October 14, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



489 



Chrysanthemums in raised beds I hereby withdraw that 

 counsel. 



This year we have had two very dry periods in this section, 

 the present one and one in the spring, just at the time when 

 we were trying to establish small plants. A pretty bad failure 

 at this critical period with some Mossy Saxifrages leads me 

 to note a device which I noticed too late to try, but which 

 would probably be a happy expedient in a dry season with 

 plants which require a fair supply of moisture. It consists in 

 placing near the plant a water-tight pot, to be filled with water. 

 Loose strands of cotton lead the water by capillary attraction 

 in a gentle flow to the plant and keep up the moisture neces- 

 sary to its growth in a dry season. This is commended on 

 grounds of expediency rather than of aesthetic principles. But 

 there are occasions in the hardy garden when ideas of beauty 

 must give way to those of utility. Here is the question of 

 labels, for instance, which at this season are apt to be espe- 

 cially prominent. Not every hardy garden is necessarily a 

 " collection of labels with plants behind them," but where 

 many varieties of plants are grown and carefully marked the 

 garden is apt to take on the appearance of a miniature ceme- 

 tery, and quite unavoidably. There are labels and labels, and 

 which is the best one is yet an unsolved problem ; the fact 

 being that there is no one best for every purpose. The worst 

 is probablv the wooden one of the dealers, cheaply made of a 

 soft sappy* wood, which will scarcely last through the season. 

 Probably the best label for new plants, or those one wishes to 

 keep in prominence, is a cedar label, made of sufficient length 

 to hold well in the ground during a thaw. If it is painted, so 

 much the better. The name should be written firmly with a 

 soft pencil, and will be legible for several years if well done. 

 Where plants are more familiar, or one seldom has to refer to 

 the name, a thin copper tag, fastened to a brass wire a foot 

 long, is an inconspicuous and useful label. The wire is easily 

 thrust into the earth and holds the tag securely near the 

 ground, where it is readily found when wanted. With a 

 smooth point one can write on the tag placed on a yielding 

 substance, and .the writing cannot be effaced. Tags without 

 the wires may be bought or may be easily and cheaply made 

 by any one, the sheet copper being sold by hardware dealers. 



There are people who love flowers and garden without 

 labels, but without any disrespect to a deserving portion of the 

 community, I make bold to say that among these are a great 

 number who know a number of things that are not true. The 

 label habit tends to accuracy, and in the end it will add to the 

 interest of any garden. Ar 



Elizabeth; N.J. 7- N. Gerard. 



Correspondence. 

 A Fairy Candelabrum. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — This is the season when it is interesting to study the 

 various means adopted by nature for disseminating seed. 

 One need not be a botanist to notice the difference in form 

 and the delicate beauty of many of these waifs of the wind, 

 usually unheeded and unnoticed because of their very pro- 

 fusion. 



Especially charming and attractive, as its seeds mature and 

 flit away, is. the Fireweed, Erechtites hieracifolia. A little 

 while since it was a rank and coarse herb, with flowers of dull 

 white, that we passed without bestowing on it a second 

 thought. Now, the flowers having withered and vanished, 

 we are attracted by the tall plant, untouched by frost, that 

 raises on finely grooved stems countless exquisitely shaped 

 green urns, with delicate-hued tops, soft as the downiest 

 velvet. 



Let us take home a branch to watch at our leisure its further 

 development. We put it in a glass of water, set it in a sunny 

 spot and place a glass globe over it, for, as the pappus ex- 

 pands, just as the lights of a candelabrum are kindled one by 

 one, the slightest current of air would send the fleecy seeds 

 fluttering in every direction, and the beauty and symmetry of 

 the dainty white spheres would soon be destroyed. 



We notice first a slit down one side of the green involucre ; 

 presently it grows wider, and one after another of the fairy-like 

 company confined within presses out of the narrow aperture to 

 get a glimpse of the world. One green scale after another is 

 forced out and back, till they are all wholly concealed and lost 

 to view in the perfect downy sphere of snowy white that stands 

 where the green urn stood an hour ago. Another urn, and 

 another, changes in the same way before our eyes in the next 

 hour, and our candelabrum begins to put on a festive appear- 

 ance. The illumination goes on regularly and symmetrically 



too, the first globe of glistening white appearing at the sum- 

 mit, then others at regular intervals around and below, each 

 being the terminal head of a side branch. 



If called away for an hour or two we find on returning a 

 marvelous change, more than half, perhaps, of the candela- 

 brum being lighted up. It may be a day or two before the 

 smaller and least-developed heads will fully mature. Mean- 

 while those that opened first will begin to fall. With fairy-like 

 grace each fleecy tuft slowly settles to its place, as if half- 

 inclined to soar aloft instead of being drawn downward by the 

 tiny brown kernel with which it is weighted. How lightly they 

 lie heaped one above another, and how rapidly does the heap 

 get higher and higher ! How fastidiously do the later comers 

 roll slowly along over the feathery "mound, till they find just 

 the right spot in which to rest ! This miniature snow-storm 

 within doors is lovely and fascinating beyond description, and 

 sometimes it will go on slowly and unceasingly for several 

 days or a week. Sometimes, on the other hand, the heads will 

 develop more rapidly, and the seeds will all have fallen by the 

 second or third day. 



The globe to keep the flying pappus within bounds is not 

 absolutely necessary. If the vase be placed on a tray in a re- 

 tired nook, where no current of air can come, most of the pap- 

 pus will fall on the tray. 



When the last white pappus has fallen down, and we tire of 

 the beauty of the airy heap that lies high-piled and motionless, 

 we can open the window and lift the globe, and the gossamer 

 stars at the first breath of wind will float away, glittering in the 

 sunshine. 



Gloucester, Mass. bara/l Lr. JJUley. 



Recent Publications. 



THE ordinary varieties of the garden Cucumber, particularly 

 the White Spine, are sometimes grown in this country 

 for winter use, but the so-called English varieties, which are 

 altogether superior for forcing, are practically unknown, ex- 

 cept to a few persons who grow them for the large cities. 

 We are, therefore, gratified to find a late bulletin of the Cor- 

 nell Experiment Station devoted to the forcing of the English 

 Cucumber, which represents the highest type of this vegetable, 

 and which is so distinct in appearance from our own kinds 

 that novices often fail to recognize some of its forms as Cucum- 

 bers. Sion House is the variety which Professor Bailey grows 

 most largely. It is of medium size, being from a foot to four- 

 teen inches long at maturity and smooth and regular. Another 

 favorite variety is Telegraph, which is slender and handsome, 

 ordinarily reaching a length of eighteen or twenty inches. 

 Kenyon is another slender variety of somewhat medium 

 length. Edinburgh is a spiny and somewhat furrowed variety, 

 and, therefore, not attractive, although it reaches a length of 

 two feet. Lome is the best of the large sorts, perfect speci- 

 mens of the fruit sometimes measuring nearly three feet. 

 Some of the very longest ones are too large for convenient 

 table use and are sometimes inferior in quality to those a foot 

 in length, although, when grown rapidly, the largest speci- 

 mens are often excellent. The flavor of English Cucumbers 

 differs somewhat from our own field sorts, and their texture is 

 less brittle. They retain their green color longer than the 

 field varieties, and are ordinarily picked before they attain 

 their full growth, although they remain edible for some time 

 after they have reached maturity. 



In cultivation, the general requirements in regard to light, 

 temperature and moisture are the same as that for forcing 

 Tomatoes and Beans. They need a light warm house and 

 facilities for brisk bottom-heat. At night a temperature of 

 from sixty to sixty-five degrees is preferable, and seventy de- 

 grees to seventy-five degrees during the day, although the 

 temperature will sometimes run up to eighty-five or ninety 

 degrees when in the full sun and with open ventilators. 

 Cucumbers are vigorous feeders and need an abundant 

 water-supply to keep them from flagging, and in bright 

 weather the air should be kept moist by wetting down the 

 walks, to encourage growth and discourage the red spider. 

 In preparing the beds, which are eight inches deep, an inch of 

 clinkers and potsherds are placed on the boards, then three 

 or four inches of partially decayed sods from an old pasture, 

 the remainder being rich garden-soil, to which one-quarter of 

 its bulk in well-rotted manure has been added. It is impera- 

 tive that the soil be rich, because the productiveness of the 

 Cucumber is almost entirely a question of food. If, however, 

 the soil is somewhat sticky some sand should be added to in- 

 crease its porosity. 



The plants are started in three-inch pots filled one-third 

 full of earth, and when a pair .of true leaves is formed 



