November 29, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



497 



All these Eryngiums are interesting and well worthy of cul- 

 tivation. They grow so easily from seed that it would be very 

 easy to introduce them into America, where they would cer- 

 tainly prove valuable, since they endure the hardest winters as 

 well as the hottest and driest summers. They all are very 

 easy of cultivation here in our garden at Geneva. 



Geneva, Switzerland. H. CorreVOn. 



Winter Care of Hardy Plants. 



TT ARDY hybrid Primulas and occasional Daisies are now 

 •*•-'■ about the only flowers to be found in the garden, these 

 sturdy plants giving flowers in all but the hardest weather. It 

 is now the season when the hardy plantsman, having housed 

 his doubtful plants, must decide as to what protection, if any, 

 shall be given to the main collection. Owing to the multi- 

 plicity of plants and the varying tastes of cultivators it is im- 

 possible m a short article to speak except in a general way on 

 this subject, and these general remarks must, of course, be 

 subject to modification according to climate and special ex- 

 posures. Here, near the sea, we have a most erratic climate, 

 often an open season, except for a few weeks during the win- 

 ter, and again, for variety, nature covers us with snow for 

 months ; not often, however. After some experience and 

 many experiments I protect neither herbaceous plants or 

 bulbs except in very exceptional cases. If there is any doubt 

 about a hardy plant being well-established, it is well to mulch 

 it as a precaution, though it does not seem to me even desira- 

 ble to protect those plants having soft evergreen leaves, ex- 

 cept by working under the foliage some small sharp stones or 

 in some cases well-rotted manure. While a thin layer of fibre 

 or fine manure on a bulb-bed will protect the flowers in the 

 spring from being splashed with mud, yet a protective mulch 

 is only necessary for most hardy bulbs when they have been 

 planted too late to make proper progress before winter opens. 

 In such cases a warm coating is a necessity in this climate. 

 Most Lilies, also, are better for a warm mulch, being often in- 

 jured by excessive freezing. There are other bulbs, as Calo- 

 chorti, which, while hardy, are injured by excessive moisture, 

 and these may be protected by a sash or boards to shed water. 

 The great enemies of hardy plants are moisture, long-continued 

 freezing and frequent freezing and thawing, to which may be 

 added, in case of Carnations, the harsh drying winds of the early 

 year ; a slight covering of evergreen boughs will be efficient over 

 the latter plants. Lath shadings, or shade of picket-fences, 

 will obviate much of the trouble from shifty weather. It is 

 often the custom to cover beds in the fall with rich manure, 

 but it would seem that the best time to feed plants is when 

 they are growing and need it. The plants which give me the 

 most anxiety are those which are planted on a sunny border 

 which is protected by the house also. Such plants as make 

 early growth here require a protection of Oak or other hard 

 leaves, otherwise the constant freezing and thawing creates 

 havoc. An occasional plant like Arundo donax, which is not 

 invariably hardy, but which is difficult to move, may have a 

 covering of unsifted ashes with advantage, as these, when 

 frozen, throw off moisture most perfectly. Hollyhocks are 

 among the commonly grown plants the most difficult to 

 winter. These are often victims of neglect, however, the old 

 stems rot and make lodging-place for water, which quickly 

 ruins the plants. They should be gone over in the fall and old 

 dead wood cut out and ground opened around the clumps for 

 drainage. Then they will usually winter perfectly. Small 

 plants with hardy foliage, like some Androsaces and some of 

 the Saxifrages, suffer from moisture, and in such cases a pane 

 of glass fastened over the plants with wires will protect them 

 perfectly. In short, a collection of hardy plants requires, not 

 only in culture, but in protection, to be studied individually. 

 Elizabeth, N. J. J- N. Gerard. 



Luculia gratissima. — The Luculias are among the good old 

 plants of sterling merit which have been neglected for newer 

 introductions. They are too rarely seen, but those who pos- 

 sess good plants would be sorry to part with them, for they 

 bear a sure crop of beautiful fragrant flowers every year about 

 Christmas. Two years ago some well-grown branches were 

 exhibited in Boston, and much surprise was expressed because 

 a plant of such merit was so little known. The flower-heads 

 are large, not unlike those of Hydrangea, pink in color, and 

 very fragrant. An intermediate house is the proper place 

 for L. gratissima, as it likes plenty of sun ; indeed, ours has 

 been in the Rose-house all summer, and now every branch is 

 terminated by a cluster of flower-buds. The Luculias do not 

 need a large root-run, though I have seen them grow and 

 flower splendidly planted out, in which case their situation 



must be carefully selected. Careful attention is necessarv as 

 to watering, for the roots are exceedingly fine and hair-l'ike, 

 and will not endure drought. After the flowering season is 

 past the plants will require pruning to keep them in good 

 shape, especially after the plants attain some size. The 

 scarcity of the plant is in a measure due to the difficulty of 

 multiplying it. Seeds are hard to obtain, and seedlings re- 

 quire years to flower; while cuttings are difficult to root, but 

 flower the first year. Cuttings should be taken from well- 

 ripened shoots and closely cared for in a propagating-oase. A 

 sharp watch should be kept so that insects do not infest the 

 cuttings before they are rooted, red spider being especially fatal 

 to success. The Luculia belongs to the Cinchona, or Quinine- 

 bark, family, and the name itself is the Nepalese name of the 

 tree Latinized. 



Oncidium ornithorhynchum.— Mexican Orchids for the most 

 part take very kindly to cultivation here in the United States, 

 and this Oncidium is one of the most tractable. It appears to 

 thrive equally well in the cool-house or in a warmer one, and 

 our success with a plant originally presented induced the pur- 

 chase of twelve others, more especially because of their agree- 

 able spicy, but quite undefinable fragrance. The original plant 

 was obtained two years ago in a four-inch pot, and owing to the 

 way the plant has of making two growths each year from the 

 last-made bulb, it is now in a nine-inch pan and a fountain of 

 charming pink flowers ; the spikes are much branched, many 

 of them two feet long and the foliage of a rich green. There 

 is a white form of this Oncidium, at present extremely rare in 

 cultivation, but very beautiful. O. ornithorynchum is an easy 

 plant to grow and appears to need no resting period, as the 

 young growths start before the flowers have faded each year, 

 and the bulbs increase in size until they become as large as 

 hens' eggs, and these produce two the next season. Repotting 

 is done direcdy after the plants have past flowering, that is, 

 during fhe fall months. We have had plants in bloom now 

 for three months, and the small sprays are very useful for 

 boutonnieres because of their airy grace and fragrance. The 

 specific name of this Oncidium has reference to the peculiar 

 appendage to the anthers, which seem to resemble a bird's 

 beak. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. O. 



Liatris grammifolia. — This plant has an important variety, the 

 variation seeming to be the result of growing near the sea- 

 shore. The ordinary form is quite common here, and is one 

 of our finest native plants, flowering with the Asters and later 

 Golden-rods, after most plants have gone out of bloom. But 

 Liatris grammifolia, van duhia, which I have recently found 

 in considerable numbers in Cape May County along the sand- 

 hills of the coast, is a great improvement on the fvpe. It is a 

 stronger planr, with extremely leafy stems, more florets in each 

 head, and the heads set very closely together, so that not in- 

 frequently the top of the spike is enlarged into something like 

 a cockscomb shape. Both the species and the variety are 

 greatly improved by cultivation and by pinching or stopping 

 once when six or eight inches high. 'The plants then grow 

 quite bushy, instead of throwing up a single stem, as they gen- 

 erally do in their wild state. I could hardly name aslant 

 which makes a finer display during a considerable portion of 

 September and October than this Liatris when grown in a 

 mass. Occasionally a pure white variety is found, but quite 

 rarely, and I have not yet succeeded in reproducing it from 

 seed. 



Hammonton, N.J. Wm. F. BaSSett. 



Pacific Coast Irises. — Oregon collectors are offering Iris ma- 

 crosiphon, and describe it as having a cream-colored flower. 

 It is common on the coast-range of northern California and 

 north Oregon, and here it is generally a lilac-purple. I have 

 seen detached clumps which were pure white. In the range 

 east of LTkiah it frequently varies to cream color, and in one 

 locality, within a half mile, it nmsfrom purple through bronze- 

 purple to rich bronze and to cream color. Like all the Pacific 

 coast species, the masses are dense, with root-stocks hard and 

 rather slender. It prefers a gravelly soil in open woods. I have 

 naturalized Iris Douglasiana with success in mv Fern-beds, 

 where it shows well with its yellow purple-lined flowers. It 

 runs through the eastern edge of the Redwood belt. I. Hart- 

 wegii is a somewhat similar species with yellow flowers, 

 found in the open woods of the Sierra, and flourishing in the 

 peculiar dry, red, granulated soil. 



Ukiah, Calif. Carl Purdy. 



The Dandelion as a Salad-plant.— This plant affords one of the 

 earliest and most healthful of spring greens, and as soon as the 



