SOME FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES. 



217 



ish color, but after a time they turn to an ivory-white, 

 with the exception of the spur, which still retains its 

 greenish hue. They are all the more appreciated because 

 they come at a season when orchid flowers are scarce, and 

 consequently higher in price. 



The culture is comparatively easy. The plant requires 

 the temperature of a warm house, and should be planted 



in a basket and grown in sphagnum moss mixed with 

 pieces of charcoal, which serve to admit air to the roots, 

 and also to maintain perfect drainage. It likes plenty of 

 water all the year round and should be suspended from 

 the roof close to the glass ; but it must be shaded from 

 bright sunlight. R. Cameron. 



Botanic Garden, Harvard University. 



SOME FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES. 



NOTES FROM THE EDITORS GARDENS. 



ALTHOUGH last year was but the second in 

 which the Japanese weeping cherry bloomed 

 on our grounds, it fully confirms all the favor- 

 able reports that have been bestowed upon it 

 by those who have older specimens. It is a 

 small tree, picturesque in habit, with the branches reach- 

 ing to the ground and the general shape irregular. The 

 flowers are bright pink and come in great profusion, 

 making a splendid show along the drooping stems. Thi' 

 tree appears to be perfectly hardy as 

 far north as the Niagara river, and 

 is a vigorous and satisfactory grower. 



Fall Buying, Spring Planting. 

 We are getting in the way of order- 

 ing some hardy trees and shrubs each 

 fall and setting them out in spring, 

 and like it. The advantage is that 

 nurserymen are not so busy in the 

 fall, hence can give orders more care- 

 ful attention ; and the stock is on the 

 grounds ready to be set as soon as 

 the soil is tillable in spring. One 

 point not to be overlooked — and ,so 

 we bring up the subject now — is 

 that such trees require to be trans- 

 planted early. Everyone who has 

 handled many trees knows that such 

 as are dug early in the spring and 

 heeled in will not leaf out fully 

 for weeks after those of the same lot 

 left standing have come out in full 

 foliage. Not so with fall-dug trees 

 that have been heeled in over winter 

 — they start their leaves as early as 

 the same kinds that have not been 

 moved ; hence their season for trans- 

 planting is shorter by just so much. 

 Yet by setting such fall-dug trees 

 early in spring they become better 

 established during the first season 

 than such as are dug in the spring. 

 The drawback in the way of the 



system of fall buying and spring planting is the risk of 

 carrying the trees over winter. Evergreens should never 

 be bought in the fall and carried over, as their transplant- 

 ing is better done in spring and summer. 



An Improved Mexican Zinnia. — One of the most satis- 

 factory flowers tried on our grounds last year was the 

 new Zinnia Haogeana purnilla fl. pi., a double variety 

 of the Mexican zinnia. Its beauty of flower and the neat 

 habit of the plant were generally remarked by visitors. 

 The seeds were sown in the open ground about May 15 

 and by midsummer the pretty flowers appeared and con- 

 tinued by the hundred until after frost. The flowers, 

 considerably reduced in size, are shown in the illustration 



ANGR/ECUM SESQUIPEDALE, AT HARVARD BOTANIC GARDENS. 



on next page. The color is a deep orange-yellow, re- 

 minding one of the rich shades found in the striped 

 African marigolds. It is dwarf, not reaching above 

 seven inches in height. Altogether it is a neat and attrac- 



