1 82 ORNAMENTAL GARDENING 



to flourish but the lubber grasshoppers have cultivated it so 

 assiduously that it has never succeeded. 



Victoria. I 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 



