456 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 351. 



I to be tested for air at times, especially when the heat is 

 turned on after a period of disuse. Where the boiler-power itself 

 is inadequate in severe weather, the question of an auxiliary 

 heater is worthy of consideration. We have a large tubular 

 boiler that will do all the work in almost all weather, but it is 

 too large in mild autumn and late spring, and often gives much 

 more heat than is required at these times, so that a smaller 

 heater was put in to help the larger one out in very cold 

 weather and do all the work in very mild weather. The 

 economy of this plan has been made evident both in coal bills 

 and wear and tear of apparatus. 



Most gardens have a quantity of cold frames for stor- 

 ing plants of various kinds in winter, but more especially 

 Violets, and I have often wondered why more of these frames 

 are not made frost-proof by the addition of a row or two of 

 pipes, either for steam or hot water. The replacing of straw 

 mats alone with us costs each year as much as would pay for 

 the coal to produce the needed heat, to say nothing of the labor 

 required to cover and uncover the frames. Besides this, there 

 are periods when the frames must be kept closed, and then 

 the snow must be shoveled away before sun and air can be let 

 in again. Seasons past have proved beyond doubt that cold 

 frames are not frost-proof in this section ; no matter how well 

 they are lined and protected by mat coverings, there is sure to 

 be a time when the frost will get inside, and all who have 

 grown Violets know that a freezing will stop the production of 

 flowers and aid the destruction caused by damping, when a 

 little fire heat would save all this trouble. 



Many plants, it is true, are not injured, but benefited by a 

 little frost when at rest, such as the tender annuals, biennials 

 and perennials, and these, of course, could be placed in an 

 unhealed frame, but plants that are expected to produce Mow- 

 ers in midwinter need a little heat in winter in this section, 

 and in spring, when emptied for hot-beds, not half the fer- 

 menting materials would be needed, and the winter salads or 

 early spring vegetables could be grown with ease and comfort. 

 • A heated frame of this description should have posts sunk 

 below the frost-line and spruce-planks used for the sides and 

 ends, with ordinary three-by-six-feet garden-sash for the roof, 

 these resting on three-by-four-inch rafters eight feet long. 

 The two feet above the sash should be covered with a hinged 

 wooden ventilator, and made in convenient lengths, this giv- 

 ing two feet inside for a pathway along the back. The best 

 location for a frame of this sort would be at the east or south 

 side of a heated greenhouse, utilizing the wall for the back of 

 the frame, and the heat could be introduced at one end and 

 return at the other through the pipes in the greenhouse, in 

 this way securing two flow pipes, instead of a flow and return. 

 The pipes should be placed at the front of the frame, so that 

 the heat may strike the glass and ascend. 



The greater part of the work in a house of this sort could be 

 done from the outside by lifting oft the sashes in mild weather, 

 and at other times from the walk along the back, by entering 

 through a door atone end. A house of this description has 

 many uses, both in winter and in spring, and is equally valu- 

 able in summer, but where Violets are an essential all through 

 the winter, which is generally the case, it becomes a vital 

 question oftentimes how to meet the demand in the midwinter 

 months. 



Boston, Mass. Plantsmaii. 



Plants under Glass. 



"THE inactivity among greenhouse plants, which is very 

 *■ plainly seen during the dull period which follows the 

 Chrysanthemum season and continues until the new year, 

 ought to be encouraged by every cultivator. Less moisture 

 is needed in the houses then than at any other time, and tem- 

 peratures must be kept down to the winter level, especially at 

 night. It is not only a waste of fuel, but a waste of the energy 

 of the plants, to excite them into growth. When such prema- 

 ture movement occurs plants will start late in the spring 

 instead of making a vigorous growth after the resting season. 

 Many plants in the warmer houses are evergreen, and show 

 no appearance of being at rest even in the depth of winter, 

 but they are, nevertheless, inactive, and they must be treated 

 accordingly, and not urged into growth. 



Climbing plants of all kinds are now resting, and for the 

 most part may be cut back, so as to let in all the light on the 

 other plants, for while shade is desirable in summer, it is 

 detrimental to the last degree in winter. Before cutting plants 

 back it is well to keep them dry for a week or two, when there 

 will be less bleeding or loss of sap, and the cuts will heal over 

 more quickly. Dipladenias, Allamandas, Bougainvilleas, and 

 all plants that flower from the wood made the same season, 

 may be cut back hard, so as to encourage a strong start next 



year, from as near the base as possible, but Stephanotis, Inga 

 pulcherrima, tender Jasmines, climbing Roses, and plants that 

 flower on the growth made the preceding season, must have 

 only the weak shoots thinned out, so as to give the stronger 

 shoots a chance to ripen and bloom well next year. 



The hybrid Amaryllis, or Hippeastrums, as they are now 

 called, are now without foliage, and should be kept dry for 

 about three months, or until they begin to grow again. Most 

 of the roots are lost each season during rest, but if a strong 

 growth has been made in summer the flower-buds will be 

 matured in the bulb and ready to develop as soon as the 

 plants are repotted and the roots are formed. There is a great 

 future for these splendid flowering bulbs when they are better 

 known. Very little heat is required to grow them if they are 

 started as late in the spring as possible and put into frames to 

 mature after flowering time in summer. 



Achimenes have become indispensable to us, and con- 

 tribute no small part to the summer display. There is some- 

 times difficulty in wintering the bulbs. We shake them out of 

 'the soil they are grown in and place them in dry sand in a 

 warm part of the potting-shed, and have had no trouble with 

 them. Care must be taken that they do- not start to grow pre- 

 maturely in spring before they are placed in soil, or the young 

 shoots will get a severe check at starting-time. All the orna- 

 mental-leaved Caladiums should be treated in the same way 

 as soon as the leaves dry off, for if they are left in the pots 

 they grew in during the summer they are very liable to decay 

 at the base of the bulbs ; and if the soil becomes damp where 

 they are stored in winter, decay also follows. It is, besides, a 

 great saving of storage-room if bulbs are shaken out in this 

 way, and this is an important consideration in many instances. 

 If there is decay in any of the bulbs the diseased part must be 

 cut way and the sound parts washed, dried and a handful of 

 powdered charcoal placed under the bulb when it is put into 

 sand. 



Gloxinias and Begonias are best wintered in the pots in 

 which they grew in summer, if room can be found to store 

 them, but, failing this, they may be placed in sand in flats. A 

 temperature of fifty degrees will be found a safe minimum, or 

 teh degrees lower than Caladiums can safely endure, as these 

 are most sensitive to cold both when growing and at rest. 



So many Chrysanthemums are now considered indispensa- 

 ble even to private gardens that it has become a problem how 

 to store the stock-plants after they have bloomed, so as to get 

 strong cuttings in spring. Those wintered in the greenhouse 

 are apt to become weak and drawn. For several years after 

 cutting down the plants we have placed the roots in cold 

 frames, arranged together, each sort being carefully labeled. 

 They are covered with mats in cold weather; the roots are 

 sometimes frozen for weeks at a time, but this never hurts 

 them, and a strong start is obtained in spring. We sometimes 

 have to top the plants and take the second crop of cuttings in 

 May for large blooms grown on a single stem. 



Japan Anemones and Lilies that are grown in pots for 

 decorative purposes should now be placed in a cellar for win- 

 ter. If a little frost reaches them it is all the better for these 

 plants, as it will prevent a too early start in spring, and when 

 the weather is warm enough in spring they can be placed 

 directly out-of-doors. The bushes of Lavender, Tritomas and 

 plants of doubtful hardiness are heeled in in sand in the same 

 cellar, but Hydrangeas must be placed where no frost will 

 reach them, or the flower-buds are liable to be killed. Canter- 

 bury-bells, Hollyhocks, Pansies, Primroses and Foxgloves, all 

 of which are doubtfully hardy here, must be stored in a cold 

 frame, or, at least, part of them, so that there may be no 

 chance of failure. If the Japan Lilies have not already been 

 repotted this fall, it is high time they were seen to, as they root 

 freely in fall after the old flower-stems have died down, and 

 will continue to make roots all winter if potted now. 



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



Bordeaux Mixture and the Potassium ferrocyanide 



Test. 



SO many complaints regarding a rather unusual blemish of 

 apples and pears have been received this year, that it 

 seems important to find the real causes of the trouble. The 

 fruit in both sprayed and unsprayed orchards has been 

 affected, but the most serious injury has undoubtedly been 

 suffered where the trees have been treated. In the case of a 

 Pear orchard belonging to S. W. McCullum, of Lockport, New 

 York, fully seventy-five per cent, of the crop was practically 

 ruined. This orchard was treated early in the season, soon 

 after the fruit had set, and in a few days almost the entire crop 

 was upon the ground. The small pears appeared as if they 



