I n n n « 
The Greenhouse Month to Month 
iiii 
By W R Fowkes, New York 
n I I ijiii n II 
THE busy days are again with us, stronoer sunshine, 
inoie Hght and the drying winds which will tend 
to exert our caution with temperatures, and ventil- 
ators will have to be attended to frequently. The peaches 
will bloom and not one atom of sunsliine should be lost. 
Give all possible air, and as they go out of bloom 
syringe them each morning; more water will also be 
required at the roots, together with moist atmosphere. 
Seedlings of annuals that are ready should be trans- 
planted and shaded for a time until well established. 
Young plants of carnations should be placed in the 
cold frames where they will develop a sturdy growth. 
Seedling Cyclamen that are on shelves near the glass 
must be sprayed several times daily to help their young 
fleshy leaves. 
.'\bout the middle of March Cannas that have been at 
rest should be started. They never succeed by being 
started in pots. Cut each root through and select the 
strongest eyes and place in flats in a compost of old mush- 
room soil or sand, leafniould and moss if the former is 
not to be had, and they will soon emit roots if placed 
under the bench in a teiiiperature of 6J degrees at night. 
Very little water is necessary. 
Palms, Ferns, Orchids and kindred subjects will re- 
quire shade or thev will be impaired. Azaleas will re- 
quire a little Clay's fertilizer to finish their growth, 
after which place them in a cool house. 
Much interest is now in evidence with regard to the 
constantly increasing interest taken in greenhouses by 
people who desire a few flowers always, and who do 
not employ a gardener and whose place is not large 
enough for such.v There is an endless amount of real 
pleasure derived from such hobbies. Most people de- 
light in growing old fashioned flowers and in this class 
are to be found an endless chain of such. People with 
a leanto house can grow a large plant of Heliotrope at 
one end of each and over a part of the roof the old 
fashioned Rose Marechal Niel can be trained to wires 
and give a large number of beautiful blooms with short 
stems that are a real pleasure. Swansonia can be 
grown tied to a center pillar or post while the Glox- 
inias, Begonias and Celosias and many well known 
plants easily raised from seed will flourish in a re- 
markable way under the rose. The small grower may 
not attain the perfection of the specialist, but who ex- 
pects to? There is pleasure indeed gained from the 
hours spent in one's own small place without interrup- 
tion. A well known writer said a while ago that or- 
chids were too costly for a small place, but I refute 
his statement. There was a time when any person 
who could keep orchids alive vs^as supposed to be en- 
dowed with some remarkable gift from the gods, but 
that once prevalent idea is obsolete. Besides, being an 
orchid grower is a special study, when we remember 
the wonderful collections abroad ; orchid culture there 
embraces every known kind and variety together with 
seed raising and hybridizing, but here in this sunny 
clime any person can grow a few Cattleyas, Cypripe- 
diums and Dendnibiums with wonderful ease and suc- 
cess. 
I have been noticing the efifort of a clerk in a bank 
for the past eighteen months. He erected a small 
sto\'ehouse a little more than a year ago and his place 
is a delight, not only to his family but as an incentive 
to others, and I can see that many such places will be 
erected shortly. He has a few orchids, Cypripediums 
and Cattleyas. He bought imported pieces upon my 
advice and the Cattleyas Trianae have just finished 
blooming and Percivaliana are now a wealth of bloom. 
Cypripediums, in fact all the lot, have paid for the 
original cost together with the further delight of grow- 
ing them another year. Any person can grow them 
and learn a lot if they will subscribe one dollar and a 
half to the Gardeners' Chronicle, where they will learn 
the rules of the interesting game. There is more satis- 
faction in growing orchids than Easter lilies, which 
cost as much and take about seven months to grow and 
bloom and then throw away. 
Spirjeas will require plenty of water now. All foliage 
plants, Crotons, Ficus and Dracaenas should be 
sprayed. If any need repotting it should now be done. 
Only give a slight shift of one inch and pot as firmly 
as you would an Erica or any hard wooded plant. 
Sweet peas will need plent}- of water and a feed of 
liquid cow manure each week will help them. See to it 
that \'entilators are open a little before the sun sends 
the temjierature up too high or many buds will be lost. 
Lettuce, Carter's perfected, is a grand variety for suc- 
cession and can be planted from the seed flats into the 
frames now. 
Cucumber Telegraph can be grown in a ten inch pot 
in rough sod, leaf mould and manure and will give bet- 
ter satisfaction than outdoor varieties. 
T 
CULTURE OF THE CYPRIPEDIUM. 
By Alex. Robertson, New York. 
HESE plants are of easy culture and require but 
little space. I prefer to grow them in pots where 
they do much better than in baskets. For potting 
the compost should consist of fibrous peat. Sphag- 
num moss, charcoal and sand mixed together. They 
require a liberal quantity of water during their 
period of growth. As they need but little rest they 
should never be allowed to get too dry at the roots. 
The Cypripedium, unlike many other kinds of orchids 
have no thick fleshy bulbs to supply them with nour- 
ishment and hence require a constant artificial sup- 
ply. They are propagated by dividing the roots. 
Nothing in the orchid family offers such a great 
number of s])ecies, varieties and hybrids as do the Cy- 
pripedium. The number of hybrids is becoming al- 
most vmlimited and the colors are almost bewildering. 
There is nothing more beautiful in the plant line than 
a collection of Cypripedium. They are a constant 
source of interest to the cultivator from one end of 
the year to the other. Some of the best know-n are : 
Spiceranum, Barbatum, I^aweranceium, Aurthura- 
nium, Maudica, Harrisanium, Curtisii, Selligerum, 
Prewetii, Rudiosum, Tonso and its varieties. Also 
Seeanum Clinkaberryanum. There is not a finer Cy- 
pripedium in cultivation today for its charming beauty 
and distinctiveness. Also the Insignes such as San- 
derse, Nitens, Ernestii, Manlii, Maculatum, Harefield 
Hall, etc., etc. They should have plenty of air and 
light, but slightly shaded from the direct rays of the 
sun. In summer time the ventilation should be open 
night and day. 
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