THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



103 



soil either in full sun or shade, although it does its very best if 

 planted where it can receive some shade during the hottest part 

 of the day. It is an excellent subject for the rock g"arden, or it 

 may be planted in the hardy perennial border or in beds by it- 

 self or it may be used as a ground cover among compact grow- 

 ing shrubs. — Hubert M. Canning in Horticulture. 



VITALITY OF AN ORANGE TREE STUMP 



HE house occupied by the writer in California w^as built at 



the edge of an orange grove. Two or three of the trees 

 were cut down to make room for the house, wdiich was erected 

 without a cellar but raised by a low stone foundation wall some 

 three feet above the ground. The stump of one of the felled 

 orang"e trees is under the house in the dark space between earth 

 and floor, about ten feet distant from a small window^ opening 

 to the garden, whence it receives a little light. The curious 

 part of this story is, that this imprisoned stump, wdiich ceased 

 to be a tree and became a stump just nine years ago, promptly 

 put up a number of sprouts and in spite of the darkness and 

 aridity of its surroundings, still supports a thrifty little crop of 

 them a couple of feet in length. In all these nine years, the 

 stump has never received a drop of water from above ground 

 and is growing in thick dust. Probably the roots have worked 

 outward beneath and beyond the foundation walls to the region 

 of winter rains and summer irrigation which the garden enjoys 

 and so sucks in some moisture. Nevertheless the case seems a 

 noteworthy one of tree vitality under very discouraging con- 

 ditions. 



By C. F. Saunders. 



