1882.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



325 



cate than the couch-grass of Europe. Another 

 objection is its dulness through winter, and far 

 into the spring. Its rich green color through 

 the hot summer months when all else is wilted 

 and burned up, is very refreshing to say the 

 least; but with the first cold nights of autumn 

 it changes to a dull light brown, which is any- 

 thing but pleasing on a well kept lawn. 



Notwithstanding these drawbacks a good deal 

 could be said in its favor. For sodding embank- 

 ments, or poor sandy ground, where scarce any- 

 thing else will grow, it has no equal and should 

 be used much more than it is. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Blood leaved Pea.ch. — This interesting 

 variety, so long known here, is just being appre- 

 ciated in the Old World. 



Tdberoses. — It is well known that the double 

 tuberose will occasionally revert to its original 

 single condition. The single form is not consid- 

 ered as desirable as the double, but it has one 

 great advantage in this, that it is nearly two 

 weeks earlier in flowering. This is worth a 

 great deal to those who desire early sweet white 

 flowers. The Pearl, on the other hand, is a later 

 bloomer than the ordinary double kind, and 

 this is to be regretted, as its dwarfness renders it 

 so far the best for forcing. It is nearl}- four 

 weeks later than the single. 



Florida Yellow Water Lily.— The Nym- 

 phsea flava, found a few years ago by Mrs. Treat, 

 in Florida, has been found by Mr. Falconer to 

 remain out all winter and flower the past sum- 

 mer in the botanic garden at Cambridge. He 

 tells the Country Gentleman that the flowers are 

 larger than those we get from pot plants ; they 

 rise some six to nine inches above the water, 

 open about eight to nine o'clock in the forenoon, 

 and close between three and five in the after- 

 noon. They open again on the second day, but 

 not after that. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Nandine Tree. — " D. G," Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 

 says: "The Monthly, I suppose, can give us 

 the right name for the plant of which I send 

 you today a branch. We called it ' Nandine,' 



but are not sure if it is the plant. Like most of 

 the old plants most of the gardeners don't get 

 the right name." 



[This is correctly named. Nandin is the na- 

 tive Chinese or Japanese name, and Thunberg, 

 in his Flora Japonica, adopts Nandine domestica 

 as given by " Hornstedt's Dissertation on New- 

 Plants, " a work we have never seen, and which 

 seems to be "domestic" only because, according 

 to Thunberg, it is everywhere popular in town 

 gardens. It belongs to the Berberry family, 

 though it has nothing of the look of a Berberry 

 bush. It ought to be hardy from the central 

 United States south, though we do not know of 

 any experiments made with it. — Ed. G. M.] 



A Chapter ox Water Lilies. — The recent 

 flowering as already noted in the open air in the 

 United States of the famous Victoria regia, by 

 Mr. Sturtevant, of Bordentown, has turned more 

 than usual attention to the subject of Water 

 Lilies in general. A correspondent inquires 

 where she can get the best account of the Water 

 Lilies under cultivation. We cannot, perhaps, 

 do better for her than to give the following ex- 

 haustive account by a correspondent of Mr. 

 Robinson's Garden, of London : 



" Every one knows and appreciates that queen 

 of native wild flowers, the common white Water 

 Lily ; but my olject now is to bring into notice 

 other less common kinds, which, from their 

 diversity of form and color, are equally valua- 

 ble. Their culture is of the simplest kind, for, 

 if properly planted at first, they seldom give 

 any further trouble. Where it is convenient to 

 drain off" the water, the best mode of planting 

 the larger kinds is to make a hillock of a com- 

 post consisting of good loam and a small quan- 

 tity of well decomposed manure and river sand ; 

 on the surface of this place some large stones to 

 prevent the soil from being removed by the 

 water. In this hillock place the plant so that 

 the depth from its crown to the surface of the 

 water may not exceed two feet. If there be no 

 means of lowering the water, the best substitute 

 is to put the plants into large baskets and to 

 sink them to the proper depth. If the bottom 

 be of a gravelly nature the plants will not spread 

 much, but if otherwise, they should be kept 

 within bounds, or they will soon grow into a 

 mass which tends to considerably mar the effect, 

 as shown in the form of isolated patches. In 

 the case of young plants and the small-growing 

 kinds enumerated below it is advisable to keep 

 them in small baskets and in shallow water. 

 There are about eighteen half-hardy Water 

 Lilies in cultivation at the present time. The 

 majority belong to the genus Nymphaea, and the 

 remainder to the genus Nuphar. Ot the native 

 kinds, which need no description, there are 

 three varieties, which are very distinct. The 



