324 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



I November, 



seed freely. Missouricnsis, linearis, fragrans, 

 Laniari'kiana, aiul biennis, witlistood last Winter 

 (40° below zero) unprotected in the open garden, 

 unscathed; cospitosa survived under some leaves 

 and n wooden shutter, but alongside of it tricho- 

 calyx perished. The rest of our sorts are last 

 Spring's seedings. 



EDirORIAL NOTES. 



DRAcocErHALUM. — In old times we used to 

 grow in our beds of hardy lierbaceous plants 

 Dracocephalum Virginiana, and thought it the 

 gem of the collection. Going through Ohio this 

 Summer we saw occasional patches still more 

 beautiful than we had ever seen it under culture, 

 and we wondered more why it is not universal- 

 ly grown. We have two varieties in those 

 gardens which have it at all, one known as D. 

 Virginiana and the other as D. denticulata, 

 which is a much larger growing kind, tliough 

 botanists generally regard them as but forms of 

 one species. Strictly speaking we should say 

 these have been removed from the old genus Dra- 

 cocephalum, and are now Physostegia. When 

 in Europe last Summer, we noted a pretty one 

 being grown as D. Moldavica, introduced chiefly 





look. It is a rounder headed tree than the Caro- 

 lina Poplar, which is the Populus monolifera. 

 Our Western friends will do miscliief by con- 

 founding these two. 



Abies Ekgelmanni. — A writer in the Gardener's 

 Chronicle signing tlie letter " II," and dating from 

 Salt Lake City, speaks of liaving visited Colora- 

 do, and of finding Abies Engelmanni and A. 

 Menziesii, " varieties of the same thing." It is 

 a great pity such errors should continue to be 

 piopagated, for, as we have recently stated, there 

 is no close aflinity between the two. 



Crown Imperials. — These are very showy, and 

 favorite early Spring flowers, blooming in April. 

 Tliey throw up strong stems to the height of two 

 feet, which are encircled at the summit with 

 large pendent bell-shaped flowers, crowned with 

 a tuft of glossy green leaves, rendering them 

 very conspicuous and ornamental. The bulbs 

 should be planted five or six inches deep, in any 

 good garden soil. It is best to let them remain 

 undisturbed for several years : Aurora, orange 

 red; Crown on Crown, red ; Large Single Red; 

 Large Double Red; Lai-ge Single Yellow; 

 Large Double Yellow; Single Red, with gold 

 striped foliage; Single, mixed. — C. M. Hovey. 



by M. Vilmorin, of Paris. The accompanying 

 little cut will give some idea of its manner oi 

 growth. 



The Carolina Poplar. — A Western paper says 

 that Dr. Furnas, of Danville, is propagating the 

 Carolina Poplar, " Populus angulata." Here is a 

 case where the benefit of a botanical name comes 

 in. The Populus angulata would make a good 

 shade tree if it were not susceptible to a rust in 

 early Fall, which gives the tree a disagreeable 



NEW OB RARE PLANTS. 



Clematis Davidiana. — This is a sterling horti- 

 cultural acquisition, quite "new," a native of 

 Northern China, from whence it was recently 

 introduced into France, and thence dissemi- 

 nated, and this year bloomed with us for the 

 first time, so far as I am aware, in New England. 

 The stems are erect, 2 to 3 feet high, slightly 

 branched, somewhat woody at the base, but the 

 rest herbaceous. The leaves are in opposite 

 pairs, on long petioles, and trifoliate; the two 

 lower leaflets are broadl}' lanceolate, 4 to 5 

 inches long by 2 to 2| inches broad, and the in- 

 termediate one wedge-shaped, with a much 

 hmger petiole, and an expansion some 5J inches 

 long by 82 inches wide, and all of them deeply 

 toothed to slightly lobed, reticulated on the 

 upper surface and prominently veined on the 

 under. The flowers are \ to 1% inches across, 

 pale bluish purple, reflexed, but with a tube 

 J inch long, and very sweet scented; in fact, in 

 color and form they much resemble common 

 I blue Hyacinths. They are produced most freely 



