November 7, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



447 



appearance than where wooden stakes of various lengths and 

 sizes are used. 



So far we have not detected any signs of rust on our plants 

 this season, but in some places the disease is ranging in a very 

 virulent form. At one establishment, where some 30,000 

 plants are grown for the Boston market, and where in past 

 seasons magnificent flowers have been produced, the rust has 

 gained such a foothold that literally every plant in the numer- 

 ous houses is badly affected ; the disease is not confined to a 

 few spots on the foliage, but the plants present a brown 

 appearance and the rust runs up the flower-stems to the very 

 calyx. Varieties thought to be rust-proof, such as Ada Byron, 

 William Scott, F. Mangold, Hector and Nicholson, are all badly 

 rusted here, although we have never seen them diseased else- 

 where. 



As a preventive of this serious disease we use the following 

 mixture : One pound of sulphate of copper, dissolved in two 

 quarts of ammonia in a two-gallon jar ; when dissolved add 

 another quart of water, and stir well. This mixture will keep 

 for some time. A wineglassful to a twelve-quart can of water 

 will make the solution strong enough to be used with safety 

 on the plants, and a syringing every week or ten days should 

 be given, so as to wet the plants thoroughly each time. Last 

 year we tried other remedies without avail, but they were only 

 used after rust had appeared. It is well to look over the plants 

 occasionally, and if any rust is showing, the affected part should 

 be carefully picked off. Only by eternal vigilance can the cul- 

 tivator ward off this foe. Red spider is another insidious 

 enemy which is liable to make its appearance now that more 

 fire-heat is being used. Well-directed syringing will keep all 

 spider away. The idea that Carnations dislike wetting over- 

 head is absurd ; the foliage may safely be syringed two or 

 three times a week, even in midwinter, if the morning of a 

 dry day is chosen for the operation, so that the plants will dry 

 before nightfall. Where any of the plants are near the hot- 

 water pipes it is best to give them a hosing every day. 



About the middle of November we generally give our plants 

 a little bone-dust or some chemical fertilizer, loosening the 

 surface slightly with a hand-fork before applying it. Unleached 

 hardwood ashes also make an excellent stimulant. The plants 

 will be benefited by a scattering of fertilizer about once in two 

 weeks. Liquid-manure we prefer not to use until nearer 

 spring, when the plants require stronger stimulants. 



Taunton, Mass. 



IV. N. Crait 



The Flower-garden in Late Autumn. 



THE garden is now interesting from its promises for the 

 future, though not yet entirely devoid of flowers. Even 

 in a latitude as far north as our own, a well-stocked garden is 

 really at rest only at short intervals during the hardest weather, 

 and one garden season glides insensibly into another. Seldom 

 does a hard frost keep the plants entirely dormant for more 

 than three or, at most, four weeks in succession. At the end 

 of this time the benumbed foliage, where any appears, will 

 enliven under a genial sky, and the hidden bulbs continue 

 their slow, but sure, progress. After the first of the year a few 

 hours' sunshine will encourage the Snowdrops to expand their 

 flowers, and these are soon followed by the Anemones, Irises 

 and Scillas in a rapidly widening procession. At present the 

 Aubrietias, the Arabis and the Saxifrages are happy with the 

 new growth and the promise of flowers to come. All of the 

 bulbs have made some start. Most of the Grape Hyacinths 

 have been showing their foliage for some weeks, as have those 

 of the Triteleias, and the leaves of the Snowflakes are appear- 

 ing. The square leaves of Iris tuberosa are fully formed, and 

 the Oncocyclus Irises are growing in vigor. The leaves of the 

 Spanish Irises and of the Algerian I. Tingitana will soon 

 appear; and some of the hardy Cyclamens, having shown 

 their flowers, will give their energies to the production of 

 leaves. The Imperati Crocuses are well advanced, giving 

 promise of a succession of their very early flowers. It will 

 thus be seen that we have life in the garden, though few of 

 the small bulbous plants are in flower except an occasional 

 late Colchicum, Crocus or Cyclamen and some belated Stern- 

 bergias. 



Bulbs generally are to me especially fascinating subjects, 

 since they often possess such potentialities of beauty in flower, 

 and curious habits as to dormancy and growth. They usually 

 have a vigor of purpose and a capacity of life and reproduc- 

 tion which is as amazing as it is gratifying. I often feel a 

 childish desire to dig up the bulbs in their growing season to 

 study their growth. As all the hardy bulbs are, perhaps, not 

 yet planted, it may be well to say that satisfaction will be found 

 in planting them closely, especially if the plantings are not to 



be permanent. Twice their diameter apart is none too close 

 for the planting of most bulbs for effective display, as a mass 

 is always more pleasing than a scattering of flowers with a wide 

 showing of bare earth. From the notes of my friends and my 

 own experience, I have never arrived at any satisfactory con- 

 clusion as to the proper depths to plant the various common 

 hardy bulbs. I doubt if the depth be very material within cer- 

 tain bounds. If the larger ones are buried six inches and the 

 smaller ones three inches they will not usually be misplaced. 

 A mulch of manure on top of a bulb-bed seems usually to be 

 the correct thing, though this is not essential here over the 

 really hardy bulbs. A mulch of this sort is not pleasant under 

 one's windows, and I prefer usually to leave the beds bare, and 

 always do so if I happen to be forehanded enough to have caught 

 a crop of seedling Poppies over the bulbs. 



South of this, say from Washington to South Carolina, where 

 the winters are more open, it would seem that winter garden- 

 ing would prove quite satisfactorv. 



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



Chrysanthemums in the Open Air. 



BESIDES the showy Sunflowers and Asters, which can he 

 had in almost endless variety from August to November, 

 we ought not to forget the Chrysanthemums, which literally 

 come in hosts ; for, until one has grown these plants, he has 

 never experienced the pleasure of having flowers in real abun- 

 dance. The large Rose-grower, of course, secures fair crops, 

 but, at the best, the flowers are soon over, while Chrysanthe- 

 mums from the same space can be cut in greater abundance, 

 are more lasting and of an infinitely greater variety of form 

 and coloring. Our professional friends who contribute to the 

 horticultural papers keep us up to a high standard in the culti- 

 vation of these plants, which is quite correct from their point 

 of aim, which is, of course, nothing less than perfection. I am 

 glad to see, however, in gardens, that many Chrysanthemums 

 are grown in a more natural way, to the evident enjoyment of 

 the growers, for there is no more beautiful object in the 

 garden at any season than a mass of well-grown Chysanthe- 

 mums in the usual keen weather of late October. By well- 

 grown I mean well-branched plants, with thrifty leaves and 

 judiciously disbudded. Of course, these plants should here 

 have a sheltered location, with some protection ready when 

 frosts appear. This is easily arranged, especially if glass sashes 

 can be made permanent overhead. The object should be 

 never to give artificial heat till actually necessary, and then as 

 little as possible. This certainly requires more care and labor 

 than the cultivation of plants in a greenhouse, but the 

 flowers seem to me much more enjoyable, and rejoicing in a 

 life and vigor quite their own. They will not be so large or 

 perfect as the monsters which appear at the shows, but they 

 arrange better and are more useful and lasting as cut flowers. 

 While the overgrown flowers on stiff stems only seem interesting 

 to me as examples of cultural skill, it is quite unreasonable to 

 go to the other extreme and not disbud one's plants. Nature 

 has endowed most varieties of Chrysanthemums with entirely 

 too many buds, so that if all are left to struggle with each other 

 for the needed food to develop them, none will be satisfactory. 

 In selecting Chrysanthemums for outdoor exposure of this 

 kind, one should try to secure the hardier kinds, like the " Old 

 Yellow," examples of which can be found in every old country 

 garden. Select, also, the earliest-flowering kinds, and avoid 

 those with thick petals, which kinds are easily frosted. 



Then, with the Chrysanthemums, one should, of course, 

 grow the Cosmos, of which I am glad to find improved strains 

 available. One from Henderson this year is a very large-flow- 

 ered, rosy pink of a most satisfactory shade, and a great im- 

 provement on the old lilacs. Cosmos grows too tall naturally, 

 and should be either cut or pegged down in the summer, 

 which will bring it into a range of three or four feet at flower- 

 ing time, when it can be readily protected. 



Elizabeth, N.J. G. 



The Pocklington Grape. — Of all the Grapes to endure the 

 waste of pollen by the heavy rains of 1S94, the surest and best 

 were Golden Pocklington, Moore's Early and Jefferson. On Lind- 

 ley, Goethe, Vergennes and lonasome fruit set and ripened, but 

 otherwise my vines were nearly hare, a few scattered bunches 

 only were to be found. I am inclined to think that Pockling- 

 ton is even a better Grape for general planting than has ever 

 been claimed. It is rather later than Concord. I do not al- 

 ways get it ripe enough to show its best qualities, but it has a 

 large, solid bunch of the handsomest fruit of superior quality. 

 The vine is very hardy, the pollen very abundant, and the crop 

 a sure one. 



Ripening Pears. — This is a simple operation, hut four-fifths 



