426 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 452. 



eight or ten feet high, with long lanceolate leaves and rich 

 golden flowers of medium size, which open in great abun- 

 dance along two-thirds of the length of the tall stem. It is one 

 of the best of the single Sunflowers for cutting, and it is indis-. 

 pensable where tall-flowering plants are needed. 



A neat and distinct little border plant is Lady Larpent's 

 Plumbago, which forms a prostrate tuft eight inches high, 

 covered with rich dark blue flowers in close terminal heads, 

 and lasting until cut off by severe frosts. It spreads by wan- 

 dering roots, and in time a few plants will carpet a considera- 

 ble space, and the leaves turn late to most brilliant colors. 



The Giant Daisy, Pyrethrum uliginosum, is now found in 

 almost every garden, and its large, white composite flowers, 

 with yellow disks, completely cover well-established plants. 

 These grow in any soil, but they delight especially in one that 

 is moist and rich, where they become four or five feet high 

 and quite as broad. 



Sedum spectabile, another old-fashioned border plant, has 

 fallen into neglect in many gardens, but early this fall I ob- 

 served a mass of charming pink flowers, backed by a sombre 

 green. It was something of a revelation to be reminded once 

 more that this Sedum was so attractive and that it filled a place 

 which no other hardy herb can occupy. 



Riverton, N.J. U ill. Tricker. 



Harcty Plants for Forcing. 



TV/I" ANY hardy shrubs and herbaceous plants make interest- 

 •'-»•'- ing subjects for decoration during winter and spring, 

 and such as have been planted out for the summer should 

 now be potted in readiness for their winter quarters. It is not 

 necessary to place these plants in the greenhouse at once, and 

 the shrubs should be kept in cold cellars or pits convenient to 

 get at, and frequently aired, even in frosty weather. It is better 

 to keep them frozen, for all such plants force better if they 

 have been thus kept. They should not be subjected to sun- 

 shine until they are required for forcing. The most success- 

 ful growers of Lilly-of-the-valley freeze the pips continuously 

 for a week before they force them. 



Roots of deciduous shrubs and hardy bulbs can be kept in 

 boxes out-of-doors as well as under cover. It is necessary, 

 however, that boards be placed under the boxes to prevent 

 contact with the earth, or the contents would freeze into a 

 solid mass. Those who have neglected these precautions have 

 had reasons to regret the error. For protection, hay or pine 

 needles are excellent. It need hardly be suggested that the 

 ground should be marked with stakes, so that plants may 

 easily be found when covered with snow. 



Desirable plants for these uses include Spirasa astilboides 

 and the Astilbes. Deutzia gracilis, Lilacs, Hybrid Roses, 

 Ghent Azaleas and hardy Rhododendrons are better kept under 

 cover. Evergreen herbaceous plants, such as Foxgloves, 

 Canterbury Bells and Christmas Roses, must be kept in frames 

 and aired during bright weather. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



The Acacias. 



A FEW years ago even the most common Acacias were 

 unknown or ignored by American florists. Such beau- 

 tiful species as A. armata, A. Drummondii, A. longifolia and A. 

 Riceana are now becoming quite common and popular, and 

 many well-grown plants, especially of the two first-named 

 species, may be seen at their flowering season in the windows 

 of most progressive florists. That the Acacias can be grown 

 as well here as in Europe is quite evident, and there are, per- 

 haps, no spring-flowering plants deserving of a more general 

 cultivation for indoor decorative purposes, whether in the 

 florist's shop or in the home. 



Aside from their value as ornamental plants in the north, 

 the Acacias are undoubtedly destined to play an important part 

 in southern landscape-gardening, although the tendency in the 

 south at the present time is to introduce plants familiar in the 

 north which are unsuited to the climate of most southern 

 states. Most Acacias are evergreens, but they by no means 

 require excessive heat; many species will, on the contrary, 

 stand several degrees of frost without injury, and some of the 

 deciduous species, such as A. Farnesiana and the nearly 

 related A. Julibrissin, are perfectly hardy in this latitude. Noth- 

 ing can be more graceful and attractive than large specimens 

 of the Silver Wattle, A. dealbata, with its masses of yellow 

 globular heads of flowers and finely pinnate silvery and downy 

 leaves. Large specimens of A. Drummondii, so frequently 

 met in conservatories, give an idea of the beautiful scenery 

 which it would be possible to create in southern latitudes by 



the judicious planting of the best species of Acacias in connec- 

 tion with other subtropical plants. 



All Acacias do well in a sandy, fibrous loam mixed with 

 peat or leaf-soil. As a rule, they require abundant water 

 during the growing season, but will afterward thrive if kept 

 moderately moist and cool. For propagation both seeds and 

 cuttings are used with advantage. The cuttings made with a 

 heel of half-ripe wood should be inserted in a bed of clean 

 silver sand, without bottom-heat, in a cool greenhouse. They 

 root freely, and should be firmly potted immediately after 

 rooting. During the summer-time both old and young plants 

 do best in the open air in a cool frame without glass, where 

 they can be partially shaded and thoroughly watered as re- 

 quired. In the south, small twigs simply broken off and placed 

 in the soil will root as readily as Willows in the north. Here 

 they thrive in sandy and sterile soil, provided it retains the 

 necessary moisture in summer. 



Among the best species, both for indoor culture in the north 

 and for more extensive planting in the south, are Acacia 

 armata ; leaves replaced by oblique, rounded phyllodia close 

 to the somewhat winged and spiny branches ; flowers yellow, 

 in axillary globular heads. A. dealbata ; leaves twice pinnate, 

 soft, downy and silvery on the under side ; flower-heads 

 yellow, in ample racemes in summer. This species grows to 

 a considerable size. A. Drummondii ; leaves small, twice pin- 

 nate, leaflets linear ; flowers in cylindrical spikes, yellow, in 

 spring. A. lineata ; leaves small, linear ; flowers in axillary 

 globular heads, bright yellow. A. longifolia ; leaves rather 

 long, flattened, tri-nerved phyllodia ; flowers in cylindrical 

 axillary spikes, yellow. A. Riciana ; leaves linear ; flowers 

 yellow, in small globular heads, forming ample drooping 

 masses at the end of short side-branches ; a very beautiful 

 and graceful species. 



Newark, N. J. N. J. Rose. 



Notes from the Santa Monica Forestry Station. 



Stauntonia hexaphylla.— This beautiful Japanese climber is 

 succeeding well with us at Santa Monica. Our specimen was 

 planted in the spring of 1894, being then only a few inches 

 high. Trained on wires it now covers a space about ten feet 

 by twelve feet, and is growing rapidly, though almost directly 

 exposed to the strong sea breeze which prevails here all sum- 

 mer. Its digitate foliage is very handsome, with oval, acumi- 

 nate, somewhat irregularly undulate leaflets, ranging from 

 one to five inches in length, the mature ones deep green, while 

 those of the new shoots are of a beautiful bright shade. The 

 delicate, creamy, pendent flowers, about half an inch in 

 length, are borne in few-flowered axillary racemes in April. 

 If the specimen here is typical, the name hexaphylla is rather 

 a misnomer, for the leaves are mostly three, five and seven 

 foliate, five and seven predominating on the mature wood. 

 Diligent search is necessary to discover a six-foliate leaf. 



Eucalyptus ficifolia. — Our bright scarlet-flowered specimen of 

 this very fine tree is now in full bloom, and shows to wonder- 

 ful advantage against a background of Eucalyptus polyan- 

 thema (the gray form). The heavy mass of soft glaucous gray 

 of the latter sets off charmingly the stiff, dark green leaves and 

 the great clusters of bright red blossoms which cover the entire 

 crown of the E. ficifolia. The variety here is a full month later 

 in blooming than the type, which is already quite past its bloom. 

 E. ficifolia is regarded by many as the most beautiful of the 

 numerous Eucalypti represented here. Its regular, symmetri- 

 cal habit, rather pyramidal form, cinnamon-colored bark, 

 large, ovate-lanceolate, pointed, dark green, coriaceous leaves, 

 brilliant red flowers and remarkable, heavy clusters of large, 

 ovoid seed-capsules combine to justify amply the eagerness 

 with which it is sought after for ornamental purposes. It is 

 not a tree of large growth, and it is reported as not exceeding 

 fifty feet in height in its native forests. At Santa Monica it has 

 done well in a mean winter temperature of about fifty degrees, 

 Fahrenheit, with the thermometer occasionally registering as 

 low as thirty-four degrees on the sheltered terrace in the cation 

 where the trees stand. Of our five specimens the best is a 

 double-stemmed tree twenty-three feet high, with a spread of 

 sixteen feet. The others are somewhat smaller. This repre- 

 sents a growth of seven years from the seed, without irriga- 

 tion, and with an average annual rainfall not exceeding fifteen 

 or sixteen inches ; last winter it was less than eight inches. As 

 an avenue tree and for ornamental purposes generally, in suit- 

 able climates, and as a highly desirable greenhouse species in 

 colder regions, E. ficifolia has many claims to consideration. 



Eucalyptus calophylla.— This tree, closely related to the one 

 just described, is also blooming freely now. This species has 

 been described recently in Garden and Forest by Mr. Wat- 



