18 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1911 



that the blue wood anemone (Robin- 

 soniana) is an American variety! If so, 

 it must belong to quinquefolia. Davis, 

 however, who was the last to monograph 

 the genus, puts it with nemorosa. Can 

 anyone tell me when and how the blue 

 wood anemone originated, and to what 

 species it really belongs? 



This group of anemones is of easy culti- 

 vation in the wild garden or rock garden. 

 The plants require such conditions of soil, 

 shade and moisture as they find in woods 

 and rocky places. Do not plant them in 

 full sunlight among garden flowers. A 

 writer in The Garden (London) says: 



" As the Pasque Flowers ripen plenty of 

 seed, they can always be best increased in 

 this way. Good seed will germinate readily 

 and freely, especially if sown as soon as it 

 is quite ripe. It is best to sow the seed in 

 good-sized pans, and plunge them in ashes 

 in a cold frame, so that they can be pro- 

 tected from heavy rains, but yet not be 

 allowed to get dry at any time. The pans 

 should be thoroughly well drained, and a 

 sandy loam is the most suitable soil for the 

 seedlings. If germination takes place the 

 same autumn, the seedlings may be left in 

 pans during the winter, and potted off, or 



pricked off into other pans in spring when 

 they start growing again. When the seed- 

 lings are large enough to plant out, select 

 an open situation in well drained, some- 

 what dry soil. 



RARE ANEMONES FOR COLLECTORS 



There are half a dozen species in the 

 Pulsatilla section which are not sharply 

 distinguished in Bailey's Cyclopedia, and 

 perhaps they cannot be. 



The type is the European pasque flower 

 {A. Pulsatilla) , of which vars., rubra, lilac- 

 ine and alba are offered abroad. 



Another European species is A. patens, 

 which is said to have larger and more 

 pointed flowers than A. Pulsatilla. 



The shaggy Swiss anemone 04. vemalis) 

 is said to be the smallest, but full of charm. 



A. Halleri is another Swiss species with 

 large whitish purple flowers. 



We come now to the 

 members of the Pulsatilla group, which are 

 generally said to bloom in May. 



The most famous of these is the alpine 

 windflower {A . alpina) , with flowers 2 or 3 

 inches across, creamy white inside and 

 purple outside, but varying much. All the 

 other Pulsatillas have solitary flowers, but 



later-blooming 



this one often bears two or three on a 

 stem. It blooms at Ottawa about April 

 24 to May 23. 



Its variety sulphurea {A. sulphurea, of 

 nurserymen) has larger leaves and flowers, 

 and blooms later. 



The Pacific Coast representative of A. 

 alpina is A. occidentalis , with white or 

 purple flowers only, 1 to 2 inches across. 



The meadow anemone of Europe (A. pra- 

 tensis) differs from all the preceding species 

 in having drooping, bell-shaped flowers. 

 Normally it has very dark purple flowers 

 but there is a cream colored variety. 

 Blooms at Ottawa April 28 to May 19. 

 The variety montana grows 1^ ft- high, 

 and has dark flowers appearing at Ottawa 

 May 5 to June 3 ; catalogued as A . montana. 



The following seem to have come in 

 since Davis published his revisions of the 

 garden anemones in Bailey's Cyclopedia 

 and Vick's Magazine for 1900, page 108. 



A. cernua, a Japanese species, said to 

 have "dark crimson" flowers. 



A. intermedia, a hybrid between nema- 

 rosaand ranunculoides, having pale yellow 

 flowers. 



A . Regeliana, a Siberian form of A . Pul- 

 satilla. 



The Best of All The Tropical Fruits — By John Gifford, 



Flor- 

 ida 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS FORESHADOWED BY THE NEWER IMPROVED VARIETIES OF MANGO, A FRUIT THAT 

 TO THE TROPICS IS ALL THAT THE SEVERAL DIFFERENT ORCHARD FRUITS ARE TO NORTHERN CLIMES 



SOME call the mango "the apple of the tropics." It is more; 

 it is the apple, peach and pear combined. The novice in 

 eating the old common seedling sorts meets with difficulties. 

 Such an experience is sure to prejudice him against 

 mangoes forever. These old-time sorts have 

 the smell and taste of turpentine and a 

 tough cottony fibre around their big 

 seeds which completely fills the 

 crevices between the teeth, mak 

 ing business for the dental 

 profession. It is mushy, slip- 

 pery and hard to hold. The 

 juice stains the clothing. 

 One smells and feels and 

 looks as though he had 

 been the victim of a yel- 

 low paint accident. After 

 eating such a fruit for 

 the sake of three or four 

 tablespoonfuls of pulp, 

 one must take a bath 

 and then retire to some 

 shady nook for the rest 

 of the day to pick his 

 teeth. But some of the 

 improved sorts which sell 

 locally at twenty-five cents 

 each are quite otherwise. The 

 skin peels off easily, the aroma 

 is pleasant, there is no fibre, the 

 seed is small, the fruit weighs twenty 

 or more ounces and the creamy, deli- 

 cious peach-like pulp melts in your 

 mouth. I have never tasted a mangpsteen, 

 which, according to the books, holds the 

 world's record for goodness, but of all the 



Type of the improved 

 lucious. and devoid 



fruits I know, temperate and tropical, two or three varieties of 

 mangoes lead in my estimation. 



South Florida is making rapid strides in mango culture. Many 

 varieties have been introduced from all parts of the 

 tropics, both by the government and enter- 

 prising growers. Many choice seedlings 

 are just coming into fruit and our jud- 

 ders are learning the trick. 



I have always contended that a 

 Florida seedling mango will be- 

 come the commercial mango 

 of the future. None of the 

 choice imported sorts fill 

 the bill perfectly. There 

 is usually some defect, 

 such as shy-bearing, poor 

 carrying qualities, or 

 lack of resistance against 

 pests. If the government 

 had imported a large 

 quantity of seeds of all 

 the best varieties of man- 

 goes the world affords ten 

 years ago, we would now 

 have several new varieties 

 of local origin which would 

 exactly fill the bill for home 

 needs and shipment North. 

 ^T It is possible that we have it 

 |r anyway in the form of a seedling 

 Mulgoba, bearing this year for the 

 first time; it is too early to say. But 

 this tree bears fruits of a large size, of very 

 beautiful coloring; hard, rather thick skin; 

 no fibre; small flat seed and delicious flavor. It 

 remains to be seen whether it is a shy bearer 



Mulgoba mango: rich, 

 of fibre. Actual size 



