October 9, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



473 



We are indebted to The Garden Mag- 

 azine, Garden City, N. Y., for the use of 

 the accompanying cut, which shows so 

 effectively the characteristics of some of 

 the hardy vines which are worth grow- 

 ing for flower or foliage effects. Several 

 of the vines shown are among the new 

 species collected by E. H. Wilson in 

 China and the cut is used as one of 

 the illustrations in an article con- 

 tributed by that gentleman to The Gar- 

 den Magazine which appears in the 

 September issue and which we com- 

 mend to our readers as very interest- 

 ing and instructive and well worth 

 careful perusal. 



Of Clematis montana rubens, Mr. 

 Wilson says: 



"The white flowered C. montana from 

 Eastern Asia is an old favorite. A 

 , variety of this (C. montana var. ru- 

 bens) with rose-colored flowers 2V4-3 

 inches across and dark foliage, which 

 I had the pleasure of introducing to 

 cultivation in 1900, is acclaimed by 

 garden lovers to he one of the most 

 beautiful of all the clematis. Around 

 Boston it has not proved completely 

 hardy but at Newport. R. I., some good 

 examples may be seen." 



It will not be out of place here to re- 

 call the fact that the first public men- 

 tion of these new hardy vines in this 

 country was made by Mr. Wilson in 

 our issues of March 12 and 19, 1910, 

 in a series of articles which he wrote 

 for HoRTKii.TtHE at that time. The 

 several new species of Clematis, 

 Rubus, Vitis and Actinidia which are 

 now recognized as introductions of su- 

 perior merit were there described and 

 illustrations were shown of a number 

 of them. On March 12 Mr. Wilson con- 

 tributed some very interesting and 

 hopeful notes on Clematis, stating that 

 not fewer than sixty-five species oc- 

 cur in China, and mentioning .-Xrmandi 

 and montana in its varieties rubens, 

 Wilsoni and sericia as among the most 

 promising. 



ASPIDISTRA. 



The aspidistra is one of the best of 

 decorative foliage plants. Its value as 

 a house plant lies in the fact that it is 

 indifferent to neglect. It seems to be 

 able to withstand hot air. gas and all 

 the hard usage possible. Twenty years 

 ago aspidistras were to be found in 

 nearly every collection. They were 

 familiar plants of our grandmothers. 

 Today we see very few. One use. how- 

 ever, has been found for it and that is 

 for renting purposes. It is also used 

 to some extent in window boxes and 

 vases in the city. It will thrive in 

 dark places such as halls, etc. 



China is the original home of this 

 plant. The commonest species are 

 A. lurida and a variegated form A. lurl- 

 da variegata. The variegated form Is 

 more attractive and grown to a larger 

 extent. 



The plants may be propagated by 

 division in early spring. They may 

 also be propagated by cutting up the 



rhizomes iijlo pieces one inch to an 

 Inch and a half long and planting in 

 flais. 



They will thrive in any fairly rich 

 soil and are not particular as to tem- 

 perature. A house kept at about 60 

 degrees is, however, best. 



Amherst, Mass. C. E. Wildos. 



HORTICULTURE Pub. Co.: 



Gentlemen: — We want to express 

 our appreciation of your publication, 

 HORTICULTURE, as we find it brings 

 us very correct inforn\ation at times 

 which we greatly appreciate. 



JOHN H. ALLAN SEED COMPANY. 



Sheboygan, Wis. 



