1S73.] 
AME R [CAN AGRICULT URIST. 
61 
The New Zealand Flax. 
There are many plants that produce valu- 
able fibers which our present mechanical and 
plant, which we placed as a center-piece of a 
bed upon the lawn. It did not grow as rapidly 
as we expected, and the .surrounding plants so 
racted from its appearance, that it received 
Ornamental Capsicums. 
m 
The fruit of the common Capsicum or Red- 
Pepper of our gardens is when ripe very showy. 
NEW ZEALAND FLAX. — {PllOrmlUin tCllOX.) 
SMALL-LEAVED AND VELLOW-FRUITED CAPSICUMS. 
chemical skill are as yet unable to separate in a 
manner that will make them profitable articles 
of commerce and manufacture. Among these 
is the New Zealand Flax, Phormiiun tenax, 
which grows abundantly in New Zealand and 
Norfolk Island, and has been known since the 
days of Captain Cook. The plan! in its natural 
state seems to vary so much in the length and 
color of its leaves, that four species have been 
described, but botanists at present consider all 
as belonging to one variable species. The na- 
tives of the islands named use the fiber of the 
leaves for making clothing, nets, and for other 
purposes, but thus far the difficulty of freeing 
the fiber of a viscid, gummy matter that ad- 
heres to it has prevented it from becoming an 
article of commerce to any considerable extent. 
The underground stem of the plant throws 
up large tufts of leaves, which grow in opposite 
rows, overlapping each other at the base much 
after the manner of an Lis. In the different 
varieties the leaves grow from three to six feet 
long, and are in color from a very dark green 
to a pale glaucous one. The flower-stalks are 
twice as long as the leaves, and bear upon their 
branches numerous orange-colored flowers of 
the general structure of the Lily Family, to 
which the plant belongs. The New Zealand 
Flax is often grown in greenhouses and conser- 
vatories as au ornamental plant. There is a 
form with variegated leaves that i3 handsome, 
hut is unfortunately of very slow growth. The 
plant is hardy in the south of France, and 
would no doubt be so in several of our South- 
ern States. As an ornamental plant it is worthy 
of consideration. Last spring we receive.! from 
Mr. George Such. South Aniboy, N, -T., a small 
but Utile attention until fall, when, the less per- 
sistent things having died away, we found we 
had a very handsome thrifty plant of the New 
Zealand Flax. This was potted and placed upon 
a stand iu the dining-room, to which it is a con- 
suocklev apple. — {See next paye. ) 
spicuous ornament. As the plant is not very 
sensitive to alternations of temperature, it is a 
suitable one for house decoration for those who 
value a plant for its cheery green foliage alone. 
but it is so concealed by the leaves of the plant 
that it is not readily seen. Last season we cul- 
tivated two kinds which are quite ornamental. 
A year ago last autumn we saw at the store of 
Thorburu&Co. a potted plant filled with fruit 
of a bright lemon-yellow color of a Capsicum 
which was quite new to us. We were kindly 
offered one of the^ieppers, the seeds from which 
enabled us to grow the variety. The plants 
grew from a foot to 18 inches high, and the fruit, 
which ripened quite early, was of the shape 
shown in the engraving, and a little larger. The 
surface is quite knobby and uneven, and has a 
peculiar waxen luster. As a pot-plant, placed 
where it can be seen upon a level with the eye, 
it will be a useful ornament to contrast with 
the various kinds of bright-berried Solanums. 
Among some specimens sent for determination 
from Texas, there was one with ripe fruit of 
Capsicum microphyllum, the Small-leaved Cap- 
sicum. The seeds of this were sown, and we 
bad the satisfaction of growing the plant, which 
we had often met with in the wild state in 
Texas and Northern Mexico. It grows to the 
hight of two feet, and ha3 a peculiarly forked 
manner of branching {dichoiomous, as the bot- 
anist would say), and in the axil of each fork is 
borne a flower, which is succeeded by a bright 
red berry, of the size of a large pea, upon a loug 
stalk. The engraving shows the mauner of 
branching, and the leaves and fruit of the natu- 
ral size. A well-grown plant of this, with its 
hundreds of ripe fruits, is a really beautiful ob- 
ject. The berries, though small, are intensely 
pungent, and are employed as a condiment by 
Mexicans and others under toe name of Cfiipa- 
tane. The whole peppers arc placed upon the 
