May 2s 



Garden and Forest. 



153 



and delicate, and certainly the most ornamental species of the 

 genus." 



The station is on La Bufa Mountain, overlooking tlie mining 

 town of Cusihuiriachic. Here, hanging from fissures of cliffs 

 of porphyry facing northward, or planted on their narrow 

 shelves, 1,500 feet above the din of the town and the smoke 

 of its smelters, an abundance of strong plants was seen, their 

 rosettes of leaves beautifully marked with white and purple in 

 the strong light of the place, and their flower scapes — bright 

 scarlet when fresh, but maturing or drying crimson — like light 

 plumes tossing in tlie mountain breezes. From the nature of 

 its habitat — cool ledges, either wet or dry, and even the rich 

 humus at their base — tliis plant would be expected to thrive 

 in rockeries ; and that it will prove hardy in most climates 

 may be inferred from the fact that along the northern limit of 

 its distribution it is exposed to many degrees of frost. 



<^_^ (V^ , J) i^' (K^r(^. C. G. Pringle. 



Vegetable Soaps. — In widely separated countries there are 

 plants, in some cases herbs, and in others trees, wliich the 

 natives use as a suljstitute for soap in washing. Whoever has 

 had his linen washed in northern Mexico will bear witness to 

 the efficacy of the root called a\/nole in cleansing the linen, 

 but his shirts will come back minus buttons, not so much 

 caused by tlie detersive power of the armole, as by the primi- 

 tive washing machine used by the Mexican laundress, who 

 selects a large flat stone upon the margin of a stream, upon 

 which the fabric is laid, and beaten vigorously with another 

 flat stone. The armole root is tlie root of a species of Phalan- 

 ginin, one of the Lily family, and dried and made into little 

 parcels, is sold in every small town. The soap-wort, Sapo- 

 naria officinalis, common in this country, is known as "Bounc- 

 ing Bet." This was used in Europe in washing as a substitute 

 for soap, and in hard waters was preferred to it. The number 

 of plants that may be used as a substitute for soap is quite 

 large ; the most important of whicli is the soap-bark tree of 

 Chili, where it is called "Ouillai," or "CuUai." The native 

 name lias been taken for the botanical name of the tree, which 

 is Quillaja Saponaria. The genus Ouillaja belongs to the Rose 

 family, and five species are known, all South American; three 

 are Chilian, one Peruvian, and one Brazilian, the most import- 

 ant being the O. Saponaria of Chili, as its bark is largely used 

 in its own country, and forms a considerable article of export. 

 This is a large tree fifty to sixty feet high, with evergreen 

 leaves, and usually small white flowers. Its bark, which is 

 rough without, internally consists of liglit colored layers, which 

 contain an abundance of saponine, which they readily impart 

 to water, causing it to lather in a similar manner to soap. The 

 bark is in general use in Cliili on washing day, and is exported 

 to other countries. It is to be found in our city drug stores, 

 where it is in demand by tliose wlio wish to use it for cleansing 

 silk materials. It is said to remove grease and other spots 

 and to impart a remarkable lustre to woolen goods, and is 

 used as a wash for cleansing the hair. — American Agriciil- 

 iicrisi. 



The Rock-Garden in Spring. 



Fritillaria pudica, although one of the first of the Rocky 

 Mountain plants known to botanists, is very rarely seen in 

 cultivation. It was discovered in the mountains at the head 

 waters of the Missouri, in what is now the Territory of Mon- 

 tana, by Lewis and Clark, in their memorable journey across 

 the continent early in the century, and was described and very 

 well figured by Pursh in his North American Flora. It is a low, 

 leafy plant, six to nine inches high, with alternate linear, 

 glaucous leaves, and clear, bright yellow, pendulous, bell- 

 sliaped flowers, nearly an inch across. They are solitar)', or 

 sometimes produced in pairs. This plant does not always 

 take kindly to cultivation, but it can Ije grown in a warm, 

 sunny rockery, if the bulbs are planted deep in the ground, 

 and careful drainage is provided for them. It is well worth all 

 the troulile it takes to cultivate it, as it is one of the most deli- 

 cately beautiful of all the Fritillarias, as all those who have had 

 the good fortune to see great masses of this modest flower 

 blooming far above the timber line, amidst the melting snows 

 of the Rocky Mountains, can testify. 



Orobus vermis is one of the hardiest and in every wav most 

 satisfactory of the early flowering herbaceous plants. It is a 

 native of central and southern Europe and belongs to the 

 Veitch Family. It grows about one foot high and forms a 

 compact, bushy mass of foliage, which at this time is covered 

 with handsome, nodding flowers. These are produced in 

 great abundance on axillary peduncles, and when they first 

 open are purple'and blue in color, veined with red, later turn- 

 ing blue. The leaves are composed of two or three pairs of 



ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, shining leaflets. This handsome 

 Pea has been an inhabitant of gardens for 250 years, but it is 

 not now very often seen in this country. It is entirely hardy 

 and grows in any garden soil. It can be increased by divis- 

 ion of the roots, or by seed, which is abundantly produced 

 every year. 



The Pasque Flower {^Anemone Pulsatilla) is also in bloom. 

 It is a handsome species of northern Europe and Russian 

 Asia, long cultivated for its large, solitary, violet-purple 

 flowers, very silky on the outside of the sepals. The carpels 

 are long and feathery, like those of the Clemafis. This plant 

 succeeds best in well drained and dry situations, and naturally 

 prefers a limestone soil. It forms, when well grown, hand- 

 some masses of delicate, finely divided foliage ; and flowers 

 freely. A beautiful and interesting form of the common wild 

 Wind-flower {Anemone iie!norosa),\\'\t'i\ perfectly double flowers, 

 which was discovered in Connecticut a few years ago, is also 

 flowering here. It is a plant of considerable value, lasting 

 much longer in tiloom than the common form. 



Two very familiar northern wild flowers of the Lily Family, 

 the Wake Roljin {Trillium grandifloruni) and the Bellwort 

 {Uvularia grandiflora), should find a place in every spring 

 garden. Trillium grandifloriim'xs a low perennial herb, with 

 a simple naked stem, bearing at the summit a whorl of three 

 rhomboid-obovate leaves and a single large, spreading white 

 flower, two or three inches across, and turning rose color in 

 fading. Trillium grandifloruni likes a deep, rich soil, and pre- 

 fers the shade of neighboring trees to the open sunny border, as 

 its home is in northern woods. It may lie increased by seed, 

 although it is easier to obtain plants from the woods, which 

 require, however, two or three years to become thoroughly 

 established and to show their greatest beauty. Uvularia 

 grandiflora has drooping, yellow, bell-shaped, Lilv-like flow- 

 ers, single or in pairs, at the summit of a slender, leafy stem, 

 one to two feet high. It may be increased by division, and, 

 like the Trillium, enjoys the shade of trees and a deep, rich 

 soil. Few plants possess a more graceful, delicate beauty, or 

 better repay the trouble of moving from the woods to tlie 

 garden. 



Corydalis solida, or, as it is often known in gardens, Corj- 

 dalis bulbosa, is the earliest of the genus in flower. It is a 

 pretty little herb a span high, with a tuberous root-stock and 

 long-stalked biternate glaucous leaves, and rather large 

 purple flowers in short terminal racemes. It thrives in dense 

 shade, and is now springing up in all directions from self- 

 sown seed. It is a perfectly hardy plant which may be expected 

 to become thoroughly naturalized in this country. It is a 

 native of central Europe. 



More difficult to establish, and much more delicate and 

 beautiful, is its near relative, the Dutchman's Breeches {Dicen- 

 tra Cucullaria) of our western woods, now blooming here. It 

 is a dwarf plant with grain-like tubers, which send up finely 

 cut, graceful, glaucous leaves, and a slender scape, bearing 

 four to eight pretty white flowers tipped with yellow. The 

 generic name Dicentra, formed from two Greek words signi- 

 fying twice and spur, refers to the two-spurred, heart-shaped 

 corolla of these plants. Dicentra Cucullaria when first taken 

 from the woods should be potted or boxed in rich sandy loam, 

 and kept close in a frame or cool green-house until new roots 

 are formed. It should then be wintered in a cold-frame and 

 not planted out until spring, which operation should be per- 

 formed without disturbing the soil surrounding the delicate 

 roots. Once established in a rich soil and in a shady situation, it 

 will require no further attention. 



It is often supposed that the common English Primrose 

 {Primula vulgaris) is not hardy in this country. Here it suc- 

 ceeds admirably on a dry, grassy bank, which is partially 

 shaded in summer, but which now, when the plants are in 

 bloom, before the neighboring trees have expanded their 

 leaves, is in the full sun light. The only secret of success here 

 with this charming plant is high, well drained soil, the use of 

 good, strong, well established plants, grown in frames for the 

 purpose, and a slight protection of dry leaves left in autumn 

 where they fall from the trees. It well repays this slight 

 trouble. 



Boston, May 6th. ^ t- 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum. 



THE earliest of all the great collection of Prunus in flower 

 is P. Davidiana, a shrubby Peach from Mongolia, where 

 it was discovered by the Abbe David, who found it also cover- 

 ing the hills in the neighborhood of Gehol (the summer 

 residence of the Emperor), and near Pekin. The specimens in 

 the Arboretum were raised from seed sent by Dr. Bret- 

 schneider, long a member of the Russian Legation at Pekin, 



