250 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



YUCCA. 



Among the many fine plants for which 

 we are indebted to the flora of North 

 America there are none more important 

 for us than Yucca, commonly called 

 " Adam's Needle." They present no 

 difficulty of cultivation, are distinct in 

 habit from other plants, and with their 

 handsome forms they are one of our most 

 precious garden possessions, though too 

 often neglected or used in ineffective 

 ways. They are the worst plants in the 

 world to suit the dotting way of planting, 

 that is, being stuck singly among shrubs ; 

 as in such conditions they do not get 

 even the little sun we have, and we lose 

 their beauty of form which is only to be 

 seen well when they are grouped in pic- 

 turesque, and in the best sense, natural 

 ways . Few seem to recognise their fine 

 flowering qualities ; the larger kinds are 

 not, perhaps, so regular in flowering, 

 while the smaller kinds flower annually. 

 We think, therefore, that they ought to 

 be made a much more important feature 

 in gardens generally. Apart from their 

 flowering qualities they may be associ- 

 ated very well with our choicest hardy 

 evergreens, and are excellent for dry 

 ground, or hot banks, which so often 

 occur in certain districts. 



Those familiar with the Riviera are 

 aware how much the Yucca — and its 

 near ally Cordyline — contribute to the 

 picturesque aspect of the gardens there. 

 'Tis a thing worth seeing, and too rarely 

 seen by such as start away with the first 

 hot days, to meet with a spreading mass 

 of Y.gloriosa in full bloom, with perhaps 

 a score of spikes each a yard in height 

 laden with tinted blossoms ; or T. au- 



stralis with its grotesque form, bearded 

 leaves, and vast hanging panicle. Yet 

 even there, where conditions are all in 

 their favour, the plants rarely have a fair 

 chance, nor are they used so much with 

 an eye to their effect as to fill up some 

 barren corner, impossible for anything 

 less enduring. And there they are left to 

 shift for themselves, the gardener rarely 

 giving them a thought. Demanding little 

 care, they get none at all, as a result be- 

 coming covered with scale, take on a 

 hungry look,and are promptly cut down 

 to start afresh , bold masses are thus 

 few and far between. Some sorts, par- 

 ticularly the larger forms, to do well re- 

 quire more generous treatment than the 

 dwarf kinds, but to form fine specimens 

 must be watched, being apt to throw 

 side-shoots, or suckers from the base, 

 which if not removed confuse the out- 

 line and impoverish the loftier branches. 

 However well tended they may be under 

 glass, it is impossible to grow these forms 

 with effect save as in a state of nature. 

 T. elephantipes with its huge swollen 

 base, stout and knotted trunk and mas- 

 sive crown of vivid glossy green ; trecu- 

 leana with its majestic tuft of channelled 

 leaves and tapering stem, in its smooth 

 outline suggestive of the shaft of a light- 

 house ; or australis with its oddities of 

 form, foliage, and flower. 



Granted that the Yucca in these its 

 noblest forms requires a better climate 

 than ours, there are good kinds of tried 

 hardiness, which are within the reach of 

 every plant lover, not to mention new 

 forms, hybrid and otherwise, deserving 

 a trial. A short generation since who 

 could have predicted the position that 



