HOUSE PLANTS 



777 



Americana (the century plant), Pittospo- 

 rum, GreviUea robusla, English ivy, all 

 do well in ordinary rooms. Daphne odora, 

 Laurestiuus, Olea fragrans and orange 

 tree are both flowering and foliage plants, 

 but require a cooler room than any of the 

 preceding varieties. 



Good flowering plants are Azalea lyidira 

 and Camellia Japonica, both of wiiirli 

 should be kept in a cool room when ni>t 

 in bloom. Calla and begonia both do 

 well. Chrysanthemums, cyclamens, Chin- 

 ese and English primroses, freesia, ixia, 

 oralis, fuchsia, mahernia, euphorbia, helio- 

 trope, pelargonium and lily-of-the-valley 

 can be brought into the rooms when in 

 flower, and last a reasonable time in good 

 condition. Hyacinths, tulips, narcissus and 

 crocus, if potted in October, kept covered 

 up out of doors until cold weather, stored 

 in a cool cellar until the middle of January 

 and then brought into warm rooms, will 

 give flowers: a succession can be main- 

 tained by bringing them into warmth at 

 intervals (see Bulbs). g. jj. Watson. 



H0UST6NIA (Dr. Wm. Houston, of the 

 early part of the eighteenth century). Mu- 

 hidcea. About 20 North American small 

 herbs or subshrubs, with pretty white, 

 blue or purple fls., some of the species occasionally 

 cult, in wild gardens and rockeries. Parts of the fls. m 

 4's, the corolla gamopetalous and funnel-form or salver- 

 form ; stamens and styles polymorphous ; stigmas 2 : 

 capsule opening near the top: Ivs. small, opposite. A 

 moist, partly shaded place is to be recommended for most 

 Houstonias, because their flowering season is thereby 

 prolonged and the plants retain their foliage much 

 longer than in a drier and sunny position. Collected 

 plants are not difficult to establish. Prop, by division. 

 The following perennial species are offered by American 

 dealers. 



A. Stamens or stigmas conspicuously exserted. 



puTpOrea, Linn. Tufted, 3-12 in. high, bearing off- 

 sets, glabrous or pubescent ; radical Ivs. ovate or oblong, 

 short-stalked: fls. in late spring or summer, the corolla 

 funnel-form, light purple to white. Canada to Texas.— 

 Var. longi!61ia, Gray, 3-6 in. high, thinnerlvd. and 

 mostly glabrous : Ivs. oblong-lanceolate to linear, 

 %~\% in. long. Var. tenuiSdlia, Gray, is slender and 

 diffuse, 6-12 in. high, with almost filiform branches and 

 peduncles: stera-lvs. linear. This species and its forms 

 grow well in dry, open places. 



AA. Stamens or stigmas little or not at all exserted. 

 * caertilea, Linn. Bluets. Innocence. Quaker Ladt. 

 Fig. 1105. Little tufted perennials, 3-6 in. high, the stems 

 glabrous: radical Ivs. spatuiate to obovate, hairy, short- 

 petioled, the stem-lvs. small: corolla salver form, the 

 tube much exceeding the calyx lobes, varying from blue 

 to white, with a yellow eye. B.M. 370. D. 2,33. — Charm- 

 ing little plant in grassy places in the northeastern states 

 and southward in the Allegheny region. Excellent for 

 rnckwork and grassy borders. Early spring. In gar- 

 dens, may be treated as annual or biennial. 



6erpylli!61ia, Miehx. Extensively creeping : radical 

 Ivs. orbicular to ovate-spatulate and abruptly petioled: 

 corolla rather larger than that of R. ccertilea, deep vio- 

 let-blue (often white). Va., southward. Early spring. 

 J. B. Keller and L. H. B. 



HOVfiNIA (after David Hoven, Senator of Amster- 

 dam). Uliamndcece. Ornamental shrub or small tree, 

 with deciduous alternate, long-petioled Ivs. greenish 

 inconspicuous fls. in axillary peduncled cymes, and with 

 small globular frs. on reddish, fleshy and edible pefhin- 

 cles. It grows into a small, round-headed tree, with 

 handsome somewhat shining foliage, and thrives best in 

 sandy loam, but is not hardy north. Prop, by seeds, 

 also by root-cuttings and cuttings of ripened wood un- 

 d^^r glass. One species in Himal., China and Japan. 

 Without stipules: calyx lobes, petals and stamens 5, 

 style 3-parted : fr. 3celled and 3-seeded, indehiscent. 



.104. An attractive 

 corner of Pandanus 

 Begonia and Wan 

 dermg Jew. 





dlilcis, Thunb. (ff. ineeguillis, DC). To 30 ft.: Ivs. 

 cordate-ovate or ovate, acuminate, serrate, almost gla- 

 brous, 4-6 in. long: cymes many-fld. S.Z. 73-74. B.M. 

 2360. A.G. 12:80. Alfred Rehdee. 



HOVEY, CHARLES MASON (Fig. 1106), horticultural 

 journalist and nurseryman, was born in Cambridge, 

 Mass., Oct. 26, 1810, and died there Sept. 2, 1887. He is 

 best known as editor of the "Magazine of Horticulture," 

 which had an uninterrupted existence from 1835 to 1868. 

 It was founded as the "American Gardener's Magazine," 

 by C. M. Hovey and his brother, Phineas Brown Hovey. 

 In its third volume (1837) it changed its name, and con- 

 tinuously thereafter was known as the "Magazine of 

 Horticulture," and was edited by Charles M. Hovey 

 alone. It enjoyed the longest period of prosperity of 

 any American horticultural .iournal. It is a record of 

 the budding stage of New World horticulture. It was 

 modelled after Loudon's "Gardener's Magazine," al- 

 though its spirit was essentially American. Essays, 

 records of current events, reviews of books, descrip- 

 tions of varieties, were prominent features. It had 

 very few illustrations. Mr. Hovey was author of the 

 "Fruits of America," issued in parts from 1852 to 18.56, 

 completing two volumes and making more than a begin- 

 ning on a third. Its purpose was to give "richly colored 

 figures and full descriptions of all the choicest varieties 

 cultivated in the United States." The volumes contain 

 more than 100 colored plates. Handsomely printed and 

 bound, these volumes are a line type of the amateur's 

 art-book of varieties. 



Mr. Hovey was also nurseryman and seed merchant. 

 Until 1840, his grounds at Cambridge are said to have 

 comprised only an acre, but at that time his premises 

 were greatly enlarged. His epoch was a time of knowl- 



