BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



617 



snowdrop will grow anywhere ; in hedges and orchards, 

 and in woods and fields, as well as in gardens. The fact 

 of its not requiring special culture, if other things are in 

 its favor, is proved by the luxuriant way in which the 

 snowdrop has become naturalized throughout England 

 and Wales, in Scotland, and, in a lesser degree perhaps, 

 in Ireland. Snowdrops look better, their flowers last 

 longer clean and pure in color, and they frequently 

 thrive much better in the solid grass-covered ground than 

 on bare cultivated ground. In county Wicklow I have 

 seen snowdrops 12 to 16 inches high in the lush grass of 

 an unmown lawn, and at Straffan, county Kildare, the 



Under the Trees. — The pretty nook illustrated below 

 was taken from grounds overlooking the Hudson river, 

 near Schenectady, N. Y. It tells its own story of the de- 

 lights of such a shady spot on a sultry summer day. In 

 autumn the stately trees are brilliant with gay foliage, 

 and in winter, whether bare or sparkling with sleet, the 

 delicate tracery of their twigs and the graceful upward 

 sweep of their branches make a charming study. 



Begonias and other House-Plants. — Last spring, 

 in repotting a very thrifty begonia, I found that the roots 

 had reached down to two inches of broken charcoal 

 drainage, and wrapped themselves round and round the 



A Woody Retreat Near a Home on the Hudson. 



masses of G. nivalis, G. fUcatus, and G. niTalis 

 ffraiidis under the spreading lime trees are remarkable 

 features in February. Snowdrop bulbs are so cheap, 

 and on most soils give so little trouble after they are 

 once planted on grass near trees, that the wonder is they 

 are not more generally grown. The best snowdrop of 

 all for naturalization is G. nivalis, and its double and 

 single varieties ; G. flicatus, the "Crimean Snowdrop," 

 also does well. G. latifolius forms good, bold clumps, 

 and is very distinct in leafage, but it takes time to estab- 

 lish itself before it flowers freely. — F. \V. Burbidge, in 

 Journal of Royal Horticultural Society. 



separate pieces. My begonias all do well in a compost 

 of partly decayed leaves, silver sand and good garden 

 soil. The sand should give a white appearance to the 

 soil. The earth formed by decayed tan-bark is also 

 excellent for begonias. I revived a drooping seedling 

 begonia by potting it in a larger quantity of leaf-mold 

 than I generally use. My tuberous-rooted begonias are 

 growing finely in this mixture, the earth appearing black 

 when watered. I water them very freely when growing, 

 and, if the pots are small, fill the saucers once a day, 

 after watering. Gloxinias also do well if watered freely 

 under the leaves when growing. One small-leaved tuber- 



