1871.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
181 
The Dwarf Cornel, or Bunch-berry. 
Ainoug the niue species of Cornel or Dog- 
wood that are indigenous to the Northern 
States, there are two which have the flowers 
surrounded by a" broad involucre, which, as it is 
white aud petal-like, is taken by most 
persons for the flower itself. One of 
these species is the Flowering Dogwood 
— Comus florida — which this month is 
so conspicuous in our woods, with its 
snow-white inflorescence ; and the other 
is a very humble plant, which only 
reaches the bight of four or six inches, 
and would hardly be supposed to be- 
long to the same genus with the tree- 
like Dogwoods. This is the Cornus 
Canadensis, the Bunch-berry, or Dwarf 
Coruel. It is found in damp woods, 
aud is quite common northward. The 
herbaceous stems, which are thrown up 
from a subterranean trunk, have scale- 
like leaves below, aud larger ones above, 
which are crowded so as to appear like 
a whorl of four to six leaves. The small 
flowers are in a terminal head, and sur- 
rounded by a white four-leaved involu- 
cre. The plant is more conspicuous in 
autumn than in spring, as then the 
flowers are replaced by a close cluster of 
bright red globular berries. The ber- 
ries, which have not much taste, are 
eaten by children, and are sometimes 
made into puddings. Birds are very 
fond of them. The plant is success- 
fully cultivated in English gardens. 
May-flower, or Trailing Arbutus. 
There is, perhaps, no wild flower 
about which so much has been written 
in prose and poetry as the May-flower, 
or Trailing Arbutus. Its simple beauty, 
its very early flowering, and its rich 
fragrance — so rare among our wild 
flowers — all combine to make it a popu- 
lar plant. It is found from the British 
Possessions to Carolina and Georgia, though it 
cannot be called a very common plant. Its 
favorite place of growth is along the edges of 
woods, where it will be covered with leaves, aud 
yet be open to the influence of the first warm 
days of early spring. 
The illustration 
shows the prostrate 
habit of the plant, 
its traily stem run- 
ning just at the sur- 
face of the ground, 
and throwing up 
from among the 
dead leaves its 
leaf-bearing shoots, 
crowned by clusters 
of pearly white or 
rose -colored flow- 
ers. The flowers 
arise from scaly 
bracts, have a long 
tube, which is very 
hairy within, and 
which expands into 
five rounded lobes. 
The flower-buds are 
formed in August, 
and are so well developed that it needs but a few 
days of mild weather to induce them to open. It 
is not rare to find them open in February, and it 
usually happens that the flowers are all gone 
before May. The name May-flower, by which 
the plant is most commonly known in New 
England, is not in reference to its time of 
blooming, but because it is supposed to have 
announced to the crew of the May Flower that 
their first long dreary winter at Plymouth was 
DWARF CORNEL, OR BUNCH-BERRY. 
nearly over. The botanical name is Epigcea 
repens ; the generic name is from the Greek, 
meaning upon the earth ; the specific one, 
repens, means creeping. Like many of the 
Heath Family, to which the plant belongs, it has 
MAT-FLOWER, OR TRAILING ARBUTUS. 
fine fibrous roots, and is difficult to transplant. 
In England, where most plants of this kind do 
well, it is found to succeed only when grown 
in a frame. A lady has recently written us that 
she succeeds in growing it in a hanging basket, 
by keeping the stems close to the soil, and giv- 
ing it frequent sprinklings. It is so charming 
a plant that its shyness is to be regretted. 
Those who have suitable situations by the edge 
of a wood can probably succeed by taking 
large clumps with considerable earth. 
This can be best done just as the 
plant is about making its new growth. 
Roses for Winter Flowering. 
BT PETER HENDERSON. 
Tour correspondent, "N. G.," has 
asked questions upon the winter-flow- 
ering of roses, the reply to which would 
be too much for a private letter ; and 
as the matter is of general interest in 
all large towns throughout the country, 
I have made it the subject of an article. 
Last season we built a greenhouse for 
these roses, 300 feet long, and 21 feet 
in width, of which the subjoined is an 
end section : It diners from that figured 
in "Practical Horticulture," in being 
one foot wider, aud having the back 
and middle bench on the same level, 
which we find to be of convenience in 
working, besides giving the roses a 
better chance to grow higher. The 
question of the walls for such a struc- 
ture as this is a very important one. 
We find that if brick is to be used for 
the north or back wall, it must be made 
hollow, as a solid wall of even one foot 
iu thickness will not stand the extremes 
of temperature between the outside and 
inside ; but as a hollow wall is an ex- 
pensive matter, I would recommend to 
those with whom economy is an ob- 
ject to construct the walls thus : Get 
strong locust, chestnut, or cedar posts, 
of length sufficient to allow them to 
set 3 feet iu the ground ; place these 6 
feet apart; outside of these nail hem- 
lock or other rough boards ; against this 
tack a layer of asphalt or tarred paper, 
and then against the paper nail the weather- 
boarding, finishing at the top with a hollowed- 
out timber, 6 or 8 inches wide, for a gutter. A 
greenhouse of this kind, heating apparatus, and 
all complete, will cost at present prices from 
$20 to $25 per run- 
ning foot ; with hol- 
low brick walls, it 
would cost about 
$30 per running 
foot. The use of 
tarred paper for 
greenhouse walls is 
only a recent one; 
formerly we used to 
fill in with brick, or 
use double board- 
ing, leaving a space 
_ of two or three inch- 
is es, which was filled 
£j-, in with charcoal, 
sawdust, or some 
2? other non-conduct- 
ing material ; but 
the tarred paper is 
by far the cheaper, 
and better. Your 
correspondent also 
asks the best method of growing roses for 
forcing — whether that of planting out or grow- 
ing the plants in pots or tubs. By all the 
experience of ourselves and our neighbors. 
