6i8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 201. 



flowers and in the number of ovules. They are both noble 

 stove-plants and very easily grown. They may be planted 

 in borders in warm houses, but grow equally well in pots. 

 They like an abundance of water at all seasons. C. gigan- 

 teum has recently been figured in Garden and Forest, so 

 that I need only mention it here among those which are in 

 flower now. It blooms twice or three times annually. 



Callipsyche is a small genus of Amaryllids which is rep- 

 resented in gardens by two species — namely, C. aurantiaca, 

 a native of Ecuador, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, and C. mi- 

 rabilis, from the Andes of Peru. The former is now in 

 flower in a stove at Kew. Although not possessed of much 

 attraction in the shape or color of the flowers, yet the plant 

 is decidedly interesting, and well worth a place in a collec- 

 tion of stove-bulbs on account of .the peculiar form of the 

 flowers. The bulbs and leaves are similar to those of 

 Urceolina, while the scape is erect, fistulose, two feet high, 

 and bears an umbel of a dozen yellow flowers, which 

 spread horizontally, and are tubular, two inches long, with 

 the stamens protruding three inches beyond the recurved 

 tips of the segments of the corolla. The flowers remain 

 fresh on the plant about a' month. The treatment for this 

 plant should be the same as for Urceolina pendula. 



Eticharis grandiflora (Amasonica) is, of course, in flower 

 now. We find that by treating this plant as if it were 

 a tropical Daffodil, or, in other words, giving it plenty of 

 water at all times, a rich loamy soil, not too much sun- 

 shine and not too frequent disturbance at the root, never, 

 in fact, so long as it is doing well, it will flower twice or 

 thrice annually, keep free from the mite (Rhizoglyphus) 

 and behave itself exactly as a good stove-plant should. 

 Many cultivators fail with this and the several other species 

 of Eucharis through subjecting them to a process of alternate 

 high-feeding and starving, which may answer for some 

 bulbs, such as Hippeastrums, some Crinums and Nerines, 

 "but which is quite opposed to the nature of Eucharis. 



Nerines. — Except A r . flexuosa and N. Munselli these are 

 now all over, and the plants are in full-leaf growth. Our 

 chief difficulty with these beautiful bulbous plants is owing 

 to the absence of sunlight in winter, when they are in full 

 growth. In America the Nerines ought to become general 

 favorites, your bright sunshine, even in the depth of win- 

 ter, being favorable to their growth. In Ireland, especially 

 fn the Glasnevin Botanic Gardens, in the Scilly Isles, in 

 Baden Baden, and even so near London as Windsor, 

 Nerines are a success, but they do not grow satisfactorily 

 in any garden which is within reach of London fogs. 

 Given a fair amount of sunlight in winter, and Nerines 

 will prove most, valuable greenhouse-bulbs. They grow 

 from November to May, rest from then to October, and 

 then push up their gorgeous and elegant flowers. 



Bomareas. — These are not bulbous, but they are Amaryl- 

 lids, and they are in bloom now. I propose to send shortly 

 a series of notes on this genus for publication in Garden 

 and Forest. In the mean time I may call attention to three 

 of the best of them, which Professor Sargent saw in flower 

 and admired at Kew this week. They are B. Carderi, B. 

 Caldasiana and B./rondea. The first of this trio has scan- 

 dent stems from eight to twelve feet long, clothed with 

 broad leaves and terminal umbels of flowers as large as 

 those of Lapageria and of similar texture. Their color is 

 rich rose with conspicuous spots of brown on the upper 

 part of the segments, the inner segments being greenish 

 white. I have seen an umbel of flowers on this species 

 which measured two feet in diameter and contained over 

 fifty flowers. B. frondea has stems eight feet high, lance- 

 olate, dark green leaves five inches long, and terminal 

 umbels of rich golden yellow flowers, with a few spots of 

 brown. The head formed by the flowers is suggestive of 

 the umbel of Alstrazmeria aurantiaca. B. Caldasiana has 

 broader leaves than the last-named and looser umbels of 

 flowers, which are shorter than in B. frondea and colored 

 a deeper yellow, with larger spots of brown on the upper 

 half of the segments. This species and B. Carderi have 



not been out of flower since June. They are planted in a 

 shallow bed at the south end of a sunny greenhouse, their 

 stems being trained against the roof, from which the flow- 

 ers hang gracefully. 



Lachenalias are pushing up their flower-spikes and 

 promise to make a fine show presently. The perpetual 

 flowering Cyrtanthus Mackeni is as attractive now as it 

 was in June. Its near ally, C. lutescens, ceased flowering 

 about a month ago. 



The first of the Hippeastrums to bloom is the sturdy and 

 really useful H. aulicum, the variety knowfi as superbum 

 being better than the type. I like this plant because of its 

 evergreen nature and its vigorous free-flowering habit, 

 characters which unfortunately do not belong to many of 

 the species or varieties of Hippeastrum. 



London. 



W. Watson. 



Cultural Department. 



Strawberry Notes from Wisconsin. 



A MONG the more progressive market-growers, the Warfield 

 ■**- is the most popular variety at the present time. It was 

 given the first place at the last meeting of our state horticul- 

 tural society, and in our trial grounds at the experiment sta- 

 tion it proved decidedly more productive than any other 

 variety tested. Its rich glossy color and its firmness, coupled 

 with remarkable productiveness, are its specially valuable 

 qualities. We have several varieties, however, that yield fruit 

 of better size and quality. The appearance of the berry is suf- 

 ficiently like that of the Wilson to permit the two varieties to 

 be packed in the same case without detection unless by the 

 expert, a fact which makes the latter sort popular as a fertilizer 

 for the Warfield. 



The Haverland was second in productiveness on our grounds. 

 In color, this berry is decidedly inferior to the Warfield, though 

 it averages a trifle larger. In quality there is little difference. 



Lady Rusk has proved disappointing. It is fairly produc- 

 tive, but the fruit is irregular in shape, inferior in size, and 

 poor in quality. In firmness it does not surpass the Wilson 

 or Warfield. 



Shuster's Gem was only fairly productive, and the quality 

 is inferior. Edgar Queen was productive and promising. 

 General Putnam has value as a family variety, the berry 

 being large and of good quality, but its color and softness do 

 not commend it for market. 



Our finest early variety was the Van Deman, which gave its 

 first ripe fruits three days before any other. A peculiarity of 

 this sort, if we may judge it from the past year's record, is that 

 it ripens the bulk of its crop very early, several days before any 

 other variety tested. This, with its other good qualities, will 

 probably give it a place as a market variety. It is of fine color, 

 firm enough for a near market, fairly productive, and of good 

 average size and quality. Though ripening first, its crop held 

 out through the entire strawberry season. This, together with 

 the fact that its flowers are perfect, should give it especial value 

 as a family variety. 



Our finest late sort was the Eureka, which proved much 

 more productive than the Gandy, while equal to it in all other 

 respects. The Jessie succeeds admirably^ with some growers, 

 while it is disappointing with others. At fts best it is a remark- 

 able variety, the plants being very productive of fruit of the 

 largest size and superior quality. On our own grounds it has 

 done only fairly well. The old Wilson still holds its own with a 

 few market growers, notably J. M. Smith, of Green Bay. Where 

 vigor has been maintained in the plants, and high cultivation 

 is given, it must be confessed that this old stand-by has few 

 superiors. 



Perhaps it should be added that the comparative earliness or 

 lateness of different sorts may depend considerably upon the 

 weather during the strawberry harvest. If the weather is dry 

 at the commencement of the strawberry season maturity in 

 the earlier sorts will be hastened. If abundant rains fall after 

 a few pickings have been made, the later sorts may take on a 

 new growth, which will delay their maturity considerably. 

 This was well illustrated on our own grounds the past season. 

 Dry weather prevailed until the majority of our varieties had 

 commenced ripening, when abundant rains followed, and the 

 maturity of the later sorts was considerably postponed. Owing 

 to this the strawberry season was considerably prolonged, ber- 

 ries having been gathered for the table during an entire month. 



University of Wisconsin. ■£" '->• ^W- 



