478 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 353. 



found scattered through thesoil.while the long and slender bulbs 

 of the other kinds will be clustered at the base of the flower- 

 stem. I usually put them into flower-pots, which I set upon 

 the ground in the greenhouse, but care must be taken not to 

 let them get too moist, lest they rot ; they are not likely to get 

 too dry in the winter. 



There is no trouble about propagating Achimenes ; most 

 kinds, indeed, make an abundance of new bulbs in the pot 

 during their growth, but all kinds may be multiplied by means 

 of cuttings, which root very readily, and by rubbing the scales 

 of the bulbs apart and sowing them as if they were seeds. I 

 use the word bulb with reluctance, for their structure is not 

 such as the general acceptation of the term would imply. They 

 consist of small fleshy scales arranged along an axis like the 

 seeds of the Birch. I do not name any varieties here, as I 

 design comparing a large number in another paper. 



Canton, Mass. W. E. ElldUott. 



Preserving Celery in Winter. 



THE unexpectedly heavy snowfall on November 6th, and 

 cold weather succeeding the storm, caught a great many 

 private and market gardeners napping, and a considerable 

 proportion of the Celery grown in this section was ruined. 

 Where well earthed up a heavy snowfall or sharp frost can do 

 no appreciable damage. To preserve Celery in good condi- 

 tion during the winter season is no easy task, and many good 

 practical men fail in the task. For one or two seasons we tried 

 lifting the heads and planting them in cold frames or storing 

 in cellars. When placed in cellars the Celery kept fairly well, 

 but became tough, stringy and of very poor flavor, owing in 

 large measure, no doubt, to the lack of moisture at the root. 

 In frames we usually lost a large proportion of roots from rot. 

 For the past year or two we have succeeded in keeping Celery 

 in good condition until the end of March in the open ground. 

 Our late crop we plant on ground which has a gentle decline 

 and where the soil is rather light ; the plants are well watered 

 during the growing season, and earthings up are given as 

 required on the advent of colder weather; when sharp frost 

 occurs a coating of leaves is placed over the trench of suffi- 

 cient thickness to exclude frost ; a couple of boards fourteen 

 inches in width are nailed together and laid over the tip of the 

 rows to throw off the water on each side, and also prevent the 

 leaves from blowing about. On fine mild days we lift these 

 boards off, and air is admitted as much as possible to the 

 plants. Celery lifted with good balls of earth and heeled into 

 trenches will keep fairly well, protected in the same way, but 

 not so well as those which have never been disturbed at the 



root. 



Taunton, Mass. 



W. N. Craisr. 



Forcing Vegetables. 



Asparagus. — A most suitable place for forcing Asparagus 

 is a frame about four feet deep, with one four-inch hot-water 

 pipe running around it. About two and a half feet of fresh 

 stable litter should be put into the frame and firmly packed, 

 with an inch or two of sand spread over it. This bed should 

 be allowed to stand until the heat of the manure has declined 

 to about seventy degrees, and not below sixty-five degrees, 

 before the crowns are placed on it. For this work advantage 

 should be taken of a day when the weather is mild, as the 

 crowns are easily damaged by frost. Large crowns five or six 

 years old are preferable to smaller ones for forcing. They 

 may be placed rather closely together in the frame, but the dis- 

 tance apart must be regulated by their size. The roots should be 

 spread evenly over the surface and covered with six inches of 

 sand. Little water will be required as the steam from the 

 manure affords considerable moisture, but if the bed should 

 become dry it may be moistened with water of the same tem- 

 perature as the soil in the frame. A little air may be admitted 

 when the day is bright and warm to keep the temperature 

 from rising above eighty degrees. When the points of the 

 shoots begin to appear above the sand the crop is ready to cut. 

 Where ground is plentiful a supply of forcing crowns can be 

 kept up by sowing a little seed every year, having five or six 

 successions, the oldest plants being forced for cuttings. 



Rhubarb and Seakale. — An easy and convenient method 

 of forcing Rhubarb in the open ground is to place over the 

 crowns a barrel with the bottom up; the bottom should be 

 loosened so that it can be readily removed. Over and around 

 the barrel manure should be heaped, making the pile large 

 enough to insure its not losing its heat before the crop is fit to 

 gather, which will be in about six weeks from the time of 

 starting. The Rhubarb may be started any time after the old 

 leaves have died down, but it forces more easily after it has 



been subjected to a good sharp frost. The young stalks can 

 readily be had about the holidays, and the supply can be kept 

 up all winter by successional batches. After the crop is gath- 

 ered the crowns must be protected until all danger of frost is 

 past. As the spring opens up they will start to grow again, and 

 although they come weak at first, they soon gather strength, 

 and after a year's rest can be forced again. This same method 

 works equally well with Seakale, the only difference being that 

 it does not grow so tall ; flower-pots may be used for the sea- 

 kale instead of barrels, and a twelve-inch pot will cover a 

 pretty large crown. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. William Scott. 



Dendrobium Phalaenopsis. — Mr. Watson's note in GARDEN 

 and Forest for October 31st, as to the home of this superb 

 Orchid, is interesting, more especially since we were treated to 

 such a fanciful story concerning its discovery in New Guinea. 

 But is it not possible that the plant has been found by different 

 collectors, both in that country and Timor Laut ? Messrs. 

 Veitch say distinctly enough in their Manual that the plant is 

 indigenous to both islands, and, moreover, the flora of New 

 Guinea is strongly influenced by that of the Indian Archipel- 

 ago, of which Timor Laut is part. To the cultivator, however, 

 this is not of much consequence, as the requirements of Den- 

 drobium Phalaenopsis are now pretty well understood, and are 

 easily ministered to in modern greenhouses, as it is the easiest 

 to cultivate of all the Australian group to which it belongs. 

 Long sprays have been in bloom here more than three weeks, 

 and the first flowers that opened are not fading yet, though 

 some of the spikes carry as many as twenty of them. The 

 secret of its keeping qualities are, however, due to the fact 

 that it has been kept in the warm house wherein it grew, and 

 that has kept moisture off the flowers. We have found that 

 if the plant, while in bloom, is removed to a cooler house the 

 flowers soon decay, and the same result happens if they are 

 dampened. The flowers are most useful for boutonnieres, 

 and a spray laid on Asparagus tenuissimus makes a rarely 

 delicate combination. Asparagus plumosus is far too rigid to 

 blend well with the blossoms. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. 0. Orpct. 



Anemone Japonica, Whirlwind. — There are none too many 

 forms of Japan Anemones that are distinct and worth grow- 

 ing. Both of the two best known are of garden origin, and 

 these have superseded the original typical plant, which is 

 dwarf, bearing a semi-double dull reddish crimson flower, not 

 nearly as beautiful as the white-flowered variety or the one 

 called Anemone Japonica hybrida, which is identical with the 

 white form, except in the color of its flowers, which are pink. 

 We have now another variety, quite new, pure white, and with 

 an inner row of petals that give the flowers a semi-double 

 appearance, and the effect is pleasing. I have observed a dis- 

 position to criticise the flower and doubt its usefulness, but I 

 believe it will prove an acquisition as a garden-plant. Our 

 plants thus far are small in habit, but this may be due to their 

 age, and it may be outgrown. If Whirlwind attains to the 

 stature of the white and pink forms it will be valuable. It is 

 worth noting here that within the last year or two an Irish 

 grower has succeeded in raising seedlings, and some of these 

 are said to be very large and beautiful. If this is true, Ameri- 

 can dealers ought to lose no time in introducing them to 

 American gardens. 



Boston, Mass. Plaiitsman, 



Correspondence. 



How Plants Behave in a Mild Autumn. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The unusually warm month of October has had some 

 interesting results. It has exhibited the tendency in deciduous 

 plants to become evergreen in a continually warm atmos- 

 phere; that is, to make the fall of the leaf a less regularly 

 recurring, periodic crisis in the life of the plant. 



I have in my yard, in Boston, among other shrubs, a Lilac, 

 a Hawthorn, a Kerria and a Deutzia, all of which are, more or 

 less, covered with leaves. They are shrunken, shriveled and 

 discolored, but they still hang on, in spite of nearly a week of 

 freezing weather and a heavy snowstorm. The leaf-stems of 

 the Lilac are as fresh, green and pliant as in midsummer. The 

 Kerria has leaves as fresh as in midsummer ; the buds, which 

 are in their axils, have burst, and the young leaves, which be- 

 long to next spring's growth, are protruding from them, green 

 and vigorous. The persistent warm weather allowed the sap 

 to continue to rise after the period of the ripening process had 

 gone by ; and this constant supply of nutriment gave to the 



