128 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 160. 



twenty-four American-raised seedlings will be in cultivation, 

 that will beat twenty-four from any other country. This is 

 because so many are engaged in raising seedlings and also 

 because the standard of requirements has been raised. There 

 are now a great many seedlings on probation, and if they 

 prove as good as when seen last season, they will give us 

 these additional good varieties. 



" What are the very best late kinds to have in flower at 

 Christmas ? " 



Mrs. Humphreys, Ethel, Mrs. H. J. Jones, and Governor of 

 Guernsey are late-flowering kinds. But it depends largely 

 upon the manipulation of the plants. For example, if the 

 plants are allowed to become very dry in August, and the 

 wood ripens, they will flower by the middle of November; 

 but if they are kept growing, and the wood remains soft sev- 

 eral weeks later, they will then flower in December. It is not 

 a question so much as to when the cuttings are taken as it is 

 how continuously they are kept growing after they are rooted, 

 up to, say, eight weeks before they are required to be in 

 flower. Perhaps it would be better to take cuttings later 

 rather than very early of late-flowering kinds. 



" What are the best six varieties for market cut flowers ? " 



I should rather name a hundred, since the grower would 

 doubtless want them coming into the market from September 

 1st to January 1st, in all the popular colors, such as yellow, 

 white, pink, bronze and red, with a few fancy or parti-colored 

 varieties. Then, as Chrysanthemum flowers last about fifteen 

 days, for the 120 days between September 1st and January 1st 

 it would take eight varieties at least for one color alone ; 

 therefore it will be seen that at least thirty or forty sorts are 

 required to fill the bill. 



Mr. Thorpe gave the following list of Japanese Chrysanthe- 

 mums as being of great merit: Twelve from Japan direct — ■ 

 W. H. Lincoln, Volunteer, Lilian B. Bird, Mrs. Alpheus Hardy, 

 Louis Boehmer, Kioto, Mr. H. Canned, Christmas Eve, E. G. 

 Hill, Comte de Germiny, G. F. Moseman, Robert Bottomley. 



Twelve American seedling varieties — Violet Rose, Mrs. M. J. 

 Thomas, Minnie Wanamaker, Harry E. Widener, Ada Spauld- 

 ing, Carrie Denny, G. P. Rawson, Excellent, Maunda, Miss M. 

 Wheeler, Mrs. Bowen, and Cyclone. 



Twelve varieties raised in France — Belle Paule, Ceres, Etoile 

 de Lyon, Margot, L'Incomparable, M. Bernard, Roi des Japonais, 

 Madame C. Audiguier, Val d'Andorre, Boule d'Or, Alcyon, 

 Jeanne Delaux. 



Twelve varieties raised in England — Elaine, Eynsford White, 

 Sunflower, Martha Harding, Joseph Mahood, Fair Maid of 

 Guernsey, Carew Underwood, James Salter, Mrs. Falconer 

 Jameson, W. Mathews, Stanstead Surprise, William Robinson. 



Hardy Plants from Seed. 



NEARLY all hardy-plants may be raised from seed in the 

 open air, with greater or less satisfaction. For the mere 

 purpose of keeping up stock of easily managed, vigorous 

 kinds, it is in no way necessary to incur the additional labor 

 of raising them under glass ; generally speaking, they require 

 as much labor and attention, when so treated, as more ex- 

 pensive plants. With a numerous group, such as Delphini- 

 ums, which rarely bloom the first year from seed, and some, 

 such as the herbaceous Pasonies, that are slow to germinate, 

 even when raised under glass, there is really nothing to gain, 

 in point of time, by raising them in a more troublesome way ; 

 and unless we have reason to suspect that, on account of long 

 keeping, the vitality of the seeds is low, and that they would 

 therefore have a better chance under glass, all of them may 

 be sown out-of-doors. New and rare subjects, however, and 

 choice species and varieties, that it is desirable to make the 

 most of, had better be sown under glass ; and some Pentste- 

 mons, late-blooming Phloxes, CEnotheras, Verbascums and 

 Gaillardias, which, if sown early, bloom the first year. For 

 sowing out-of-doors a sheltered border should be chosen, and 

 one that is easily accessible from all sides. The seeds should 

 be sown thinly and watered carefully. Seedlings may be trans- 

 ferred to nursery beds as soon as they are large enough to 

 handle. 



The luxury of a hot-bed, or even a cold frame, for raising 

 plants from seeds, has many advantages, and will well repay 

 any who can afford it. If a hot-bed is used, a cold frame 

 should be handy to place the pots or pans of seedlings in as 

 fast as they germinate, because the close conditions essential 

 to germination are detrimental to the healthy condition of the 

 seedlings after that stage. Sand or coal-ashes are equally 

 good as a plunging medium in hot-beds. Good light loam is 

 the best soil to use, from which the rough portion has been 



separated by a coarse sieve ; and this refuse is very useful to 

 place over the drainage. The soil should be pressed firmly, 

 and the seeds, except the largest, covered thinly. The frame 

 had better be kept rather close, and some kind of shading 

 used, instead of much airing, which only dries up the soil. 

 When the weather becomes settled in May, seedlings, as fast 

 as they can be handled, may be planted in nursery beds ; ex- 

 cepting only such as grow slowly, or Alpine garden subjects, 

 which had better be put in shallow boxes, and kept where they 

 can be cared for. These nursery beds should be covered with 

 light litter or Pine-leaves the first winter. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Tree Ferns. 



'T'HE Ferns of arborescent growth include many of the most 

 -*- noble and graceful species in this vast order, and wherever 

 sufficient space is at command some Tree Ferns should find 

 a place. Many of these plants may be grown in a moderate 

 temperature ; in fact, some few of them will stand a slight frost 

 without injury if they have been grown in a low temperature 

 generally, so that the fronds are of stout texture. Their chief 

 requirement as to soil is a good open mixture, and this may 

 be composed of about equal portions of peat and loam, or a 

 little excess of peat may be used if the loam is heavy, and suf- 

 ficient coarse sand maybe added to make it quite gritty. The 

 material should be quite coarse and fibrous, for, although Tree 

 Ferns require firm potting, the soil should always retain its 

 open character, and sufficient drainage material of either pot- 

 sherds or charcoal, or both, should be used. If the specimens 

 have attained considerable size the growth will be strengthened 

 by tying sphagnum moss around the trunk from the surface of 

 the soil upward, and the moss being kept damp will soon in- 

 duce a growth of fresh roots all around the trunk, and in a 

 short time these will form a perfect mat in the moss, and then 

 find their way down into the soil. 



During the summer syringing overhead is practiced by some 

 growers, but if the atmosphere of the house is kept moist by 

 frequently dampening the floor end underneath the benches 

 the syringing will not be essential ; and, indeed, unless done 

 by an experienced man, it had better be neglected altogether. 

 Among the species to which the name of Tree Ferns may 

 properly be applied the following are a few of the notably 

 handsome plants which are easy to manage : 



Dicksonia Antarctica. — This is one of the most widely 

 known of its class, and deservedly so, for, though specially 

 interesting when it has attained large size, it is also remark- 

 ably handsome while small. It has tripinnate leaves of dark 

 green color, the upper side being quite glossy while the lower 

 is much lighter in color. In Australia it sometimes attains a 

 height of thirty to thirty-five feet, and is crowned with a ma- 

 jestic head of fronds that are ten to twelve feet in length. 

 Many stems, some of them of quite large size, have been im- 

 ported from time to time, and among these may be mentioned 

 some nice plants about ten feet in height, which can now be 

 seen in Horticultural Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. 

 These have been established there for several years, and are 

 now a marked feature of the Fern-house. 



D. squarrosa. — This is much smaller than the preceding 

 and forms a more slender stem, which has the peculiarity of 

 sometimes branching when old by means of young plants 

 formed on the stem. It produces fronds from three to six 

 feet long and somewhat rigid in habit, so that they stand out 

 at right angles to the stem. The fronds are tripinnate and 

 dark green. 



D. Schiedei. — This most graceful Fern may be more easily 

 recognized by many under its old name of Cibotium Schiedei, 

 and it is one of the most attractive and elegant Tree Ferns in 

 cultivation. It makes a stem but slowly, and consequently is 

 not likely to outgrow its quarters in that respect very soon, 

 but the fronds are very large, often reaching a length of ten 

 feet or more. They are bipinnate, the pinnules being long and 

 pendulous, light green above and glaucous beneath, and the 

 crown of the plant as well as the stipes are thickly covered 

 with long silky brown hairs. 



The Alsophilas comprise another fine group of arborescent 

 Ferns, many of which are quite large growers, and several of 

 themsuitableforcool-houseculture. The mostwidely known of 

 this genus is A. australis, a fine greenhouse Fern, with bipin- 

 nate fronds that sometimes attain a length of twenty-five to 

 thirty feet. It is a rapid grower and requires an abundance of 

 water, especially if placed out-doors in the summer, for which 

 purpose it is well adapted if it is placed where it can be pro- 

 tected from the sun. 



