November i, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



453 



The timber extends to the altitude of about 11,500 feet ; 

 beyond this upper "timber-line" one sees nothing but bare 

 slopes reaching up to the rocky top. The vegetation of 

 these upper slopes is one of the most interesting botanical 

 features of the ascent. The plants are small and stunted, 

 hardly anywhere thick enough to form a sod ; the only 

 woody one noticed was Potentilla fruticosa, very much 

 dwarfed. Only one low, cespitose Grass was collected, 

 Poa Lettermani, of which Mr. L. PI. Dewey, who kindly 

 determined it, writes that "it is a rare specimen, and has 

 b^en found only on the high peaks of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains." The other plants collected in this locality (at the 

 stopping-place) are Mertensia alpina, also reported from 

 other very high altitudes ; Allium Nuttallii, with deep rose 

 flowers; a small yellow Castilleia (breviflora.''), Silene 

 acaulis, Saxifraga flagellaris, Geum Rossii and its variety 

 humile, Sedum Rhodiola, forming purple spots on the 

 tawny surface, also reported from other high peaks ; Poly- 

 gonum Bistorta, and a species of Arenaria. 



Other plants described in the Flora of Colorado as having 

 been collected on Pike's Peak, altitude not mentioned, are 

 Saxifraga punctata, S. Jamesii, Primula angustifolia, Andro- 

 sace Chamoejasme, Chionophila Jamesii. It is presumed 

 that they belong 'to the upper slopes near or above the 

 timber-line. 



The slopes become more broken and rocky as the train 

 rises ; the temperature falls, and an overcoat is necessary 

 long before reaching the top ; this is a comparatively level 

 surface, a few acres in extent, covered with broken boul- 

 ders and of most unattractive aspect. Here stands the 

 signal-station which for many years has crowned the 

 peak ; it is a low, substantial stone building, able to with- 

 stand the wind velocity of 120 miles an hour, which is not 

 unfrequently recorded ; it is connected by telegraph with 

 the world below. As the traveler steps out of the car his 

 attention is first called to himself before he proceeds to 

 gaze on the wonderful panoramic view spread before him ; 

 this rise of a mile and a half in the upper air within two 

 hours seriously disturbs the physiological functions ; there 

 has not been sufficient time for a readjustment to the low- 

 ered pressure ; one has a faint, dizzy sensation ; the heart 

 beats quickly, the breathing is somewhat labored, and the 

 hearing is impaired ; it is necessary to move abqut slowly, 

 at least during the first few moments; invalids liable to 

 hemorrhage had better not make the ascent. 



It is an unpleasant surprise to find the summit of Pike's 

 Peak so perfectly dry and barren ; not a patch of snow 

 could be seen at this season. The same remark applies, in 

 a variable measure, to the other summits of the Rocky 

 Mountains ; although now and then temporarily whitened 

 in summer, none are covered with perpetual snow, owing 

 to the very scant precipitation. Not a trace of vegetation 

 is visible at the first glance ; nothing but sharp-angled 

 stones, between which it is not practicable to find a path- 

 way. After diligent search I was able to find three very 

 modest plants, all in blossom, none of them credited to 

 this peak in the Flora of Colorado. The finest is a Pole- 

 monium, with rather large and pretty blue flowers ; Dr. 

 Morong, to whom I referred it, thinks it a form of P. 

 humile. All visitors endeavor to procure specimens of it 

 as souvenirs, but few succeed. It has also been reported 

 from Chicago Lakes, altitude 12,000 feet, while another 

 species, P. confertum, has been collected on Gray's Peak 

 at the same high altitude. My second plant is Claytonia 

 megarrhiza, a dwarf, acaulescent form, with the white 

 flowers mostly under, and not much exceeding, the ro- 

 sette of fleshy leaves. This has also been reported from 

 Gray's Peak at an altitude of 14,000 feet. The third plant 

 is Saxifraga chrysantha in its typical form. 



Other plants credited in the Flora of Colorado to the 

 "summit of Pike's Peak" (the "summit" probably includ- 

 ing some of the adjoining slopes) are Arenaria verna, var. 

 hirta (probably my doubtful species before mentioned), 

 Cymopterus alpinus, Erigeron compositus, Artemisia sco- 

 pulorum, Senecio amplectans, var. taraxacoides, Castilleia 



pallida, Gentiana frigida, Carex otrata, var. ovata. Some 



of these have doubtless disappeared from the summit, the 



prey of the hundreds of visitors eager to secure any kind of 



vegetable growth as remembrances of their trips. 



Under the circumstances, considering the stony sterility 



of the soil, the constant low temperature, the terrific winter 



hurricanes and the long summer drought, it is, perhaps, a 



matter of wonder that so many species, so widely separated 



in their affinities, have found a foothold on or near this 



summit. j tt o a 



Fort Russell. Wyo. v- iiavara, U. o. A. 



A Naturally Grown Chrysanthemum, 

 Florence Percy. 



THE illustration of one of our Chrysanthemums on page 

 456 is an example of what we here like to call an un- 

 mutilated specimen. At Kew we rather pride ourselves in 

 setting a good example to growers of these plants, but I am 

 bound to admit that exhibitors do not yet follow our lead, 

 preferring to grow tall, one-legged plants for the sake of big 

 blooms, or globe-shaped bushes with a single bloom only 

 on every branch. This method has only one result, the 

 desired one, of course, which is big, well-formed full 

 blooms, but the plants, like all painfully trained specimens, 

 are deprived of nearly all true, natural beauty. There are 

 not many plants, either indoors or out, that naturally form 

 handsomer bushes than the Chrysanthemum ; this, I think, 

 must be admitted by every one with taste, on looking at this 

 picture of the lovely white-flowered variety, known as 

 Florence Percy. Of course, a considerable amount of the 

 gardener's art must be expended on plants grown even in 

 this style, but the art is cunningly hidden, the stopping, 

 pinching, staking and disbudding being all performed with 

 a view to enhancing the natural beauty of the plant, and not 

 for the purpose of making it something quite unlike a Chrys- 

 anthemum. 



At Kew we grow about three hundred plants yearly for 

 the decoration of the conservatory and large winter-garden. 

 The varieties preferred are those which form shapely 

 bushes and are not too high ; at the same time as great a 

 range of variation in color, form and size of bloom as 

 possible is aimed at. 



There is much that is charming and interesting to botan- 

 ists, as well as to the every-day visitor, in the truly won- 

 derful development of the Chrysanthemum at the hands 

 of the cultivator and breeder. By the way, can any one 

 help Kew to a living plant of the typical Chrysanthemum, 

 C. porifolium? It must be plentiful in China, and probably 

 also in Japan. It would be a most interesting plant to grow 

 by the side of the Edwin Molyneauxs, Avalanches and 



Florence Percys of the present time. ... .,, ^ 



Kew. *^- i'^lso?i. 



October in a West Virginia Garden. 



FEW flowers are now to be seen in the borders, and fewer 

 still in the shrubberies, but many Roses have renewed 

 their youth since the heat and drought of summer have given 

 place to frosty nights and abundant moisture. Hermosa is a 

 valuable Rose at this season. Safrano, Isabella Sprunt, Adam 

 and several varieties of the Polyantha class, are blooming with 

 some profusion, and small plants of Laurette, set in the spring, 

 are showing one or two flowers each. In spite of some sharp 

 frosts, Ulrich Brunner is bearing a few rich dark velvet, very 

 double blossoms that have all the fragrance of June. 



In the shrubbery, Vitex Agnus-castus is now blooming for 

 the first time. This plant has lived out without protection for 

 several seasons. It was cut down to the ground l)y the severe 

 weather last winter, but has made good growth in spite of the 

 drought, and is four feet in height and adorned with a few 

 spikes of small purple flowers. The five lanceolate leaflets 

 are whitened underneath and are now a dull greenish-maroon 

 on the upper surface. These leaflets are pleasantly aromatic, 

 and the appearance of the shrub is very attractive, especially 

 when contrasted with the deep green of some Halesias in the 

 same group. Its near neighbor, a fine Callicarpa Ameri- 

 cana, is covered with its small lustrous berries of red- 

 dish-violet. The Witch-hazel is decked with yellow fringe, 



