214 



GARDENING. 



April /, 



leaves; it makes a nice showing all alone. 

 We have it planted in a bed filled with 

 lilies and ferns in a sheltered place; the 

 ferns die down in fall and the aconite 

 covers the ground in spring. But in some 

 open spots in the garden the aconite is 

 quite at home and blooms at the same 

 time as in the fern bed. D. Fraser. 



Mahwah, N.J. 



SOME NEW CflNNflS. 



\ good many of us thought after first 

 making the acquaintance of Mme. Crozy, 

 that the height of perfection had been 

 reached, and that we should see nothing 

 finer. We thought, when Queen Charlotte 

 was introduced, that this, indeed, was 

 the ne plus ultra. It is true that these 

 two fine gold laced varieties still average 

 verv high in all the essential points that 

 go to make up a fine canna, and still 

 when brought before a group of Souvenir 

 d'Antoine Crozy and Mme. A. Bouvier we 

 are delighted with the brilliance of the 

 colors and the size of the trusses of the 

 new comers. Mme. Bouvier has been 

 called the "orchid flowered canna," so 

 brilliant is it in color and so tropically 

 beautiful. Mme. Crozy looks dull in color 

 beside it, the yellow is applied very irreg- 

 ularly and iscarried down into the throat 

 of the flower, the floret is large and 

 spreading. 



Souvenir d'Antoine Crozy is dazzling in 

 color and bears an enormous truss, it 

 stands at the head of its class. A very 

 dwarf addition to the gold banded cannas 

 is the charming little Gloire de Montet; it 

 may be described as a lowgrowing Queen 

 Charlotte, and is one of the most useful 

 and brilliant among all the newer cannas. 

 Among yellows, two fine dwarfs, each 

 only about 2¥, feet in height, are Cote 

 d'Or and Comete; the former has a pecu- 

 liar amber blotch in the throat, the color 

 beautifully applied as in the yellow iris. 



It is rather an odd coincidence that 

 among the reds F. R. Pierson, Ami 

 Pezeux and A. Billard should all be of the 

 same charming shade of soft glowing red, 

 and all fine broad petaled varieties, 

 originating at nearly the same time, yet 

 at places thousands of miles apart: 

 '■Pierson red" is now a common expres- 

 sion among canna growers. Another 

 gorgeous American variety is Flamingo, 

 it is well named and very near perfection 

 in every point. Still another, Columbia, 

 is probably the forerunner of hardier, 

 heavier textured varieties; it is one best 

 to withstand the winds and rains. 



In odd colors, Mme. Perrin des Isles is 

 of a peculiar shade of begonia pink; the 

 petals are long, but this variety would be 

 more valuable if they were btoader in 

 proportion. John Laing is of the peculiar 

 reddish copper tint found in J. D. Cabos, 

 and is very bright and striking, with 

 flower of elegant form. 



We are glad to know that our three 

 American novelties (Pierson, Columbia, 

 Flamingo) rank well up with the finest of 

 the French sorts; there are other novelties 

 of the year which are quite as good as 

 those described above, notably Papa 

 Canna, red; Obelisque, gold laced; Acme, 

 a grand yellow 3 feet high; E. G. Hill, 

 soft red; Director Roelz, salmon scarlet, an 

 unusually well formed largeflower; Capt. 

 Romani and Mme. Rozain, intermediate 

 shades of red, and Mile. Liska Lorcnze, a 

 variety that glows with "incandescent" 

 color, salmon, orange and light scarlet. 

 These novelties are a distinct advance 

 over recent introductions. To be sure 

 they have been selected, and the under 

 tow has carried away quite a number of 

 the introductions of 1895, and which we 



CANNA FLAMINGO. 



think will never again be heard from in 

 this country. E. (i. H. 



SOME OF T«E NEWER flflRDY PERENNIALS. 



Astilbe Chinensis thrives in any good 

 garden soil, but prefers a slightly damp 

 position. It has the habit of thejapan- 

 ese species, but is bolder and its pinnate 

 leaves are larger. Its flowers are white 

 tinged with pink and are produced in 

 large plumes on erect leafy branched 

 stems which are about three feet high. 



Campanula perckxfolia alba gratidi- 

 Sora is an improvement on the well known 

 white flowered variety and should be 

 largely grown. It is stronger in bodj' 

 and more floriferous than the common 

 white one and its blooms are larger. It 

 likes rich soil, good light, and to be kept 

 away from the roots of trees. 



Scabiosa Caucasica alba is a white 

 flowered form of the Caucasian scabios. 

 It grows best in a light rich sandy soil 

 and in an open position. Its flowers are 

 produced on stout stems and are about 

 three inches across. 



The Himalayan mandrake (Podophyl- 

 lum Emodi) is hardy here and well 

 adapted for growing in damp shady posi- 

 tions. When in bloom it is not showy 

 but shortly afterwards its handsome, 

 large, corai red fruits appear and last on 

 the plant for a long time. 



Anemone J aponica Whirlwind is a com 

 paratively new variety differing from the 

 old white one in having more than one 

 row of petals; but in other respects the 

 difference is very little. It grows well 

 here and flowers profusely in the fall. A 

 deep, loose, rich soil and a partially 

 shaded position suits it well. It is very 

 easily increased from root cuttings. 



^sfer Maackii is a hardy perennial 

 species received from the Botanical Gar- 

 den at St. Petersburg, that grows about 

 two feet high and has leafy stems and 

 large, lilac purple flowers and it blooms 

 nearly a month earlier than most of our 

 native asters. 



Aubrietia Leichtlinii is a pretty dwarf 

 ])iostrate mat-like plant suitable for the 

 rock garden. If planted in a slightly 

 elevated position and in light sandy soil 

 it will live through the winter, and in 

 early spring become covered with pretty 

 small, crimson flowers. R. Cameron. 



Botanical Garden, Cambridge, Mass. 



The European Wilu Primrose.— L. A. 

 N., Akron, O., writes; "I had some seed 

 sent to me from Italy, and among them 

 was a packet of 'Primavera,' but I can- 

 not find this name in any book. What is 

 it?" No doubt Primula vera is the name 

 meant. It is the common wild yellow 

 primrose that grows so abundantly in 

 the woods in Europe. It is a beautiful 

 little plant under cultivation here, thriv- 

 ing best under the same treatment as we 

 give to polyanthuses; it likes moisture 

 and thin shade in summer and dislikes 

 heat and drouth at any time While we 

 have had it live out of "doors along with 

 the pansies fairly well in winter, it is par- 

 ticularly grateful for a cold frame. 



Boiling Canna Seed.— C. H., Kansas 

 City, had two lots of seed, and prepara- 

 tory to sowing them he placed each lot in 

 a separate bowl and then poured boiling 

 water over them, one bowl was left open 

 and the water in it soon cooled, the other 

 was covered bj- a close-fitting lid, and the 

 water in it remained hot for a long time. 

 After the water got cold the seeds were 

 sown in drills in a hotbed, and those from 

 the open bowl have germinated nicely, 

 but not one from the closed bowl has 

 sprouted. He asks, why? We won't pre- 

 tend to decide in his case but will speak 

 in a general way. We scald canna seed 

 by pouring hot or boiling water over 

 them to crack or soften the hard outer 

 shell, that's all, while it may be all right 

 to continue keeping the seed in a warm 

 water soak over night or for forty eight 

 hours if no impression has been made on 

 the outer shell before that time, aside 

 from the first scalding the water should 



