748 



BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



particular to air the plants every day. A zinc basin sup- 

 plies both hot and cold water for the plants. They are 

 syringed freely with luke-warm water every morning ; 

 this keeps the air moist, so that the red-spider cannot 

 get a foot-hold. In one corner of the conservatory is a 

 stand of 50 cactus plants. E-piphylhim Iruncatum is 

 (he only one which blooms in winter ; it grows in a 

 hanging basket, and flowers at Christmas time. Upon 

 the back wall of the conservatory hang about a dozen 

 orchids, some in rafts or baskets, and some on pieces of 

 wood or bark. They look thrifty, grow finely and I find 

 them as easily cared for as any of my plants. One of 

 them gave a crop of fifty flowers. Begonias are my fa" 

 vorite plants, as they are never infested with insects, and 

 remain in bloom many months at a time. I find that 

 rubra is the only one which needs the sun ; the rest all 

 do better in the shade. I have one much like rubra, only 

 the flowers are satiny pink instead of red. Both bloom 

 well all winter. B. mclallica is a fine plant even with- 

 out its downy pink flowers. The thorny euphorbias and 

 bright-bracted poinsettias are also favorites of mine. 

 One corner of the apartment is devoted to ferns and rex 

 begonias ; they group well together, and are always at- 

 tractive. Imantophylh/m miniatum is a showy plant 

 when in bloom, and its flame-colored flowers are sure to 

 appear the latter part of winter. Heliotropes, Olea 

 fragrans, rhynchospermum, eupatoriums, jasmines and 

 tabernsemontana fill the conservatory with fragrance. 



Some of my plants are curious as well as beautiful ; 

 anthuriums or "flamingo-flowers," with grotesque, bril- 

 liant blossoms, that remain perfect for two or three 

 months; Strelitzia Kcgincc with oddly-shaped blue and 

 orange Bird-of-Paradise flowers, and Bryophyllum 

 calycinutn, with small plants growing from its leaves. My 

 Strelitzia Regiytcs blooms all winter, and is set out on 

 the lawn during summer. 



Roses, violets, carnations and camellias need a cooler 

 atmosphere than that of my conservatory, but I 

 think that without them one could make a good selection 

 from the plants I have mentioned. Mealy bugs and 

 green aphides are the only insects that trouble plants in 

 my conservatory. For destroying them I use tobacco- 

 soap and snuff, and put sal-soda in the water used for 

 them sometimes. These remedies are very effectual, 

 and insects do little harm to my collection. — Glenwild, 

 .Wzc York. 



How to Manage the Chinese Primrose. — Primula 

 Sinensis and its varieties are extensively grown as pot- 

 plants for the sitting-room or greenhouse, as well as for 

 cut-flowers in winter. To get strong plants, sow the 

 seeds in March or April in shallow-boxes, about two or 

 three inches deep, containing good, mellow, finely-sifted 

 loam. Press the loam down with a smooth board, till it 

 is perfectly level. On this smooth surface sow the seed, 

 pressing them well down into the soil level with the sur- 

 face. Next, take some dry sphagnum and pass it 

 through a fine sieve over the seeds, just thick enough to 

 cover them, about one-sixteenth of an inch. Dry refuse 

 hops or leaf-mold will do, but moss is best, as it forms a 



light, spongy covering, and aids in prompt germination- 

 Cover the box with a pane of glass, and place it in the 

 open sunlight, in the window of the dwelling house, in 

 the hot-bed or in a greenhouse without shading, in a 

 temperature of 55° or 65° at night, and about 10 degrees 

 higher during the day. A light sprinkling once a week 

 will give sufficient moisture. After the plants have fully 

 developed the seed-leaf, they are transplanted into other 

 similiar boxes, about half an inch apart. In about five 

 weeks more they will be large enough to be transplanted 

 into thumb-pots. When the weather is warm enough 

 place them outside in the coolest place obtainable and in 

 partial shade. Unless absolutely necessary, do not shift 

 them till September, as it is better to have their roots 

 a little cramped in hot weather. As soon as cool weather 

 comes they will begin to grow better, and will need larger 

 pots ; they will flower from November until May. Most 

 double varieties are raised by cuttings or by division. 

 About half of the seed will come up single. The 

 simplest way to divide plants is to fill pots containing 

 them up to the plants' lower leaves with moss, which in- 

 duces each crown to send out roots. When well rooted, 

 the plants are pulled apart and each division potted sep- 

 arately. This is generally done in April or May. The 

 best compost for primroses consists of rich light loam and 

 peat soil in equal parts. Pots that contain primroses of 

 any kind must be well drained. — H. I-. Adams, Mass. 



The Best Hedge in America. — A. S. Fuller claims 

 to be the happy possessor of such a hedge. As be 

 states in iV. Y. Tribune, it is a hemlock hedge of 20 

 years standing. " Norway spruce and American arbor- 

 vitse," he says, " must ever take second place below that 

 of the common hemlock, which, with its dark rich green 

 leaves and fine, flexible branchlets, gives to a well-pruned 

 hedge a denseness as well as softness of surface such as 

 cannot be produced with any other native evergreen 

 tree. In the spring of '71 I had on hand a few hundred 

 small but stocky seedling hemlocks averaging perhaps 15 

 inches high. I set out a hedge to separate my flower- 

 garden from the ground used for vegetables. A trench 

 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep was dug the entire length, the 

 first foot of yellow, loamy soil was thrown on the south 

 side and the next foot, nearly pure sand, was spread 

 over the roadway ; then enough of good black soil, 

 from the low land on the place was hauled to make 

 good the part thrown aside. The loam and black soil 

 were then thrown into the trench, well mixed during the 

 operation, and when the trench was filled and the soil 

 well packed, the plants were set out 2 feet apart on a 

 line in the center, with earth well firmed about their 

 roots. With hedge-shears they were then trimmed into 

 shape ; that is, merely cutting back the terminal shoots 

 and the longer lateral branches just enough to show that 

 this row of plants was intended for a hedge. Not a 

 plant died, all made a moderate growth, and the next 

 April they were pruned again, but only sufficiently to bring 

 them into line and force out lateral shoots, which were 

 necessary to fill up and give compactness to the hedge. 



The form of hedge proposed and since completed was 



