282 



Garden and Forest. 



[June 12, li 



Our liardiest Lady Slipper is Cypripediumpubesce^is. We have 

 transplanted it into all kinds of soil and at all seasons when tlie 

 ground was not frozen, and it has always lived. It will grow 

 in the sun, liut prefers the shade. Its Howers are very like 

 those of C. parviflorum, except that they are larger. In- 

 deed, it is hard to distinguish between large specimens of C. 

 parviflorum and small ones ©f C. piibescens. C. acaule is the 

 most difficult to grow of our hardy Cypripediimis. It likes a 

 loamy, well-iirained soil ami needs shade. The flowers, always 

 solitary, vary in color from a rose-purple to almost pure white, 

 and in the highest colored forms are very showy. 



Another pretty Orchid, now at its best, is Orchis spectabilis. 

 Its flowers are pink-purple and white in color, borne on sliort 

 stalks three to seven inches high. Its leaves are broad and lie 

 close to the ground. It is an easy plant to cultivate if given 

 just the right soil and situation, and will not thrive in any other. 

 It needs plenty of fine, well-decayed leaf-mould or chip-dirt 

 about its roots, plenty of moisture, yet perfect drainage and 

 shade. 



Fritillaria recitrva, noAV almost out of flower, is a plant of 

 the Lily family from California. It grows from six to twelve 

 inches high, l)earing several red flowers tinged with yellow, 

 bell-shaped, three-quarters of an inch long by half an inch in 

 diameter and reseml)ling a Lily. It is one of the finest of this 

 genus. The bulb is flat, an inch broad by one-fourth to half 

 an inch thick. The plant needs well-drained soil and should 

 be protected from frost in winter, or stored in dry sand in the 

 cellar. 



Phlox divaricata is a good plant for cultivation. The colors 

 of its flowers are not so bright as those of some other Phloxes, 

 but they are borne in great profusion and last a long time. It 

 thrives in ordinary soil. Silene Pennsylvanica is now in bloom. 

 The variety with pinkish flowers is a pretty plant, but the white 

 variety is not so desirable. 5. Virginica (Fire Pink), also in 

 flower, is one of the finest species of this genus. Its flowers 

 are large, not very numerous, but of a deep crimson color. It 

 is easily grown from seed, or can be readily transplanted. 



Charlotte, Vt., May 3d. F. H. Horsford. 



Orchid Notes. 



A GREAT many Cypripediums are now in bloom at this 

 ■^^ place, the most distinct and conspicuous among them 

 being the rare C. Masiersianum, a plant introduced from the 

 East Indies, though the exact habitat is not at present known. 

 The foliage of this plant resembles C. ciliolare ; the sturdy, 

 hirsute scapes bear a single flower which in general outline is 

 like that of C. Hooker a but is much larger ; the sepals are 

 green, the dorsal one having a deep border of yellowish- 

 white ; the petals and lip are reddish-brown the former prettily 

 spotted with dark purple. The general characters of growth 

 and flower suggests a natural hybrid between C. hirsiitissi- 

 mum and C. HookercE. Another fine plant is C. macropterum, a 

 hybrid from C. Lowii and C. superbiens, which bears a resem- 

 blance to both parents, but has foliage more distinctly that of 

 C. superbiens. This superb Orchid rivals the famed C. Mor- 

 ganicE in the elegance of its flowers, and, like it, is of strong 

 growth and bears three flowers on a scape. C. orphaniim is 

 rare and extremely attractive, being the very best of its sec- 

 tion. It possesses the free-growing qualities and habit of 

 C. Drtiryii, and flowers as freely as C. barbatuiii. Cypripediujn 

 Lindleyanum, though known for nearly half a century, has 

 always been a very rare plant until quite recently. It is found 

 growing in British Guiana in swamps and on rocks where 

 there is considerable water. In cultivation it needs to be 

 treated almost as an aquatic, with strong heat and a very light 

 position. The scapes are about three feet long, bearing four 

 to five yellowish-green flowers, closely veined and reticulated 

 with reddish-brown. C leucorrhodum is a hybrid of C. 

 Roezlii and C. Schlimii album, and is the best of this class. 

 The growth is very strong, and produces branching scapes 

 with many pale-rose and white flowers, the lip being pretdly 

 speckled on the inside with green. C. Sedeni candidulum is 

 very near this species in its flowers, but differs considerably 

 in growth. Branching scapes of this very prettv kind now 

 bear fifteen to twenty flowers each. Several plants of the gro- 

 tesque flowered C. caudatum are in full bloom, also the 

 hitherto very rare white variety, C. Wallisii, and the quaint, 

 slipperless C. Lindeni. A plant of the gay little C. barbatum 



Warneri has twenty-seven flowers, while the bold, dark-flow- 

 ered variety C. giganteum is represented by a plant with thirty- 

 seven flowers. C. selligeruin majics is an immense improve- 

 ment on the type, and Veitch's C. Harrisianum superbum is 

 the best of the many varieties of this old and well-known 

 hybrid. A plant with us is showing ten scapes. 



yErides crassifoliiim. — This species is again in flower with 

 us. It is one of the handsomest of the genus. The habit is 

 dwarf and thick-set, and, as the name indicates, the light- 

 green leaves, sparsely dotted with purple, are very thick and 

 fleshy. The racemes are long and drooping, bearing a num- 

 ber of large, handsome, purple-amethyst and white flowers. 

 . This plant, in cultivation, grows very slowly, and is seldom 

 seen in bloom ; l)ut it will well repay any extra care it may 

 require. We have plants doing fairly well in pots, also in 

 shallow baskets with moss, but the l:)est plant is in a cylinder. 

 It requires the warmest treatment, with a very moist atmos- 

 phere and a minimum of potting material. It was introduced 

 from Burmah about twelve years since. 



AngrcECum modestuni (^Sanderianuni) is a charming, free- 

 flowering and sweet-scented Orchid, introduced a few years 

 since from Madagascar. The stem is somewhat short and 

 slender, bearing broad, elliptic, bright green, leathery leaves. 

 The pendulous racemes spring from the axils of these, which 

 are a foot or more long, bearing about thirty pure white flowers, 

 about one and a half inches across, the lip terminating in a 

 spur some four inches long. The flowers last in perfection for 

 three weeks. This Orchid should be found in the smallest 

 collection. It will grow very freely in baskets or on blocks of 

 wood, and should not have too much potting material. This 

 may consist of moss alone or mixed with peat. The warmest 

 house is best for it, with a plenteous supply of water at all sea- 

 sons ; the red spider attacks and disfigures the leaves at once if 

 the atmosphere is too dry. 



Cattleya iricolor is now blooming freely, and is remarkable 

 for its distinct habit of growth, the color of its Howers and its 

 rarity. The slender clavate bulbs are about four inches long 

 and bear large strap-shaped leaves more than a foot long. 

 The peduncles bear two to three flowers, four inches across, 

 milk-white except the convolute lip, the base and side lobes of 

 which are prettily marked with broken lines of purple and a 

 transverse band of yellow. The native country of this species 

 is unknown, and only one plant was ever imported. I am not 

 sure whether there is any other part of this plant living or if 

 the entire stock is here. ,, „ , , . 



Kenwood, N. Y. ^- Goldrtng. 



Astragalus hypoglottis.— This is a pretty little prostrate plant 

 belonging to the Pea family, and is now in bloom with us, 

 with its heads of blue and white flowers raised just above the 

 foliage, and amongst a batch of seedlings are some pure white 

 flowered forms, which are pleasing by contrast. This plant 

 is a native of Great Britain, but has proved perfectly hardy here 

 in the open ground, but it is hardly suitable for a mixed border 

 where strong-growing plants are. In such a position it would 

 speedily become smothered. Another plant which makes a 

 suitable companion to the above is Lotus corniculatus, with 

 its golden-yellow blossoms, which are also pea-shaped. When 

 planted together these form an interesting group. 



Ranunculus speciosus, with yellow flowers an inch across, 

 and as double as it is possible for a flower to be, is just now 

 at its best, and resembles a much-l)ranched double Buttercup, 

 except that the flowers are larger. This is one of the easiest 

 plants to grow when planted in a wet or heavy soil. Under 

 these conditions R. speciosus will increase rapidly and form 

 nice strong clumps, with abundance of flowers every year. 



Saxifraga granulata. — The Saxifrage family is a numerous 

 one, embracing plants vastly different from each other in 

 habit and general appearance from the pretty trailing S. oppo- 

 sitifolia of the Pyrenees, and others of a similar habit to the 

 large, thick-leaved S. crassifolia, and S. peltata of the Pacific 

 coast, probably the largest of the genus. The subject of this 

 note is now in bloom, and its pretty,' double, white flowers 

 render it a desirable plant. The popular name, Fair Maids of 

 France, is not in this case a misnomer. The rock-garden is 

 the best place to grow S. gratmlata, but is not essential. We 

 have grown it successfully for years in the open border, where 

 it flowers every spring. After flowering, the plant dies down 

 for the hot season, and care should be taken not to disturb the 

 small bulbs which are about the size of peas. Growth will 

 begin again in fall, and the leaves will remain green all win- 

 ter ; the flower stems are produced with the opening of the 



spring season. 

 Passaic, N.J. 



E. O. Orpet. 



Long, White, French Turnip.— This is the best of all Tur- 

 nips for family use, and is known in Virginia as Sugar Turnip. 

 The only trouble about it is that it needs earlier sowing than 

 the flat, quick-growing sorts. At the north, June is none 

 too early to put the seed in the ground. This is the hardiest 

 of all Turnips I have ever grown. In this latitude it can be 



