POPULAR GARDENING. 



11 



railing, made very ornamental by training vines 

 on it. It was a cliarmiiig place and it showed 

 what a little ingenuity eovild do, almost work a 

 miracle, and contiibute much pleasure.— K. It', i. 

 Moon Flower vs. Bona Nox. Our experience 

 with tliese flowers does not agree altogether with 

 your correspondent who claims that the Bona 

 No.\, or Evening Glory, does not bloom soon 



SPARAXI8 FLOWERS IN VARIETY. 



enough for the Northern States, while the Moon 

 Flower does. Last spring I obtained seeds of the 

 Moon Flower of W. Atlee Burpee, of Philadel- 

 phia, and sowed them about the same time as 

 seeds of the Bona Nox, the lattt^r grown here in 

 town. I put my plants on east, south and west 

 sides of my house. Tlie other parties had either 

 seeds from the same lot or plants. The Bona 

 Nox bloomed the 10th of August. Our conclu- 

 sions for this section is that while the Bona Nox 

 does pretty well, the Moon Flower is too late for 

 us, — unless started very early inside — save as a 

 fine vine for shade. Then again the flowers of 

 the Bona Nox are far liner, being four or more 

 inches across, than those of the Moon Flower, the 

 Moon Flower being much smaller. It was not a 

 lack of thiiftiness, for my Moon Flower had run 

 up under the eaves of the second story before it 

 ever bloomed. ~H. A. Green, Cliarle^tun Co., .S. C 



Winter St. Lawrence Apple. Concerning this 

 fruit, of which an outline engraving and de- 

 scription was given last month, Mr. Charles 

 Gibbs, of Abbottsford, Quebec, the specialist in 

 Russian and other foreign fruits, writes as fol- 

 lows: '* It was imported from Manchester, Eng- 

 land, in 1S3U, under wrong name of Mank's Cod- 

 lin, and as its true name could not be found, the 

 name of Winter St. Lawrence was accepted by 

 the Montreal Horticultural Society in 1879. The 

 fruit is medium to large, roundish, oblong, 

 sometimes brilliantly striped on whitish ground, 

 and strikingly beautiful. Quality miglit be 

 ranked, I should think, as very good. I have 

 not tasted it for a year or two, not having 

 fruited it myself. It bears regularly; heavier al- 

 ternate years. It seems somewhat variable as to 

 the time it keeps. Some say not as long as 

 Fameuse; others say longer. The tree in the 

 nursery, my neighbor John M. Flsk tells me, is 

 rather hardier than Fameuse. While this vari- 

 ety has many excellent qualities, we do not yet 

 find it planted in orchards in large quantities, 

 nor has it so far come into our lists of best vari- 

 eties for profit. 



Hore about certain Water Plants. In ad- 

 dition to what T. T. Lyon has said in your 

 November number aliout the two species of 

 Nelumbiuins growing in the United States, I 

 wish to add that he is mistaken in suppos- 

 ing latitude 40 degrees as the southern limit 

 of N. luteum. I have seen many acres of it 

 in the ponds of Kansas, Missouri and Indian 

 Territory. In fact it is so common as far south 

 as ;J6 degrees that the Indians use the seeds 

 and the tubers as food. I have tried them 

 myself but prefer Corn and Potatoes. In regard 

 to N. speciosura, judging from personal observa- 

 tion, it seeras to succeed about like the former. 

 Friend Lyon is mistaken as to its being tropical 

 in its nature. Here in the pond on the grounds 

 of the Department of Agriculture, at Washing- 



ton, where we have ice thick enough nearly every 

 winter for skating, it glows in luxuriance and 

 does fully as well as its congener. This year we 

 had blooms ten inches in diameter, of a beautiful 

 rose color. At the home of my venerated pre- 

 ceptor, Br. J. A. Warder, near Cincinnati, Ohio, 

 I have seen it doing equally well. On the grounds 

 of Michigan Agricultural College, at Lansing, I 

 saw it blooming last year, but not 

 nearly so largo and ramjiant as farther 

 south. It ha<l stood the wintci"s there 

 for years, s^) Dr. Beal told ine. Bfith 

 these plants will grow in the ponds of 

 any of our Northern (except extreme 

 North) or Central States, and I believe 

 will do even better in the Southern 

 States.— H. E. Van Deman. 



New Sweet Peas: A Yellow Va- 

 riety. Mr. H. Eckford must V)e con- 

 gratulated on the batch of charming 

 new varieties of Sweet Peas he sent to 

 a recent meeting of the London Hor- 

 ticultural Society. Mr. Eckford is 

 raising new and distinct varieties that 

 are gladly welcomed by those who 

 take delight in these fragrant Sweet 

 Peas. Fii'st class Certificates of 

 Merit were awarded to Mauve 

 Queen, the standard and wings deli- 

 cate mauve, pretty in color and very 

 distinct; Splendor; an extremely 

 beautiful rose-colored variety, bright 

 in color, large and stout in all its 

 parts — distinct and very fine; and 

 Primrose, pale primrose, the first real 

 advance towards a yellow Sweet Pea 

 —distinct and attractive. Two other 

 varieties deserved this award, because 

 of their distinctness, viz.: Apple Blos- 

 som, clear, pale rose standards, delicate blush- 

 pink wings and keel— very pretty; and Miss Hunt, 

 pale rosy-salmon, slightly shaded, delicate rosy- 

 mauve wings and keels — very pretty. Other 

 good varieties were Mrs. Eckford, standards 

 white, flushed with pink, and slight flakes of 

 rose, white wings— pretty and distinct; Delight, 

 the standards delicate pink, the wings white; and 

 Maggie Ewing, the standards and wings sutt'used 

 with pink, and white keel. Two pure white 

 varieties were also shown. In the case of one 

 of them the flowei's were large, stout and very 

 pure, and it may be regarded as an advance 

 upon the old white.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Flowers and Locomotives. The juxtaposition 

 of flowers and locomotives seems unnatural at 

 first glance. Along the line of the Boston and 

 Maine Railroad there are pretty little flower beds 

 at many stations, and the corporation, by the of- 

 fer of premiums, encourages the station agents 

 to make the parterres and the turf as beautiful 

 as possible. A number of the station agents 

 have shown admirable t^ijste in the arrangement 

 of flowers. On the Maine Central this feature is 

 developed even beyond this. Around the depots 

 are little bits of velvety turf, and worked out 

 in Coleus or some other rich colored plant is 

 the name of the station— a commonplace sort of 

 idea, but combining usefulness and beauty. At 

 Brunswick the station surroundings are really 

 charming, and in the bit of rich turf which blazes 

 in the deep garnet of the Coleus the word 

 " Brunswick " makes a pleasant spot for the 

 wearied traveler's eye to rest upon. At one lit- 

 tle station just outside of Portland the Coleus- 

 made word springs from a bed of golden-tinted 

 soil, and the combination is striking. On the 

 eastern division of the Boston and Maine a be- 

 ginning has been made in stiition floriculture. 

 In the yard of the round-house at Prison Point 

 turf is being placed, from which will rise a 

 clump of bright flowers. The iron horses stand 

 about this bit of garden unmoved by the tempta- 

 tion to graze. And really, why shouldn't the ap- 

 proaches of a round-house be made beautiful? 

 There is abundant opportunity for beautifying 

 the hot and cindery spaces where the locomo- 

 tives stand impatient and expectant. A little 

 turf and a few flowers would make aU the differ- 

 ence between the dry and dusty and the refresh- 

 ing and inviting. A pleasing and tastefully kept 

 station is an ornament to a town, a credit to a 

 railroad, and recommends a commuultj' to those 

 looking for a home. — Boston Transcript. 



Floral Notes from Our New York 

 Correspondent. 



The season in New York has begun with a cer- 

 tain scarcity of flowers, unfavorable weather 

 having set back the crops to a certain extent. 



The winter trade seems likely to be very active, 

 as there are to be many social events calling for 

 the florist's art. There is a greater elaboration 

 of floral work now at such informal events as 

 afterno(!n t<;as and at homes, which foi-raerly 

 called for but little of such work. With Decem- 

 ber the ball season began and this called out a 

 lot of floral work. 



The numerous fashionable weddings in Novem- 

 ber and Decemlier, while consuming a host of 

 flowers, sh(iwed little novelty in their arrange- 

 ment. In a great many ca.ses the bridesmaids 

 carried huge nosegays of such Chrysanthemums 

 as Elaine or Mrs. Mary Morgan, usually tiimraed 

 with light ferns, which are very unsuitable for 

 such comparativ'ely coarse flowei's. Yet this 

 combination is made by florists otherwise re- 

 markable for their taste, though a heavier foliage, 

 even such as outdoor autumn leaves, has a 

 much better effect. 



Roses and Lily of the Valley still make the 

 favorite bride's bouquet; they are immense 

 bunches, made with apparent carelessness, but 

 real art. A half dozen or .so of the Roses are put 

 pointing downward, so that when the sash is 

 added, the stems are hidden. 



Corsage bunches are made in similar style, 

 some of the florists adding a ribbon sash to them 

 also, but this is certainly a tasteless proceeding. 

 This matter of ribbon has been greatly overdone 

 of late by the florists, and should be discouraged 

 by women pcssessing a refined taste. Corsage 

 bunches are most desirable when made of one 

 variety of flower, though one occasionally sees 

 attractive combinations. A long bunch of Lily 

 of the Valley, with a base of Violets, was very 

 pretty; so was a combination of Marechal Neils 

 and Violets. American Beauties and Roman 

 Hyacinths combine attractively for this purpose. 



The competition for the Langtry cup, offered 

 by the New York Horticultural Society for the 

 best room decorations, called out some V'ery good 

 work. The premium called for decoration within 

 a space of thirty by fourteen feet, suitable for a 

 wedding or reception. The prize arrangement 

 was exceedingly simple; a group of Palms and 

 Cycads forming a sort of alcove with some slight 

 f urnisliing; a Uttle table bore a dainty plateau of 

 Adiantums, and there were some f urt,her groups 

 of Palms about the mimic doorway and in the 

 corners. There were no glaring colors; nothing 

 but the restful green of the foliage, while the 

 arrangement was beyond praise. There was 

 nothing remarkably original about this decora- 

 tion, but it was an exquisite piece of work. 



Taken all around, the floral designs, as well as 

 the cut flowers, were better at the late show in 

 New York than that at Philadelphia, though the 

 Philadelphians undoubtedly beat us (m plants. 

 Mr. Craig's twenty-five plants were universally 

 admitted to be the finest Chrysanthemums ever 

 exhibited in this country. One plant in particu- 

 lar, a specimen of Cullingfordii, was a mass of 

 rich criihson flowers, and might be considered 

 the star plant of the collection. But the designs 

 were poor; floral artists have not yet struck 

 the right idea in making up Chrysanthemums. 

 A perfect funeral design was a broken column, 

 made solid, .so as to give the effect of marble, 

 with a piece of silver tissue draped carlessly over 

 it in statuesque folds. The prime idea in this 



o oo 



o o 



ooo 



A Roof Garden. OanUntno tn Tiihs. ISee 

 opposite pane.) 



design should be to give the effect of marble; the 

 column itself should never be broken up with 

 mixed flowei's. 



Many of the new baskets are exceedingly pretty 

 in shape; one graceful style is a square of willow 

 loo.sely curled up at the corners, the handle 

 going diagonally from corner to corner. This is 

 beautiful when filled with Ferns. The loose rush 

 baskets resting on an easel are still popular, and 

 ornamental vases are more varied than ever; 

 pottery and ribbons it appears are very necessary 

 adjuncts to a florist's store, nowadays. 



Emily Louise Taplin. 



