66 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 416. 



a good growth if carefully protected from frost, to which 

 they are most susceptible both in spring and fall. Flowering- 

 size bulbs may be planted in pots of large size, several in a 

 pot, but I am of opinion that for decorative purposes they are 

 more serviceable when dotted in among a groundwork of 

 green, owing to their scant foliage. A setting of Adiantum 

 cuneatum is especially useful for this purpose. Another rea- 

 son wiiy pots of a small size are to be preferred is because of 

 the ease with which these can be stored in winter. They will 

 stand on a very narrow margin next the walks under the 

 benches, not too near the heating pipes. It will have much to 

 do with the popularity of Amaryllis when it is realized how 

 easy it is to store the pots when the benches are crowded with 

 other occupants. 



For potting material we use a good sound loam made rich 

 with the addition of bone ground moderately fine. Bone-meal 

 should not be used, this being apt to close the pores of thesoil 

 and prevent proper aeration, a most important point in the 

 culture of all pot plants. To assist aeration we use coarse sand 

 and charcoal dust, and if the loam is naturally heavy or reten- 

 tive some leaf-mold or material from an old Mushroom bed 

 to lighten it. Amaryllis have thick succulent roots and like a 

 rich, free-rooting soil. 



It is also desirable to place the pots where the soil contained 

 in them will be at least as warm or a little warmer than the 

 temperature of the structure in which they are. To accom- 

 plish this the great English growers place them in a gentle 

 bottom-heat of some fermenting material until the flowers are 

 developed. But this is not necessary if the pots are placed on 

 a bench over the heating pipes, and some non-conducting mate- 

 rial, as sand, put between the pots. A part of a propagating 

 bench is as good a position as one could desire. The roots 

 will start and grow without any check, and sometimes the 

 quantity of bloom is doubled by this means. 



Thrips are the one enemy to be avoided in Amaryllis cul- 

 ture, and their work is shown by the under sides of the foliage 

 turning red in spots. A wash with any approved insecticide 

 will banish them if followed up once or twice at intervals of a 

 few days. No shade is needed at any time, except to prolong 

 their beauty when the flowers expand, the Amaryllis being a 

 native of south Africa and a sun-loving plant. 



This is a good time to sow seeds of a good strain. These 

 have a peculiar black envelope like tissue-paper. The germ 

 is small in comparison with the envelope, and the whole is 

 easily lost from overwatering before germination takes place. 

 To avoid loss, the seeds should be pressed into the soil on 

 edge when sowing them, covered lightly with very sandy soil and 

 placed in a temperature of seventy degrees, Fahrenheit, until 

 they are well up. Seedlings will be found to keep their foliage 

 during winter until the flowering stage has been reached ; this 

 varies from two to three years. As soon as the plants are 

 strong enough to bloom the leaves will die off each year in 

 autumn. Young bulbs must, therefore, be given encourage- 

 ment during winter and summer from>their infancy until they 

 show signs of maturity, and after that they must have an annual 

 rest of four to five months. There are evergreen species of 

 Amaryllis in cultivation that have been derived partly from A. 

 aulica, which is evergreen, and from a packet of seed it isolten 

 noted that some plants are obtained whose leaves never die 

 down. These are the exceptions, and must be treated accord- 

 ingly, as an attempt to dry off the foliage will most likely result 

 in no bloom the following year. 



South Lancaster. Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Showy Acanthads. 



PERISTROPHE SPECIOSA, introduced from the East In- 

 dies about seventy years ago as Justicia speciosa, 

 was for some time a favorite winter-flowering plant; but 

 like many others cultivated then it is now seldom seen. 

 When well grown it is a pleasing subject for an inter- 

 mediate house in the winter months. Many good Acan- 

 thads are neglected because they are almost useless for 

 cutting purposes, their flowers being fugacious. It is unfortu- 

 nate that many persons like plants only for their usefulness 

 for cutting, especially as not a few of our most showy flowers 

 have short lives. Although the flowers of this plant do not 

 last long when cut, they are produced plentifully on the plants 

 for several weeks. Peristrophe speciosa is an erect plant, 

 branching freely, and its stem and branches are thickly clad 

 with opposite, ovate, acuminate, pale green leaves. The flow- 

 ers are about one inch long, and the twisted tube is a pale 

 purplish color, while the two elliptic oblong lips are a rich 

 carmine-purple. One-year-old plants give the most satisfac- 

 tion, as they are more neat and compact than older ones. The 

 tips of the young branches make good cuttings, and if rooted 



in April and planted out in the garden in May they make large 

 plants by the end of August, when they should be taken up. 



Another Acanthad that deserves special notice at this time 

 is Strobilanthes anisophyllus. It is a handsome, graceful and 

 very floriferous plant; in fact, every twig and branch is loaded 

 with flowers. The graceful branches, about one foot and a 

 half long, have opposite unequal, lanceolate, acuminate leaves. 

 Its flowers are of a pleasing lavender color. The showy part 

 is the corolla, which is more than one inch long and about 

 three-fourths of an inch wide at the mouth. It was introduced 

 from Sylhet in 1823 and was known under the generic name 

 Goldfussia. Another species which flowers at this time, S. 

 isophyllus, makes a compact little bush, but is not so graceful 

 as S. anisophyllus. The stems arid branches are more erect, 

 and its leaves equal or nearly so. Its flowers are lavender color 

 and about the same size as those of S. anisophyllus. Both are 

 easy plants to grow. Cuttings of the young growth made in 

 March root easily with a little bottom-heat. When well rooted 

 they should be put into small pots, giving another shift into 

 larger pots as needed. As soon as the weather is warm they 

 should be planted out in the garden, where they grow vigor- 

 ously if given plenty of water. To get nice bushy plants the 

 young points of the branches must be cut back regularly until 

 the last week in July. They may be taken up about the last 

 week in August, when they will be large enough for six-inch 

 pots. They thrive in a compost of good loam, mixed with a 

 small quantity of dried cow-manure and some leaf-mold and 

 sand, and flower well in a temperature ranging from fifty-five 

 to sixty degrees. 



Botanic Garden, Harvard University. R. Cameron. 



A Few Momordicas. 



'"PHIS genus, which contains some twenty-six species of 

 -*- annual, or, in a few cases, perennial climbers, is distin- 

 guished by the neat appearance of the foliage, small yellowish 

 flowers, the male peduncles of which bear a bract. The fruit 

 is usually bright-colored and fleshy, bursting open when ripe. 



Momordica balsaminea, the Balsam Apple, has deeply and 

 much laciniated palmate leaves of a dark green color and 

 short, smooth orange-colored fruit. This species is often con- 

 founded with M. Chaiantia, the common Balsam Pear, the 

 leaves of which are palmate like the other, but the lobes are 

 rounded and not deeply sharp-pointed. The fruit is yellow, 

 elongated and covered with many angled tubercles. The fruit 

 preserved in spirits is commonly used as a vulnerary. Another 

 species which we had here last summer was M. Martineseum. 

 I can find no record of such a name. The flowers are whitish ; 

 leaves a little like those of M. Charantia, and fruit resembling 

 that of M. balsaminea in shape, but paler in color. The seeds 

 were in a collection sent from the West Indies to the Uni- 

 versity six or seven years ago and had been in the museum 

 since. 



The Momordicas are easy of culture, and the seeds, if placed 

 in the ground where they are to grow, after danger from frost 

 is past, will quickly spring up. Given a few strings or wires to 

 run upon, and left to themselves, they will quickly form a nice 

 screen, and, what is more important, will retain their dark green 

 elegant foliage until pretty late in summer, even after all other 

 cucurbitaceous climbers are withered. 



Allied to Momordica is the genus Luffa, which has no bract 

 on the male peduncle and has a long cylindrical fruit or pepo, 

 which at length becomes dry and fibrous within. They are 

 climbers somewhat coarse in appearance, having large leaves 

 and yellow flowers. The chief interest in these plants lies in 

 the fibrous fruit which often attains a length of two feet or more. 

 As it ripens, the outer skin becomes dark and dry ; then a little 

 circular lid at the tip opens and gives the elliptical black seeds 

 a chance to drop out. The skeleton of the fruit can be used 

 as a wash-cloth, whence the common name of Wash-cloth 

 Gourd. Prepared by softening and bleaching it is sold in drug 

 stores for use in the bath-room. There are many species 

 known, but L. /Egyptiaca is the most common form. They are 

 easily grown, though, like the rest of the family, they do best in 

 a very rich open soil. 



Botanic Garden, Univ. of Pa. Alex. MacElwee. 



Notes from Santa Barbara. 



Tecoma Smithii.— Plants of this shrubby hybrid, raised from 

 seed received about a year ago from its originator, Mr. Edward 

 Smith, of Adelaide, South Australia, are in bloom now, and, 

 for the sake of variety at least, will prove a welcome addition 

 to our flowering shrubs. It must be confessed, however, that 

 both the parents of this plant — namely, Tecoma velutina, with 

 yellow flowers, and T. Capensis, with scarlet flowers — have 



