October i, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



479 



year, and therefore those who have 0. Arabicum should 

 not throw it away because it did not Mower last year, or 

 if it did and fails to do so this coming- season. All who 

 know it will be perfectly willing to wait until the second year, 

 for the plant has a distinct beauty peculiarly its own. These 

 bulbs should all be potted in rich soil with good drainage and 

 plenty of water when the flower stems appear. In all three 

 of the plants named the leaves appear too weak to bear their 

 own weight; they fall down over the pots and split in the 

 centre if not supported by a cord tied to stakes around the edge 

 of the pots or in some other way. There are white forms 

 of both Scilla Clusii and .S'. Peruviana, but in each case the 

 typical blue is the most desirable. 



Last year I spoke of the value of Oxalis Bowiei for pot 

 culture, and many inquiries were received at the time as to 

 where the plant could be obtained and when to plant it. 

 This is the best time to pot the bulbs, and they will start to 

 grow at once and flower until Christmas. There seems to 

 be a general waking up to the value of this Oxalis, which is 

 the showiest and best of a genus that contains some 200 species. 



The so-called K. australis is not now recognized as a 

 species by some of the leading botanists, who claim that it is 

 merely a form of K. Belmoreana, though it is still catalogued 

 by some European growers as K. australis. The Kentias 

 have become very popular of late years, and are now grown 

 by thousands in the larger nurseries throughout the Atlantic 

 states, while the seeds are imported direct and by the bushel. 

 The Palm-seed trade, by the way, has attained large propor- 

 tions now, but the limit will probably be reached in a few 

 years, as the number of seed-growers appears to be increasing 

 more rapidly than the demand, large as this has been. 



Geonoma gracilis is a very pretty little Palm and useful for 

 occasional decorations, though for lasting qualities under ad- 

 verse conditions it is not to be compared with Cocos Weddeliana, 

 which has much tougher foliage, and is therefore much more 

 extensively used on this side of the ocean. To be kept in 

 good condition G. gracilis should be well shaded, but at the 

 same time free ventilation is necessary, else the foliage will 

 be too soft. The same rule, as to shade, applies to all the Ge- 

 onomas, because in their natural condition they are usually 



A Stone Bridge in Wales. — See page 470. 



There is a good colored plate of this plant in the London 

 Garden of May 31st of this year, under the name of 0. 

 Bowieana. In England this plant is used for summer dower- 

 ing, but the bulbs are usually shipped to this country in fall 

 with other bulbs from Holland, and make equally good winter 

 pot-plants. The foliage resembles gigantic Shamrocks, and 

 the flowers are one and a half inches across and of a bright 

 rose color. 0. Bowiei is well adapted to window culture, and 

 multiplies rapidly by means of its bulbs. 



South Lancaster, Mass. ' E. 0. 0. 



Palm Notes. 



TDROMINENT among the Palms for conservatories, and use- 

 ■*■ ful as well for house decoration, are the Kentias, the va- 

 rieties most in use being A". Forsteriana, K. Belmoreana and A". 

 Canterburyana, all of which are decorative plants of the first 

 grade. These Palms all succeed admirably under cool-house 

 treatment, although the first two sorts mentioned are used in 

 much larger quantities than A". Canterburyana, the latter being 

 a much slower grower, and, consequently, not nearly so profit- 

 able a plant to commercial growers. 



found growing beneath the shade of other and larger growing 

 Palms, and seldom or never out in the open. 



Some of the " Fish-tail Palms " or Caryotas are very useful 

 and highly ornamental as small and medium sized plants, 

 though they rapidly attain such proportions, when under suit- 

 able treatment, that they are not suited for all collections. Of 

 the Caryotas the most common and easiest to procure are C. 

 ttrens and C. sobolifera, both of which are good and also easy 

 to manage, as they germinate from seed readily and in a short 

 time and make rapid growth. 



Caryota urens throws up its handsome leaves on strong 

 stems, and in a large plant they sometimes reach a length of 

 twelve feet or more. The leaves are bipinnate, which is an 

 unusual characteristic among Palms, and the pinnules are 

 more or less wedge-shaped, being from six to eight inches in 

 length and about half that measurement in width. The ends 

 of the pinnules are erose, this giving them an odd appearance 

 and readily suggesting the common appellation of "Fish-tail 

 Palm," while the color of the leaf is dark green. Another pe- 

 culiarity of C. urens is the manner in which it flowers, though 

 this process does not begin until the plant has attained its full 

 size. It begins to flower from the centre at the top of the 



