April 6, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



455 



Kalmia latifolia 



(Sec Frontispiece.) 



There are few 

 more beautiful 

 slniibs when in 

 full flower- than 

 the mountain lau- 

 rel, and a visit to 

 the woods where 

 it grows in quan- 

 tity at the season 

 when it is in full 

 bloom will well 

 repay anyone. It 

 is a true native 

 of the States, 

 but it required a 

 European to dis- 

 cover it and mate 

 it known. This 

 was Peter Kalm, 

 a Swedish bot- 

 anist, in whose 

 honor it was 

 named. It belongs 

 to the natural or- 

 der of Ericacea;, 

 the heath and rhododendron family; it is a 

 beautiful sight to see a mass of it in flower, 

 yet the individual flowers are also beautiful, the 

 color being a delicate pink, sometimes white. If the 

 individual flowers be examined carefully it will be seen 

 that nature has endowed this flower with an ingenious 

 contrivance for compelling the flowers to bo cross 

 fertilized. 



In examining the flowers closely it will be noticed 

 tliat there are ten little pockets in the corolla, and in a 

 newly opened flower the anthers which bear the pollen 

 are tucked away in these pockets, the filaments being 

 curved and strained tight. If the flower be suddenly 

 jarred or the anthers touched with a pin or jDencil they 

 will spring out and the pollen will fly upwards. 



When a bee 

 alights on a flower 

 its legs touch the 

 filaments which 

 spring up and dis- 

 charge the pollen 

 on the under side, 

 and when the bee 

 visits another 

 flower some of 

 the pollen gets 

 brushed off the 

 insect's body on 

 to the stigma, 

 thus resulting in 

 cross fertilization. 

 Should the flower 

 be covered up in 

 order to prevent 

 any insect from 

 getting at it, it will 

 die with the an- 

 thers still in the 

 pockets. In land- 

 scape work the 

 kalmia may l>e used with good effect either in con- 

 junction v.'ith rhododendrons or by itself. It requires 

 much the same treatment as does the rhododendron but 

 does not require quite so much shade as some of the 

 rhododendrons, especially E. maximum, seems to 

 enjoy. 



In examining them in their wild state I have been 

 struck by the fact that tlie best and most compact plants 

 and those with the best colored flowers were growing in 

 verv sandy soil and in a clearing of the woods where 

 they got the full sunshine the greater part of the day. 



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Echoes from England 



NEW WINTER CARNATIONS 



The Winter Flowering Carnation Society of Eng- 

 land held their second annual exhibition today (March 

 13th) and a delightful lot of flowers were shown. The 

 carnation that attracted most attention was the new 

 clear salmon colored Mrs. H. Burnett, raised and ex- 

 hibited by Mr. H. Burnett of Guernsey. The petals are 

 slightly fringed and flatly arranged thus forming a wide 

 bloom averaging 3 to "3 1-2 inches across. Tlie flowers 

 lend themselves admirably to decorative purposes. 

 Another striking variety is Marmion said to be a 

 cross between a Malmasion and a tree or winter flower- 

 ing carnation. The blooms are very large, qiiite 

 4 inches across ; they are so heavily flaked with 

 red that they appear to be red with a broad mar- 

 gin of white. The English-raised carnation Brit- 

 annia which is not unlike Bobert Craig, is 

 particularly fine and a group of this variety was much 

 admired. It is undoubtedly the finest variety of winter 

 flowering carnation raised in this country. Mikado is a 

 large flower that catches the eye at once, not on account 

 of its beauty for it can hardly be called beautiful, but 

 rather from its bizarre appearance. The color of the 

 blooms is dull slaty purple tinged slightly with red. 



Aurora is an attractive sort and quite distinct from the 

 majority. I believe all the good varieties we have re- 

 ceived from America are self-colored flowers. Aurora is 

 heavily striped with bright rose on a buffi ground. The 

 blooms are not so large as some of the better known» 

 sorts but they are still of a useful size. Fiancee is a love- 

 ly flower and was shown by several exhibitors. Salmon 

 Lawson, Eose Enchantress and White Lawson are sports 

 from well known varieties. Messrs. Hugh Low & 

 Co., Cutbush & Son, H. Burnett, Ware & Co., A. F. But- 

 ton, C. Engelman, S. Mortimer and Mr. Smith (who 

 raised Britannia) were the chief exhibitors. 



ROSE RICHMOND 



This lovely American rose has been highly honored 

 within the last fortnight. At the last meeting of the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society it received an award of 

 merit and today at the carnation show it was similarly 

 honored. It is described as an "Improved Liberty" and 

 certainly from the blooms shown it is superior. It is 

 evidently a valuable forcing rose. 



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