28o 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 225. 



white Narcissus, as handsome as a Gardenia, and the many- 

 Daffodils and early Jonquils which liave formed numerous 

 thriving colonies in the grass ; for the Cinnamon, Hundred- 

 leaved and other old-fashioned Roses ; the stately Yuccas and 

 many other charming plants. Among these the old Damask 

 Rose, with exquisitely sweet, semi-double, large, flat flowers 

 of a rich bright carmine, is a prime favorite. One variety is 

 striped with white, and is the York and Lancaster Rose, now 

 seldom seen except in old gardens or pressed between the 

 leaves of venerable volumes of poetry by hands that have long 

 been still. 



In the Rose-garden, at one side of the house, very many 

 aspirants for the prize of beauty have now entered the lists, 

 and it would puzzle the most critical connoisseur to decide 

 where to bestow his warmest praise. IVTadame Alfred Carrifire 

 has reached the stately height of sixteen feet, and is bending 

 under a weight of flowers ; there are hundreds of these large 

 double roses scenting the warm June morning. No doubt, 

 the mother cat-bird, whose secret is deftly hidden in the midst 

 of a perfumed cluster, thinks that all this display of grace and 

 beauty is in honor of her downy nestlings, in whose praise the 

 father bird sings all the day. Turning from this pretty pic- 

 ture the eyes are greeted on all sides by a profusion of Roses, 

 old and new, scrambling over rocks and palings, climbing up 

 the little arbor, which they share with many Honeysuckles, or 

 confining their fresh luxuriance to more orderly beds and bor- 

 ders, where they mingle many tints and varying odors into a 

 perfect harmony of joy. 



There is the fairy bed of tiny Polyanthas, which are always 

 to be depended on for an abundance of rosette-like blossoms ; 

 the white Paquerette, smallest of Roses, just the size of a five- 

 cent piece; the charming pink Georges Pernet ; the beautiful 

 salmon-colored Perle d'Or, a miniature likeness of Safrano, 

 and the blush and cream of Mademoiselle Cecile Brunner, 

 larger than the rest. All these are faintly sweet except Pa- 

 querette, which has a strong and unpleasant odor — strange in 

 a Rose, and stranger still in a Fairy. Another drawback in 

 Paquerette is an ambition leading it to begin much more than 

 it can accomplish. Never were seen so many little buds, most 

 of which turn yellow in infancy and come to an untimely end. 

 Only two of the best colors are missing from this little bed. 

 We have as yet no bright or dark red Polyantha, and none of 

 a lemon-yellow. These may exist, and would be a pleasant 

 addition. 



On the south side of the house grow some climbing Poly- 

 antha Roses. One of these, planted two years ago, has reached 

 the windows of the second story, but has not bloomed. An- 

 other, Max Singer, is showing a number of blossoms, and is 

 very double and slightly fragrant. It is a light pink in color, 

 not a very pretty shade, but the plant is vigorous and hardy. 

 Very few yellow Roses do well with us out-of-doors. Harri- 

 son's Yellow is pretty at this time, but the finer Teas are too 

 delicate to be of much use in our garden, where plants which 

 can take care of themselves best, and live and flourish with the 

 least coaxing and coddling, are the favorites. 



Sunset, Perle des Jardins, Madame Welche, and very many 

 other golden beauties, have all been tried with varying want of 

 success. Beautiful Madame Joseph Schwartz lived and 

 bloomed for several years, and then died of rapid consump- 

 tion just as we had reason to hope that its health was estab- 

 lished. Perle des Jardins is a great bush, but the heavy buds 

 do not open well ; indeed, they do not open at all, but blight 

 and turn brown upon the tree. Isabella Sprunt consoles us for 

 many failures. The bush is five feet in height and about the 

 same in circumference, and gives us dozens of perfect, not 

 very double, lemon-yellow Roses, best in the half-opened state. 

 Safrano is also very satisfactory, never failing us, and so are 

 Laurette, which is cream-colored, and is not a Tea, but proba- 

 bly a Noisette, and Madame Hippolyte Jamain, a very lovely 

 Tea of delicate habit and flowers which are outwardly white, 

 with a fine salmon heart. These Roses have stood the test of 

 many winters, and seem to improve with age. 



The old-fashioned Hundred-leaved Rose, and some hybrids 

 of Provence whose naines I do not know, are the best for pot- 

 pourri, for rose-water and for filling dainty sofa-cushions. 

 These are now beginning their annual struggle with the slug, 

 which has not appeared in as great numbers as usual, the cold 

 spring having apparently checked their increase. 



Among the rarities now flowering in the shrubberies is a va- 

 riety of R. rugosa, which is labeled R. rugosa, var. Himalaya. 

 This is a large bush, with smaller, lighter, less glossy foliage 

 than that of the common variety. The flowers are double, 

 but in other respects they do not differ greatly from the type. 



Thompson's Magnolia is fading in the White Garden. This 

 is a beautiful Magnolia ; the flowers are at first large creamy 



cups, falling flatly open before they fade. It is a hybrid of M. 

 glauca, I believe, and blooms when only four feet in height. 



Cornus paniculata and Robinia viscosa have been conspicu- 

 ous in the shrubberies for the past week. The Pseonies are 

 making a gorgeous display in their isolated bed, where the 

 grass of the lawn forms a fine setting for them. Vicomtesse 

 de Belleval and Modeste are the handsomest now in flower, 

 with an almost pure white variety, very double and sweet- 

 scented. 



Rose Brake. West Va. Danske Dandridge. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



A New Water-lily. 



NYMPH^A LAYDEKERI ROSEA is a new hybrid 

 Lily introduced this year by Monsieur Marliac, who 

 has previously added N. chromatella and numerous less 

 well-known Nympha;as to our collections. This variety 

 having only been sent out in the late spring, the plants 

 have not had time to become thoroughly established and 

 show their best form. But as they are now in flower quite 

 as early as established plants, it may be well to note the 

 variety as it now appears. The flowers are rosy pink of a 

 deep tint, deepening toward the base of petals. They 

 are single, and in form very much resemble those of N. 

 pygmasa alba. The deep orange stamens also resemble that 

 variety in their arrangement. The leaves are small, 

 broadly sagittate, smooth, very slightly undulated, a 

 vivid green above and of a reddish hue under. 

 The flowers at present open are about twice the 

 size of those of N. pygm^a alba, and open about ten 

 o'clock A. M., closing in the late afternoon. It is evi- 

 dently a thrifty, quick-growing variety, and, as it is said 

 to flower continuously till October, it will prove a welcome 

 addition to our collections, though probably not a variety 

 of first rank in size of flower. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



A Visit to Mount Salvatore in May, 1892. 



T F there is anywhere a mountain made to charm the heart 

 ■•- of a lover of plants it is the proud pyramid of dolomite 

 which rises to the south of Lugano, its base completely sur- 

 rounded by the arms of that lake, the most beautiful sheet of 

 water of the Italian slopes of the Alps, known as Ceresio, or 

 the Lake of Lugano. This pyramid is Mount Salvatore, now 

 accessible to all the world by means of a little cable-road 

 boldly pushed up its steep flanks. It is not a high mountain, 

 for its summit is less than four thousand feet above the level 

 of the ocean, but the boldness of its outline and its steep slopes 

 and vertical cliffs give it a truly imposing aspect, and its flora, 

 especially its spring flora, contains a number of plants rarely 

 seen outside of gardens, which are here luxuriating in their na- 

 tive wilds. The base of the mountain is wooded with vener- 

 able Chestnuts ; over the slopes are spread thickets of many 

 species of shrubs, while the summit is covered with a delight- 

 ful sub-alpine vegetation. Heremay be seen Daphne Cneorum, 

 which looks like a diminutive alpine Rhododendron, the flow- 

 ers delightfully fragrant, like those of all the family ; Erica 

 carnea, a lovely Heath with bright rich red flowers, and Poly- 

 gala Chameebuxus in its two varieties, the one with white 

 , flowers, a common plant in the Swiss Alps, and the other with 

 red flowers, a variety only known on this mountain. The. 

 flowers with their bright purple wing-petals and golden keel 

 are probably the most beautiful of the genus, their charm being 

 heightened by the evergreen leaves and the compact habit of 

 a real alpine plant. I cultivate this beautiful variety in my 

 garden, and I can recommend it for rock-work. 



Among other shrubs is Cytisus Laburnum, which, on every 

 side, hangs out its long clusters of bright yellow flowers, a real 

 shower of gold, Ostrya carpinifolia with its Hop-like blooms, 

 Cytisus hirsutus with large sulphur-colored flowers, Rhuscus 

 aculeatus with bright coral-red berries appearing on the mid- 

 dle of the branches dilated into leaves, and Amelanchier with 

 its long pure white petals. But the most interesting plants of the 

 mountains are those which grow under and among the bushes. 

 The entire wood is filled with the dark green leaves of innu- 

 merable plants of Helleborus niger, the Christmas Rose, so 

 dear to us all and the familiar ornament of our peasant-gar- 



