July 31, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



369 



length, which show through on the back, where they are more 

 or less confluent in the centre. The lower sepal is slightly 

 smaller, but otherwise similar. The tapering petals, at first, 

 are spread out horizontally, but, as they become older, they 

 get more or less depressed and much longer, eventually at- 

 taining a length of as much as six or seven inches. They are 

 wavy on the margins at the base, pale yellow, marked with 

 longitudinal lines and blotches of darlv purple, which vanish 

 towards the dull purple hairy-tips. The large projecting lip 

 very much resembles that of C. Stonei in shape ; it is reddish- 

 brown in front, washed and veined with dull purple, and usu- 

 ally having a pale yellow stain just under the edge of the mouth, 

 while the under concave surface, as well as the infolded lobes 

 at the base, are of a pure creamy-white which presents a very 

 striking contrast to the adjoining color. The peculiar staminode 

 is one of the chief characteristics of this species ; it is swollen 

 at the base and densely covered with purplish hairs tipped 

 with a whitish glands ; the anterior portion is bent at a sharp 

 angle to the basal portion, is cleft slightly at the tip, and fringed 

 only on the sides with similar glandular hairs. 



Judging from the plants growing here, it is safe to say that 

 C. Rothschildianuvi may be grown with the greatest ease, pro- 

 vided that it has a warm and moist atmosphere. Rough, 

 fibrous peat, with a little sphagnum and charcoal mixed, suit 

 them admirably; abundance of .water must be given at all 

 seasons except during the winter, and even then the plants 

 require a moderate supply. Shading is also necessary during 

 hot days, otherwise the leaves are apt to become spotted and 

 burnt, thus giving the plants a very unhealthy look. 



St. Albans, England. Jolin Weathers. 



Notes on Wild Flowers. 



Asclepias tiiberosa (Butterfly-Weed or Pleurisy-Root), now 

 in flower, is one of the finest of this genus. Under cultivation 

 the plant grows about two feet high, bearing one or more 

 good-sized umbels of showy, orange-red flowers, whicli re- 

 main a long time. The plant is leafy throughout, and the 

 dark-green foliage makes a pretty contrast with the bright 

 flowers. It is one of the easiest plants to grow, and is largely 

 cultivated in Europe. Another pretty plant of this genus is 

 A. quadrifolia (Four-leaved Milkweed). This species grows 

 about eighteen inches high, bearing an umbel of pale pink 

 flowers which are quite pretty. This plant seems to prefer 

 dry, half-shaded locations. 



Astragalus Canadensis is a plant of the Pea family, which 

 grows from one to four feet high, bearing its flowers in dense 

 spikes, about two inches in length by thi-ee-fourths of an inch 

 in diameter. There are often several stalks from one plant, 

 and three or more of these flower-spikes on each stalk. The 

 flowers are of a greenish-white color, slightly tinged with pur- 

 ple, not showy ; but the plant is an interesting one, with hand- 

 some, dark-green fohage, and takes readily to cultivation. 



Allium cernnunt. — One of the wild Onions, now in flower, is 

 a hardy species bearing a nodding umbel of pale pink flow- 

 ers. The plant grows about a foot high from a bulbous root. 

 It seems to thrive in almost any ordinary locaflon, and maybe 

 planted at any season except in winter. 



Calochortus flaviis and C. madrensis (Butterfly Tulips), two 

 species from Mexico, are in flower. The latter, in cultivation, 

 grows from six to twelve inches high, bearing, in succession, 

 several — sometimes eight — bright yellow flowers, an inch or 

 more in diameter. Sometimes two are open at once, but 

 often only one is in bloom, but the flower remains in good 

 condition several days. C.flavus often grows fifteen inches 

 high, bearing six to eight purple and yellow, nodding, bell- 

 shaped flowers, three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and hairy 

 inside. The flowers are not only very pretty, but they are 

 durable and are produced in succession, so that the flowering- 

 season of the plant is greatly prolonged. The bulbs are eas- 

 ily kept in dry sawdust during the winter, and should not be 

 planted in the open ground before the 20th of May or ist of 

 June. Early setting does not seem to hurry them at all. Both 

 of these species produce their flowers on long stems, which 

 makes them valuable for cutting. A warm, dry, gravelly 

 loam seems to suit them best. 



Another new and interesting plant just in flower is Neiiios- 

 tylis Pringlei, first found in northern Mexico by Mr. C. G. 

 Pringle. The stems come from a small bulb, grow about 

 eight inches high, bearing a light, bluish-purple flower, which 

 this season is fully two inches wide. The leaves are long and 

 narrow, and the plant is quite inconspicuous except when in 

 flower. The flowers are as short-lived as those of the Tigri- 

 dias, lasting only a few hours. 



Oxalis decaphylla, also from Mexico, is a very interesting 



little plant under cultivation. The leaves are divided into six 

 or eight long, narrow sections, often two inches in length, 

 deeply notched at the ends. The flowers are borne in um- 

 bels, on separate stems from the root, six to eight inches high. 

 The numerous flowers are three-fourths of an inch in dia- 

 meter, of a delicate pinkisli-purple, with a green centre. 

 They open in the early part of sunny da}S, closing in the after- 

 noon, and last several days. The plant seems to have several 

 periods of flowering during each season. 



Charlotte. Vt., July 22d.' V.H. Horsford. 



Plant Notes. 



Trachelospermum Thunbergii. 



THIS plant, known generally in gardens, where it has long 

 been a favorite, under the name of Rhyncospenmiin jas- 

 minoides, is a native of southern China and of Japan. It is one 

 of the best garden-plants of its class, and can be grown where 

 the severity of the winter is too great for it, as our illustration 

 upon page 368 shows, into a fine specimen pot-plant, suitable 

 for exhibition or for the decoration of the conservatory or the 

 veranda. 



This plant is now a conspicuous feature in the gardens of 

 some of the cities of the Southern States. It may be seen in 

 New Orleans climbing to the third stories and completely 

 draping some of the largest houses with its brilliant, lustrous 

 evergreen leaves ; the delicious perfume of the pure white 

 abundant flowers pervading, during the month of April, the 

 whole atmosphere of the neighborhood. 



At the north it is not hardy, but it may be kept during the 

 winter in a cold green-house, or much better in a cellar or 

 pit, from which the frost can be excluded. It can then be 

 brought into bloom any time after February in four or 

 five weeks after the plant is removed from its winter 

 quarters with the aid of a little artificial heat; or if it is allowed 

 to bloom naturally — that is, without artificial heat — it will come 

 into bloom in this climate about the ist of June, and will re- 

 main covered with flowers during nearly a month. It thrives, 

 as a pot-plant, in rich, rather heavy, well-drained soil, and it is 

 found that the plants are improved and flower more freely if 

 they are taken out of the pots and planted in the open ground 

 as soon as they have finished flowering. They should, if 

 treated this way, be planted in rich soil, copiously watered 

 during periods of drought, and lifted in the early autumn and 

 re-potted. 



The plant which our illustration represents has been grown 

 in the neighborhood of Boston, and is, probably, about twenty- 

 five years old. It is eight feet high above the tub, and the frame 

 over which it is trained is four feet through at the widest point. 



Correspondence. 



Thinning Forests. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — I have read with interest the editorial on " Thinning 

 Forests,"' in your issue of May 15th, and agree with you in the 

 main proposition, namely, that it is necessary to show definitely 

 whether the thinning of a White Pine growth for cultural pur- 

 poses alone would at the present stage of our development 

 pay in the end. I may be allowed to add, however, that the 

 results of European experiments, as far as these furnish 

 figures capable of mathematical handling — not simply general 

 experiences and opinions — seem to me quite sufficient to 

 teach us the general lesson of what results may follow certain 

 operations. 



These experiments, to be sure, have reference to species 

 different from our own, and cannot therefore answer abso- 

 lutely for our own conditions; yet if we compare results ob- 

 tained with species of similar behavior, we may feel some 

 confidence of approximating similar results. From my own 

 observations I would claim that in the eastern United States 

 forest-growth is more luxuriant than in Germany, for instance, 

 and that since in general our soils are not overdraincd like 

 those of the Old World, thinning would produce even more 

 favorable effects in quantitative production than there, and the 

 result of European experiments in thinning would be rather 

 under-statements of what we may expect here. 



From these experiments we can show not only that " trees 

 will grow more rapidly if they are judiciously thinned," but we 

 can also show how much more rapidly they will grow. If our 

 present ideas of value and quality of timber ]ircvail, u]ion 

 which you have made your calculations, we must admit that 

 with White Pine or any other coniferous wood, rapidity of de- 

 velopment — which is the object of thinning — does not go 



