442 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 454. 



numerous, and include many ornamental things. The Orchids 

 growing in the mountain grass are very numerous, indeed, and 

 there is a larger proportion of petaloid monocotyledons than I 

 have seen elsewhere. There seems to be a very distinct edible 

 apple, not yet ripe, which is worthy of note. I find the Peach 

 wild in the ravines, with inedible or barely edible fruit. Rosa 

 gigantea is very common, and must be a glorious sight when 

 in flower. I have been particularly struck by the absence of 

 Laurineas, which are so conspicuous in the Hupeh flora every- 

 where. I notice one Acer on the mountain summits. Besides 

 Lilium giganteum there are two other Lilies, one resembling 

 L. Iongiflorum, but distinct, and the other a yellow Lily, not 

 very large, but pretty. It is also something new, I believe. 



In addition to these interesting botanical features the ethnol- 

 ogy of the people is most interesting. The people are largely 

 of three races (non-Chinese), Shan, Lolo and Miao-tse, but in 

 the mountains one comes across diminutive people living in 

 squalid villages, cultivating only Buckwheat, pasturing sheep 

 and cattle, and these folk are practically savage autochthons. 

 Pure Lolos are handsome and of Caucasian type in some 

 respects. Of course, these are only my hurried impressions, 

 as I have been here only a short time and have only been in 

 certain parts of the neighborhood. 



Baden-Baden. 



IN a late issue of The Gardeners' Chronicle Rev. Henry 

 Ewbank gives an account of the famous gardens of 

 Baden-Baden, which have been enriched by the business 

 enterprise, the enthusiasm and the rare cultural skill of 

 Herr Max Leichtlin. These gardens have been for many 

 years one of the great European centres of horticultural 

 interest, and our readers will thank us for presenting an 

 extract from Mr. Ewbank's interesting letter. 



The Kniphofias are such as I have never seen elsewhere. 

 K. Nelsoni is of great value, because it blossoms the latest of 

 all, and it is certainly one of the loveliest and most elegant of 

 them. K. Natalensis is the most highly colored of the lot ; K. 

 Triumph has a kind of bright yellow candelabra-like habit of 

 flowering ; and a small yellow one which is not very tall, and 

 has not as yet been named, struck me as certain to please. 

 But, perhaps, I may as well say at once, that the most striking- 

 plant in the garden just now is Coriaria Nepalensis— it was so 

 entirely new to me. Max Leichtlin says it has been in full 

 beauty since last July, and is likely to be so till the frost sets 

 in. The crystalline, deep yellow fruit is attractive in the high- 

 est degree, and when the statement is added that the shrub is 

 quite hardy in this part of the world, it will be seen that this 

 acquisition from the Himalayas is of great value, and will be 

 much sought after. 



There was a new Hedysarum in the borders which I liked 

 very much ; Trachelium rumelianum is a nice little flower, 

 and I saw many specimens of Campanula mirabilis, of course 

 not in blossom just now, from which great things are expected. 

 Liatris cylindracea is still very fine, although far from its best ; 

 I think it is L. graminifolia that Leichtlin praises the most, but 

 its time had gone by. Thalictrum Delavayi has no need of 

 mention from me, but I never saw such fine specimens as 

 there are here, and there seem to be two varieties which differ 

 very much in the foliage,' but are in other respects alike. 

 Some Lobelias are still very attractive. L. fulgens rosea and 

 violacea correspond with their names, and they brighten up 

 the borders exceedingly ; they differ from what I have as yet 

 come across. Calceolaria alba should not escape notice ; it 

 will be a valuable little shrub if only it is sufficiently hardy. In 

 one of the houses I saw an Agapanthus which throws all 

 others into the shade ; it rejoices in the name of A. maximus, 

 var. Krelagei, and while any Agapanthus is good, this must 

 be put in the first rank of all where autumn flowers are looked 

 for. Close by it was a very large Belladonna Lily, Amaryllis 

 Belladonna rosea perfecta, a beautiful thing in its way. Stern- 

 bergia macrantha is in all its glory at present ; I suppose it is 

 one of the finest of Mr. Whittall's many introductions — the 

 only drawback it has is that it is naked-stemmed and blos- 

 soms without the leaves. Gerbera Jamesoni seems to be 

 quite at home with Max Leichtlin, though it is strange to hear 

 from him that it has not done well lately in the way of blos- 

 soming, because of the continuous wet. I have a plant at Ryde 

 which must be four or five times as large as any which are 

 here ; and though very robust and strong, it did not blossom 

 well this summer in one of the hottest and driest places that 

 could be conceived. If sunshine in one locality puts it out, 

 and rain in another, what are we to do with it ? My plant did 



splendidly in the summer of 1894 and 1895, but it has quite 

 failed this year ; and I hear from my gardener that it has done 

 nothing since I left home, some six or seven weeks ago, 

 though it is in a very robust and healthy condition. 



Scabiosa Hookeriana is a novelty which has seen its best for 

 this season. I think Max Leichtlin said it had been a puzzle to 

 him for fifteen years. He has two or three good Delphiniums 

 which have not as yet found their way into commerce ; one is 

 a sort of dark claret color, which had not at all begun to fade. 

 I noted flowering plants of Galanthus Olgae Reginae, but it is 

 nothing more than G. nivalis, with a very precocious disposi- 

 tion, which makes it outstrip all its compeers in earliness ; it 

 is, nevertheless, well worth possessing, for by its aid all lovers 

 of Snowdrops (and who is not a lover of Snowdrops ?) may 

 cover three out of the four quarters of the year with their 

 favorites, and only be without them when there is quite a glut 

 of other flowers. Old friends turn up here in multitudes, 

 though I miss a good many of those which I have known be- 

 fore. Onosma albo-roseum, Oinphalodes Lucilias, Polygonum 

 spherostachyum, Arnebia echioides, Pelargonium Endlicheri- 

 anum, Primulas without number; Aubrietias and such like 

 plants abound on every hand. There is an Aubrietia which I 

 want some day to see in blossom very much, for it is called the 

 Beauty of Baden ; and if it be that, what a beauty it must be ! 



The American Persimmon. 



AT this season of the year the native Persimmon of the 

 „ United States is in the perfection of its fruitage. 

 While our city markets know in a limited way of the Japa- 

 nese persimmon, as .grown in Florida, California or the 

 south-west, the American persimmon is comparatively un- 

 known, excepting in some of the larger southern markets, 

 to which the farmers bring it in limited quantity. The 

 American persimmon is not in favor, as commonly known, 

 because of its astringent or puckery skin and because its 

 extreme softness when fully ripe makes it difficult to handle 

 and ship. As a consequence, thousands of bushels rot on 

 the ground every year or are eaten by hogs in pasture. 



In the Mississippi valley, from central Indiana and Illi- 

 nois, southward, the Persimmon may be generally found 

 growing with great vigor. In some regions it is regarded 

 as an intruder, and the trees are classed as almost as worth- 

 less as Sassafras-sprouts. It has, however, the merit of 

 producing a fruit which, it is safe to predict, will some day 

 be a popular article of diet on our tables. An examination 

 of the seedling wild fruit shows a wide difference in form 

 and quality. Forms range from round to oval, with vary- 

 ing degrees between, as round-ovate, oblong-ovate, round- 

 ish oblate, etc. The fruit from some trees contains many 

 seeds, while others are seedless. With some the pulp is 

 very sweet, rich and appetizing, with the skin compara- 

 tively free from astringency, while others are inferior in 

 quality and most undesirable. 



The Indiana Experiment Station, through Professor 

 James Troop, the horticulturist, has been giving special 

 attention to the native Persimmon. Many varieties of 

 seedlings have been collected in southern Indiana, and 

 numerous persons have sent us samples of fruit that they 

 regarded as of special merit. Some of this fruit has been 

 delicious, and I am sure would find a ready sale in a city 

 market when its merits once became known. The follow- 

 ing varieties are described by Professor Troop in Bulletin 

 60 of the Indiana Station : Shoto, Early Bearing, Golden 

 Gem, Daniel Boone, Hicks, Kansas, Smeech and Early 

 Golden. All of these have fruit of special merit. Golden 

 Gem was introduced by Mr. Logan Martin, of Clark- 

 County, Indiana, and is grown by him for near-by markets. 

 A quantity which he sent to this station was regarded by 

 all who ate of it as most delicious. The fruit is roundish 

 oblong, about an inch and a half or more in diameter, dark 

 orange to red in color, contains but few seeds, and the 

 flesh is soft, rich, sweet and palatable, being quite free of 

 any astringency. This variety commences to ripen about 

 the last of August and continues until October. Shoto has 

 a large fruit, oblong-ovate in form, has but few seeds, and 

 the pulp is of good quality, being in its prime in October. 



