October 3, 1888] 



Garden and Forest. 



375 



California. Il is a very pretty spreading- shrub, six tu 

 eight feet high, with smooth, thick, reticulate-veined leaves, 

 one-half to one inch long, often with a notch at the apex, 

 darkish green above and glaucous underneath. The flow- 

 ers are in globular clusters about one inch in diameter, 

 white or pale blue, and fragrant. When in bloom it is a 

 charming shrub as it grows on these hills. Another bush 

 touching the Ceanothus is a Manzanita {Arctostaphylos 

 lomenlosa). It is an evergreen and exceedingly variable 

 plant, no two being of the same color of foliage. Chame- 

 leon-like, it varies with season, locality and stages of 

 growth. Its dark reddish trunk (most frequently in clus- 

 ters) is always gracefully crooked and ornamental. In 

 June the flowers have all disappeared, and the little ber- 

 ries, one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter (little apples, 

 their name signifies in Spanish), green, red and brown in 

 color, hang m pretty clusters among the old and new 

 leaves. 



In such places the California Poppy {Eschscholtzia Cali- 

 fornica), is seldom wanting, and it was present here with 

 its inimitable yellow flowers on long stems, which gener- 

 ally find support among the branches of some dwarf shrub, 

 such as the Chamisal {Adenosfoma). 



I found here, also, a very pretty Cichoriace<.)US plant in 

 full bloom {iMalacolhrix obfusa), ^vith its radical leaves 

 spreadingon the clear sand, and scape-like, branching stems 

 bearing beautiful yellow flowers, next in richness to the 

 Poppy. I brought home some of these, which contin- 

 ued for two weeks to open out each day and close at night 

 their pretty flowers. 



Among the several grasses I will mention the one most 

 prominent ; a beautiful and stately Blue grass, Poa ten- 

 uifolia of Nuttal. It is beautiful because so unexpected 

 and out of place in such a localit)'. Growing in bunches, 

 two or three feet high, with numerous slender, often pur- 

 plish leaves, it tempts one to try the experiment of plant- 

 ing a lawn, or making a Blue Grass farm on some of 

 these sand ridges I More improbable things have been 

 done ; for instance, in Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco, 

 where roving sand hills and Alaska winds have been 

 tamed down to gentle slopes and genial bireezes, by the 

 aid of certain trees for wind-breaks, and a skillful selection 

 of other plants adapted to the holding of the sand and 

 staying the air currents. 



At present our sand ridge only serves the slightl)' useful 

 purposes of keeping pure the native plants, of storing ifp 

 some heat from the sun during the day to temper the night 

 breeze, and producing a few mouthfuls of forage for 

 grazing cattle. 



What its full capabilities are, must remain for future ex- 

 periment. It is certain a vineyard can flourish there, for 

 that has been demonstrated near by. Some day probabl)' 

 certain forest trees may grow on these sand slopes, to sup- 

 ply timber for future generations, to preserve and equalize 

 the water supply, and to protect orchards and farm-lands 

 from the too violent sweep of winds thai sometimes blow 

 from the north and west. 

 Saiii.T Cruz, cai, juiv, 1S8S. C. J.. Andersoii. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



-pi 



^HERE was an abundance of flowers to-day, for the 

 _|_ most part from the open air, at the meeting of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, and the unusually large num- 

 ber of first-class certificates awarded is proof of the excel- 

 lence of the novelties. The chief feature of the exhibition 

 was a magnificent display of Gladioli from the famous 

 growers, Messrs. Kelway, of Langport, in Somersetshire. 

 I do not know whether Gladiolus Gandavensig is grown 

 much in America, though I imagine that they could be 

 grown to perfection in your hot summers. If they are not, 

 they should be, for there are few flowers that can surpass 

 the splendor and the statcliness of a perfect Gladiolus, such 



as James Kelway can produce. Of the 500 spikes dis- 

 played not one was under eighteen inches in length, and 

 every one carried a score or more of expanded flowers and 

 buds, every flower being three to even four inches across, 

 as perfect in form as the most exacting florist could de- 

 sire. The colors of these Gladioli have an extremely wide 

 range, showing every gradation of tint, from the most- 

 glowing scarlets and crimsons through the most exquisite 

 shades of pink to the purest of whites. Some are penciled, 

 lined, flaked and bhitched in the most subtle way, and all 

 have their petals of wax-like texture, the crystalline cells of 

 which sparkle on their surface like gems. This is not an 

 overdrawn picture of what Kelway's Gladioli are to-day, 

 and I thought, when admiring them this morning, how 

 odd it is, not to say perverse, that flowers of such marvel- 

 ous beauty should be neglected because their market value 

 is not so great as that of Orchids and other expensive 

 tropical flowers. Of the hundreds of spikes shown to-day 

 the majority represented old varieties, but a large number 

 of new seedlings were shown for certificates, and of these 

 the Committee selected the following six sorts : Cebes, bril- 

 liant cherrj'-crimson, quite a new tint ; Magas, white, deli- 

 cately penciled with pink ; Micon, upper segments blush 

 white, flaked with pink, lower segments pale primrose- 

 yellow, a distinct break in color; Accia, vivid scarlet, 

 with lower segment white ; Bullion, pale yellow, flaked 

 delicately with carmine, and Mago, carmine-crimson, with 

 white lower segment. All these have massive spikes and 

 large flowers of perfect form. Others could have been 

 chosen that worthily deserved a like award, but the prin- 

 ciple is not to be too lavish with certificates For the next 

 two or three meetings Messrs. Kelway will show an array 

 of Gladioli such as this from their broad acres at Langport. 



Double Begonias, from Messrs. Canneli, of Swanle)-, 

 were another feature to-day. A large group of new 

 seedlings were shown, all with flowers as double, and, 

 in many instances, as large as good double Hollyhocks, 

 but only two were chosen for certificates; one, named 

 Mrs. Lynch, with rosetted flowers, four inches across, of a 

 clear rose-pink, and Mrs. Lascelles, very large and double, 

 pale cherry-carmine. These both have vigorous growth 

 and good habit. From Swanle)^ also came some v\q\\ 

 single Begonia, and the Committee found themselves 

 bound to deviate from the usual rule in not certificating 

 seedling single Begonias for the sake of one called White 

 Lady, whose flowers were of such faultless shape— that is, 

 they were almost, if not quite, circular, and of snowy 

 whiteness — in fact, it is one of the best, if not the purest, 

 white single Begonia yet raised, .\mong the others were 

 some with orange-red or flame-colored flowers, which 

 were very showy. 



For the first time this year Messrs. Canneli sent a selec- 

 tion of the splendid new varieties of Canna, to which I 

 have referred in one of my former letters. Those shown 

 made an exceedingly fine displa)^ and the large, bold- 

 looking foliage, like small Banana-leaves, seemed to set 

 off the glowing colors of the flowers to great advantage. 

 The curious, unsymmetrical form of Canna flowers adds 

 to their beauty, and the uninitiated public look upon them 

 as Orchids. Four Cannas, the pick of a large group, 

 were certificated. These all rejoiced in French names, 

 thus indicating their origin. Admiral Courbet has large 

 flowers, with bright yellow petals, heavily and profusely 

 blotched and spotted with blood-red ; Capricieux has flow- 

 ers with bright orange-red petals, conspicuously and pret- 

 tily edged with golden-yellow, a most striking sort ; Fran- 

 cisque Morel has flowers of a deep crimson, and Madame 

 Just I should describe as nankeen color, it being that ]ic- 

 culiar mixture of red and )'ellow that nobody can intelligi- 

 bly describe. To these four I should have added one 

 called Felix Crousse, also with singular orange-red flowers. 

 These hybrid Cannas are unquestionably the coming flow- 

 ers, as they are in\aluable for winter bloom. With a little 

 management they can be made to bloom in summer and 

 ^^•inter continuously. At Swanley they are grown in an 



