266 
Care in Steaming 
Greenhouse Soils 
The steaming of the soil at 180 degrees F. 
for 30 minutes is a common practice, espec- 
ially in greenhouse beds and seed flats.,It 
kills weed seeds anl many diseases but it 
also has a liability of hurting anything 
immediately set into the soil. 
Therefore, if you have steamed your soil, 
wait a week before planting and in the 
meantime fork the soil over 2 or 3 times. 
Gypsum, 4 to 5 lbs. per 100 sq. feet applied 
before planting is said to help. 
The fact that this trouble appears right 
after steaming is of interest. The soil 
life evidently has been killed or set back 
by the steaming treatment. The writer is 
of the opinion that if the steamed soil is 
first watered with pond water or if some 
culture from a compost bed was added to 
the steamed soil and worked in, the con- 
dition of the soil would be immediately im- 
proval to such an extent that growth would 
be much better right at the start. Much, 
of the results claimed to be had by using 
leaf mold, seems to me to be due almost 
entirely to the bacterial cultures that are in 
the virgin soil and which are lacking in the 
used soil. A bushel of virgin soil that is 
placed in a container thru which water will 
drain, and then by adding an excess of 
water so that it will pass on thru the soii 
and into a container, this water would be 
saturated with helpful bacteria and at the 
same time comparatively free from weed 
seeds. 
CYPRIPEDIUM ACAULE 
(Continued from Page 257) 
must have some natural acid humus in 
order to grow. successfully. Too many 
times attempts are made to grow it by the 
addition of some of the chemical acid fert- 
ilizers, which is, in my opinion, too far 
away from nature for plants of this type. 
For best results some shade is necessary. 
STRATIFY ERITRICHIUM 
(Continued from Page 258) ; 
of the mountain regions of Europe, it would 
indicate that their period of germination 
is more set for early spring than would be 
for other flowers that germinate at about 
any period if moisture and warmth is present. 
But mountain flowers are rather demanding 
as to the time for germination, that is early 
spring and of course at this time in the moun- 
tains, it would indicate that a more cool 
temperature would be required and defin- 
itely not a warm one, which possibly was 
the case in the greenhouse. 
This might also indicate why the two seed- 
lings are standing still; too much warmth 
or possibly soil condition which is more 
often the cause of plants “standing still’. 
How about some of our readers answering 
Mrs. Kensinger’s question. 
QUICK METHOD TO 
GROW GARDEN ASPARAGUS 
For a quicx method in establishing an 
Aspaiagus planting, try planting 2 or 4 
seeds in a 4 inch pot, early in the spring, 
and grow on in the greenhouse 
When they «1e growing strongly they cai: 
be set out directly to the garden, spacing 
thein about 2 feet cach way. 
Male plants crop heavier than the feniale, 
or berry-lorming plants. Becaus: Aspvw- 
agus is a martime plant, an ounc2 of s2!t 
per square yas, early in the spring, is 
berifical. 
The Modern Gloxinia 
By Eleanor J. Kilroy, New York. 
The ancestor of today’s modern hybrid 
Gloxinia was discovered in Brazil about one 
hundred and fifty years ago and in 1825 wag 
given the name of Sinningia, after a gard- 
ener at the University of Bonn on the Rhine 
William Sinning. The first Gloxinias were 
of the slipper type and it was not until some 
years later that the first bell-shaped flower 
appeared. This was named Gloxinia in 
honor of Benjamin P. Gloxin, a botanical 
writer of Colemar. 
For a time the Gloxinias captured the int- 
erest of various hybridists and the Dutch 
were able to produce 13 different varieties, 
all with medium sized flowers. 
Gloxinia History 
Then the interest in this flower died down 
prebably due to the fact that they were con- 
sidered “greenhouse flowers”. Flower books 
printed as late as 1941, “Flower Family Al- 
bum”, by Helen Field Fischer and Gretchen 
Harshbarger states that Gloxinias are in the 
same family, Gesneriaceae, as the African 
Violets and “come easy from seed, if you 
can reproduce jungle climate’’. 
In 1940, Albert H. Buell of Connecticut 
began his cross breeding of Gloxinias and it 
is to him that we today can give thanks for 
the famous Buell hybrids, flowers that are 
larger than the Dutch hybrids, some with 
ruffles, some solid colors, and still others 
so speckled with colored dots on light back- 
grounds that they appear almost solid color. 
Gloxinias can be raised easily from seed. 
and flower in about a year’s time from plant- 
ing. They are also easily propogated from 
leaf or flower stem cuttings. This can ba 
done either by putting the cutting in moist 
{ 
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Have Some Herb Plants in your Garden 
THE BEE AND THE FLOWERS 
It is estimated that a bee carries about 
.0007 of an ounce of honey at a load 
which makes 12,632 trips to fill a section, 
4 inches square and one inch thick. If it 
averaged 1/8 mile per trip, it would then 
have traveled a third of the way around 
the world! 
To go on with figures, a bee visits at 
least a million flowers to produce a pound 
of honey. 
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.00 12 ISSUES 
sand, vermiculite or in water until a tiny 
bulblet forms. It is then planted in a mix- 
ture of good garden loam, leaf mold and 
sand with a bit of pulverized cow manure 
added. Some growers also add a pinch of 
DDT as a precautionary method of prevent- 
ing thrips. 
Drainage Important 
Drainage is a very important item with 
Gloxinias as they do not like a waterlogged 
soil. Care should be taken when watering 
to soak good until the water runs from the 
base of the plant jar, then do not water a- 
gain until the top of the soil becomes dry. 
Also Gloxinias, like their cousins, the Afri- 
can Violets, will get spots on their leaves if 
the leaves get wet and stand in the sun. 
They will stand a bit brighter light than the 
African Violet but their general culture is 
very much the same. 
Save Bulbs for another Year 
After the plant has flowered, allow it to 
grow for a short time, water sparingly keep- 
ing the soil just damp until the plant dies 
down. Then store in a dark place with a 
temperature around 60 degrees Far. Ex- 
amine from time to time and moisten occas- 
ionally to prevent the bulb from drying out. 
When the new little ‘“‘mousec-ear” leaves ap- 
pear, remove the bulb from the pot, stir up 
the soil, replant (a 5” pot is recommended) 
cover with about 34 inch of soil, water good 
and your Gloxinia is ready to begin its 
cycle of growth once again. ; 
If you do not care to raise your Gloxinia 
from either seed or cuttings, bulbs can be 
purchased in the spring of the year and will 
flower in the summer. Some specialists in 
rare house plants also offer seedling plants. 
ACACIA, MIMOSA and ALBIZIA 
These three genera bear much _ super- 
fical resemblance to each other and at one 
time were classed together. 
InAcacia each flower has many stamens 
while the Mimosas have but four; in Albizia, 
the stamens are numerous as in the Acaciag 
but they are united at their base while tha 
Acacia is free from one another. 3 
The three are hardy only in frost free 
sections, that is up to the (IX) zone; some 
can be grown as far north as Kentucky, 
for I know of a beautiful Mimosa near 
Nicholasville, Kentucky. This would be 
in the (VI) zone of hardiness. 
While on the subject of Albizia, the prop- 
er spelling of this genus is now with one 
“z’. This continual changing of names and 
spelling by the botanists is getting to be on 
the verge of a racket; hardly is a book pub- 
lished on horticulture when many references 
made in it are obsolete. The English use 
entirely different names for a great many 
flowers, while in France they use others and 
in the trade it is still another classification; 
it is for this reason that symbols are used 
in listing seeds in our listings; even with 
this system, friends write in asking for a 
packet of “Balsame”, another for “Pussy 
toes”, etc. Imagine where any help could 
be hired who can answer these requests. 
EUCALYPTUS GUNNII 
This species makes a first class pot plant 
for growing in the greenhouse. It has a 
distinct blue foliage, and is quick growing; 
young foliage is much used for decoration. 
The Magazine will be issued quarterly 
in the future; oftener if possible, 
