THE V SA V. 



757 



flower garden, I think it is well to call attention to 

 the miserably small, weak plants that the nurserymen 

 send out under the head of perennials. I have experi- 

 mented with a good many kinds, purchased from var- 

 ious houses, and like a great many amateurs, dislike to 

 be obliged to buy a dozen plants in order that out of 

 the lot two or three may flower. New perennials are 

 of slow growth and the weaklings that are sent out b)- 

 most houses, little slips or seedlings forced under glass, 

 are enough to dis- 

 courage ordinary 

 people. Good per- 

 ennial roots should 

 have one summer's 

 growth and a rest 

 during the following 

 winter before any- 

 thing should be ex- 

 pected of them. 



If the nursery- 

 men are desirous of 

 working up the 

 trade in herbaceous 

 perennials they are 

 spoiling their own 

 interests by the 

 course they take. 

 There are one or 

 two houses that are 

 exceptions to this 

 rule; their plants 

 are what they should 

 be and their prices 

 are what the plants 

 are worth, conse- 

 quently they are 

 high, and their lists 

 might scare buyers 

 who have not experi- 

 mented with lower 

 priced houses. — P. 

 F. Blodgett, Ver- 

 iiiont. 



Clerod e n d r o n 

 serolinum. — This 

 hardy deciduous 

 shrub was intro- 

 duced from Japan 

 about twenty years 

 ago under name of 



Volkavieria Japomca, but in more recent classifica- 

 tions is called Clerodendron serotinum. It forms a 

 large spreading bush lo feet high, clothed with a rich 

 mass of broad acuminate leaves, which emit a slightly 

 foetid odor when crushed or when wet with dew in 

 evenings. The young wood, petioles and under surface 

 of leaves are thickly covered with a soft velvety pubes- 

 cense. The plant blooms profusely in the eighth and 

 ninth months, each branch of young growth bearing a 



large terminal panicle of pretty flowers that are pleas 

 antly fragrant with a mild daphne or v erbena odor. 

 The angular sack-like calyx is of a rosy or purple shade 

 and the protruding corolla and long slender stamens 

 and pistil are white, with the anthers dark brown or 

 slate color. The plant grows freely in rich land and is 

 readily propagated from suckers ; also from hard wood 

 cuttings and root cuttings. In fact, the tendency to 

 sucker freely when its roots are disturbed would be an 



objection to its in- 

 /^'^^s^y troduction into some 



\"'i'0^' ')dr^^^^ situations, while 



'A ,M ' 1 ,!# vj tj^ig habit makes it 



^ /|y^^^ the more valuable 



? { ('"lii- ^^"^ ^ cover plant on 



hillsides and waste 

 corners. There is, 

 however, no diffi- 

 culty in keeping it 

 in subjection or 

 eradicating it when 

 desired. Its scar- 

 city in this country 

 is entirely owing 

 to the neglect of 

 nurserymen, as it is 

 a fine showy plant 

 which will help to 

 supply the demand 

 for good autumn 

 bloomers and adds 

 a pleasing variety 

 to our limited list of 

 hardy shrubs that 

 bloom at this time 

 of year. — Samuel 

 C. Moon, Morris- 

 ville, Bucks Co. , Pa. 



The Snowdrop. 

 —The snowdrop is 

 the most welcomed 

 of the early spring 

 flowers, and we look 

 cheerfully forward 

 to the time when 

 we shall gather our 

 first blossom. After 

 a hunt amidst leaves 

 and snow we find it 

 bravely peeping up 

 and bearing unflinchingly all the vicissitudes of the 

 early spring season ; how we eagerly secure our prize 

 and bear it off in triumph, inwardly rejoicing that win- 

 ter and spring have met, and that we may now expect 

 warmer suns and brighter skies ! 



Those who would have snowdrops in the spring must 

 plant them now. There are several species in cultiva- 

 tion and all are desirable ; there is also a beautiful 

 double variety. Closely allied to the snowdrops are 



Clerodendron serotinum. 



