THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
203 
and they forthwith go to delight the philosophers who 
dwell in our upper room. There are many beautiful 
species and varieties of Amaryllis that must forever 
stand apart from the group that we judge as florist’s 
flowers, and these cannot be disparaged by the opera¬ 
tion, within a certain circle of laws that have the sanc¬ 
tion of experience, because consistent with the aims of 
Nature and the demands of common sense. The florists 
are sometimes regarded as a narrow-minded lot. But it 
will be found that their minds are broad enough to en¬ 
able them to select for their own enjoyment the most 
beautiful flowers, and, if other people prefer the kinds 
that they reject, they are generous enough to leave them 
to the free exercise of their choice. 
CITY GARDENS. 
What is known as a lot of ground in New York is a 
plot twenty feet front and one hundred feet deep. The 
houses built thereon are usually forty feet deep or a little 
more, leaving for the yard or garden the remainder, say 
fifty feet. A goodly portion of this remainder is re¬ 
served for a grass plot, on the four corners of which are 
set the posts to support the lines on which clothes are 
dried after the washing. Usually a border on three 
sides, about three feet wide, is devoted to floricultural 
purposes, and this is a city garden. Some are so fortu¬ 
nate as to have more room, and many are not; but lim¬ 
ited as this territory may seem, there is a good deal of 
real enjoyment resulting from its proper care and culti¬ 
vation. 
We write this article with the hope of aiding lovers 
of plants in getting all the return possible for their 
labor. 
First. The garden should be thoroughly drained. Oc¬ 
casionally a location is found with natural drainage. 
Where this is wanting, tile should be laid just deep 
enough to be out of the way of deep cultivation, say two 
and a half feet below the surface. Then the soil should 
be made rich with good, well rotted and composted ma¬ 
nure. thoroughly mixed through its whole extent. 
This done, you are ready to plant, and if you can set 
but one thing, let that be a grape vine. If you mix a 
bushel of coarselv-grouud bones with the soil, extend¬ 
ing three or four feet in each direction from the vine, 
the good effect will be seen for years. 
From the many hundreds of plants all worthy of a 
place, it will be difficult to select the few for which you 
will have room. For spring flowering a few Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Crocuses and Snow-drops are indispensable; and 
it is fortunate that they can be removed after flowering 
and the space given to other plants. A clump of Lily 
of the Valley is desirable, and nothing gives more pleas¬ 
ure for space occupied than Doutzia Gracilis. But 
care must be taken to select plants that will give con¬ 
stant succession of flowers so far as practicable. This 
must not be done, however, to the exclusion of some of the 
hardy Roses which can be trained so as really to occupy 
but little space. By careful arrangement in planting, 
putting the taller growing plants near the fence and the 
low ones in front, a mass of growth can be had that will 
surprise one who has always had plenty of room at com¬ 
mand. On the fences should be vines, Honeysuckles, 
Clematis, Ampelopsis, Maurandya, Thunbergia, Adlu- 
mia, etc. The most tender of the hardy vines and plants 
should be put on the south side of a fence when practi¬ 
cal, as the temperature of the ground through winter is 
the most even there. Dahlias, the small growing ones 
for small gardens, Gladiolii, Lilies, Tuberoses, and tall 
growing plants generally should be near fences that other 
things may grow in front, as well as because they are 
easily supported. Sow Pansy seeds in the fall to secure 
early flowering ones. Drummond’s Phlox, Asters, Petu¬ 
nias, Verbenas, Sweet Alyssum and Candytuft are all 
easily grown, and give a profusion of blooms. Three or 
four Vincas should have place in the smallest gardens, 
not only for summer flowering, but because they are 
such admirable house plants for winter blooming. Ge¬ 
raniums, both for blossom and foliage, will be desirable, 
and a bed of Tea and other ever-blooming Roses should 
not be forgotten. A few Chrysanthemums for late 
flowering, when almost everything else is done, serve to 
prolong the pleasure. We have not named Fuchsias, 
Heliotrope, and a host of other pretty tilings that would 
be desirable, but one can not sail a gun-boat in a 
mill-pond nor have every desired thing in a city gar¬ 
den. 
We have not room in this article for special directions 
for culture. Different plants require different situations 
and care. Pansies and Fuchsias like a half shady place ; 
Verbenas will stand any amoimt of sun; Roses do best 
if mulched. Too little care is often taken in setting 
plauts. Those that have been potted need to have the 
balls of earth in which their roots have grown sufficiently 
removed to partly release them, and all should have the 
soil firmly pressed about them, and be copiously watered 
when set out. Watering afterward, when once begun, 
must be continued during a dry time sufficiently to wet 
the ground thoroughly to the depth of a foot or more, 
and keep it wetter at that depth than near the surface ; 
otherwise the roots will turn upward in search of water 
and come so near the surface as to be burned. Frequent 
stirring of the soil is necessary to admit air. Want of 
proper asration is one of the chief causes of failure in 
city gardens. In the country the breezes bring fresh air 
to plauts continually; in cities the gardens are sur¬ 
rounded by high buildings and fences to such extent 
that even when a breeze is blowing it fails to disturb the 
atmosphere near the earth’s surface, which .lies hot and 
deadly about the plants. Another cause of failure in 
city gardens is cats. But we have no patience to write 
about them. 
However well the soil may at first be prepared, it will 
need constant application of fertilizers of some kind. 
When the beds are raked off in the fall it is well to give 
a coating of well-rotted manure two or three inches 
deep, or an application of bone-dust, and to dig these 
under in the spring. If nothing is done in the fall, a good 
application of phosphate or guano should be applied in 
the spring. L. A. R. 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
