4i8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 236. 



share of tlie disease was caused from the "sling" of the green 

 fly, which did not develop until fall, when heavy dews and 

 warm sunny days occurred. The plants of a neiglibor of this 

 Massachusetts grower have also been troubled with Violet dis- 

 ease, but he attributes it to coal-gas. The leaves in the house 

 begin to dry up all around the edges, and finally the whole 

 leaf becomes as dry as a bit of paper, and when a new growth 

 of leaves appears they are affected in the same way. In the 

 specimens of these plantsadistinctbacterial disease wasfound. 



We have just received another shipment of plants from IN'Iis- 

 sissippi, from a woman who makes a specialty of growing 

 Violets. The plants sent, she states, were quite healthy one 

 week before shipping, but all at once they looked as if they 

 had been scalded, and in a few hours were in a very badly 

 browned up and wilted condition. 



Mr. Orpet states that the Victoria is disease-proof with liini, 

 but it is the Victoria that is giving trouble in Mississippi, al- 

 though Schoenbrunn, Marie Louise, Swanley and a number 

 of other varieties are perfectly healthy. 



As the botanical department of tliis institution is giving at- 

 tention to certain fioricultural problems, among others the 

 diseases of flowering plants, it would be esteemed a special 

 favor if any of the readers of Garden and Forest having 

 diseased Violets would send them to us by express after Sep- 

 tember 1st, for investigation here. It will be well to dig a 

 little of the soil around the roots, and send them in as nearly 

 the natural condition as possible. We propose to pursue a 

 systematic study of this malady. 



Aj;ricultin-al Experiment Station, Lafayette, Ind^ 



C. S. Plumb. 



Plants at Dongan Hills. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — Since my last visit to Farvievv, Mr. Wm, Tricker has 

 enlarged and increased his water-tanks, and has several no- 

 ticeable ones, in which the lover of aquatic plants will find 

 many objects of interest. A large tank of Nelumbiums, con- 

 sisting of young plants of N. speciosum and N. nucifera, was in- 

 teresting as showing the difference in growth of the two under 

 the same conditions, the former variety being much more free 

 in flower. These flowers in Japan are said to embrace a wide 

 range of color, and it is to be hoped that among the varieties 

 some may be found which flower more freely than any we yet 

 possess. In another tank was a large selection of the leading 

 varieties of Nymphaeas grown for seed, and in many cases they 

 had been carefully hybridized. Evidently we shall soon have 

 Nymphjea hybrids to meet all demands for these favorite 

 flowers. In this tank, for convenience, the crowns of the 

 plants were placed just under the surface of the water, and 

 the thriftiness of growth gave striking proof of the value of 

 shallow culture. Mr. Tricker had in flower all the Nymphaeas 

 which have been mentioned in your columns, and I also 

 noted in addition N. elegans, a beautiful variety of a medium 

 size, with light blue flowers, apparently borne very freely. 

 Seedlings of N. Zanzibarensis had numerous shadings of the 

 typical blue or purple and some very charming forms with 

 roseate hues. N. Laydekeri, the new Nymphsea, seems to 

 be a wonderful variety in its strange range of colorings. Open 

 on the same plant, at the same time, were flowers, nearly 

 white, faint pink, deep pink and dark rose. Unlike most 

 NympliEeas, the flowers seem to deepenincolorastheygrowold. 



At one side Mr. Tricker was making a plantation of orna- 

 mental grasses, Arundos, Eulalias, etc. Among these Eulalia 

 gracillima univittata stands first for grace, though manyothers 

 are of nobler proportions. The Abyssinian grass (Pennisetum 

 longistylum) made a striking show with its flulTy heads of 

 bloorn. Though an annual, it is one of the most valuable and 

 effective of ornamental grasses of moderate height. 



When the American florists make up their minds that certain 

 plants are " good things," they cultivate those plants with great 

 unanimity. They have certainly discovered the value and 

 beauty of Crozy's Cannas, and here, as at most important 

 places, was found a selection in a comprehensive variety. I 

 did not note the names of the best kinds, but among them all 

 Madame Crozy seems to be without a peer for finished ele- 

 gance. The Chrysanthemum, evidently, is becoming a green- 

 house-plant, and it must be said that here, as well as at other 

 places, I found the plants under glass rather better than out-of- 

 doors. The competition at the shows is now so close that the 

 growers can no longer afford to take the chances incident to 

 out-of-door cultivation. Nevertheless, the finished products 

 seen in the shows, albeit more pure in color, seem to be lack- 

 ing in the solidity of bloom found in those grown under more 

 rigorous conditions. 



Farview also possesses a private range of glass houses and 

 extensive grounds which are under the able superintendence 

 of Mr. Tricker. Among some elaborate bedding arrange- 

 ments there was being tried a variety of Sanchezia nobilis, a 

 very bright and effective plant. A good crop of peaches in 

 one of the houses came from Hall's Early, which seems 

 a finely colored decorative variety for dessert, but not 

 high-flavored. A lot of Fig-trees were well set with fruit, 

 and the cultivation here seemed a success, as did also that 

 of Grapes — a small house of Sweet waters and Black Ham- 

 burg showing a heavy crop of well-formed and well- 

 colored bunches. In the plant-houses great use is made 

 of Allamanda Hendersoni, one vine of which covered many 

 square feet of glass and bore hundreds of beautiful yellow 

 flowers. The scarlet Passion-flower seemed to be another 

 favorite seasonable vine. A lot of the new seedling hybrid 

 Streptocarpus were just coming into bloom, and seemed to be 

 interesting plants in leaf and flower. They flower profusely, 

 but one would hesitate to call them handsome, for they lack 

 both the delicacy and the purity of color of other Gesneraceae. 

 Judging from these seedlings they need careful selection, many 

 of them having blotches and markings of a dull purple, which 

 could only be enjoyed by the color-blind. As they were grown 

 in close proximity to a fine collection of Tydeas, Achimenes 

 and Gloxinias their characteristics were unpleasantly accented. 

 The houses also contain a fine selection of Orchids and 

 foliage-plants, gems among which one inclines to linger, but 

 the description of which is not likely to be of interest. Among 

 the minor features of some of the houses beautifully devel- 

 oped by Mr. Tricker is the decoration under the benches, 

 which is seldom seen so well carried out. Among a ground- 

 work of low-growing trailing plants with variegated foliage 

 were many clumps of fancy leaved Begonias, Marantas, 

 Alocasias, etc., with grasses, while the variegated Pothos cov- 

 ered the posts with its close leaves. Such a feature as this is 

 worth imitating in many other houses, where such spaces are 

 often unsightly and detract very much from the appearance of 

 handsome collections. 



Elizabeth, N.J. G. 



A Pretty Native Vine. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The idea is prevalent tliat all variegated foliage is the 

 result of low vitality or of actual disease in the plant. This 

 may be the rule, but a ramble through our south-western 

 woods would prove it to be a rule to which there are many 

 exceptions, for here may be found several species of native 

 plants clothed with prettily marked or mottled leaves, which, 

 nevertheless, are apparently perfectly healthy and vigorous. 

 One of these, Passiflora lutea, a small, slender-growing vine, ' 

 with rather broad, obtusely three-lobed leaves scattered alter- 

 nately along its stem, bears yellowish green flowers, so small 

 as to be quite inconspicuous, yet worth studying, because of 

 their curious fringed crowns and filamentous processes. Its 

 foliage is decidedly pretty, and the graceful vine, with its cling- 

 ing tendrils, would, if it were a rare exotic instead of a common 

 native, become a great favorite as a basket-plant. Trans- 

 planted from the woodland to the foot of the rockery, these 

 vines adapt themselves admirably to their new position, their 

 delicate growth never quite obscuring the rocks over which 

 they climb, yet softening the angularity of the cold, hard stone 

 by their graceful tracery of leaves and tendrils. 



In their own habitat there is a marked difference in the leaf- 

 coloring of different individuals of this species. Perhaps one- 

 third of them have no variegation, the leaves being of a uniform 

 dark green. As Gray, in his nianual, makes no mention of 

 any leaf-marking in this species, he probably considers tlie 

 plain-leaved examples the normal type, but in this section of the 

 country the majority show a more or less distinct variegation, 

 ranging from the plants whose leaves show only a few faint 

 dots or splashes of pale green or ash-gray, to specimens whose 

 leaves are heavily marbled with varying shades of green. In 

 a leaf before me, the groundwork is a deep, even green, 

 blocked with gray-green, light green and pale yellow. This 

 leaf was taken from one of the plants at the rockery, where 

 the soil is rich, and there is an exposure to the sun for a part 

 of each day. They seem to deepen in variegation as tliey 

 grow older and stronger, though this may be the result of a 

 favorable situation. It is a little strange that none of our wild- 

 flower dealers make mention of this Passion-flower, for it has * 

 cerfainly more merit than some upon their lists, and its range 

 is enormous, extending from southern Pennsylvania to Florida, 

 and west to Missouri and Louisiana. 



Pineville, Mo. Lora S. La Mance. 



