September S, 1897.] 



Garden and Forest. 



353 



have protection from the wind. The leaves are persistent 

 and lose their vitality with the storms in early winter, and 

 as they show no signs of ripening previously it is fair to 

 suppose that in a milder climate they would be of more 

 than annual duration. 



Though growing well each season it has not flowered 

 with me until this year ; the failure is evidently due to the 

 production of too much thin wood. The flowering shoots 

 this year are fewer and thicker and the plant evidently 

 requires judicious thinning, and perhaps some fertilizer. 

 The flowers are produced at the top of the stems, there 

 being a crown-bud and two or three terminals on short, 

 leafy stems. The pure white flowers, with six much- 

 crimped petals, are from five to six inches across and have 

 a hemispherical mass of golden stamens surrounding 

 the ovary. The illustration on this page scarcely does 

 justice to its beauty of form, for its petals are often con- 

 torted, and being of delicate texture and swayed by each 

 breath of air there is always a beautiful play of life and 



distinct character ofthis new break appears in the flowers, 

 which are in the usual colorings and single, but sometimes 

 attached to all the petals, and sometimes to only either the 

 inner or outer pair. A growth springs from the lower sec- 

 tion, but not from the base of the petals. As this growth 

 becomes free it takes on crested forms which are unique, be- 

 ing very irregular and decidedly attractive. The centres of 

 the Single Tuberous Begonias have always been quite bald, 

 or rather unattractive, and this new strain is a gain in beauty 

 as well as an extremely interesting example of a floral 

 metamorphosis, further phases of which may be expected. 

 A single flower with growth of similar character was shown 

 in an exhibition in the Grand Central Palace, in this city, 

 some five years ago, by the Oasis Nursery Company, 

 which, of course, is an illustration of the familiar fact that 

 plant sports usually occur in several places at the same 

 time. I have been expecting and hoping for some years 

 that some one would select or secure a strain of Tuberous 

 Begonias with brilliant leaves. It appears to be within the 



Fig. 46. — A Flower of Romneya Coulteri. — See page 352. 



light over it as the illumination changes. The petals seem 

 peculiarly sensitive to light, opening wide in full sunlight 

 and partly folding under duller rays. As each flower lasts 

 three days this sensitiveness of the petal is useful, for late 

 in the afternoon two of the inner petals fold up over the 

 stamens and protect the pollen from dew or dampness. 

 Though this plant does not flower profusely under ordinary 

 conditions, it seems to be a good subject for the attentions 

 of a deft cultivator, for there springs from each leaf-axil a 

 short leafy stem which apparently might be converted into 

 a flowering shoot with proper cultural skill. 



Crested Begonias. — Under the somewhat cumbersome, 

 but descriptive name of Begonia grandiflora erecta cris- 

 tata, Messrs. Vilmorin introduced last year a new type of 

 tuberous Begonias. This new strain is said to have been 

 obtained or selected by Messrs. Vallerand Freres, and is so 

 far fixed that a fair proportion of seedlings is said to come 

 true. The tubers and foliage are of the ordinary type of 

 tuberous Begonias, now familiar to all gardeners. The 



possibilities, for a plant here some years ago gave a promise 

 of brilliant foliage by producing a stem with leaves of 

 the richest colorings. Unfortunately tubers were very plen- 

 tiful at that time, and the promising one was lost in the 



rabble. 

 Elizabeth, n.j. /• A. Gerard. 



Cultural Department. 



Hybridizing Sarracenias. 



/^WING to their odd shapes, and in some cases their beauti- 

 '— ' fully marked leaves, the Sarracenias are much prized in 

 European collections ; indeed, more highly than they are 

 here in their native country. During recent years some 

 remarkably handsome hybrids have been raised, especially 

 from the dwarf-growing species. The leaves of all the species 

 are hollow ; some resemble pitchers and others are trumpet- 

 shaped. Five of the species are protected by a hood-like 

 covering on the top ; S. purpurea is unprotected. All of the 

 species ensnare insects by an arrangement of hairs on the 



