March, 1912 
trees and shrubs in time, as a protection against the pests 
that attack them. The garden-maker will do well to study 
up the matter now and to begin ordering and mixing the 
insecticides and fungicides he may find his garden in need of. 
OR the garden of any extent, one recommends the pur- 
chase of aroller. It will be fowl useful in many ways. In 
the first place, it is both a necessity and a convenience in 
the matter of making paths and in lawn making, aside from 
its value as an accessory in keeping up a tennis court. 
Apropos of the matter of lawn making, it will be well for 
the garden-beginner to watch the lawn for an indication that 
frost has left the ground, and then to remove any leaves, 
mulch or litter that has been allowed to rest on the lawn 
throughout the Winter; otherwise the grass roots will take 
a premature start, subsequently suttering by this. 
PROPAGATING THE CHRISTMAS ROSE 
NE of the readers of AMERICAN HOMES AND GAR- 
O DENS has written the Editor an interesting letter about 
the article, ““The Christmas Rose,” which appeared in the 
December number of this magazine. The writer tells us 
that he has found a good stiff soil, into which leaf-mold 
well decayed has been worked, to be best suited to this plant 
(Helleborus niger). The end of March, he finds, unless 
the season is a very late one, that it is 
safe to dig up the roots, trimming off 
all the very long ends. He then plants 
Viva 
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these slicings in the soil under protec- 
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tion, and has found that they will send ve Mee Ti 
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forth new roots below and leaf buds ; PA Ian HN 
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above. ve Hi ce 
WARDIAN CASES fh wR 
HE Wardian case should be better 
known to indoor gardeners, as there 
are many interesting sorts of plants that 
one may grow therein which could not 
otherwise be raised successfully except 
in a heated greenhouse. Wardian cases 
are enclosed boxes of glass, and may 
be procured from any seedsman or 
through any florist. All sorts of minia- 
ture rockeries may be constructed there- 
in, bearing in mind the fact that the soil 
placed in the case must be perfectly 
drained and composed of leaf-mold, 
sand and loam, with bits of charcoal to keep it sweet. Small 
plants are the proper sort for the Wardian case, and such 
ferns as the Maidenhair (Adiatum capillus Veneris, As- 
plenium trichomanes, Pteris serrulata) and the Selaginellas 
The Yucca is one of the best foliage plants for indoors or outside. 
AMERICAN HOMES 
Ad i 
As 3 
iM si 
Wy. 
A bird ae ay an a Genian 
landscape architect for a Bavarian garden. 
The arrangement of the Weeping Willow 
called for by the design is especially pleasing 
AND GARDENS 
10$§ 
WA little a like this would is a joy in every garden 
(S. grandis, S. Kraussiana, S. umbrosa and some others) 
are excellent adjuncts to its plant life. 
HEIGHT OF PLANTS FOR THE HERBA- 
CEOUS BORDER 
HE following is a brief list of her- 
baceous plants for the border, se- 
lected with reference to height. The 
list does not pretend to be inclusive in 
any sense, but will suggest some of the 
most satisfactory varieties for the pur- 
pose of border planting. Plants reach- 
ing a height of two feet— Achillea, 
Antirrhinums, Aquilegia, Aster Alpinus, 
Campanula muralis, Delphinium nudi- 
caule, Lobelia cardinalis, Papaver nudi- 
caule, Plumbago Larpentae, Primula 
Japonica, Ranunculus  aconiti-folius, 
Saxifraga granulata, Trillium grandi- 
florum and Veronica. Plants reaching 
a height of between two and four feet— 
Achillea millifolium roseum, Aconitum, 
Anemone Japonica, Aster ericoides, 
Campanula persicifolia alba _ plena, 
Chrysanthemum, Geum rivale, Iris Germanica, Lilium Can- 
didum, Lychnis, Paeony, Phlox, Pyrethrum, Rudbeckia and 
Yucca augustifolia. Plants reaching a height of over four 
feet—A ster Novi-angliae, Delphinium, Helianthus, Lilium 
auratum, Polygonum, Rudbeckia maxima and Solidago. 
TERMS USED IN DESCRIBING FERNS 
READER writes to ask for information concerning 
A the technical phrases used in connection with various 
writings upon the subject of Fern culture, and as this may 
be a matter of interest to others as well, the following ex- 
planations are here set forth: The non-flowering plants 
are called Cryptograms, and Ferns fall within this nomencla- 
ture. Those Ferns having creeping stems have the name 
of rhizomes applied to these stems. By frond we designate 
the Fern’s leaf, and by stripes its stalks. The Fern’s seeds 
are called spores, and the tissue (case) covering these spores 
is called the indusium. The term sori is applied to the 
clusters of sporangia. 
THE SUNFLOWER 
HERE are no lovelier plants in our gardens than the 
Helianthus, the old-fashioned Sunflower. The plant 
derives its botanical name from the words helios, sun, and 
anthos, a flower, and it was applied to it from the belief that 
the flowers follow the sun round. Garden beginners are 
‘urged to make a more careful study of the Sunflower, which, 
unfortunately, has been too often shown much neglect. 
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