1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



227 



THE DOUBLE PERENNIAL SUNFLOWER. 



(Helianthus multiflorus flore-pleno.) 

 The accompanying- illustration, reproduced 

 from the London Garden, represents one 

 of the best autumn-blooming herbaceous 

 plants. It is one of the many excellent 

 species which in the course of fashion have 

 become temporarily superseded, but whose 

 intrinsic merit insists in making them 

 recognized and re-introduced to rank and 

 admiration. The plant, which is entirely 

 hardy, should be set out in early spring, and 

 although it will grow in any good garden 

 soil, a forkful of decomposed manure forked 

 around the roots after 

 they are established 

 will greatly improve it. 

 It grows from four to 

 five feet in height, and 

 bears from the middle 

 of summer, through au- 

 tumn, a great profusion 

 of globular, rich golden 

 yellow flowers of the 

 size of large Chrysan- 

 themums or small 

 Dahlias. They are ex- 

 ceedingly showy and 

 brilliant, blooming a 

 long time and keeping 

 well in vases. They 

 are well adapted for 

 mixed beds among 

 Dahlias, and especially 

 along the borders of 

 shrubberies, as they do 

 not require annual 

 planting. In dry weath- 

 er,occasional waterings 

 with liquid manure im- 

 prove the plant and 

 flowers. During winter 

 it is advisable to cover 

 the roots lightly with 

 leaves or coarse 

 nure. 



[Subscribers to The 

 American Gar den may 

 obtain a plant free, as 

 a premium, by stating 

 so at the time of send- 

 ing their subscription. ] 



CHANGING THE COLORS 

 OF FLOWERS BY CUL- 

 TIVATION. 



Our knowledge of the 

 chemistry of vegetable 

 pigments is not yet suf- 

 ficiently advanced, for 

 which reason the effect 

 of artificial influence 



upon the color tone of flowers has not yet | 

 received its merited attention. According 

 to the view stated by August Vogel, in Popu- j 

 lar Science Monthly, tannin is an important 

 factor in the generation of vegetable colors; 

 it is found in almost every plant, the petals i 

 not excepted, and by the action of the most 

 varying re-agents — alkalies, earths, metallic 

 salts, etc.— it assumes the most manifold 

 hues, from pale rose to deep black. A 

 darker color, therefore, is produced in flow- j 

 ers rich in tannin, when manured with iron 

 salts, since, as everybody knows, tannin and I 

 iron salts dye black and produce ink. A 

 practical use has been made of this fact in I 



the raising of Hydrangeas and Dahlias. The 

 former, which in ordinary soil blossomed 

 pale red, became sky-blue when trans- 

 planted into soil heavily manured with iron 

 ocher, or when occasionally watered with a 

 dilute alum solution. 



It is well known to every florist that a 

 change of location — that is, a change of 

 light, temperature, and soil (replanting) — 

 occasionally produces new colors, whence it 

 may be deducted that an interrupted nutri- 

 tion of the flower may, under certain circum- 

 stances, effect a change of color. We see 

 no valid reason why the well authenticated 

 fact of the change of color produced by 



THE DOUBLE PERENNIAL SUNFLOWER. 



manuring with iron oxide, thereby changing 

 the nutrition of the plant, should not be 

 practically employed by the gardener. 



Another very singular and successful ex- 

 periment, in producing a change of color in 

 a bird, has recently been made. A breeder 

 of canary birds conceived the idea of feeding 

 a young bird with a mixture of steeped bread 

 and finely pulverized red Cayenne pepper. 

 Without injuring the bird, the pigment of the 

 spice passed into the blood and dyed its 

 plumage deep red. The celebrated ornithol- 

 ogist Russ believes that the color of plum- 

 age of birds might be altered according to 

 desire by using appropriate re-agents. 



A BEAUTIFUL NATIVE PLANT. 



One of the most ornamental herbaceous 

 plants is our indigenous Butterfly-weed, or 

 Pleurisy-root ( Jsclepias tuberosa ), found 

 everywhere growing wild along roadsides, 

 and on rather dry, sandy slopes, especially 

 southward. It is a perennial, upright herb, 

 about one to two feet high, with oblong- 

 lanceolate leaves covering the stems to the 

 summit. Its bright orange flowers are born 

 in large, terminal corymbs, and when in full 

 bloom densely cover the plants, jjroducing a 

 most brilliant effect. The roots are tuberous, 

 and penetrate the soil to considerable depth. 

 Large plants are therefore somewhat diffi- 

 cult to move ; but 

 small specimens may be 

 transplanted success- 

 fully, and will thrive in 

 almost any soil and lo- 

 cation ; yet sandy loam 



hand a sunny position 

 are most favorable 

 for their growth. The 

 plants should be taken 

 i & A up in the fall after flow- 



W^kuMM ering, or early in spring. 



For adding color to 

 a group of evergreen 

 shrubs in a lawn during 

 late summer and early 

 autumn, nothing can be 

 more effective than a 

 few clumps of these 

 Asclepias planted along 

 the outer border. 



There are several 

 other beautiful indig- 

 enous species of this 

 genus which well de- 

 serve a place in the 

 flower garden. 



A PRETTY COMBINA- 

 TION. 



This was as simple 

 as it was effective, says 

 the Gardener's Chroni- 

 cle. Two or three plants 

 of Trqpcvolum peregri- 

 num planted at the base 

 of a single pink Dahlia 

 had grown up in among 

 the branches, and so 

 formed a dense bush, 

 hi \ s the leaves and flowers 



; •' of the Dahlia showing 



through the wreaths of 

 yellow flowers of the 

 Tropaeolum. It made 

 a charming floral pict- 

 ure. Some of the choice 

 varieties of Convolvu- 

 lus major, Sweet Peas, and other plants of 

 a clinging habit, can be used in this way. 



CHRISTMAS ROSES. 



This name is somewhat deceptive, and will 

 disappoint those who expect Roses at Christ- 

 mas. Yet the flowers, although they re- 

 semble in shape a Buttercup more than a 

 Rose, and bloom not at Christmas here as 

 they do in the milder climate of England, 

 are very pretty. The roots should be planted 

 in a deep, rich soil, in a sheltered situation, 

 and covered during winter. They are also 

 well adapted for pot culture in the house. 



