February 28, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



87 



it is left at least eighteen inches long, so that when the first 

 crop of flowers is cut off the lower buds start and produce 

 an equally good crop, and from the earliest boxes even a third 

 crop of bloom is obtained, though not so good as the first 

 crops. It will thus be seen that by double-cropping the boxes 

 a great saving of space is made, and this at a period when 

 space in the greenhouses is of most value. 



The best all-round dark Rose is Ulrich Brunner ; with us it 

 has superseded all others, though the new Madame Susanne 

 Rodocanachi is very promising, and when it becomes better 

 known it will be a great favorite on account of the brilliancy 

 of its color. Heinrich Schultheis is the best early deep pink; 

 after this Mrs. John Laing and Magna Charta. We intend also 

 to try Gustave Piganeau, "which is much in favor wherever it 

 has been tried. It is rated very high in Europe, having won the 

 silver medal for two successive years at the Crystal Palace, 

 London, in competition with all other kinds. It is of largest 

 size, perfect shape and of rosy-crimson color. 



Boston. 



Plantsman. 



Annual Flowers from Seed. — III. 



CENTAUREA CYAN US is a hardy annual of weedy habit, 

 which has had an accelerated vogue lately from its being 

 said to have been the favorite flower of the late Emperor Wil- 

 liam of Germany. It is scarcely necessary to say more of the 

 well-known Ragged Sailor than that it furnishes great quanti- 

 ties of useful flowers of shades ranging from blue-purple 

 through washy reds to white. The plants germinate readily 

 from seed at any season, and as the flowers are prolific of 

 seeds the plants are apt to overrun the borders. The yellow 

 Sweet Sultan, C. suaveolens, is a very handsome Centaurea, 

 with finely cut yellow petals and smooth large ovary, and is 

 useful and lasting either for wear or decorations. This is less 

 weedy than C. Cyanus, and seeds will require careful treat- 

 ment, as recommended for general plantings. 



Chrysanthemum coronarium is the only annual Chrysanthe- 

 mum useful for cutting, and is an easily grown plant, coming 

 into flower early. The flowers are yellow, or white with a 

 tinge of yellow, double, and very lasting, though the finely cut 

 foliage is rather soft. The plants flower profusely during the 

 season, and there are few annuals which give as large or con- 

 tinuous crops. Seeds may be sown with the main crop of an- 

 nuals, and they germinate readily. 



Dahlias are tender perennials, but the very dwarf strains re- 

 cently introduced as Tom Thumb Dahlias, are as easily grown 

 as annuals, making strong plants from seed by flowering-time. 

 Of .course, one will not get special forms or colors from seed, 

 but a good strain will give all the leading colorsand variations, 

 with large flowers and broad petals. The plants are about one 

 and a half to two feet high, much-branched and very free- 

 flowering. They require no staking, an advantage which will 

 1 be appreciated by growers of the old strains. The French 

 strains of these Dahlias are the best, the colors being clearer 

 and the flowers larger than the English. The flowers, if cut 

 when just opening, will last longer than if left on the plants 

 until pollenized. The seed of these Dahlias may be sown in 

 the seed-bed in April or early May, and they only require a lit- 

 tle care in watering at first. 



The single Chinese or Indian Pinks, Dianthus Heddewigii 

 and D. laciniatus, while not fragrant, are useful biennials, and 

 flower the first season from seed. The flowers are remarka- 

 bly varied and attractive, mostly in shades of red in many odd 

 combinations. The double varieties are as readily grown from 

 seed, but are not attractive. 



Gaillardia grandiflora, or Blanket-flowers, are rather coarse, 

 and the variegated forms are much more pleasing in the bor- 

 ders than indoors, where they are neither specially lasting or 

 agreeable. G. Lorenzianum picta are more charming as cut 

 flowers, their composite heads being rather light and graceful. 

 G. amblyodon has single flowers of a peculiar mahogany color, 

 and is well worth cultivation, but it should be grown in a rather 

 dry sunny place. 



Gypsophila paniculata will flower the first year from seed, 

 and is an indispensable plant in a garden of annuals, as its 

 mist-like spravs of bloom furnish the touch of lightness and 

 grace so desirable in floral arrangements. 



The Helianthus, or Sunflower, may best be represented in 

 the garden by the Miniatures, a free-flowering strain which 

 produces small, single, pleasing flowers, dark yellow, with 

 brown centres. They are strong-growing plants, produced 

 from easily germinated seed. 



A. garden is not complete without Marigolds, if for nothing 

 else than old associations, though their odor is rather pro- 

 nounced. Nor should the little Tagetes be forgotten, the 



dwarf French and the great African kinds, whose yellow or 

 golden flowers are among the most brilliant of summer flow- 

 ers. These plants, as is well known, offer no cultural diffi- 

 culties. 



Mignonette, for fragrance and modesty, is the antithesis of 

 the Marigold, but is a plant not so readily grown. It resents 

 root-disturbance, and the seed should be planted in well- 

 worked ground, kept damp by shading until germination takes 

 place ; the plants should then be thinned out and the ground 

 mulched with well-rotted manure. The plants should not be 

 allowed to suffer for lack of moisture at any time. There 

 seems little doubt that carefully selected seed of Mignonette 

 will give specially vigorous plants with large flower-heads, 

 though the largest of these are produced by special care in the 

 way of removing surplus shoots. M. Machet seems to be the 

 most generally satisfactory strain of the many offered. 



For evening decoration there are few white-flowered plants 

 which can vie with Nicotiana affinis when cut with long stems. 

 This is a strong-growing annual, which propagates freely in 

 the garden by self-sown seeds. Strong plants are quickly 

 formed, with clumps of large, spreading leaves. From these 

 rise the tall flowering stems, bearing numerous pure white 

 flowers with long tubes and flat-spreading corollas. The plants 

 are rather ragged-looking until afternoon, when the flowers 

 expand, with possibly the fault of rather pronounced fragrance. 



Nasturtiums are quite the commonest of annuals grown in 

 almost every garden, yet they are ever among the choicest of 

 flowering plants and possess almost all the desirable qualities 

 of a popular flower. Easily grown, showy, with a wide range 

 of coloring, fragrant, and with bright, fresh-looking foliage, 

 they add to their good qualities the habit of growing at their 

 best in odd, dry corners, where few other plants will exist. 

 The dwarf Nasturtiums, in neatness and finish of habit, are 

 rather superior to the tall varieties, but for general garden pur- 

 poses the latter are much more satisfactory, both for abun- 

 dance of flowers, for covering waste places, or for trailingfrom 

 veranda boxes or baskets. Some florists offer a multitude of 

 named kinds, and these are so cheap that the colors should be 

 bought separately, as the mixed seed is apt to contain an un- 

 due proportion of the stronger-growing kinds with washy 

 colors. 



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



Carnation William Scott. — Those who are in search of a good 

 pink Carnation would do well to try this variety; it is similar to 

 Grace Wilder in habit, and resembles it in color, too, when at 

 its best. There appears to be no tendency in William Scott to 

 burst its calyx ; the petals are beautifully fringed and the 

 blooms are well built up in the centre. It has taken a long 

 time to produce a good Carnation that would take the place of 

 Grace Wilder, but there are several candidates now that 

 promise well, and hereafter there should be no excuse for 

 ragged flowers or those poor in color. There is great diffi- 

 culty now in knowing how to select from the many new ones 

 sent out each year, and unless one has some knowledge of the 

 history of a new kind, it is best to wait until it has stood the test 

 of the first year after distribution. This plan, of course, would 

 be bad for the disseminator, but would generally benefit the 

 cultivator. New Carnations are either overpropagated when 

 put on the market, or else extremely local in their good be- 

 havior, this latter trait even showing itself in the same town 

 or locality. English-raised varieties seldom do well in this 

 climate, but we are much pleased with Winter Cheer, tried 

 this season for the first time ; it is a good scarlet of bright 

 color and does not turn dark as some do; the habit is dwarf 

 and very vigorous ; thus far no rust has attacked it. As a pot- 

 plant it is the ideal variety, as the stems are stiff and need no 

 support. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. 0. Or pet. 



Wire Netting for Peas. — In growing Peas in the garden for 

 family use we had always "brushed" them until five years ago, 

 when we procured some of the galvanized wire poultry-net- 

 ting with inch-and-a-half meshes. For the early Peas we used 

 netting twenty-four inches wide, and for the late varieties 

 forty-eight inches wide. The Peas were planted in double 

 rows, which were six inches apart. Stakes were driven about 

 eight feet apart in the rows soon after the Peas began to show 

 above ground, and the netting was stretched in the row and 

 fastened to the stakes by means of small wire staples. The 

 Peas cling to the netting as readily as to the brush. We find 

 that it gives a much neater appearance to the garden, and at 

 the same time is very much cheaper than brushing them. The 

 labor of putting up the netting is much less than sticking the 

 brush, to say nothing of the difficulty of procuring the brush 

 in town or city. The wire netting will last a long time. We 



