June 30, 1S97.] 



Garden and Forest. 



257 



pink flowers nestling among the star-shaped leaves. It grows 

 only about ten inches high, and a plant two years old will, under 

 favorable circumstances, grow to about three feet across. 

 Young plants are quickly raised from seeds. North of here 

 Silene rnaritima ought to do well in the rock garden. It 

 behaves well enough with us until about the middle of July, 

 when it succumbs to the hot weather. Seeds are saved of il, 

 however, and sown in the fall and left to themselves in a cool 

 frame for the winter. This species has dense masses of light 

 green foliage, only a few inches high, and the flower is pure 

 white, with a very large inflated calyx. 



Silene Armeria is desirable for this class of work if kept 

 within proper bounds. In the garden here it would not be 

 long in appropriating most of the space to itself if left alone. 

 It is a very free seeder. The seed of this year's flowers self- 

 sown will come up about the beginning of September and 

 form bushy little tufts before cool weather. The seedling 

 plants come into bloom early in the spring and are followed 

 by others which germinate after the cold weather has gone. 



Pentstemon Torreyi when not in flower grows about six inches 

 high. The flower-stalks, however, get to be about three feet 

 tall, and although they are flowered sparingly, their bright red 

 color makes a very effective plant. 



Saponaria ocymoides is almost past blooming; it forms a 

 dense cushion of five-petaled pinkish flowers. The climate 

 here seems to suit it exactly. 



Polygonum repens, as its name implies, creeps close to the 

 ground, rambling over the stones and filling up chinks in a 

 pleasing way. In the hot months the foliage is of a reddish 

 tinge, but the full crop of flowers is not produced until the 

 fall, when even small plants display myriads of close, round 

 heads of dull pink flowers. With us it is not hardy, but it is 

 well worth saving a pinch of the seed every year and treating 

 the plant as an annual. 



Cerastium Biebersteinii is past blooming for the season, 

 and the flower-stalks have been cut off; the silvery foliage 

 remains, however, and is attractive all the season. This spe- 

 cies does much better with us than the common C. tomentosum. 



Spirasa Anthony Waterer is an excellent companion in the 

 rock garden to the Japanese species, S. bullata. All last sum- 

 mer the former displayed its rose-colored flowers, but it is 

 well worth growing for the foliage alone, which is partly varie- 

 gated with white and sometimes takes on a bright rosy tint. 



The Onosmas are rather fickle plants to deal with in this 

 latitude, where the soil is baked, and dry soon after drench- 

 ing rains. Sometimes a plant in full bloom will suddenly die 

 down, root and branch, while others near it will continue in 

 perfect health. They are among the most desirable rock-work 

 plants we have on account of their graceful appearance when 

 in bloom and their delicately scented flowers. O.stellulatum is 

 not quite so tloriferous as its variety, Tauricum. It should be 

 planted in a light airy place where the sun will not strike 

 directly on the root soil. Pieces of rocks placed around it 

 form a good protection. Cuttings will root under the north 

 side of a wall if kept from wilting by the aid of a glass cover. 



An odd-looking plant is Baptisia perfoliata, with all the leaves 

 facing outward from the centre and placed perpendicularly on 

 the stalks. It has rather pretty yellow flowers. 

 Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C. G. W. Oliver. 



Greenhouse Notes. 



THE fancy-leaved Caladiums are always considered effective, 

 and since the summer is their growing season they are 

 now a convenient addition to the conservatory. In fact, such 

 an attractive plant as C. argyrites is almost indispensable even 

 in a small collection. These plants should now be growing 

 rapidly, and need abundant watering and good soil. Compar- 

 atively large shifts in repotting are betler than frequent dis- 

 turbance of the roots. Well-rotted cow-manure is one of the 

 best fertilizers, and from one-third to one-half the compost is 

 not too large proportion for strong-growing varieties. Although 

 much water and a moist atmosphere are required for Cala- 

 diums, an extremely high temperature and heavy shading 

 should be avoided. Very large leaves may be developed by 

 these means, but it is done at the expense of substance and 

 durability, and such plants will scarcely bear removal to an 

 ordinary conservatory, and still less the exposure of an exhibi- 

 tion hall. 



Gloxinias and Tuberous Begonias are also now approaching 

 their prime, and while they assimilate large quantities of water 

 when in full growth they should not be watered much over- 

 head, or the leaves of Gloxinias are likely to become diseased. 

 When well established, clear manure-water of moderate 

 strength is beneficial, given at intervals of about three days. 



In the race for large and durable flowers of Tuberous Bego- 

 nias, some interesting and beautiful varieties of a different 

 tvpeseem to have been neglected — for example, B. Boliviensis, 

 B. Chelsonii, B. intermedia, B. Sutherlandii and B. Weltoni- 

 ensis, all of them easy to grow, readily increased by cuttings 

 and free in blooming. 



Gesneraceous plants are at their best during the summer ; 

 some of them interest for the profusion of flowers in many 

 brilliant colors and some for their rich foliage. The handsome 

 foliage plant of this family is Drymonia Turialoa?, of moderate 

 growth, and was probably more common in gardens twenty 

 years ago than now. It is a native of South America, with 

 large oval leaves of much substance and silvery gray in color ; 

 the flowers are also quite large and creamy white, and are 

 produced with much freedom from the axils. It propagates 

 readily from cuttings, and the leaves will root as do those of 

 Rex Begonias, but are rather uncertain in forming plants. 



Gloriosa superba is attractive for the conservatory in sum- 

 mer if several bulbs are planted in a large pot and the growths 

 trained informally over a trellis. It is, however, impatient of 

 any disturbance to its roots after growth has begun, and the 

 best method is, therefore, to plant the bulbs in the pot in 

 which they are to remain for the season. A rich, light loam 

 is the best, and after potting water should be given sparingly 

 until the plants have made considerable growth, for sour soil 

 is fatal to success. The best specimens I have seen were 

 grown in a warm house in full sunlight. 



For a cool conservatory Tropceolum tricolorum is an admi- 

 rable little vine for pot culture. When the tubers are first 

 planted the directions for watering Gloriosas should be fol- 

 lowed. A graceful method of training is by means of some 

 twiggy branches from a dead Cedar-tree placed in the pot, on 

 which the slender shoots are permitted to ramble at will. A 

 well-grown plant under this plan is a picture of unstudied 

 beauty. 



A collection of native pitcher plants (Sarracenias) and hybrids 

 can be made another interesting feature of the garden under 

 glass. A high temperature is not necessary, and the condi- 

 tions in a Camellia-house prove about right. Such kinds as 

 S. flava, S. Drummondii, S. rubra, S. variolaris and S. psitta- 

 cina are the best, and favorable conditions for their culture are 

 found in as close an approach as possible to the conditions of 

 a natural sphagnum swamp. The pitcher plant of the Pacific 

 coast, Darlingtonia Californica, is also a most interesting spe- 

 cies, but, unfortunately, is seldom an entire success under 

 cultivation. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W. 11. Taplin. 



Correspondence. 



The Sycamore Blight. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — I observe that the Sycamore-trees in this section are all 

 losing their leaves. The leaves seem to have been destroyed 

 by some disease or some insect, so that they present a sorry 

 appearance. I should be glad it you would tell me the cause 

 of this defoliation, and, if possible, suggest some remedy. 



While Plains, N. Y. R. A. S. 



[This blight of the Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, now 

 so prevalent, which gives the trees such a distressed look, 

 is due to the unusual development of the fungus Gleo- 

 sporium nervisequum. This disease has been at work 

 upon the Sycamores for several years, and, gradually in- 

 creasing in force, the time has come when either the 

 fungus must be checked or the host will perish. Already 

 many trees have died, and at the present time a large por- 

 tion of the Sycamores in the eastern states are nearly 

 leafless, and the young branches are dead or nearly so. 

 The fungus develops early in the season, and, attacking the 

 leaves before they are fully grown, causes them to turn 

 brown, and, with their dead young shoots shriveled and 

 clinging to the larger stems, the trees are noticeable for 

 their forlorn appearance. Attacking as it does the leaves 

 and the buds that might otherwise soon produce new 

 foliage, the fungus is particularly destructive. 



It is not improbable that spraying would do something 

 toward saving the trees, but the large ones are not ea 

 covered with a fungicide, and, owing to the trouble and 

 expense, one will not usually spray a tree unless il is .1 

 particularly precious one. In such a case the standard 

 Bordeaux mixture could be used with a pump in the same 



