August 5, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



369 



when done by boys, but as this solution is quite inexpensive, 

 and pots can be soaked so readily, this cost can be reduced 

 to a trifle. It seems probable that, after this bath has been 

 thoroughly tested and in general use, the manufacturers of 

 pots and other earthenware will offer on the market goods 

 soaked in copper solutions, as they can accomplish the same 

 end cheaper than individuals, thus lessening the expense 

 to the florist or private gardener who takes pride in having 

 his pots clean at all times. 



These soaked pots have been used for several classes of 

 plants, Roses, Gloxinias, Primulas and others, and at this 

 writing I can perceive no indications of injury to any of them ; 

 in fact, 1 think the ammonia in the solution is, to a limited ex- 

 tent, a benefit. The formula for this solution is as follows : 

 five ounces of copper carbonate dissolved in three pints of 

 ammonia, twenty-six degrees strength, diluted with fifty gal- 

 lons of water. . 



Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. 



C. E. Hunn. 



Cypripedium Curtisii. 



THIS remarkable plant is now tolerably well known to all 

 growers of Orchids both in England and on the Conti- 

 nent, and, no doubt, also in America. It is well worthy of a 

 place in every collection, as it is easily grown, and repays the 

 attention given to it by its large flowers and handsome foliage. 

 Like many other Orchids, it improves under cultivation, both 

 leaves and flowers becoming larger, more substantial, and 

 better colored year after year. In a fine specimen which I 

 recently saw, the broadly cordate upper sepal was large, and 

 had a conspicuous white border surrounding a deep green area, 

 the surface of which is longitudinally striped alternately with 

 dull purple and dark green, and is also decorated near the base 

 with a transverse zone of dull purple. The lower sepal is much 

 smaller, whitish, with pale green stripes. The ligulate petals 

 are slightly bent down, and are more or less recurved or 

 twisted at the pointed apex. Three colors are chiefly notice- 

 able on the surface, namely, dark olive-green at the base, 

 which passes into white or whitish green in the centre, and 

 bright rose beyond this to the apex. The whole is covered 

 densely with blackish purple blotches, which stand out prom- 

 inently on the middle and apical portion, owing to the delicacy 

 of the ground color. The first thing that strikes one in be- 

 holding the flowers of C. Curtisii is the enormous size of the 

 lip, that is, in comparison with the other parts of the flower. 

 In front it is of a dull purple-red, with deeper colored veins, 

 becoming pale green behind, while the inflexed lobes of the 

 base are of a soft pinky rose, studded with purple warts, the 

 tips of which sparkle like diamonds in the sunlight. The 

 upper sepal, especially on the back, and the petals on the mar- 

 gins are all very hairy, the large lip even having short stubby 

 hairs arranged round the edge of the orifice as well as on the 

 surface. The leaves are elliptic-oblong, light green, with ob- 

 long patches of dark green, presenting a handsome chequered 

 appearance. As a rule, the flowers appear singly on the tops 

 of the dark purple pubescent scapes, but instances have been 

 noticed where two Mowers have been produced on one scape. 

 Where there are several plants, flowers may be expected to 

 appear between January and July — some plants flowering 

 earlier than others. 



The native country of C. Curtisii is Sumatra, where it was 

 discovered on the mountain-ranges, at an elevation of from 

 3,000 to 4,000 feet, in 1882, by Curtis, one of the collectors of 

 the Messrs. Veitch & Sons, whose name it bears. Plants will 

 thrive if grown in a rough compost of peat and loam, either in 

 well-drained pots or planted out. The winter temperature 

 should not be allowed to fall lower than sixty degrees Fahren- 

 heit, and attention to watering must always be given at this 

 season. In the summer months the atmosphere should be 

 well charged with moisture, which may be accomplished in 

 the usual way of damping the floors and the houses and sides 

 of stages at frequent intervals during the day. Air may 

 also be given liberally during hot weather, when, owing to 

 evaporation, greater quantities of water will naturally be re- 

 quired by the plants. 

 Isleworth. J. Weathers. 



Lettuce for Summer and Autumn Use. 



T~\URING the hotter summer and early autumn months, 

 -*— ' when a fresh, crisp salad is one of the most relishable 

 additions to the breakfast-table we rarely find, either in the 

 private garden or the market, a supply of good lettuce. Yet, 

 wherever the appreciation or demand warrants it, a little extra 

 effort will secure lettuce which is fully equal, and generally 

 superior to that obtainable earlier. The method which we 



have found successful is the following : Prepare a bed or field 

 of friable well-tilled soil, making it very rich, especially in 

 nitrogenous .manures, using very liberal quantities of well- 

 rotted manure and of nitrate of soda. Wet the bed thoroughly 

 and wait until it has dried out, just sufficiently not to pack 

 under pressure, or, in the case of field culture, wait long 

 enough after a rain to secure the same condition, and then 

 sow the seed in drills, two feet apart, running north and south, 

 covering the seed lightly and pressing the soil well over it. Now 

 set along the row, eight feet apart, stakes four to six inches wide, 

 one inch or more thick, and fifteen to eighteen inches long, so 

 that they will project four to six inches above the surface, and 

 on these lay common six-inch fencing boards, tacking them 

 to the stakes with a single wire nail. These will generally 

 shade the rows during the heat of the day sufficiently to secure 

 a stand and a rapid growth. The rows can at least be watered 

 with far less danger of injury than if they were unshaded. When 

 the young plants are two or three inches high, remove the 

 boards, thin out so that there will be from three to ten plants 

 to the yard, according to the age and size when the lettuce is 

 to be used, raise the stakes until they are from eight to ten 

 inches above the surface and replace the boards. 



As to the best kinds for summer planting, the European 

 sort, Marvel or Red Besson, and its American representatives, 

 Long Standing Bronze, Shotwell, Brown Head, etc., make a 

 compact plant, deep red in color, with a solid head of thick, 

 rich-flavored, crumpled, yellow leaves of the finest quality, 

 and is one of the best sorts to resist the hot sun. 



Deacon, Defiance Summer, New White Russian Summer, 

 if not identical, are very similar, and form solid heads of very 

 thick, rich-flavored leaves — the outer ones a rich green, the 

 inner white, or yellowish white. These are good varieties, 

 especially for those who use oil or butter with lettuce. 



Hanson, Henderson's New York, Marblehead, Mammoth 

 Cabbage are all larger and coarser-growing than the others, 

 and the heads are looser, and made of much coarser but ex- 

 ceedingly crisp and tender white leaves, which might be pre- 

 ferred by those who eat lettuce with vinegar and sugar. 



Any of the above varieties can be grown so as to be in per- 

 fection at any time from July 1st till October 15th, and we 

 think cannot be grown so as to be at their best until about the 

 earlier date ; while Tennis Ball, Black Seeded Simpson and 

 some other sorts must be grown so as to mature not later than 

 July 1st, in order to be at their best. 



Detroit, Mich. Will W. Tracy . 



A hardy Indian Azalea. — Some ten or twelve years ago Mr. 

 George C. Woolson imported from Japan some plants which 

 he ordered as Azalea amcena, but which proved to be another 

 variety which blossoms very much later, sometimes holding 

 flowers until the middle of July, although its season usually 

 begins soon after the middle of June. It seems in this lati- 

 tude to be rather less able to withstand the winter than Azalea 

 amcena, but this year it has flowered very abundantly. It is a 

 dwarf plant, ranging from twelve to fifteen inches high here, 

 and the flowers are a bright scarlet and as large as those 

 of the typical Indian Azalea. The plant is identified as Rhodo- 

 dendron Indicum, var. obtusum. It will be a valuable shrub in 

 this latitude and farther south. 



Morristovvn, N. J. o. 



Hollyhocks. — These favorite old-fashioned flowers have for 

 some time past been at their best, and they are very attractive 

 at the back of a wide border. The Hollyhock disease has done 

 much to discourage growers in this region, where it has pre- 

 vailed, and therefore success is the more pleasant. We used 

 to have much satisfaction from the named collection of some 

 two dozen varieties, which were mostly Charter's kinds. Some 

 of these Charter Hollyhocks still live, and are well worth grow- 

 ing when they can be obtained. As Hollyhocks come true 

 from seeds, in some sections there would be no difficulty in 

 keeping the varieties year after year. Situated as we are, it is 

 best to obtain fresh seed each year, and start a new lot to se- 

 cure a good display of stems six to eight feet in height. As 

 perennial plants they are very uncertain in our colder states, 

 and only a part of the crop will survive even the first winter. 

 There are three periods at which seed may be sown with 

 about equal success, the difference being principally in the 

 amount of trouble and space involved. Seed may be sown 

 early in January, and if the plants are grown on without a check 

 they will flower the same year, but the trouble is that a warm 

 greenhouse is indispensable, and so also is plenty of space 

 at a season when space is scarce. Seed may also be sown in 

 March, and the seedlings planted in the open ground in May ; 

 they will make strong plants and flower the following year. 

 Plants grown from seed sown in July, or very early in August, 



