284 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 173. 



Beets. — Most people are content if the root is smooth, 

 shapely and of good color, but this is by no means all. The 

 color should be one that will hold while cooking — should be 

 "fast" ; and, secondly, the top should be small and compact, 

 and occupying as little as possible .of the upper portion of the 

 root, because it will always be found that the portion just below 

 the base of the leaves is harder, rank-flavored, and lacking in 

 sugar. This is so invariably true that the French and German 

 sugar-makers always cut off and throw away this portion (often 

 amounting to from three to five per cent.) of the root, saying 

 they cannot make good sugar when it is taken. 



Cabbage. — In a long and large-stemmed plant we shall find 

 the leaves relatively far apart and with large, coarse midribs ; 

 and as a portion of the stem extends up into and becomes the 

 objectionable core of the head, it carries with it the same 

 character, and we have a large-cored and soft-hearted head, 

 the base of the leaves being separated in the head in the same 

 way as below it. Again, the shape of the leaf is important. 

 A frequent fault is, that the blade does not extend to the very 

 base, thus giving the leaf a distinct stem. The leaves of the 

 head will be of the same character, and, consequently, the 

 heart, made up of the bases of the leaves, will be loose and 

 " stemmy " at the centre, even if hard and firm at the outside. 

 The leaves should also be abundant in number, long, and 

 should show a decided tendency either to enclose the centre or 

 to be dish-shaped. If not, we have a head in which the leaves 

 do not lap by each other, forming one with either an opening 

 or a soft spot down through the centre, through which the 

 seed-stalk will soon push its way, the head thus becoming 

 worthless. Lastly, the leaves of all cabbages should be thick 

 and brittle, rather than thin and fibrous. 



Cauliflower. — The common opinion is that cauliflower- 

 heads should be smooth and flat ; but Long Island gardeners, 

 who have given more attention to this vegetable than any one 

 else in this country, declare that the head should be round 

 rather than flat, and as knobby as possible. They claim, and 

 we think with good reason, that the flat umbel-shaped head 

 must of necessity have a much larger proportion of stem than 

 one which is in general outline nearly globular, and in 

 which each section is also globular, thus giving a rough or 

 knobby, rather than a smooth, head. Certainly such heads 

 are much heavier and more solid, and we think are of better 

 quality. 



Carrot. — Few people in this country know how palatable 

 well-'grown and properly cooked carrots are, but in order to 

 fully appreciate them one must use the small and finer-grained 

 garden varieties, and when they are in proper condition, which 

 is when they are young and tender, not waiting until they are 

 nearly full-grown, as is commonly done. 



Celery. — Here, as in beans, too much weight has been 

 given to whiteness ; and flavorless and soft White Plume has 

 ruled the market. It certainly is true that excessively blanched 

 and white celery is always of inferior quality. Often it is ac- 

 tually worthless, being pithy and soft. Good quality is indi- 

 cated by fine grain and solidity. A person should be able to 

 snap a stem into three pieces by taking it in both hands and 

 giving a quick jerk with each hand in opposite directions. The 

 break should be square, showing brittle fibre, and as little 

 "string" at the back as maybe. The flesh should be firm, 

 solid and fine-grained, and have a rich nutty flavor. Such 

 celery is rarely seen in the market, because of the demand for 

 the whiter and (to the novice) more attractive kinds ; but no 

 one knows better than the Kalamazoo growers how to pro- 

 duce it if it is called for. — Professor IV. W. Tracy, before the 

 Michigan Horticultural Society. 



Notes from the St. Louis Botanical Gardens. 



Tigridia violacea is an interesting member of this Mexican 

 genus, and, this year at least, is the first to flower by several 

 days. It bloomed on the last day of May at the Botanical 

 Gardens here. It is about one foot high, bears, in succession, 

 several violet-colored flowers with variegated centres an inch 

 and three-fourths wide. Not quite as attractive as T. buccifera, 

 though having larger flowers, it is a fitting companion to it, 

 coming into bloom only a few days earlier. 



Pentstemon pubescens, which is quite common in this part of 

 the country, has been in flower for fully two weeks. It selects 

 dry situations, clay banks, mostly in half-shaded places. Just 

 before it flowers, or late in August, seems to be the most 

 suitable season for transplanting this species, or at least it 

 does much better than when set in spring. 



Potentilla paradoxa, now in flower, is quite an interesting 

 hardy perennial, about two feet high, bearing at the terminus 



of the branches numerous flat, pale yellow flowers, a little 

 more than an inch wide, which come in long succession. 



Cerastium tomentositm, a hardy perennial of eastern Europe, 

 scarcely a foot high, with light downy foliage and pretty deli- 

 cately white flowers, is a common garden-plant and a useful 

 one for the open border. It is quite hardy and thrives in any 

 ordinary garden-soil. 



Houstonia purpurea, at this season, when there is a scarcity 

 of wild flowers, is one of the most attractive. It usually grows 

 less than a foot high, in fine round clumps, with nearly white 

 or, sometimes, pale purple flowers. It seems to be suited to 

 any soil or situation that is not too wet, and does well in sun 

 or shade. If the plants are taken up from their natural home 

 in full leaf, just before they flower, they will scarcely notice the 

 change, and will bloom as freely, iE not better, than when left 

 to themselves. 



A fine clump of Ansonia Tabernce -montana has been in 

 bloom in the herbaceous grounds for some time. It is not a 

 showy plant, but it forms a nice large clump of its thick, green 

 foliage, four feet high by as many wide, and each of the 

 many stalks terminates with a small panicled cyme of pale 

 blue flowers. It will do fairly well in shade, but a clay soil 

 and full sunlight suit it here. 



Phlomis tuberosa, one of the Mint family from eastern 

 Europe, much resembles some of our American Monardas. 

 It attains a height of about four feet, is quite hardy and easy 

 of culture. 



Cypripedium acaule, C. pubescens and C. parviflorum, all of 

 which have bloomed quite freely here, are now past flower, 

 and even C. spectabile, the last one of our natives to flower, is 

 nearly past. These native Orchids seem to do as well here, 

 with a little extra care, as in more northern latitudes. 



One of the best plants at the garden at this season is Crinium 

 longifolium, a member of the Amaryllis family, a native of 

 India. Some plants are more than three feet high and have 

 three or more flowering stems. Fifteen large showy flowers 

 are not uncommon on one stem, and they come in long suc- 

 cession. The flowers vary in color from pure white to rose- 

 purple, are tubular in form, six or eight inches long, and about 

 three inches wide at the opening. The plant is perfectly hardy 

 here, and, with a little protecting, would probably survive any 

 New England winter. The bulbs are very large. 



St. Louis. F. H. H. 



German Irises. 



Iris Germanica has been true to its season, and now follow 

 the hybrids, known to the trade as German Irises. As is well 

 known, these are among the most satisfactory of hardy plants. 

 Their creeping rhizomes are proof against the severest weather, 

 and they increase rapidly. The flowers, though not very 

 lasting, are usually very attractive, or, at least, among their 

 countless forms, any taste may be gratified, as they range 

 through so wide a scale of color and markings. /. Germanica 

 is not in cultivation a seed-bearing plant, and so careful an ob- 

 server as Professor M. Foster is convinced that the hybrid 

 Irises are not of its progeny ; these plants being hybrids of /. 

 pallida, I. variegata, I. sambucina, I. squalens, I. lurida, I. 

 neglecta, I. atncena, I. plicata and /. Ewerti, and possibly of /. 

 flavescens. 



The hybrids of /. pallida are easily recognized by the withery 

 white spathe valves, which lose their greenness before the 

 bud is swollen. They vary in color from nearly pale blue to 

 a deep blue, some having a reddish tinge. Queen of May 

 (rosy lilac) is a familiar example of this strain. The /. varie- 

 gata blood is seen in forms like Louise, Lila and Jenny Lind, 

 with golden standards and purple-brown falls. Among a col- 

 lection of hybrid Irises will usually be found many smoky or 

 bronze-tinted forms, as Diana, Magnet and Nemesis. These 

 are from I. sambucina, I. squalens and I. lurida. I. neglecta 

 is responsible for those which have standards and falls of 

 white, marked with purple, such as Madame Chereau ; and /. 

 ameena for those with white standards and marked falls, such 

 as Fairy Queen. 



These conclusions reached by Professor Foster are readily 

 verified by any one who cultivates the species and a collection 

 of hybrids. It is one of the features of this section of the Iris 

 family that they possess infinite variety, giving scope for much 

 interesting study. Some of the hybrids are so much mixed in 

 blood that their parentage is not so easily traced as those men- 

 tioned above, and these will be likely to furnish puzzling prob- 

 lems to the most skillful. In the mean tim e these are the beautiful 

 flowers unfolding day by day to be enjoyed, and there are few 

 more pleasing pictures in the hardy garden than good clumps 

 of German Iris. With clean, attractive foliage and abundance 



