458 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ously fragrant little evergreen is at horae on a sandy soil with chestnuts, white pine, 

 and hemlock, among the trees, and wintergreen. partridge-berries, shin-leaf and 

 princess' pine for its lowly companions. Generally it does not thrive in captivity, seem- 

 ing to pine for its native wilds. A plant dug with a large mass of earth and planted in 

 leaf soil from the swamp, on shaded banks and copiously watered during dry weather 

 has blossomed one season, but whether it will eventually succeed is questionable. The 

 blood root Sanquinaria Canadensis, has a beautiful pure white flower about an inch in 

 diameter, scentless and of short duration. It belongs to the poppy family and Burns's 

 reference to the poppy in Tam O'Shanter, 



" Pleasares are like poppies spread, 

 You seize the flower, the bloom is shed. " 



is descriptive of the frailty of the flower. I And it along old fences in the fields, whence 

 it is easily transplanted and improved by cultivation. 



Early Saxifrage, Saxifrage Virginiensis, another common early sun-loving flower, 

 found on exposed rocks, is interesting and pretty for your garden, and if it be a rock- 

 garden, so much the better. 



Spring beauties, Clatonia Caroliniana, the favorite of every child, goldthread, Coptis 

 trifolia, a pretty little white flower with bright shining leaves and a root like a thread 

 of gold, the pepperworts, Dentaria Diphylla and D. laciniata, Dutchman's breeches, 

 and gquirrel corn, Dicentra cucularia, and D. Canadensis, bishop's cup, Milella diphylly. 

 and false bishop's cap, Tiarella cordifoUa, are all shade-loving plants found in damp 

 woods. Tiarella cordifoUa is also found on the north side of dry banks in rocky woods. 

 The heart-shaped leaves are beautiful in winter as well as in summer. The foamy 

 appearance of the white flowers has suggested to some one the name, foam-flower. 



The dog's-tooth violet, or adder's tongue, Erythronium American, is the subject of an 

 interesting sketch by John Burroughs in St. Nicholas for June, 1891. He says: — 



" It is a pity that this graceful flower has no good and appropriate common name. It 

 " is the earliest of the true lilies and it has all the grace and charm that belongs to this 

 " order of flowers. Erythronium, its botanical name, is not good, as it is derived from 

 "a Greek word that means red, while one species of our flower is yellow and the other 

 "is white. How it came to be called adder's tongue, I do not know; probably from the 

 " spotted character of the leaf which might suggest a snake, though it in no wise 

 " resembles a snake's tongue. The dog's-tooth violet may have been suggested by the 

 "shape and color of the bud, but how ' violet ' came to be added is a puzzle, as it has 

 "not one feature of the violet. It is only another illustration of the haphazard way in 

 " which our wild flowers, as well as our birds, have been named." The bulb is about 

 eight inches deep in the ground, and it should be dug with a long knife or a spade. 



Bluets or Quaker ladies, Houstonia ccerulea, pretty small blue flowers, with a yellow- 

 ish eye, reminding one of the forget-me-not, thrive in the sun. They are scarce in 

 Monroe county, but are found on the shore of Canandaigua lake and in Tompkins and 

 Allegany counties, and in the New England States. An effort should be made, either 

 by purchase or exchange to get these innocent looking little flowers. 



Wild ginger, Asarum Canadense, a plant that thrives in rich alluvial soil in shade, 

 has a very odd purple flower, growing close to the ground, sometimes even buried just 

 beneath the surface. The large dark green leaves are very attractive. The plant grows 

 abundantly along creeks, particularly Black Creek, seven miles south from Rochester. 

 A plant in my yard has blossomed for several years. 



A plant pleasing to children, is Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum, an odd 

 plant found in moist woods, and easily grown. It has a bulb that is a few inches below 

 the surface of the ground; pull it up and plant it almost anywhere. 



The pretty little bunch-berry^ Cornus Canadensis, a member of the interesting dog- 

 wood family, having four broad leaves at the top, and greenish flowers surrounded by 

 a showy white involucre, grows in dense masses in moist peaty woods. The bright red 

 berry-like fruit is very attractive, as is the fruit of all the dogwoods. I find it in the 

 woods near the lake, and at Bergen Swamp, whence a number taken and transplanted 

 into Highland Park are living in apparent healthfulness. 



Seven species of violets grow near Rochester. Viola blanda, the tiny white violet 

 and V. Canadensis, Viola pubeseens, downy yellow, and T'. sagitatta, V. pedata, and V. 

 cuculata are purple. All are well worthy of cultivation, and they look well in the grass 

 in partial shade. 



One of the most desirable of all the wild flowers for cultivation is the trillium. The 

 white trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, is most beautiful, and a mass of them planted 

 under the shade of trees is a charming sight. Two other species, the purple, T. erectum 

 and the painted trillium T. enthrocarpum, are found in this vicinty. The latter is 



