i885.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



295 



Rose, Lamarck. — This grand old Noisette rose 

 is of French origin; and was raised by M. Mare- 

 chal, in 1830. 



Perpetual Polyantha Rose.— A variety called 

 Jean Driven has been introduced by M. J. 

 Schwartz, of Lyons, France, which is said to be a 

 perpetual bloomer. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Dark Flowering Cactuses.— Mr. A. Blanc 

 writes : " Mr. Bassett asks for a hardy red 

 blooming Opuntia, to plant with the native yellow- 

 flowered Jersey variety. I send you a sample of a 

 variety sent to me from Montana, and said to be a 

 pink flowering kind, but 1 would not vouch for it — 

 not knowing the name of it ; do you ? " 



[The piece sent is Opuntia Missouriensis, of 

 which there are darkish varieties in the Rocky 

 Mountain regions, as well as pure yellow — but we 

 never saw it make flowers under culture. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



New Single Tuberose. — The Michel Plant 

 Company, St. Louis, writes: "We send by to-day's 

 mail a specimen of a new single Tuberose, and 

 also a spray of the common, by way of contrast. 

 This originated with us a few years ago, and is a 

 much freer bloomer, and often has, as is shown in 

 the specimen sent, two or three branches on a 

 stalk. The blooms are more erect, closer together, 

 and recurved like a Fuchsia. It is with us a great 

 acquisition for loose bouquets and cut flowers." 



[This is certainly distinct from the common sin- 

 gle white. In addition to the points noted by our 

 correspondent, it is a clear white, while the com- 

 mon has a dull brown tint at the apex of each 

 division of the flower-cup ; while the general tint 

 is just a little creamy. To our mind this is just 

 such an improvement in the tuberose as the Harris 

 variety of Lilium longiflorum is to the original 

 species. — Ed. G M.] 



Rhododendron Culture. — " Max.," Staunton, 

 Va., says : " The Rhododendrons to which allusion 

 was made (p. 262), had plenty of leaf-mould, and 

 were in aerated soil. The trouble was, that while 

 their foliage did not mind summer heat, it enabled 

 the spring winds to exhaust the vitality of the 

 plant so that they did not seem able to assimilate 

 their food, even in the light form of leaf mould. 

 Glad to say that either the liquid manure or some 

 unknown factor had the desired effect, as twenty- 

 three out of twenty-four forlorn-looking specimens 

 are now in a vigorous condition. Had never 



heard of liquid nor other kind of manure for them, 

 but something had to be done, so I tried it at a 

 venture. Is it safe to attribute the success to the 

 liquid manure ? " 



Rye Grass for Lawns. — "Red Top," Pittsburg, 

 Pa., says : " Will you please advise some of your 

 readers as to the merits of Perennial Rye Grass 

 (Lolium perenne) as a component part of a mixture 

 for lawn grass. It is claimed to germinate quickly 

 and soon produce a green sward, but is it not of 

 too coarse a growth to make a lawn like a carpet, 

 such as we all have in our minds, even if we do 

 rarely find them a reality." 



[Rye grass a quarter of a century ago was very 

 popular round Philadelphia for lawn making. As 

 our correspondent suggests, it makes a good lawn 

 quicker than any other, is by no means a coarse 

 grass when so used, and is very acceptable be- 

 cause it comes green in spring with its new shining 

 growth before any others. But it seems to gradu- 

 ally disappear, the blue grass of the " Kentucky " 

 name, which is one of the natural grasses of this 

 region where it is known as Pennsylvania green 

 grass, takes its place. There are numbers of lawns 

 about here once of rye grass that are all of green 

 grass now. We are not much in favor of lawn 

 mixtures in sowing seeds, because the one the best 

 adapted to the soil soon crowds out all others, but 

 can see no objection to a little rye grass being 

 sown with the blue grass, which, in most cases 

 will be found the best for American lawns. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



Bleeding in a Norway Spruce. — "W. F.G.," 

 Springfield, Mass., writes: "I have a Norway 

 Spruce that bleeds badly from the but end of sev- 

 eral dead branches. All are on one side. The 

 dark spots in the figure at the left are dead limbs, 

 the light spots the branches that are alive in the 

 same neighborhood. I have cut off the dead 

 hmbs but would like to ask what should cause 

 them to bleed and die, and if there is any danger 

 of the balance of the trees dying can I remedy 

 the trouble ? The first dead limb is about ten feet 

 from the ground. It is also the first limb. The 

 full height of the tree is about forty feet. The 

 dead branches extend, about halfway up the trunk." 



[ The turpentiny matter, that flows from old 

 knots or wounds in coniferous trees, is not 

 thought to injure them materially ; though we 

 suppose, as in the case of sugar from a sugar 

 maple tree, there ought to be some little strain on 

 the vital powers. At least no one thinks of attempt- 

 ing to stop this waste of turpentine. — Ed. G. M.] 



