ii4 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 159. 



much root-room, but they like a rich open soil, plenty of 

 water when growing, and a little extra food in the shape of 

 liquid manure helps them considerably in the growing season. 

 While some of the species, such as C. revoluta and C. circi- 

 nalis, retain their leaves several years and scarcely turn a hair 

 in winter, others are practically deciduous. When the fronds 

 sicken it is wise to keep the roots fairly dry, so as to rest the 

 plants. This usually happens in winter, but by March again 

 new leaves will push up, and these should be encouraged by 

 gentle syringing in favorable weather and an occasional good 

 watering at the roots. Should the stems decay at the base 

 they may be cut off above the decayed part and treated as cut- 

 tings. Quite large stems, both of Cycas and other genera, 

 have been renovated in this manner. It sometimes happens 



Hardy Plant Novelties. 



HTHE season of seed catalogues has fairly begun, and those 

 -*• who study this literature always find something to interest 

 and instruct, and, probably, to perplex, them in the effort to 

 discriminate between desirable novelties and those which are 

 quite as well left alone. It would appear that we are to become 

 better acquainted in future than we have been with the 

 treasures of the New Zealand flora. One of these, Ranun- 

 culus Lyallii, is now offered by several seedsmen, and if there 

 was but a reasonable hope that seeds of this beautiful plant 

 would germinate easily we should soon be in possession of a 

 good stock. R. Lyallii is known as the Shepherd's Lily in its 

 native country, which is in the southern or colder of the two 



Cycas pectinata.— See page 113. 



that after fruiting a stem will decay at the top, and appear to 

 lose entirely its central bud. Cycads, however, are not like 

 Palms in this respect, for I have seen new growths start from 

 the top of stems which apparently had previously lost every- 

 thing down to the pith. Should the central bud fail to start 

 again then laterals will almost certainly push out, or even all 

 round the base of the stem just above the roots numerous 

 sucker-like growths will spring up. In fact, one might say 

 that if there is health in even a small portion of the stem of a 

 Cycad there is a chance of its revival. Cycas differs from 

 other genera of Cycadacece in having a conspicuous midrib 

 extending up the whole length of the pinnae. Stangeria is the 

 only other genus with this character, but it differs very mark- 

 edly from Cycas in all other respects. 

 Kew. W. Watson. 



islands known as New Zealand. Some time ago I obtained 

 fresh seeds of this plant direct from its native locality, with the 

 date on which the seeds were collected, but at the end of two 

 years no plants appeared, and I can only find one instance re- 

 corded of this Ranunculus having been raised from seed, and 

 this was by Mr. Anderson Henry, of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 

 this place the plants came at the end of three years after sow- 

 ing. The flowers of Ranunculus Lyallii are pure waxy white, 

 four inches in diameter, while the leaves are peltate, often fif- 

 teen inches in diameter, with a many-flowered stem two to four 

 feet high. This plant would certainly not be hardy in the 

 colder states, but would be desirable for the cool greenhouse. 

 Of other New Zealand plants the Aciphyllas are also offered 

 as new. My experience with this genus is not extensive, being 

 confined, in fact, to A. squarrosa, the Bayonet-plant, so called 



