402 



Garden and Forest. 



[August 21, 1889. 



in April, and gather this, to them, important article of food. 

 As its quantity depends on the overtiow of the tides, and 

 the tides are sure to occur, they have an assured crop 

 without any other labor than gathering and caring for the 

 grain. The gfitherers enter the fields as soon as the tides 

 have entirely run off, where the soil is an adhesive clay so 

 soft that the Indians often sink nearly to their knees in 

 gathering the grass, and as soon as the tide begins to flow 

 they return with the result of their labor to their camps. 

 It is quite difficult to pull up the plant by the roots, as 

 these are often two to four feet long, but the stems are 

 brittle and easily break off above the root. The Indians, 

 in harvesting, use any old knife, or, if they have none, they 

 take a flat piece of wood and form an edge on each side, 

 and with this they sever the stems, the left hand grasping 

 the tops, which are then thrown into a basket. The rigid, 

 spin3'-pointed leaves make the process a painful one. 

 The grain has to be cut when a little green, because of 

 the easy separation of the spikelets. In order to dry 

 the heads as quickly as possible, large fires are made, and 

 the heads are piled around so that the flames penetrate 

 between them. When they have been sufficiently exposed 

 to the fire a stick is used to thrash the heads, which breaks 

 up the spikelets, but does not separate the chaff or glumes 

 from the grain. The dried and dissevered spikelets are 

 then taken to a piece of ground prepared for the purpose, 

 and the Indians tread upon and rub the 'grain between 

 their feet until the seeds are shelled out. 



This process is more easily accomplished .after the grain 

 has been exposed a while to the sun, but in any case it is 

 pretty trying to the feet because of the sharp, stiff points of 

 the chaff. The action of the tide knocks off and carries 

 away considerable of the grain, but this is left in rows at 

 the edge of the contiguous dryland, and the Indians gather 

 much of it and rub it out. They have to be expeditious in 

 their harvest, as wind storms are liable to arise and destroy 

 or injure the product of their labors. 



Dr. Palmer was accompanied on his trip by two gentle- 

 men connected with the United States Fish Commission, 

 who took photographs of the grain-field, and of the thrash- 

 ing and treading out of the seed from the chaff. 



It is not yet ascertained how far up the river this grass 

 extends, biit probably to the limit of tide-water, and in this 

 case it will yet be found within our boundaries. The related 

 Distichlis marilima grows not only on the sea-coast, but in 

 nearly all saline and alkaline grounds in the interior of the 

 countr)', but we cannot infer from that fact that this species 

 might be cultivated outside of the reach of the tides. 

 Wasiiins^ton, D. c. . Gcorge I'asej'. 



T 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



His being the jubilee year of the Royal Botanic Society, it 

 was thought desirable to celebrate the event by a floral 

 carnival in Rose time. It has been a commendable attempt 

 to_ introduce the pretty, if frivolous, customs of the Howerv 

 Riviera, so familiar to the sojourners at Nice in early spring, 

 when the hills and valleys teem with blossom. The custom may 

 migrate northward and take root, now that "society " has set 

 its seal of approval upon it, but, to our sober minds, some of 

 the items in the schedule seemed to be absurdly extravagant. 

 The flower-bedecked horses and carriages were, however, 

 not so absurd as the "triumphal canopies," "May-poles," 

 "bridesmaids' arches," and "wreaths on poles," which only 

 served to illustrate how insipid flowers become when mal- 

 treated in a way that cannot by courtesy be termed artistic or 

 tasteful. . The most tastefully decorated Victoria carriage and 

 pair of horses was quite a flower-garden. The whole bodv of 

 the carriage, from the wheels to the pole-end, was glovving 

 with flowers, prettily arranged in harmonious colors ; while 

 the horses were caparisoned with emerald-green harness and 

 trappings and roses. I heard that this was the work of a pro- 

 fessional floral decorator from Nice, and that no less than ^20 

 worth of ribbon was used on the horses. It won the highest 

 gold medal besides a prize from the Princess of Wales, who was 

 present to distribute the prizes. Some of the pony cars were 

 extremely pretty, especially the first-prize one, which was 



smothered with roses, paneled in different colors, the pre- 

 dominant variety being the pink La France. One pony was 

 wreathed with the long, slender flower-stems of Tropceolum 

 speciosHin, with scarlet flowers ; in another, the trappings were 

 all of roses. The decorated riding-horses were not remark- 

 able, but the children's carts and sedan-chairs, loaded with 

 live bal)ies almost hidden by flowers, were, perhaps, as popu- 

 lar as any part of the show. The arches, May-poles and cano- 

 pies were not worthy of favorable comment, neither were the 

 decorated boats on the lake, wliich were absurdly wreathed 

 with tender tropical flowers, and the sterns crammed with pot- 

 ]Tlants such as Crotons, Ferns, and Palms, which seemed 

 quite out of place. Simplicity should have been the aim 

 of the decorator, and it would have been an easy matter 

 to have adorned the boats with bright, hardy liowers, which 

 would not have withered so quickly. Besides, flowei>be- 

 decked boats seem quite out of character in our climate 

 under leaden skies and drenching rains. 



The display of Roses, or " Feast of Roses," in the exhibition 

 tent was a much-admired feature, for some of the leadmg 

 Rose-nurserymen contributed large and full collections, the 

 most extensive being that from the great house of W. Paul & 

 Son, of Waltham Cross, who worthily won the chief gold medal 

 with their display. This firm made a commendable attempt 

 to break through the orthodox style of exhibiting cut Roses, 

 by arranging their blooms in masses of distinct and contrast- 

 ing or harmonizing colors, marked out by geometrical yet 

 graceful lines, and relieving the flatness by groups of pot 

 Roses, Ivies, and other shrubs. The flowers lose nothing, but 

 gain much, in i)eing set out in this way, and the flower-loving 

 public evidently appreciate the innovation, judging by the ad- 

 niiration it bestowed upon this Waltham Cross gathering. 

 The "feast" was not exclusively of Roses, many other classes 

 of plants being shown by the leading houses in the trade, and, 

 perhaps, none were so remarkable as the magnificent group 

 of Begonias, from the celebrated raisers and growers of these 

 popular flowers, the Messrs. Laing. In their large and repre- 

 sentative group one could see all types of Begonia and the 

 various styles of growing them, from the prim staked-up 

 "specimen" plant to the graceful drooping plants in sus- 

 pended baskets. It is very evident that this modern race of 

 Begonias has taken quite a hold upon the public. Even ladies 

 of the most refined taste in colors admire the great flowers of 

 the most fiery scarlets and reds, perhaps because these colors 

 glow in fiowers of exquisite form and substance. This sea- 

 son's crop of new varieties is unusually large, but as most of 

 them are still under trial and nameless I must reserve com- 

 ment upon -them for the present. They are obviously all im- 

 provements on the older sorts, and, taken altogether, they 

 serve to illustrate more forcibly than ever the praisevvorthy 

 eftbrts of this firm (which. has identified itself with Begonias) 

 to bring this valuable race of green-house flowers every suc- 

 cessive year to a still higher state of perfection. Begonias, as 

 open-air flowers, have not made much headway with us, 

 though now and then one sees examples of exceptional suc- 

 cess in this direction ; and on the Continent, where they enjoy 

 more sun and heat than here, they seem to be supplanting the" 

 Pelargonium. I shall not soon forget the spectacle I saw last 

 August in one of the parks at Zurich, in Switzerland, where 

 there was a large mass of Begonias thriving and flowering 

 in great luxuriance. The varieties were of the small-flowered 

 class, not many removes from the typical B. Boliviensis , and 

 they seemed much more suited to "bedding out" than the 

 large-flowered sorts, which are more liable to be damaged by 

 rains and winds. 



Although this is the "oft" season " for Orchid bloom, there 

 was quite a fine show of them at the "feast," and especially 

 that from Messrs. Low, who had in their large collection some 

 very choice kinds. Most interesting to me, because it was 

 the first time I had seen it, was the new Cypripediuni Roths- 

 childianiini, introduced a year or two ago by Messrs. Sander. 

 I was somewhat disappointed with it, perhaps because I had 

 heard so much laudation of it. But it is not one of those 

 plants that " take vour breath away " at first sight. It looks 

 to be a near ally of C. Icevigatum (now called C. Philipplnense), 

 the flowers being about the same size. The slipper is like 

 that of C. Stonei in shape and color, the dorsal or upper sepal 

 . is shaped and striped like that of C. IcBvigatum, but the long 

 lateral sepals which stretch out at right angles are pointed 

 and copiously spotted, and unlike those in any other species. 

 A much prettier and probably a more really valuable Lady- 

 slipper is C. bellatiiluin, with which Messrs. Low seem to be 

 plentifully stocked, as they showed the flowers of it on trays 

 like Pansies. Everybody admires the wax-like flowers so 

 quaintly blotched with black-crimson, and on the plant they 



