94 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



July 



The Geranium. 



This old and well-known flcwcr, which 

 has graced the gardens and windows of the 

 people as far back as memory reaches, is 

 now being brouglit up to a high standard of 

 perfection In' the introduction of some very 

 fine new double varieties, mnslly originated 

 in Prance by tliatcliief of geranium growers, 

 Lcmouis. They are of all tlie shades of 

 scarlet ; and one of the last new cues is a 

 bright pink, very close and compact, extra 

 strong, of dwarf growth, tlie truss well up 

 from the foliage, and some fine heads of 

 bloom, having as many as eighty perfectlj' 

 formed flowerets fully expanded at once. 

 They are being offered by our florists here 

 for sale this season. 



Most of the new varieties have the desira- 

 ble dwarf growth that shows so well in small 

 clumps, or for the outside line in a large bed 

 of this splendid flower, which is the best 

 way to grow them. If room can be spared 

 in the flower garden, nothing can surpass a 

 fine bed of them of all the shades from bright 

 scarlet to white. The double are not the 

 only ones that are putting in their claims 

 this season ; some of the new Zouale varie- 

 ties are grand in color and strength of 

 growth, and will delight all lovers of a fine 

 show of bloom, witli their fine trusses of 

 flowers, some of wliich are over five inches 

 in _diameter, and every single flower fully 

 expanded. Any one can grow geran- 

 iums. All they want is plenty of sunlight, 

 a good strong soil, and a little water, if the 

 season is very dry. If you have a small bed 

 try a few of them, and you will always 

 grow thern afterwards. Everj^ season 

 brings us new varieties, and before long we 

 will have the double white, which is wliat 

 all geranium growers are now trying after. 



— Ruralut. 



♦-♦-♦ 



Monthly Roses.— No plant requires clo- 

 ser pruniiig tlian the rose; the best blossoms 

 are always found upon the stalks wliich shoot 

 fresh from the roots, 11" tlie brandies are 

 cut oft' one-half, the buds will he much more 

 numerous. By all means plant them in the 

 open ground, and manure them thickly. 

 All window plants should be ehang^'d in po- 

 sition at least once, and often^times twice a 

 week. Give all the sunlight tlie windows 

 aftbi'd — the mnre tlie plants receive, the 

 mori: rapid their growth, and the more nu- 

 merous the flower. — Qanlner's Monildy. 



The Cai.hodn Rose. — When John C. 

 Calhinin's body lay in slate at Chnrleston, 

 Col. John T. Sloan of Columbia took up a 

 white rose from aincmg the profusion of tlow 

 ers that lay (ui the bier, ciirrird it home and 

 planted a slip. It throve, and after four 

 transplaiitings is a fine large tree, in Col. 

 Sloan's garden and is culled the " Calhoun 

 rose." 



Golden Veined-Leayed Geranium, or Geranium Reticulatum. 



Among the novelties (says the Sural New 

 coming season, and is said to be of superior 

 well as its foliage of 

 golden veins or ribs, as 

 shown in our drawing 

 of a leaf we took from 

 a plant in the green- 

 house of John Saul, 

 AVashington, D, C. — 

 We have never seen its 

 bloom, but the golden 

 netting or marbling 

 of its leaves was new 

 to us, as well as beau- 

 tifully distinct. As a 

 house or pot plant, it 

 is an acquisition, being, 

 beside its distinctness 

 compact dwarf, or rath- 

 er bushy in in habit. — 

 For out-door bedding 

 it is a question yet of 

 trial as to how it will 

 retain its character un- 

 der the blaze of sun and sudden changes of 

 temperature that belong to our country. 



Yorker) from which to be introduced the 

 beauty in its compact trusses of bloom as 



\ 



ifk^^ 



The Rose of Sharon. 



The rose of Sharon is one of most exquis- 

 ite flowers in shape and hue. Its blossoms 

 are bell-shaped, of many mingled hues and 

 dyes, and its history of legendary are roman 

 tic in the highest degree. In the East, 

 througliout Syria, Judea and Arabia, it is 

 regarded with the profoundest reverence. 

 The leaves that encircle the round blossom 

 dry and close tight tog^her when the season 

 of blossimi is over, and the stock withering 

 completely away from the stem, the flower is 

 blown away at last from the bush on which 

 it grew, haVing dried up in the shape of a 

 ball, which Is carried by the sport of the 

 breeze to great distances. In this way it is 

 borne over the .sandy wastes and deserts, until 

 at last, touching some moist place, it clings 

 to the soil, where it immediately takes fresh 

 root and springs to life and beauty again 

 For this very reason, the Orientals have 

 adopted it as the emblem of the resurrection 

 The dried flower is placed by the Judeaus in 

 a vase of water beside the beds of the sick, 

 and, if it expands by moisture, the omen is 

 con.sidercd favorable. If it does not, the 

 worst at all times is feared.— Sc 



Palms fok the South. — A correspond- 

 ent of the Scientific American proposes the 

 introduction to the Southern States of the 

 dat'' palm, the sugar palm and the cocoanut 

 palm — those palms furnishing fruit, sugar, 

 oil, litier, etc. He argues in favor at hast the 

 experiment of introducing these Indian 

 palms; and he holds that, if proi-erly plant- 

 ed and cared for, they will flourish and be- 

 come prtsfitable to the South. 



Suckers op Ropes. — Those who liave 

 roses budded or grafted on the m.innetti, or 

 some other wild stock, should wiitch careful 

 ly at this season of the j-ear and cut awaj' 

 the sucker sprouts from the wild root, or 

 they will soon be .scolding the nurseryman 

 for an error, which is only the result of their 

 own neglect. 



"Where Flo-wers Came From. 



Some of our flowers came from lands of 

 perpetual summer, some from countries all 

 ice and snow, some fromislands in the ocean. 

 Three of our sweetest exotics came originally 

 from Peru ; the Camellia was carried to En- 

 gland in 1739; and a few years afterwards 

 the heliotrope and mignionette. Several 

 others came from the C\ipe of Good Hope ; a 

 very large calla was found in ditches there, 

 and some of the most brilliant geraniums, or 

 pelargoniums, which are a spurious gerani- 

 um. The verbena grows wild in Brazil ; the 

 marigold is an African flower, and a great 

 number from China and Japan. The little 

 Daphne was ciirried to England by Captain 

 Ross, frimi almost the farthest land he visit- 

 ed toward the Nortli Pole. Some of these 

 are quite changed in form by cultivation ; 

 others have become larger and brighter; 

 while others despite of al) tlie care of the 

 florists and the shelter of hot houses, fall far 

 short of the beautj' and fragrance of the 

 tropics. 



Among improved ones is the dahlia. When 

 brought to Europe it was a very simple bios 

 som, a single circle of dark peaths surround- 

 ing a mass of yellow ones. Others with 

 .scarlet and orange peatles were soon after 

 transplanted from Mexico, but still remained 

 simple flowers. Long years of cultivation 

 in rich soil, with other arts of the skillful 

 florist, have chai.g. d it to what it now i.s — a 

 round ball of beauty. — Riverside Maqazine. 



Orange Blossoms.- In this country or- 

 ange flowers are worn by a Ijride on the oc- 

 casion of her wedding, simply as a fragrant 

 ornament to lend still further grace and 

 beauty to the fair being, who isabout to give 

 herself away for life. In the interior of 

 France, how"ever, these orange flowers are 

 worn as a testimonial of purity, not only of 

 the bride herself, but of integrity, and mor- 

 ality in the character of her relatives. In 

 certain provinces its adornment is considered 

 as a sacred right, obtained by undoubted 

 character, and as such proundly maintained. 



