of Rural Art and Taste. 



267 



men. It is an annual, although it is stated 

 in some catalogues to be a perennial. It grows 

 from eighteen to twenty inches high, and has 

 large panicles of flowers lightly tinted with 

 rose color on the exterior. It is not as strik- 

 ingly ornamental as some of the others, but is 

 useful for winter bouquets. 



Pe?misef.u/u longistylum is generally grown 

 as an annual, but at the South would be a 

 perennial. It is a very elegant species, grow- 

 ing from eighteen to thirty inches high, the 

 flower stems producing long, white, gracefully 

 curved plumes, which are very desirable for 

 winter bouquets. This species requires a light, 

 rich soil, and if the season is dry, should be 

 well watered. 



Stipa pennata, or Feather Grass, is one of 

 the most beautiful of all grasses. It is a per- 

 ennial, growing from eighteen to twenty inches 

 high. The plumes are long^ remarkably light, 

 and flexible, and have a strong resemblance to 

 marabout feathers, and are used by the mil- 

 liners and artificial flower makers as imitations 

 of them. 



JJlalia japonica is a perennial hardy species 

 from Japan, with long, variegated leaves. The 

 flower stems are from three to four feet high, 

 very reed-like, and produce loose panicles of 

 flowers ; these panicles are hairy and erect 

 until dried, when they become elegantly curled, 

 closely resembling Ich dien feathers. It is a 

 remarkably elegant species. 



Hordeimi jiibatum, or Squirrel-tail Grass, 

 is an annual, growing from twenty to thirty 

 inches high, the plumes being from four to six 

 inches long, sometimes straight and sometimes 

 gracefully curved ; the scales of the flowers 

 are terminated by long awns, which are green 

 at the base and of a light rose color at the 

 summit ; these awns have the appearance of 

 bristly hairs. 



Festuca glauca is a dwarf-growing species, 

 with upright, very glaucous green leaves. 

 This plant is admirably adapted for edgings, 

 growing very densely, and not inclined to run 

 or spread. It is of recent introduction to our 

 gardens, and we believe that it will in many 

 cases supersede box edgings. It is perfectly 

 hardy, and is a perennial. 



Besides the above-nanaed species, there are 

 others of comparatively recent introduction to 

 be found in the catalogues, some of which may 

 be worth growing ; the above selection, how- 

 ever, includes the most striking or picturesque 

 species. Closely allied to the grasses are 

 some species of Bamboo, which stand our 

 winters here with but slight protection, as 

 Bainlmsa metake and B./ortunii vuriegata. 

 Arwido donax variegala is a hardy, reed- 

 like plant, with the stems growing four to five 

 feet high. The loXifolia is also a reed-like 

 plant, from five to ten feet high, with long, 

 recurving leaves ; is not hardy at the North, 

 and must, therefore, be kept in a warm cellar 

 in the cold season. — Harper''s Bazaar. 



Grordon's Philadelphns. 



THIS new shrub, which has received the free 

 notice of English horticulturists, is thus 

 described by a correspondent of tlie Garden : 

 This forms a many-stemmed, vigorous-grow- 

 ing deciduous shrub, which attains a height of 

 from eight to ten feet. Its principal stems 

 are more or less ascending ; the branchlets are 

 slender and somewhat pendulous, and when a 

 certain amount of size has been attained, a 

 number of strong shoots of a whitish color are 

 annually produced from the base. It is a na- 

 tive of the northwest coast of America, where 

 it grows in the shape of underwood along the 

 banks of the Columbia Biver. It is also found 

 in Upper California, in shady woods along the 

 Sacramento Biver. In this country it grows 

 freely in any common garden soil, and it is 

 readily increased either by seeds, which are 

 ripe in October, or by means of cuttings of 

 the half-ripened shoots in August, It was 

 first introduced in 1826. The leaves are 

 somewhat small, ovate pointed, coarsely toothed 

 on the edges, three to five nerved, and pro- 

 duced on short foot stalks ; when in the adult 

 state, they are smooth and bright green above 

 and hirsute beneath. The flowers are large, 

 pure white and scentless, and are produced in 

 great profusion in terminal compact racemes, 

 of from five to nine flowers each, in the end of 

 July. The fruit or capsule, which is ripe in 

 ' October, is comparatively large and semi- 



