July i, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



309 



know any variety which does not grow better in a less wet 

 position. Remove an /. versicolor from the marsh, where it is 

 often found, and plant it in a damp border, or even a moder- 

 ately dry one, and it will be found to grow much more vigor- 

 ously, with taller foliage and abundant flowers. Perhaps 

 nature does not make a mistake exactly in planting them in 

 marshes, but their usual 'location there is probably due to 

 the fact that their abundant seeds find in such a place the 

 necessary moisture for their germination, 



In writing plant notes one usually hesitates to recommend 

 plants for general culture, but in the case of Japanese Irises 

 there can be no hesitation in saying that they are plants for 

 everybody and every garden, large or small, grand or humble. 

 They are not continuous bloomers, but, when not furnished 

 with flowers, the tall rush-like foliage is persistent and attrac- 

 tive through the season. 



I. jnncea and /. Pavonia, just out of flower, are two bulbous 

 Irises which cannot be so strongly recommended for general 

 culture, but they are plants of great beauty, if of somewhat 

 less pronounced a type, and are well worth the necessary 

 attention. /. juncea, the rush-leaved Algerian Iris, proves 

 hardy here in a warm border. The foliage is very narrow, 

 about a foot high. The flowers are large, of a clear, deep, 

 golden yellow, and are about the most attractive Iris flowers 

 of this color. I. Pavonia, the Peacock Iris, is (or was) botanic- 

 ally known as a Morsea, and is a Cape bulb, and, as such, is 

 usually treated like the Ixias in a frame or cold house, where 

 they come into bloom in May or June. Their flowers are 

 very attractive, with white falls distinctly blotched at the base 

 with a peacock eye. The flowers are small, and their beauty 

 is of a dainty order. These bulbs, I find, are fairly hardy, as they 

 flowered a few days since in a very exposed border where 

 they were planted in October. Such a position, however, is 

 scarcely suitable, and possibly the experiment might not be 

 often so successful. 

 Etizabeth, N.J. J.N.Gerard. 



Notes on American Wild Flowers. 



Lilium Grayi is one of our best native plants. It is not only a 

 very attractive species when in bloom, but it seems to be as 

 easy to grow as the common Meadow Lily or the Swamp Lily. 

 It is about the same height as the L. Canadense, and the color 

 is a mixture of red and yellow, as with some varieties of that 

 species ; but the petals of the long funnel-shaped flower are 

 not reflexed, as in most of our species, and this distinction is its 

 most prominent feature. It is among the first to flower, com- 

 ing into bloom about with L. Parryi and a little later than L. 

 Cohtmbianum. A rare local species, inhabiting certain por- 

 tions of the southern Alleghanies, L. Grayi has not until quite 

 recently been easy to obtain. 



The purple Corn-flower {Echinacea fiurpt(rea), which flowers 

 early in June, is a striking member of the composite family, 

 about three feet high, bearing one to three, or sometimes 

 more, large rose-purple flowers with a brownish purple centre. 

 If the petals stood out horizontally the flowers would be from 

 three to five inches wide, but they generally have a half-droop- 

 ing habit, which not only lessens the width of the flower, but 

 it gives them a peculiar appearance. It ought to be a useful 

 plant in cultivation. Its odd shape and color and time of 

 flowering are all in its favor. 



Coreopsis palmata is a more erect plant in habit than C. 

 lanceolata, which is so generally cultivated. Its flowers, 

 though not so large and showy, much resemble those of C. 

 lanceolata. It seems to be a little later in flowering, so that 

 it would afford cut blooms after C. lanceolata had passed. It 

 is quite as hardy as the other, and needs the same soil and 

 sunny exposure. 



Asclepias purpurescens (Purple Milk-weed), which grows on 

 dry banks and borders of woods, comes into flower early in 

 June, and is one of the most showy species. To me it is quite 

 as attractive a plant as the Butterfly-weed {A. tuberosa), which 

 has been in cultivation for some time, and blooms earlier. It 

 is frequently seen in the shade, but the richest flowers are 

 found in full sunlight. It transplants well, and needs no 

 special treatment. 



Monarda Bradburyana is our earliest species, growing in 

 dry half-shaded places, only about fifteen inches high, and 

 bearing a terminal whorled head of pale purple flowers. A 

 useful plant for a dry partly shaded place, remaining a long 

 time in flower. Its near relative, Blephelia ciliata, flowers 

 only a few days later, and has slightly darker flowers. 



Nemastylis Brunnea, Watson, is a new species which Mr. 

 Pringle found in Mexico in the summer of 1889. Its flowers 

 are open, bell-shaped, nearly an inch wide, light purple out- 



side, and yellow-purple and white within. It has a long grass- 

 like leaf much like some of the smaller species of Tigridia, 

 and needs the same treatment. The flowers seem to be a 

 little more durable than are some of this genus. 



Pentstemon lecvigatus, var. digitalis, bears large showy 

 heads of white flowers. The heads or panicles are often four 

 inches or more in length, well filled with the large flowers, 

 which are an inch or more long. It likes a moist, but not 

 wet, clay soil, either in the full sunlight or in partly sheltered 

 situations. 



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



Rogiera gratissima.— This beautiful greenhouse-plant resem- 

 bles a Laurustinus in growth and general habit, and, like it, 

 produces flowers in large terminal trusses. A native of the 

 highlands of Central America, it does well in a cool green- 

 house, with the same treatment given to Camellias. It is best 

 to plant it out, as it likes root-room. The fragrant flowers are 

 produced several times each year. The foliage is bold and of 

 a rich dark green. It is a very free bloomer, and when young 

 should have some of the flower-buds pinched out as they ap- 

 pear, or the plant will be weakened by over-blooming. It is 

 easily propagated from cuttings taken from half-ripened wood, 

 and placed in a gentle bottom heat. 



Maywood, N.j. James P. Taplin. 



An Orchid Anthracnose. — Several complaints have reached us 

 from Orchid growers of a decay which, in its worst form, de- 

 stroys entire plants. The trouble is first noticed by a discolora- 

 tion of the stem, which rapidly turns brown, and almost black, 

 the succulent interior becoming a mass of decay.' Following 

 this, upon the smooth exterior, small pimples appear, which 

 finally develop into the spore-bearing spots of the fungus — a 

 species of Glceosporium. It does not appear to be the G. 

 cinctum, B.&C, of the Orchid, as its spores are twice as large, 

 and straight instead of curved. However, the main point to 

 insist on is, that the trouble can readily spread through an 

 Orchid-house if the keeper neglects to collect and burn all de- 

 caying stems or leaves in their early stages of decay before the 

 fungus has time to mature its crop of rapidly germinating 

 spores. 



Rutgers College. By r on D. Hals ted. 



Correspondence. 



The Cultivation of Acacia Farnesiana, or Cassie, 

 in Europe. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — These notes on the cultivation of a North American 

 tree in Europe may interest some of your readers. The Acacia 

 Farnesiana, commonly called in France Cassie or Cassier, is a 

 large shrubby tree in cultivation here, eighteen to thirty feet 

 high, according to the fertility of the soil where it grows, with 

 spiny branches, compound leaves, and orange or yellow fra- 

 grant flowers collected in small globular axillary heads on the 

 branches of the year. It is cultivated in various parts of Pro- 

 vence for its flowers, used in the manufacture of perfumes, 

 especially in the neighborhood of the town. of Grasse, which 

 is the centre of this industry. 



A sandy soil is preferred for Cassie, and situations on the 

 southern slopes of hills open to the sun and protected from 

 the cold north winds. The plant is destroyed, or the branches, 

 at least, are killed back if the thermometer falls below six de- 

 grees centigrade below zero, a rare occurrence in the regions 

 where it is cultivated. Acacia Farnesiana succeeds equally 

 well on limestone soil and grows to a larger size than it does 

 on granite ; it flowers, however, later, and this is a serious 

 objection, as the flowers which appear late in the season 

 are much less fragrant than those developed earlier. The 

 plant is propagated by seeds, and their germination can be 

 hastened by soaking them in water for thirty or forty hours in 

 order to soften the outer coat. 



The seed is sown in March and April in beds of carefully 

 prepared soil, exposed to the south, and these beds are fre- 

 quently watered to hasten the germination of the seed and the 

 growth of the young plants. The following year these are 

 transplanted to the ground where they are to stand perma- 

 nently, and are set six feet apart each way in order that they 

 may have sufficient room for the development of their 

 branches, and to allow the cultivation of the soil between 

 them with the plow, or, as is usually the case, by hand. The 

 ground should be kept clean between the plants, and it is 

 usually thoroughly cultivated every spring, and enriched from 

 time to time with a good coating of manure. As the flowers 



