i8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 411. 



it within bounds, as it seems to delight in smothering every- 

 thing within reach. Some of the books give its height as only 

 ten ieet ; the specimen in the garden here is at least sixty feet 

 high, and I do not doubt that it would grow twice that height 

 if allowed to. 



Washington, D. C. <- r - ''• V. 



Notes on Begonias. 



BEGONIA NITIDA has been in cultivation for more than a 

 century and still holds its own with the latest introduc- 

 tions of this large genus. It is a West Indian species and was 

 introduced from Jamaica in 1777. It flowers nearly all the 

 year round, but is most useful in winter. At this time some 

 large, bushy plants, from three to four feet high, are laden with 

 pink-colored flowers. The stems are fleshy and slightly woody 

 at the base ; the leaves are four to six inches across, glossy 

 green, obliquely ovate, and crenated at the margin. The flow- 

 ers are produced plentifully in terminal and axillary panicles and 

 are of a deep rose color. The staminate flowers measure one 

 inch and a half across and have two broad and two narrow 

 petals, while the pistillate ones are not as large and have five 

 equal petals. The flowers last well when cut, and are specially 

 useful at this season. Young plants are easily obtained from 

 cuttings made from the young growth and root freely at any 

 season. We find the two or three year old plants most useful, 

 as they produce more flowers than the younger ones. In May 

 the old plants are cut back and taken out of the pots, and most 

 of the exhausted soil removed from the roots. They are then 

 planted out in the garden in a shady position, where they are 

 left until the first week in September, when they are potted 

 and put into a warm greenhouse. When the pots are well filled 

 with roots, weak liquid-manure is given about once a week. 

 We use this fertilizer for all the strong shrubby kinds. For 

 good, healthy plants and plenty of flowers Begonias need good 

 light and sufficient room between the plants, so that air can 

 circulate freely among them. 



Begonia Gogoensis is a species with variegated leaves, intro- 

 duced from Gogo, in Sumatra, by Messrs. James Veitch & 

 Sons, of Chelsea, in 1882. This Begonia is valuable as a foliage 

 plant, and when well grown makes a distinct specimen. 

 The leaves are peltate and oval in shape and measure from 

 six to nine inches in length. When they are young they have 

 a bronzy metallic hue, but when older they are a deep velvety 

 green interlaced with the paler midribs and veins. When the 

 leaves are full grown the under side is of a deep red color. 

 The petioles are reddish, four-angled and about six inches long 

 and rise from a short tuberous stem. This species is now in 

 bloom ; the flowers are not showy, being small, of a rosy pink 

 color, and produced in loose panicles on erect peduncles which 

 raise the flower slightly above the foliage. B. Gogoensis is 

 grown in an intermediate house the year through, in a slightly 

 shaded position during the hot months of summer. It flour- 

 ishes in a light, loose, rich soil. 



Begonia manicata is an excellent free-flowering species, and 

 large plants are handsome at this time with their abundant crop 

 of flowers. It is a robust plant and easy to grow. In the latter 

 part of May, when the weather is favorable, the plants are taken 

 out of the pans, divided and planted out singly in the garden. 

 Early in September they are lifted and some of them put into 

 large shallow pans, over the edges of which the large leaves 

 soon hang, so as almost to hide them. Large masses of this 

 Begonia are more showy than small individual plants, and they 

 have a pleasing effect now when in bloom. The short stems 

 are clothed with smooth shining green leaves that are ovate, 

 obliquely cordate and measure six to eight inches in length; 

 they have many scale-like hairs on the under side. The pink 

 flowers are produced on long peduncles and are arranged in 

 large loose panicles. A variety of this plant grown here is 

 named Aureo-maculata, and is a handsome foliage plant when 

 well grown. Its leaves are large and glossy and prettily marked 

 with creamy white blotches. 



Another old favorite is Begonia fuchsioides, which has been 

 cultivated since 1847. It makes a good pot-plant, but is in best 

 condition when planted out in a cool greenhouse and trained 

 to a pillar or tied loosely to a stout stake. Under good treat- 

 ment it attains a height of five or six feet, and its stems are 

 clothed with numerous ovate green leaves about one and a 

 half inches long. The flowers are borne on drooping branched 

 panicles and their color is a rich scarlet. 



Botanic Garden, Harvard University. A'. Cameron. 



which they are exposed in a clearly successful manner. For 

 about ten years they have been blossoming and bearing fruit, 

 and are altogether very interesting. 



Manhattan, Kansas. F. A. WlXUgfl. 



Notes from the Botanic Garden of Smith College. 



Lopezia coronata. — This plant is now in flower in the cool 

 temperate house, and is certainly a most striking and beautiful 

 plant for any cool greenhouse. The flowers are disposed in 

 racemes at the ends of the branches ; they are white, with the 

 under side a rosy purple. The plant branches so gracefully 

 as to give it, when in flower, a candelabra appearance. The 

 leaves are alternate and about one inch long, ovate, with very 

 short petioles. Clusters of smaller leaves or undeveloped 

 branches are situated in the axils of the leaves. It is a native 

 of Mexico and belongs to the family Onagraceae. I find the 

 best way to grow Lopezias is to take cuttings about the end of 

 February (they root readily in the propagating bed), afterward 

 potting them in small pots, and plant them out during sum- 

 mer. I lilt them about the middle of September, keeping 

 them well shaded till established. I should think this plant 

 would make an excellent one for commercial use, either for 

 cut flowers or pot plants, as it remains in flower several 

 weeks. 



Aponogeton distachyon. — This plant is a most beautiful sub- 

 ject for an aquarium in a cool greenhouse. It has been in flower 

 in a cool house here for several weeks. The leaves are 

 narrowly elliptical, entire, about eight inches long by two wide, 

 and float on the surface of the water. The flower is rather 

 remarkable, a two spiked scape, and looks as though the scape 

 had been split at the upper end to form the spikes. Instead of 

 petals there are small, white ovate bracts, alternately disposed 

 on the spikes. The pistils, which are apparently four-cleft, are 

 situated at the base of the bracts and surrounded by a num- 

 ber of stamens with dark brown or purplish anthers. The 

 flowers rise just above the surface of the water and have a 

 very sweet perfume. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and is sometimes called Cape Pondweed. Like most aquatic 

 plants it delights in a rich soil ; a good sandy loam, with plenty 

 of rotten cow-dung, suits it admirably. It is also very essential 

 that it be placed in a light position with an abundance of air 

 on mild days. It belongs to the family Naiadacese, and is 

 closely related to the lace-leaf plant of Madagascar, Ouvirandra 

 fenestralis. According to Index Kewensis, Ouvirandra is now 

 included under Aponogeton. 



Northampton, Mass. ' Edward J. Canning. 



Correspondence. 



Habits of Ferns. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — If one visits the forest at this season, before the 

 ground is covered with snow, he will find the Christmas 

 .Fern, Allosaurus acrostichoides, and other evergreen species 

 with fronds procumbent. In summer these same species 

 stand nearly upright, the fronds of A. acrostichoides being 

 especially firm and rigid. As winter approaches, however, the 

 plants become prostrate, and so protect themselves from being 

 broken by the heavy snows and winds of the winter months. 



About the middle of September I took from the woods three 

 plants of Allosaurus acrostichoides, put them in pots and 

 brought them into the house. They stood the transplanting 

 well and proved very ornamental until about the middle of 

 November, when these plants, like those outside, became 

 prostrate. Cold weather could not have been the ruling factor 

 in bringing this about as these plants were in heated rooms. It 

 seems rather strange that this lying down of the fronds takes 

 place at so nearly the same time with plants placed under such 

 different conditions. It would be interesting to know if this 

 old habit can be broken up by continued cultivation under 

 changed conditions, and if so, how long it will take to over- 

 come it. 



Experiment Station, New Haven, Conn. Vr. E. B. 



Kcelreuteria paniculata. — I am well acquainted with a few 

 specimens of this desirable little tree at McPherson, Kansas. 

 These examples are twenty-one years old ; they are healthy 

 and sound, withstanding the dry weather and the hot winds to 



North Carolina Bulbs for Forcing. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Some time since you noted the fine appearance of bulbs 

 grown in this state and sent to a firm in New York, and re- 

 marked that though apparently much superior to the imported 

 bulbs, it remained to be seen whether they would force as well. 

 About the same time the firm to whom these bulbs were sent 

 wrote to me that it was hardly worth while to grow the Chi- 

 nese Narcissus here, for the bulbs, though very fine, would 



