Chapter 3

Early Cabbage

For early planting, the number of varieties is limited to three or four. For an intermediate crop the list is more extended, and the late varieties are very numerous. The early list is headed by the Jersey Wakefield, a variety which heads very quickly, and, although not one of the solid kinds, is generally grown. The Early York and Winnigstadt are good varieties to follow it. The latter especially is solid and of very good quality. For the midseason, the Succession and All Season are of the best, and for the winter supply the Drumhead, Danish Ball and Flat Dutch types are the leaders. One of the best of the Cabbages for table use is seldom seen in the garden—the Savoy Cabbage. It is a type with netted leaves, making a large, low-growing head, the center of which is very solid and of excellent flavor, especially late in the fall, when the heads have had a slight touch of frost. Savoy should be grown in every private garden.

The seed-bed should be made mellow and rich. A good border will do. The seed is sown preferably in rows, thus allowing thinning of the plants and the pulling of any weeds that germinate. The young plants will well repay attention to watering and thinning. The rows should be 3 or 4 in. apart. When the plants are large enough to transplant, they may be planted where early vegetables have been grown. Set the plants from 18 to 24 in. apart in the row, the rows being 3 ft. apart for the medium-growing kinds. One ounce of seed will furnish about two thousand plants. All Cabbages require deep and rich soil, and one that holds moisture well.

The best remedy for the Cabbage worm is to kill the first brood on the very young plants with Paris green. After the plants begin to head, pyrethrum or salt water may be used. On a small area, hand-picking may be recommended.

The maggot is the most serious Cabbage pest. After studying the seventy odd remedies proposed, Slingerland concludes that 6 are efficient and practicable: growing the young plants in closely covered frames; tarred paper cards placed snugly about the base of the plants to keep the fly away; rubbing the eggs from the base of the plant; hand-picking of the maggots; treating the plants with emulsion of carbolic acid; treating them with carbon bisulfide. The insecticidal materials are injected or poured into the soil about the base of the plant.

Respecting these two insecticides, Slingerland remarks: “Always use the crude carbolic acid, as it is much cheaper than the purified and is nearly, if not quite, as effective. It will probably be safer if used as an emulsion than if simply diluted with water. We would advise that it be made by the follow formula: 1 pound of hard soap or 1 quart of soft soap dissolved in 1 gallon of boiling water, into which 1 pint of crude carbolic acid is then poured and the whole mass agitated into an emulsion, which will remain in this condition for a long time. In treating the plants, take one part of this standard emulsion and dilute it with 30 equal parts of water; it probably can be used stronger without injury to the plants. If the emulsion is cold and semi-solid, use several parts of warm water at first. Begin the treatment early, a day or two after the plants are up, or in the case of Cabbages and Cauliflowers the next day after they are set in the field, and repeat it once each week or 10 days until about May 20 in our state. While we have little faith in the preventive effects of the early treatments, we do believe that the emulsion will then kill many of the eggs and recently hatched maggots. If it could be applied withsome force through a syringe or force pump, it might not be necessary to go to the trouble of first removing some of the earth from about the plants. It must be remembered that its success will depend on the eggs or maggots being hit with it. None of the Cabbages in our experiment were injured in the least by an application containing nearly twice as much of the acid, and there is but little danger of its injuring the tenderest foliage of radishes, turnips or onions; if any injury manifests itself on these crops, dilute the emulsion with 40 or 50 or more parts of water, instead of 30. A knapsack or wheelbarrow sprayer would prove a very useful instrument in applying the emulsion on a large scale.”

The carbon bisulfide is best injected into the soil by means of a long-nosed syringe. Slingerland (Cornell Bulletin 78) illustrates a specially made syringe or injector for this purpose: “Thus Cabbage plants can be treated once, and once is usually sufficient, at the rate of about 10 plants for 1 cent for the liquid, using about 1 teaspoonful to each plant. As the injector will last for years, and several neighbors might join in the purchase and use of one instrument, its cost would practically not influence this estimate of the cost of killing the maggots. We believe it is the cheapest, most effective, and most practicable method yet devised for fighting this pest on crops of Cabbages and cauliflowers; on crops of radishes, turnips, or onions it will probably be too expensive except where choice or new varieties are attacked. The carbolic acid emulsion will prove the most practicable on these last crops.”

The club-root, which causes the roots to become greatly thickened and distorted, is difficult to manage if Cabbages or allied plants are grown continuously on land in which diseased plants have been raised. Changing the location of the Cabbage or Cauliflower patch is the best procedure. If very different crops, as corn, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, etc., are grown on the land, the disease will be starved out in two or three years.

Cacalia.Tassel Flower. Ladies’ Paint Brush.A quaint old annual, in two colors, scarlet and orange. It is easily grown, and makes a fine second-row plant for a border, contrasting well with Browallia or Ageratum. Sow where the plants are to stand. Let plants stand 10-12 inches apart. Grow 1½-2 ft. high.

Cactus.This class of plants is often seen in small collections of house plants, to which they add interest, being altogether different from other plants. All Cacti are easy to grow, requiring but little care and enduring the heat and dryness of a living room much better than most other plants. Their requirements are ample drainage and a sandy soil. Cactus growers usually make a soil by mixing pulverized plaster or lime refuse with garden loam, using about two-thirds of the loam. The very fine parts, or dust, of the plaster, are blown out, else the soil is likely to cement. They may be rested at any season by simply setting them away in a dry place for two or three months, and bringing them into heat and light when they are wanted. As new growth advances they should have water occasionally, and when in bloom they should be watered freely. Withhold water gradually after blooming until they are to be rested.

Some of the most common species in cultivation are the Phyllocactus species, often called the Night-blooming Cereus. These are not the true Night-blooming Cereuses, which have angular or cylindrical stems, covered with bristles, while this has flat, leaf-like branches; the flowers of these, however, are very much like the Cereus, opening at evening and closing before morning, and as the Phyllocacti may be grown with greater ease, blooming on smaller and younger plants, they are to be recommended.SeeCereus.

The Epiphyllum, or Lobster Cactus, is one of the best of the family, easy of culture. It bears bright-colored blossoms at the end of each joint. When in flower, whichwill be through some of the winter months, this requires a richer soil than the other Cacti. Opuntias, or prickly pears, are often grown as border plants through the summer. In fact, all the family may be planted out, and if a number of varieties are set in a bed together they make a striking addition to the garden. Be very careful not to bruise the plants. It is better to plunge them in the pots than to turn them out of the pots.

Caladium or Colocasia

Caladium.Tuberous-rooted, tender perennial plants which are used for conservatory decorations, and also for subtropical and bold effects in the lawn. The plants which are commonly known under this name are really Colocasias. The plants should be rested during the winter, being kept in a warm cellar or under a greenhouse bench, where they are not liable to frost or dampness. The roots are usually kept covered with earth during the winter, but they are kept dry. Early in the spring the roots are put into boxes or pots and are started into growth, so that by the time settled weather comes they will be 1 or 2 feet high and ready to set directly into soil. When set out of doors, they should be given a place which is protected from strong winds, and one which does not receive the full glare of direct sunlight. The soil should be rich and deep, and the plants should have an abundance of water. Caladiums are most excellent plants for striking effects, especially against a house, high shrubbery or other background. If they are planted by themselves, they should be in clumps rather than scattered as single specimens, as the effect is better. See that they get a good start before they are planted in the open ground.

Calceolaria.Small greenhouse herbs which are sometimes used in the window-garden. They are not very satisfactory plants for window treatment, however, sincethey suffer from dry atmosphere and from sudden changes of temperature. In the window-garden they should be protected from strong, direct sunlight. They are grown from seeds. If the seeds are sown in early summer and the young plants are transplanted as they need, flowering specimens may be had for the late fall and early winter. In the growing of the young plants, always avoid exposing them to direct sunlight; but they should be given a place which has an abundance of screened or tempered light. A new crop of plants should be raised each year. There is a race of shrubby Calceolarias, but it is little known in this country. One or two species are annuals which are adaptable to cultivation in the open garden, and their little, ladyslipper-like flowers are attractive. However, they are of secondary importance as annual garden flowers.

Calendula.These are the well knownPot Marigolds, and add a bright spot to any garden. Annual. Especially are they fine in the cool days of the fall, when many of the annual flowers have gone to seed. The places of short-lived plants may be filled by sowing seed of Calendulas in May, scattering them through the border and allowing the plants to grow where they come up. Easy of growth and hardy. 1-2 ft. high. Should stand 8-12 in. apart. Colors, yellow and orange.

California Poppy

California Poppy(Eschscholtzia Californica). Low perennial, poppy-like plant, grown as a hardy annual. It is certainly one of the best low-growing annuals, blooming through a long season and being at its best through the cool days of fall, after touched by frost. Most of the varieties have flowers of fine shades of orange or yellow, making a bright spot in the border at all times. They are like the pot marigolds, in that once planted they seed themselves. They are never out of place, and should be left to bloom wherever they may be. Flowers open only in sunshine.As cut-flowers they are excellent, a large bowl of them glowing like a golden ball, especially if they are emphasized by a few blue larkspurs or bachelor’s buttons.

Propagated by seed, which would best be sown as soon as ripe, thus giving the plant an early start, and having bloom through the season. They make attractive mats of foliage. 12-18 in. high. Let the plants stand 10-20 in. apart.

Calla(properlyRichardia).Egyptian Lily.All things considered, this is one of the most satisfactory of winter house plants, lending itself to various conditions. The requirements of the Calla are rich soil and an abundance of water, with the roots confined in as small a space as possible. If a too large pot is used the growth of foliage will be very rank, at the expense of the flowers, but by using a smaller sized pot and applying liquid manure the flowers will be produced freely. A 6-inch pot will be large enough for all but an exceptionally large bulb. If desired, a number of bulbs may be grown together in a larger pot. The soil should be very rich but fibrous—at least one-third well rotted manure will be none too much, mixed with equal parts of fibrous loam and sharp sand. The tubers should be planted firmly and the pots set in a cool place to make roots. After the roots have partially filled the pot, the plant may be brought into heat and given a sunny position and an abundance of water. An occasional sponging or washing of the leaves will free them from dust. No other treatment will be required until the flowers appear, when liquid manure may be given. The plant will thrive all the better at this time if the pot is placed in a saucer of water. In fact, the Calla will grow finely in an aquarium. The Calla may be grown through the entire year, but it will prove more satisfactory, both in leaf and flower, if rested through part of the summer. This may be done by laying the pots on their sides in a dry, shady place under shrubbery, or if in the open slightly covered with straw or other litter to keepthe roots from becoming extremely dry. In September or October they may be shaken out, cleaning off all the old soil, and repotted, as already mentioned. The offsets may be taken off and set in small pots and given a year’s growth, resting them the second year and having them in flower that winter.

The spotted Calla has variegated foliage and is a fine plant for mixed collections. This blooms in the spring, which will lengthen the season of Calla bloom. The treatment of this is similar to that of the common Calla.

Calliopsisis a garden name forCoreopsis.

Callirrhoë.C. pedatais a hardy annual which has large, graceful blossoms of violet or red. Is it a very free-blooming plant. Should be started in a frame and planted out where wanted. 2-3 ft. high and grows bushy. Plants should stand 1½-2 ft. apart.

Camellia.Years ago Camellias were very popular, but they have been crowded out by the informal flowers of recent times. Their time will come again. They are half-hardy woody plants, blooming in late winter and spring. During the blooming season keep them cool—say not over 50° at night and a little higher by day. When blooming is done they begin to grow, then give them more heat and plenty of water. See that they are well ripened by winter. Always screen them from direct sunlight. Do not try to force them in early winter, after the growth has ceased. Their summer quarters may be in a protected place in the open air. Propagated by cuttings in winter, which should give blooming plants in two years. Use a porous soil for Camellias, with considerable leaf-mold.

Campanula.Bell Flower.But one of the Campanulas commonly listed by seedsmen is an annual,—C. macrostyla, a clean-leaved plant, growing 2 feet high, spreading over the ground, and bearing a profusion of large, violet,bell-shaped flowers. The Canterbury Bell is the best known. It is biennial, but if started early and transplanted will bloom the first season. The perennial Campanulas are most excellent for borders.C. Carpaticais particularly good for edgings.

Canary Bird Flower.SeeNasturtium.

Candytuft

Candytuft.Well known sweet-scented hardy annuals, in red, purple, and white; easy of culture and fine for cutting. One of the best of edging plants for the front row. The plants grow from 6 in. to 1 ft. tall. Sow seeds where the plants are to grow, letting plants stand 6-12 in. apart. They do not last the entire season, and successive sowings may well be made. There are also perennial kinds.

Canna

Cannais now the favorite bedding plant. The improvements made in the past ten years, in size and markings of the flowers, have created a liking for the plant. The tropical effect of a large bed of Cannas, either mixed or of one color, is not surpassed by any other plant used for bedding purposes.

The Canna may be grown from seed and had in bloom the first year by sowing in February or March, in boxes or pots placed in hotbeds or warmhouse, first soaking the seeds in warm water for a short time. Attention to transplanting as needed and removal to the ground only when it is well warmed are the necessary requirements. The majority of Cannas, however, are grown from pieces of the roots (rhizomes), each piece having a bud. The roots may be divided at any time in the winter, and if early flowers and foliage are wanted the pieces may be planted in a hotbed or warmhouse in early April, started into growth and planted out where wanted as soon as the ground has warmed and all danger of frost is over. A hardening of the plants, by leaving the sash off the hotbeds, or setting theplants in shallow boxes and placing the boxes in a sheltered position through May, not forgetting a liberal supply of water, will fit the plants to take kindly to the final planting out. After frost has injured the tops, the roots may be dug, choosing, if possible, a dry day. The soil is shaken off and the roots stored in a warm, dry place through the winter. If the cellar is too dry the roots are liable to shrivel, in which case it would be best to cover them with soil or sand, filling in around the roots to exclude the drying air.

Cannas grow 3 to 7 ft. high. For dense mass effects, plant 12-18 in. apart. For individual plants, or for best bloom, give more room. Fine clumps may be had by planting out the entire old root, not dividing it. Cannas want a rich, warm soil and a sunny place. They are very easy to grow.

Canterbury Bellis aCampanula.

Carbonate of Copper.SeeBordeaux Mixture.

Cardiospermum.SeeBalloon Vine.

Carnationsare of two types, the outdoor or garden varieties, and the indoor or forcing kinds. Normally, the Carnation is a hardy perennial, but the garden kinds, or Marguerites, are usually treated as annuals. The forcing kinds are flowered but once, new plants being grown each year from cuttings.

Carnation

Marguerite Carnations bloom the year the seed is sown, and with a slight protection will bloom freely the second year. They make attractive house plants if potted in the fall. The seeds of these Carnations should be sown in boxes in March and the young plants set out as early as possible, pinching out the center of the plant to make them branch freely. Give the same space as for garden pinks.

Carnation cutting

The winter-flowering Carnations have become prime favorites with all flower lovers, and a collection of winterhouse plants seems incomplete without them. Carnations grow readily from cuttings made of the suckers that form around the base of the stem, the side shoots of the flowering stem, or the main shoots before they show flower buds. The cuttings from the base make the best plants in most cases. These cuttings may be taken from a plant at any time through the fall or winter, rooted in sand and potted up, to be held in pots until the planting out time in the spring, usually in April, or any time when the ground is ready to handle. Care should be taken to pinch out the tops of young plants while growing in the pot, and later while in the ground, causing them to grow stocky and send out new growths along the stem. The young plants should be grown cool, a temperature of 45° suiting them well. Attention should be given to spraying the cuttings each day while in the house to keep down the red spider, which is very partial to the Carnation. In the summer, the plants are grown in the field, and not in pots. The soil in which they are to be planted should be moderately rich and loose. Clean cultivation should be given throughout the summer. Frequently pinch out the tops. The plants are taken up in September and potted firmly, and well watered; then set in a cool, partially shaded situation until root growth has started, spraying the foliage often, and watering the plant only as it shows need of water.

The usual living-room conditions as to moisture and heat are not such as the Carnation demands, and care must be taken to overcome the dryness by spraying the foliage and setting the plant in a position not exposed to the direct heat of a stove or the sun. In commercial houses, it is not often necessary to spray established plants. Pick off most or all of the side buds, in order to add to the size ofthe leading flowers. After all is said, it is probably advisable in most cases to purchase the plants when in bloom from a florist, and after blooming either throw them away or store them for planting in the spring, when they will bloom throughout the summer.

Carpet Bedding.SeeBedding.

Early Carrots

Carrot, while essentially a farm crop in this country, is nevertheless a most acceptable garden vegetable. It is hardy and easily grown. The extra-early varieties may be forced in a hotbed, or seed may be sown as soon as the ground is fit to work in the spring. The stump-rooted, or half-long varieties, are sown for the general garden crop. Well enriched, mellow loam, deeply dug or plowed, is best suited to the requirements of Carrots. The seed for the main crop may be sown as late as July 1. Sow thickly, thinning to 3-4 in. in the row. The rows, if in a garden that is hand-worked, may be 12 in. apart. If the cultivation is done by a horse, the rows should be from 2 to 3 ft. apart. One ounce will sow 100 feet of drill.

Castor Bean

Castor Oil Plant.In the entire list of quick-growing plants there is none that excels this for rapidity of growth, grace of foliage and rich effect. Used either as a specimen plant, with cannas, caladiums, or for a tropical bed, or as a screen, it gives the most satisfactory results. Seeds sown early in the house, and the plants grown in the full light, make fine, stocky plants to set out about the middle of May. With rich soil and plenty of water, they will grow without a check until frost. Height, 5-12 ft. For screens, plant 3-4 ft. apart. There are varieties with differing shades of foliage.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower.The general culture of Cauliflower is much like that of cabbage, except that the Cauliflower, being more tender, should be more thoroughly hardened off before setting out. Still, it is essential that the plants be set out as early as possible, as the warm weather of June causes them to make imperfect heads unless the soil is filled with moisture. No garden crop will as well repay the cost and time of thorough irrigation, either by running the water between the rows or applying it directly to the plants. When it is impossible to furnish water, it would be a good plan to mulch heavily with straw or some other substance. This mulch, if put on just after a heavy rain, will hold the moisture for a long time. When the heads begin to form the outside leaves may be brought together and tied above the head, excluding the direct sunshine and keeping the head white and tender. No vegetable will respond more quickly to good culture and well manured soil than the Cauliflower, and none will prove such an utter failure when neglected. It is imperative that care be taken to destroy all the cabbage worms before the leaves are tied in, as after that it will be impossible to see or reach them. Cauliflower prospers best in moist soil and a cool climate. From 1,000 to 1,500 plants may be grown from 1 ounce of seed. Good Cauliflower seed is very expensive.

For winter crop, seeds may be started in June or July, as for late cabbage.

Erfurt, Snowball and Paris are popular early varieties. Nonpareil and Algiers are good late kinds.

Celeriac, orTurnip-rooted Celery. This tuber has the celery flavor in a pronounced degree, and is used for flavoring soups and for celery salad. It may be served raw, sliced in vinegar and oil, or boiled. The cultureis the same as given for celery, except that no earthing or blanching is required. About an equal number of plants are obtained from the same weight of seed as from celery seed. Celeriac is extensively used abroad, but, unfortunately, is little grown in America.

Celeryhas become one of the favorite relish and salad vegetables, and is now very generally grown. The self-blanching varieties have simplified the culture so that the amateur, as well as the expert, may have a supply through at least six months of the year. The so-called new culture, which consists of setting the plants close together and causing them to shade each other, can be recommended for the garden when a supply of well rotted manure is to be had, and when any amount of water is available. This method is as follows: Fork or spade into the soil a large quantity of manure to the depth of 10-12 in., pulverize the soil until the ground for the depth of 4-6 in. is in very fine condition. Then set the plants in rows 10 in. apart and the plants but 5 or 6 in. apart in the rows. It will be seen that plants set as close as this will soon fill the soil with a mass of roots and must have large amounts of plant-food, as well as a large quantity of water; and the making of such a bed can be recommended only to those who can supply these needs.

Celery

The common practice in home gardens is to plow or dig a shallow trench, setting the plants in the bottom and hoeing in the soil as the plants grow. The distance apart of the rows and plants will depend on the varieties. For the dwarf varieties, such as White Plume, Golden Self-blanching and others of that type, the rows may be as close as 3 ft. and the plants 6 in. in the rows. For the large-growing varieties, as Kalamazoo, Giant Pascal and, in fact, most of the late varieties,the rows may be from 4½ to 5 ft. apart and the plants 7 or 8 in. in the row.

The seed for an early crop should be sown in February or early in March in shallow boxes, which may be placed in a hotbed or sunny window, or sown directly in the soil of a hotbed. Cover the seeds thinly and press the soil firmly over them. When the seedling plants are about one inch high they should be transplanted to other boxes or hotbeds, setting the plants 1 in. apart in rows 3 in. apart. At this transplanting, as with the following ones, the tall leaves should be cut or pinched off, leaving only the upright growth, as with the utmost care it is almost impossible to prevent the outside leafstalks from wilting down and dying. The roots of the plants should also be trimmed back at each transplanting in order to increase the feeding roots. The plants should be set as deep as possible, care being taken, however, not to allow the heart of the plant to be covered up. The varieties usually grown for an early crop are the so-called self-blanching varieties. They may be made fit for the table with much less labor than the late crop, the shade required to blanch the stalks being much less. When only a few short rows are grown in a private garden, screens of lath may be made by driving stakes on each side of the row and tacking lath on, leaving spaces of an inch or more for the light to enter; or each head may be wrapped in paper, or a tile drain pipe may be set over the plant. In fact, any material that will exclude the light will render the stalks white and brittle.

The seed for the main or fall crop should be sown in April or early May in a seed bed prepared by forking fine, well rotted manure into a fine soil, sowing the seed thinly in rows 8 or 10 in. apart, covering the seed lightly and firming over the seed with the feet, hoe or back of a spade. This seed bed should be kept moist at all times until the seed germinates, either by close attention to watering or by a lath screen. The use of a piece of cloth laid directly onthe soil, and the bed wet through the cloth, is often recommended, and if the cloth is always wet and taken off the bed as soon as the seed sprouts it can be used. After the young plants have grown to the height of 1 or 2 in. they must be thinned out, leaving the plants so that they do not touch each other, and transplanting those thinned—if wanted—to other ground prepared in the same manner as the seed bed. All these plants may be sheared or cut back to induce stockiness.

If in a private garden, the ground on which the fall crop is usually set will likely be land from which a crop of some early vegetable has been taken. This land should be again well enriched with fine, well rotted manure, to which may be added a liberal amount of wood ashes. If the manure or ashes are not easily obtained, a small amount may be used by plowing or digging out a furrow 8 or 12 in. deep, scattering the manure and ashes in the bottom of the trench and filling it up almost level with the surface. The plants should be set about the middle of July, preferably just before a rain. The plant bed should have a thorough soaking shortly before the plants are lifted, and each plant be trimmed, both top and root, before setting. The plants should be set from 5 to 6 in. apart in the rows and the earth well firmed around each one.

The after-cultivation consists in thorough tillage until the time of “handling” or earthing up the plants. This process of handling is accomplished by drawing up the earth with one hand while holding the plant with the other, packing the soil well around the stalks. This process may be continued until only the leaves are to be seen. For the private grower, it is much easier to blanch the Celery with boards or paper, or if the Celery is not wanted until winter, the plants may be dug up, packed closely in boxes, covering the roots with soil, and placed in a dark, cool cellar, where the stalks will blanch themselves. In this manner Celery may be stored in boxes in the housecellar. Put earth in the bottom of a deep box, and plant the Celery in it. An ounce of seed will furnish about three thousand plants.

Centaurea.Showy annuals and perennials.C. Cyanusis theCorn FlowerorBachelor Button, familiar to every flower lover, and always seen in old-fashioned gardens. This is a fine plant for borders or mixed beds, and also gives good flowers for bouquets. A bunch of the Corn Flower, with a sprinkling of yellow marigolds or California poppy, makes a rich effect. These Centaureas are easy of culture, seeding themselves after once being planted, and coming up year after year in great profusion. There are blue, white and rose varieties. Annuals. 2-3 ft. Hardy.

The silver-leaved Centaureas are used only for foliage effects. They are excellent for ribbon beds or border lines. The seed of these should be started in a hotbed or box in March, the young plants being set out where wanted when the ground becomes warm. These species are perennials, and are sometimes grown from cuttings.C. candidissimaandC. gymnocarpaare among the best white-leaved bedders.

Centranthus.Low-growing hardy annuals in two colors, red and white. They make very effective covering for low rockwork, and are also suitable for vases or lawn baskets. Sow where the plants are to stand, or start indoors if early bloom is wanted. 1 ft. Thin to 10-12 in. apart.

Century Plant, orAgave. These are fine ornamental plants for the window-garden or conservatory, requiring but little care and growing slowly, thus needing repotting only at long intervals. When the plants have outgrown their usefulness as house plants, they are still valuable as porch decorations, for plunging in rockwork or about rustic nooks. The striped-leaved variety is the most desirable, but the common type, with its blue-gray leaves, is highly ornamental.

There are a number of dwarf-growing species of Agave that are not so common, although they may be grown with ease. Such plants add novelty to a collection, and may be used through the summer as noted above or plunged with cactus in a bed of tropical plants. All succeed well in loam and sand in equal parts, adding a little leaf-mold in the case of the small varieties. The more common species are propagated by suckers from around the base of the established plants. A few kinds having no suckers must be grown from seed. As to watering, they demand no special care. Agaves will not stand frost.

Cereus.Under the name ofNight-blooming Cereuses, several species of Cacti are cultivated. The name is sometimes applied to species of Phyllocactus, the flowers of which, in white and shades of red, sometimes open at nightfall. Phyllocactuses are easy to grow.SeeCactus.The true Night-blooming Cereuses, however, are species of the genus Cereus. The commonest one isC. nycticalus, butC. grandiflorus,C. triangularisand others are occasionally seen. These true Night-blooming Cereuses all have long rod-like stems, which are cylindrical or angular. These stems often reach a height of 10 to 30 ft., and they need support. They should be trained along a pillar or tied to a stake. They are uninteresting leafless things during a large part of the year; but in midsummer, after they are three or more years old, they throw out their great tubular flowers, which open at nightfall and wither and die when the light strikes them next morning. They are very easily grown, either in pots or planted in the natural soil in the conservatory. The only special care they need is good drainage at the roots, so that the soil will not become soggy.

Sweet Cherry

Cherry.Of Cherries there are two common types, the sweet Cherries and the sour Cherries. The sweet Cherries are larger and taller-growing trees. They comprise the varieties known as the Hearts, Bigarreaus and Dukes. The sour Cherries include the various kinds ofMorellos and pie Cherries, and these usually ripen after the sweet Cherries. The sour Cherries make low, round-headed trees. The fruits are extensively used for canning. Cherry trees should be planted when 2 and 3 years old. Too rich soil tends to make growth at the expense of fruit, particularly in the sweet Cherries. For the sweet types, a strong, gravelly loam is best. Sour Cherries thrive well on clay loams.

Trees of the sour Cherry should be planted 18 by 18 ft. apart, in well prepared under-drained soil. The trees may be slightly trimmed back each year, keeping the head low and bushy.

Black Tartarian Cherry

The sweet Cherries have proved disappointing in many instances from the rotting of the fruit. This may never be entirely avoided, but good cultivation, soil not too rich in nitrogen, attention to spraying, and picking the fruit when dry, will lessen the loss very much. In years of severe rotting, the fruit should be picked before it becomes fully ripe, placed in a cool, airy room and allowed to color. It will be nearly as well flavored as if left on the tree; and, as the fungus usually attacks only the ripe fruit, a considerable part of the crop may be saved. Set the trees 25 or 30 ft. apart.

Leaf-blight is readily controlled by timely spraying with Bordeaux mixture. The curculio or fruit worm is best controlled by jarring, as for plums (which see).

Of sweet Cherries, Windsor is the most popular variety. Other good kinds are Napoleon, Governor Wood, Dikeman, Black Tartarian. Of sour Cherries, Ostheim and Early Richmond are very early and productive, but better kinds are Montmorency and English Morello.

Chervil.The curled Chervil is a good addition to the list of garnishing vegetables, and adds flavor todishes when it is used to season. Sow seeds and cultivate the same as parsley.

The tuberous Chervil resembles a short carrot or parsnip. It is much esteemed in France and Germany. The tubers have somewhat the flavor of a sweet potato, perhaps a little sweeter. They are perfectly hardy, and, like the parsnip, the better for frosts. The seed may be sown in September or October, as it does not keep well; or as soon as the ground is fit to work in the spring, it being slow to germinate after the weather becomes hot and dry. One packet of seed will give all the plants necessary.

Chestnuts.Of Chestnuts there are three types in cultivation: the European, the Japanese, and the American. The American, or native Chestnuts, of which there are several improved varieties, are the hardiest and most reliable, and the nuts are the sweetest, but they are also the smallest. The Japanese varieties are usually injured by the winter in central New York. The European varieties are somewhat hardier, and some of the varieties will thrive in the northern states. Chestnuts are very easily grown. They usually bear better when two or more trees are planted near each other. There are few really good Chestnut orchards in North America, but Chestnut planting is now considerably agitated. Sprouts in old Chestnut clearings are often allowed to remain, and sometimes they are grafted to the improved varieties. The young trees may be grafted in the spring by the whip-graft or cleft-graft method; but the cions should be perfectly dormant, and the operation should be very carefully done. Even with the best workmanship, a considerable percentage of the grafts are likely to fail or to break off after two or three years. The most popular single variety of Chestnut is the Paragon, which bears large and excellent nuts when the tree is very young. When the home ground is large enough, two or three of these trees should be planted near the borders.

Chicory.The Magdeburg Chicory is the variety usually spoken of, it being the one most extensively grown. The roots of this, after being ground and roasted, are used either as a substitute or an adulterant of coffee.

The Witloof, a form of Chicory, is used as a salad, or boiled and served in the same manner as Cauliflower. The plants should be thinned to 6 in. In the latter part of summer they should be banked up like celery, and the leaves used after becoming white and tender. This and the common wild Chicory are often dug in the fall, the leaves cut off, the roots packed in sand in a cellar and watered until a new growth of leaves starts. These leaves grow rapidly and are very tender, making a fine salad vegetable. One packet of seed of the Witloof will furnish plants enough for a large family.

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemumsare both annual and perennial. The annual Chrysanthemums must not be confounded with the well known fall-flowering kinds, as they will prove a disappointment if one expects large flowers of all colors and shapes. The annuals are mostly coarse-growing plants, with an abundance of bloom and a rank smell. The flowers are single in most cases, and not very lasting. They are useful for massing and also for cut-flowers. They are among the easiest of hardy annuals to grow. The stoniest part of the garden will usually suit them. 1-2 ft. Colors white and shades of yellow, the flowers daisy-like.

Amongst perennial kinds,Chrysanthemum frutescensis the well known Paris Daisy or Marguerite, one of the most popular of the genus. This makes a very fine pot-plant for the window-garden, blooming throughout the winter and spring months. It is usually propagated by cuttings, which, if taken in spring, will give large blooming plants for the next winter. Gradually transfer to larger pots or boxes, until the plants finally stand in 6-inch or8-inch pots or in small soap boxes. There is a fine yellow-flowered variety.

Chrysanthemums in a box

In variety of form and color, and in size of bloom, the florists’ Chrysanthemum is one of the most wonderful of plants. It is a late autumn flower, and it needs little artificial heat to bring it to perfection. The great blooms of the exhibitions are produced by growing only one flower to a plant and by feeding the plant heavily. It is hardly possible for the amateur to grow such specimen flowers as the professional florist or gardener does; neither is it necessary. A well-grown plant with fourteen to twenty flowers is far more satisfactory as a window plant than a long, stiff stem with only one immense flower at the apex. Their culture is simple, much more so than that of many of the plants commonly grown for house decoration. Although their season of bloom is short, the satisfaction of having a fall display of flowers before the geraniums, begonias and other house plants have recovered from their removal from out of doors, repays all efforts.

Cutting of Chrysanthemum

Cuttings taken in March or April, planted out in the border in May, well tended through the summer and lifted before frost in September, will bloom in October or November. The ground in which they are planted should be moderately rich and moist. The plants may be tied to stakes. When the buds show, all but the center one of each cluster on the leading shoots should be picked off, as also the small lateral branches. A thrifty bushy plant thus treated will usually have flowers large enough to show the character of the variety, also enough flowers to make a fine display. As to the receptacle into which to put them when lifted from the border, it need not be a flower pot. A pail or soap box, with holes bored for drainage,will suit the plant just as well, and by covering the box with cloth or paper the difference will not be noticed. If cuttings are not to be had, young plants may be bought of the florists and treated in the manner described. Buy them in midsummer or earlier.

Back to Index Next