1886 . 
THE STAa-HOHN PERNS. 
Xhosc singular and boauticm Furns i, 
lately coino Into more I'rciuontuBo ( 
oratlvo purposos, and a largo, well-grown 
plant 18 Indeed a most attraetlvo sight i,. ii, 
conservatory or parlor, itgo,.orally " 
posed that those horns eannot bo grown as 
window plants, but snob is not tho case as 
to tho contrary, tliore are Cow plants whld’i 
ttcconunodato thoinsclvcs so readily to varl 
ous conditions of temperature and'moisture' 
riatycerium alcieoriKi, tho true Stag-horii 
Fern, and the kind most frequently soon In 
cultivation, is a. native oC New Son'tli Wales 
where it is found growing on tlio trunks of 
trees, and tlieroforc under cidtivatiou it suc¬ 
ceeds best and appears to best adv.antago 
when grown on blocks of Avood or stems of 
Tree Ferns. But it may also bo cultivated in 
pots containing plenty of potslierds and 
pieces of eliarcoal, and a soil consisting of 
leaf-mold and sand. 
A larger, and as yet rarer species, is 1‘. 
grande, the Elk’s ITorn Fern, of tlie grandeur 
of which our greenhouse speciinons convey 
liai-dly an adequate conception. OC this, F. 
AV. Burbidge, the well-known botanist, says 
in his work of travels in Borneo : 
“I resided for some time in a house 
which had been occupied by Mr. 
Hugh Low, the garden and fruit or¬ 
chard of whicli aH’orded me most 
delightful Avalks morning and even¬ 
ing. I never saw tlie Elk’s Horn 
Fern so luxuriant anywliere as it was 
on the trunks of some large Orange- 
ti-ees here. The b.arren fronds were 
broad, like the horns of tlie giant 
Irish elk, and the more slender, fer¬ 
tile ones drooped on all sides from 
the base of the nest formed by the 
leafy expansions. I measured some 
of these fertile fronds, and found 
them fully seven feet in length. These 
splendid Ferns, and the ciioicest of 
epiph 3 d;al Orchids, which had been 
pianted .among the branches of trees, 
made a waik among them most en- 
joyiibie.” • 
The species of this genus are few 
in number, neariy ail tropical; tlie 
two named above and P. hiforme, P. 
AelhiopirMm, and P. Wallicliii arc tiic 
best known. 
AMISRICAN garden. 
105 
result of sour soil .and unhealtliy plants with 
no, m with 
roots you may give heat 
d stimulating manures freely, but not 
otlierwlsc. 
'J'lii'; nmiMUDA i.rr.Y. 
■ Ins l.ily, also known as TAllum mrrisU, 
may 1)0 ti-cated as A. Kamltdura, witli tlie cx- 
ecption that wlicre growing In the oiion 
ground they will not be ready to lift before 
ctober. 'Pbe bulbs wliich were forced 
early last winter and allowed to complete 
their growth and ripen oil in pots, should 
now be sliakcn out and potted in fresh soil, 
giving them tlie same treatment as recom¬ 
mended above. 
ibis l.ily and the old /.. lougijlorum, and 
in fact all true l.ilios, may be forced year 
lifter year if properly ripened olf after bloom¬ 
ing, and wliero care is taken to injure the 
roots as little as imssibic in shifting. A 
good practice is to simply sliake off tlie top 
soil from the ball and repot without separ¬ 
ating the bulbs Cor several years until thought 
too large. In this way it is not rare to have 
ten stalks in a pot, of L. luniiijlorurii produc¬ 
ing from three to six dowers each. - 
will bo just riglit for winter use. Plants 
luxuriate in such soil. A mixture of one- 
third old cow-manure with it, is Ane for 
blooming plants. 
DALLAS FOB EASTER. 
Plants which have been kept dry should 
now be shaken out of the old soil, cleared 
from dead roots and oA-sets, potted in Ave 
and six-inch pots, and left out doors on a 
bed of co.al ashes until cold weather sets In. 
Usually it is better not to try to hurry them 
into bloom, but to keep them in a moder¬ 
ately cool house. About six weeks before 
Eastei" they have to be placed in a liglit, 
warm house with a tenqjcr.ature of 60° at 
night, watered with tepid water and liquid 
manure twice a week. .Syringe twice a day 
to keej) down red spiders. By this treat¬ 
ment the bulk of their dowers may be Iiad 
in bloom when they are most aiipreciated. 
THE NEW DWARF STEVIA. 
Stevia serrala nana. 
Those who have grown the old .Stevia 
know what an amount of trouble Is required 
to keep it compact by constant pinching. 
This new variety which wiis raised 
by Mr. Fistler, gardener atthe IVhite 
House, is a decided improvement on 
the old form. It produces a denser 
mass of dowers, never grows over 18 
inches high, and we have seen it in 
ten-inch pots standing not over 12 
inches above the rim, .and measuring 
the same through the head without 
having been ijiuclied in. 
OUR WINDOW BOX. 
For doral decor.ations of all kinds 
there is an increasing inclination for 
distinct colors. 
Rose’s Tob.acco Extract Insecti¬ 
cide Soap is an excellent remedy 
for green Ay and other insects 
infesting house plants, and much 
more conveniently .applied than fu- 
migiition. 
FOROINa LILIES. 
LILIUM CANDIl^UJI. 
In forcing Lilium candidum it must ic 
merabered that the best success can only be 
had by lifting the bulbs at their dormant 
state, which is in July and August 
their Aower stems have ripened. H *og 
the bulbs is deferred until after tliey nive 
hiade their crown of foliage which icmains 
green through the winter, little success neea 
he expected. . ,, 
Lift when dormant and pot m 
largely composed of leaf-mold 
Animal manures are injurious to a , 
Keep them well watered but modeia e ^ 
overhead until the pots are well fl e 
>-oots. As a rule no plant can be success^ tm„s 
^ly forced into bloom until the po i 
olgood working roots. This is ' 
secret of successful forcing. Even p 
tvho ought to know better, shift p ao 
small pot into a large one and put itjt 
°oee into a forcing temperatuie,' 
PLATYCERIUM ALCIOORNE. 
POTTED PLANTS AND OOMPOST, 
When potted plants 
says lym. Bcekmau 
become pot-bound, 
in the N. Y. Tribune, 
the effect is seen in checked growth, yellow 
foliage and imperfect blooms. They should 
then be repotted in a size larger, or the b.all 
of earth set into water witli the chill oft', un¬ 
til tlie earth dissolves from the roots, then 
repotted in a pot of the same size, with fresh 
soil and sh.adcd for a few days until the roots 
^o-et established. I have often treated plants 
hi bloom in this way without injury. 
Wlien the pots get green they should be 
washed inside and out; a few hours’so.ak- 
inff will loosen the coating, when it m.ay be 
washed off with a rag or brush. Plants .al¬ 
ways "-row best in clean pots. Rooted cut- 
timvs sliould not be potted in too large pots; 
2 i/inch pots are usu.ally large enough, I 
have seen men pot cuttings m six and eig 
'“Jbetest soil for pUnts is pasture sods 
^ A t-hinlv and laid in a pile to deeay. H 
' and turned over several times, it 
pai 
kept wet 
lusuflicieut dr.ainage is a frequent 
cause of failure with pot-plants. 
The remedy is repotting .and in so 
doing using plenty small pieces of broken 
pots or small lumps of charco.al in the pot. 
Geraniums raised from cuttings this spring 
sliould now be potted in four-inch pots. If 
kept in a iie.altliy growing condition they 
will make beautiful growing plants for the 
house when frost kills our out-door flowers. 
Not more than one flowei^bud of C.amellias 
should be allowed on each terminal shoot, 
if size and perfection of flower are re¬ 
quired. Remove all others before the buds 
begin to swell; if delayed longer, little ad¬ 
vantage is gained. 
Orchids are becoming more and more fash¬ 
ionable, and many of our rich belles don’t 
hesitate to pay $20 and more for a single 
.spray to wear at a reception or party, as 
long as it is fashionable and becoming. 
Well, the money does somebody good, and 
they might spend it for worse purposes. 
