47° 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number i8g. 



yet to enable us to use it in quantity. All these flower early, 

 and are suitable for naturalizing. 



Of the Poeticus varieties, of which there are now many, a 

 very interesting bed might be planted, the first of which to 

 flower would be the variety Angustifolius, which, with us, is 

 two weeks earlier than any other. Next comes Ornatus, 

 followed by Poetarum, a variety with a rich orange-scarlet 

 eye, a very desirable and cheap kind and distinct from all 

 others. The typical N. poeticus is followed by Majalis and 

 Recurvus, which flower in May and last, here, until after 

 Decoration Day, when they are often invaluable to florists. 

 The Poet's Narcissus are elegant when naturalized in grass or 

 under trees. They never deteriorate under these conditions, 

 and I have never yet found any reason to complain of flower- 

 buds failing to develop, although I have often heard this 

 lament from others. When planting for naturalization it is 

 best to do so by taking out a good breadth of soil, about six 

 inches deep, and placing the bulbs on the ground. The soil 

 should then be filled in, and, when leveled, a little grass-seed 

 should be sown over it and all will be well. 



While the above-named kinds are all easily procured, even 

 by those oc moderate means, there are varieties which are 

 much more expensive, and many of them are very beautiful. 

 Among these are the hybrid varieties raised in gardens, such 

 as Horsfield's, which have never yet been equaled, and for 

 which we are indebted to a Lancashire weaver, John Hors- 

 field, whose name will be perpetuated for many a year by this 

 striking flower, with its creamy white perianth and its rich yel- 

 low trumpet. ^V. Horsfieldii will never be cheap, although it 

 is a kind which every one wants and ought to have. Grandee, 

 or Grandis, belongs also to the Bicolor section and is a noble 

 flower, as is also Empress and a kind known as Maws Bicolor. 

 We were much pleased with A 7 , bicolor prce cox last season ; it 

 was the earliest plant of the Bicolor section to bloom, and was 

 quite two weeks earlier than Horsfieldii. It was in the van- 

 guard with N. pallidus prcecox and Ard Righ. 



Of the Trumpet Daffodils, Golden Spur is among the earliest 

 and a very fine flower, and with the true Maximus, Henry 

 Irving, Princeps, Countess of Annesley and Obvallaris should 

 be planted by all, if only one bulb of each variety. The latest 

 of the Trumpet section is Abscissus, or Muticus, and desirable 

 on this account, while Emperor is well described as a magnifi- 

 cent flower, and it has proved perfectly hardy with us and is 

 increasing threefold. There is this satisfaction in growing 

 Daffodils; that where one plants a bulb at least two, and often 

 three, may be found the following year. There never was a 

 more profitable bulb grown by dealers than Sir Watkin, which 

 is surprisingly prolific, but many are disappointed on first see- 

 ing it flower ; indeed, there are many better ones. 



Of the Swansneck section of drooping flowered Narcissus, 

 some are very elegant, and most of them are nearly white. 

 Among the best are Leda, William Goldring, Pallidus Praecox, 

 Cernuus Pulcher, and N. moschatus, a lovely white variety. 

 All the above varieties are found hardy here, and can, no 

 doubt, be grown almost anywhere in the United States. We 

 have planted forty-two kinds this fall, and hope to be able to 

 report later as to their behavior here. There is no end to va- 

 rieties, but if one only chooses the most distinct of each section 

 to commence with, the others can be added as time goes on 

 and the love for them increases, as it surely will. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Wintering Aquatic Plants. 



THE exceptionally warm weather prevailing in September 

 has this season extended the usual flowering period of the 

 Nymphseas, and at the end of the month the tender varieties 

 are still opening. The change of weather, which may be ex- 

 pected any day, will, however, quickly destroy the beauty of 

 the water garden, and arrangements must be made to winter 

 over the stock in safety. There is little difficulty with the 

 hardy Nymphseas, which can be left where they are if planted 

 so deeply that the rhizomes will not freeze ; or the tank may 

 be emptied of water and filled with a good depth of dry forest- 

 leaves. If these are covered with boards to keep out wet, they 

 will furnish sufficient protection to hardy Nymphseas and Ne- 

 lumbiums. Where the rhizomes are planted out in boxes these 

 may be lifted and stored in a cool cellar just free from frost, 

 the only precaution necessary being that they do not become 

 entirely dry or be subjected to too high a temperature. These 

 deciduous species need an absolute resting period, and excite- 

 ment of warmth at that time seems to be fatal. It is said that 

 the hardy Nymphseas will not survive in the tropics, owing to 

 the impossibility of giving them the needed rest. 



The tender species, not being deciduous, may, in the shape 



of tubers, be wintered successfully in damp moss in a mod- 

 erate temperature, but strong plants, such as occupy the water 

 at this season, are difficult to keep unless one has a warm tank. 

 If exposed to a low temperature at any time they suffer a se- 

 rious check, from which they seem unable to recover. In a 

 tank with the temperature at sixty degrees, and not going be- 

 low fifty degrees, Fahrenheit, they will winter safely and will 

 make no headway. If no tank is otherwise available, a tem- 

 porary one may be made on a greenhouse-bench, which will 

 suffice to keep them in health. It is well to house the tender 

 species before they suffer a serious check, and they are seldoni 

 safe outside in this latitude after the 20th of September. 

 Elizabeth, N.J. J.N.Gerard. 



Primula floribunda. — I first saw this pretty little Indian Prim- 

 rose in England at the Birmingham botanic gardens in 1883. 

 I was struck with its neatness as a pot-plant, but not until last 

 year had I succeeded in growing good specimens of it. I find, 

 however, that few of my gardening acquaintances are willing 

 to accept my estimate of its value. In the growing stage it 

 has long, soft, rugose, hairy, strap-shaped leaves, resembling 

 the common Primrose, and recurving in the same way. The 

 flowers are a soft canary-yellow, produced in great abundance, 

 in successive verticals, during January and February, and last- 

 ing fully two months in good condition in a cool greenhouse. 

 My employer considers it a first-rate window-plant, especially 

 on account of its color, which is rare among pot-plants at that 

 season of the year. It is easily raised from seed, and, although 

 biennial in character, if the flower-stems be cut away just after 

 blooming, it will produce suckers which make just as good 

 plants as seedlings, and with less trouble. It succeeds best in 

 a heavy loam, in partial shade, and the more water it receives 

 the better it appears to grow ; from this I imagine it to be a 

 swamp-plant in its native country. 



Primula denticulata, and some of its varieties are exceedingly 

 handsome and make excellent pot-plants, although they are 

 not so well adapted for greenhouse culture. They are hardy in 

 this latitude, and bloom out-of-doors in early spring. As green- 

 house plants for conservatory decoration they do not come in 

 well until the end of February or March. It is not advisable 

 to force them — better to keep them in a cool greenhouse and 

 let them come along slowly. When forced, like many other 

 hardy plants, they have a soft look, easily fade, and are gener- 

 ally unsatisfactory. This spring I planted a batch of seedlings 

 along with my English Primroses, but evidently they do not 

 stand the sun so well, and, therefore, many died. I have, 

 however, a nice stock of smaller plants left which I intend to 

 winter over in a cold frame and plant in spring in a shady 

 place. Several varieties have been named, as, for example, 

 Cashmiriana, Alba, Nivalis and, possibly, others, but in a batch 

 of seedlings it is easy to find any and all of them represented, 

 as this plant varies as much from seed as the common Chinese 

 Primrose. It will grow well in a good rich loam and bloom 

 the second year from seed. 



Early Chrysanthemums.— Much complaint has been made of 

 the difficulty of growing good specimens of the Madame Des- 

 granges (white) and its sport, C. Vermig (yellow). As with 

 most other Chrysanthemums, the difficulty is to retain good 

 healthy foliage. Last year I had a fair specimen of the white 

 variety, but it was not so satisfactory as this year. I started in 

 the spring with two plants, one of each variety, and to get ad- 

 ditional stock had to take late cuttings from them. These are 

 now in nine-inch pots, and far neater and better-looking speci- 

 mens than the original plants. It would appear from this that 

 Madame Desgranges had better be propagated late. My plants 

 have been grown continuously under glass, along with several 

 others, some of which have not been so satisfactory as I ex- 

 pected. These were mostly good varieties, which had done 

 poorly for several seasons, and I had hoped that in the green- 

 house they would do better. Some have done so, but others 

 have been thrown out as failures. Can some one tell me what 

 to do about a lively green bug that is spoiling the buds of my 

 leaders ? They wilt, and eventually go blind. 



Cyclamen Persicum. — Gardening has always been a special- 

 ized art, and is becoming more so. The private gardener is 

 expected to succeed with everything, but this is impossible. He 

 finds some plants with which he can do well without trying, and 

 others which are constant failures, no matter what his efforts. 

 I had never succeeded well with Cyclamens until this year. 

 What I have hitherto done has been to sow seed in spring and 

 grow along my plants in small pots, ripen them off and bloom 

 them the succeeding year. This year I sowed in December, 

 and have kept my plants growing ever since. They are now 

 larger and handsomer plants than any of my two-year-old 



