436 



THEY SAY. 



Kub-eiiteria paniculata. The California privets [I.igus- 

 tnnn ovaHfoliuDi), many of the forsythias, hydrangeas, 

 kerria, and Japanese spireas lost all but their roots, 

 and are now making a new growth from the ground. 

 The Japan maples suffered somewhat, but not so severely. 



The shrubs of American origin that are usually later 

 in starting into growth, as the Virginia fringe tree, Ber- 

 beris, cornus and laburnum, are unhurt. The same 

 seems true of the vines. The Virginia creeper, Aris- 

 toloiliia SipJio, and trumpet honeysuckles are uninjured, 

 while the Chinese wistaria, actinidia and Ainpelopsis 

 l^cilihii suffered severely. The good old fashioned things 

 and their improved varieties did not seem to notice the 

 unusual season, such as lilacs, viburnums, deutzias, 

 upright honeysuckles and mock oranges. The flowers 

 of the Japan quince and the nati\ e red maple were alike 

 destroyed, while the Chinese prune (Pntntis Siinoui), 

 has flowered and grown with unusual splendor. Ever- 

 greens without exception have yet shown no ill effects. — 

 H. W. D. Grange County, A'. 



How to Grow a Fuchsia. — Cut the ends oft the 

 branches of a fuchsia about four or five joints in length 

 in November or in the spring ; strip the leaves off. leav- 

 ing only three or four upon the end of the cutting ; hll 

 a basin or shallow box nearly full with clean sand ; 

 pour water upon it until it is well saturated ; in the sand 

 place the cuttings about one inch apart and two joints 

 deep ; keep the sand always damp, and shade from the 

 hot sun ; place the basin or box in a warm room and 

 the cuttings will root in two or three weeks. As soon as 

 they are well rooted, put them into three-inch pots, and 

 as soon as they have made growth, keepi repotting them 

 into larger pots as fast as the white or working roots 

 come through the soil and begin to work round the pots, 

 until they have all been put into g or lo-inch pots. When 

 they have made growth after first being potted, pinch 

 the ends off ; they will then branch out. When the 

 branches have grown again, pinch the ends off as before, 

 leaving one unpinched for a leader or center stem. 

 Keep pinching and potting until you get them the size 

 and shape you want : then let them flower. 



The Black Prince is one of the best, and a very strong 

 grower. Drooping fuchsias can be made by hanging 

 short pieces of bent wire upon the ends of the branches. 

 Various other shapes can be made by judicious pinching 

 and training. The soil should be two parts well rotted 

 sod, and one part each of well rotted leaf mould and 

 manure, with sufficient sand to make it porous. To one 

 barrowful of this compost add two quarts of powdered 

 charcoal, which will keep the soil sweet. Give the 

 plants plant)' of room, air and water ; shade them from 

 the strong rays of the sun; syringe the foliage well and 

 often ; keep the atmosphere warm and moist, at a tem- 

 perature of 45 or 50 degrees, and fuchsias 4 to 5 feet 

 in height and diameter may be grown in less than one 

 year from the rooting of the cutting. Put half a bushel 

 of cow manure into a barrel containing twenty gallons 

 of water ; stir it well up ; when it has settled clear, 

 water the plants with it once a week while they are 



growing ; but be sure not to let the liquid touch the foli- 

 age. Tie some tobacco stems to short sticks and place 

 two or three across the tops of the pots; substitute fresh 

 ones once or twice a month, and neither green or black 

 aphis will cause any trouble. — G. M. Stratton, St. 

 Paul, Minn. 



Flowering Sago Palm. — About two weeks ago our 

 largest sago palm {Cycas revohi/a), began to show signs 

 of flowering, by the appearance of a ball of yellowish 

 colored mossy substance in the center of the plant. It 

 has opened and enlarged every day until now there is a 

 perfectly formed blossom composed of leaf-like petals, 

 each about four inches long, the number of petals 

 corresponding to the number of leaves the plant has 

 borne. The blossom or flower is about twelve inches in 

 diameter and is, in appearance, a miniature of the palm 

 itself. The plant is eight feet in diameter from tip to 

 tip, has always been in perfect health, and is a beautiful 

 specimen. 



Can anyone tell whether there is any record of a sago 

 palm having flowered before in this country, and whether 

 the plant dies after the If ower reaches perfection? — G.-^r- 



RETT B. LlNDERM.'lN. Penll. 



The Garden Roses of India. — The principal garden 

 roses cultivated in Europe and in India may be traced 

 to western Asia and China. The old-fashioned summer 

 roses, which were the ornaments of gardens in Europe 

 40 to 50 years ago, are mostly referred to Posa Gallica, 

 which has its home in south Europe and western Asia, 

 and to Rosa centifolia and P. Dainascena, which probably 

 came from the mountains of Armenia and northern Per- 

 sia. All these are distinguished by the incomparable 

 delicacy of their aroma, and of the two last named 

 kinds one or the other is cultivated on a large scale in 

 southern France, Italy, Macedonia, Asia Minor, Persia, 

 and northern India, for rose water and essence of roses 

 (attar). The flowering season of these kinds is short, 

 lasting a few weeks only, and it was an important event 

 for horticulture when, at the close of the last century, 

 the China roses were introduced in Europe. The most 

 important of these was Rosa Indica, thus called by Lin- 

 naeus because it was brought from India, where it had 

 long been grown in gardens. Its home, however, is not 

 India, but China, and its great value consists in this, 

 that it flowers throughout summer and autumn — hence 

 the name autumnal rose, also monthly rose fyMonats- 

 rose). For this reason a variety was called Rosa setiiper- 

 Jlorens. Another variety, described under the name of 

 Rosa fragrans, distinguished by its strong though not 

 always very delicate scent, became the parent of the tea 

 roses. By crossing these kinds and other species with 

 the old garden roses, the numberless varieties of hybrid 

 perpetuals and tea roses have been obtained which now 

 ornament our gardens in Europe as well as in India. In 

 India nine or ten species of roses are indigenous, but 

 with the exception of Rosa moscliata, a magnificent 

 climber of wide distribution, none have contributed to 

 the production of garden roses. All have their local 

 names in the language of the district where they grow, 



