September 30, 1S96.] 



Garden and Forest. 



597 



more beautifully netted, the flowers more closely arranged on 

 the spike and not on one side only. 



These little Orchids are airy and graceful, and though not 

 often seen in cultivation they will do well when grown in suit- 

 able quarters. From the fact that they thrive in such moist 

 and shady places they would seem to have special merit for 

 use in north windows and should be better known. 



Geneva, N. Y. W - J • 



Ophiopogon Jaburan vatiegatum. — For many years after its 

 introduction, and, indeed, even at the present time, this beau- 

 tiful Japanese garden plant, in common with others, was con- 

 sidered tender, and always classed with greenhouse plants. 

 There is no reason why this should be so, as far as its utility 

 and beauty are concerned, and when once the hardiness of any 

 plant is assured, its proper place is in the garden. While the 

 genus Ophiopogon is widely removed from the Grasses, nev- 

 ertheless, as a margin to a bed of decorative Grasses, no more 

 fitting plant could be used. It is perfectly hardy; more so, 

 indeed, than some of the Eulalias and Arundodonax, which in 

 this latitude need a good protective covering in winter. In 

 addition to the beautiful variegation of the foliage of this 

 Ophiopogon, it carries at this season a profusion of bright blue 

 flower-spikes that are attractive in contrast with the creamy 

 white striped foliage. This plant is often seen under the names 

 of O. spicatum or 0. Japonicum, both of which are totally dif- 

 ferent plants, and rarely, if ever, seen in gardens. The intense 

 violet-blue flowers are typical of this variety, which mav safely 

 be considered the best in the genus. The generic name is 

 somewhat unusual, and is a translation of the native name, 

 which signifies serpent's beard. To propagate it, it should be 

 lifted in spring and carefully divided. The roots have tubercles 

 similar to Hemerocallis, and are easily separated; the crowns 

 are first divided, and then the roots. 



Pennisetum Ruppellianum. — A few weeks ago this new orna- 

 mental Grass was described, and its free growth from seed the 

 first season was noted. As was promised by the introducer, 

 the spikes are deep red-bronze, quite remarkable among 

 Grasses that bear spikes and a striking contrast to Pennisetum 

 longistylum, the better-known species, which has spikes of 

 nearly white flowers, and the new variety has the same grace- 

 ful, long, narrow, green foliage, in dense tutts, as the old form. 

 We find it is easily raised from seed and flowers profusely the 

 first year. In this particular it is in striking contrast with most 

 of the annual ornamental Grasses, with the seeds of which we 

 have had but poor success, probably because first-class seeds 

 are not kept by dealers, owing to lack of demand on the part of 

 cultivators. 



South Lancaster, Mass. h. O. 0. 



The Loganberry. — Last July I had an opportunity to taste this 

 new berry and am exceedingly pleased with it. It has the 

 form of a blackberry and a solid core like that fruit. Ttie color 

 is red and the flavor like that of a raspberry, but more acid. 

 Eaten with sugar it is very delicious. The plant has a rambling 

 growth and its fruiting season here extends over three months 

 or more. Some of the berries were one and a half inches 

 long. It is generally known that the original plant was a 

 chance seedling of the Aughinbaugh Blackberry, probably 

 fertilized with pollen of some red Raspberry of the French 

 type. 



Strawbsrries. — I have for the last two seasons been experi- 

 menting on a small scale with Strawberries and am much 

 pleased with the Arizona Everbearing. This is of good size, 

 fair flavor and a rather light red color. The plant bears a full 

 crop in May and moderately all the rest of the summer and 

 autumn. It is of compact growth, forming immense stools, 

 which appear in the distance like small hills of potatoes. In 

 the moist atmosphere of the east the growth would probably 

 be much stronger. I would recommend it for trial there, as 

 possibly it might produce fruit for a longer period than ordinary 

 varieties. Another good variety here is the Marshall. This 

 proves a good grower, with foliage and fruit standing well up 

 on long stems. The fruit is of good size, delicious flavor and 

 of the brightest red color. It continues in bearing three or 

 four months, and in favorable seasons probably longer. 



Los Angeles, Cat. ' £" *J • *-•• 



Caryopteris mastacanthus.— I lately saw some plants of this 

 beautiful shrub grown from seeds imported direct from Japan. 

 Growing alongside them were some plants purchased under 

 the same name from nurserymen in this country, yet the two 

 were as dissimilar as possible. The leaves of the seedlings 

 were much larger and ovate-oblong in outline. The flowers 

 were of a deeper blue and in larger clusters, and in lull bloom 



September 13th, while the other plants had hardly commenced 

 to flower, and the leaves were lanceolate-elliptic in outline, 

 i have known the plants sent out as Caryopteris mastacan- 

 thus by nurserymen almost since its introduction in this 

 country, but I have come to suspect that some at least of the 

 plants sent out by nurserymen are examples of C. Mongolica, 

 and that I had not seen the true C. mastacanthus until 1 saw 

 these seedlings. 



Botanic Garden, Northampton, Mass. JLClWara J. tanning. 



[The plants of Caryopteris mastacanthus in the Arnold 

 Arboretum have been propagated by cuttings from one 

 which originally came from Herr Max Leichtlin, and, per- 

 haps, most of the plants in this country have been propa- 

 gated in this way. Persons in doubt as to whether they 

 have the true species can readily identify it by comparison 

 with the figure and description in The Botanical Magazitie. 

 —Ed.] 



Correspondence. 



Notes from Santa Barbara. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Bignonia venusta has begun to show bloom much 

 earlier this year, while its regular season extends from Sep- 

 tember to Ma) r , during which period the roofs of many homes 

 are literally covered with its rich orange clusters, making a 

 display not easily forgotten. In showiness and in vigor of 

 growth it finds a worthy companion in Solarium Wendlandii, 

 which bears in the greatest profusion its grand bunches of 

 Wistaria-colored flowers from May to December. Another 

 highly commendable climber proves to be the variety Grandi- 

 florum of the old Solatium Jasminoides, producing all" the year 

 round numberless clusters of pure white Jasmine-like flowers, 

 most useful also for cutting. Lately I happened to see a plant of 

 this Solanum which had taken possession of a huge clump of 

 Achania malvaviscus, the bright scarlet erect flowers and 

 emerald-green leaves of the latter struggling to peep out of 

 the snowy mass of their invader, a truly magnificent, although 

 unthought for, combination. 



Solanum Seaforthianum, so much advertised of late as S. 

 azureum, has proved here rather below expectation, as far as 

 freedom of blooming is concerned, while it has no right to be 

 called azure blue. Neither can this color be claimed for the 

 not less boomed Caryopteris mastacanthus, rather a pretty 

 plant altogether, with a misty appearance, owing to its grayish 

 green foliage and numerous whorls of pale lavender flowers. 

 True-blue flowers are scarce, hence the tendency of floating 

 under blue colors what honestly ought to be called shades of 

 lavender, purple or violet color. In the line of light blues 

 I do not know of any better than the old Plumbago Capensis, 

 quite at home here and blooming splendidly in the driest 

 places. Strange to say, the same resistance to drought is pos- 

 sessed by the humbler, but not less desirable Plumbago lar- 

 penta?, lately rebaptized as Ceratostigma Plumbaginoides. It 

 is really a pity that pretty plants have to bear such fearfully 

 long names. Quite promising and much admired, because a 

 true blue and such a free bloomer, appears to be Jacquemontia 

 abutiloides, introduced from Lower California. This is a vig- 

 orous climber ; the stems and obcordate leaves thickly beset 

 with minute silvery hair ; the flowers azure blue, three-quar- 

 ters of an inch in diameter, opening quite flat and standing 

 well out of the foliage on long pedicels, generally bifurcated, 

 each bearing twelve to fifteen flowers, two and even three of 

 them opening at the same time, from morning till about four 

 o'clock. This is the hour when the fluffy, pttre white, sweet- 

 scented flowers of Calliandra portoricensis expand every day, 

 as if by magic, while at the same time its Mimosa-like leaves go 

 quietly to sleep. Among newly introduced plants that have 

 bloomed for the first time this year, Bauhinia calpini, from 

 Natal, is very striking, its brick-orange flowers being produced 

 in clusters of ten to twelve, several open at the same time, 

 each of them two inches across, and literally covering the hor- 

 izontal spreading branches. Next to this, Bauhinia diphylla, 

 from India (?), has just begun to open its snowy white flowers, 

 much larger but not as plentiful as the preceding. Several 

 more species of thegenus Bauhinia are likely to bloom before 

 long; many of them are sure to prove a welcome addition to the 

 gardens of our southern states, for their curious bilobed 

 leaves and showy flowers having such a wide range of color. 



Eriogonum giganteum, a nativo ol Santa Catalina Island, is 

 in full bloom, and well deserves its name, the whole plant cov- 

 ering not less than ten feet in diameter, each branch or inflo- 

 rescence being two to three feet across, the innumerable minute 



