December 17, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



607 



Andrew sii may be found, their corollas bright blue and scarcely 

 opening. Very rarely G. alba will be seen, its flowers yellow- 

 ish white. The last begins to bloom in midsummer and con- 

 tinues till the middle of September, being considerably earlier 

 than any other Gentian here. On the higher ground G. 

 puberula is not uncommon, its corolla very dark blue. It is a 

 low plant, not often more than ten or twelve inches high, but 

 succeeding admirably in the sand, and striking its long roots, 

 generally two in number when they start from the base of the 

 stem, deep down into the ground to the distance of two feet 

 or more. 



Vying with the Solidagos in contributing yellow flowers the 

 present season (1890) was the shrubby Potentilla {P. fruticosa). 

 They were as fully in blossom as in the earlier part of the sum- 

 mer. Though they continue in flower a part of September, 

 their profusion this year was somewhat exceptional, and is 

 doubtless due to a prolonged drought followed by rain the 

 latter part of August, which has stimulated some plants into 

 new activity and made these a conspicuous feature of the 

 flora. Long strips of yellow bordered the wetter ground 

 beside the sloughs, which run quite straight and parallel, 

 sometimes for several miles. They usually grow in situations 

 too wet for Golden-rods ; but some that root in mossy bogs, 

 like J?, neglecta and S. uliginosa, are present to increase the 

 effect, lifting above the shrubs their dense panicles of yellow. 



A pretty plant of low stature, but looking frankly up at the 

 beholder like a broad, white eye, is our only Parnassia {P. 

 Caroliniana). It is very smooth, with a few wide or roundish 

 leaves near the ground, and a smaller sessile leaf midway up 

 its simple, scape-like stem, which bears a single flower at its 

 top. This is peculiar, and always a subject of interest by 

 reason of its crown of abortive filaments mixed with those 

 which are anther-bearing. They are seen abundantly in the 

 damp soil where the grass is not too rank, and often in such 

 close proximity as to nearly cover the ground with white. 



Two Orchidaceous plants still linger beyond others of their 

 family, one in its proper season (Spiranthes cernna), the other 

 (S. gracilis) past its best. The former grows on bogs or in 

 wet, grassy land, often hidden away beneath the small shrubs. 

 No bouquet of wild flowers gathered where it is found would 

 be deemed complete without a liberal supply of its chaste white 

 flowers to give to the whole a delicious perfume. On account 

 of its odor it has doubtless obtained a common name, espe- 

 cially among children, as the "Wild Tuberose." S. gracilis is 

 seen in drier ground amid the overshadowing Pines. In 

 similar localities, with these and with Parnassia, may still be 

 found fair specimens of Sabbatia angnlaris. It has also 

 passed its prime, but is common during the early part of Sep- 

 tember. It bears an ample number of flowers of a deep rose 

 color, with a greenish star, bordered by a dark red or purple 

 line, at the base of the spreading corolla, making them an un- 

 failing source of attraction in its native wilds as one of our 

 handsomest flowers. 



Two species of Coreopsis are now in full bloom, C. tricho- 

 sperma and C. tripteris, one or the other found nearly every- 

 where along the margins of the ponds or in very wet ground, 

 the former the more common. When from six to twelve 

 inches high it bears a flower barely more than half an inch 

 across ; but when it reaches a height of four or five feet it 

 branches widely, and is well supplied with large heads that 

 measure two inches from end to end of rays. With us it is a 

 smooth plant, with a stoutish stem furnished with few 

 leaves divided into narrow, almost thread-like segments. 

 With its many flowers having golden yellow rays and a yellow 

 disc, it takes a prominent place in the autumnal flora. C. 

 tripteris has a greener stem and leaves of a different pattern. 

 They are quite uniformly divided into three lanceolate seg- 

 ments, and are rather widely spaced on the tall, smooth stems. 

 Its rays are not of so deep a yellow as in the case of C. tricho- 

 sperma, but contrast sharply with the flowers of the disc, dark 

 brown or almost black when they reach maturity, giving to 

 the blossoms a different look. 



Where the Coreopsis grows, and in localities not quite so 

 wet, our prettiest Gerardia {G. purpurea) is found. Its aver- 

 age height is about a foot, and the open, nearly bell-shaped, 

 rose-purple flowers are large for a small plant, being almost an 

 inch in length, and often nearly as broad as long. The whole 

 plant, though widely branching, is very slender, so that it looks 

 as if its flowers would weigh it down, several of them appearing 

 at the same time. It is exceedingly abundant and occurs 

 throughout the region. The smaller flowered G. tenuifolia 

 grows in like situations, but is not so common. Still another 

 small flowered species is not out of bloom in the early fall, 

 but much less common, or even rare. This is G. Skinneriana, 

 the smallest of the species here. It has a few short and 



thread-like leaves, which are far apart on a slender and mostly 

 simple stem hardly a foot high. It likes the moist ground, 

 but also takes to drier places than the other two. Both of 

 these have paler flowers than those of G. purpurea, 

 and are very pretty species. In the dry ground may 

 be gathered the large, yellow flowers of G. pedicularia. Its 

 foliage is handsome, the leaves being much cut up, and, to- 

 gether with the branching stem and flowers, are thickly covered 

 with a viscid pubescence. The whole plant, except the flowers, 

 frequently takes a purple hue. Were it not for the parasitic 

 habit of the roots of Gerardia, making them difficult to culti- 

 vate, they should become most welcome flowers for the 

 garden. 



Four kinds of Utricularia may be met "with in September. 

 U. cornuta is abundant in the wet sand, often rendering the 

 ground yellow with its numerous flowers. The stems are 

 short, from four to ten inches high, each bearing three or four 

 large yellow flowers. They grow in great numbers among 

 the scattered Rushes or in spots bare of other plants in open, 

 sunny places. They delight most in situations where the 

 water has dried away, in the wet sand or mud, and would 

 make a pretty border for the sandy margin of an artificial lake. 

 The minute U. gibba is occasionally seen in the shallow water 

 by the edges of the sloughs, its scape bearing one or two small 

 yellow flowers. Still rarer is U. resupinata, its one small 

 purple flower seeming to rest crosswise on the end of a scape 

 two to six inches high. It affects about the same condition of 

 growth as U. cornuta. U. purpurea is a purple flowered 

 species also, but it floats on the surface of the ponds. The 

 stems are long and branching, and covered with little bladders 

 which serve to float it on the water. From these stems a few 

 two or three flowered scapes rise above the water, with blos- 

 soms nearly as large as those of U. cornuta. 



In many places in the driest sands Monarda punctata 

 abounds, seemingly regardless of all conditions of moisture 

 as dependent on the 'weather. Its large yellowish or purplish 

 bracts are its most prominent feature, but, hidden among 

 them or peeping out from their midst, are some dainty flow- 

 ers—yellow, dotted with purple spots. 



Artemisia Canadensis flourishes everywhere in the dry sand. 

 Its flowers are inconspicuous if considered separately, but are 

 very numerous on the wand-like stem and branches. But its 

 finely dissected leaves and strict branching stem thickly cov- 

 ered with them make it, on the whole, a comely plant. It is 

 sometimes hoary with a gray pubescence, but not so much so 

 as some other species, being generally of a lively green, keep- 

 ing its color well against the frosts when most of the other plants 

 are dead. 



Englewood, Chicago. - c " j ■ -nut. 



Private Grounds and Enclosures in Cities and 

 Towns. — II. 



THE requirements of city dwellings in the way of out-door 

 space, such as might be afforded by giving enlightened 

 attention to the subject, are quite different from those of the 

 suburbs. It is probable that the model city of the future will 

 have an open, garden-like character radically in contrast with 

 the closely built cities of to-day, and there are already indica- 

 tions that our cities will gradually be rebuilt in conformity 

 with that idea. Every one who visits certain portions of 

 Spain, or of Spanish America, is charmed with the feature 

 known as the '* Patio," the interior court of a dwelling-house, 

 surrounded with arcaded corridors, a plashing fountain in the 

 centre, perhaps planted with Orange-trees and Oleanders, and 

 with the corridors bordered by rows of brilliant flowering 

 plants in graceful pots or vases, while the air is musical with 

 the song of numerous birds in their cages. This, like the 

 " close," is an out-door apartment. 



In most of our northern cities the climatic conditions are 

 such that this inner court feature is impracticable. Yet a 

 modification of it is something that should become a feature 

 as characteristic as the patio is to the houses of Mexico or 

 Andalusia. That is, instead of having the interior court a 

 feature of a single house, let it be common to a neighborhood 

 of houses. Let the space now devoted to unsightly back-yards 

 and alley-ways in the quadrangle formed by the four streets of 

 the usual city block be converted into an enclosed garden 

 space, where children may romp in safety, free from the influ- 

 ences and dangers of the street, and where the open air may 

 be enjoyed in common by all the surrounding households. 

 It is possible to make a delightful garden of such a place. 



Successful efforts have already been made in this direction. 

 In one of the new districts of Boston a few years ago, in the 

 building of blocks of houses on the four streets forming a 



