February 29, 18SS.] 



Garden and Forest. 



screen-house as it does outside; 

 indeed, if we introduce some 

 branches of an out-door plant 

 into tlie green-house, we can 

 have it in bloom two montlis 

 ahead of the balance of the vine 

 still left out-of-doors. Here- 

 about we g'row Wistarias as 

 standards, and they bloom mag- 

 nificently. What a sight a big' 

 standard wistaria in the green- 

 house in February would be ! 

 .^mong other shrubs may be 

 mentioned Shadbush, African 

 Tamarix, Daplme of sorts and 

 Exochorda. We have also a 

 good many barely hardy plants 

 that may be wintered well in a 

 cellar or cold pit, and forced 

 into bloom in early spring. 

 Among tliese are Japanese 

 Privet, Pittosporum, Raphio- 

 lepis, Hydrangeas and the like. 

 And for conservatory decora- 

 tion we can also use with excel- 

 lent advantage some of our fine- 

 leaved shrubs, for instance our 

 lovely Japanese Maples and 

 variegated Box Elder. 

 Glen Cove, N. Y. IV//1. Falconer. 



Phmt Notes. 



A Half-hardy Begonia When 



botanizing last Se|.itember upon 

 the Cordilleras of North Mexico 

 some two hinidred miles soutli 

 of the United States Boundary, 

 I found growing in Ijlack mould 

 of shaded ledges — even in the 

 thin humus of mossy rocks — at 

 an elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 

 feet, a plant of striking beauty, 

 which Mr. Sereno Watson iden- 

 tifies as Begonia gracilis, HBK., 

 var. Martiana, A. DC. From 

 a small tul)erous root it sends 

 up to a height of one to two 

 feet a single crimson - tinted 

 stem, which terminates in a 

 long raceme of scarlet flowers, 

 large for the genus and long 

 enduring. The plant is still 

 further embellished by clusters 

 of scarlet gemmae in tlie axils of 

 its leaves. Mr. Watson writes : 

 " It was in cultivatioafifty years 

 and more ago, but has probably 

 been long ago lost. It appears 

 to be the most northern species 

 of the genus, and should be the 

 most hardy." Certainly the 

 earth freezes and snows fall in 

 tlie high region, where it is at 

 home. 



Northern Limit of the Dahlia— 

 In the same district, and at the 

 same elevation, I met with a 

 purple flowered variety of 

 Dahlia coccinea, Cav. It was 

 growing in patches under oaks 

 and pines in thin dry soil of 

 summits of hills. In such ex- 

 posed situations the roots must 

 lie subjected to some frost, as 

 much certainly as under a light 

 covering of leaves in a northern 

 garden. The Dahlia has not 

 before been reported, as I be- 

 lieve, from a latitude nearly so 

 high. C. G. Pringle. 



Ceanothus is a North Ameri- 

 can genus, represented in the Eastern 

 Tea, and Red Root (C A>nericanus and 



West and South-west by some 

 thirty additional species. Sev- 

 eral of these Pacific Coast 

 species are quite handsome 

 and well worthy of cultivation 

 where they will thrive. Some 

 of the more interesting of them 

 are figured in different volumes 

 of the Botanical Magazi7ie, from 

 plants grown at Kew, and I 

 believe that the genus is held 

 in considerable repute by 

 French gardeners. 



In a collection of plants 

 made in Southern Oregon, last 

 spring, by Mr. Thomas^Howell, 

 several specimensof Ceanothus 

 occur which are pretty clearly 

 hybrids between C. cuncatus 

 and C. firostratiis, two com- 

 mon species of the region. 

 Some have the spreading habit 

 of the latter, their flowers 

 are of the bright blue color 

 characteristic of that species, 

 and borne on slender blue 

 pedicels, in an umbel-like clus- 

 ter. But while many of their 

 leaves have the abrupt three- 

 toothed apex of C. prostratus, 

 all gradations can be found 

 from this form to thespatulate, 

 toothless leaves of C. cuneattis. 

 Otherspecimenshave the more 

 rigid habit oi the latter species, 

 and their flowers are white or 

 nearly so, on shorter pale pedi- 

 cels, in usually smaller and 

 denser clusters. On tliese 

 plants the leaves are common- 

 ly those of C. cuncatus, but they 

 pass into the truncated and 

 toothed form proper to C". pros- 

 tratus. 



According to Focke {Pflan:j- 

 cnmischlinge, 1881, p. 99), the 

 French cross one or more of 

 the blue-flowered Pacific Coast 

 species on the hardier New- 

 Jersey Tea, a practice that may 

 perhaps be worthy of trial by 

 American gardeners. Have any 

 of the readers of C.arden and 

 Forest ever met with spon- 

 taneous hybrids .^ 



W. Trclcasc. 



-States by New Jersey 

 C. oinxtus), and in the 



the trunks, wiiich has been 

 the old ouards were remc)\e( 



Wire Netting for Tree Guards. 

 — On some of the street trees 

 of Washington hea\'y galvan- 

 ized wire netting is used to pro- 

 tect the bark from injury by 

 horses. It is the same material 

 that is used for enclosing poul- 

 try yards. It comes in strips 

 five or six feet wide, and may 

 be cut to any length requiretl 

 by the size of the tree. The 

 edges are held in place by 

 bending together the cut ends 

 of the wires, and the whole is 

 sustained by staples over the 

 heavy wires at tlie top and 

 bottom. This guard appears 

 to be an effective protection 

 and is less unsightly than any 

 other of which I know, in tact 

 it can hardlv lie ilistinguished 

 at the tlistance of a few rods. 

 It is certainly an improvement 

 on the pl.'Ui of white-washing 

 extensively prac-tici'd liere since 

 ./. .-/. Cro:i,-r. 



