298 
AMEEICAj^ ageioultueist. 
[July, 
Growing House Plants in Moss. 
In some of the Swiss villages, nearly all the in¬ 
habitants are engaged in watch-making. They 
work in Large rooms, which, being abundantly 
lighted, and well warmed, allow the workmen to 
cultivate plants, that, on account of the uncer¬ 
tainty and rigor of the climate, can not be grown 
in the open air. The President of one of the local 
horticultural societies in Switzerland gives, in the 
“Kevue Horticole,” an account of the great success 
with which plants are cultivated in moss in these 
watch factories. One great advantage in the use of 
moss, is the readiness with which plants may be 
grouped in large vases and boxes. In France a 
“fertilized moss ” is sold, but ordinary moss, with 
occasional application of liquid fertilizers, will 
answer as well. Ordinary sphagnum, or peat moss, 
such as is used by florists in packing, may be em¬ 
ployed, but the writer prefers the moss which 
grows in sheets upon rocks, and around the trunks 
of trees at their base. Wire baskets lined with this 
moss are used, as are jardiniers of metal, glazed 
pottery, etc., taking care to provide sufficient 
drainage. The liquid fertilizer used on tliese 
house plants, should be without unpleasant odor; 
weak guano water, solutions of nitrate of soda, or 
sulphate of ammonia, may be employed, and very 
tine flour of bone may be mixed with the moss. 
Notes From the Pines. 
Having long cultivated our native plants, many 
readers and friends, when they come across 
unusual forms of these have kindly sent them to 
me, and my collection shows that double flowers 
occur in nature more frequently than is generally 
supposed. A dozen or more years ago, a young 
man sent me from a town in Massachusetts 
A DOUBLE EARLY SAXIFRAGE. 
Tliis (Saxifraga Vlrgiriicnsis) is a very common 
wild flower, and one of the earliest, but as the center 
of the little white flowers is greenish, they are not 
very handsome. The double flowers were little 
balls of pure white petals and really beautiful. 
The plant did not live, and I often regretted its 
loss. Last year a lady brought us, perhaps a dozen 
plants, of this same double Saxifrage, which she 
had collected within a few miles of this place, and 
afterwards brought more, showing that double 
flov.'ers are not always due to cultivation. Two 
other early wild species, the Wood Anemone 
(^. nemorom), and the Rue Anemone {Thalictrum 
anemonoides), occasionally occur double, and have 
been for sometime in commerce, I had long 
Fig. 1.—A DOUBLE-FLOWERED MARSH MARIGOLD. 
known of, and once before imported, but never 
until this spring succeeded in flowering the 
DOUBLE MARSH MARIGOLD. 
The single form of this, {Oalthapalusiriii), which 
is often incorrectly called Cowslip, makes the 
brook sides and wet places bright with its golden- 
yellow flowers, the petals of which shine as if 
varnished. The double flowers, and they are very 
double, are 'little hemispheres (fig. 1) of the same 
brilliant golden-yellow. All double flowers arc, as 
a rule, more lasting than the single ones of the same 
kind, as notably seen in the single and double ge¬ 
raniums. The double Caltha lasts for many days. 
while the single flowers soon fall away. It re¬ 
mains to be seen if this plant can adapt itself to 
garden soil. Variations in color in wild plants are 
quite common. Many blue or red, or purplish 
species having white forms. The Bird’s-foot 
Violet (V pedata), the largest flowered of our wild 
violets, often changes its pale violet-blue for pure 
white, and still more rarely, two of the petals arc of 
an intense purple color, and velvety like a pansy. 
THE MOSS PINK, OK DAVAKF PHLOX, 
{Phlox siibulata), usu.ally of bright rosy-purple, is 
sometimes a snowy white. This occurs in the 
wild plant and shows a natural tendency to vary. 
An English amateur florist, the Rev. John Nelson, 
took this Phlox in hand, and in raising a large 
number of seedlings, was rewarded by several 
well-marked forms. The flowers in these varieties, 
one of which is given in fig. 2, are varied with pale- 
pink and dark-purple markings in a striking man¬ 
ner. About a dozen of these have been named 
and put into commerce. The success of Mr. Nel¬ 
son, with one of our common wild flowers, should 
encourage our own amateurs to experiment in this 
direction, while the w'ork would bo interesting, a 
marked success in the production of new desirable 
forms would have its pecuniary reward. Pines. 
Harvesting and Storing Onions and 
Onion-Sets. 
Those who supply the city markets, are wise rf 
they do not have many onions to store for the win¬ 
ter. If bunched and sold as green onions, they 
bring much more than when quite ripe. A dozen 
half-grown, or even smaller onions, and half a 
dozen of full size, usually make a bunch. When 
from tw'o-thirds to three-fourths of the onion tops 
turn yellow and fall over, the crop may be pulled, 
laying the bulbs from two or three rows together, 
with their tops all in one direction. The onions 
are left here to complete ripening. If a storm 
comes on, they may be laid up in cocks, and spread 
again as soon as it is over. When the top, at the 
neck, or where it joins the bulb, is twisted and no 
moisture exudes, they are dry enough to store. 
The tops are cut off at about an inch from the 
bulb, and they are spread in a cool airy loft, not 
more than two feet thick. On account of the dif¬ 
ficulty of keeping them, many growers ship their 
onions directly from the field. On account of the 
marked fluctuations in the price, others prefer to 
store them, and take advantage of a sudden rise in 
the market. The chief difficulty in keeping onions 
is, their tendency to heat. It does not hurt them 
to be frozen, if they can be thawed very gradually. 
If onions in barrels or bulk are frozen, it is well to 
cover them with hay to the depth of sever.al feet, 
and keep them in a frozen state as long as possible. 
Onion-sets show when they are ripe in the same 
manner as iargo onions, by the turning yellow and 
falling down of the tops. It is best to shear off the 
tops as the sets stand in the rows. They are taken 
up by running a trowel under them, and throwing 
them upon a coarse sieve, which will allow the soil 
to be separated. Store the sets in a loft, spread 
not thicker than three or four inches. At the 
approach of cold weather, throw them into 
heaps, and cover with hay or straw, or with mats. 
If they freeze, keep them frozen as long as possible. 
Those who raise onion-sets for their own planting, 
need have no difficulty in storing them, as it is 
much better to plant them in autumn; they are 
perfectly hardy, and if planted then, will give an 
earlier and larger crop than if set out in spring. 
The land for planting sets should be as well en¬ 
riched, and as thoroughly worked, as for sowing 
the seed (“black seed,’’) in spring. Mark out 
drills nine inches apart, leaving six drills in a bed, 
and onutting the seventh for a path. In planting 
the sets, take care to get them right end up, placing 
them about three inches apart, and pressing them 
well down into the soft mellow soil; cover the 
rows well with soil, using the feet, or by the use of 
a rake, and finish the planting by rolling the ground. 
Onions for Seed.-— Those who raise onion seed, 
should carefully select the bulbs at harvest time, 
choosing not only the largest, but those of a shape 
nearest like that desired for the future crop. These 
large selected onions are even more difficult to 
keep through the winter than the general crop, and 
on this account, as well as others, it is better to set 
them out in the fall, October being usually the 
preferable month. The land for seed onions should 
be fairly rich, and marked out in rows about two 
and a half feet apart. The onions are to be set 
about six inches apart; the only precaution to be 
taken, is to be sure that the bulbs have a covering 
of at least three inches of fine mellow soil. 
Strawberries for Next Summer. 
AVhether we make a bed the coming fall, or next 
spring, by setting out plants from runners that 
have taken root in an old bed, a fair crop of fruit 
can not be expected until 1886. A few scattered 
berries may be borne, but nofhinglike a crop, until 
such plants have been in their new location for a 
year. The only way in which it is possible to pre¬ 
pare a bed that will afford a crop next spring, is to 
set out pot-layered plants. At present, nearly all 
of the nuserymen supply pot-layered plants; it is 
true that they cost more than plants dug up from the 
beds where they have taken root, but only enough 
more to pay for the extra trouble. If one has an 
established bed, he can easily strike the runners in 
pots himseif. The earliest runners will give the 
strongest plants, but it is not too late to layer them 
early this month. Small pots, two or three inches 
across the top, are to be filled with light rich soil. 
Strong runners, just about to take root are selected, 
and a pot of soil is set or plunged in the soil of the 
bed, directly under each runner, planting the pot 
well down, so that its edge will be on a level with 
the surface of the bed. Place the runner, or rather 
the young plant at the end of it, in the centre of 
the pot, and hold it in place to prevent it being 
blown about, by the use of small hooked pegs, 
pieces of wire bent like a hair-pin, or even by laying 
a small clod or stone upon it. When well rooted, 
which will be in about three weeks, the slender 
stem that connects the new plant with the old, may 
be cut, and the potted plants will bs ready to set 
out in the new bed. The sooner such plants can be 
set out the better, August being the best time if 
the plants are ready. The bed being well prepared, 
and manured, set the plants in rows two feet 
apart, with eighteen inches between them in the 
row. Give the pots a thorough watering, and the 
ball of earth may be turned out without the least 
disturbance of the roots. In a dry time the plants 
should be watered, and all runners that appear 
upon them are to be ]iinehed off, in order to con¬ 
centrate the growth in the crown. At the approach 
of winter, cover the bed with straw ; it should lie 
thinly over the plants, and thicker between them. 
