398 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 397. 



soil. The plant blooms later, and the flowers are slightly 

 larger and pure white in color. 



There are also several species of Hibiscus which, thoufjh 

 coarse in habit, are very showy at this season. H. militaris, 

 blush-white ; tlie common H. moscheiitos, rose, and H. coc- 

 cineus, a southern species, are among: the best. The Cardinal- 

 flower, Lobelia cardinalis, is a splendid plant for late effect. 

 Although naturally found growing in moist situations, it suc- 

 ceeds well in ordinary garden-soil, sowing itself freely on our 

 rock-garden. u .j; u 



Wellesley, Mass. J ■ J-'- Hatjieia. 



Cannas. 



TO an inquiry about the treatment of Gannas from 

 autumn until bedding time, Mr. J. I. Donlan makes 

 answer in The Florists Exchange, from which we quote : 



See that the Cannas are well attended to now ; they require 

 plenty of water, and once in a while some liquid-manure. 

 Remove all faded leaves and flowers, and cut down to an inch 

 above ground all the stalUs that have bloomed ; this relieves 

 the plants of sustaining useless growth, and gives them a better 

 chance to form healthy roots. See that all the varieties are 

 properly labeled, and if there be any poor kinds throw them 

 away ; do not propagate varieties with inferior flowers. Leave 

 Cannas out-of-doors as long as possible, or until the foliage is 

 cut by frost ; a little frost will do them no harm, provided it 

 does not touch the roots, and Cannas make much of their most 

 valuable growth during the cool, moist weather of late fall. 



When litting the roots be careful not to damage the tubers 

 or eyes ; shake the soil oft" and cut all the foliage down to three 

 or four inches from the roots ; pack all the roots closely to- 

 gether on a moist, sandy bottom, underneath any greenhouse 

 bench, or in a cellar — anywhere where they will not get frozen 

 or be dried out. Many gardeners lose their Cannas by putting 

 them on dry shelves ; the best place to store them is on a cool 

 bottom, away from excessive dryness and continuous drips ; 

 they can be preserved in such a place for any length of time. 

 A well-grown Canna should produce from seven to ten new 

 eves, and commercial growers usually are satisfied with this 

 self-propagation, dividing the roots and selling the surplus all 

 through the winter and spring, as the opportunity occurs. 



Where, however, certain kinds are scarce, or it is desirable 

 to work up stock of some new variety, then after the plants are 

 taken up in the usual way all the good "eyes" are cut oft and 

 packed in shallow flat boxes with wet moss firmly pressed 

 between them. If the box is placed where it will get a little 

 bottom-heat the tubers will soon commence growing; then 

 the new stock should be placed on a bench filled with rich soil 

 and plenty of well-decayed manure in rows about eighteen 

 inches each way. Give them the same treatment as American 

 Beauty Roses require, with much more water. As the new 

 tubers form, they can be cut off and treated as above, and 

 when rooted they can be put into three-and-a-half-inch pots, 

 shaded for a few days, after which they can be moved into 

 larger pots or tubs, where they will make splendid decorative 

 flowering plants. 



If Cannas are started in this way, immediately after they are 

 taken from the field, they should be in bloom at Christmas or 

 New Year's, and can be kept in bloom all winter. If it be only 

 desirable to get plants m good condition for spring planting 

 they should be started in February, March or April. The 

 growth can be regulated by temperature and moisture. If 

 kept as near the glass as possible they will grow more stocky. 



Cannas should never be planted out directly from winter 

 storage. In order to get the best results they should be started 

 and put in pots, from which they should be put into well- 

 manured beds the last week of May or first of June. 



Hypericum Moserianum. — All things considered, this appears 

 to be the most desiralile of the hardy Hypericums for garden 

 culture, and there is little reason to doubt its hardiness, al- 

 though it has not been tested here in a large way as yet. A 

 large circular bed at Kew, in the decorative part of the grounds, 

 was one of the principal features there this summer, and for 

 massing in this way it is difficult to imagine anything more 

 striking. The large yellow flowers are produced in great pro- 

 fusion for a long period, with a setting of healthy dark-green 

 foliage below. As has already been explained in Garden and 

 Forest, this plant is a garden hybrid between Hypericum 

 patulum and H. calycinum, the old St. John's Wort, and in 

 general appearance it resembles (he latter, but has lost the 

 coarseness that used to characterize that plant and relegate it 

 to waste corners of the garden where nothing else would 



grow. At St. Albans, Messrs. Sander have a variegated sport 

 of H. Moserianum called Tricolor, which will be highly prized 

 when it is disseminated by all who admire plants with foliage 

 of varied colors. The leaves of this plant are bright pink, 

 white and green, and it has a vigor equal to that of tlie parent 

 plant, with which it is identical, except for the color of the 

 leaves. These should not burn in this climate as many highly 

 colored sports are apt to do, since the texture is thick, almost 

 leathery, and this ought to insure it against injury even in the 

 hottest seasons. The happv idea of planting this Hypericum 

 in masses, as carried out at Kew, is worthy of imitation, as indi- 

 vidual plants, either of the type or of the sport, are quite infe- 

 rior in effect to large groups. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Ofpet. 



Correspondence. 



Poisoning from Rhus. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — I have been following with interest your articles on 

 Rhus Toxicodendron, being a sufferer from its poisonous in- 

 fluences. The recent article from Professor Burrill has espe- 

 cially interested me, and has led me to add my own experiences. 



When only eight years old, before I knew the properties of 

 this plant, I was badly poisoned. I sat for nearly half an hour 

 in the midst of its leaves and stems, and even whittled the 

 wood. On the next day 1 was seriously poisoned, an expe- 

 rience which only those who have been similarly afflicted can 

 appreciate. But the trouble was not finally over when the 

 attack had run ils course, and this note is to put on record a 

 phase of the poisoning which I have not yet seen recorded. 



For the remainder of the year I was well, but late in the 

 spring of the following year, a Utile earlier in the season than 

 the date of the first attack, I was again poisoned. It was sup- 

 posed, of course, that I had again come in contact with the 

 plant, for the symptoms were the same, only less severe. No 

 plants, however, appeared to be growing in our neighbor- 

 hood, and I could recall no ramble in which it was likely that 

 I had been near one. I soon recovered from this attack, and 

 the cause of it remained unknown. But the following year, at 

 precisely the same season, the trouble again appeared, and no 

 possible chance for new exposure could be imagined. There 

 remained but little doubt that the cause of this attack was the 

 severe poisoning of two years before. The disease was not 

 serious, but sufficiently severe to be very troublesome. I am 

 certain of the time of the year in which the attacks came, for 

 in this and the preceding year the orioles were building their 

 nests. 



The fourth year the entire family were on the lookout for 

 the disease. I was extremely careful not to come near the 

 Ivy, for by this time I knew the plant and feared its proper- 

 ties. At the usual date, however, the effects of the poisoning 

 were once more experienced, with nearly their past severity. 

 The fifth year, and again the sixth the poisoning recurred, each 

 time in somewhat less severe form. During the summer of 

 my thirteenth year I had typhoid fever, which kept me an 

 invalid until well into the fall. The following spring was 

 passed without a trace of the Ivy poisoning, and the next year I 

 again escaped the trouble. This was ascribed, correctly or 

 otherwise, to the action of the fever, which is supposed some- 

 times to leave patients in better physical condition than before 

 its appearance. 



Alter two years of freedom I had little fear of poisoning and 

 frequently passed close by the plant, even walking through 

 patches of the low-growing form. I thought myself exempt 

 from its influence, and to make sure rubbed a part of a leaf 

 lightly upon the back of my hand. Of course I was poisoned, 

 and in tlie following years the same experience was passed 

 through. The attack invariably occurred upon the approach 

 of warm weather, or after I had been overheated. In more 

 recent years these effects seem to have lett me entirely. 

 Although susceptible to the influence of the plant when I touch 

 it, I can approach it with impunity, and have often safely 

 passed through large quantities of it when not coming into 

 direct contact with it. 



Whatever may be the cause of the disturbance, it has, in my 

 case, regularly been brought into activity by change from cold 

 to warm seasons. This was plainly shown in the winter of 

 1881, when I left Michigan early in January and went to 

 Florida. I had scarcely been in the warm climate a week 

 when the well-known symptoms made themselves manifest. 

 The following spring they again returned. 



I have noticed no mention of one painful concomitant of 

 Ivy poisoning in my case, that is, the appearance of boils after 



