HORTICU UTU RE. 



799 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum 



Besides the Lilacs and Azaleas the Honeysuckles are 

 now the most showy flowering shrubs at the Arnold 

 Arboretum and particularly Lonicera taturica and its 

 crosses with L. Mdrnnrii and L. Ruprcchtianii, their 

 flowers varying tidiii pure white to deep pink. Another 

 cross of more recent oi igin and apparently not yet 

 known in Aiiieiiean uaideus is Lonicera (iinocna. a 

 hybrid of L. hihiiim ami L. Kunill'ovii var. floribunda 

 raised in Germany several years ago. A similar hybrid 

 of nearly the same parentage, one of its parents being 

 the tiue L. Korolliovn, instead of a variety of it, origi- 

 nated a few years ago at the Arnold Arboretum and iiro- 

 duced last year for the first time its flowers in profu- 

 sion: it was described recently by me as a new variety 

 under the name L. ainoena var. Arnoldiana. This is 

 certainly tlie most graceful of all the hybrids and, 

 though we have other graceful species, none of them 

 combines an elegant habit with such a profusion of del- 

 icately tinted and rather large flowers. Loniccni nmociui 

 var. Arnoldiana is a rather dense bush with upright and 

 spreading branches clothed with light bluish green foli- 

 age, the leaves being similar to those of L. tatarica but 

 smaller and narrower. In June, when the flowers of L. 

 tatarica and its other hybrids are passing awaj-, its 

 branches are covered with light pink flowers borne on 

 long and slender stalks well above the bluish green foli- 

 age. Tlie whole shrub has thus the appearance of an 

 airy lightness and gracefulness very unlike any other of 

 the hybrids of L. tatarica. It is not yet in trade and in 

 fact not known outside of the Arnold Arboretum. 



Among the Diervillas attention ought to be drawn to 

 DierviUa praecox which is now in fall bloom several 

 weeks ahead of other species and varieties of this genus. 

 DierviUa praecox is of comparatively recent introduc- 

 tion and apparently still little known in American gar- 

 dens. It is a hardy shrub of upright vigorous habit 

 with pubescent sharply toothed leaves. The flowers ap- 

 pear in great profusion surrounded by clusters of leaves 

 along the branches of last year's growth; they are about 

 one and three-cjuarters of an inch long and of pale pur- 

 ple color. One cannot deny that the color is not as 

 beautiful as in many other varieties of DierviUa, but 

 this drawback has been remedied by the new hybrids 

 raised by Lemoine of Nancy who also introduced orig- 

 inally the species in question ; they combine the early 

 flowering time with flowers from delicate pink to car- 

 mine purple ; the first named color shade is represented 

 by the variety Gracieux, the latter by var. Conquerant. 



Of the well known favorite shade and avenue tree 

 Aesculus camea (A. nibiainda) there is at present a 

 variety in flower which seems to be still very little known 

 though it surpasses the original A. camea in beauty and 

 originated about fifty years ago in France. It is A. car- 

 nra var. Brioti with deep red flowers, the two upper 

 petals marked with an orange red blotch. The flowers 

 are so much more brilliant than those of the common A. 

 camea that this variety deserves to be better known and 

 more often planted. 



Besides the Lilacs and the Azaleas which are now past 



their prime the native and the Ghent Azaleas are now in 

 bloom and the earliest of the Rhododendrons begin to 

 unfold their flowers. As the latter have come well 

 through the winter, they give every promise of a splen- 

 did show when they will be in full hlnnm. 



New Plants at the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society 



In aildition to my previous list given in the issue of 

 IIouTicuLTUEE, May 29, there were the following: 

 Odontioda Vuylstekeae Crawshayanum (0. Pescatorei 

 X Cochlioda Noezlicnw) shown on May 17 at the Vin- 

 cent Square Hall, by DeB. Crawshay, of Eosefield, Sev- 

 enoaks. The variety retains the fine shape of Odont. 

 Pescatorei, but in color the flowers are of a glowing scar- 

 let, the crest being of an orange color. The flower 

 shows a variety of tints, but none of the spotting ob- 

 served in M. Vuylsteke's form. The colors and mark- 

 ings are those most probable in such a cross as that 

 given, so that its appearance was a surprise to the 

 laiser. 



I?Hoi)ODE.\'DHox SouLiEi. — The society awarded a 

 first-class certificate to this species from China and 

 shown on this occasion by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons of 

 Chelsea. The comparatively large flowers have a bright 

 suffusion of rose on a pale ground. The ovate cordate 

 leaves are covered in the young state with a glaucous 

 bloom, -and are then of a red tinge, as are the young 

 shoots, but subsequently the tinge becomes green. The 

 flower for one-third of its depth is widely expanded, and 

 has a diameter of -1 inches. The plant has proved hardy 

 iii England. 



Primula Bulleyaxa. — This plant was shown by 

 Messrs. Bees,-Ltd., Liverpool, at the meeting on May 18. 

 Its tall stalks bear oranged colored flowers in whorls; 

 sometimes these will number three whorls. The calyx 

 and upper parts of the flower stem are mealy, and the 

 leaves resemble those of a polyanthus. The plant was 

 found in China by Mr. G. Forrest, collector for Messrs. 

 Bees, Ltd., who states that it is a moisture loving plant, 

 growing to a height of 3 feet, and is found in colonies of 

 several acres in extent. 



Tulip The Presidext.— A new and striking variety 

 of the late flowering or cottage tulip is The President, 

 shown by Messrs. R. W. Wallace & Co., of Colchester. 

 The bloom is of a very large size, in color a reddish 

 orange, with a dark basal patch. An award of merit 

 w^as bestowed upon it. 



Mr. C. ('. Iluist, a member of an English firm of 

 wholesale seedsmen, had many interesting points to offer 

 respecting Mendel's law and its application to hortieul- 

 tuie lii'ioie the members of the K. II. S. at a recent 

 meeting. Recent experiments have shown, Mr. Hurst 

 explained, that nuiny simple characters in garden 

 plants follow Mendel's laws. In many cases, however 

 the Mendelian characters do not happen to correspond 

 with the horticultural characters, and interesting com- 

 plications then arise. 



