100 



AKNALS OF HORTICULTURE. 



The water-poppy, Limnocharis Humboldtii, also made a show 

 with its saucer-like sulphur flowers. Some good papyrus plants 

 stood at the angles of the pond. 



Upon either side of this lily pond were two nearly square 

 areas of sod (A' A''), with flower beds, beyond which, in each 

 direction, a long parterre (B C) stretched away nearly 400 feet. 

 These long areas, extending north and south, were simply 

 quiet, unornamented lawns early in the season, and it was the 

 hope of the landscape department that they might be left 

 undisturbed in order to enforce the effect of the lagoon terrace 

 and add a proper dignity to the great building. But land was 

 needed for parterres, and in June the sod was cut into seventy- 

 nine beds, all but three of which were planted to cannas. This 

 great display of cannas, extending over a total length of a 

 thousand feet, was the most conspicuous feature of the envi- 

 rons of the Horticultural Building in autumn. There was 

 some chance for criticism in the arrangement, for the many 

 small beds gave a spotty effect. If the same plants had been 

 massed into a broad central avenue, or even into two narrow 

 marginal avenues, the effect would have been more continuous 

 and more impressive. The plants w T ere late in going into the 

 ground, and the soil was sandy and poor ; yet the display, as a 

 whole, was very bold at the opening of September, and later, 

 and it certainly had great merit. The varieties were not numer- 

 ous, but they represented the best of the new French or dwarf 

 cannas, a class of plants which has been greatly improved in 

 very recent years, especially in all the best qualities of bloom. 

 In the two small areas (A' A") upon either side of the lily 

 tank, J. C. Vaughan showed eighteen beds of cannas — the cen- 

 tral bed in the south area being the best single bed, probably, 

 in the collection. The central portion of this bed was occupied 

 by a heavy planting of Florence Vaughan, which bears a very 

 large, yellow flower, thickly and uniformly spotted with brown. 

 About this was a band of J. C. Vaughan, a dull red flower and 

 dark bronze foliage. This was skirted by George W. Childs, 

 a variety of the Madame Crozy type, but bearing more gold 

 upon the petals. The companion bed in the north area had a 

 center of the excellent J. D. Cabos, with outer bands of Explor- 

 ateur Crambel and Florence Vaughan. Among other varie- 

 ties shown by Vaughan were Egandale, a very dark leaved and 

 dull red variety of great merit, and Mademoiselle de Crillon, 

 the nearest approach to a pure yellow canna upon the grounds. 



The chief interest in the canna exhibits, however, attached 

 to the competitive displays of New York and Pennsylvania. 

 New York occupied most of the south parterre (C), nearly 400 

 feet in length, and Pennsylvania had its twin upon the north 



