April i, iS;i.] 



Garden and Forest. 



i m 



A New Style of Paper Pots.— Where it is not convenient 

 to grow the plants in the structure they are to flower in, there 

 are several ways of treating them : in pots plunged in the 

 ground, or planted in the open ground and then removed just 

 before the flowers open. This may be the most convenient 

 way to give them the necessary attention during summer. 

 Last season, in growing about a hundred plants, 1 made use 

 of a new device and was delighted with the results. About 

 the middle of June I had holes dug, a foot deep, a foot wide, 

 and three feet apart. On the bottom of each hole was placed 

 a piece of inch board nine inches square. A block of wood, 

 the shape of a flower-pot, ten inches high and nine inches in 

 diameter, with a piece of old inch hose nailed across the top 

 for a handle, formed a core around which was wrapped 

 two thicknesses of ordinary sheathing (tarred) paper; this 

 core was then placed in the'holes on the boards, and the soil 

 taken out was rammed tightly about it, so as to make the 

 paper solid against it. The block was then removed, leav- 

 ing the paper in form of a pot. Good soil of turf and 

 rotten manure was then filled into the paper cases, and 

 plants from four-inch pots were set in them. These plants 

 did not require water oftener than three times a week, whereas 

 plants in pots had to be watered often three times a day. In 

 October, when I lifted the plants, they had complete balls of 

 earth about the roots, exactly as if they had been growing in 

 pots all summer. It is an economical and very convenient 

 way of taking care of Chrysanthemums, the cost of the paper 

 being quite nominal. 



The Best Varieties. — A good selection can be made from 

 the following list to flower with protection without artificial 

 beat : 



Yellow — Gorgeous, Gloriosum, President Hyde, Chevalier 

 Domage, Mr. Bunn, Mrs. F. Clinton, Aureole (Bouch), Dr. 

 Delaux, Sunflower, Rohallion. 



White — Mademoiselle Lacroix, Ivory, Lady Selbourne, 

 Elaine, Domination, Avalanche, JEManc Precoce, Bertba 

 Flight, Madame F. Bergman, Shasta. 



Bronze — Madame F. de Cariel, William Robinson, M. 

 Edouard Andre, L'Incomparable, Comte de Germiny, Source 

 d'Or. 



Pink — Bouquet Fait, Elenore Bares, Ada Spaulding, Mrs. 

 Hicks Arnold, M. Brunet, M. Boyer, M. Lawson, Excellent, 

 La Triomphante. 



Red — GeorgeGordon, M. H. Payne, Dr. Tanner, Bras Rouge. 



Purple — John Thorpe, Louis Wielle, M. Bernard. 



Where protection is given and artificial heat is available, of 

 course a much larger variety may be selected as flowering 

 from the 5th of November to the 20th. There is in the 

 market a kerosene-oil stove, having about two by one and a 

 half feet of beating surface, which is very cheap, safe to use, 

 and capable of keeping frost out of a structure, say twelve by 

 twenty feet, up to November 15th or 20th. 



The following are among the best varieties for such treat- 

 ment : 



Yellow— H. E. Widener, Kioto, G. P. Rawson, E. G. Hill, 

 W. H. Lincoln. 



White — Minnie Wanamaker, Eynsford White, M. J. Thomas, 

 Pelican, L. Canning, The Bride. 



Pink— I. C. Price, Madame Baco, Alcyon, Miss M. Wheeler, 

 Mrs. A. Blanc, Lilian B. Bird. 



Bronze — G. F. Moseman, Carew Underwood, Edward Moly- 

 neux, Mrs. Bowen. 



Red — Cullingfordii, Mrs. A. Carnegie, Bohemia, Mrs. W. 

 Barr, Mrs. E. W. Clarke. 



Early Flowering Plants. 



IN transplanting plants which bloom early in spring, one 

 should not expect much from them the first year, unless 

 great care is used to take with them plenty of soil, and unless 

 they are moved before they have advanced far in their spring's 

 growth. Even with this extra precaution, there are some that 

 would do better if left until July. Among these are the Dog's- 

 Tooth Violets, Spring Beauties, Wind Flowers, Dicentra cticti- 

 laria, D. Canadensis, etc. Such plants almost always do bet- 

 ter if left until they have gone to seed. The same can be said 

 of the Trilliums, so far as their first season's growth is con- 

 cerned ; but when Trilliums are set in early spring, they make 

 a better growth the second year than they do the year after 

 they are transplanted in autumn. They usually produce me- 

 dium-sized foliage and flowers, and thus save their vitality to 

 establish themselves for a vigorous growth the second year. 

 But when the transplanting is left until the leaf-bud begins to 

 show itself above ground, the plant seldom makes a healthy 



growth, and on account of stunted foliage and broken root- 

 fibers the bulb does not store up full strength for the second 

 year. 



In the middle or last of summer, after their stems have died 

 down, there comes a dormant period for many early-bloom- 

 ing bulbous plants. It would seem that during this season 

 would be the most suitable time for transplanting. If the 

 plant is left until after the autumn growth has begun, there is 

 then, in transplanting, a certain loss of vitality to the bulb, 

 which has been used in starting this growth. Many of the 

 fibrous roots are broken, and new ones must be formed. By 

 transplanting during the dormant state, there is little or no 

 loss of strength. rT TT 



Southwick, Mags. F. H. Horsford. 



Phajus grandifolius. 



A LTHOUGH this noble plant was introduced into our gar- 

 ■**- dens over a century ago, not a single good specimen of 

 it was to be seen at the great exhibitions held in different 

 places in this country during the last few weeks. Phajus gran- 

 difolius is an evergreen terrestrial Orchid, producing under 

 good culture large, handsome, obovate-lanceolate leaves, two 

 feet and a half long and nearly seven inches wide, and tall 

 scapes seven feet in height, each carrying twenty-five to thirty 

 very fragrant and beautiful flowers. There are usually two 

 scapes from each pseudo-bulb, and often as many as a dozen 

 fully expanded flowers on each at the same time. . The sepals 

 and petals are white on the outer surface and a chocolate 

 brown within. The base of the lip, which is folded over the 

 column, is white, stained with yellow on the throat and disk ; 

 the sides of the convolute portion flushed with crimson both 

 outside and in. 



P. grandifolius blooms during the winter months, and re- 

 mains in bloom over two months in an ordinary greenhouse 

 temperature. It is also well adapted for decoration, either as 

 a pot plant or cut flower. To obtain large quantities of fine 

 flowers, a liberal treatment is necessary ; the plant is of easy 

 culture and will amply repay any amount of attention and care. 

 After flowering it should be kept rather dry and in greenhouse 

 temperature, but never allowed to flag. Early in May the 

 plants should be repotted, divided if necessary, the greater 

 part of the old soil shaken out, and the roots trimmed if nec- 

 essary. Strong, single growths make nice plants, and two or 

 more may be put into a large pot for a specimen plant. Ample 

 drainage must be allowed, as the plants, during the growing- 

 period, require copious supplies of water. Good fibrous loam 

 and rotted manure with a dash of bone flour makes a good 

 compost, and if the loam is inclined to be retentive, a little 

 sand or broken charcoal maybe added to keep the soil porous. 

 A somewhat higher temperature is necessary during growth, 

 about seventy-five to eighty-five degrees, which can generally 

 be maintained during the summer months in a greenhouse. 

 Syringe every day with clean water and shade from direct 

 sunshine. Occasional watering with liquid manure is also 

 beneficial. After growth is completed, considerable reduction 

 of water at the roots and moisture in the air must be. made, as 

 an excess at this season will cause blotches in the leaves and 

 decay about the flowers. 



Doiigan Hills, Staten Island. W. T. 



Hardy Plants from Seed. — In Mr. Hatfield's notes on this topic 

 he states that nothing is gained by sowing seeds of such vig- 

 orous-growing plants as Delphinium under glass, as they rarely 

 bloom the first season. This does not seem to be a happy il- 

 lustration of what he wishes to say, since all the vigorous- 

 growing Delphiniums will flower the first season. Last week 

 I sowed twelve of the named double and single varieties 

 under glass, and these I certainly expect to bloom the 

 coming summer, and if they had been sown earlier, say in 

 January, there would have been two crops of flowers, such as 

 old-established plants yield, one in June and another later in 

 September. It may be well to notice that there are a few spe- 

 cies, principally North American, that require more than one 

 season to be strong enough to flower, but these are not com- 

 mon in cultivation at present, and at best are not nearly as 

 attractive as the older and better-known garden varieties. The 

 following species have always flowered with me the first sea- 

 son : D. cardinale, D. nudicaule,D. Cashmerianu?n, D. grandi- 

 florum, D.formosum, D. exaltatum and D. crassifolium. The 

 beautiful garden forms which are the offspring of D.formosum, 

 D. grandifloruin and others are the best varieties we have for 

 decoration, and both double and single kinds are easily raised, 

 and come fairly true. The double varieties seed sparingly, but 

 from a few good kinds better varieties can be raised than the 

 imported named varieties. While advocating early sowing 



