1882. J 



AM) HORTICULTURIST. 



197 



light soil ; cover this with panes of glass. Your 

 l>ox will hardly want water until the seeds are 

 up, when the glass must be removed. 



Where the seeds are very fine, such as Calceo- 

 laria, Torenia and Ferns, etc., it is best not to 

 cover the seed with soil, but, sprinkle a little 

 moss, that has been rubbed through a fine sieve, 

 over them. Place the boxes in a situation where 

 they will obtain all the light, but not be fully 

 exposed to the rays of the sun. Shade the boxes 

 until the seeds are up, and if the light conies 

 only on one side of them, turn the box around 

 so that the front will be in the rear every other 

 day. Prick ofl' the young seedlings in boxes of 

 sandy soil as soon as thej show the rough or 

 third leaf. 



SOME SOUTHERN EVERGREENS. 



BY A VIRGINI.\ CONTRIBUTOR. 



Pruuus Caroliniana, Ait, and Ilex Cassine, Walt, 

 are two beautiful evergreens not generally known 

 and rarely seen in arboretums, yet they deserve 

 a place in every collection. The first is not even 

 included in Gray's New Manual, but appears as Ce- 

 rasus Caroliniana, Michx, in Woods Class Book, 

 though in his later work, The Botanist and Florist, 

 it is given as above. The common name in 

 both instances, Cherry Laurel, is not mentioned 

 by Prof. Sargeant in Forest Trees of North America, 

 1880, where he gives it the local name of Mock 

 Orange. It is a native of North Carolina, as its 

 specific name implies, and is found thence south 

 and westward. It does well transplanted in gar 

 dens on the southern border of Virginia, and 

 only suffers in most severe winters when its 

 glossy leaves are covered with ice and sleet, 

 although it does not attain the height usually 

 assigned it. In foliage it considerably resembles 

 the orange, though its leaves are not of as much 

 substance, and the small twigs more gracefully 

 drooping in habit. It bears the knife well and 

 is often farther south trimmed into fimciful 

 shapes. The flowers and 'fruit are of no value 

 though the former are fragrant and attractive 

 to bees ; but for the beauty of its light airy 

 branches of deep, shining green leaves it is 

 unsurpassed and ought to be more generally cul- 

 tivated than it now is. It is said to be poisonous, 

 but of that there may be some doubt. 



Ilex Cassena,Walt, (or as Gray gives it Cassin e, 

 L,) does not appear in Prof. Sargent's list. The 

 southern portion of Virginia is its northern 

 limit, and it extends southward along the coast 



line to Texas. The shrub, rather than tree, 

 rarely exceeds fifteen to twenty feet in height, is 

 dense in growth and foliage with deep-green, 

 shining leaves about one inch in length, and has 

 this advantage over box that its foliage is always 

 green and beautiful and never rusty colored, as 

 box often becomes. In addition the branches 

 are in autumn covered with a profusion of scar- 

 let berries clustered closely to the small twigs 

 even, giving it when full of fruit a beautiful 

 appearance. It was called by the natives 

 " Yaupon," and from its leaves they made a 

 black tea, which is still used to a large extent by 

 the people living along the coast and has given 

 that local name to the shrub. But those who 

 can obtain the imported article do not hold it in 

 high esteem. It is also called Cassena Tea. 

 During a short trip made to the coast section of 

 North Carolina last autumn, I saw no more 

 beautiful sight than these deep shining bushes 

 covered with scarlet berries. 



I HELONIAS BULLATA. 



j BY W. F. BAiiSETT, HAMMONTON, X. J. 



Among the native plants of New Jersey, and 

 j we have some very fine ones, few if any present 

 I better claims than the Helonias. The leaves 

 I alone are quite ornamental, and the flow-ers, 

 j with their delicate light purple shade, are very 

 ' showy, the blue anthers on exserted stamens 

 . giving something of a blue shading.to the whole 

 I flower at a little distance, and they are quite 



■ fragrant. I have not tried to cultivate it on dry 

 ! soil, but Josiah Hoopes, I think, has succeeded 



■ well with it. I have transferred it from one 

 I swamp to another, and even when in full bloom 



it does not seem to suffer at all from the re- 

 moval. 



THE POLYANTHA ROSE. 



I BY W. F. HIBBERD, LOUISVILLE, KY. 



i The Roses of this new class exhibit some 

 qualities that must materially change the aspect 

 of the rose business when they become suffi- 

 I ciently circulated. 



j Roses have not been bedding plants ; the at- 

 I tractions of their individual flowers, and not the 

 ; appearance they present when collected in 

 I masses, has been their distinguishing feature. 

 } True, the most generous Teas and Chinas bloom 

 freely enough to make a rich display, but even 

 ' these come in crops separated bj' longer or 

 shorter intervals, and their habit is against them 



