182 ORNAMENTAL GARDENING 
to flourish but the lubber grasshoppers have cultivated it so 
assiduously that it has never succeeded. 
Victoria. JI do not know that these grand aquatics have been 
cultivated in the state but see no reason why they should not 
succeed. 
Verbena. From what I can learn Verbenas are satisfactory in 
the northern part of the state though in the more tropical region 
they do not go through the summer very well. They are good as 
annuals here. At Rita I saw fine Verbenas in October which had 
grown beautifully all summer. 
Vincas might almost be called beautiful weeds in South Flor- 
ida. The Madagascar Periwinkles are certainly as much at 
home here as in Madagascar. 
Violets. These do best in rich, well-drained soil in partial 
shade with a considerable amount of moisture and should succeed 
over the cooler part of the state. In the lower portion they may 
be grown in slat houses or in a cool, shaded situation out of doors. 
Xanthosoma lindeni is a superb plant with sagittate leaves 
whose veins and midrib are white. X. javanica has immense 
sagittate foliage tinted purple. The great Elephant’s Ear (Col- 
ocasia esculenta) is nearly related. The literature of these 
groups of Aroids is badly mixed and most of these plants have 
been sold under a variety of names. A plant called Colocasia 
illustris has dark green leaves shaded and blotched with black. 
All of these need the richest of soil, plenty of moisture, heat and 
some shade for their best development. 
Yucca filamentosa is a hardy, attractive plant, native of the 
state and will flourish in sandy soil. It is widely grown in the 
north. 
MISCELLANEOUS EPIPHYTES. 
I give here a list of epiphytes which I have cultivated in my 
hammock, not including Orchids, and I will remark that almost 
everything that has been tried has succeeded. There is little 
danger of frost in the hammocks of the lower part of the state; as 
Reclus has shown, the temperature of forests is about two and 
_ one-fourth degrees higher in winter than in the surrounding open 
country and the same amount cooler in summer. There is 
