July 21, 1S97.] 



Garden and Forest. 



287 



fill up the inevitable gap that always seems so hard to get 

 over. I have frequently lifted these from the frames to take 

 the place of Chrysanthemums on benches, and they have done 

 well, too, but this should not be necessary. One should calcu- 

 late to have no flower-spikes showing on the plants at lifting 

 time, and then the crop will come in as described. Very large 

 plants are by no means best, and four plants should be used 

 to cover a given space rather than three. Unless the soil is 

 heavy, care should be taken in lifting to get all the roots up, 

 even if not a particle of soil adheres to them. It is surprising 

 how well the roots take hold of the soil prepared for them if 

 they are free of old soil and carefully planted. 



Freesias should soon be shaken out of the old soil if this has 

 not already been done. They seem to ripen better if taken out 

 and put in a dry airy place in paper bags. They are not liable 

 to start unexpectedly either, as sometimes happens when left 

 to summer in the old soil in an out-of-the-way corner. We 

 also repot Lachenalias at the same time as Freesias, and they 

 are stored in a similar way, as they are liable to begin to root 

 if the least moisture reaches them when at rest. Both Free- 

 sias and Lachenalias ought to be sorted as to size at potting 

 time if well-flowered pots are desired, the small ones being 

 set aside and grown on separately to flowering strength. 



A good time to put in a crop of Hydrangea cuttings is when 

 the strong shoots that have not flowered this summer have 

 reached their growth. They root freely if put in a cool shady 

 place out-of-doors, and from these plants one may get a fine 

 truss of flowers next spring. If they are planted out for a 

 summer they will make fine stock to grow on for forcing the 

 year after. No plants are more likely to become too large to 

 handle properly than Hydrangeas, and it is often a problem 

 how to store them in fall and start them in spring. But with 

 the rooting of a fresh lot each year useful-sized plants may 

 always be on hand and an abundance of flowers. 



If Canterbury Bells, Foxgloves, Hollyhocks and other bien- 

 nials are wanted for use next year, seeds should be sown now. 

 The plants will not be as large as those from seeds sown in 

 spring, but will be much more useful for this reason, and will 

 winter over better where they have to be stored, as in New 

 England. The first two will make useful plants for early 

 flowering in pots, and it is necessary to grow Hollyhocks each 

 year from seeds now that the disease makes such ravages 

 among them. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Ipomcea pandurata. 



SOME of the tuberous-rooted Ipomceas have been in bloom 

 in the open border here for some time past. They make 

 a very attractive display, and when compared with other sum- 

 mer-flowering exotic plants, in return for very little attention 

 given them. Among the most interesting of these are two 

 native species — I. pandurata and I. Michauxii. The latter 

 comes from the southern states, and needs a thick covering of 

 leaves or some such material over the crowns to help it with- 

 stand severe weather. Even then, if kept out, it is usually late 

 in starting, and the summer is nearly gone before it comes 

 into bloom. By allowing the shoots to get several feet long 

 in the greenhouse before planting out, which they will do even 

 when the tuber is not placed in soil, but merely allowed to lie 

 under the staging, the season of blooming is hastened very 

 much. 



Ipomcea pandurata, known commonly as " Man of the 

 Earth," owing to the immense fleshy roots of the full-grown 

 plant, is a native of the eastern states, and is common from 

 Connecticut to Georgia on sandy banks and neglected farm- 

 lands. As showing the size of the underground portion of the 

 plant, some years ago I spent two hours with pick and spade 

 in digging up an old plant. The root measured more than 

 three and a half feet long, and at the thickest part ten inches 

 in diameter. This plant has since produced hundreds of its 

 showy flowers every summer, and is yearly covering more 

 space. It is growing in a mixture of sand and vegetable 

 humus, and every autumn it gets a good covering of manure, 

 not as a protection, but to enrich the soil. There are at least 

 two forms of I. pandurata found in a wild state ; one has flow- 

 ers about two and a half inches across, the other has flowers 

 twice this size. The merits of this species must be judged 

 from the way specimens grow in their native wilds. As we 

 usually see them they have very few long straggling stems 

 and comparatively few flowers expanded at one time. When 

 brought under cultivation — that is, when full-grown speci- 

 mens are transplanted — the plant throws out a great number of 

 stems and flowers from the beginning of June till September. 

 Under cultivation, however, the flowers are no larger than they 



are in a wild state. The propagation of the plant from cuttings 

 I have found to be by no means easy ; in fact, it seems to be 

 quite as difficult to root as the well-known tropical species, I. 

 Horsfalliai,'. The roots of medium-sized plants, when cut into 

 pieces about three or four inches long, will occasionally 

 sprout, but this is by no means a certain method, as they have 

 been known to remain in an inactive condition for more than 

 a year. Where old plants are growing wild in a well-drained 

 soil they seed freely, and young plants are quickly raised from 

 them. Seedlings, however, take a long time to make good 

 flowering specimens. Any of the tender tuberous-rooted spe- 

 cies, which are found to be difficult to root from cuttings, will 

 be found to take readily when grafted on pieces of the root of 

 I. pandurata. The operation should be performed in late 

 summer, when the shoots are thoroughly ripened. 



Botanic Garden, Washington, D. C. G. W. Oliver. 



Notes on Carnations. 



OLANTS out-of-doors are looking extremely well this sea- 

 -*■ son. We have not yet had any prolonged drought, as is 

 common in July and August, and young plants are all growino- 

 luxuriantly. The first ten days of July were exceptionally hot 

 and dry, but by keeping the ground well stirred the plants did 

 not seem to suffer in the least, and a copious rainfall on the 

 13th, with continued high temperature, started them into 

 active growth. Success next winter depends largely on the 

 treatment given the plants from now until lifting time in Sep- 

 tember. If the ground is allowed to bake and weeds to grow, 

 only failure can be expected. Whether watering ought to be 

 resorted to in dry weather is a debatable question. Many 

 successful cultivators condemn it altogether, and person- 

 ally I am not in favor of it unless it can be done thoroughly. 

 In commercial establishments, where many thousands of 

 plants are grown, watering would be expensive in many cases, 

 and in others impossible, owing to deficient water supplies. 

 On private places, where at most a few hundred plants are 

 housed, artificial watering can be done quite readily if a good 

 length of hose and a standing sprinkler are at hand, by having 

 the sprinkler at work in one place for two or three hours, 

 when a bed will be pretty thoroughly soaked. Many artificial 

 aids to growth are needed in our climate, and I approve of 

 watering when plants show signs of suffering rather than wait 

 for a chance shower. Plants allowed to become dust-dry at the 

 root and to droop helplessly will certainly not give as satisfac- 

 tory returns as those kept growing steadily. Afterevery water- 

 ing and rainfall a thorough cultivating of the soil among the 

 plants is necessary. Weeds grow apace at this season, and 

 many of them will need rooting out by hand if they are close 

 to the plants. Once a week we go over the rows and do any 

 stoppingYequired, holding the shoot with one hand and drawing 

 out the top with the other. A mere nipping or clipping off of 

 the tops is of no use whatever. 



Summer-blooming Carnation plants are now flowering quite 

 freely. The earliest and best sorts are Daybreak, Mrs. Fisher 

 and some unnamed scarlet seedlings. A scattering of some 

 chemical fertilizer, such as Bowker's Hill and Drill Phosphate, 

 or sheep-manure, or a soaking of liquid manure after a heavy 

 rainfall, is beneficial. Heavy rains dash the soil on the flowers 

 if the plants are not kept well tied up, and we find a light 

 mulching of spent mushroom-manure, or any old manure, 

 helps to keep them clean and the ground moist. There is, as 

 a rule, not much time for disbudding Carnations during 

 the hot summer months, but if this can be done improved flow- 

 ers and stiffer stems will be had. Our hot, dry summers and 

 severe winters make it impossible to successfully grow the 

 border Carnations which are the glory ol English gardens at 

 this season. But by a selection of suitable American kinds any 

 garden may show a constant succesion of bloom from earlv in 

 July until sharp frost cuts down the plants. The Rose is un- 

 doubtedly the queen of flowers while in season, so far as out- 

 door ones are concerned, but three weeks is about the term of 

 the Rose season, and after that only an occasional bud is to 

 be seen. It is not strange that Carnations are the flowers 

 of the million, for their fragrance, freedom of bloom and last- 

 ing qualities all recommend them. Cut sweet peas or roses 

 in an ordinary living-room last only about forty-eight hours, 

 while a vase of Carnations will keep fresh for nearly a week. 



Many growers throw out their Carnation plants from the 

 benches before hot weather sets in. We generally keep ours 

 in until September 1st, just allowing time to clean out the old 

 materials and prepare for the winter stock. The benches 

 should have a coat of limewash and be refilled and the new 

 stock planted. Plants thus furnish flowers for nearly twelve 



