288 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 438. 



perfectly hardy, flowering every year, though I give it no pro- 

 tection at all. Perhaps it is worth while to say that the Per- 

 simmon, said in The Gardeners' Chronicle to need the shelter 

 of a wall in England, is perfectly hardy here. I have three 

 trees, ten feet high, raised from seeds sent from North Caro- 

 lina, which at this moment are in full leaf, though they were 

 twice exposed last winter to a temperature of seventeen de- 

 grees below zero. _ _ 



Canton, Mass. W. E. EndlCOtt. 



Notes from the Botanic Garden, Washington. 



EARLY in the season I planted out some seedlings of 

 Lobelia tenuior (L. heterophylla). Although an old plant, 

 having been introduced over fifty years ago, 1 saw it for the 

 first time at Kew Gardens last year in the lobeliaceous bed. 

 ft has flowers surpassing in brilliancy any other blue Lobelia 

 with which I am acquainted. The flowers are large, many 

 borne on small plants. At the time I saw it in flower it oc- 

 curred to me that it would stand our hot summers better than 

 the varieties of L. erinus. This has proved to be a fact, and 

 plants of the latter which were put out in the grounds here 

 have succumbed to the heat several weeks ago. L. tenuior is, 

 however, still growing and flowering in a most gorgeous man- 

 ner, and even if it should not last much longer it is well worth 

 cultivating for the display it makes in the early months. There 

 are white and also red flowered forms. The white form has 

 flowers fully as large as those of the blue form, but the red one 

 is small-flowered and not very attractive. The species is figured 

 in Curtis's Botanical Magazine (3784), but the flowers there 

 given are smaller than those on the plants here and also on 

 those seen at Kew last year. There are dwarf forms of it 

 growing to a height of 'about eight inches, while the type 

 reaches a height of two feet. It is a native of west Australia. 



In one of the greenhouses of the Washington Botanic Gar- 

 den a large plant of Pavetta indica has been in fine flower 

 for a month or longer. The genus is a near ally of fxora, and 

 the general appearance of P. indica suggests species of that 

 popular stove-plant. In this species the flowers are pure 

 white in large terminal panicles. It is seemingly a difficult 

 subject to manage successfully in a pot. The plant in the 

 greenhouse has been planted out for at least twelve years. 

 Until this season it has flowered sparingly, but during the last 

 month there have been upward of fifty panicles of bloom fully 

 expanded at one time. 



At the time of the introduction of Platycodon grandi- 

 florum Mariesii, by Mr. Maries a few years ago, it was said 

 to be dwarfer than the type, with larger flowers. Some six 

 or eight years ago I raised a number of plants from seed. 

 They all flowered the first season, the plants at the time of 

 flowering being only about three inches high ; the flowers, 

 even then, were larger than those of Platycodon grandi flora. 

 Since that time the growth has each year been larger, until 

 now the plants are taller by several inches than any plant of 

 the typical P. grandiflora I have ever seen. Some of the flow- 

 ers measure three inches in diameter. This genus does not 

 seem to suffer much from protracted dry spells, as the thick 

 fleshy roots go deep down into the soil in search of moisture. 

 The hot sun wilts the flowers in the middle of the day, but 

 they freshen up again when it becomes cooler. 



Botanic Garden, Washington, D. C. G. W. Oliver. 



Calamus ciliaris. — The genus Calamus contains some re- 

 markable species of climbing Palms, natives of India, Java and 

 other extra-tropical countries. Aside from their economic 

 importance, a few species are valuable plants for the conserv- 

 atory, with graceful habits and exquisitely beautiful leaves. 

 They often flower under cultivation, especially C. viminalis, 

 which is a rather common species of interest as furnishing the 

 cane used for seats, chairs, screens and other work. C. ciliaris 

 is, however, the most ornamental of all, and is frequently seen 

 in well-equipped establishments. It is used for decorative 

 purposes in the same manner as Cocos Weddelliana, to which 

 species it is superior from an ornamental point of view. The 

 leaves are from six inches to a foot long, closely pinnate, with 

 from thirty to forty pairs of linear-lanceolate pinnae. The 

 petiole is comparatively short, clothed with rough, reddish 

 hairs and a few coarse hooked spines ; it forms an almost 

 globular sheathing base considerably thicker than the slender, 

 spiny stem. The upper surface of the leaves is covered with 

 fine white bristles and the edges are finely fringed, the almost 

 invisible hairs being a quarter of an inch long on specimens of 

 robust growth. Opposite each leaf peculiar hooked and 

 jointed tendrils are formed, which eventually become very 



long and thread-like in appearance. These tendrils are very 

 effective supports when the species grows among other plants, 

 as the hooks, which are disposed in numerous pairs on the 

 inside, are exceedingly strong and sharp. The flowers are 

 generally borne in summer on long whip-like shoots from the 

 axils of the upper leaves. The inflorescence is a remarkable 

 transformed branch, supplied with tendrils and forming sev- 

 eral clusters of flowers, having the proper position of leaves 

 with the peduncle sheathed at the base. The flowers are 

 placed on small spikelets in groups of three — one larger 

 female flower in the centre and two male flowers, all incon- 

 spicuous and of a greenish yellow color. All species of Cala- 

 mus require great heat and moisture, a close atmosphere and 

 considerable shade. They thrive in a compost of equal parts 

 rich fibrous loam, leaf-mold, sand and cow-manure. Strong 

 plants form numerous suckers at the base, which are used for 

 propagation. „„„ 



New York. N. J A . 



Correspondence. 



Jackson Park in June. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Those who came to the Columbian Exposition in 1893 

 are likely to retain an interest in Jackson Park for a long time. 

 Its dilapidated condition since the closing of the Exposition, 

 through the destruction of the buildings by fire and by their 

 dismantling and the removal of the debris, together with the 

 work of restoration, can be fully realized only by those who 

 visit the park frequently and watch the changes. In a sense 

 they are to be congratulated. Those who can pass over the 

 interval of dilapidation and restoration, and remembering the 

 park of the Exposition, may yet be permitted to see the per- 

 fected Jackson Park of the future. And yet I confess to a 

 degree of fascination in watching the transformation of so 

 unsightly a piece of ground into the well-ordered and beauti- 

 ful place it has partly become already. 



Aside from the Fine Arts building, now the Field Colum- 

 bian Museum, the lagoon immediately south of it and a few 

 other minor features, the portion that has been least changed 

 or interfered with is the Wooded Island. The changes which 

 have occurred are such as are mainly due to time, making it 

 more mature in appearance and increasing its attractiveness. 

 At the time of the Exposition all wore the marks of newness, 

 of planting to meet an emergency, however well it was done. 

 The use for advertising and commercial purposes was every- 

 where apparent. Now such uses do not obtrude, the pleasure 

 is unalloyed, and the visitor sits in the shade of the trees or 

 traverses the paths with a feeling that all is designed for enjoy- 

 ment. As a place of quiet seclusion, of complete change 

 from the noise and turmoil of a busy city, a relief to the eye 

 that has tired of rows of buildings and paved streets, it 

 approves itself at once, and shows the wisdom as well as the 

 need of setting apart such spots for rest and recreation. The 

 teeming thoroughfares of the city just by are as effectually 

 closed to sight and hearing as if they were miles away. Even 

 the waters of the great lake are mostly hidden, and passing- 

 vessels do not interpose and suggest the world of com- 

 merce. 



This state of seclusion, so welcome to the tired denizen of 

 the city, has been produced by the growth of the trees and 

 shrubs which border the enclosing lagoons. Three years 

 have made such changes as to add much to the beauty and 

 effectiveness of this border. It now serves a purpose in shut- 

 ting off from sight the rest of the park with its driveways and 

 carriages. At the time of the Exposition this would have been 

 a defect, for had the border reached its present stage much of 

 the beautiful architecture which it was a delight to look at from 

 the island would have been hidden. The Willows have 

 attained such a size that their limbs stretch out over the water 

 or droop gracefully toward its surface. When viewed from 

 the opposite shore the quiet lake or sluggish stream of the 

 country-side is suggested, and the plantings are asserting them- 

 selves so well and gaining so natural a look as to leave the im- 

 pression that they might have stood there for an indefinite time. 

 Seen from within the Willows, with their lighter foliage, make 

 an effective foil for the mass of shrubbery and scattered trees 

 which stand between them and the lawns. There are many 

 shades of green in this mass of foliage and many forms of 

 leaves. Flowering shrubs in their season add to the variety, 

 but such kinds have, in the main, been selected as are not 

 obtrusive in color. In June the Mock Orange admirably diver- 

 sified the picture with the quiet beauty of its white or creamy 

 flowers set in the surrounding green, and many of the plants 



