68 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 155. 



are not open as freely as they should be for the rapid change 

 of air. It seems to me that modest houses of this character 

 would often be satisfactory to those who have a fancy for 

 flowers and do not care to maintain a show-house or employ a 

 professional gardener. >r 



Elizabeth, n.j. J.N.Gerard. 



Tomatoes Under Glass. 



T N the rapidly extending practice of winter-gardening at 

 -*■ the north the variety as well as the quantity of crops 

 grown has largely increased. Among these crops the Tomato 

 has assumed considerable importance, and has been the sub- 

 ject of various experimentation at the Cornell Station for 

 the two seasons since the erection of forcing houses here. 



The first crop of this season, which began to ripen the last 

 of December, has been very thrifty throughout its growth. 

 The seed was sown in the usual manner in August, and about 

 a month later the plants were placed in their permanent 

 quarters in boxes upon the benches of the forcing house. 

 The boxes used are of two sizes, the smaller being ten inches 

 each dimension (for a single plant), and the larger eighteen 

 inches square by twelve deep, being used for four plants, 

 which are placed near each corner. The bottoms of the boxes 

 are nailed on somewhat openly, and an inch of cinders or 

 other broken material is placed over them to ensure abundant 

 drainage. Upon this was placed a layer of decaying sods, 

 followed by garden soil, filling the boxes a little more than 

 half full. As the plants grow several inches more of soil are 

 added, thus inducing the development of the secondary roots 

 upon the stem. All lateral shoots are removed as fast as they 

 appear, and the terminal shoot also when the plant reaches a 

 height of about four feet. As soon as the main stem begins 

 to lop over the plants are trained to upright cords stretched to 

 the rafters, being loosely tied to them with a loop of raffia 

 placed just below a leaf. 



As would be inferred from its behavior out-of-doors, the 

 Tomato requires a high temperature in the house, not less 

 than sixty degrees at night, ventilating at seventy degrees on 

 cloudy days, while on sunny days the mercury may safely run 

 much higher. When the plants are in flower some aid should 

 be given in pollinating. As the flower of the Tomato is self- 

 fertilized, this is easily accomplished by jarring the plants on 

 bright sunny days by gently striking the stem with a padded 

 stick. As the fruit sets the larger clusters should be tied up 

 to the stem to prevent them from breaking down. Through- 

 out the fruiting period it is profitable to apply liquid manure 

 once a week ; or, as was done with this crop, place a layer of 

 stable manure over the soil, the leachings from which will be 

 carried into the earth from day to day as the plants are watered. 

 It is absolutely indispensable to the success of this crop that 

 the houses should be so located as to receive all the light 

 possible throughout the day. This necessity has been forcibly 

 illustrated in the present instance by a few plants which stood 

 in the end of the house and received the direct sunlight only 

 until noon because of an adjacent building. Although they 

 were by no means in the dark through the remainder of the 

 day, yet the lack of light was plainly indicated by the greatly 

 decreased fruitfulness, sufficient, as was remarked by an ob- 

 server, to make all the difference between a liberal profit and 

 absolute loss. 



We have had to fight a number of insect pests, including 

 the ever-present aphis and a black mite which is a near rela- 

 tive of the red spider and which has appeared with it. This 

 mite appears not to yield readily to the commoner remedies 

 which prove more or less effectual with the red spider, although 

 it is destroyed by a solution prepared from one part of pyre- 

 thrum to four parts of alcohol (by weight), and applied with an 

 atomizer. This is a tedious process, however, with plants as 

 large as Tomatoes, and it is hoped that a better method will 

 be discovered. On the plants mentioned it has been quite 

 successfully held in check by burning the leaves which were 

 most infested. 



Four varieties have been grown this winter — the Lorillard, 

 Ignotum, Dwarf Champion, and a yellow variety, the Golden 

 Queen. 



Of these, the Lorillard appears best adapted to forcing, 

 although the Ignotum seems to approach it. The Dwarf 

 Champion, while fairly productive, would be objectionable in 

 most markets on account of its color, which is tinged with 

 purple. The same objection would hold with the Golden 

 Queen, although it is a beautiful fruit, and, if grown to a lim- 

 ited extent with the red varieties, would certainly add to their 

 attractive appearance if tastefully arranged with them in the 

 markets. 



Although the cultivation of the Tomato is attended with 

 somewhat more difficulty than many other forced crops, it 

 brings generous profits when once its management is under- 

 stood. In the crop referred to each plant occupies two square 

 feet of space, and is producing, upon a very conservative esti- 

 mate, at least an average of one pound of fruit a plant. 



While this is very far short of the claim of an average crop 

 of twenty-five pounds a plant for 300 plants, which was made 

 and published last season, it is still large enough to allow of 

 very satisfactory returns, as the wholesale price in our large 

 cities ranges from fifty to seventy-five cents per pound through 

 the winter months, so that one can readily estimate the re- 

 turns of the crop from a house of a given size. 



Cornell University. C. W. MatheWS. 



Some Useful Palms. 



Astrocaryum Mexicanum.— This handsome species de- 

 serves a place in any collection of Palms, for, although it ulti- 

 mately attains considerable size, it may be kept within reason- 

 able bounds for several years. It has large pinnate leaves, the 

 pinnae being somewhat irregular in width in a young plant, 

 dark green on the upper side, while the under surface is 

 clothed with a silvery tomentum. The leaf-stalks, well armed 

 with long dark spines, give this plant quite a formidable ap- 

 pearance, but also add to its beauty, and, as the foliage is of 

 stout texture and lasts a long time, it usually remains well fur- 

 nished. This Astrocaryum may be grown in a temperature 

 that falls to fifty degrees at night, but will make more rapid 

 progress in a warmer house, and it enjoys copious watering 

 in bright weather. It is propagated by seeds and by suckers, 

 when these are obtainable. 



Ceroxylon Andicola.— The Wax Palm of New Grenada, as. 

 this magnificent plant has sometimes been called, is also a 

 useful Palm when small, the leaves being quite tough and 

 capable of enduring out-door exposure in the summer if they 

 are not placed in the full sun, while for conservatory orna- 

 mentation it has few equals. It has pinnate leaves that some- 

 times attain a length of fifteen to twenty feet, this extreme size 

 only being reached by fully grown specimens. The petioles 

 are nearly erect and well clothed with narrow pinnae, which 

 are dark green and glossy on the upper side, and covered un- 

 derneath with silvery scales, so as to make an effective con- 

 trast. In the young plants the leaves are frequently entire, as 

 is the case with many other Palms. But this condition is 

 gradually outgrown. The name of Wax Palm has been ap- 

 plied to this species from the singular fact that the trunk, 

 when fully grown, is more or less covered with a coating of 

 highly inflammable wax. This characteristic is not seen, 

 however, in the ordinary conservatory specimen. In the mat- 

 ter of temperature this Ceroxylon is not very exacting. Though 

 usually grown in stove heat, the fact of its having been found 

 almost up to the snow line in New Grenada seems to indicate 

 that cool treatment would be the most reasonable. 



Acanthophcenix CRINITA.— This graceful Palm, originally 

 introduced from the Seychelles, has the general character of 

 an Areca, but differs from it in being profusely armed with 

 long, needle-like black spines, which are abundant both on the 

 stem of the plant and also on the leaf-stalks. The leaves of 

 A. crinita are pinnate and from five to twelve feet in length, 

 the pinnae being pendent, and light green on the upper surface 

 and silvery beneath. This Palm enjoys a rather high tempera- 

 ture, and in the winter should be watered with judgment, or 

 the roots may suffer. It can only be propagated by seeds, as 

 it makes no suckers, and, as the seeds sometimes take two or 

 three years to germinate, patience must be exercised, or the 

 seeds may be discarded as worthless before they have a chance 

 to germinate. A. crinita is, however, a valuable plant when 

 well grown, and quite repays any special effort that may be re- 

 quired in order to obtain a good specimen. 



Nephrosperma Van Houtteana.— This elegant Palm is 

 probably better known under one of its previous names — that 



is, either as Areca nobilis or as Oncosperma Van Houtteana 



and is the only representative of the genus as it now stands. 

 It is also a native of that favored locality for tropical Palms, 

 the Seychelles, and has most gracefully arched pinnate fronds, 

 with long dark green pinnae. The stems of this species are 

 also well protected by long dark spines, and, like all other 

 spiny Palms, it is difficult to clean if brown scale secures a 

 foothold, and therefore this pest should be closely watched for. 

 N. Van Houtteana grows best in a warm moist house, and may 

 be potted in such soil as would be suitable for Arecas, one of 

 the requisites to success being good drainage. This Palm is 

 by no means common, though its notable beauty entitles it to 

 more extended recognition. 



