198 



HORTICULTURE 



February 15, 190S 



particular one he desires and this same theory applies 

 to the work of selection. 



I admit that rapid degeneration is common with 

 cyclamens, unless careful selection is maintained each 

 year. Experience has satisfied us, however, that by 

 patience and perseverance we can gradually, year after 

 year, fix and improve our strain, and produce seed for 

 our own private use, superior in every respect to that 

 sold by the average seedsman. 



Mr. Stuart in his conclusions states that lie is still 

 of the opinion that good culture helps greatly in bring- 

 ing out the rich qualities of a strain of cyclamen. 

 Quite .so; that goes without .saying; but I think he will 

 also admit that no amount of good cultivation could 

 ever bring out any rich qualities from a bad strain. 

 After all is said and done, it is selection which domi- 

 nates the natural world, or in other words, it is the 

 survival of the fittest. 



North' Easton, Mass. 



The Hydrangea Question Settled 



To the Editor of IIOKTICULTUEE : 



Mr. E. G. Llill has asked me in your issue of January 

 25 to determine the name of the handsome sterile form 

 of Hydrangea arliorescens named by him. Hydrangea 

 arhorescens alba grandiflora. 



There are at least two forms of the North American 

 Hydrangea arhorescens; on the first the leaves are 

 oblong-ovate and mostly acute at the base; on the 

 second the leaves are broad and cordate at the base. 



Of the first of these forms a variety stenlis was des- 

 cribed by Torrey & Gray in their Flora of North Am.- 

 erica (i. 591) published in 1840. In this form which 

 had been discovered at Wysox, Pennsylvania, the ray- 

 flowers are not more than half an inch in diameter and 

 the sepals are oval and round and furnished with a 

 short point at the apex. This certainly is not the 

 plant which has been cultivated and described by Mr. 

 Hill, for his plant is a form of Hydrangea arhorescens 

 var. cordata, with neutral flowers an inch across and 

 broadly ovate and acute sepals. 



In the Mitteilungen der Deutschen Dendrologkclien 

 Gesellschafl for 1907 (p. 71) Mr. Alfred Kehder has 

 proposed the name of Hydrangea arhorescens f. grandi- 

 flora, forma, nova, for Mr. Hill's plant and this is the 

 name by which it should be known. As Mr. Hill, in 

 using two varietal names for the same plant, did not 

 follow the recognized rules of botanical nomenclature, 

 Mr. Eehder who next described the plant, being at 

 liberty to select either of the two varietal names pre- 

 viously applied to it, very properly took grandiflora as 

 being the more descriptive of the two. 



It is interesting to note that in the Gray Herbarium 

 there is a specimen of Hydrangea arhorescens grandi- 

 flora coWectei at Nashville. Tennessee, without date or 

 name of collector. 



Arnold Arboretum, Boston. 



The Perennial Border as a Recre- 

 ation 



When once a move is taken to improve the home 

 grounds with any kind of plant or plants, it is very 

 liard to tell where to .sto]). The interest that this first 

 })lanting arouses gradually leads to a recreation and 

 often a decided hobby, and it is a hobby that is not 

 only permanent, but is also an important factor in 

 every estate, large and small. When once started, I 

 feel confident in saying that additions and important 

 changes will constantly be made year after year. 



There are hobbies and hobbies ; everybody has a hobby 

 or should have; but the greatest and best of all is one 

 that brings us as near to nature as possible, and the 

 planting of a hardy perennial border is a recreation that 

 it is hard to beat. The business man enjoys it morn- 

 ing and evening; the rest of the family all the time. It 

 is a continuous pleasure from the middle of April till 

 October, and during these six months there is not one 

 day that the border looks exactly the same as the day 

 preceding, For this reason, fresh interest develops 

 from day to day, as there is always something new and 

 different to look forward to. And this interest is not 

 confined to the flowers alone, but the foliage, fruit, and 

 habit — all play an important part in the general pleas- 

 ure derived. 



As soon as the warm spring days come we begin to 

 watch for old friends, hepaticas and anemone.^ first 

 greeting us. Anemone pulsatilla (pasque flower) is one 

 of the handsomest of spring flowers, with its beautiful 

 silky sepals and large violet flowers. The seed-head is 

 also very pretty reminding one of clematis, and the 

 foliage is ornamental till autumn. 



I have no intention of mentioning every perennial 

 grown, but only some of those that are not as generally 

 known or used, and also a few of the best older kinds 

 that should be in every border. Primroses and poly- 

 anthuses soon follow the hepaticas and always do well. 

 Mertensia virginica is very early, having light blue 

 tubular flowers in clusters, on stems long enough for 

 cutting. Phlox divaricata var. Laphamii is, I think, 

 going to take the place of the type, as it will stand our 

 hot summers better. Trollius is one of the showiest 

 and handsomest of spring flowers, but it is very confus- 

 ing to dealers to have them called double buttercups 

 (Eanunculus acris plena) instead of Globe flower which 

 is a more appropriate name, and describes the flower 

 very well. The double pink variety of Lychnis Flos- 

 cuculi is excellent for cutting purposes, and will con- 

 tinue to bloom as long as the ground is moist. 



June ushers in peonies, German iris, and lilies of 

 some varieties. The new Anchusa Italica var. Drop- 

 more is a fine border plant, but is useless for cutting. 

 The flowers are of good size, deep blue, borne on large 

 compound spikes. The dianthuses or hardy garden 

 pinks are as popular as any perennial and are general 

 favorites with everyone. That charming variety, Na- 



