July 5, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



283 



In a Mexican Garden. 



FOR a few hours of a sunny day in October last I was a guest 

 in an old garden in a village situated by the base of the 

 volcano of Toluca, fully 8,500 feet above the sea ; and I found 

 interest inobserviag what plants are employed by the Mexicans 

 to form a flower-garden and how these succeed at so high an 

 altitude. Light frosts fall in the region, but snows never. 

 The season of growth extends from June to October, a short 

 summer; and the sun during this period is obscured one- 

 third of the time, while the temperature scarcely mounts 

 above eighty degrees, Fahrenheit. 



The garden was a quinta, that is, a large garden in the sub- 

 urbs of a town, devoted usually to flowers, fruits and vegeta- 

 bles, mixed. In the little interior court of their town-house 

 the ladies of the family who entertained, cared for a similar col- 

 lection of plants, grovving in beds in the soil around the cen- 

 tral fountain or in great red vases set in a line just under the 

 colonnade surrounding the court — vases of Hydrangeas, 

 Tuberoses, Lilies, Irises, Geraniums, Fuchsias, Roses, etc. The 

 quinta was ampler, an acre or more in extent, and was located 

 by the threshing-floor and granaries of the hacienda, where it 

 joined the village. It was enclosed with a high wall of adobes, 

 more to afford seclusion and security than shelter for the 

 plants. Hither came the family with their friends, whenever 

 they wished to leave their close house for a ramble and an 

 hour in the open air. To serve this use is the design of the 

 quinta. It was laid out with broad walks and borders and was 

 shaded by a few trees. There was the Australian Gum-tree, 

 the furor for which of twenty years ago the Mexicans shared, 

 having been induced to plant it to the exclusion of more 

 beautiful native trees by a German, who had a nursery in the 

 capital city. It succeeds here only too well ; there was the 

 Montezuma Pine, Bentham's Cypress, Bonpland's Willow, of 

 erect growth and dark green foliage, the Weeping Willow and 

 the Pepper-tree, with drooping branches quite as graceful as 

 the last and with finer foliage. 



Of shrubs I noted Viburnum Opulus, Datura arborea, a va- 

 riety with blood-red flowers, the Crape Myrtle, the common 

 Philadelphus, Cassia bicapsuiaris, with abundant yellow flowers 

 long maintained; there were great clumps of a double-flow- 

 ered Hibiscus ten feet high, Roses of choicest varieties scat- 

 tered here and there, with a hedge of them hiding the back 

 wall and overtopping it ; Fuchsias in variety, six or eight feet 

 high and woody with age, all blooming throughout most of 

 the year, and Hydrangeas, favorite flowers with the Mexicans. 

 Geraniums with double and with single flowers, and Pelargo- 

 niums in variety stood, shrub-like, two to five feet high. There 

 were Cactuses leaning against the walls or climbing over 

 them; slender-stemmed speci^es of Cereus and thick flat- 

 jointed Opuntias, whose flowers are among the most striking, 

 and whose fruits are edible. The tall grass, Arundo Donax, which 

 is not uncommon in northern gardens, stood in large old clumps, 

 and there were patches of Ribbon Grass (Phalaris arundinacea). 



Here, too, were large old masses of Agapanthus umbellatus, 

 Mirabilis multiflora, Callas, Cannas, Crinums, Tigridias. Gladi- 

 oluses and Irises, all alike thriving in the open soil. Among 

 pretty native flowers, such as species of Salvia, Cuphca and 

 Ipomoea, mingled many flowers whose acquaintance I made 

 in the old-fashioned gardens of my N^ew England home, such 

 as Larkspurs, Marigolds, Pinks, Chrysanthemums, the Mullein 

 Pink, the Jerusalem Cherry, the Everlasting Pea, the Bugloss, 

 Viola odorata, V. tricolor, CEnothera biennis. Euphorbia, La- 

 thyrus, Saxifraga crassifolia and Vinca major. To meet with 

 these familiar flowers amid foreign scenes was like falling in 

 with old friends abroad. „ „ „ . , 



Charlotte, Vt. C. G. Pruigle. 



Botanical Notes from Texas. — IX. 



CITY is a looser term in the newer than in the older portions 

 of the country. Here a village is seldom seen. Small 

 towns of one or two thousand inhabitants usually take upon 

 themselves the burdens as well as the dignities of city govern- 

 ment. So San Marcos is a little city of about three thousand 

 persons, lying thirty miles south-west of Austin. It is a little 

 south of the thirtieth parallel and near the ninety-eighth meri- 

 dian. At San Marcos, as at New Braunfels, San Antonio, 

 Uvalde. Del Rio and other places along the line that separates 

 the older from the newer Texas, a river flows, fully formed, 

 from the base of the hills, or mountains, as Texans call them. 

 San Marcos river, after a short career of its own, joins the 

 Blanco about two miles from the city. A few miles farther 

 on their united waters overtake those of the Guadalupe, and 

 with them flow on to the Gulf of Mexico. 



San Marcos is an interesting locality for a botanist to 

 visit. It is sufficiently far south-west for an abundance of the 



plants peculiar to that region, and few places in Texas, so easy 

 of access, will reveal to a lover of nature more strange plant- 

 forms. In a ramble over the blufts near the source of the river, 

 I met very commonly Ehretia elliptica, some individuals afoot 

 in diameter. This is about the northern limit of the species, 

 though it is found farther eastward. Its fruit at this writing 

 is nearly grown. 



Condalia obovata is here a foot in diameter and thirty feet 

 tall. Its wood is, according to Sargent, of greater specific grav- 

 ity than that of any other known North American forest-tree, 

 except its Florida cogener, C. ferrea. Lippia ligustrina is 

 abundant. A garden name for the species is Tree Heliotrope. 

 Mexicans call it Cabradora. Guiacum angustifolium is a 

 remarkable and handsome small tree, with narrow evergreen 

 leaves and light purple flowers. The succeeding fruit, which 

 is obcordate and two-lobed, contains two red seeds as large as 

 peas. Its roots possess strong smegmatic properties ; they 

 are largely used by Mexicans in cleansing clothes, and hence it's 

 most common appellation. Soap Brush. It is also known as 

 Lignum Vitag, and as Guayacan. I have not before seen this 

 species so far eastward. Morus microphylla is near by, with 

 its fruit already ripe, and Ampelopsis heptaphylla is just com- 

 ing into flower. Diospyros Texana is seen in arborescent forms, 

 and also Xinthoxylum Pterota rarely. Parkinsonia aculeata is 

 now in the full glory of its spring blooming. Antirrhinum mau- 

 randioides is common. The shrubby Eupatorium agera- 

 tioides hangs from the rocks and keeps company with the 

 shrubby Salvia ballotaefolia. A Croton with a woody stem, be- 

 coming three or four feet tall, is still more common. 



Of southern herbaceous plants there are Cooperia Drum- 

 mondii, Chaptalia nutans, Lindheimera Texana, Lesquerella 

 grandiflora, Gonolobus reticulata and Pinaropappus roseus. 

 The generic name of the last-named is significant of its dirty- 

 appearing pappus, while its handsome rose-colored flowers in- 

 dicate the propriety of its specific appellation. Lindheimer's 

 Castilleia grows in rocky places. Near it is Krameria secundi- 

 flora, bearing handsome purple flowers. Texans call its rough 

 fruit Stump Bur. Sedum Torreyi, extending north-eastward 

 to Missouri, is very common in central Texas. 



The handsome Lupinus subcarnosus, which gives character 

 to the flora of this region in March and April, is just fruiting and 

 losing its beauty. I have found here a form of this species, 

 smaller in size and of a paler green than the type, bearing pure 

 white flowers. Vernonia Lindheimeri is here, and JBlack- 

 eyed Susan, Rudbeckia bicolor. 



One of the handsomest, as well as most common, plants of 

 this region is Gaillardia pulchella. Persons who have only 

 seen specimens of this species growing singly in the garden, 

 can form little idea of its beauty as seen here, where it mantles 

 acres of damp woods and prairies with its large flowers. It is 

 known, not inappropriately, as Blanket Flower. 



Rubus trivialis, the southern Dewberry, abounds every- 

 where in rocky places. Its pleasant fruit lias furnished our 

 hotel for three weeks with excellent pies and cobblers. Ber- 

 beris trifoliata, one of the commonest shruljs around San 

 Marcos, is now loaded to bending with its ripe red berries. 

 Passiflora incarnata, whose pleasanfly acid fruit is called 

 Maypops in the south, is very abimdant, climbing over 

 rocks and fences. 



Many species of trees and plants that are common north and 

 east thrive well in south-western Texas. The White Elm is 

 still found in our tour. In rich valleys it is stately and majes- 

 tic. Box Elder is here handsomer than ever. A southern 

 climate seems to suit its taste. Its light green leaves contrast 

 pleasantly with the deeper hue of the Elms and Cottonwoods. 

 I saw several Cypress-trees along the Blanco that were three 

 feet in diameter. The so-called Cypress-knees are probably 

 only abortive attempts of the species to reproduce itself from 

 its roots. When at Lake Charles, Louisiana, I saw in the lake 

 knees around small Cypress-trees that bore twigs and leaves. 

 The suppression of the leaves would not hinder the knees 

 from continuing to participate in the growth of the parent tree. 



Hackberry, in many puzzling forms, if not in several species, 

 is very abundant throughout all this region. It is more com- 

 monly planted as a street and lawn tree than any other species. 

 Viburnum prunifolium, Ilex decidua and Callicarpa Ameri- 

 cana are not uncommon. Two species of Crataegus, Rhamnus 

 Carolinianus, and two species of Cornus are often to l)e seen. 

 Ampelopsis quinquefolia is more common than its south- 

 western congener, already mentioned, and all our native spe- 

 cies of Cissus are abtmdant. Phytolacca decandra. Poke-weed, is 

 as common here as in the north. The introduced Horehound is 

 taking much of the outlying land, and the common Mullein is 

 abundant in dry sterile places. In Kansas it is already as far 

 west as the one-hundredth meridian. „ ,, _, 



San Marcos. E. A . Flailk. 



