous diseases and insects before they are put upon the 

 benches. (4) The devoting of an entire house to the crop. If 

 two or three different crops are grown in the same house 

 none of them can receive the very best treatment which they 

 demand ; and if there are other plants in the house which are 

 infested with red spider, the pests will spread to the Strawber- 

 ries, and it is very difficult to dislodge them without keeping the 

 plants so wet that pollination is interfered with and rot threat- 

 ened. (5) Growing the plants as close to the glass as possible. 

 (6) In the dull months constant and careful attention to hand 

 pollination. (7) Liberal applications of liquid-manure two or 

 three times a week after the fruits have begun to swell. (8) 

 Exercise of care that the berries do not lie directly upon the 

 soil or upon a wet surface. 



Asparagus Sprengeri. — This plant has not only all the merits 

 noted by Mr. Orpet, but is also a very decorative and useful 

 house plant either in a suspended basket or placed on a 

 standard or pillar, which its profuse sprays of foliage will soon 

 cover. It is a clean plant with a distinct effect, and only re- 

 quires, like most plants devoted to domestic use, a certain 

 acclimation ; after which it endures well the modern house 

 conditions of light and heat and requires no special skilled 



