May 20, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



237 



Horsefield's variety, and the one bulb gave us three perfect 

 flowers. The perianth is pure white with a pale yellow trumpet, 

 and the flower is of good substance. I had always thought 

 that Empress and Emperor were tender and hard to keep, but 

 with us they are the most vigorous, and the size and substance 

 of their flowers are unsurpassed. Duchess de Brabant is one 

 of the Eucharis-flowered section and is known as pure white, 

 but there is a tinge of creamy yellow in the flowers, which are 

 two or three on a stem. This is a very pretty variety, dwarf, 

 and useful when cut. Of the Poet's Narcissus the earliest is 

 the variety Angustifolius. It flowered ten days before Ornatus, 

 the well-known early-forcing kind, and is equally as good in its 

 way. The true variety, Pcetarum, is distinct, for, instead of the 

 centre being margined with red, it is wholly of a deep orange- 

 scarlet or saffron. We received a lot of other bulbs under this 

 name which were nothing more than the N. posticus, which is 

 easily distinguished by the coloring of the cup. 



Ard Righ, or Irish King, is a very early Trumpet variety, and 

 forces well, and makes a better plant for this purpose than 

 Trumpet Major. Countess of Annesley, also a Trumpet va- 

 riety, is equal to Golden Spur, and very desirable. It was 

 found in an old Irish garden, as were also many more charm- 

 ing kinds, where they have been hidden for years past, but 

 have been hunted up since the development of what may be 

 considered almost a craze for these flowers. Some of the 

 newer sorts certificated at the London Conference last year 

 command prices which testify to the demand for novelties of 

 this sort among wealthy amateurs. Twenty-five dollars is the 

 modest sum asked for one bulb, and if the flower is as good as 

 described it may be as many years before it will be cheap or 

 common ; but this is an exceptional case. Good showy kinds 

 can now be purchased of most dealers in fall, and even the 

 cheapest are good to commence with, and then, again, some 

 of the more expensive sorts are really cheap, they increase so 

 rapidly. Sir Watkin, for instance, is one of the most profitable 

 kinds ever introduced ; where one bulb is planted three may 

 be dug the following year, it multiplies so quickly by offsets. 

 The depth at which to plant has been, and is still, a vexed 

 question both here and abroad. Mr. Gerard takes exception 

 to the depth recommended by me, and practiced very suc- 

 cessfully in his own locality and in this, but the difference lies 

 entirely in the nature of the soil, which with him is a red clay, 

 while those with which I have had to deal have been of a 

 sandy or gravelly nature, warm and dry in summer, and 

 porous in winter. Had I his soil to deal with it would be neces- 

 sary, perhaps, to plant differently and to leave the beds bare 

 during summer, but here even the more delicate and even 

 tender kinds do well under the treatment I have described in 

 these columns. 



European catalogues often add in their descriptions of Nar- 

 cissus the dates at which they may be expected to bloom in 

 the open ground. It need hardly be said that this is not of any 

 use to us here, as when spring opens a week of difference 

 there may become something less than a day here, but per- 

 haps if they were grown in pots in cold frames there would be 

 a greater interval between the kinds. Pot-culture, however, is 

 scarcely to be recommended, as even when well grown in pots 

 the plants become so drawn out of all character that it is very 

 difficult to distinguish the varieties. Such was the case at the 

 spring show of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and 

 the same may be said of nearly all hardy plants, they lose one 

 of their special charms, their hardiness. 



S. Lancaster, Mass. E. 0. Orpet. 



Scilla hyacinthoides, after being grown in gardens some 200 

 years, would scarcely seem to need an introduction, yet as the 

 Scilla season ends with its blooming in May, perhaps a word 

 as to its value and beauty may cause it to be planted in places 

 where it is now unknown. The white soft bulbs are entirely 

 hardy, and increase rapidly, throwing up in the spring numer- 

 ous long, narrow, prostrate leaves, and at this season a radical 

 stem furnished with numerous small bell-shaped flowers. In 

 the type these are light blue, but there are also white and rosy 

 forms, both of which are attractive. The flower-stems are 

 some six inches long and useful for cutting. 



Trollius Earopseus was one of the last hardy plants to bloom in 

 November, and now the same plants are showing their beau- 

 tiful golden globes. Very satisfactory yellows are their flow- 

 ers — light yellows to orange in clear fine tones. These Globe- 

 flowers seem of undoubted hardiness, and prefer rather damp 

 places ; in such locations they grow vigorously. 



Aquilegia flabellata, the dwarf Japanese species, proves the 

 earliest to bloom, leading A. Sibirica, and showing flower in 

 April. It is scarcely a foot high and has short-spurred white 



flowers slightly shaded with violet. The other species and 

 hybrids are rapidly developing and enlivening the borders 

 with their gracefully poised flowers. Either for the border or 

 for naturalizing in wild places there are few more satisfactory 

 and enjoyable flowers than the Columbines, and few plants 

 with a greater range of color and form. Perhaps there are 

 rather too many purples, but on the whole the colors are very 

 attractive. The confirmed hardy plantsman has his tradition 

 that only the true species of Columbines are worth growing. 

 'Tis true that he is somewhat doubtful as to what may be the 

 genuine type of some species, but he is sternly loyal to the 

 principle. But those who simply enjoy beauty when they find 

 it will be apt to find pleasure in the double and twisted hybrids 

 which spring up through the garden from self-sown' seed. 

 The varieties of Columbines are endless since it is very diffi- 

 cult to prevent their crossing. Reliable seeds may be had of 

 some species, however, and it is well to start with a selection 

 of these. A good selection would be, say, A. carulea, A. 

 chrysantha, A. alba grandiflora, A. truncata, A. glandulosa, 

 and A. Canadensis. It adds to the minor pleasures of the 

 garden to grow the flowers of sentiment, and there seems to 

 be some of this attached to the last-named species, which is 

 our common wood Columbine. I notice that my friends who 

 are old enough or frank enough not to be ashamed of emotion 

 usually pause pensively at this variety, which leads me to infer 

 that in days gone by a great many wild Columbines have been 

 gathered in pleasant company. 



Elizabeth, N. J. J.N.G. 



Begonia semperflorens. — I have been much interested in 

 noticing the hardy character of this Begonia for the past two 

 seasons. On an elevated border, close under the south front 

 of a long piazza in Raleigh, is a row of these Begonias. They 

 are covered in the autumn with rough manure, and in the 

 spring they start up again in full strength. I was at first in- 

 clined to think they came from seed, and some may do so, 

 but I find that the fleshy bases of the stems survive. These 

 plants are not tuberous, but the bases of the stems arestout, and 

 are completely protected from our light frosts by the sheltered 

 position in the dry border with the added cover of manure. 

 During each summer the plants grow about two feet high, 

 completely filling the open space between the ground and the 

 floor of the piazza, and they are continually covered with 

 bloom. I have been accustomed to see this Begonia growing 

 as a weed, from seed, about old greenhouses, but had no idea 

 before of its ability to survive out-of-doors. 



The Satsuma Orange.— Last spring we planted on an open 

 and exposed hill-top, at the North Carolina Experiment Station, 

 two trees of the Japanese seedless Orange, known as the Sat- 

 suma. These small trees are grafted on the Citrus trifoliata. 

 One of them was very puny and weak all summer, and we 

 were not surprised to find that it lost its foliage and some 

 wood. The other one did not lose a leaf, though no protec- 

 tion was given it. It is now making a firm new growth, and 

 is in bloom. It seems probable, therefore, that we have here 

 a sweet orange that can be grown a long way beyond the 

 " Orange belt." The lowest temperature noted at -the signal 

 station in Raleigh during the past winter was, we believe, 

 twenty-one degrees above zero ; but these plants are on an 

 exposed hill-top, fifty feet or more above the city, and must 

 have had several degrees more of frost at times. 



Celery-plants.— Celery-plants should be bought in May from 

 those who make a specialty of growing them for sale on a 

 large scale. At thinning time the young plants may be pro- 

 cured for one-third the price asked for them at the regular 

 planting season, and by transplanting them two inches apart 

 each way in a rich border, or, what is better, in a cold frame 

 where a shade can be put over them, fine plants, in the best 

 possible condition, are conveniently at hand when planting 

 time comes. When only a moderate number of plants are 

 needed, it is better to buy them in this way than to raise them 

 from seed. 



Raleigh, n. c. IV. F. Massey. 



The Forest. 



Redwood Timber. 

 COUTH of San Francisco Bay the only Redwood forest of 

 ^ any extent is that of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Com- 

 pared with the northern belt this forest is small. Two rail- 

 roads tap it, one piercing it through the centre. A great 

 farming and fruit-growing community is close at hand, 

 while much lumber goes to the cities on San Francisco Bay.' 

 With this demand it is a question of no great length of time 

 when this forest will disappear. 



