28^ 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



threw in one and a half pailfnlls of fresh 

 cow drops, filled up the barrel with 

 water from creek, stirred thoroughly, 

 filled a pail, took a handfull of weeds 

 having thick stems and long leaves, 

 dipped in the liquid and dribbled the 

 vines, letting it run freely down the 

 stem so as to thicken around the stem, 

 thus preventing their harboring at that 

 point. The second day I went over 

 them again. The bugs all left for parts 

 unknown — may be in disgust at the 

 smell and looks of the plants. Am en- 

 tirely satisfied it's a good fertilizer, so 

 another season I shall not wait for the 

 bugs to come, but dose the plants soon 

 after they come in sight. — G. R. Rich- 

 ardson, in Fruit Recorder, 



DESIUABLE SHRUBS. 



Chionanthus virginica (white Fringe 

 Tree of the United States). — So called 

 from the narrow strap-shaped petals 

 giving to a raceme of its flowers the ap- 

 pearance of a bunch of white fringe. 

 It is so different when in blossom from 

 all other shrubs, and withal so pretty, 

 that one wonders it is so rarely seen. 

 In g moral aspect it may be likened to 

 a Lilac. It is said to grow naturally 

 in boggy places ; in England, however, 

 it does well in ordinary soil, but not 

 where very hot and dry. 



The Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus 

 floridus) would be by many considered 

 dull and uninteresting were it not for 

 the delicious fragrance of its purplish 

 blossoms, which, though not very at- 

 tractive to the eye unless closely look- 

 ed into, are not only quaint, but pretty. 

 In a moderately moist spot and where 

 slightly shaded from the full rays of 

 the sun this Allspice will flower for 

 nearly three months in summer. 



Pyrus Maulei. — Of Maule's Pyrus, 

 it may safely be said that its season of 

 flowering is spread over a longer period 

 than that of any other, except it be P. 

 japonica, A specimen of it was in 



flower early in the spring, and on June 

 15th there were several perfect flowers 

 on it, which have, however, since drop- 

 ped. This is so beautiful and floriferous 

 a shrub, that it certainly ought to be in 

 ever^'- collection, however omall. — The 

 Garden. 



AN INTERESTING NATIVE PLANT. 



THE ZAUSCHNERIA. 



This somewhat harsh name has been 

 bestowed upon a handsome little fuchsia- 

 like plant of the far West, which is 

 well worthy of a trial in our gardens. 

 Thegenus includes but the single species, 

 Z. (J alifornica, which is found through- 

 out southern and central California, 

 and eastward to New Mexico and Utah. 

 The plant is herbaceous, or slightly 

 woody at the base, with a strong, hard, 

 perennial root. The stems — about a 

 foot long — are decumbent and descend- 

 ing, and grow so thickly as to quite 

 cover the ground. The stems and 

 branches are terminated by loose 

 racemes of scarlet flowers. The latter 

 are about an inch long, the parts in 

 fours, — tetramerous, as the botanists 

 say, — with the calyx and corolla color- 

 ed alike. The style and stamens, as in 

 the Fuchsia, are exserted to some dis- 

 tance beyond the petals, and the an- 

 thers are loosely attached by the middle, 

 presenting that pendulous appearance 

 which is so prettily seen in the anthers 

 of the Lily, and which gives to the 

 latter flower its chief grace. The leaves 

 are about an inch long, lance-shaped, 

 slightly toothed, of a deep green, and 

 more or less hairy. Altogether the 

 habit of the plant, the disposition of 

 the flowers, the highly colored calyx, 

 and the exsert style and stamens, render 

 it strikingly like a Fuchsia, while it 

 has a charm possessed by no variety of 

 the latter — a brilliant scarlet color. 



In its native mountains its specific 

 attractions are heightened by the sup- 



