JANUARY 24, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



37 



the fruit-buds. On the unsprayed trees these were small, puny 

 buds that could hardly be distinguished from leaf-buds. On 

 the sprayed trees they were large and plump and gave every 

 promise of abundant fruit. The trees sprayed in 1892 bore 

 twice as much fruit in 1893 as the unsprayed trees did ; while 

 these same trees that have now been sprayed two years promise 

 to do still better in 1894. 



From a careful examination of the different plots, sprayed a 

 different number of times and at different seasons of the year, 

 we came to the conclusion that for that orchard two spray- 

 ings, one on June 1st and the other on June 15th, were for all 

 practical purposes sufficient. 



While it is not so necessary to spray the Bartlett Pear in 

 neighboring orchards as it is in this one, there are nevertheless 

 other varieties, such as Clairgeau, Flemish Beauty and Louise 

 Bonne de Jersey, that are of little value without it, and are so 

 much improved by it that the pears look like different va- 

 rieties of fruit. Another point in favor of spraying the Bartlett 

 is its effect in making the fruit hang longer on the tree, and as 

 the late Bartletts sell the best, the crop will bring more money 

 therefor. 



The quince is another fruit that is greatly benefited by the 

 Bordeaux mixture, and where it is applied regularly and sys- 

 tematically, year after year, this shy-bearing tree changes to a 

 regular and abundant bearer of large-sized, handsome fruit, 

 that colors up well and sells at the highest market price. 



While farmers have been fortunate in securing good mix- 

 tures to combat plant -diseases and insect -enemies, and 

 good pumps and nozzles to apply them with, they have 

 not been so fortunate in getting machines to do the dif- 

 ferent kinds of spraying. While one machine will do good 

 work in a potato - field, it will not answer in an orchard, 

 while the machine that sprays the orchard will not suit the 

 potato-field, and neither is suitable for Grape-vines, as they 

 are not narrow enough to go between the rows. If the farmer 

 has three machines, one for his potatoes, one for his orchard 

 and another for his grapes, he still cannot spray Raspberries 

 or Currants, because all three are too wide to go between 

 them and too low to go over them, so that a fourth machine 

 seems necessary for these crops. In addition, he needs a 

 knapsack-sprayer, and this makes an expensive outfit. What 

 is needed is a single machine so geared that it can be worked 

 by one horse and can be adapted to do any of these different 

 classes of work. 



Roses. 



T)RIVATE establishments often lack space and proper facili- 

 * ties for forcing Roses, but if a pit or cold frame can be 

 provided in addition to the conservatory, it will be possible to 

 cultivate a few Hybrid Perpetuals in pots at this season, and 

 the plants may be stored in the frame until it is necessary to 

 bring them into heat. 



Strong home-grown plants, on their own roots, are prefera- 

 ble for this purpose, although some of the imported stock is 

 quite satisfactory if the plants have been worked low enough 

 to bring the union beneath the soil in potting. In this case 

 there is a possibility of the stem sending out roots above the 

 graft. Additional strength is thus gained, but this is impossi- 

 ble with long-shanked Roses, such as are frequently sent to 

 American auction-houses by some European growers. It is, 

 therefore, safer to use good home-grown stock, with the rea- 

 sonable expectation of some good flowers in due season. 

 These Roses, which are potted in five, six or eight inch pots, 

 according to size, when received in the fall, should be stored 

 in a cold frame as soon as freezing weather sets in, the wood 

 being shortened back with a sharp knife or shears. The plants 

 can be brought into heat as they are needed, and started into 

 growth gradually. A thorough watering is the first requisite 

 to start the roots and buds into active growth. A slow start 

 gives the strongest growth and finest flowers, and for a few 

 days the Roses may be kept beneath the stage at the coolest 

 end of the house. As soon as the buds break away the plants 

 should be given all the light possible. Frequent syringing, 

 and just enough water at the roots, are necessary, and it is es- 

 sential to have as many roots as possible. As soon as the 

 flower-buds show, fertilizers should be applied in the form of 

 top-dressing or liquid-manure. 



The plants should be started at a temperature of forty-five 

 degrees, and the heat should be gradually increased by moving 

 them to warmer parts of the house until a temperature of fifty- 

 five to fifty-eight degrees is reached. In this way flowers 

 may be grown of much better texture, and, consequently, 

 more lasting, than those grown in a higher temperature. 



The varieties that can be recommended for forcing in a pri- 



vate establishment include those most largely forced in com- 

 mercial establishments, as Mrs. John Laing, Ulrich Brunner, 

 Magna Charta, Anna de Diesbach, Madame Gabrielle Lui/.et, 

 and, in addition, some that are not so widely grown, among 

 which are Marie Baumann, Captain Christy, Countess of Ox- 

 ford, Baroness Rothschild and Alfred de Rougemont, and, to 

 round out a good dozen sorts, General Jacqueminot and Co- 

 quette des Blanches. If the conservatory is large enough to 

 permit it, some use may also be made of pillar Roses, which 

 may be planted out in a prepared bed at the foot of a pillar, 

 and only trained enough to prevent their interference with 

 other plants and to better display their own natural beauties. 

 Two of the best sorts for this purpose are Lamarque and 

 Marechal Niel, and, though both are croppers, they produce 

 such a wealth of bloom under the proper conditions that the flow- 

 ering period is quite extended, and Lamarque has such bright 

 and handsome foliage that it is ornamental when out of flower. 

 But, to secure an abundance of the best flowers, these sorts 

 should have a period of rest and then be started into growth, 

 much the same as Grape-vines are started under glass. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W. H. laplitl. 



Greenhouse Climbers. 



"DLANTS of scandent habit are a great ornament to the 

 •*• greenhouse, and they are also useful for decoration in 

 many ways. They should, of course, be carefully selected, for 

 some are too vigorous for any but large structures, others are 

 desirable for their neat and unobtrusive habit. The most im- 

 portant point at starting is the temperature of the house where 

 the plants are to grow. A warm house with a minimum tem- 

 perature of, say, sixty degrees will be a congenial home for 

 any of the tropical climbers, even if it becomes a few degrees 

 colder on very cold nights — indeed, it is better to let the house 

 be a little cooler during severe weather than to attempt to 

 maintain a greater heat with an arid atmosphere which al- 

 ways does more to promote the health of insects than that of 

 plants. Climbers generally do best when planted out, but a 

 free root-run is undesirable in certain cases, since it tends to 

 an over-free growth that does not mature and will not flower 

 freely. The failure of greenhouse climbers to flower freely 

 may, in many cases, be traced to this cause, or to a lack of 

 sun and air in summer and fall. 



The most beautiful of climbing plants are, perhaps, the 

 Dipladenias ; they do not grow so rapidly as some others, but 

 they flower better than most of them ; the plants are decora- 

 tive for at least six months of the year. The flowers can be 

 used for table-decoration, and the delicate shades of pink and 

 rose are most attractive, and they last long after being cut. 

 The Dipladenias are natives of Brazil and will stand full ex- 

 posure to the sun in summer ; our plants grow and flower 

 most satisfactorily at the end of the Rose-house, where the 

 temperature is exactly what they require, both in winter and 

 summer. They are not strong-rooted plants, and while they 

 may do fairly well in a soil composed principally of loam, they 

 much prefer being potted in rough fern-root or peat, made 

 porous by liberal additions of sand and broken pots. This may 

 seem a very poor compost to give the best returns, but if a 

 healthy root-action is secured, stimulants can be applied when of 

 most benefit to the plants, that is, during active growth and the 

 flowering period. The best kinds we have are D. Brearlyana, 

 D. amabilis, D. profusa and D. Houtteana ; all of them have 

 rose-colored flowers, and some turn to the richest crimson 

 before fading. The plants rest in the winter, and in early 

 spring they may be cut back, repotted arid started again. The 

 Mealy-bug is a great pest if allowed to get established, but a 

 free use of the hose in the growing season is a sure cure for 

 this pest, if applied with force and frequency. 



Bougainvillea glabra is another free-flowering plant, and is 

 not so often seen as it deserves. It is usually a summer 

 bloomer, butbycuttingit back in September wemakesure of a 

 good supply of its beautiful pink bracts in midwinter. The Bou- 

 gainvillea requires root-restriction to induce it to flower abun- 

 dantly ; it makes too vigorous a growth if left to run as it will, 

 and we, therefore, plant it out in a bench and put in well- 

 cemented brick partitions. Like the Poinsettia, the bracts are 

 the conspicuous part of the inflorescence, though to the casual 

 observer these often pass for the flower proper. The Bou- 

 gainvilleas are also Brazilian, but from the common name 

 often given them, "Chinese paper-flowers," one would nat- 

 urally suppose they were of eastern origin, more especially as 

 the plant has spread with the advance of horticulture, so that 

 it is more often seen in the far east than in the western hemi- 

 sphere, and travelers agree in praising its beauties as seen in 

 India. There is another species called B. spectabilis, which 



