which has an excellent stem and foliage and very large flowers, and Queen, a splendid sort with perfect foliage and handsome flowers that keep remarkably well. Ivory, early, Minnie Wannamaker, medium, and Mrs. Jerome Jones, late, of the older kinds, are still valuable. Of the pink kinds, Mrs. Perrin (Fig. 20) is a promising new variety, while Iora (Fig. 21) has made an excellent impression as an exhibition variety. Viviand Morel holds a high place as an early variety, and Harry Balsley, although not good in plant, has a good color. V. H. Hallock, Eda Prass and Mrs. Bayard Cutting are also good.

Among other sorts worthy of a place in a collection are Clinton Chalfant, Jos. H. White, Pres. W. R. Smith, Inter-Ocean, Georgienne Bramhall, Eldorado and Mutual Friend. Cullingfordii still deserves a place as a dark red, as does Hicks Arnold as a bronze. John Shrimpton has been well received as a maroon variety. The flower is of good size, color and form, and the stem is stiff and well clothed. The principal call is for white, pink and yellow flowers and of course the largest number of plants should be of those colors.

Some five or six years ago, Mrs. Alpheus Hardy, a white variety with its ray flowers studded with short hairy growths, and a year later Louis Boehmer, which differed in being of a dirty pink color, were introduced, but have found little favor, except as oddities, with florists. In addition to the above, the class is now represented by Miss Annie Manda, white, Wm. Falconer, pink, and W. A. Manda and Patrick Barry, yellow, which are improvements over the original varieties. Golden Hair and R. M. Gray are still later and better varieties.

INSECTS AND DISEASES.

In addition to the green aphis, chrysanthemums are frequently infested with a black form. These can be

destroyed by the same remedies as are used for the others, but they are harder to keep in check. Frequently, when plants are grown in pots, the lower leaves. are lost. This may be due to a variety of causes, such as crowding and lack of air, too much water, lack of frequent syringing, exposure to drying winds, etc.; and a remedy can be found by avoiding each and all of these things. We also find that the foliage often takes on an unhealthy color, which may be due from the plant being in too small a pot, lack of food, too much or too little water, crowding, or exposure to the wind. found the cause, the remedy will be apparent.

Having

Whatever method of growing the plants is practiced, the best results can only be obtained when strong cuttings are used, and when the plants are kept growing without a check from the time they are potted till they are through blooming. For the "Leaf Spot" and other fungous diseases, the plants should be sprayed with copper sulphate solution.

CHAPTER IV.

THE VIOLET.

Few of our greenhouse plants have so steadily maintained their hold upon public favor as has the modest violet. It is easily grown and is so generally useful that no florist can do without it. For the winter flowering of this plant, a greenhouse in which the night temperature will not be above forty-five degrees is desirable, but they are often wintered in cold frames, and give an abundance of blooms as the warm weather of spring comes on. If a greenhouse is not at one's disposal, the plants may be covered with a narrow frame,

around which a wider and deeper one is placed. If the space between the frames is packed with horse manure, and the outer frame banked up with the same material, double sash, mats and shutters will keep out frost, except in very severe weather, and a fair crop can in this way be obtained.

VIOLET HOUSES.

While for the successful growing of violets certain requirements must be observed, the form of the house seems to be of less importance than with many other

BANK

FIG. 22. NARROW VIOLET HOUSE.

plants. Good results can be obtained in lean-to, evenspan or three-quarter span houses, but, as a rule, if a house is to be constructed especially for this crop, an even-span house will generally be preferred. The principal objection to the three-quarter span house is the amount of strong sunlight that the plants are subjected to, owing to the exposure to the south. This can to some. extent be corrected by good ventilation, and the form of house has the further advantage of being more generally adapted to other crops, in case the culture of the violet should at any time be given up.

In the past, narrow houses from ten to twelve feet in width (Fig. 22) have been most used, but those of recent construction are twenty feet and even wider. Among the requirements for a violet house are (1) ventilating arrangements that will furnish an abundance of fresh air. On this account, ventilators are necessary in each of the side walls of the house, as well as a row at the ridge. It will be desirable to have the houses stand a little apart to secure this, as well as to prevent the lodging of the snow between the houses. (2) The houses should be so glazed as to avoid drip. For this reason a rather steep roof is desirable; the sash bars should be provided with drip grooves and the glazing should be carefully done. Use 14x14 or 16x16 inch glass, butted without putty, and held in place with a wooden cap. Take pains to lay the panes with the curve up and with the thick edge at the bottom. If carefully laid there will be little drip, although there will be rather more than when the glass is lapped and laid in putty. (3) Use wide, solid beds and have a walk along each wall where it will occupy room of little value to the crop. Thus for a house twenty-two feet wide (Fig. 23) we should have two beds each seven feet wide, and three walks, the center one being two feet and six inches, and the outer ones one foot and nine inches wide. they are given proper attention in a house of this kind, the plants will do much better, and will be far less likely to be attacked by disease, than when grown in dugouts and other houses with heavy rafters, and covered with hotbed sashes that cause a large amount of drip.

If

Most of the narrow (ten or twelve foot) houses that have been used for the violet have had two side beds and a center walk, but rather better results will be obtained with a bed in the center of the house seven or seven and one-half feet wide, and a walk along either wall of the house (Fig. 24).