1(14 



THE GARniiXI.KS .]/ OX ////.) 



[June-, 



color betwoon) ; Viola oormitii T?liio Kiiijr, bor- 

 dcriMl by AUtTiiantbcra spatulata ; S ami '.I, 

 Loliclia Eiiiius ("ryslal I'abic*' loinpacta, bor- 

 (Km-i'(1 by Hyssojnis ollitiiialis ; In, .spcciiiHMis of 

 Cbamapi'uci' diaiuiitlia. bonlcroil by Pyn'thrum, 

 and Ibe rinus tbat o])(ii on (bi- oiittT side io be 

 laid witb l)roken biicks; II, specimens of 

 !MfsoiiibiyaiitboiHuni c rystalliimm, ItordcnMl by 

 AlliTiiaiilbfia jiaronycbioidcs, and (bo open 

 riiiLTs to bt' laid witii ooal-dust ; I'J, ("erastiuin 

 toiufntosuni,l)ordcri'dby Alternantbcraamu'iia ; 



13, Oxalis tropwoloides, bordered by Pyretbruin ; 



14, to be laid witb silvor-sand ; 15, is a two feet , 

 wide grass border, and sofortb in many diflerent 

 sets on tbe same principles. 



At tbe planting of tbose intended to form 

 ligurcs or ribbon in tbe carpet, tbe plants sbould 

 be put togetber as close as can be aftbrded, to fill 

 as soon as possible, and should, in fact, do so at 

 once. 



Having got our carpet beds planted, let us be 

 attentive to tbe trimming of the plants. All that ! 

 are to be level should be so as a table, but it i 

 requires care at every pinch ; that all stumps be ■ 

 hidden by the foliage, and every figure kept in i 

 its intended shape, not allowing the foliage of 

 two adjoining kinds to intermix with each other, 

 nor allowing any ojienings whatever. 



THE AILANTHUS. 



BY MT&S E. C. B. 

 And now about the Ailanthus. I fully believe 

 that it is an '• antidote '' for the Rose bug, and 

 other insect pests as well. At least our place, 

 which is plentifully shaded with them, is very 

 free from many sorts which torment our neigh- 

 bors, and the canker worm has never visited us, 

 except upon a few trees in the remote corner of 

 the orchard, the furthest removed possible 

 from any Ailanthus. But our trees are all of 

 the sort called male Ailanthus, yet some of 

 them have now obtained an age at which they 

 bloom every year, scattering their seeds far and 

 wide, every one of which germinates. The 

 young Ailanthuses are in fact the most abun- 

 dant weed on our place. IIow can that be 

 accounted for? They are all of one sort, being 

 thryses of blossoms resembling those of the 

 grape, feathery whitish, looking like delicate, 

 white plumes, and smelling like — whew! They 

 fall ofT, bringing the stamens upon the corolla. 

 They are apparently all alike. Are they male 

 trees ? Then why do the seeds germinate ? \s 

 not the female Ailanthus an entirely different 



tree, and is nol (liis sort moiiii'cioiis ratlu'r (ban 

 dia'cious ? 



ITbere is a popular misapprehension regard- 

 ing tbe sexual cbarailer of tbe Ailanthus. 

 There are trees wbicb are purely stameniferous, 

 sterile. These an- odorous. There may be 

 trees wbicb are purely pistillate, but we have 

 seen trei's separated by perbajis half a mile from 

 any other tree bear fruit freely, and we suspect 

 tb»'v are often bermapbrodite. Cases have beeii 

 known where trees for years producing one kind 

 of flowers only, have made branches yielding 

 the other. At any rate, it is the staminate trees, 

 as we generally see them, the odor of which is 

 not tbat of roses. — Ed. G. M.] 



CALIFORNIA DICENTRA. 



r. V W. (;. L. DREW, EL DOHAIJO, t:AL. 



In my botanical researches in California, I 

 hav(; found few flowers which were discovered 

 with as much pleasure as our various Dicentra. 



I well recollect the first time I found the 

 variety known as D. formosa. At that time I 

 did not know we were so highly favored as to 

 have any members of the family witbin our 

 borders. It was in a little grassy vale. When 

 I saw it, so much did it resemble D. speetabilis, 

 that I thought it was a stray plant of that well 

 known Chinese variety, the Bleeding Heart of 

 our gardens. On a"' slight examination, how- 

 ever, I soon .saw my error, but so highly plea.sed 

 wa.s 1 with it. that I dug it and removed it to my 

 garden. 



The Dicentra belongs to the Xatural Order 

 Fumariacete. In California we have three va- 

 rieties that I am acquainted with. 



Dicentra formosa in the Sierra Nevada, at an 

 altitude of 0.000 to 8,000 feet, is found in grassy 

 vales near streams of water. It grows from one 

 to two feet high. The flowers are borne on a 

 compound racemose scape, from which they 

 hang pendent. The flowers are of a rosy purple 

 color ; the center is a bright cream color, thus 

 forming one of the grandest combinations 

 among flowers. 



Dicentra uniflora is found in the northern part 

 of the State, high up on mountain sides. It is a 

 dwarf-growing variety, never exceeding six 

 inches in height. The flowers are borne on a 

 simple racemose scape. They are a delicate flesh 

 color throughout. 



j Dicentra chrysantha is the most robust and 

 j vigorous of our native varieties •, often growing 

 1 four to five feet high. The leaves are immense. 



