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it grows in such abundance. It used to grow on the Orange 

 Mountains near Montclair, Xew Jersey, hut has long been gone 

 from that locaHty. It prefers damp and shady places along 

 streams and wet hillsides, and apparently seeds freely and grows 

 readily from seed. If planted in shady nloist places along streams 

 or even in low swampy woodlands that are frequently overflowed 

 in springtime, it will flourish and pro\'e a permanent decorative 

 feature. 



It has a thickened storage rootstock which enables it to with- 

 stand ill treatment for a while, but it will ultimately dwindle and 

 disappear if planted in uncongenial locations, or with unsuitable 

 companions. If associated wdth tulips which have to be lifted 

 and replaced each year, the Mertensias, if grouped around them, 

 are sure to suffer and ultimately disappear. Their delicacy and 

 charm are enhanced by natural surroundings and the ideal loca- 

 tion is a shady bed of ferns, which gradually unfurl their fronds 

 and hide the yellow and dying leaves of the "Bluebells." For 

 Mertensia virginica blooms early, from March to May, and dis- 

 appears entirely when the trees are in full leaf. The taller spe- 

 cies, M. paniculata and M. lanceolaia, bloom from June to August, 

 but they also prefer thickets and woodlands and are entirely un- 

 suited to sunny dry borders. 



The flowers are clustered at the top of the stems, and have a 

 tube with a lobed corolla, and a very short 5-parted calyx. The 

 stamens also are free and inserted on the tube of the corolla. 

 There are four round nutlets in each fruit. 



Dr. Southwick has successfully established a group of them, 

 brought from the colony on the Raritan River in New Jersey. 

 They are planted in shade along one of the rills at the northern 

 end of the Rock Garden, an ecological habitat much like their 

 natural one. 



There are several exotic species, which are said to be "not 

 easy to cultivate, but are offered by some American dealers." 

 These are natives of Siberia and Kashmir and prefer high moun- 

 tain districts, as do several of our Rocky Mountain species. 



Elizabeth G. Britton. 



