234 



Garden and Forest. 



[May 15, 1889. 



Cultural Department 



Boronias. 



THERE are about fifty species of Boronia, all of which are 

 peculiar to Australia. Of this ruiniber nearly one-half 

 liave been cultivated at one time or another as green-house 

 Howering-plants, but only a few of them are represented in gar- 

 dens now. The introduction of B. elatior, B. inegastigma and 

 B. heterophyUa within the last ten years or so has been the 

 means of attracting attention to the older and almost forgotten 

 species, which twenty years ago ranked among the choicest 

 Howering-plants for the conservatory and for exhibition. 

 The best of these are comprised in the list wliich follows. 

 Tliere can be no question as to the first-rate merits of Boro- 

 nias as garden-plants, even in these days when there is so 

 much to select from. They form shapely bushes under ordi- 

 nary treatment, they bloom freely and last a long time, the 

 flowers are pretty and generally very fragrant, and they have 

 the additional attraction of distinctness. A specimen Boronia 

 is imlike any other green-house flowering-plant. Its nearest 

 relations, the Croweas, Eriostemons and Correas, are as dif- 

 ferent in appearance from Boronia as they are from each other. 

 There is a good opportimity for any horticulturist on the look- 

 out for an interesting and useful hobby in these neglected hard- 

 woodetl green-house plants from the Cape and from' Australia. 

 In the more southern states of America these plants would 

 probably prove hardy and would thrive well. The Boronias 

 are most abimdant in West Australia from the Swan River 

 southward. Here the hottest months are December, January 

 and February, when the maximum temperature reaches 100" 

 Fahr., the coldest months being July and August, when the 

 thermometer falls to freezing-point. Undulating plains, cov- 

 ered with a profusion of vegetation, and a sandy soil, charac- 

 terize this region. Springs abound, water being found at only a 

 few feet from the surface, even in the hottest and driest 

 weather, so that the plants are able to support long seasons of 

 drought. These facts niay be of some gindance to those 

 readers who are situated in California and other southern 

 states. 



As green-house plants for temperatm-es approximating to 

 those of England, Boronias should be treated as follows : 

 Young plants maybe obtained from imported seeds, from cut- 

 tings or by grafting. Some growers prefer grafted plants. 

 Others, who are equally successful, prefer them on their own 

 roots. If grafted the best stock is B. pinnafa, which should be 

 about two years old, with the base of the stem slightly woody. 

 Splice-grafting is usually preferred. The cion should l)e about 

 one and a half inches long, and firm enough to cut easily. The 

 operation should be performed in February. Cuttings maybe 

 put in at the same time or in autumn. They should be 

 obtained from the lowest and least sappy branches, planted 

 in a very sandy peat-soil, covered with a bell-glass and 

 placed in an intermediate temperature. When rooted and 

 hardened off they may be transferred singly into tliumb- 

 pots and placed on a sunny shelf in a green-house. The 

 soil should always be good peat, with a good proportion 

 of coarse silver sand. Re-pot as often as necessary, bearing 

 in mind that small shifts are best and that these plants do not 

 require much root-room. The shoots must be stopped often, 

 so as to get a good foundation for a well-fin^nished bush. B. 

 inegastigma requires constant attention in this respect, or it 

 will run up into a thin, scraggy specmien. B. elatior and B. 

 heterophyUa may be cut back hard after they have flowered, 

 and they will make all the better plants for it. A green-house 

 where the temperature does not fall below 45° in winter, and 

 where a constant supply of fresh air and light can be main- 

 tained is the most suitable place for Boronias. Re-pot large 

 plants in March, and after they have been started in a close, 

 sunny green-house let them have plenty of light and air, with 

 a moist atmosphere in the evening and morning. In August 

 all except B. serrulata may be placed out-of-doors to ripen 

 their growth ; this species, however, will not bear this ex- 

 posure, but must be kept in the green-house always. It also 

 likes a few degrees more warmth in winter. Under this treat- 

 ment perfect specimens almost as high as a man have been 

 grown in England. 



The following species are the best of those known. They 

 are all in cultivation in a few collections in England, whilst the 

 most popular may be had of any nurseryman. 



B. heterophyUa, although the last to be introduced, is by far 

 the handsomest of all known Boronias. As is now known to 

 most of your readers, it was sent to Kew in 1881 by Miss North, 

 the famous artist and traveler, and it has since been distributed 

 by Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea. It forms an elegant little shrub 



with nimierous branches clothed with dark-green, pinnate 

 leaves, which vary in the number of pinnae, and are some- 

 times simple. The flowers are in axillary whorls, and are egg- 

 shaped, drooping, half an inch long, the color being bright 

 rosy-red, almost crimson. It differs from B. elatior in having 

 larger leaves, fewer leaflets and brighter-colored, larger flow- 

 ers. According to Baron von Mueller, who described it nearly 

 tliirty years ago, it is found " in West Australia, on the Kalgee 

 River, in places sometimes inundated." 



B. elatior was introduced by Messrs. Veitch in 1876. In 

 habit it resembles B. heterophyUa. The branches are hirsute, 

 the leaves crowded, pinnate, two inches long, and the flowers 

 on short axillary peduncles; they are nearly globose, open at 

 the apex, nearly one-half inch long, very profuse on the 

 branches, and dull rose-red. They are developed in spring 

 and early summer. When well managed — and it is one of the 

 easiest to cultivate — this species forms a bush four feet high, 

 with hundreds of branches clothed with six inches of flowers. 

 As a small pot-plant it is equally beautiful. 



B. inegastigma is not attractive in color, but what it lacks in 

 that respect is more than atoned for by its powerful and deli- 

 cious fragrance, as sweet as violets and even more penetrat- 

 ing. One small plant in flower is sufficient to scent the air of 

 a large green-house. It is slender in habit, with thin branches, 

 heath-like foliage and axillary flowers. These are formed of 

 four spreading concave petals, which are purple-brown on the 

 under side; yellow above. The stigma is four-lobed, large, 

 truncate at the top, and purple; the stamens are in two series, 

 one bearing large purple anthers, the other small yellow ones. 

 This plant is scarcely ever out of flower. It is a native of King 

 George's Sound, from whence it was introduced and flowered 

 first in Kew. 



B. pinnata is a free-growing, free-flowering, handsome shrub 

 only surpassed in beauty by B. heterophyUa. It has pinnate, 

 smooth leaves, with from five to nine leaflets, and rather large 

 axillary or sub-terminal corymbose flowers. The petals are one- 

 half inch long, spreading and overlapping, fleshy, pale rosy- 

 purple in color. They remain on the plant a long time.- This 

 species will continue in bloom from November till the follow- 

 ing May. Twenty years ago it was one of the most popular of 

 all flowering-plants for exhibiting. It has been in cultivation 

 many years, and is a common plant in New South Wales and 

 Victoria. 



B. titrandra is very similar to B. pinnata, but differs in hav- 

 ing smaller flowers. It blooms in April and May, and lasts 

 about two months. The flowers are colored bright rosy-pink. 

 Syn. B. Drummondii and B. pitlchella. 



B. Fraseri is a compact shrub three feet high, with green, 

 pinnate, shining leaves and axillary corymbs of from four to 

 six deep rose-red flowers on short peduncles. The corolla is 

 one-third of an inch across and composed of - four ovate 

 spreading petals, which are downy on both sides. The stamens 

 are fleshy and white. When well managed the whole of the 

 upper six inches or so of the branches is heavily laden with 

 flowers. They are developed in spring. Introduced from 

 New South Wales about thirty years ago. Syn. B. anemonifolia. 



B. creniilata is a distinct and pretty plant with fragrant flow- 

 ers. The branches are slender, semi-erect and clothed with 

 box-like leaves one-fourth inch long, obovate, overlapping 

 each other and pointing upwards. The flowers are borne on 

 axillary peduncles about the top of the branches, and are bright 

 rosy-red. They measure one-half inch across. 



B. serrulata is much like the last-named, but is a more robust 

 _ grower; the flowers are larger, darker and more fragrant. 

 It is a native of New South Wales, where it is known as " the 

 native Rose," probably on account of its odor, which resem- 

 bles attar of roses. The two species last mentioned are almost 

 unknown in English collections now. They certainly are more 

 difficult to manage than the other kinds described here, but 

 under favorable conditions they form attractive, pretty speci- 

 mens. W. Watson. 



Kew. - 



Lima Beans. 



T^HE Lima Bean is one of those vegetables which I have 

 -•■ found to do better by having a permanent location in 

 the garden than in rotation with other crops. It requires 

 a richer soil than the ordinary dwarf Bean, and will pay well 

 for special attention. Most growers use poles for these Beans 

 which are entirely too tall. The crop is harder to secure from 

 the tall poles, and the extra height is an absolute disadvantage 

 since it encourages the upward growth of the vine and retards 

 its fruiting. If poles are used at all, a height of five feet 

 is enough. Before setting the poles run furrows with a plow 

 where the rows are to be. In these furrows place the manure 



