394 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



February, iyl4 



The Panther Lily. 



Liliuin pardalinum, the Panther 

 Lily, is a particularly us?ful tall- 

 gTowing Lily. A native of North 

 America, the usual height is from 

 5 feet to 7 feet. Both lea\es aud 

 flowers are arran<^ed in whorls on 

 the tall stems, j^i^ing the plants 

 a distinct and stately character. 

 Each stem terminates in a loase 

 inflorescence of twelve to twenty 

 blooms, rich oranjre in colour and 

 freely spotted. It is what may be 

 terrred a good-natured Lily, for 

 the bulbs appear to thrive equally 

 well in peat or moderately light 

 loam. L. pardalinum has large, 

 rhizomatous bulhs, wliich increase 

 rapidly. These should l^e planted 

 5 inches to 6 inches deep, as this 

 is a stem-rooting siJecies. One of 

 the best positions for this Lily is 

 in beds, where the stems will be 

 screened from the hot sun., 



♦ 



The Lotus Lily. 



The beautiful rose coloured 

 blooms of the Lotus lilies, which 

 have grown so magnificently at 

 the Botanic Gardens, are of a sin- 

 gular construction. Herodotus conn 

 pared the receptacle of the flower 

 to a wasp's nest. The leaves are 

 covered with a fine microscopic 

 down, which, by retaining a fihn 

 of air over the upper surface, pre- 

 vents it from being wetted when 

 water is poured on it, the water 

 rolling off in drops ; this has a 

 very pretty appearance, the drops 

 of water looking like drops of mol- 

 ten silver. The lotus plant was 

 worshipped by the ancient Egyp- 

 tians, and in India, China, and 

 .Japan is still employed in reli- 

 gious invocations and ceremonies. 



♦ 



The Arum or Nile Lily. 



There are often spare corners in 

 a garden which, for various rea- 

 sons, generally present a bare, 

 untidy appearance. These may be 

 made to look really l>eautiful, es. 

 I)ecially if near water, by planting 

 the ordinar}-^ Arum Ivily. This, 

 owing to its extreme hardiness, 

 will not only grow but thrive 

 luxuriantly in places where most 

 other bedding plants will fail to 

 grow altogether. A well grown 

 clump of the Arum or Nile lily 

 in blooming season presents a 

 splendidly bold cflect. The ground 



needs to be dug deeply a couple 

 of times before planting, and a 

 barrowful or two of sifted com- 

 post heap product mixed with it 

 at the same tinie. Plant pieces 

 of the roots in this 2 feet apart, 

 firming the soil round each with 

 the gentle pressure of the foot, and 

 afterwards giving a watering. 

 They will scarcely need any more 

 attention, except the keeping down 

 of weeds by an occasional hoeing 

 round them. They multiply rapid- 

 ly, and in twelve months will com- 

 pletely co\'er the space planted. 

 Places which are too damp for 

 almost any other things are 

 especially suited to the Arum. 

 The yellow variety also is very 

 hardy and does well outside, al- 

 though it does not spread so ra- 

 pidly. It forms a pretty contrast 

 to the white. 



♦ 



A Good Annual for Cutting. 



When sowing hardy annuals, the 

 Sweet Sultan should not be for- 

 gotten. The flowers remain fresh 

 in water for a long period, and are 

 therefore valuable as cut flowers, 

 being very effective either in vases 

 alone, or mixed with Fern, light 

 Grasses, or with Gypsophila. The 

 seeds should be sown where the 

 plants are to flower, and the best 

 results are obtained from plants 

 that are well thinned. There are 

 several beautiful varieties. The 

 Bride (white), The! Bridegroom, 

 (heliotrope). The Bridesmaid (yel- 

 low) and splendens (rich wine red) 

 are some of the most distinct, 

 although a mass of mixed shades 

 is very attractive. 



♦ 



Prince's Feather. 



The 1)otanical name (Amarantus 

 hypochondriacus) of the above 

 plant may prove troublesome to 

 those who have not yet made its 

 acquaintance, but the popular 

 name. Prince's Feather, has been 

 well known for many years. The 

 plant grows 2ft. to jft. in height 

 according to the richness of the 

 soil gnd the space which the culti- 

 vator gives it. When grown vigor, 

 ously it keeps branching and pro- 

 ducing many flower spikes of a 

 rich carmine-red or crimson and is 

 very effective. Those who cannot 

 afford so much space can still have 

 a dutti]) OT patch ^oi it of more 

 modcr.'ite dimensions by planting 

 rather more closely. The plants 

 do not last so long in beauty if 

 they are too crowded. The bright 



effect is due to the coloured 

 bracts and calyx rather than to 

 ]>etals which most people regard 

 as the flower proper. These colour- 

 ed portions are also of a dry na- 

 ture, comparable to Everlastings, 

 and that explains their durabilityf 



♦ 



The Flag Iris. 



The Flag Iris will grow in any 

 ordinary soil that is moderately 

 well dug, and seems to thrive in 

 any position, although it prefers 

 one that is not too fully exposed 

 to the sun and a soil that is deep. 

 The Flag Iris develops into large 

 clumps if left undisturbed for a 

 few years,* and makes a finer show 

 in the border. It has one great 

 ad\ antage over many other plants, 

 that when its flowers are over it 

 still presents a clean and whole- 

 some appearance. Its leaves do 

 not become ragged or unsightly, 

 and, in fact, when the old flower- 

 ing stems are removed it still rer 

 mains an ornamental plant. It 

 would almost be worth planting if 

 its flowers were valueless, for its 

 clean, attracti\'e grey-green sword- 

 shaped leaves act as a f6il to the 

 brilliantly-coloured blossoms of 

 many flowering plants and add to, 

 rather than detract from, the ap- 

 pearance of the border as a. whole, 



« 



Cypsophylla Paniculata. 



When one considers the d fferent 

 effect a few sprays of Gypsophila 

 known as the Siberian gatize plant, > 

 give to a bimch of cut bloom out 

 of the garden, it really proves 

 itself to be absolutely essential to 

 every garden, more especially when 

 flowers are required for 'decora- 

 tive purposes and for bouquets, 

 etc. The blooms being of a com- 

 pact, rigid nature, help immensely 

 in the formation of the bunch by 

 keeping the blooms in their places 

 as arranged. It will thrive in al- 

 most any soil, but does best in a 

 deep dryish soil. I say deep be- 

 cause in transplanting it from the 

 two year old seedling beds I verx 

 rarely get the entire root up, as 

 being similar in shape to the 

 horseradish, it nearly always 

 breaks off, even if two . or three 

 feet deep ; but this does not ma- 

 teriallv effect the future growth of 

 the plant. — Exchange. \ 

 ♦ 



The Most Permanent Colour.— 

 Yellow is far the most ])erir.anent 

 of any colour in flowers. It is the 

 only one not affected by sulphur- 

 ous acid fumes. 



