44 



Garden and Forest. 



Number 362, 



for strangers who are soon to occupy his place. Nevertheless, 

 the remarkable increase in the culture and sale of plants 

 during the last fifteen years is an unmistakable evidence 

 that we are a plant-loving people ; but so far the develop- 

 ment is more among nurserymen and florists than in indi- 

 vidual interest of home-makers. That is, it goes more by 

 fashion than by personal taste, but many important move- 

 ments have grown out of fashions, and the proprietor who 

 buys because his neighbor does, gradually comes to look 

 with interest upon his plantations and flower-beds, and in 

 time will come to know something about them and to de- 

 rive benefit from them. 



Beyond any question, a more general devotion to gar- 

 dening among Americans would help them to lead lives 

 of greater serenity and sanity. They could afford to read 

 fewer books and newspapers if they only learned these 

 lessons of peace which come from contact with nature. It 

 would be a solace to poor and rich. It would cultivate the 

 taste and gratify the love of beauty in many a home where 

 costly works of art are not to be thought of. And is it not 

 also true that the wholesome recreation in the open air 

 would be especially beneficial to the men and women who 

 are devoted to literary work.? To return to the clergy once 

 more, would it not be wise for them to take a leaf from the 

 book of their British brethren for their own enjoyment and 

 health, as well as for the effect upon their sermons. There 

 is no better outlet for nervous irritability produced by brain 

 work than out-of-door struggles with reluctant nature and 

 her six-footed armies. If we are to have a vigorous litera- 

 ture we must have hearty men behind it ; therefore it is to 

 be hoped that the literary man of the future will feel himself 

 not fully equipped for his profession unless he be the owner 

 of a few square feet of garden soil from which he may de- 

 rive mental vigor with bodily wholesomeness. jtf p n 



Hingham, Mass. ^'^' ^- ^^ 



Plant Notes. 



FoNTANESiA FoRTUNEi. — Mr. Johu Duubar, the Superin- 

 tendent of Highland Park, Rochester, New York, calls our 

 attention to the fact that Fontanesia Fortunei is hardy and 

 a desirable ornamental shrub in Rochester if it is carefully 

 mulched in winter. It is a plant of the Olive family, with 

 slender graceful branches covered with deep green leaves, 

 which do not fall until late in the season. The greenish or 

 creamy yellow flowers, which are crowded in the axils of 

 the leaves, are interesting rather than conspicuous. F. 

 Fortunei, which viras introduced from China a few years 

 ago, is only known there in the neighborhood of Shanghai, 

 where it is often planted in hedges. Botanists now con- 

 sider this plant identical with F. phyllyreoides of the Medi- 

 terranean Basin and Asia Minor, and it has been suggested 

 that it had been introduced into China from southern 

 Europe or the Levant. Mr. Dunbar, however, finds that 

 F. phyllyreoides grows less freely and does not flower in 

 Rochester. 



Narcissus Bulbocodium monophyllus. — This delightful little 

 Hoop-petticoat Dafibdil was brought into English gardens 

 more than twenty years ago, but was for a long time rare 

 in cultivation, and was supposed to be difficult to manage. 

 It is a native of Algeria, where it is found in great abun- 

 dance, and if the bulbs are kept dry and baked in full sun- 

 shine all summer as they are at home, they need no other 

 special attention. It is said that newly imported bulbs 

 flower in England in December, but here, at least, after a 

 year's cultivation, this is the natural season of flowering, 

 and Mr. Gerard now has these Daffodils in full beauty in a 

 cool house, where they have grown without any forcing. 

 The delicate flowers are snowy white, with orange-colored 

 anthers, and a panful of the plants in full bloom makes a 

 veryijretty show. The corona is bell-shaped, and it has 

 the small perianth sections peculiar to the species. The 

 flowers have a fragrance which is even heavier than that 

 of the Paper-white Narcissus, and which is not pleasing to 



every one. A figure of the plant is to be found in vol. v., 

 page 211. Professor Foster has raised an interesting and 

 pretty hybrid between N. triandrus and this plant, which 

 is said to combine the charm of both of its parents, with a 

 sturdier constitution than the variety monophyllus. The 

 flower-scapes of this new plant, which he named Narcissus 

 Trimon, by combining the first syllables of the specific 

 names of its parents, are nine inches long, usually two- 

 flowered, each flower being two inches across. The whole 

 flower is milk-white. 



Brodi^a (Triteleia) unielora. — Although this little bulb- 

 ous plant comes from Argentina, it is hardy in our east- 

 ern states, and it bears in late spring single star-shaped 

 flowers on slender stalks above the narrow leaves, which 

 are about one-eighth of an inch wide and six inches long. 

 If the bulbs are planted in the grass and the foliage is not 

 cut until it ripens, the plants will bloom freely year after 

 year in the sod, where the delicate lilac-colored flowers 

 .are seen to the best advantage. There is a pure white 

 variety which is quite as hardy and more beautiful. We 

 mention the plant now, however, on account of its value 

 for flowering in pots in winter, for it can easily be had at 

 this season, and the flowers last a long time. The bulbs 

 should be planted in September, and need nothing be- 

 yond ordinary treatment, that is, good soil, free drainage 

 and liberal water when growing. A dozen bulbs can be 

 planted to advantage in a six-inch pot set in a cool, shaded 

 frame, with fresh air every day and protection from severe 

 frost. They can be brought into a sunny greenhouse as 

 needed, and will develop rapidly and bloom in about 

 two weeks. After flowering they should have a complete 

 rest, that is, they should be totally deprived of water, dried 

 off and repotted in the fall. Or they may remain in the 

 same pot or pan several years if a top-dressing is given 

 every autumn. There is an objectionable garlic odor to 

 this plant when any part of it is bruised, but the flowers 

 themselves have a faint fragrance which is not un- 

 pleasant. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



A Monstrous Form of the Black Spruce. 



THE most curious, and certainly not the most beautiful 

 of all conifers found in gardens is that form of the 

 Norway Spruce, with long whip-like branches, usually 

 called Picea monstrosa, and occasionally found in collec- 

 tions of these trees, always exciting much interest and 

 astonishment. 



Three years ago a variety of the native Black Spruce, Picea 

 Mariana, of the same character was discovered by Mr. 

 George Walker on his " Forest Dale " farm, near Williams- 

 town, at the north-eastern base of Mount Hopkins, and 

 1,175 fset above the level of the ocean, about three miles 

 from the north-western corner of Massachusetts, and one 

 mile east of the New York boundary. When first noticed 

 by Mr. Walker the tree was about five feet high to the top 

 of the leading shoot, and is now eight and a half or nine 

 feet high, its average annual growth being ten to eleven 

 inches. The side branches are horizontal and prostrate on 

 the ground, while the upper ones have a tendency to twine 

 around the central stem. The peculiar habit of this tree 

 is interesting as showing remarkable seminal variation in 

 a tree which has been considered less inclined to vary than 

 the Old World Picea excelsa, and is well shown in our 

 illustration on page 45 of this issue, made from a photo- 

 graph for which we are indebted to the courtesy of Mr. 

 Alexander Walker, of Williamstown. Like other seedling 

 varieties of conifers, Mr. Walker's Spruce can, of course, be 

 propagated by grafting the ends of the branches on to 

 seedling Spruce-trees ; and it is sure to find its way into 

 cultivation, when it will make a good companion to the 

 numerous varieties of the Norway Spruce which delight 

 the lovers of such plants. 



