548 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 195. 



cocious habit, for which purpose Madame Desgranges was 

 used in some cases. The fine strong plants with which Mr. 

 Thorpe favored me early in the year were planted out on the 

 north side of my Chrysanthemum plot, where they had plenti- 

 ful supply of light, without being too severely exposed to the 

 sun, which is usually so trying to varieties of this section. 

 This location was given, however, for convenience, not from 

 any doubt as to their hardiness, and was somewhat detrimental 

 to their early flowering, and the varieties this season were all 

 behind the dates given by Mr. Thorpe. The plants were grown 

 on with ordinary care given to the other plants, but were al- 

 lowed to carry all the wood made by their various breaks. 

 Mr. William Piercy, of London, who has been the chief propa- 

 gandist of the early-blooming Chrysanthemum, says that an 

 early variety to be of value must be a free bloomer and capa- 

 ble of throwing flowers of character and well formed without 

 disbudding. 



I have grown Mr. Thorpe's plants on this plan with very sat- 

 isfactory results in most cases. The indications of the plants, 

 except in one case, noted later, all point without doubt to the 

 parentage as given. Salvator (Gloriosum X Roi des Precoces) 

 is a dwarf stocky grower, very free blooming, the entire head of 

 the plant being covered with good reflexed flowers of a red- 

 bronfe shade — a fine variety. Bolero (Nichols X Gloriosum) 

 is a rather tall, free-growing variety, with good foliage but 

 rather weak stems. It was covered with a mass of pleasing 

 chrome-yellow flowers. Eurus (Gloriosum X Roi des Precoces) 

 seems intermediate in habit between the two former varieties, 

 and has bronze flowers of a lighter shade than Salvator. In 

 Sallie McClelland (Nichols X Desgranges) I fail to see any 

 indications of Desgranges blood. It seems a counterpart of 

 Lady Selborne, and possibly my plant may be a rogue. Firenzi, 

 Russell and Stratmeath are Desgranges seedlings, and may be 

 of some value where Madame Desgranges does well, as it does 

 not in my garden. The crosses of this variety do not seem to 

 me to have produced results which will be generally useful in 

 gardens, though in some latitudes they may prove valuable, 

 but probably only where the parent does well. Garden and 

 Forest has already noted the abundance of seedlings to be 

 seen at Mr. Thorpe's place, and it is to be regretted that his 

 labors as Chief of the Bureau of Horticulture will interrupt 

 the introduction of other promising varieties for a time. How- 

 ever, we are likely to hear much of the early Chrysanthemum 

 another season, when S. Delaux's new varieties are dissemi- 

 nated, with a promise of Chrysanthemums all summer, which 

 would seem to be tiresome. _ „ T • . 



Elizabeth, N.J. J- A 7 . Gerard. 



Cleome pungens. — Several inquiries regarding this plant have 

 reached me during the past season. It is a soft-wooded peren- 

 nial, whose branching stems, beset with numerous spines, are 

 from three to four feet high, and thickly furnished with large 

 dark green digitate leaves, arranged alternately and covered 

 with glutinous hairs. The flowers are borne in compact ter- 

 minal racemes of twenty or more. The corolla, consisting of 

 four spathulate or obovate petals, measures two inches in 

 diameter, and is either white or rose-colored. An elegant ap- 

 pearance is given to the. inflorescence by the dark purplish 

 color and divaricate arrangement of the long slender pistils 

 and stamens. The white-flowered form of C. pungens, under 

 the name of C. spinosa, was cultivated as long ago as Miller's 

 time, having been introduced into England from the West In- 

 dies about 1731. The other variety is a native of the same 

 region, but it was not known in gardens until 1812. Both plants 

 were to be met with occasionally in the greenhouses of British 

 gardens about ten years since. A few years later they disap- 

 peared almost totally, except in the case of botanical institu- 

 tions. Now the red-flowered form seems to be commonly 

 cultivated in this country, some one having been sufficiently 

 thoughtful or speculative to distribute a quantity of its seeds a 

 year or two ago. It is well liked, judging from the comments 

 of several, and is likely to attain some degree of popularity. 

 In this climate, however, it should be treated as an an- 

 nual. It blooms profusely from seed the first year, and the 

 flowering season extends from July till the latter part of Sep- 

 tember. Mr. W. Miller, of Groton, Massachusetts, has had 

 much success with this plant, and he says the seeds were sown 

 on the greenhouse-bench on the 1st of June, the day they were 

 received ; the seedlings transferred to shallow boxes June 

 18th, and planted in the open ground July 25th, coming into 

 flower August 18th. That was a good performance, but a 

 longer season of bloom would have been secured by sowing 

 in April or May, and getting the plants into the ground early in 

 June. The seeds ripen freely, and both varieties succeed with 

 equal satisfaction under the same treatment. 



Sedum Sieboldii.— This is a pretty little plant and one that is, 

 fortunately, common in gardens. It is generally grown in pots 

 or baskets and used in the adornment of greenhouses. The 

 decumbent habit of the stems renders it exceedingly effective 

 in small pots placed along the edges of the stages, and that 

 also makes it so valuable in suspended baskets. It is an ex- 

 cellent plant for the house, thriving well in the dry atmos- 

 phere of inhabited rooms. But, admirable as it is under these 

 conditions, the chief merit of the plant is found in the hardi- 

 ness of constitution which fits it for the herbaceous garden. 

 The opinion that it requires the protection of a greenhouse in 

 winter seems to prevail, even in the comparatively mild cli- 

 mate of England. That this is erroneous has been amply 

 demonstrated in our rock garden, where a specimen has safely 

 weathered the severest storms of several seasons. The slen- 

 der, simple stems are from nine to twelve inches in length, 

 and they are bent flat to the earth by the weight of the flowers 

 and succulent foliage. The glaucous leaves, tipped with red- 

 dish purple, are round, tapering to a wedge-shaped base, and 

 arranged in close whorls of three. The flowers, borne in 

 dense, terminal, broad, compressed clusters, are of a bright 

 rosy purple color, and remain perfect on the plant at least six 

 weeks. Add to this the fact that the flowering season extends 

 from early October until late in November, and we have an 

 unusual collection of good qualities. In this locality we have 

 already had several nights of frost which may be safely called 

 severe for the time of year, but the flowers of this Sedum still 

 hold their own and are as bright and perfect as ever they 

 were. The plant is a native of Japan, whence it was introduced 

 in 1838. There is a variety (S. Sieboldii variegata) distinguish- 

 able from the type by a large creamy white blotch in the cen- 

 tre of each leaf. Both plants do well in slightly raised sites of 

 the rockery. They look best when planted so that their 

 branches may spread downward over the sides of neighbor- 

 ing stones, and are easily propagated by division. 



Tritonia crocosmiflora. — That celebrated hybridizer of plants, 

 Monsieur Lemoine, of Nancy, France, obtained a cross be- 

 tween Crocosmia {Tritonia) aurea and Tritonia (Montbretia) 

 Pottsii some years ago. The genera Crocosmia, Tritonia and 

 Montbretia are close allies, and were then considered quite 

 distinct, but Montbretia has since been incorporated with Trito- 

 nia. The names are yet exchanged indiscriminately among 

 gardeners. The hybrid was called Montbretia crocosmiflora, 

 and is still widely known under that name. M. Lemoine has 

 been successful in obtaining numerous other forms of Trito- 

 nia, which, judging from the comments of European observ- 

 ers, are likely to occupy a prominent place among hardy plants. 

 T. crocosmiflora is, so far' as I am aware, the only hybrid yet 

 planted in this country, and with rare exceptions its use is con- 

 fined to those who can supply greenhouse cultivation. Its 

 usefulness as a subject for pot culture is beyond dispute, but 

 as the plant is hardy, under certain conditions it would prove 

 useful to many who do not possess a greenhouse. The doubt 

 which has existed regarding its hardiness may have deterred 

 many who admire it from acquiring a stock for outdoor plant- 

 ing, but there is no reason why it should not be extensively 

 cultivated in every garden from Boston to San Francisco. I 

 am not prepared to say that it will prove entirely hardy when 

 planted in flat beds of rich soil, as seems to be the practice in 

 some parts of Europe. The large bulbs produced under such 

 conditions migh prove to be too tender for this climate. But 

 in a somewhat dry position, with soil of medium quality, the 

 results are eminently satisfactory. That, at least, has been the 

 experience here, and surely there are many other gardens 

 throughout the country in which it may be repeated. T. cro- 

 cosmiflora is about intermediate in character between the two 

 parents. The narrow, sword-shaped leaves, sheathing at the 

 base, are from twelve to eighteen inches long, and of pale- 

 green color. The stem is from two to three feet high, devel- 

 oping at the top a branched spike of orange-scarlet, tubular 

 flowers about an inch in diameter. It is a free-flowering plant, 

 maintaining a perfect succession of bloom from August till 

 October. The bulbous roots should be planted about two 

 inches apart in patches of not less than a dozen in order to 

 secure a good effect. 



Cambridge, Mass. M. Barker. 



Cattleya Walkeriana is one of the most beautiful of dwarf- 

 growing Brazilian Cattleyas, and one which deserves to be 

 more extensively grown. In the collection of Hicks Arnold, 

 Esq., in 84th Street, New York, there is a specimen in excel- 

 lent health, which flowers annually in great profusion, and is 

 now a very pleasing picture, with its large warm, rosy purple 

 blossoms. It appears to be a great lover of sun and is treated 

 to an abundance of air while in active growth, and thrives best 



