292 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[October, 



plant, and as it is classed as a root-parasite, 

 perhaps it cannot be done successfully, but prob- 

 ably it might be grown from seed among trees. I 

 allude to Gerardia quercifolia. It is a very large 

 species, growing from four to six feet, and in ad- 

 dition to its flowers, possesses another element of 

 beauty, in its stems and foliage, which are finely 

 shaded with purple. 



[Gynura aurantiaca, being native of Java, can- 

 not, of course, be "hardy," in the sense of endur- 

 ing frost, but we took Mrs. Wellcome's expression 

 to mean that it had a free, vigorous growth in the 

 open air. "Hardy" is an elastic phrase in Horti- 

 culture. Trifolia was an error of our correspon- 

 dent, and over-looked by the sub-Editor. It is 

 R. triloba.— Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Prunus triloba. — This pretty double pink 

 dwarf plum was introduced by Mr. Robert For- 

 tune from China in 1856, and named by Dr. 

 Lindley in the Gardeners' Chronicle, Prunus 

 triloba. It is now common in cultivation, but in 

 Philadelphia suffers much from a species of fungus 

 attack allied to the fire blight in the pear, and to 

 which the common dwarf almond is also very 

 liable. In France last year the double flowers 

 reverted back to the single state to enable fruit to 

 perfect. The little plums are about the size of a 

 Houghton gooseberry. Mr. Andre thinks there 

 are botanical differences sufficient to warrant a 

 division from Prunus and he names it Prunopsis 

 Lindleyi in Reveu Horticole. 



Stock for Grafting Roses. — The editor of 

 Journal des Roses believes that Rosa polyantha 

 will prove one of the most acceptable of stocks to 

 the rose grafter. 



The Drop or Bag-worm. — As the seasons roll 

 around, we have the usual number of unfortunates 

 who write of some " worm in a bag " which eats 

 the evergreens and destroys them — the arborvitas 

 suffering especially. The remedy is very simple. 

 Look at the trees from week to week, and when 

 the pests are small pick them off and smash them. 

 It is but short work, and very effectual. 



Double Honeysuckle. — Rev. E. P. Powell 

 has a double yellow honeysuckle. We do not 

 know that there is a double honeysuckle in exist- 

 ence. Do any of our readers? 



A Dwarf Stevia. — Mr. Massey says that a 

 novelty produced by Mr. Fistler, gardener at the 



White House Gardens, Washington, is a dwarf 

 form of Stevia serrata. He was shown a large 

 lot of this in 7-inch pots, which stood uniformly 

 about a foot high and with bushy tops about ten 

 inches across. This is their natural habit. 



A Double Lilium .\uratum. — Mrs. M. D. 

 Wellcome, of Yarmouth, Me., has a lily which 

 has come double two successive seasons, and will 

 no doubt prove to be a constant variety. 



Rosa lucida flore-pleno. — In Mr. EUa- 

 combe's garden at Bitton this pretty rose grows 

 and flowers freely. Although much altered by 

 cultivation from the dwarf wild rose of the United 

 States, there seems no doubt of the propriety of 

 referring it as a variety to R. lucida. It seems 

 identical, too, with the rose figured by Andrews 

 in his Monograph as R. Pennsylvanica flore-pleno. 

 The outer petals of this fade into a pale rose, 

 leaving the center of the flower a deep rich rose 

 color. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Azalea mollis. — Very fine varieties of this 

 useful flowering shrub are now in bloom at Gras- 

 mere, and amongst them I would single out Isa- 

 belle Van Houtte, the flowers of which are very 

 large, of a deep cream color, the upper petal being 

 strongly marked with yellow, or, more properly 

 speaking, bright maize. It is a singularly attrac- 

 tive and beautiful kind, and should be in every 

 collection. Every garden should possess some 

 plants of Azalea mollis; they are so effective when 

 in bloom, and not all fastidious as to soil. Loam 

 or rich peat is often considered indispensable, but 

 Mr. Stevens grows them in his ordinary garden 

 soil, which is very light, approaching sand indeed, 

 and they seem to be doing very well in it. An- 

 other very fine kind is Beali major, flower salmon- 

 pink, upper petals strongly marked with bright 

 orange — a most telling kind. — J. C. B., in the 

 Garden. 



Picea Cephalonica This beautiful and com- 

 paratively hardy silver fir is a native of Cephal- 

 onia, which is the largest of the Ionian Islands, 

 some forty miles long by an average of fifteen 

 wide. It is the most prominent conifer of that 

 island. 



Andromeda japonica. — This pretty hardy eri- 

 caceous plant is growing in favor in England. 



Papaver umbrosum Of this brilliant annual 



Poppy, Mr. Wolley Dod sends some fine blooms 

 cut from stems two feet high. The flowers are 

 some three inches across, handsomely cup-shaped 



