November 4, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



525 



can be said of these, as of the Rose, that the name gives more 

 than half the charm. 



Eve^ autumn we place on the steps leading to the front 

 entrance, and also in the recesses around the door, a dozen 

 more pot-plants of the Japanese Anemone (A. Japonica alba 

 and A. Japonica hybrida). No plant has proved so useful, be- 

 ing far superior to the early Chrysanthemums for this purpose. 

 While it is not a Chrysanthemum, it is yet a Japanese plant, 

 and so comes as a natural, and happily chosen, forerunner to 

 the queen of autumn. Although I have before referred to its 

 culture for this purpose, a brief account of the treatment is 

 given here. I usually shake the soil off the old crowns, and if 

 too large reduce them; then repot in good heavy loam 

 Toward the blooming-season a little liquid manure is given. 

 If starting with fresh stock about five crowns should be put in 

 a ten-inch pot ; this is a quicker way of producing a specimen 

 than potting singly and waiting for them to grow large enough. 

 We store the plants in a barn cellar, and keep them moder- 

 ately, but not dust dry until March, when they are brought out 

 and treated as already stated. 



The latest blooms picked in the open are from the Perfec- 

 tion Violets. The value of Violets over Pansies is their per- 

 petual blooming habit. We have here only two varieties, but 

 in England, and particularly in Scotland, a specialty is made of 

 them, and many varieties are catalogued, representing several 

 shades of color. They are used for spring bedding, and either 

 in lines or masses are very effective. The severity of the 

 American climate is against" their use in the way practiced in 

 Scotland. Here we have to rely almost solely on seed for our 

 stock, and this is against perpetuating any required variety true 

 to color. There the cuttings are taken in late autumn, dibbled 

 in "cradles" in the open, with the protection only of a few 

 leaves or Russian mats in very severe weather, and the rooting 

 is made mostly during the winter. 



Another interesting late-blooming plant is Veronica longi- 

 folia, var. subsessilis. I think it would make a good pot-plant, 

 and intend to try it during the coming season. It is a remark- 

 ably robust and distinct variety with long spikes of deep blue 



flowers. „ „ tt-j-jj 



Wellesley, Mass. 1 . V. natjiela. 



Notes from the Harvard Botanic Garden. 



Asters in October. — In Garden and Forest, vol. hi., p. 552, 

 attention was called to A. Shortii, A. Tartaricus and A. turbi- 

 nellus, good late-flowering Asters. These three species have 

 again proved to be effective, reliable and the last to bloom. 

 The group may be extended, however, by the addition of A. 

 diffusus and A. midtiftorus. Both of these plants were still in 

 full flower about the middle of October, and they are valuable 

 in giving a greater range of color to the later representatives 

 of the genus than that afforded by the flowers of the first selec- 

 tion of species. A. diffusus attains a height of about four feet, 

 and is very profuse in the production of branches. The leaves 

 are lanceolate ; the flowers are small, half an inch in diameter, 

 and exceedingly numerous, and the ray-florets white, with 

 reddish purple disk. These dense masses of flowers are very 

 effective. The plant is of erect, yet graceful habit, and quite 

 common in its wild state. A. multiflorus is also common, and 

 from three to four feet high. The stems under cultivation are 

 so top-heavy that support is necessary to keep them in an 

 erect position. The leaves are small, linear, and arranged very 

 closely on the stems and branches. The flowers are white, 

 with yellowish disk ; in size somewhat inferior to those of A. 

 diffusus, and packed upon the branches in enormous quantity. 

 A. turbinellus is undoubtedly the best October Aster, and 

 while A. Tartaricus is not so attractive, it is still much to be 

 desired on account of the display it affords in October and No- 

 vember, when all other Asters, and almost all other flowers, 

 are past blooming. The third place in order of merit might be 

 equally divided between A. Shortii and A. diffusus with perfect 

 justice to each, and admitting that the flowers of the former 

 last the longer. But having already a blue-flowered variety in 

 A. turbinellus, A. Shortii will be discarded in favor of A. diffu- 

 sus where it is desirable to curtail the number of species. 



Bocconia CORDATA. — To say that this plant is an ally of the 

 Poppy, requires a botanist's knowledge. Its stately growth and 

 insignificant flowers would certainly not convey that informa- 

 tion to those who inquire into the mysteries of plant-life no 

 further than is necessary to secure pleasing contrasts in the 

 garden or bring grist to the mill by some of the many ways, 

 direct and indirect, in which plants contribute to the comforts 

 and necessities of mankind. This Poppy, while not like the 

 oriental Poppy, conspicuous at a distance, has attractions 

 which are still worthy of notice. It is a plant of large growth, 



averaging seven feet in height. The slightly branched stems 

 are erect, well furnished with large cordate and freely lobed 

 leaves (bright green above and glaucous beneath), and termi- 

 nate with very large panicles of pinkish white flowers. The 

 number of the flowers, arranged closely together in greatclus- 

 ters, rather than their individual beauty, characterize this va- 

 riety. B. cordata is a perfectly hardy herbaceous perennial, 

 and when thoroughly established rapidly forms compact 

 masses of handsome contour. The flowers develop in August 

 and September, and the stems retain all their leaves until hard 

 frost makes its appearance. These qualities render the plant 

 very desirable, as it is most effective in large clumps on the 

 greensward. B. cordata is not particular as to soil, but the 

 growth gains strength in proportion with the increase of rich- 

 ness and depth. The plant is a native of China. It was intro- 

 duced into England by Sir George Staunton in 1795, and is 

 readily propagated by division. 



Silphium laciniatum, var. — The common Compass Plant 

 {S. laciniatum) is perhaps the most popular and most generally 

 cultivated species of the genus. It is a plant about six feet 

 high, producing its starry yellow blooms on the upper portion 

 of the stems with much freedom during July and August. The 

 radical leaves are of oval outline, flat, parted, laciniate, from 

 one to three feet long, the petiole occupying two-thirds of their 

 length. They form a thick cluster from which proceed the 

 stems, sparingly clothed with much smaller leaves. It is of 

 bold aspect, as are all the species, and suitable for positions 

 requiring massive rather than graceful or pretty subjects. 

 There is one specimen of a supposed variety flourishing here 

 which differs from this species in several important particu- 

 lars. The leaves are not flat, but somewhat sulcate, and the 

 segments are waved and twisted to a considerable degree. 

 The stems are from eight to ten feet high and are thickly set 

 with small leaves. The flowers measure three inches in diam- 

 eter, and are of a paler yellow color than those of the species, 

 while they appear only during September and October. This 

 plant has been in cultivation here for many years, but its origin 

 does not appear to be known to any one. There may not be any 

 strongly marked botanical difference between it and the spe- 

 cies, as most competent authorities aver ; but when viewed 

 from the gardener's standpoint the dissimilarity assumes im- 

 portance. The difference in the leaves, the height, and, most 

 important of all, the flowering season distinguish it from the 

 type. All other Silphiums are far past their period of bril- 

 liancy when this form of S. laciniatum expands its first blos- 

 soms. This fact in itself will be sufficient to stimulate inquiry 

 relative to the existence of other specimens exhibiting the 

 same characters ; and if such plants are to be found, any in- 

 formation that can be gained about them would be interesting, 

 not to say useful. It is hardly likely that any similar variation 

 of the species, which may exist in gardens, can claim the 

 specimen in question as its parent, for it flowers so late in the 

 season that seeds never ripen. 



Cambridge, Mass. M. Barker. 



The Cranberry Scald. — In a recent visit to a large Cranberry- 

 bog it was found that the scald had taken more than one-third 

 of the crop, and from the appearance of the berries in the crates 

 stored in the capacious cellar it seems probable that the second 

 third will decay before the crop finds its way to the Thanks- 

 giving market. There is no doubt that the scald is assuming 

 an alarming form, and should it increase for the next ten years 

 as it has in the past, there will be no profit from the bogs. The 

 first thought is to put some substance upon the vines to ward 

 off the enemy, as Paris green is used to destroy the curculio 

 and the codling moth, and Bordeaux mixture the black rot of 

 the Grape, which, by the way, is not very different from the 

 scald of the Cranberry. There is no question about the Cran- 

 berry trouble being caused by a fungus, or that it is in 

 all parts of the plant, leaf, stem and root as well as fruit. It 

 does not come from the outside, as a rule, and that it is due to 

 the scalding effect of the sun has no foundation in demon- 

 strated fact. It is no easy matter to apply a fungicide to a bog 

 so that it will effectively check the scald. An experiment em- 

 bracing no less than ten substances, all standard fungicides, 

 upon forty plots, during last year, gave only negative results. 

 While, therefore, it may be possible to reach the enemy in this 

 way, success is not probable, and some other method should be 

 looked for. Let it be remembered that the Jersey bogs are largely 

 muck-bogs, especially where the scald is worst. In otherstates, 

 and where there is no such trouble, the plants are grown in 

 sand. 



While the Cranberry-plant is fond of moisture, it does not 

 follow that impure and stagnant water is as beneficial as that 

 coming to it from a clear running stream. The bogs that are 



