HARDINESS OF PALMS. 39 



HAKDINESS OF PALMS. 



BY THOMAS COMPTON. 



This paper will seem more like a catalogue than an essay of gen- 

 eral interest, but for those who intend to form a collection I may be 

 able to enumerate a few that were formerly placed on the tender list. 



Having devoted most of the past ten years to the collecting of palms, 

 and experimenting on their hardiness for our climate, I will give you a 

 short sketch of what has been accomplished. In looking over back 

 lists, I find we have experimented with about 170 varieties. Of that 

 number we have succeeded with about 120. They are not all a brilliant 

 success, but we are assured they will stand our climate. 



It must be understood that the experimental grounds are in a favored 

 spot, nearly exempt from frost. This paper does not intend to treat 

 of cultivation, but I will say in passing, all palms do best with us in 

 a sandy soil with perfect drainage. Never plant any but the very 

 hardiest on a hard-pan, or you are likely to lose them after the first 

 continued rain-storm. Palms will stand considerable cold if the roots 

 are in the right kind of soil, and for the more tender varieties a little 

 nursing, with some protection during cold spells, will be necessary to 

 success. 



On this place we have thirty-four varieties of the Phoenix, and all 

 are perfectly hardy, with the exception of P. Eupicola, and it improves 

 from year to year. A description of those varieties might not interest 

 any but a collector, so I will only mention a few of the most rare and 

 interesting. 



Phcenix claims our interest more than any other family of palms, 

 as it furnishes food for a large portion of the human family, and its 

 decorative possibilities are unlimited. We have the great giants of the 

 forest, 130 feet high, down to the little dwarfs whose leaves and trunk 

 combined do not extend over two feet, and varieties reaching any desired 

 height between the two extremes. 



Where palms are planted for ornamental purposes, always consult a 

 competent landscape gardener, as those who plant palms ought to keep 

 posterity in view, as the date does not reach maturity until it is seventy- 

 five years of age, and it takes at least ten years to get a plant large 

 enough to be a feature in the grounds. I consider the selection of a 

 place for a palm is as important as that of a house site, and none but an 

 artist should be consulted about location. 



P. Eobielena, a recent introduction from South Africa, is one of the 

 daintiest of the family; it has only to be seen to be appreciated. Un- 

 fortunately, it is very rare. I believe we have the only one on the 



