284 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 225. 



parent play, and then agitating the Lily-buds as they eagerly 

 seize some tempting morsel. The abundant frogs are not very 

 serious, and their antics fascinate the house cat, who keeps a 

 constant and agitated watch by the borders of the tank. Every 

 passing cloud adds a fresh charm as it is mirrored in tlie water, 

 and the swaying of the grasses to the gentlest breeze completes 

 the picture of beauty which we are more apt to associate witli 

 some wild scene than with a small cily garden. Yet such a 

 scene of quiet lieauty is easily arranged in comparatively lim- 

 ited quarters, and is certain to be a constant pleasure. My 

 friends who have become inoculated with the passion for 

 aquatics seem to be thoroughly occupied by these plants 

 rather to the exclusion of others. Devotion to one family of 

 plants is well for the commercial grower, but is not the most 

 satisfactory to the owner of a garden, vvdio should ever have 

 in view the enlargement of his sympathies. However, the 

 field of aquatics is rather large, there being some threescore 

 or more of Nymphjeas and Nelumbos, with many and varied 

 plants to associate with them, while there is an almost endless 

 list of Grasses, Rushes and Irises, which naturally associate 

 with a water view, while in quiet artificial bogs may be devel- 

 oped innumerable beautiful things. To any one who is fond 

 of tender foliage, so enjoyable usually only in early spring, the 

 water-garden offers an opportunity to gratify this taste, so sel- 

 dom satisfied in the usually hard foliage of summer plants. 

 On the whole, tiie cultivation of aquatics is not to be recom- 

 mended to any one who fears to have his blood stirred by the 

 collection of fine plants, many of which are rather difficult to 

 secure, and a daily pleasure from constantly changing beauty. 

 To any one who cares to try an interesting experiment, it may 

 be said tliat it is not yet too late to start a water-garden this 

 season. There are few spare ponds available in ordinary gar- 

 dens, and it will be necessary to arrange an artificial tank or 

 pool. Perhaps it is better at firsttomakeatentativeexperiment, 

 and try only a small tank. This for a single Lily may be made 

 of a half molasses-cask sunk in the ground, or a space may be 

 dug out eighteen inches deep, and tlie bottom and sides plas- 

 tered with a thin coating of Portland cement. Planted in rich 

 earth the plant will soon make rampant growth and give a suc- 

 cession of flowers. It would be well perhaps to attempt a 

 Nymphsea Zanzibarensis, because this is a plant of rapid 

 growth which flowers all summer. Of hardy Lilies, N. alba 

 candidissima is the most satisfactory and free-flowering, and 

 N. chromatella has a fine yellow flower with the same quali- 

 ties. Our native N. odorata and the red variety are scarcely 

 satisfactory except in collections, as their blooming season is 

 short. The Egyptian Lotus (N. speciosisima) is a plant of rare 

 and striking beauty both in leaf and flower, and is easily 

 grown, though its true habit does not appear in the illustra- 

 tions of the catalogues. 



Of course, the water-garden must be placed where it will 

 have all the sunlight possible, warmth being necessary to the 

 growth of the plants. A few fish are indispensable, to keep 

 the water sweet. Hardy Nymphasas may be wintered success- 

 fully in this latitude in a shallow tank. My tank, twenty inches 

 deep, was covered over last winter with boards and a slight 

 covering of leaves. At no time, even in severe weather, did 

 more than two inches of ice form, and probably, with a thick 

 covering of leaves, the water would not congeal. The roots 

 of my N. alba candidissima wintered with their crowns within 

 six inches of the surface, and it is now strong, vigorous and full 

 of flowers, though not replanted this season. Tlie other hardy 

 Nymphoeas all came through unscathed, as did the Sagittarias, 

 except S. Montevidensis, which was wintered in a cold tank 

 at thirty-five or forty degrees. This is, hovs^ever, too cool for 

 this variety, and it evidently requires a temperature ten de- 

 grees higher than this. The same tank proved fatal toCyperus 

 alternifolius, though Hedychium coronarium wintered safely 

 there, as did Nymphsea Mexicana. This Nymphsea I have 

 reason, however, to believe may be safely dried off. Apo- 

 nogeton distachyon was the first plant to bloom in my tank, 

 it being hardy and moving at the first warmth. The season 

 for Nymphasas opened on June ist with the flowering of N. 

 alba candidissima, followed quickly by N. pygmea alba, N. 

 chromatella and N. Laydekeri rosea. Numerous buds on the 

 other varieties promise soon a wealth of flowers. 



Elizabeth, N.J. J. N. G. 



Notes from the Harvard Botanic Garden. 



Anemone Robinsoniana. — This little plant is again in full 

 bloom, and it has a very charming appearance in sunny 

 weather, for it is only under such circumstances that the flow- 

 ers expand fully. The foliage forms a close green carpet from 

 six to nine inches high, and it is thickly studded with the pale 



blue Howlers, which are an inch and a half in diameter, and are 

 borne on erect slender stalks three or four inches long. Dull 

 or wet weatlier is exceedingly injurious to the blossoms, and 

 causes them to close and decay prematurely. The plant is a 

 form of the common A. nemorosa, and was first discovered in 

 an English wood some years ago. It is perfectly hardy, and 

 thrives well in partial shade, preferring a moderately dry situa- 

 tion and good garden-soil. It is seen to greatest advantage in 

 a somewhat sheltered and lightly shaded position in the rock- 

 garden, and it should never be disturbed unnecessarily. The 

 groups that have been longest established are always the most 

 attractive during the flowering season, however luxuriant those 

 of more recent formation may be at other times. 



Camassia esculenta. — TheCamass, or Ouamash, is now at 

 its best. It has linear leaves of pale green color, and about a 

 foot in length. The erect racemose scapes, from twelve to 

 twenty-four inches high, are produced in great abundance, 

 bearing along the upper portion numerous spreading bright 

 l)lue flowers, two inches in diameter. The divisions of the 

 flowers are keeled and of oblong form, and the yellow anthers, 

 at the apex of filaments nearly equal to the segments in 

 length, are showy for some time after the flowers open. It is 

 an excellent plant for a partially shaded situation, and it also 

 thrives fairly well in the sun. A deep, rich sandy soil is the 

 most satisfactory, and the offsets of the bulbs afford a ready 

 means of increase, as do the seeds. The latter ripen in sum- 

 mer, and should be sown as soon as possible after maturity. 

 C. esculenta is a native of the western and southern parts of 

 the United States, and it has been in cultivation as an orna- 

 mental plant since 1837. The roots are used as food by cer- 

 tain tribes of Indians, and it is said that bears are very partial 

 to them. It is not perfectly hardy in this part of the country, 

 requiring a moderate covering of leaves or dry litter in the 

 winter months. Scilla esculenta is a name often given to this 

 plant, but Camassia appears to be the more popular generic 

 term. There is said to be a variety, C. esculenta Leichtlini, with 

 white flowers and a more robust constitution. A plant with 

 these characters would be extremely desirable, and I should 

 like to hear something about it from any one who has ever 

 grown it or has seen it growing. 



PULMONARIA SACCHARATA. — None of the Pulmonarias, or 

 Lungworts, are very common in American gardens, and this 

 species is no exception to the rule. It is, however, well worth 

 growing in a mixed collection. The height seldom exceeds 

 twelve inches, and the habit is spreading, with branches freely 

 produced, thus forming a neat plant for the herbaceous border 

 or for planting with alpines. It is a thoroughly hardy peren- 

 nial, and the stems are clothed with ellipfical or oblong, alter- 

 nate leaves. The lower leaves are generally narrowed down 

 to a rather long petiole, while those above are strictly sessile. 

 All are dark green, with a profusion of large and small spots 

 and blotches of whitish color, wliich give them a decidedly cu- 

 rious appearance. The variegation, at any rate, is of quite an 

 uncommon order among hardy plants, and more like the ir- 

 regular kind so often found in tropical vegetation. The flow- 

 'ers appear in May and June, and are borne in compact terminal 

 racemes of six or seven. They are five-lobed, somewhat 

 spreading, and generally of a bright blue color. But here we 

 have a rather interesting example of flowers of different colors 

 appearing simultaneously upon the same stalk, as it is very 

 common to find pink flowers and blue of the same age on a 

 single stem of P. saccharata. This phenomenon, however, is 

 not confined to P. saccharata. It occurs in several other spe- 

 cies of the same genvis. and invariably attracts attention. After 

 the flowers disappear tlie leaves become larger, and their va- 

 riegation becomes more intense. The plant retains this at- 

 tractive appearance until late in autumn, the driest summer 

 failing to affect it to any appreciable extent. It will thrive 

 almost anywhere, but the variegation is brightest and it flowers 

 best in a sunny position where the soil is not very rich. P. 

 saccharata is a native of south Europe, and has been in culti- 

 vation upward of seventy years ; it is propagated by division in 

 early spring. 



Scilla campanulata. — The white form of this plant, known 

 as the variety Alba, is now in bloom. It is the exact counter- 

 part of the species in everytliing except the color of the flow- 

 ers, which are pure white. There is another variety, Carnea, 

 in which the flowers are of a beautiful pink shade. AH three 

 are natives of southern Europe, and they have been cultivated 

 since 1683. Large patches of the three kinds in mixture make 

 a handsome display, as they usually all flower at the same 

 time. The margins of long stretches of shrubbery are much 

 more beautiful in spring if care has been taken to give these 

 plants a place in the border. In this case they are most effec- 

 tive when planted in clusters of the same color. The good 



