The Oldest Flower in Cultivation 
VII.—The Crown Imperial 
| Pistestonn imperial (Fritillaria im perialis) 
is surely an imperial plant, for its stem 
is as stately as a Greek column and its huge 
blossoms are regal in size and coloring. 
Moreover, it is one of the earliest flowers in 
orona Imperialis 
Polyanthos. 
The old Crown Imperial as it was portrayed in 
“Hortus Eystettensis’’ 1613. Much admired by 
the ancients 
the garden, often blooming by the end of 
March, and long before this its shoots burst 
through the ground tumultuously, heaving 
the earth in all directions. Children are 
always fascinated by the six pearly drops 
which stand like tears in the eye of each 
flower but never drop. 
The only drawback to this plant is the 
skunk-like odor of its foliage, which makes 
it impossible to use the plant indoors as a 
cut flower. Outdoors, the odor is not 
noticeable unless the foliage is bruised or 
one comes too close to the flower. 
The accompanying picture is reduced 
from an elephant folio published in 1613 
and, aside from its immense size, the plant 
is noteworthy for the extraordinary number 
of flowers, about thirty of which can be 
ccunted in the picture. 
It is not commonly known that there are 
a dozen varieties of the crown imperial that 
can be procured from American bulb dealers. 
They make a very interesting collection. 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
There are single and double forms in yellow 
and red, and kinds with foliage striped white 
or golden. 
Among the named varieties are Aurora, 
Maximus, and William Rex, red; Sulph- 
ureus, sulphur yellow; and Crown upon 
Crown. Some American dealers add Cour- 
onne Orange and Red Slagzwaard. 
The secret of success in growing the crown 
imperials is deep planting of the bulb — 
with a layer of well rotted manure below. 
New Jersey. THomas McApam. 
[So much interest has been awakened in the 
“Hortus Eystettensis”’ from which the pre- 
vious pictures in this series have been 
published that a full account of the book 
will be given in the next article. ] 
Ornamental Fruits of October 
(The fifth article in the series describing the fruits of 
each month.| 
OST of the berries mentioned in 
September are still attractive by the 
middle of the month; but when hard frosts 
come many drop off, others shrivel or decay, 
while the birds pick off a good many more. 
By the end of the month many trees have 
shed their leaves. Consequently the follow- 
ing species which do not ripen their fruits 
until October are all the more welcome, as 
they add new life and color to the dying year. 
The red choke-berry (Aronia arbutifolia) 
has bright red fruits that last all winter. 
The berries though not of a disagreeable 
flavor are rarely eaten by the birds. 
The Japanese Photinia villosa, which 
grows into a tall shrub, has bright red fruits 
very similar to those of the red choke-berry. 
They ripen about October and last until 
November. 
The Chinese Ribes jasciculatum (Ribes 
Japonicum of some nurseries) is prettier 
than the Alpine currant (mentioned in 
August). It has larger berries which hang 
on to the branches, plump and fresh, until 
the middle of November. Care should be 
taken to select fertile shrubs for planting 
since both species are polygamous. 
The white balls of the snowberry are the most 
characteristic fruits of October 
OcToBER, 1908 
The black haw (Viburnum prunijolium), 
a shrub or small tree with spreading, rather 
rigid branches, does not usually ripen its 
bluish black berries until October and they 
stay on the branches through the winter. 
In bloom it is one of the handsomest of the 
viburnums. 
The Indian currant or coral-berry (Sym- 
phoricarpos orbiculatus) is most showy 
during October and November when the 
slender branches-are covered with short 
clusters of small red berries. It is a low 
shrub scarcely more than five feet high, like 
the closely related snowberry (Symphori- 
carpos racemosus) which has its slender 
branches often weighed down by masses of 
large snowy white berries. 
Mass. ALFRED REHDER. 
[The next article will be remarkably inter- 
esting because it describes some berried shrubs 
that have the further attraction of being 
provided with evergreen foliage —Ep1ToR.] _ 
Plant in the fall snowdrops in boxes, and bury the 
whole thing over winter, they will flower in March 
Snowdrops in a Veranda Box in 
March 
A MOST unusual and very interesting 
experiment which seems well worth 
trying because veranda boxes are usually 
empty in March and April is illustrated in 
the accompanying picture. If these boxes 
are permanent they might as well be filled 
with flowers in April as not and Mr. H. H. 
Pepper of Providence, R. I., has found out 
how this may be done. 
It is quite impossible to raise crocuses, 
hyacinths, and other bulbs in veranda boxes 
unless the whole box containing the bulbs 
is put under ground in the fall and kept 
there until March. Many people have 
planted hardy bulbs in veranda boxes and 
left them exposed to outdoor air all winter, 
but I have never heard of any result but 
failure. 
The only objection I know of to Mr. 
Pepper’s method is that the boxes are very 
heavy to lift, but this may be obviated by 
potting the bulbs. 
Conn. HENRY MAXWELL. 
