^Hiiiitiiaiiiii]|[|iiiniii(iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMjiinniiiuiiiuii^ 
The Greenhouse, Month to Month 
By W. R. Fowkes, New York. | 
-niiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii"" iiiiiiiiciiiiimiiiii iiiiiNiiiiiimmiii i iiiiiNttiiimuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiinm^ iiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuI 
THE season known as the off season regarding 
glass houses is with us, but this theory may 
be at once dismissed, for with the better 
knowledge at our disposal we can have the houses 
looking as cheery as the outdoor gardens. 
The scare some few folks have regarding food has 
brought out some ideas that all greenhouses should 
be neglected, or used only for vegetables, but with the 
broad acres at hand crying out for the farmer's plough 
and judicious use of fertilizer should dispel all the 
g'loom and scare from our minds and surely if we ever 
needed the heavenly flowers to cheer and inspire us 
it is at present when the air seems charged with pow- 
der. Many happy hours can be enjoyed in the abode 
of nature's handiwork and the real lover of flowers 
will exert his or her utmost power to add a ray of sun- 
shine to the seemingly clotids on the horizon. 
The palms, etc., will be used to adorn the house and 
the cool and more shady atmosphere will help to tone 
them up. Remember, the best kinds to withstand 
draughts are the Kentias and Arecas. Cocos Wadde- 
liana will not stand harsh treatment but will do nicely 
in the hall or center tables. All they need during Sum- 
mer is plent}- of water and occasional sponging to 
■clean off the dust. 
The vacancy caused by taking these plants out will 
Le replaced by the Celosias and the Gloxinias, etc. Ce- 
losias shijuld be repotted until the eight-inch size is 
reached, always in light soil. The final shift should 
be a compost with a fair amount of horn shavings in- 
corporated, a good lasting food. 
In the fruit house the peach and nectarines should 
be well watered. It is almost impossible to overwater 
when the fruit has stoned and is rapidly swelling. Look 
to the disbudding of the later ones and fumigate each 
week until the color begins to show the fruit is ripen- 
ing. Every fine afternoon syringe the trees well and 
keep a moist atmosphere daily. Top dress the plants 
Avith a mixture of wood ashes and soot and a little 
tankage and the surface roots will feed on it and you 
will perceive the benefit daily. It is a good plan to 
move the forward fruits that are ripening into a drier 
atmosphere and give more air at night to improve the 
flavor. If these fruit trees are handled sensibly the 
fruit will be of the highest quality and superior to any 
outdoor grown with the additional pleasure of hav- 
ing one's own to use and display to friends. When 
a plant has all its fruit ripe, take to the dining room 
and surprise the guests with home grown fruit and 
the pleasure derived from picking them off to eat, will 
add to the enjoyment of all. 
Chrysanthemums, the big fellows, should all be in 
their final pots — eight inches being the last size — and 
pay dail}- attention to the watering and keep as cool 
as possible. Support and tie as they grow. Keep a 
sharp lookout for insect pests, and to avoid fungus 
diseases spray with Fungine ; and spray the plants 
once weekly with a weak solution of soot water. It 
will help the foliage marvelously. 
Azaleas and their kind should be outdoors by the 
first week in June in a partially shaded place. Plunge 
the pots in ashes to keep the roots cool. 
The rose house will need attention. Do not dispense 
205 
with fire heat if the nights are chilly or you will reap 
disease in spite of daily care to the primary require- 
ments. If the roses are planted as mentioned in last 
month's article, go over the beds and pound down 
around each plant, and, in fact, all over the bench with 
a heavy piece of wood just firm enough to level all 
nicely and then place the wire stakes and tie each 
plant carefully. Take off any lower leaves that have 
a little red spider on and spray well underneath with 
Aphine. Make a clean start with roses if you want 
success. Remember, they will respond to good care 
and will soon show the results of neglect. Sprinkle 
air slaked lime under the benches and keep the air 
sweet. There is a little scare among some rose men 
regarding the disease "crown gall." I received a few 
plants that were touched a year ago but I sprayed well 
with Fungine and they have not caused a moment's 
worry. It is a clean remedy the private grower needs ; 
sulphur, etc., look badly on 'the foliage and detract from 
its appearance. 
Carnations should be well looked after. If in the 
field cultivate each week and if in the house, observe 
the same caution regarding disease as the roses. 
The atmosphere of all departments will have to be 
kept moist now and the temperatures cannot be regu- 
lated as in Winter or cool weather. 
Ferns will need plenty of water and when well 
rooted feed with cow manure. Top dress cucumbers 
lightly each week with a little leaf soil and rotten 
manure ; as the fruits grow fast feed with Clay's Fer- 
tilizer. 
Cyclamen in frames must be shaded and sprayed 
several times daily. Cinerarias and Calceolorias 
shoukl be potted off as thej- are ready and be grown 
in a frame with a northern aspect. Primilas should be 
sown. The Malacoides and the William Sim special 
varieties are what every gardener with a large or small 
place should gTow\ They are wonderful examples of 
skill and of easy culture. Leaf soil and sand is the best 
compost to sow the seed in, a little heavier as they 
grow, and a cool temperature at all times is their chief 
requirement. 
I3uddelia Asiatica should be potted on and given 
good rich soil and they will be at their best when Fall 
arrives again. Now is the time to prepare for next 
Winter and procrastination is one of the growers' 
^\•orst enemies. 
ASTER CULTURE. 
A STERS do well on any kind of soil from light sand 
-'*■ to heavy clay, but the ideal soil is a good loam. They 
do much better on land that has been heavily fertilized 
the year before. This means that the fertilizing element 
in the soil must be thoroughly decayed and easil\' assim- 
ilated. It is a good plan to spread over the ground the 
fall previous a good coat of well rotted manure. Dig it 
as early as possible so that the fertilizing element will 
have time to decay before the cold weather starts in. In 
the spring, as early as the ground can be worked properly, 
dig it over again with a fork, thoroughly incorporating 
every particle of manure with the soil, and making it fine 
and mellow to a depth of ten to twelve inches. 
