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OUR NATIVE ORCHIDS. 
In calling attention to tlie beauty of our native or¬ 
chids and their ease of culture you do worthy ser¬ 
vice, as we seldom see their culture tried, although 
their beauty excels many of the .inflch-praised ex¬ 
otics. As I have been fairly successful in the cul¬ 
ture of some the species, I give my 
mode of treatment, hoping it may in¬ 
duce others to try them and succeed 
with some of the following. 
POGONIA OpIIIOGLOSSOIDES. —- 
This is generally found growing in 
moist locations, the thick fibrous roots 
being most luxuriant when growing 
in good live sphagnum, situated so that 
it is neither too w r et nor too dry. In 
growing this beautiful plant I found it 
to succeed best in half-decayed spha¬ 
gnum, mixed with charcoal to keep it 
sweet. When in flower they should 
not have any approach to dryness, 
and the atmosphere of the house 
should not be very dry, or else red 
spider is sure to attack the foliage, 
which greatly mars the following 
year’s growth and flower. 
Aretiiusa Bulbosa.— The flowers 
of this fine orchid appear before the 
leaves. They are of a bright, rose- 
purple, varying in the shade of color 
according to the position and location 
in which the plant is growing. It is 
much rarer than the Pogonia, but I 
have met with it in some particular 
localities in considerable quantities. 
In cultivation it requires the same 
treatment as the Pogonia. Care must 
be taken to get the leaf as well ma¬ 
tured as possible. Coming as it does 
after the flower, the leaf is apt to be 
neglected. A good out-door position 
for growing these orchids is a shady, 
moist spot, having a northern expo¬ 
sure—using for soil a mixture of muck 
and sphagnum. During winter, the 
bed in which they are growing is 
better to be protected with some 
rough mulch, for it appears that when 
taken from their moist home and 
placed in higher ground they lose their 
extremely hardy nature. Upon no consideration, 
however, treat them as being tender plants, or failure 
is sure to result in their culture. 
Lady’s Slipper. —The different kinds of (Jypripe- 
dium found wild throughout the country are remark¬ 
ably pretty. C. speciabile has scarcely a rival in the 
long list of species in this family. It is found wild in 
bogs throughout the Northern States, and succeeds well 
in cultivation. It requires a soil composed of good 
fibrous peat, and, when sending up its flower-spike, 
plenty of moisture. I have found it do well when 
treated as a greenhouse plant by withholding water 
when at rest, but giving sufficient to keep the roots 
in a healthy condition. C. acaule requires a rather 
shady position, and succeeds in a soil composed of 
fibrous loam and good fresh leaf-mould. 
All our different kinds of native orchids, as Well as 
many more of our native plants, are too much 
neglected for beautiful as they are in a wild 
state, how much more so are they when well cared 
for under cultivation !—M. Milton, in Country Gen¬ 
tleman. 
Celosia svpcrba plumosa is one of the most graceful 
varieties in cultivation. I first saw it in a collection 
of James Vick’s, and was struck with the graceful 
habit and bright color which it possessed. It is 
equally adapted for out-door and pot-culture, being 
suitable for cutting for bouquets, either mixed with 
other flowers or in a vase alone. C. cristata is the 
Cockscomb, of which there are several varieties, some 
of which are tall, some dwarf, and of bright crimson, 
yellow, violet, and variegated colors. These dwarf 
kinds make excellent edges for beds. 
To Utilize old Fruit-Cans.— 
The Scientific American publishes a 
plan which looks as though it might 
reduce the chances that the earth’s 
surface will shortly be covered with 
old tin cans in a battered but not use¬ 
less condition. The can is pierced 
with one or more pin-holes, and then 
Bunk in the earth near the roots of the 
strawberry or tomato or other plants. 
The pin-holes are to be of such size 
that when the can is filled with water 
the fluid can only escape into the 
ground very slowly. Thus, a quart 
can, properly arranged, will extend 
its irrigation to the plant through a 
period of several days ; the can is 
then refilled. Practical trials of this 
method of irrigation leave no doubt of 
its success. Plants thus watered flour¬ 
ish and yield the most bounteous re¬ 
turns through the longest droughts. 
In all warm localities, where water is 
scarce, the planting of old fruit-cans, 
as here indicated, will be found profi¬ 
table as a regular gardening opera¬ 
tion, 
■--a-- 
Euphorbia Marginata.—This is 
a beautiful-leafed, half-hardy annual, 
very showy for the herbaceous border, 
or for edging a bed containing large 
growing plants, such as Cannas. It 
grows about two feet high.— If. Mil- 
ton, in Cultivator and Country Gentle¬ 
man. 
Celosia—For pot-culture, as well as for plant¬ 
ing out-doors, the feathery Celosia and the crested 
or cockscomb are magnificent plants. The seeds 
being very small, care should he taken in sowing 
them, that they are not too deeply buried or watered 
too much when the.plants are small, as they arc apt 
to damp off. As soon as large enough to handle, 
transplant them into other pots. Keep shaded for a 
few days and give air when convenient, to prevent 
damping. They require a light, rich soil to insure a 
quick growth, and, although impatient in a stagnant 
soil, they require an abundance of water. I think 
Soot for Roses.—Collect some 
soot from a chimney or stove where 
wood is used for fuel, put into an old 
pitcher, and pour hot water upon it. 
When cool, use it to water your plants 
every few days. The effect upon plants is wonderful 
in producing a rapid growth of thrifty shoots, with 
large thick leaves and numbers of richly-tinted roses. 
Lygodfum Seandens.—This pretty climbing 
fern is hardy under somewhat sheltered circumstan¬ 
ces. This and the American climbing Fern, Lygo¬ 
dium palmatum, are the most beautiful under cul¬ 
ture. There are few things more interesting than a 
fern garden. Any one who has a partially shady 
place, or a small piece of woods, even a group of 
| half-dozen trees, may have one. 
