68 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[March, 



from cuttings, but unites readily grafted on its own 

 tubers or those of I. insignis ; can be wintered over 

 in the same manner. 



Ipomaa Michauxii. — Another tuberous rooted 

 species, has beautiful satin rose colored flowers, 

 which are produced in great quantity ; very hand- 

 some foliage ; propagates freely from cuttings ; 

 would ripen seed in the Southern States, and can 

 be wintered over like the two preceding varieties. 



Ipomcza gratidiflora. — (The Queen of the 

 Night. ) It is a native of the East Indies ; is called 

 by the Hindoos the Moon flower, and is as much 

 admired by them as is the sunflower by Oscar 

 Wilde and his disciples. Too much can hardly 

 be said in praise of this grand Ipomasa ; it will 

 without doubt cover more space and produce more 

 flowers than any other summer flowering climber ; 

 it is a gross feeder, and a barrowful of well rotted 

 manure is not too much for it ; it can be planted 

 with the finest effect in a great many positions, 

 summer houses, verandas, fences, outhouses, etc., 

 which are improved by a covering of its cool, 

 green foliage, and large white deliciously-scented 

 flowers. It is not uncommon in Washington to 

 see it covering a three-story front, run up on wire 

 or stout string. This and I. Learii are first-rate 

 varieties for florists to handle, as they both strike 

 as easy as coleus from single eyes and can be win- 

 tered over in two-inch pots in a temperature of 

 55° or 60°. 



Stigmaphyllon ciliatuin—Uas beautiful yellow 

 flowers, resembhng an Oncidium, from which it 

 derives its popular name of the Butterfly Vine. The 

 leaves are fringed with hairs and are a bronzy 

 green color ; is tuberous rooted and can be wintered 

 over like the tuberous rooted Ipomeeas ; propagates 

 freely from cuttings. 



Antigonen leptopus~\iz.s beautiful racemes of 

 rose-colored flowers borne on the end of the young 

 shoots, is tuberous rooted andean be wintered over 

 like preceding ; propagates freely from cuttings. 



Manettia cordifo/ia.— Bright scarlet tube-shaped 

 flowers ; small dark green leaves, which are almost 

 hid by its multitude of flowers ; does splendid on 

 low fences, trellis, balloons, &c. ; propagated easily 

 from root cuttings. 



Clitoria ccerulea. — Fine blue pea shaped flowers; 

 free flowering ; of medium growth ; has a fine 

 effect on a fence. There is also a white flowering 

 variety, C. alba, which is good, but not so showy 

 as its blue brother ; are chiefly got up from seed, 

 which they produce freely. 



All the vines named like good rich soil and a 

 warm sunny situation. 



SINGLE DAHLIAS. 



BY GEO. S. WALES, ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



The Single Dahlia seems to rage in London, and 

 it looks as though we should have a pretty severe 

 attack here. I flowered them last season for the 

 first time. They were very satisfactory, although 

 there were several impediments to the best results ; 

 viz., I sowed my seed late, and the exceedingly 

 dry fall was not at ,all favorable to free or fine 

 flowering. They are as easily grown as the petu- 

 nia. Seed was sown in April (it should have been 

 done March ist) in box in greenhouse, transplanted 

 into two and a-half inch pots, shifted into four-inch, 

 and planted out of doors. They grew very fast, 

 and most of them made very bushy plants three 

 feet high. I was surprised to find such large tu- 

 bers ; some had burst asunder the four-inch pots. 

 Although my seeds were started in the greenhouse, 

 would recommend using the cool ends. They 

 might be easily started in the window box in the 

 house, and when transplanted put into a cold 

 frame until weather suitable for planting out should 

 come. Some that were kept in pots were brought 

 into the greenhouse and continued a long time in 

 bloom, being much admired ; if intended for house- 

 blooming, which I think is the most advantageous 

 way of using them, would advise growing them in 

 six or seven-inch pots, plunged during the sum- 

 mer. They did not bloom profusely with me, but 

 were full of buds, and undoubtedly, had the 

 weather been more favorable, they would have 

 been covered with flowers. The colors were white, 

 scarlet, dark red, orange and terra cotta shades. 



NOTES ON FLOWER GARDENING. 



BY J. B., FREDERICTON, N. B. 



Several of your correspondents protest against 

 the present system of bedding out tender exotic 

 plants, &c., in several recent numbers of the 

 Gardener's Monthly ; also in Harper's Maga- 

 zine oi March, page 517. The writer says (hav- 

 ing reference to the material used at present) : 

 " Yet even these, beautiful as they are in their 

 prime, make for half the summer a colorless, disa- 

 greeable blot on the lawn. Planted in June, they 

 rarely cover the ground until August, and for the 

 intervening time the bed in which they are planted 

 is a mass of almost naked earth. Before the mid- 

 dle of October they succumb to the frost, and 

 for eight months more they do nothing to hide the 

 bare earth in which they are .planted. Eight 

 months of ugliness is too high a price to pay for 



