December i, 1897.] 



Garden and Forest. 



475 



cultivation is somewhat misleading'. Too many Mower fanciers 

 and owners of small gardens are deterred from having a small 

 greenhouse by the fancied expense and the supposed difficulty 

 of growing plants under glass, this latter idea being formed 

 from reading long detailed cultural directions for plants often 

 grown as easily as Beans. The practical fact is, as the least 

 reflection will show, plants under glass should be as easily and 

 successfully cultivated as those grown in the open. Each kind 

 of gardening has its problems. The average plant cultivated 

 in the garden will grow fairly well without much attention, but 

 there are numerous species which test all one's skill and 

 patience, and are almost impossible to cultivate successfully 

 under the unnatural conditions which prevail in the ordinary 

 garden. In the greenhouse the problems are different, but 

 the conditions are very much under the control of the culti- 

 vator, and any one who understands plant-growth should have 

 fewer failures indoors than outside. Plenty of good fresh air 

 properly warmed and a judicious use of the watering-pot are 

 the first simple requisites to successful cultivation of plants 

 under glass. A man whose plants are in such condition that 

 when the ventilators are open they become covered with mil- 

 dew, or when closed are infested with a crop of thrips, is out- 

 side his vocation. 



Commercial flower growers force their plants and grow 

 them at high pressure, with the one object of securing a 

 crop. Generally they succeed, but the plants are exhausted, 

 and it is a constant struggle with most unnatural conditions, 

 and not a practice to be followed by the amateur, to whom 

 individual plants are valuable, if common, and to whom 

 repose and pleasure are somewhat synonymous. What an 

 amateur will grow in his greenhouse is as often a matter of 

 chance as of taste, and usually three or four times as much is 

 grown as the house will comfortably hold. In all large towns 

 nowadays the florists' flowers, as roses and carnations, are 

 plentiful, and it does not seem worth while to give up the 

 greenhouse to these. Usually it will be found most satisfac- 

 tory to grow rather unusual plants or those not seen in the 

 shops, and supplement the ordinary contents of the home with 

 potted Dutch bulbs, to be brought in during the winter. 



Insects are always with us, but they affect some plants more 

 than others. It is scarcely ever worth while to continue to 

 grow a plant that persistently collects most of the insects in the 

 house, as some plants will. Palms are the only insect accu- 

 mulators which I tolerate. My list of plants is apt to change 

 from year to year, but at present there is a bench of Orchids, 

 and some of these plants suspended ; a lot of miscellaneous 

 plants, including Begonias, Palms, Crotons, Eucharis, Grif- 

 finias, Irises, Cacti, Sedums, Marantas, to mention a few which 

 occur to me ; a few climbers ; a bed of Ferns and one of 

 Violets ; and a lot of odd bulbous plants in various states of 

 activity. 



Not all the plants in this collection kept under one roof 

 will grow into specimen plants; but they will serve to help the 

 winter pass so pleasantly that I feei impelled "to urge all ama- 

 teurs to provide themselves with some structure fairly well 

 adapted tor plant-growth in winter, so that it is well lighted 

 and properly heated. Without these conditions the cultiva- 

 tion of plants in winter does not seem worth the struggle. A 

 conservatory kept cold, clammy and stagnant because there 

 is no heat to use in keeping pure air in circulation is a most 

 depressing example of what to avoid. 



Elizabeth, N. J. J. N. Gerard. 



T 



Autumn Protection. 



O the possessor of a garden autumn is almost as busy a 

 time as spring, though the work is different and not so in- 

 teresting. All planting should be finished by the first of 

 November, as there is not time enough thereafter for newly- 

 planted subjects to get established before cold weather, and 

 there would thus be no reserve force for the plants to draw on 

 during winter. After that date it is better to postpone planting 

 until spring, or if plants arrive late, to store them in a cellar or 

 other suitable place until spring. 



In the garden many plants that are classed as hardy are not 

 trustworthy in this respect. They may pass through a season 

 or two without damage, but will be injured or killed in an un- 

 usually severe winter, or a normal winter after a wet and sun- 

 less autumn. The past two months have been favorable to the 

 ripening off of growth made during the past summer ; this is 

 fortunate for the plants, for if the autumn had been sunless 

 many plants would have been killed this winter. 



If there is any doubt about Evergreens, Rhododendrons 

 especially, we always protect them by placing Pine or Spruce 

 boughs between the plants. Formerly we covered the plants 



with a thatched roof of branches, but they are now too high to 

 protect in this way. We find that if the branches are dis- 

 posed through them so as to ward off the sun's rays in the early 

 spring months scorching is prevented. The boughs should 

 remain until after the first hot days in April, which most culti- 

 vators agree is the critical period. We bank two feet of dry 

 forest leaves about the roots of the Rhododendrons early in 

 November or before that time. These are not removed in 

 spring, and the vigor the plants have taken on under this treat- 

 ment is surprising. They act as a mulch to keep the soil moist. 

 They are eventually taken down by the earthworms, and are 

 just the kind of food that is good for the plants. 



Hardy plant borders have now been trimmed of all the top 

 growth, and this is the time to make preparations for vigorous 

 growth next year if the soil needs replenishing. Last fall our 

 borders were covered with about six inches of leaf-mold, as 

 this material was at hand. It was left on this summer, and 

 every plant came up through it with a surprising vigor. Two 

 seasons are necessary for leaf-soil to become properly decom- 

 posed ; the decomposition may be hastened by the addition of 

 lime, but it would not then be available for use indoors for 

 Ericaceous plants, or for Rhododendrons in the border, as lime 

 is fatal to all plants of this order, and, in fact, to all that have fine 

 hair-like roots. In the absence of leaf-soil, well-rotted manure 

 may be safely used on borders ; in gardens this is almost as 

 scarce an article as leaf-mold, as it is generally desirable to 

 use it before it reaches the stage of mere decomposed vegeta- 

 ble matter ; but the use of any but old well-decayed material is 

 not desirable. 



It has been generally supposed that Lilies dislike manure in 

 the soil, and these plants are often almost starved. It is true 

 that manure should not be placed near the bulbs, as it often 

 causes decay. This is especially true of newly-planted bulbs ; 

 these are sometimes bruised, and the elements of decay are 

 present, and with but little encouragement become fatal. In 

 the case of established bulbs, however, it is necessary to pro- 

 vide a rich stimulant to bring them into luxuriant flowering. 

 If this is applied now as a top-dressing the improvement will 

 be marked next year, and the application is likely to be made 

 annually. Lily-of-the-valley beds are also now given their 

 usual winter covering, preferably of leaf-soil. I find that a de- 

 structive fungus is likely to attack these bulbs if manure is 

 used. A long succession of these flowers may be had out-of- 

 doors by carefully arranging the beds with regard to exposure 

 to the sun in spring, and by regulating the covering. We had 

 good flowers last summer a month after the first came in, from 

 a planting under the shade of Pine-trees, where the frost did 

 not thaw out until late. Lily-of-the-valley is one of the few 

 subjects that will thrive admirably under Pine-trees ; I have 

 seen them growing wild in such a location. 



If Narcissus are grown by themselves in a separate border 

 it is necessary to give them a good protective mulch. It will 

 be found that the young shoots are well started already, and if 

 as sometimes happens, snow and frost come late, they will 

 even appear above the ground and be hurt when cold weather 

 sets in, or late in spring before the arrival of genial weather. 

 If they are covered now this will serve also as a fertilizer in 

 spring, and will serve also to nourish the crop of annuals 

 which will follow the Narcissus for a late summer display. 

 Last season we planted Gladioli between the rows of Nar- 

 cissus ; this was even more satisfactory than Asters, or annuals 

 which cover the ground more. 



Coniferous trees and shrubs, such as the Retinosporas, Ju- 

 niperus, Thuyopsis dolobrata and the Golden Yew need pro- 

 tection from the sun. We find these perfectly hardy in the 

 most exposed situations if they are sheltered from the hot sun 

 when frozen. Young trees of Sciadopitys and the Nordmann 

 Fir are also apt to suffer from this cause. The latter will 

 lose its leader year after year when young if not protected, and 

 the Japanese Silver Fir (Abies firnia) is sure to be hurt in a 

 sunny exposure. The branches of Norway Spruces are useful 

 as a screen and save choice trees from damage; these must 

 be firmly placed in the soil about the tree before the ground 

 is frozen or the storms will displace them. 



Young Magnolias that have been set out recently ought to 

 be given some shelter for a year or two. We lost almost the 

 whole of a collection two winters ago. Well-established trees 

 were killed to the ground in some cases, and the strong shoots 

 now sent up are even more liable to injury. Magnolias, which 

 are so beautiful and so hard to get established, should have 

 shelter for a year or two after planting. 



Hardy Roses are so called, we presume, because they do 

 not die off at once the first winter. We find that a very short 

 list will include all that are iron-clad, but the lives of Roses 

 can be prolonged if the earth is drawn up about them at least 



