El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-04-12

Of the next vernal season by leaving.
safe buried in the soil. number OF
little bulbs, each OF which contains q
elcse-packed bud, all ready to sprout
when the proper time arrives
Mr.. COVIlle was led to the interest
ing discovery here described by learn
ing, through certain experiments OF
MS own. that the swamp DlueDerry-
a fruit hitherto wild. but of consider
able commercial value, especially IN
New EnEland-cOuld be grown under
cultivation in a pcaty soil, initiating
in its makeup that Of the native blue
berry Dogs" 1t so happens that the
natural habitat Of the BURBERRY is
likewise that of the arbutus But the
BURBERRY land likewise the arbutUs)
does not really require a bog. What
1t wants is peat and soil equivalent
20 DOGGY pea y AuiLllStleu- on many d
hill and mountain side, by partly rotted
leaves.
Why FavOrite Plant is n Failure.
Now. as to the rhOdOQeuQrOn- This
ally at must be conIeSsed) more or
less of a failure At all events, it
ought TO do much better than il does.
The reason for the trOuble-and notice,
if you please, that the rhOdOdendrOn
is the fashionable outdoor decorative
plant of the days that people plant
it in ordinary soil, rich loan being
preferred The plants do badly, and
they wonder why.
The reason why is that the rhodo-
dendronS do not have any use for Ordi-
ville-whO, mind you, speaks as the
governments chief bOtaniSt-Says that
they ought to have four parts of peat
to one part Of sand or gravel. There
ought to be a sandy soil beneath, to in
sure good drainage, and a foot or so
of this mixture viii produce the de-
sired results.
In the Doggy soils Of Maryland. but
also in other parts Of the United States.
there grows a very interesting kind of
glover known as the lady-Slipper- It
is a true orchid-One of the very few
orchids native to the United States
There are two principal varietieS-the
yellow lowered and the pink-flOWered.
The former has been grown occasion
Coville finds that the pink lady-slipper
(Which is otherwise known as the
mOccasin-flower," by reason of its
peculiar shape) is entirely susceptible
Of cultivation He showed the writer
several pots Of it, very prosperous
the soil being the mixture of half
rotted leaves, broken scraps of flower
pots and sand. already described.
The point of real importance is that
the discovery in question can, and Will
undoubtedly. be turned to very prac-
teal account for commercial purposes
by hOrticulturiStS- Not only shall we
have the aTbutus as q cultivated spring
flower IN future, ODtalnable In any
quantities that may be demanded, but
the greenhouse men Will find in its
production Tor market a large source
of income.
Where orchids are concerned. II
seems odd TO realize that their cultiva-
ton until recently was wholly unsuc-
cessfuL In nature, they grow IN weird
and (as one might saw uncanny ways,
many Of them deriving their SuSten-
ance entirely from the atmosphere and
its moisture, and having no proper
roots. so that they could not reason
ably be expected to respond to the hOr-
ticultural methods understood by the
everyday gardener
Within the last few years. however,
means have been found by which they
are induced to flourish at least as well
as in their native tropical forests.
Nearly all of them are tropical plants.
though a few species (like the lady
slipper afOre-mentiOned) are found in
the temperate zone Some of them. il
merely suspended from the ceiling in
a warm room, viii thrive and bear q
prOfuSion of flowers for months to-
gether. deriving their sole support
from the air. Others. in a state OF
nature. attach themselves to the bark
of trees, while others still grow IN
earth like ordinary plants. Some times
they are prOpa gated in the greenhouse
by means OF cuttings but more often
by dividing their roots It IS exceed
ingly difficult TO reproduce them from
their seeds, which are so extremely
tiny as 10 be almost microscopic.
The trouble is that people viii in
sist upon pluckinS every wild flower
they come across II il be q plant OF
arbutus. they take every one OF its
blossoms and carry them away-ut-