200 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 166. 



Twelve species and five varieties of Trilliums are native to 

 North America, all early bloomers, and each having special 

 merits to give it interest in any collection. Some of the more 

 showy, such as one would select for an early bed, if the entire 

 list were not used, are T. nivale, T. grandiflorum, T. sessile, 

 var. Califomicwn, all with white flowers ; T. sessile, with dull 

 purple Mowers, but having very large, handsome and durable 

 foliage, and T. stylosum, with pinkish white flowers. The 

 white-flowered variety of the purple Trillium is also hand- 

 some. These are all easy of culture. The Painted Trillium 

 (T. erythrocarpum) should be added as one of the finest, but it 

 is the most difficult to grow, requiring deep planting, excellent 

 drainage, and a light soil rich in leaf-mold. 



The Spreading Globe Flower {Trollius laxus), with its abun- 

 dance of creamy or greenish yellow flowers, should not be for- 

 gotten among the early bloomers. It gives variety of color, 

 and the large flowers continue for a long time. It is quite 

 desirable for a thinly shaded situation. 



The Virginia Cowslip (Mertensia Virginica), with its hand- 

 some panicle of pale blue flowers and its rich dark green foli- 



appear in early summer, six to nine in a cluster, at the top of 

 a spathaceous scape which equals the leaves in length. The 

 perianth differs from that of a large Snowdrop in having all 

 the white, green-tipped segments of equal length. 



L. aidumnale, the Autumnal SnowHake, is an elegant little 

 plant, which, unfortunately, requires the protection of a 

 slightly heated greenhouse or frame during the winters of this 

 region, but it will doubtless prove quite hardy in more favored 

 parts of the country. The oblong bulb supports three or four 

 linear-acuminate leaves, about three inches in length, which 

 usually appear, when the reddish scape has already 

 attained its full dimensions, early in autumn. The flowers, 

 usually borne two on each scape, are nearly half an inch in 

 diameter, of similar form to those of L. astivum and white in 

 color, with a profuse display of deep rose around the base. 

 The beauty of its tiny blossoms, combined with its free-flower- 

 ing propensity, would render L. antumnale a very desirable 

 addition to any garden in which it could be safely trusted. It 

 is native on the sand-hills of Algiers, Spain and Portugal, and 

 was introduced to cultivation from the latter country in 1629. 



-The Gardens at Monte Carlo. — See page 194. 



age, and the so-called American Cowslip, or Giant Cyclamen 

 (Dodecatheon Meadia), with rose-colored or nearly white flow- 

 ers, are both early and attractive species, requiring no special 

 treatment beyond a rich soil and ordinary culture. 



Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Mo. F. H. Horsford. 



The Snowflakes. 



THESE plants belong to the genus Leucoium of the Amaryl- 

 lidacecr, a name derived from two Greek words signifying 

 white Violet ; and their fragrance is almost as strong and 

 sweet, while the common name indicates their general 

 resemblance to the Snowdrop. 



The genus comprises some eight or nine species of bulbous 

 plants, including those formerly known under the genera, 

 Acis and Erinosma, only two or three of which, however, are 

 worthy of general attention. The Summer Snowflake (Z. 

 astivum) is one of the best. It is a native of southern and 

 central Europe, and has been found as far north as the south 

 of England. This plant is perfectly hardy in Massachusetts. 

 It attains a height of from eighteen inches to twenty-four 

 inches. The bulb is comparatively small and roundish ; the 

 leaves narrow and bluntly pointed. The fragrant, drooping, 

 campanulate flowers are three-fourths of an inch wide, and 



Still more attractive than either of the above species is L. 

 ■verntim, the Spring SnowHake ; it is the best of the genus, 

 though hardly of such vigorous constitution as L. astivicm. 

 The flowering season opens from two to four weeks later than 

 that of the earliest Snowdrops ; but it is much larger, and 

 is, among spring-flowering plants, the gem of all the garden.. 

 It is from nine to twelve inches high ; bulb oval ; leaves six 

 inches long by half an inch wide, obtuse ; scape bearing one 

 or two flowers an inch wide, but otherwise like those of L. 

 ccstivum. It is a native of moist, shady localities in many parts 

 of central Europe, and was cultivated as early as 1596. A va- 

 riety of this plant, generally named L. Carpathiaim or L. biflo- 

 rum in gardens, is distinguishable from the species in the 

 very frequent occurrence of two-flowered scapes, and in the 

 divisions of the flowers being tipped with yellow. It was in- 

 troduced into England from the Carpathian Mountains in 1816. 

 The plant is quite as pleasing as L. vernum, and it blooms 

 somewhat later. 



The Spring and Summer Snowflakes like good soil, partial 

 shade, and a moist rather than dry situation. They are most 

 effective when planted in large masses. Once planted, the 

 latter may be left to shift for itself, but the less sturdy charac- 

 ter of L. vernum and variety renders an occasional inspection 

 of their bulbs a necessity. L. aictumnale should be planted in 

 pots, using sandy loam, where the winters are too severe tO' 



