•470 
AMERICAN AGRICUIjTURIST. 
[December, 
only needs to be known to be valued in proper 
situations. That we may not be alone in our com¬ 
mendation of this Sunflower, we add that Yilmorin 
(Fleurs de Pliene Tern) says : “ This plant, from its 
majestic and picturesque habit, is particularly 
suited to ornamentation in landscape gardening; 
employed with discretion, it will produce excellent 
effects, especially when used in masses on lawns, 
or planted near bodies of water.” Mr. Robinson 
says “ a tall, graceful, willow-like herb. *** The 
tips of the shoots for a length of 15 inches or so, cut 
off and placed in water in-doors, are as ornamental 
as the most graceful or delicate young Palm or 
Dracaena.” We infer that this applies to the use 
of the graceful foliage before the flowers open. The 
plant is a native of Kansas and Arkansas, and 
blooms in August and later, and is quite hardy. 
Fixtures for Window Plants. 
Window boxes, those intended to hold the soil 
in which the plants are to grow, have been described 
in earlier numbers, but those who keep their plants 
in pots, will find a box exceedingly useful. The 
pots being placed in this and surrounded by sand, 
or what we think preferable, sphagnum or peat 
moss. The use of a box will 
prevent much litter, which 
is to some very neat house¬ 
keepers a sufficient objec¬ 
tion to keeping any house 
plants. If the plants must 
be moved away from the 
window for safety in an un¬ 
usually cold night, or for 
other reason, the box allows 
this to be done with very 
little trouble. A still greater 
advantage is, that it checks undue evaporation from 
the surface of the pots, and makes watering less fre¬ 
quently necessary. If the window has a deep sill, 
the box may sit upon that; otherwise it should be 
on legs with casters. The box may be of pine, 
securely put together, or of any ornamental wood. 
In describing, some time ago, a window box for 
holding the soil, we suggested that oil-cloth carpet¬ 
ing of some neat pattern, made a covering that at a 
little distance could not be told from expensive 
tiles. Whatever the box may be, it should be lined 
with zinc. The pots will be of various hights, 
and in arranging them in the box, the tops should 
all be brought up to the same level, by standing 
them on blocks or small inverted empty pots, or 
whatever will serve the purpose. The moss is to 
be first thoroughly dampened and then squeezed in 
the hands; it is then to be packed in by degrees 
around the pots, using a stick 
to press it down where the 
spaces are too narrow for the 
hands. The pots should be 
far enough below the edge of 
the box, to allow of a thin layer 
over them and the earth they 
contain. Sand may be used in 
a similar manner, but it has no 
advantages over moss, while 
it is much heavier. In that 
most excellent work on win¬ 
dow gardening, “Winter Greeneries at Home,” 
the author, the Rev. Doct. E. A. Johnson, shows 
how he produced his fine effects with the most 
simple materials, and among other contrivances, 
are home-made brackets for supporting pots. 
Where the window has deep jambs the space 
may be utilized by suspending pots at the sides, 
and if these contain drooping or trailing plants, 
the effect is very pleasing. Figure 1 shows how a 
bracket is made from stout wire, brass in this case 
being the best. It will be seen that it is of one 
piece; the horizontal arm that holds the ring is 
double, and this portion should be neatly and 
closely wound with fine copper wire. The trian¬ 
gular portion at the bottom is to keep the whole 
steady by resting against the wall; this part may 
be circular or any other form that may be desired. 
Figure 2 shows the bracket suspended and in use. 
A French Garden Fence. 
Our correspondent “H.,” writes from Paris: 
It is the custom in France, in both city and country, 
either to build grand houses in the form of a hol¬ 
low square, with a court in the center, or to surround 
them with high walls like a fort. Every French¬ 
man’s house is in fact his “ castle.” Visitors thus 
miss seeing the prettiest parts of Paris. Once in a 
while a gate is opened, and one takes in a passing 
glance of a small earthly paradise,—flowers and 
fountains, shady walks, and white statues, a palace 
of wrought stone ; the heavy gates swing together 
once more, and leave only a dingy gloomy wall, 
the shadow of which falls half way across the 
street. Once in a while an exception is found, and 
I inclose sketch of an open iron fence, mounted on 
a foundation of stone and mortar, through which I 
recently looked with great pleasure, upon the flow¬ 
er garden and country home of a gentleman in 
Chaumes. The wall and fence are shown from the 
street side. The foliage indicated is ivy, neatly 
trained and trimmed; the open spaces are at a con- 
A GARDEN FENCE IN CHAUMES, FRANCE. 
venient height for passers-by to look in. On the 
inside, the stone work is entirely covered with ivy. 
-—- 
Forest Tree Planting’—The Seeds. 
— -^*>- 
Much that is very useful has been written about 
Forest Tree Planting, but the articles for the most 
part do not go into those practical details that arc 
necessary, especially for the inexperienced, to se¬ 
cure success. While some forest trees may be raised 
as readily as a hill of corn, this is by no means the 
case with all. Certain trees that when three or five 
years old are among the hardiest, are, during their 
first year, quite as “ miffy ” as some greenhouse 
plants, and their culture in this early state actually 
requires more care than that of a Rose or Geranium. 
The care required is not of a kind that any intelli¬ 
gent person can not give, but whoever would raise 
trees from seed, must know that it is required, and 
how to supply it. Leaving the treatment of young 
plants until later, when we come to seed sowing, 
we at the present consider an earlier step, and one 
upon which success depends as much as on any 
subsequent one—the proper preservation of the 
seeds during winter, or from the time of gathering 
to that of sowing. Tree seeds present a great 
variety in size and other characteristics ; between 
the soft, flattened scale of the Catalpa seed, up to 
the large, hard-shelled Black Walnut, there is a wide 
difference, and while both are seeds, the treatment 
proper for one would result in the loss of the other. 
While a few forest-tree seeds may be kept without 
any more care than that given to ordinary garden 
seeds, the majority require special treatment to pre¬ 
serve their vitality. It does not seem to be gener¬ 
ally known that some seeds ripen in early summer 
and must be sown at once ; these come up in a few 
days, the young trees grow rapidly and ripen their 
wood in preparation for winter all in a few months. 
The principal trees, the seeds of which behave in 
this manner, are: the Elms, and the Silver or 
White, and the Red Maples—other Maples ripening 
seeds in October. Of course, seeds of these trees 
are not usually kept by seedsmen, though some of 
them contract to deliver them as soon as ready. 
They should be sown as soon after they fall as 
possible. The principal seeds kept without any 
special care, beyond storing them in a cool, dry 
place, are: Ailanthus, Catalpa, Honey Locust, 
Locust, and Osage Orange ; when not for sale, both 
kinds of Locust are better if left in the pods until 
wanted for sowing. Many tree seeds if allowed to 
become quite dry, will either not germinate at all, 
or will remain in the ground dormant the first year 
and not come up until the second spring. To pre¬ 
vent drying, many seeds are kept in sand, and when 
the nature of a seed in this respect is not known, it 
is safer to preserve it in this manner. Sand for this 
purpose should not be wet, but damp ; the condi¬ 
tion in which it is dug from a bank is the proper 
degree of moisture. The bulk of sand should be at 
least equal to that of the seeds; and where, as in 
the case of Magnolia seeds, there is a pulpy coat, 
more may be used. The seeds, mixed with sand, 
should be stored in a cool place; being moist, a 
moderate warmth will cause germination, which is 
to be avoided ; as a general thing, freezing, will do 
no harm. The forays of rats and mice are to be 
guarded against. The common seeds kept in sand, 
are: the Sugar and other Maples, except those 
above named, Box Elder, Ash, Linden, Oaks, Chest¬ 
nuts, Wild Cherry, Beech, Birches, Hickories, 
Mountain Ash, Tulip Tree, Walnut, etc. Large 
quantities of Hickories, Black Walnuts, and But¬ 
ternuts are preserved in heaps in the open ground, 
the piles being carefully covered with sods, or in 
the absence of these, straw, and over these, three or 
four inches of well packed earth, the heaps being 
of such a shape and so finished as to shed rain. 
Seeds of Conifers, usually called Evergreens, 
though the Larch and Southern Cypress belong 
here and are deciduous, present some variety. The 
cones with thin scales, such as White Pine, the 
Firs, Larches, etc., usually open readily, or will do 
so when dried in the sun, or by a gentle heat. 
When the seeds drop spontaneous!}-, they are to be 
kept like ordinary seeds ; if they will remain in the 
cones, it is better to allow them to do so until 
wanted for sowing. The cones of some pines re¬ 
quire long drying before they will open ; Europeans 
obtain the seeds from the Cluster, Stone, and other 
pines that open with difficulty, by burying the 
cones in a sandy place for several weeks ; the scales 
then open readily, ar.d the seed, swollen by the 
commencement of germination, are sown at once. 
Red Cedar seeds do not germinate until the second 
year; these are mixed with an equal bulk of sand, 
put into a box, and buried in a place where they 
will not become dry, and sown the second spring. 
Tlie Cyclamen as a Window Plant. - 
Among the less cultivated plants in window gar¬ 
dening is the Cyclamen. When we say, the Cycla¬ 
men, we refer to the varieties of Cydamen Persicum , 
of which there are many. It is especially useful in 
window culture, as the leaves are of themselves 
beautiful, and the plant would be worth growing 
for these if it did not flower. The so-called bulb 
of Cyclamen is really a much depressed stem, flat¬ 
ter than the flattest of flat-turnips, producing roots 
from the lower surface, and leaves and flowers from 
the upper. There are three ways of getting a start 
with Cyclamens ; to raise them from seed, to buy 
imported bulbs, and to get plants from the florists 
who have grown them from seed. It is out of the 
season, to talk now about starting the plants from 
seed, but they may be had from the other two 
sources. Imported, bulbs are shrivelled and flabby, 
but soon recover if pressed well down upon the 
surface of a potful of good soil. They do not need 
to be planted, i. e., buried at all—merely pressed 
down firmly; be sure to put them in right side 
up; the top shows small buds, or scars of for¬ 
mer leaves. They will soon absorb moisture, and 
Fig. 1. 
