44 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
made by the King Construction Co., that can be heated 
from a small boiler. In the larger places a row of hot- 
water pipes is sometimes run around the frames. The 
dung hotbed, however, has always been a favorite and 
will doubtless continue to be. Do not let the manure get 
over-heated. It "fangs" or dries out if not kept turned 
when the manure is being collected. Sometimes a good 
douch of water is a good thing. Or tree leaves, partly 
rotted, may be mixed with the manure. This equalizes 
the heat, steadies it, and helps to maintain the warmth 
over a longer period. 
One of the new perfectly hardy shrubs that all of us 
will have when we can afford it is Viburnum Carliesii. 
It grows only to the size of Berberis Thunbergii, or about 
3j/> ft., branching nicely and crowded with very sweetly 
scented pink and white neat clusters of flowers in May. 
The Onlooker was the fortunate possessor of a plant of 
this new shrub five years ago when there were only a 
few score of it anywhere in cultivation in the world. It 
also forces in the greenhouse temperature, the same as 
suits that other delightful new shrub of great merit. 
Azalea Kaempferio. Farquhars of Boston has these and 
other of the noteworthy new Chinese plants and shrubs, 
and their catalogue should be studied. 
* * * 
Have you an old greenhouse that you don't think 
much of — one in which a little heat can be turned on? 
Perhaps the benches are a bit worn out. maybe rotted 
and tumbling down. Pull these benches out : burn them : 
clear the ground of all rubbish, bricks and lumber ; fork 
over the soil and perhaps bring in some sand loam and 
rotted manure. In beds made on the ground you can 
plant at once, a selection of Delphiniums, Belladonna 
type preferably, also Gladioli, Pansies. Dielytra specta- 
bilis (Bleeding Heart), Pyrethrums (the improved 
strains), Centaureas and the like and have them in flower 
throughout the Spring. Try it. 
The so-called pot cherries, varieties of Solununi capsi- 
castrum, which are so effective at Christmas when be- 
dedecked with their scarlet berries, has a number of 
forms. By selection almost any grower can pick out 
from his batch of plants some that are dwarfer than the 
rest, or some that have either larger or brighter colored 
berries. Ten years ago at a place much frequented by 
this writer, a selection was made of a variety with scarlet 
berries that were about the size of a robin's egg. There 
are others on the market or at least are grown by a few 
florists, that should be watched. Some growers certainly 
hide their goods things behind locked doors. 
* * * 
In these stormy winter days are those of my readers 
who took the advice given in November to have a col- 
lection of alpines got ready for bringing indoors, not 
rejoicing now? Very few, no doubt, followed the sug- 
gestions, but those that did will now, in snowy, ice 
February and March, have a gay and absorbingly in- 
teresting floral show. Any little greenhouse that can be 
warmed or kept at 50 degrees, even 45 degrees, can have 
Snowdrops, bulbous Irises, Squills, hardy Primroses, 
Iberis, Fritillary Lilies, Narcissi, hardy Cyclamen, 
Daphne Cncoruni and many other things in flower in 
pans. 
■ '^ '^z t- 
There are many failures always to be recorded by 
those who try to grow Dutch Hyacinths. Tulips or Nar- 
cissi in dishes or glasses in their dwelling rooms. It 
would be closely read by all of us if some one could 
write a story of thorough success. The atmosphere of 
the living room is so dry the foliage of the bulbs gives 
out. The leaves go first at the tips and then the plants 
stop growing. Perhaps a flower struggles to meet the 
rays of the sun and look out on a world mantled in 
white, but many a bud turns yellow, many a spike fails 
to mature. It is not the watering, although that may be 
always attended to with due care. It is the dry, hot 
air, the gases, the draughts from doors and windows 
left open, the fluctuating temperatures ; these destroy the 
vitality of the growth from even the best bulbs. If the 
conditions were cooler and the atmosphere more moist, 
steadier in its temperature, and if the light were good 
all the time there need be no tale of failure. I have 
seen excellent results at a cellar window, or rather un- 
der a sash-covered front level with the top of the base- 
ment. A friend has converted the disused steps that 
lead from part of his basement, into a miniature green- 
house ; but this is not to be regarded as "practical poli- 
tics" except in very rare instances. The moral is, if 
you can't grow your plants all the way along, having 
only your house window, then buy them fairly well in 
bloom and keep them as long as you can. 
It may not be generally known that certain bushy, 
dwarf Dahlias of the show and decorative sections make 
good plants for a greenhouse bench. Jack Rose and 
Kaiserin Augusta Victoria are the types meant ; each 
does well and can be had in bloom early in June. 
D 
BERRIED SHRUBS FOR THE ROCK GARDEN 
I URING the autumn and winter months, when 
rock garden flowers are by no means plentiful, 
the dwarf Cotoneasters, with their scarlet or red ber- 
ries, and, in some instances, evergreen foliage, are in- 
teresting and beautiful. There are several species well 
adapted for planting at the summits of good-sized 
boulders, over which their neat, close-growing 
branches can trail ; or, if preferred, such as C. horizon- 
talis can be planted at the foot of a large rock, which, 
as it grows, it will hug so closely as to almost appear 
to be part of the rock itself. This is a deciduous 
species, but in autumn and winter its branches are be- 
spangled with scarlet berries. C. microphylla, as its 
name implies, has very small leaves. It forms a neat 
little shrub, and is evergreen. It has red berries, and 
is perhaps the best of the older species for the rock 
garden. C. rotundifolia is deciduous or sub-evergreen, 
the leaves being nearly rovmd and dark green in color. 
It has red berries, which are usually produced in abund- 
ance. All three are natives of the Himala3"as, and are 
not difficult to grow. C. adpressa promises to be a very 
useful shrub for the rock garden. It is of very dwarf 
habit and deciduous, but before they fall the leaves turn 
a beautiful orange color. It has small pink flowers, 
which are succeeded by red berries. C. humifusa or 
C. Dammeri grows only a few inches high, and is ad- 
mirably adapted for trailing down the face of a pro- 
jecting rock. It is evergreen, the foliage taking on a 
fine tint in autumn, which harmonizes well with its 
scarlet berries. 
All these Cotoneasters like good loamy soil, and C. 
humifusa appreciates a little peat mixed with the loam. 
They should be given a fairly deep root run; a foot is 
not too much for C. horizontalis, C. rotundifolia and C. 
microphvlla. All can be successfully planted early in 
April, but it is advisable to obtain plants that have been 
established in pots. — Excliaiige. 
