March 25, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



141 



Spring Flowers. 



MARCH is a month of anxiety in the hardy-plant garden. 

 The losses usually noted at 'that time may be the result 

 of hard conditions earlier in the year rather than the constant 

 changes incidental to the month, but at this time we may 

 usually first take note of the losses. With all the continued 

 cold of the past winter the destruction among hardy plants 

 seems less than during the previous much milder season. The 

 few mild periods have started a large proportion of bulbs and 

 hardy herbaceous plants into some activity, and the garden is 

 full of interest. In selecting plants for the hardy garden care 

 should be taken to secure as many as possible of an arctic 

 habit, by which I mean those which spring rapidly into bloom 

 in a few days after the frost releases its hold on the ground. 

 The flowers of these plants are not only among the most beau- 

 tiful and apparently delicate of any season, but there is a never- 

 ending wonder and charm in their surprising annual appear- 

 ance. They know their master, and when the sun rises but a 

 trifle they rise to his greeting. 



It adds much to the interest of a garden to discover at 

 every mild time throughout the year at least a stray flower 

 or two. Even in our latitude the frost is seldom so persistent 

 that flowers may not be had out-of-doors in warm spots nearly 

 every month in the year. December is usually the barest time, 

 as the ground is then apt to be continuously frozen. This year 

 Snowdrops were in bloom in January in the border, and are 

 still in mid-season. Anemone blanda was a close second in 

 February. These plants, I find, are very reliable winter- 

 bloomers, and some established plants in a snug corner are 

 very bright and charming on a sunny day. They range in 

 colors from a not very clear white to a deep pure blue, and the 

 foliage is deeply cut and of a bronzy hue. Some roots of A. 

 blanda alba in a border only a few feet distant are only just 

 now starting into growth, so much difference does location 

 make in time of flowering. It would be well to plants. Apen- 

 nina with A. blanda, as this variety follows closely, and would 

 extend the blooming-time of the bed several weeks. My 

 colony of A. blanda had a good baking during the summer, 

 and received a mulch in the fall. The latter condition seems 

 important, as they are stronger where the mulch still covers 

 them. From some indications, I am inclined to think that in 

 well-drained soil under deciduous shrubs they would be quite 

 at home. 



A Taurian variety of Scilla bifolia is proving an excellent 

 early Squill, quite as early as the Anemone. This has flowers 

 of as deep a blue color as 6". Sibirica, and the blooms are en- 

 tirely weather-proof, as becomes an early riser. Another 

 Taurian Squill has much larger foliage and of a more true 

 blue shade. This, while scarcely later, is somewhat damaged 

 by hard weather. Muscaris are showing their inconspicuous 

 but lasting flowers, while Chionodoxas are slowly appearing, 

 C. Sardensis being most forward. It is .rather peculiar that a 

 pan of these in a cold frame are not as forward in bloom as 

 those in the open, though the foliage is more advanced. 

 Winter Aconite {Eranthis hymelis) gives a cheerful glint of 

 color, and a stray hardy Primula may be found, though the 

 latter is scarcely a winter flower, like the double Daisy, Bellis 

 perennis, which sometimes ventures out in a mild spell, for 

 which temerity they are punished by the first sharp frost. 

 Hellebores seemed such a success out-of-doors last season 

 that mine were plunged in the border early in the year, but 

 without much confidence that the result would change the 

 opinion that they are cold-frame plants — in my garden St 

 least. Looking them over the other day, I found the Lenten 

 section quite ready to bloom, but the Christmas Roses (H. 

 niger) entirely dormant, with buds still at the crowns. Per- 

 haps your correspondents, who have bloomed them in the 

 open so many years in succession, have garden conditions 

 more favorable than mine to these desirable plants. 



Elizabeth, n.j. J- N. Gerard. 



Notes from the Harvard Botanical Garden. 



Salvia Bethellii. — This excellent variety of S. involucrata 

 was obtained from seed some years ago by the English gar- 

 dener after whom it is named. In many respects it is supe- 

 rior to the species ; the habit is more compact and bushy, the 

 flowers more numerous, and of a richer color. No other Salvia 

 flowers so persistently ; no other presents such a neat, attrac- 

 tive appearance when in bloom. The entire plant rarely ex- 

 ceeds three feet in height, and it is furnished with dark green, 

 velvety ovate-acuminate leaves, from six to seven inches long, 

 on petioles one-third their length. The flowers are borne in a 

 large, dense, pyramidal, verticillate, erect raceme, with two 

 caducous, ovate bracts, of the same color as the corolla, at the 



base of each whorl. The corolla is a deep reddish crimson, 

 two inches in length, tubular, flattened, contracted at the top, 

 expanding again in a two-lipped limb, the upper lip densely 

 hairy, and the lower one bearded beneath. Cuttings pre- 

 pared from the young growth are very easily propagated with 

 bottom heat. They should be rooted in spring, however, so 

 that the plants may be grown in the open ground during sum- 

 mer. They should be taken up and potted in August, or early 

 in September, and afterward treated as Chrysanthemums and 

 other soft-wooded plants thatare grown out-of-doors. S. Bethellii 

 cannot eadure the slightest frost, and it .delights in a sunny 

 position and a free circulation of air when under cover. 



Tetranema Mexicana.— This is a charming little peren- 

 nial, scarcely more than six inches high. It was first culti- 

 vated in Belgium, some fifty years ago, and is the only mem- 

 ber of a genus which is closely allied to Pentstemon. The 

 stem is very short, and thickly clad with opposite, oblong, 

 crenate leaves. The axillary peduncles, bearing the reddish 

 purple flowers in dense corymbs, are produced freely during 

 the summer months. Although much smaller, the flowers in 

 form bear some slight resemblance to those of the Foxglove ; 

 and this likeness has been considered sufficient to justify the 

 name of "Mexican Foxglove" for the plant. This name, 

 however, is rather inappropriate. When a Foxglove is men- 

 tioned, we turn, naturally, to look for the aspiring stems ; but 

 in Tetranema Mexicana we find instead a plant of compara- 

 tively humble proportions. It is beautiful, but not stately like 

 the Foxglove. Its small size, however, combined with a com- 

 pact habit, renders it very useful in edging groups of larger 

 greenhouse plants, and its pretty flowers never fail to please. 

 The plant thrives luxuriantly in rich, sandy loam, and it is 

 easily propagated by division or from seeds. The latter are 

 borne in great abundance, and the plants produced from 

 those sown in summer will bloom as profusely in winter, 

 under pot culture, as those obtained from spring-sown seeds 

 usually flower in summer. 



The Black Calla. — It is only a year or two since an Amer- 

 ican firm distributed roots of a plant to which this name was 

 given, with Arum sanctum added as a botanical name. The 

 latter name was new, and the impression was thus conveyed 

 that the plant also was new. Some of the roots had been sent 

 here, and the development of the inflorescence was awaited 

 with much curiosity, until the plant turned out to be one which 

 had been cultivated as Arum Palczstinu77i (the correct name) 

 more than a quarter of a century ago. It was introduced 

 from Jerusalem by the Messrs. Veitch, of London, in 1864, and 

 flowered at their nurseries during the following year. A. 

 PalcEstinum attains a height of from one to two feet, and re- 

 sembles the common Calla Lily {Richardia ALthiopicd) in 

 general aspect. The long, drooping spathe is greenish on 

 the outside, and blackish purple on the inner surface ; the 

 upper part of the conspicuous spadix is of the same blackish 

 purple color. The fragrance of the inflorescence has been 

 described as similar to that of the Violet ; but to most people 

 it calls to mind the odor of decaying Musk-melons. The 

 plant is of no practical utility in garden work, but it may be 

 grown as a curiosity. The treatment given to ordinary Callas 

 will suit it very well. 



Cambridge, Mass. M. Barker. 



Chrysanthemum Queries. — II. 



THE following questions, with Mr. John Thorpe's 

 replies, are a continuation of those which we pub- 

 lished last week : 



" Has the constitution of the Chrysanthemum been im- 

 paired by long-continued crossing ? " 



No ; on the other hand, the American-raised seedlings of 

 the past three years are of a decidedly more vigorous habit 

 than those of former years. Raisers of seedlings have now 

 reached the point where they throw away all weakly seedlings, 

 unless they have some new and striking feature which it is 

 desirable to develop in future generations. When my seed- 

 lings are about four months old, being generally then in three- 

 inch pots, I discard all plants of puny growth and constitu- 

 tional weakness, thus doing away with all subsequent trouble, 

 and often the temptation to keep a weakling when in flower. 



" How shall we secure a race of Chrysanthemums that will 

 endure our trying climatic conditions ? " 



If, at any time during May, 500 seedlings are planted in the 

 open ground to which is given fairly good cultivation, there 

 will come a time when some of these plants begin to weaken 

 — that is, they make no progress — and as the trying summer 

 lengthens many others will drop behind, until, probably, at 

 the end of September, your 500 seedlings have a representa- 



