34 
February, 1891. 
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When first introduced here it was found 
to bloom so late when the seeds were sown 
in the border in the ordinary way that the 
plant was killed by frost before a third of 
the flowers had opened, and it gradually 
disappeared. All this was changed, how- 
ever, when the seeds of half-hardy and 
late-blooming plants were sown early in 
green-houses and in frames. In this way 
the Cosmos Flower is mostly grown at the 
North now, particularly since an enter- 
prising firm of plantsmen saw something in 
the plant, and gave it a boom which has 
made it widely known. 
There are several species of Cosmos, 
which are natives of Mexico. C. diversi- 
folius and C. scabiosoides are tuberous- 
rooted perennials. They may be propagated 
and treated generally very much as Dahlias 
are. wintering the roots in the cellar and 
starting them early under glass. C. bipin- 
natus ( tenuifolius ), the plant now talked 
about so much, is an annual, and is raised 
from seed, which should be started early in 
the green-house or in a frame, potted off, 
and planted outside \\ hen the weather gets 
warm, or it maj T be grown in a large pot, 
and in autumn placed in the green-house, 
where it will continue to bloom for some 
time. The plants grow four or five feet 
high, and the foliage of the annual species 
is decidedly handsome. The flower re- 
sembles a small single Dahlia, and the 
plant, when in bloom, is very beautiful. 
There are now some fine hybrids of different 
colors, which add variety to the original 
purple. 
The Strelitzias are a remarkable and 
very handsome genus of plants, growing 
from three to five feet high. They are 
members of the Banana family (Musacece.) 
Strelitzia reginoe is the oldest species 
in cultivation, and is still one of the best, as 
it is also the most common, but, at the 
same time, it is not very often seen. It is 
usually grown in the hot-house, but thrives 
well in a warm green-house, and we have 
also seen it in fine bloom in a sunny parlor 
window. We may say to our amateur 
friends that they will find a good deal of 
pleasure in overcoming the few difficulties 
in the way of successfully blooming this 
handsome plant at the parlor or the sitting 
room window. The plant will thrive in a 
soil composed of loam and leaf mould, 
made somewhat porous by the addition of 
sand. It should be placed at a sunny win- 
dow in winter. It may be put out of doors 
when the weather gets warm, and taken in 
again when the nights get cold, or before 
there is danger from frost. An old plant 
should be fed at times with liquid manure 
rather than repotted too often. It is usu- 
ally propagated from suckers, seed being 
seldom produced. The manner in which 
the flowers come and go is the remarkable 
part of this interesting plant. The flowers 
are produced in succession in a peculiar 
spathe, and seem to rotate, as it were, on a 
pivot. The colors are a deep yellow and a 
brilliant steel blue approaching purple. 
Fuchsias that have been put aside and 
kept dormant may now be pruned and 
brought forward. Those that need it 
should be repotted as soon as new growth 
begins. Why not put in a few cuttings 
now, and grow them into specimens like 
the grand plants that used to grace Tripler 
Hall in the early fifties ? The amateur who 
has a plant-house can do some good work 
of this kind in a limited way, and find 
great pleasure in it ; but the window gar- 
dener must be content with well-grown 
plants of smaller dimensions. Cuttings 
made from the young growth root readily 
in sand. They should be potted as soon as 
the roots appear, or it may even be done 
when the cuttings are only callused. The 
young roots are easily broken. — P. B. 
Mead. 
VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
( Continued from page 32.) 
grower can make any profit by keeping over, 
or buying, forty bushels of seed per acre, 
which planting large whole potatoes neces- 
sitates. When seed are scarce and high, 
as they are this year. I should cut to a 
single eye. — W. F. Massey. 
Tomatoes. 
An exceedingly valuable and interesting 
bulletin is that recently issued by the 
Cornell University Agricultural Experiment 
Station on Tomatoes, in which is recorded 
the results of several years of experimenta- 
tion by Profs. Bailey and Munson. We 
gather these summary conclusions : 
The tomato plant is quickly susceptible to 
careful selection. 
As elsewhere in the vegetable kingdom, 
the character of the plant as a whole ap- 
pears to have more hereditary influence 
than the character of the individual fruit. 
Very heavy manuring does not lessen 
productiveness. 
Neither nitrate of soda nor muriate of 
potash alone are profitable tomato manures 
upon thin soil. 
Very early setting of stocky plants in the 
field, even in dark and raw weather, aug- 
mented earliness and productiveness. 
Seedlings gave far better results than 
cuttings. 
Trimming the plants lightly late in sum- 
mer gave a greatly increased yield. 
Cool and dark weather in early fall, and 
early fall frosts, are the leading drawbacks 
to profitable tomato culture in the North. 
To avoid these as much as possible, plants 
must be started early and forced rapidly. 
The essential general points in profitable 
tomato culture are these : Careful selection 
and breeding ; early sowing ; frequent 
transplanting to obtain stocky plants ; rich 
soil, well prepared and well tilled. 
There is evidence that varieties of toma- 
toes run out, even under good culture. 
The best market tomatoes appear from 
our test to be Ignotum, Favorite, Bay State, 
Atlantic, and perhaps Ruby among the red 
varieties ; Beauty, Mikado, and possibly 
Potato Leaf among the pink or purple vari- 
eties ; Golden Queen among the yellow. 
Notes by the Way. 
The description of Azalea Mollis in Or- 
chard and Garden last month is worthy 
of the consideration of all lovers of beautiful 
plants. It is a perfectly hardy bush that 
blooms among the earliest in spring, is 
brilliant in its display of orange-yellow and 
flame-colored flowers, very easy to grow, 
and there are few indeed of the floral treas- 
ures of May that can equal or surpass it. 
Some other shrubs may perhaps equal it in 
beauty, but they require protection and more 
care in growing them. Azalea amoena 
also is a brilliant flowering variety, but 
requires, with us, covering in winter. 
Andromeda Catesbaei is earlier than Azalea 
Mollis, but the blooms are too tender to be 
depended upon. 
* * 
We have had Lonicera Heckrotti in bloom 
two years, and are very much pleased with 
it. In growth and habit it resembles the 
Belgian, but the blooms are more attractive, 
and its great value is in its constant bloom 
until killed by frost ; it is more continuous 
than any variety we have seen. It is not so 
rapid a climber as some others but it can be 
kept down as a bush, and few will give so 
much continuous pleasure throughout the 
season ; moreover, it is hardy too. 
WllITK OR SlLVKR-l.KAYKD LINDEN. Fi(f. 62. 
We have planted at different times some 
twenty named varieties of Weigela. While 
all have merits, some more and others less, 
Abele Carriere is lovely in bloom, and nearly 
or quite the best, in our judgment. Hortensis 
Nivea is the purest white but is not hardy; 
