.VOL. XXXVIII. No. S 
WHOLE No. 1517. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
84.00 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.! 
The process of preparation has been con¬ 
sidered somewhat of a secret, and in the 
North, at least, has not been well understood. 
Though several methods are used, they all 
have in view the removal of the outer cover¬ 
ing. or bark, of the stem. To accomplish this, 
it is suuk iu shallow water, or narrow trenches 
are dug in the ground, iuto which it is packed 
in thin layers, where it remains for several 
months till the coating has decayed, when it is 
taken up. shaken, boiled, dried and beaten 
with sticks or machinery till all dirt is remov¬ 
ed from the black inner stems. Or it is 
packed in large steam-tight vats, and for some 
time exposed to the action of steam, when it 
is washed, dried and beaten as before. Thus 
prepared, it is au article of export, and as the 
production involves simply the expense of 
gathering and preparing it, some profits may 
be realized. Here, iu New York, upholsterers 
pay from three to eight cents a pound for it, 
according to its eleanuess and quality. 
this purpose, there is no more need of a dearth 
of blossoms in the little tenements, than, pro¬ 
portionately, in the conservatories of the mil¬ 
lionaire. If under the poorest circumstances 
we cannot have many flowers, we can have 
green leaves and rambling vines, for isn't the 
wandering English Ivy as highly appreciated 
by fastidious and common folks, as are Gera¬ 
niums, Pansies, aud other floral paraphernalia ? 
And there is the Wandering Jew that will flour¬ 
ish on the mantel-piece, the brackets iu the 
corners, or the window, and is perfectly at 
home in earth or in water. 
In order to obtain the best results from the 
means at our command, we ought to notice 
several appropriate conditions: The flower¬ 
pots, be they those pots proper, old teapots, 
damaged mugs, fruit punnets, lard tins, pickle- 
cans, blacking bottles, nail kegs, or whatever 
else you please, should have holes or cracks 
enough at the bottom to permit a ready egress 
of water; the drainage in the bottom of the 
plants into proportionately smaller pots. Over- 
potting is a ruiuous evil. So is over-watering. 
If your plants look sickly, stint rather than 
increase the supply of water, and never pre¬ 
scribe inamire or manure-water for a ghost, 
else the phantom will probably die, or become 
more indisposed, at auy rate. Feed robust 
plants liberally, but delicate or declining sub¬ 
jects treat sparingly. As a rule, plants treated 
as annuals, as Cinerarias and Primroses, re¬ 
quire the sunniest window corner, aud though 
Gerauiums, Carnations, and the like, love as 
good a place, they will submit pretty well to 
less favorable treatment. But in all cases, the 
flowering plants should have window prefer¬ 
ence over German Ivies, English Ivies, Climb¬ 
ing Fern, Wandering Jew. Ferns, Myrtles, and 
other evergreens. Though Cactuses and other 
succulent or thick-leaved plants love the sun¬ 
light, they will winter very well in compara¬ 
tive shade, providing they be kept dry. 
Daphne odorata is nearly past; It blooms copi¬ 
ously as a pot plant, but more so when planted 
out in a cool greenhouse. If Callas are strong 
and Dot over-potted, they will be in bloom 
now ; if they be in Bmall pots and have made 
matey roots, feed them extra. I much prefer 
the old strong-growing kind to the dwarfer 
sort. Despise the notion of applying hot 
water to make them bloom, also of chopping 
off their leaves. Chinese Primroses are in all 
their glory. We grew oars in a cold-frame 
from the seed-pan to the flowering period, and 
now have splendid plants full of large, bright 
blossoms. I like the single better than the 
double ones. Cyclamens are approaching 
their best. 8ome growers dry them off in the 
summer and pot them afresh in August; oth¬ 
ers plant them out lu the open garden, but the 
best Cyclamens I know of just now, were 
planted out in a cold-frame iu the summer 
time—keeping the corns a half Inch or so 
under ground—and lifted, shaken a little, and 
potted off about the last of August, this time 
having the conn nsing a little above ground. 
Cinerarias are coming in. They are splendid 
greenhouse plants, but not so good for the 
window. They are big, bulky things, extreme¬ 
ly subject to green-fly, very thirsty and hungry, 
and a dry or hot atmosphere curls their leaves. 
Sown about the end of June and grown on In 
cold-frames till the end of November, then 
removed to a cool greenhouse, they will yield 
flowers from January till April. 
Stevias and Enpatoriums are in season, but 
I don't favor them much. Plauted out iu early, 
aud lifted and potted in late summer, a rich 
soil, lots of water, and pinchiug seem to suit 
them well. Poiusettias, with their large and 
glowing rosetted bracts, are going slowly by, 
and should be kept drier, then placed under 
the stages ou their sides till spring. They are 
better greenhouse than window plants, a3 is 
likewise Euphorbia fulgeus, with its fiery 
wreaths. Bouvardias blossom freely through 
the winter ; so do Heliotropes. Of the last, I 
prefer old pot-grown plants that were closely 
cut iu last September or October, aud allowed 
to break gradually ; afterwards, cutting off 
the flowers will keep them within bounds. 
TELLANDSIA USNEOIDES, 
This plant, a representation of which is 
given in the accompanying figure, plays a 
much more important part in commerce than 
one would suppose, judging from its apparent¬ 
ly frail structure aud humble appearance. It 
was named after the Swedish botanist, Til- 
lands, and is also known as Florida Moss, 
Spanish Moss and Black Moss. It loves a 
warm, damp atmosphere aud grows in abund¬ 
ance along streams, in marshes, valleys aud 
low lands in all the Southern States, especially 
in Southern Georgia aud iu many parts of 
Texas, Louisiana. Alabama aud Florida. 
Here it hangB suspended from the branches of 
the trees iu long, twining, tangled bunches, 
Laving somewhat the appearance of au old 
.man's beard, to which it has, uot inaptly, been 
(Compared. 
It is an epiphyte, or air plant, taking its 
nourishment from the moist air, and, as some 
suppose, also from the trees upon which it 
hangs, though, most likely, the feeble roots it 
spreads on the bark of these are more for sup¬ 
port than for the absorption of food. Where 
but little is found, it has an airy, decorative 
effect, but where it grows in dense masses, 
filling the woods far and wide with heavy fes¬ 
toons that move lazily iu the breeze aud form 
barriers impenetrable to the rays of the 6uu, it 
has a somber and melancholy effect, that per¬ 
haps has given rise to the name of Indian 
Death Cloud, by which the Southern people 
sometimes denote it. 
The plant is of a grayish color, and, as seen 
n the engraving, .'consists of a yarn-like 
stem with many branches, aud tiny scattered 
leaves from oue to two inches long. The epi¬ 
dermis is covered with a fuzz uot uulike hoar¬ 
frost. Each internote, or piece of stein from 
leaf to leaf, is twisted. The flowers which ap¬ 
pear at the end of the branches, are small, of 
a yellowish-green color and perfect, arranged 
on the plan of three, having three sepals, three 
petals and six stamens. From its mode of 
growth and general appearauce, one would 
hardly take it to be so closely related to the 
Pine-apple as is the case, both being members 
of the family Bromeliacece. 
At A is seen a ripened fruit split open, ready 
for the discharge of the seeds. B is another 
pod that has uot attained its full size, aud at C 
is seen au expanded (lower, all of natural size. 
The fruit consists of three carpels, sometimes 
two, and sometimes several seeds provided 
with a coma or prolongation of the outer seed¬ 
covering into & hair-like mass by which they 
can be floated in the air. Though it is uot 
particularly attractive, yet, for the oddity, it is 
often grown in greehouses, and nothing is 
simpler than its cultivation. All that is re¬ 
quired is to hang it up on a piece of wood or 
any growing plant, aud to keep it warm and 
moist. It will not grow if planted iu a pot, or 
even if it lies on the soil; it must he suspended 
so that it can grow downwards. 
In the cities, aud other places where ever¬ 
greens are scarce, it is much used to decorate 
churches, private aud public buildiugs for 
Christmas and New Year’s, though it seems to 
us a very gloomy sort of decoration. Large 
quantities are gathered in the fall for this pur¬ 
pose, packed in barrels and shipped to the 
Northern seedsmen aud florists, who bind it 
into festoons and other forms. A barrel sells 
iu New York at about Christmas lor uot less 
tkau $2.50. But the U66 to which it is most 
extensively put, aud which gives it by far tbe 
greatest value as an article of commerce, is as 
a substitute for horse-hair, to All mattresses, 
chair-scats, saddles and cushions of all kinds. 
The inner part of the stein is peculiarly fit for 
this purpose. It is tough, flexible, durable, 
black and curly, and the best of it, when well 
prepared, can only be distinguished from 
horse-hair on close examination. 
TILLANDSIA USNEOIDES, OR FLORIDA 
M083. 
JAMES TAPLIN, 
This is a curious, though not very showy 
plant which drapes the trees in Florida, and 
more or less in other swampy places iu south¬ 
ern States. It is au admirable packing ma¬ 
terial, and is also used for filling mattresses 
aud pillows for sofas and beds, for which pur¬ 
pose it is probably second to uothing but horse 
hair, than which it is much cheaper. As a 
decorative plant for rooms it is very satisfac¬ 
tory ; if obtained alive it will grow without 
trouble in positions unfavorable to vegetation 
generally, and although not very showy, it i 
very ornamental. In a living state I believe it 
is not in the trade, except when obtained from 
WINTER FLOWERS 
WILLIAM FALCONER, 
Out-of-door plants being now locked in 
frost and mantled with snow, our window- 
gardens, frames and greenhouses only, yield 
us our posies. And with the multitude of 
kinds of winter-blooming plants suitable fer 
