June 21, 1893,] 



Garden and Forest 



263 



ported bulbs do well the first year ; the second, some disap- 

 pear, some divide into many smaller bulbs, and others keep 

 their size ; the third year there is a general improvement, and, 

 after that they may be considered acclimatized. The blue 

 sorts are always the hardiest, and the double red the most deli- 

 cate. Some kinds have invariably done well from the beginning. 

 Among these may be cited Baron von Thyul, both the blue 

 and white varieties ; Anna Maria, Goethe, Charles Dickens, 

 Penelope. The White Roman multiply with wonderful rapidity ; 

 the red-bulb variety is very hardy, and the flowers stand 

 almost any cold that may occur in our winter ; they are fre- 

 quently in bloom in December. 



To show how our climate and the soil on my place are suited 

 to Hyacinths I mention the fact that a long time ago I had a 

 row of the primitive type of Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) 

 with racemes of sparse blue flowers, near which were a tew of 

 the pink variety. They both bore seeds, some of which were 

 washed into a hedge of Osage-orange a hundred yards distant, 

 where, to my surprise and gratification, I discovered, several 

 years afterward, a large number of Hyacinths in bloom, all 

 showingremarkableimprovementsovertheir progenitors. The 

 scape was taller, the truss more dense, the individual fiower of 

 a better substance and size, the colors ranging from very dark 

 purple to the palest blue, and from bright red to pinkish white. 

 Two plants had double flowers, one pink and the other blush. 

 It was remarkable that no specimen was like either of the 

 originators, every one being an improvement. 



In cultivating I manure heavily with well-rotted cow-manure, 

 spade thoroughly, plant the bulbs in October six inches apart 

 and about six inches deep, and lift the bulbs as soon as they 

 are dry. I have sometimes left them two years without dis- 

 turbing them, but I think it is better to lift them every year. 

 Tulips I have not grown as extensively as Hyacinths, but they 

 seem to do equally well. 



The genus Narcissus seems to be at home in Texas. The 

 hardiest of all is the large-flowering Jonquil, Narcissus odorus. 

 This grows freely and invariably bears an immense crop of 

 flowers that ordinarily appear in February, and which stand well 

 through any late frost. The true Jonquil (N. Jonquilla) blooms 

 a little later and is equally satisfactory. Then comes the whole 

 family of Polyanthus ; unfortunately, these flowers are some- 

 what tender and are sometimes cut down by late frost, making 

 it advisable to use cold frames for them. Two years ago I 

 received a collecfion of the principal variefies Of Narcissus, 

 and mo^tof them have behaved extremely well. Emperor, 

 Ard Righ, Sir Watkins, Trumpet Major, Giant Princeps, Stella 

 and several others have bloomed beautifully, and I have no 

 doubt of their continued success here. 



As a rule all the early-blooming varieties give entire satis- 

 facfion here ; the late varieties, as N. poeticus and N. biflorus, 

 do not bloom as well, and should be planted in the shade. N. 

 poeticus ornatus is much more desirable than the old type. 

 What I have said about the cultivation of Hyacinths applies to 

 the cultivation of Narcissus, with the exception that Narcissus 

 may be left undisturbed for several years. They multiply very 

 fast, and have, with me, shown no signs of disease. 



The common Snowflake (Leucojum vernum) is doing as 

 well as the Narcissi, under the same treatment. 



The Snowdrop and several bulbous Irises that I have tried 

 have succeeded only moderately, and Crocuses have proved a 

 flat failure ; they are likely to bloom the first year, but after 

 that no more is seen of them. Other bulbous plants, as the 

 Musk, the Grape and Feather Hyacinths, are perfectly natural- 

 ized on my place. So also is Scilla nutans. Another plant 

 that I cannot praise too much is Triteleia uniflora. It gives an 

 abundance of flowers early in the spring and multiplies so fast 

 that it Is nearly impossible to eradicate it when it is once 

 planted. As a pot-plant it is unsurpassed ; four or five bulbs 

 planted in a six-inch pot will give an abundance of flowers 

 during the winter if it is kept in a warm place. The only defect 

 of that plant is the garlic odor it emits if it is bruised. 

 Dallas. Texas. Jiilicn Reverchon. 



Notes from West Virginia. 



'X'HE first Roses to appear here were the Cinnamon Roses 

 -*■ and the Scotch Briers, close after which bloomed Rosa ru- 

 gosa, which one can hardly praise too highly for its effec- 

 tiveness as a shrub all the season through. They were not 

 injured in the least by the severe cold of the winter which cut 

 down all our tender varieties to the ground. Madame George 

 Bruant, which has Rugosa blood in it, escaped unharmed, and 

 it has been covered with large and fragrant blossoms. Late in 

 May, Elaeagnus umbellatus, which we long mistook for E. lon- 

 gipes, began to open its small very fragrant flowers, which 



were freely borne along the branches. These are cream-white 

 when they first appear, fading to dull yellow before they fall. 

 I was very much put out with this shrub because it did not be- 

 have as E. longipes was said to do in regard to its bearing of 

 fruit, but, nevertheless, I find it a most interesting plant, and 

 its fruit, which ripens in October after the frosts and hangs 

 upon the trees as late as Christmas, is to me delightful. 



Paeonies still continue to dazzle our eyes with their bright 

 colors. I had been told that these plants resented any disturb- 

 ance of their roots, and that they would not flower the year 

 they were removed. I am glad to be able to make a denial of 

 this statement. I prepared a bed to hold a dozen varieties in 

 April, and bought the plants for it in Washington ; they came 

 with splendid roots, and they have all flowered well this year. 



No one who has a place for a small tree or a large shrub 

 should be without the White Fringe-tree, which went out of 

 bloom here a week ago. When in flower it seems to be cov- 

 ered with a bridal-veil of the airiest texture, so exquisite is the 

 delicacy of the white blossoms. Other shrubs are coming 

 into bloom so fast that there is no room for a catalogue of all 

 the Mock Oranges, Deutzias, Dogwoods, Corchoruses and 

 Lilacs, but I must saya wordforSyringa villosa, which blooms 

 after the garden forms of S. vulgaris are all gone. The 

 odor of its flowers is not pleasant to some persons, and they 

 would be more striking if the lilac color was not so pale, and 

 yet this strong-growing shrub, with a thyrsus at the end of 

 every branchlet, makes a very brave show, and ought to find 

 its way very generally into gardens. , ^ , . , 



Rose Brake, w. Va. DuHske Dandridge. 



Notes on Mexican Travel. — VI. 



IN MICHOACAN. 



TO me Michoacan is one of the most interesting and beauti- 

 ful of all the Mexican states. It is a region of lovely lakes, 

 of rich tilled valleys and of heavily timbered mountains. From 

 the valley of the Lerma, in the heart of the continent, it spreads 

 over the southern Cordilleras and extends down to the Pacific 

 coast. No tour of Mexico is complete without a trip into 

 Michoacan by a branch of the Mexican National. Leaving the 

 main line at Acambaro, on the alluvial banks of the Lerma, we 

 pass for a dozen miles over undulating hills devoted to graz- 

 ing. Here and there among the grassy glades are outcrops of 

 rugged rock covered with shrubby growths. Scattered over 

 the glades are small trees of Acacia pennatula, with low flat 

 heads, which in May are yellow with fragrant flowers. More 

 noticeable than this is a Morning-glory-tree (Ipomoea muri- 

 cata). It has smooth yellowish bark, and all through the win- 

 ter months puts out large white flowers. 



From these hills we descend into the basin of Lake Cuitzeo, 

 passing at the foot of the hills a typical hacienda, the grand 

 residence of the proprietor, with accompanying chapel and 

 granaries, being surrounded by a village of humble houses, 

 the homes of the hacienda laborers, each in its little walled-in 

 garden-plat amid fruits, vegetables and flowers. Cuitzeo is a 

 saline lake without outlet, and we come to it over broad salt- 

 marshes, the soil and even the salt-grass partially covering it 

 being whitened. We observe with curious interest the primi- 

 tive salt-works here. The soil is leached in V-shaped recepta- 

 cles, and the brine is evaporated in shallow troughs hewn 

 from pine-logs, which are placed in the sun and covered on 

 the approach of rain with rifts of pine. We are told the story 

 of a ruin near by. Years ago a Frenchman set out to make 

 salt here by improved methods. He began putting up a large 

 stone building for his furnaces. The natives worked for him 

 till it was near completion ; then, fearing that their occupation 

 would be gone if he was allowed to go on, they murdered him, 

 and returned to their leaches and troughs. His tall chimney- 

 shaft of white rock still stands as his monument. Let it, also, 

 tell how the ignorant peon class of the country is a dead-weight 

 to hinder its progress. 



For fifteen miles our course runs along the shore of this 

 lake, now over salt-marshes, now hugging rocky bluffs. From 

 whatever point we look out over it, Cuitzeo is a beautiful ex- 

 panse of blue water, indented by wooded headlands and dotted 

 by wooded or grassy islands. We pass warm springs on its 

 shore, broad limpid pools, over which Indian women bend at 

 their washing, while tawny-skinned children tumble and 

 splash among the Lily-pads. A mile south of the station of 

 Querendaro, in a boggy meadow beside the track, are numer- 

 ous springs so hot that we can see columns of steam arising 

 from them at midday in August. We can hardly touch a fin- 

 ger to the water, for they boil up like a pot, coming from 

 black depths in the soil, and flowing away toward the lake. 

 On my last visit to these springs I found a steer fallen into one 

 of them and boiled whole there. 



