December 9, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



583 



gives enormous crops of fine large fruit. Properly handled 

 it keeps till April. The best late sweet that I have yet seen is 

 the Belle Bonne, an old Connecticut fruit, that does well here, 

 and almost everywhere. A fine tree, early to bear, and a grand 

 cropper of clear golden apples, and a fruit of delicious quality 

 for table or baking that keeps till May. I have found a seed- 

 ling sweet which seems the handsomest and best of all, but 

 the tree is a poor grower, and apparently diseased. I am try- 

 ing kerosene emulsion with some advantage. 



No well-instructed apple-grower will hereafter attempt to 

 raise this fruit without spraying against the codlin moth. 

 Unless we use the well-tested remedies against insects and 

 fungi our orchards will be simply nuisances. We have also 

 to comprehend that no fruit needs more care in handling, 

 and no tree more good feeding and careful pruning. Apples 

 can no longer be successfully grown without brains. 



Clinton, N. Y. ■£■ P- Powell. 



A Few Good Flowering Plants. 



Hedychium coronarium. — This is an admirable plant for 

 decorating conservatories, and when planted out in rich com- 

 post and well supplied with water is seldom out of bloom, the 

 pure white flowers being produced in terminal spikes after the 



companion plant to the last, the flowers being tubular in form 

 and bright yellow in color. The foliage is smoother than that 

 of C. elegans. C. fasciculatum and C. Newelli are also worth 

 cultivating, the first bearing some resemblance to C. elegans, 

 while the latter produces larger flowers of bright crimson 

 color. All the members of this genus are readily increased 

 by cuttings from the young growth, but for conservatory deco- 

 ration old plants that have been cut back are preferable, as 

 they usually produce a better crop of flowers, although they 

 require some stimulating with liquid manure to develop their 

 best form. 



Begonia incarnata. — This is a very useful species of this 

 useful genus, and is specially adapted for pot-grown speci- 

 mens for winter flowers. It is possibly better known as 5, 

 insignis, and bears a profusion of large light pink flowers 

 during the whole winter. The color of this Begonia is a very 

 pleasing one. A few plants of it dotted about a conserv- 

 atory are extremely effective, and it is a beautiful plant for 

 any indoor decoration. B. Froebeli is another remarkably 

 handsome species, but is not quite so easy to manage as the 

 preceding. It has large cordate light green leaves that are 

 more or less covered with dark hairs, which are more notice- 

 able on the young foliage. The flower-spikes are quite strong 



Fig. 92. — The Korner Oak, near Carlsbad. — See page 586. 



manner of the Cannas, but possessing the additional advan- 

 tage of being very fragrant. Under favorable conditions the 

 plant will attain a height of six to seven feet, and soon forms a 

 large clump of growths. H. Gardnerianum is another hand- 

 some member of this family, of somewhat smaller growth 

 than the preceding, and with light yellow flowers. This spe- 

 cies is somewhat more hardy than H. coronarium, and may be 

 used to advantage out-of-doors in the summer. It is propa- 

 gated by division of the roots, which is most satisfactorily per- 

 formed in the spring. 



Cestrums.— These rather old-fashioned greenhouse shrubs 

 are seldom seen now, though quite useful for cool-house deco- 

 ration, and not to be despised as cut flowers. C. elegans is one 

 of the best, and, in common with its fellows, has simple leaves 

 of more or less lanceolate outline. Its growth is rapid, so that 

 it needs to be pinched occasionally in order to make a shapely 

 plant. The flowers of C. elegans are purplish red, and pro- 

 duced in small terminal clusters. C. aurantiaciun is a good 



on well-grown plants, and bear a considerable number of 

 large brilliant scarlet flowers. This Begonia prefers a light 

 soil, well enriched with dry cow-manure, and in watering it is 

 best to avoid wetting the foliage, as this species is rather impa- 

 tient of moisture on the leaves. 



Primulas. — The Chinese Primroses especially are among 

 the most useful small-growing plants for winter-flowering 

 either in the dwelling-house or in the conservatory, and a 

 succession of young plants should be provided each season 

 for such use. They should be coming into bloom about this 

 time in order to be most valuable. P. Japonica is also a 

 showy plant, though quite variable in color, and may be had 

 in bloom during the winter and spring months with but little 

 difficulty. The flowers are about one inch in diameter, pro- 

 duced in successive whorls on a stout spike, the prevailing 

 colors being shades of crimson and red. P. verticillata is 

 another very pretty species of this extensive genus, and does 

 not seem to have become common, though in cultivation for 



