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CURRENT GARDEN LORE. 



which float in the lower grounds. Besides, woods cut 

 the cold and dry winds so dangerous to the organs of 

 respiration, and render the temperature more uniform- 



Iris Gatesi. 



Iris Gatesi. — This magnificent Armenian Iris is the 

 veritable prince of the whole family, vigorous in growth 

 and producing immense flowers very much larger than 

 even a very big flower of /. Susiana. To the florist's eye 

 this is simply a perfect flower, noble in outline, and the 

 petals superbly rounded. The ground-color of this 

 grand flower is a silvery white, covered with a network 

 of scarcely perceptible lines and feathers of a pale 

 purple. — The Garden. 



The Vegetation of Central Africa. — There were 

 many lateral depressions, marking the courses of the 

 streams, and few elevations of any importance, but over 

 the whole slowly sailed the snow-white mist in broad, 

 irregular streams ; these, in a few moments, became 

 joined into a universal mass, which to us, looking down 

 upon it, resemble an inverted sky. All this was very 

 annoying to us as curious sight-seers, anxious to know 

 the strange world we were in ; but it furnished sugges- 

 tions as to the reason why this part was so especially 

 prolific, and why Ruwenzori was so coy. No winds 

 could cool this portion of the valley, or waft the vapors 

 away and clear the atmosphere from an entire corner 

 of the compass, owing to the extent and great height 

 of Ruwenzori. The great mountain intercepted every 

 breeze from the east round to south, and prevented the 



everlasting exhalations of the valley from being blown 

 in that direction ; but on their reaching the intense 

 cold above distilled them and rediffused them in copi- 

 ous showers of rain. From north to west the northern 

 range of mountains obstructed the free passage of the 

 winds, and assisted to maintain that equable heat of 

 the valley that was necessary for the fostering of that 

 marvelous vegetation. In every camp of this region 

 the smoke hung over us like a pall, smarting the eyes, 

 and half-suffocating us. In such a nature's conservatory 

 as the Semliki Valley, buried under its own perpetual 

 warm exhalations, vegetation, as a matter of course, 

 nding every fa vo rabl e element therein necessary for 

 its growth and nourishment, grows in riotous profusion. 

 Where the humus is deep we find a tall and stately 

 forest, with an impervious underwood of young trees 

 bound together, and sometimes altogether hidden by 

 countless climbing vines and robust plants ; where the 

 humus is thinner, as near the foot of the range, dense 

 crops of cane-grass from lo to 15 feet in height 

 flourish, luxuriant and impenetrable. Every tree-stem 

 has its green robe of soft moss dripping with dew, and 

 each tree-fern or horizontal branch has its orchids, or 

 broad elephant-ear plant. Every rock is clothed with 

 lichens, and even in the slightest hollow there will be 

 seen a multitude of plants. In short, everywhere, ex- 

 cept upon the perpendicular face of a late-moved boulder, 

 vegetation thrives. — Trom Stanley' s Report. 



Top-dressing for the Chicago Park Lawns. — 

 A good deal of the land is almost a pure sand for many 

 feet deep. A soil of a foot or so costs a large sum, and 

 even then, without a liberal use of the sprinkler, vegeta- 

 tion soon burns up. With this watering, however, no 

 soil quicker responds to drink. Lincoln Park has all the 

 manure it can take care of brought to it, free, from 

 stables, etc. This is composted with refuse of all kinds, 

 from the sweeping of the lawns, scraping of the walks 

 and drives, and from the animal-pits, etc. Along in 

 winter, generally toward the breaking up of the winter, 

 this material is carted out when the sod is well frozen, 

 and dumped in considerable clods, frozen as it is. Pres- 

 ently, as it begins to thaw and is disintegrated by the 

 effects of freezing, it is spread carefully over the sur- 

 face. In a while after thawing it is scarified and fined 

 down, and as the young growth of grass begins in the 

 spring it is partially raked off, but a good deal of the 

 fine stuff, of course, is left. The effect of this each 

 year is to give considerable stamina to the sward. As 

 the grass is largely composed of Kentucky blue-grass, 

 poas, and other grasses, even if the top looks dead the 

 roots are still fresh below. A very little rain on such 

 parts as it is impossible to sprinkle, quickly makes it 

 green again, so that, as a rule, even if the natural soil 

 is poor the lawns of Lincoln Park show less the effects 

 of drouth than does a heavier soil in which the rain or 

 irrigation has a tendency to run off rather than to 

 soak into the soil. The reason it is not carried on to 

 the lawn earlier is, of course, the unsightly appearance 

 of a manure-covered park. By hauling late in the 



