NOVEMBKK 20, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest 



559 



object in view while writing- this is to point out that, wliile 

 ■"cleanliness is next to godliness," it is by no means the 

 best practice to remove every vestige of dead leaves and 

 flower stems from the flower-garden while protecting the 

 flowers against the ravages of a winter's frost. E. O. Orpet. 



Passaic, N.J. 



Palms for Small Places. 

 "\1 WHEREVER a green-house, if only a small one, is found 

 '' * in connection with an American garden a Latania or two 

 at least is likely to be found, and yet there seems, in some 

 quarters, a lack of positive knowledge as to the most suitable 

 species and varieties of Palms to be grown in places having only 



with their glaucous under surfaces, making it one of the most 

 ornamental and effective plants in cultivation, either for the 

 green-house or on the dinner-table. This plant is a native of 

 South America, and grows best in a stove temperature. It does 

 not require heavy watering at the root, at least during the 

 winter, but enjoys copious syringing overhead in bright 

 weather. 



Next in merit to this, perhaps, on the ground of gen- 

 eral utility, though of very different appearance, are the 

 different kinds of Rhapis, an elegant and very distinct family 

 of Palms, from Japan and China. Palms of this genus are 

 dwarf growers, of bushy habit, throwing up numerous cane- 

 like stems, well clothed with shining, dark green, flabellate 



F'S?- '4; — Viburnum Sieboldii. — See page 556. 



hmited accommodations. In the minds of many persons, a 

 Palm is always associated with spacious and lofty conservato- 

 ries, and although it is true that ample room is needed for the 

 best development of many species, this is by no means a 

 general rule. 



Perhaps, therefore, it will be worth while to invite attention 

 to a few of the many species well adapted to more modest 

 quarters — that is, to those of comparatively dwarf habit and 

 of easy cultivation. 



At the head of the list of miniature Palms should be placed 

 Cocos Weddeliana, the dwarf Cocoanut, one of the most grace- 

 ful of Palms, its delicate, pinnate leaves of dark green, 



leaves, which are very tough in texture and capable of with- 

 standing much hard usage. 



R. flabclliforiiiis is adapted to a variety of uses, and is 

 equally effective for house-decoration, for the conservatory 

 or for sub-tropical bedding in the summer, and it will thrive 

 under green-house treatment. A prettily variegated form of 

 this is also in cultivation, but is more rare and also more deli- 

 cate, and is therefore not to be recommended for general use. 

 R. huinilis is also an excellent variety, somewhat similar in 

 general appearance to R. flabelliformis , but having longer 

 leaflets, which are gracefully arched. 



Among the Fan Palms, probably the hardiest and most 



