262 



THE UAKDENEIVS MONTHLY 



[September, 



rurple-lcavod Boccli. The Arborvita- wore sot 

 ahout eight feet aj)art niul the largor-growiiig 

 treoa at proportionate distanoos, not in straight 

 rows, like an orchard, but imitating the irregu- 

 larity of nature. The phinting was quickly done 

 in this way : 



Small holes were dug with a mattock, and the 

 trees (already trimmed, and which had been 

 several times transplanted) were taken up, with 

 nearly all their roots and a mass of soil adhering 

 to them, and placed in the holes ; the loose sur- 

 face soil was drawn about the roots and well 

 ■worked in with a sharp-pointed stick. As soon 

 as the roots were thus covered, the soil was 

 stamped down all around, as firmly as possible, 

 by the feet; more soil was drawn in, stamped 

 again, the tree straightened up, the surface 

 finally filled in and covered with a good coat 

 of leaves and small brush. No water was used, 

 and, although some of the trees were four or 

 five feet high, I would not give any one four 

 cents to warrant the whole lot to grow. My 

 little plantation, or copse, is already quite a 

 noticeable feature in our landscape, and will 

 become more so every year ; its never-failing 

 green forming a point that the eye is glad to 

 rest upon. 



EDITORIAL NOTES 



Omphalodes verna. — This is a charming pe- 

 rennial, some six inches high, with creeping 

 shoots and a/Aire blue Forget-me-not like flowers, 

 and is as hardy as' a Moneywort. It blooms late 

 in April and through May, and feels at home 

 in the flower border, the rockery, or naturalized 

 in half-wild shady places. It can be increased 

 very readily by dividing the plants when they 

 have done blooming, and, if need be, these 

 divisions may be again divided in August, if a 

 moist, shady frame, or nook, be granted them, 

 and all will be strong })lants to stand the Winter. 



The Polyanthus.— What can give us more 

 satisfaction, in the way of flowers, than a cold 

 frame full of these? They are old-fashioned, 

 pretty, most floriferous, and no plants are easier 

 managed. A good strain is everything. Large, 

 brilliantly colored flowers, with symmetrically 

 round corollas and distinct gold lacings, are 

 what we want, and by care and selection can 

 easily have. They produce and grow from seeds 



very readily, and by dividing the finer sorts after 

 bl()t)ming, and discarding the jtoorer, we can 

 increase and improve our stock. They like to 

 bo planted out in Summer in a somewhat moist, 

 shady nook, and thence transposed to the frame 

 on the approach of Winter. From April till 

 June they are aglow. 



AcALYIMIA TRICOLOK IN THE Fl.OWER GARDEN. 



— This crimson-copper leaved Euphorbia was 

 used last year as a bedding plant in the Botanic 

 (iardens, Washington, with striking results. In- 

 termixed with green-leaved tropicals, it had 

 almost as telling an effect as scarlet flowers 

 have on Zonal Pelargoniums, and the substan- 

 tiality, size and brilliant coloring of the leaves 

 far exceeded that of the same kind of plants 

 grown indoors. This Acalypha propagates 

 readily from cuttings of the young wood, in a 

 brisk heat, with, or without bottom heat. 



Azalea calendulacea. — This is the chief 

 parent of our improved hardy Azalea, and 

 Mr. Van Buren, of Clarksville, Ga., gives the 

 following interesting account of their behavior 

 in their native woods to the Country Gentlptnan: 

 "The class A. calendulacea grow here to the 

 height of from ten to fifteen feet, and are of 

 every conceivable shade and color, from the 

 palest yellow up through golden to orange, and 

 thence on to scarlet and crimson and variegated. 

 They frequently cross with A. nudiflora, having 

 some of the petals of a pink or rose color, and 

 the others of some shade of orange, yello\^ or red. 

 We have one growing by the side of the porch of 

 our house, some fifteen feet high and ten feet or 

 more in diameter, which annually has myriads 

 of flowers. It is now in all its glory. I send 

 you one of tlie fluwers ; one petal yellow, and 

 four of a shade of scarlet. The scarlet and 

 crimson varieties are probablj^ the most beauti- 

 ful, as the colors are very brilliant. It is rjither 

 a difficult matter to transplant them success- 

 fully, as they have in their wild state very large 

 uncouth roots, caused by the annual burning 

 of the woods, which kills the tops down to the 

 ground. This does not injure the roots, which 

 continue to grow and send up new shoots ; but 

 the roots have very few fibi-es. I have hunted 

 a great deal to find young seedlings, but have 

 never succeeded in finding one, nor have I ever 

 known any one else to find any. They produce 

 an abundance of very fine dust-like seeds, but 

 I have never tried sowing the seeds." 



