December 14, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



597 



throughout the year. This plant is very easily grown, and re- 

 quires no more care than an Agapanthus, though it is rather 

 more tender than the latter, and, like most of the Aniaryllids, 

 needs a certain degree of rest previous to flowering, l,)ut not 

 absolute dryin"- off. 



The Bow-struig Hemp (Sanseviera Zeylanica) is also a plant 

 of accommodating habits, and will flourish in the shade, while 

 the dust and dry air of a living-room seems to have but little 

 effect on it. It has long, narrow, erect leaves, the ground 

 color of which is dark green, curiously mottled with grayish 

 white. 



The dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius), and also its 

 variegated variety, may be used with good effect, the most es- 

 sential point in their culture beingan abundantsupply of water. 



Peperomia maculosa is a pretty little plant with thick fleshy 

 leaves that are marked with silvery variegation, and should be 

 grown in small pots or pans with an abundance of drain- 

 age material, since it is essential to the welfare of this plant 

 that it should not be overwatered, especially during the 

 winter. 



Some Palms may be used for a sunless window, for, while 

 most of them are improved by a measure of sunshine, yet it is 

 not absolutely essential for all, and among those best adapted 

 for the present purpose are KentiaForsteriana, K. Belmoreana, 

 Rhapis flabelliformis and Livistona Chinensis, all of which will 

 flourish with reasonable care. From the Ferns a number can 

 readily be selected, those having fronds of firm texture being 

 most reliable for household use, among these being Polysti- 

 chium acrosticoides, Pteris serrulata, Nephrolepis exaltata, 

 Pteris Cretica and some of the Maidenhairs, Adiantum Capil- 

 lus-Veneris and A. cuneatum being probably the most reliable 

 of these. 



For carpeting the surface of the soil in sorne of the larger 

 pots Selaginella Kraussiana is useful, and makes a very pretty 

 covering in a short time, and seems to enjoy the shade. The 

 Variegated Periwinkle (Vinca variegata) may be put to- good 

 use in draping the plant-stand, for, while this handsome vine 

 grows vigorously in the full sun, yet it may also be grown in 

 the shade to entire satisfaction. All the plants thus briefly 

 noted may be grown in any reasonably good loam, and, with 

 proper care in watering, will make themselves thoroughly 

 happy and at home. 



Holmesburg. Pa. IV. H. Taplht. 



Notes from the Harvard Botanic Gardens. 



Curcuma Roscoeana. — This interesting and highly decora- 

 tive plant is a tuberous-rooted stove-herb, sending up in spring 

 several elegant arching leaves with slender sheathing petioles 

 from eighteen to twenty-four inches long, and oblong-oval 

 blades of pale green color two-thirds the length of the petioles. 

 The scape, twelve inches high, appears in summer, and the 

 upper portion is a dense mass of concave, rich orange-scarlet 

 bracts. The flowers are tubular, with two spreading lips about 

 three inches in length and of light yellow color. They are pro- 

 duced singly at the base of the curved bracts, which enclose 

 the lower part, leaving only the limb visible. The bracts re- 

 tain their brilliant color for several months, but the flowers 

 soon fade, though they are repeatedly replaced. C. Roscoeana 

 is found on the coast of Tenasserim, in the East Indies, whence 

 it was introduced in 1837. A moderately high temperature is 

 necessary to its satisfactory development, and it seems partial 

 to slight shade ; the color of the bracts, at least, is longer pre- 

 served when the plant is grown in a shady position. It requires 

 to be kept quite dry in winter, and the roots should be shaken 

 free of the soil in spring and repotted firmly. A free supply of 

 water is essential until the leaves begin to turn yellow, when it 

 may be gradually discontinued. The roots are easily divided, 

 and the plant is readily propagated by that process. 



EUCHARIS GKANDIFLORA. — This plant, better known, per- 

 haps, as E. Amazonica, or the Amazon Lily, is an old tenant 

 of our stoves, but it is none too common nowadays. The 

 mite (Rhizoglyphus echinopus), which worked such havoc 

 among the bulbs a few years ago, influenced many in parting 

 with the plant, and deterred others from beginning its cultiva- 

 tion. Little complaint is now made of the insect, and the 

 plant should be restored to favor. The pure white, drooping 

 flowers, of heavy substance and four inches in diameter, are 

 borne in large clusters at the top of erect scapes two feet high. 

 It is seldom that more than two or three blooms are fully 

 developed on a single scape at the same time ; but they open 

 in such constant succession, and the scapes are produced in 

 such profusion, that the plants form most pleasing objects for 

 weeks together. There is nothing inore effective than the 

 contrast between the luxuriant leaves and chaste flowers of 



this plant, and the flowers have the further advantage of an 

 extremely grateful odor. They are produced at various sea- 

 sons, more abundantly in winter than at any other time, and 

 the plant delights in moderate activity throughout the year. 

 It should be grown in large pots or pans, placing a quantity 

 of the bulbs four inches apart in each, and the soil should con- 

 sist of rich turfy loam, fibrous peat and thoroughly decom- 

 posed cow-manure in equal parts, adding a small amount of 

 lumpy charcoal. Perfect drainage is of primary importance, 

 for the Eucharis requires a large supply of water, and frequent 

 repotting is not advisable unless the plants are in poor health. 

 They may be safely expected to bloom every three months, 

 and for a fortnight before the buds expand, manure water 

 may be administered every other day. 



Cambridge, Mass. M. Barker. 



Correspondence. 



Fructification of the Grape. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Many of our varieties of Grapes occasionally bear de- 

 fective clusters ; some of the berries remain green, and not 

 larger than bird-shot, throughout the season, while other 

 grapes of the same bunch grow to full size and maturity. This 

 imperfect ripening has been ascribed to deficiency of pollen, 



and it is advised to plant in the vineyard a few pollen-bearers 



"male vines" — to pro vide for this deficient element of fructifica- 

 tion. By many viticulturists this aborfion of fruit is accounted 

 for by " the reflexed stamens " in certain sorts of Grapes, these 

 organs bending outward and downward away from the pistil, 

 and thus failing to impregnate the stigma. 



These explanations seem plausible, but further notice of this 

 imperfect fructification makes me question their soundness. 

 The reflexed stamen is natural to the Riparia Grape and to its 

 relatives. The more frequent examples of this defective fruit- 

 age may be seen in the pure Riparias, yet even here there are 

 exceptions, notably in the Clinton, which with me forms per- 

 fect clusters. The Concord Grape (a Labrusca with erect sta- 

 mens) never shows this imperfect fruitage. On the contrary, 

 the Ives (also Labrusca, with erect stamens) is often thus afflicted. 

 The crop of Ives in 1890 was characterized by numbers of 

 these aborted grapes, while in an enormous fruitage of the 

 Ives in 1892 all of its berries developed to full maturity. 



In capriciousness of fructification, however, the Iron-clad 

 Grape is especially puzzling. It is a natural hybrid between 

 V. Riparia and V. Labrusca, with reflexed stamens. Soon 

 after I first fruited this Grape, in 1876, I exhibited samples of it 

 at the Centennial Exposition. Each lateral then bore five or 

 six perfect clusters, the berries all fully formed and matured. 

 The vines bearing this fruit were nearly as densely crowded 

 with clusters in autumn as they were with foliage in summer. 

 They were planted in a block of a thousand vines, all the one 

 variety, set six by nine feet apart. Their wood-growth was 

 rampant, single stocks making in one season several canes 

 each from twenty to thirty feet long, with luxuriant lateral 

 branches. Pruned in the same manner as were the Concord 

 and Ives, on the so-called renewal system, that is, with two 

 canes, with six buds on each, these Iron-clad vines as they 

 grew older began to set imperfect clusters, and in a few years 

 it was difficult to find half a dozen fully developed berries on a 

 cluster, all the rest being little green abortions, clinging to 

 the stem, and thus remaining throughout the season. I then 

 left one row of these vines unpruned ; these fruited full of 

 nearly perfect clusters, while the vines in the pruned rows gave 

 the usual defective bunches. 



In close vineyard culture this non-pruning method is hardly 

 practicable, and I tried the plan of letting a tew vines runlalong 

 the trellis as far as they might grow, their laterals being 

 spurred to one bud. Near the extremities of these long canes 

 the clusters were full and perfect, while near the stock they 

 were made up of chiefly aborted berries. As the reflexed sta- 

 men is a constant character of this variety, if such stamens 

 are the cause of abortive berries, this defect should have been 

 seen in all the clusters. 



The behavior of the Ives Vine in this respect is also per- 

 plexing ; having erect stamens, why should it sometimes bear 

 imperfect scraggy clusters ? The evidence apparentiy contra- 

 dicts the theory. Years ago, to test the Iron-clad's ability to 

 resist the black-rot, I planted many of these vines along a trel- 

 lis intermediately with Concords, the vines of both sorts inter- 

 mixing on the wire. Growing thus the Iron-clad annually 

 fruits bountifully, with perfect clusters. It might be argued 

 that here the Iron-clad blossoms are impregnated by pollen 

 from those of the Concord ; but, unluckily for the force of this 

 reasoning, the blossoming of the Iron-clad is over, and its fruit 



