187 
November, 1891. 
ORCHARD 
GARDEN 
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may be made handsome ornaments fox- the 
green-house and the window garden up to 
the beginning of December. Imported dry 
bulbs are usually offered for sale in the 
autumn, but very seldom in the spring. It 
is better, therefore, to buy them now, pot 
them, and put them away in some cool 
place for the winter. The Nerines grow 
best in a light sandy loam, to which should 
be added leaf mould and well-rotted ma- 
nure. It is well to begin with three bulbs 
to a pot if a large show of bloom be desired 
in the least time; but as the price of good 
flowering bulbs varies from twenty cents to 
a dollar each, some will doubtless decide to 
be content with one bulb to a pot; and it 
may be added for their satisfaction that the 
bulbs multiply quite rapidly. The bulbs 
should be sunk about half their depth. Set 
the pots.aside in a cool part of the cellar, 
and let them remain there till growth be- 
gins, which should not be till next Spring, 
when they may be put out of doors. Those 
who now have plants should give them 
water, light, and sunshine till the leaves 
begin to turn yellow, when less water 
should be given, but the pots should not be 
entirely dried off. When the bulbs have 
been ripened in this way, the pots may be 
put in a cool part of the cellar. Our practice 
has been to treat Nerines as growing plants 
till the leaves turn yellow, and we are sat- 
isfied that this is the better way. Do not 
repot till the pot becomes root bound. The 
bulbs should not be separated, but allowed 
to multiply and become a solid mass. There 
are usually small, loose bulbs on the top, 
which may be easdy pulled out and used for 
making new pots. The Nerines are all free 
bloomers and bear beautiful flowers. A few 
bear small flowers, but they are little gems 
and very interesting. The colors are chiefly 
scarlet, red, crimson, and rose. Some of 
the best are N. Sarniensis, N. Fothergillii, 
N. crispa, N. flexuosa, and N. uudulata. 
They are sometimes called Guernsey Lilies; 
but N. Sarniensis is the only one that has 
any semblance of a claim to the name, and 
that by an accident. It is not a native of 
Guernsey, but of Japan. We commend the 
ISerines particularly to the attention of the 
amateur. — P. B. Mead. 
Spring-Flowering Plants. 
TRITELIAS. 
Whenever the ground remains open or is 
only slightly frozen, hardy bulbs may still 
be planted. Early spring-blooming bulbs 
should always be planted in autumn. Some 
of these were mentioned last month. Tri- 
teleia uniflora may be added to the list. 
This handsome little plant should be more 
widely known. These small bulbs should 
be planted about three inches deep in mass- 
es or in line as an edging. The flowers ap- 
pear early in spring. The full beauty of 
the plant, however, is only seen when it is 
grown in pots. The foliage is long and slen- 
der, and naturally curves over the edge of 
the pot in a most graceful manner, remind- 
ing one of a miniature fountain. The pret- 
ty white, star-shaped flowers are borne sin- 
gly on a slender scape, each petal having a 
bluish gray stripe down the middle on the 
under side. Though the flowers are borne 
singly, the scapes appear freely for many 
weeks. The variety lilacina bears sky-blue 
flowers. The Triteleia is a very desirable 
winter-blooming plant for the window gar- 
den. Any good garden soil will suit it. 
The bulbs multiply freely and should be al- 
lowed to fill the pot. There are several spe- 
cies of Triteleia, natives of California and 
South America, but the above are the only 
ones on sale hei-e, so far as we know. 
dog’s tooth violets. 
The Erythroniums, or Dog’s-Tcoth Violets, 
are early spring flowers, and should be 
planted in the autumn, whether in the 
open ground or in pots. They are very 
pretty and interesting plants, growing 
chiefly in low, damp grounds, either in the 
woods or just outside of them. They are 
hardy, most of them being natives. They 
are members of the Lily family. The 
flowers are borne singly on a short scape, 
The Double Ranunculus. 
and are pendulous. The colors are red, 
yellow, and white. The leaves of some are 
prettily spotted or reticulated. In the open 
air the bulbs should be planted three or four 
inches deep, and preferably in clumps. The 
Dog’s-Tooth Violets are also pretty winter- 
blooming plants for pots. They do well in 
almost any good garden soil. Three in a 
pot produce a better effect than one. A list 
for pots should include E. grandiflorum, yel- 
low, E. albidum, white, and E. Americanum, 
yellow. They will bloom best in a moder- 
ately low temperature, and are suitable 
for either the green-house or the window 
garden. 
RANUNCULUS. 
The tuberous-rooted Ranunculus of which 
R. Asiaticus is the type, is a beautiful com- 
panion for the Anemone, and does well 
with much the same soil and treatment, 
both needing a rich sandy loam with the 
addition of leaf mould. Like those of the 
Anemone, the tubers of the Ranunculus ) 
may be kept out of the grouud in a dried 
state for a long time without losing their 
vitality. Some may, therefore, if wished, 
be kept over for spring planting and a later 
bloom. Out of doors the tubers should be 
planted three or four inches deep with the 
“claws” down. They produce a pretty 
effect planted in clumps. At the North it 
will be well to give them a covering of 
leaves or litter. The Ranunculus is also a 
beautiful plant for winter blooming. They 
may be treated in the way directed for the 
Anemone. They are usually sold in two 
classes, the Turban and the Persian, but the 
treatment is the same for both. Snowball, 
white; Chai-les Dickens, rose; Queen of the 
Netherlands, very dark; CEil Brilliant, or- 
ange, dark center, among the Persians, and 
Hercules, white; Romano, scarlet, and gran- 
diflora, variegated, among the Turban, are 
all beautiful double flowers. They may also 
be bought in mixed colors without names. 
The accompanying illustration is a fine por 
trait of a double Ranunculus. 
ANEMONES. 
The tuberous-rooted, spring-flowering 
Anemones or Wind Flowers should be plant- 
ed now. The roots, however, will retain 
their vitality for a long time out of the 
ground, and some may be kept over till 
spring, and then planted for a succession of 
bloom. On several accounts we prefer to 
plant them now. Select a somewhat shady 
spot, and make the soil inch with old rotted 
manure. Place the roots three or four inch- 
es deep and eight or ten inches apart. When 
the ground begins to freeze hard add a cov- 
ering of leaves or litter. These Anemones 
are also beautiful plants for winter bloom- 
ing in pots in both the gi-een-liouse and win- 
dow garden. The best soil is a rich sandy 
loam with a liberal addition of leaf mould. 
From one to three roots may be put in a 
pot, according to its size. The pots should 
be put aside in a cool place and watered 
sparingly till the tubers have begun to swell 
and grow, when water may be given with 
greater freedom. If not kept somewhat 
dry till growth begins the tubers are apt to 
rot. This is the chief trouble to be over- 
come in growing Anemones in pots. A 
moderately low temperature suits them bet- 
ter than a high one. Anemone ful gens, with 
single flowers of a brilliant scarlet, is one 
of the best for forcing as it is also one of the 
most beautiful. Walter Scott is a handsome 
double scarlet. Blue Incomparable is a beau- 
tiful dark blue. Leverrier is a fine double 
crimson. Ceres is a handsome double white. 
The single varieties are also very handsome, 
and the reader would not go wrong in buy- 
ing a dozen each of the single and double 
kinds in mixed coloi’s. Anemone Japonica, 
semi-double rose, and A. J. var. alba (or 
Honorine Jobert,) single waxy white and 
very beautifxd, bloom in September and 
October, and may be planted in either au- 
tumn or spring, but preferably the latter. 
These are fibrous-rooted kinds. There are 
several other species of Wind Flowers worth 
growing. — P. B. Mead. 
