S4 



TEE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[January, 



answer. Wliat I want to know is, — when I eaw 

 it in Rome it was growing in 8waini»y ground ; 

 my land is rather dry. It is protected on the 

 northeast hy a high ridge of hills. 1 was told by 

 an Italian gardener it might want a little of such 

 protcctioi\ in the United States. Is it necessary 

 to bring some mud to put in the holes in such a 

 situation as this? I am so anxious to be the first 

 to liave a plantation of tViese wonderful trees in 

 this part of the world, that I would not mind the 

 expense of a few barrels of dirt by railroad to add 

 to the natural soil, if necessary to success. 

 Should the trees be set deep? How about prun- 

 ing the roots? " 



[Wc hardly knew what to do with this letter. 

 We are " liberal " on questions when it concerns 

 our regular readers, which it seems this gentle- 

 man is not. We may say that in the soil and 

 climate of Vermont he need not get any " mud " 



or other soil, and it does not matter how deep 

 they are set. The location, also, is good enough, 

 and when the "forest" grows up, he will no 

 doubt get thousands from all parts of the world 

 to come to look at it, and he himself will go 

 down to posterity as one of the greatest benefac- 

 tors of his race. 



Tlie conditions are all right, but instead of bring- 

 ing mud, wc should prefer to lay in a big stock of 

 cord-wood to keep up a good fire all around the 

 plantation during the winter season. We think 

 this is essential. But why does our correspon- 

 dent want to be so distinguished in the matter of 

 Eucalyptus? Why not try the cocoa nut? They 

 grow fast, and then there is the fruit too, which 

 the Eucalyptus has not; fruit with milk in it, 

 which will illustrate his human kindness much 

 better than he can ever hope from the Eucalyp- 

 tus tree.— Ed. G. IVLJ 



Natural Wistory and FfciENCE. 



PRAIRIE FLOWERS. 



BY EEV. L. J. TICMPLIX, HUTCHINSON, KAN. 



iOpunfia Rafinesqii.) 

 In traveling over the plains about here, it is 

 not unusual to meet with large specimens of this 

 thorny cactus. Some places considerable space, 

 even at times several acres, will be almost com- 

 pletely covered with them, branching and spread- 

 ing over the ground in all directions. They are 

 propagated both by seeds and by the broad, flat- 

 tened stems coming in contact with the soil and 

 taking root. And, though I have not tried it, I 

 believe that cuttings of the stems will take root 

 and grow if planted in the soil. It is very much 

 inclined to branch, and it is not unusual to see 

 a bunch, or a cluster of bunches, four feet in 

 diameter, all of which have proceeded from the 

 same root. The stems are from three and one- 

 half to five inches in length, and from two to 

 three in width, and from one-fourth to one-third 

 inch in thickness. The stems are dotted over 



with tufts of fine, sharp bristles that are ready 

 to let go their hold on the plant and adhere to 

 the hand on the slightest touch. From the base 

 of these tufts issue a number of sharp, slender 

 spines, from one-half to one inch in length. 

 The number of these varies from three to five 

 or more; the central one is usually the longest. 

 The general color of the stem is rather a dark 

 green. 



The flower-buds grow on the edge of the stems, 

 and appear to be distributed without regard to 

 any law of regularitj'. The flower expands 

 from three to four inches, and has a very silky 

 texture and appearance. Tlie color is a beauti- 

 ful pinkish yellow, running into a dark, velvety 

 maroon, or jnu-ple, toward the base of the petals. 

 They bloom quite profusely; a plant that I 

 transplanted from the town commons to my 

 yard last April, though only about eighteen 

 inches across, produced some forty of these 

 showy flowers. They remain open two or three 

 days, when they wilt and fall away. The flower 



