1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
44,9 
BLACK ALDSTi — (IU'X vertlcffl.ata. ) 
Our Showy-fruited Shrubs. 
There are many shrubs that are quite as effec- 
tive, (if not more so), in fruit as iu flower, and 
whicb, upon llie shedding of their leaves prolong; 
our enjoyment of them by the pleasing colors 
of their berries. Leaving; the exotics out of the 
question for the present, we find that our own 
shrubs present us with a great range of color, 
from the pure white of the Snowberry of the 
West, through the rich purple of the Callicarpa 
of the South, and the intense scarlet of the 
Black Alder, to the black of the Viburnums. 
Our present object is to call attention to one 
that is so common everywhere that its value 
as an ornamental plant has beeu overlooked. In 
early winter we find, in many places, the swamps 
in a blaze of scarlet, iu strong contrast to the 
geueral dreariness of the landscape. This bril- 
liant appearance is due to the fruit of the Black 
Alder, Ilex rerticillata. By the older botanists 
it was called Pri/ws verticillatus, but it is now 
regarded as an Ilex or Holly, with deciduous 
leaves. The shrub is very common, grows 
from rive to ten feet high, and in cultivation can 
easily be made to assume a symmetrical form. 
The flowers are small, white, and not very 
showy, both sterile and fertile ones being borne 
on the same bush. The berries are bright scar- 
let, very numerous, and contain six or eight 
seeds. The above engraving gives the size and 
shape of the leaves as well as of the berries. 
''Solomon in all his Glory." 
We are told that " Solomon in all his glory" 
■was not arrayed like one of the "Lilies of the 
field." While writers have perplexed them- 
selves in the endeavor to determine what par- 
ticular plant is referred to as the lily of the 
field, we think that the 
figure has sufficient 
force if we accept it as 
applying to our garden 
lilies, for some of these 
have a gorgeousness and 
a gloiy truly regal, and 
they are " lilies of the 
field " in some parts of 
the world. We are at a 
loss to account for the 
comparative rarity of lil- 
ies in our gardens, when 
the majority of them 
possess every element of 
popularity. They pre- 
sent a great variety in 
coloring, bight, time of 
flowering, and most of 
them are quite hardy 
and need not be replant- 
ed for several years. It 
is true that some of the 
rarer sorts are expen- 
sive ; the catalogues give 
a wide range of prices, 
from 15c. to $5.00 pet- 
bulb. Those who do not 
strive to possess every 
new thing can forego the 
more rare and costly 
ones, and at an expense 
of from 30 to 50c. pro- 
cure sorts that will be 
well worth the money, 
and which will in a few 
years multiply to such 
an extent that one will soon have an abun- 
dance of bulbs to give to less fortunate friends. 
Our admiration was greatly excited over a box 
of lilies sent us last summer by Sir. James Vick, 
of Rochester, N. T., which presented some 
shades of color we had not before seen. Mr. V. 
not only deals in seeds and bulbs, but raises 
them, not in a garden, but on a farm, and his 
many acres, all aglow with the choicest flowers, 
form one of the notable sights to be seen near 
that most beautiful of inland cities — Rochester. 
All the lily requires is to be planted in a good, 
deep, rich, mellow soil, and be let alone, except 
to supply a stake to support the taller kinds. 
Most of the bulbs will, the first season, make two 
that will flower the next year, and each of these 
will again subdivide. Besides this, numerous 
small bulbs or offsets will be formed, which, af- 
ter growing a year or two, will give flowers. 
When the clump becomes too crowded, the 
bulbs may be lifted iu the fall or very earl}' iu 
the spring, divided and replanted. This natur- 
al multiplication is usually rapid enough for or- 
dinary cultivators, but the florist who iias to 
supply them by hundreds and thousands must 
work faster. The lily bulb is covered with 
scales overlapping one another, and each one 
of these scales, which is in reality the thickened 
base of the leaf of the previous season, is capa- 
ble, when placed under proper conditions, of 
producing a new plant. The scales are care- 
fully broken off from the bulb and planted in 
sand or sandy earth in boxes, taking care to 
leave at least a third of the upper part of the 
scale above the surface. The boxes are kept in 
a cool green-house, and not too moist, until a 
small bulb, (and sometimes two), is found at the 
base of each scale. When these bulbs push out 
roots, they are potted in richer earth. The outer 
scales are generally used for the purpose, and 
the bulb is still left in a salable condition. Wo 
tukk's cap lilt — {Lilium Zlartagon.) 
enumerate a few of the desirable sorts, with the 
remark that they may be planted as long as the 
ground remains open in the autumn, and as 
soon as the frost leaves it iu the spring. 
White Lilt, Lilium candidum, one of the 
oldest and commonest, as well as the best, of the 
genus. Long ago chosen as an emblem of pu- 
rity, it has in it those elements of beauty, that, 
as old and as common as it is, have enabled it 
for nearly two centuries to hold a place in our 
gardens against all new comers. There are 
double and striped-leaved varieties of this, but 
they all appear like monsters when contrasted 
with the simple dignity and purity of the 
original. It grows about four feet in bight. 
The Loxg-flowered Lilt, Lilium longi- 
Jlorum, is also while flowered and fragrant, but 
it has fewer and much louger flowers than the 
foregoing, and grows only about 18 inches high. 
The Turk's Cap Lilt, Lilium Jfartagon, 
grows from 3 to 5 feet high, bears a great many 
flowers, and perhaps varies more in color than 
any other species, — from white to deep purple. 
Our engraving is taken from a lilac coloredspec- 
inicn, with dark purple spots, from Mr. Vick. 
The Chaxcedonian Lilt, Lilium Chalce- 
donieum, is another tall-growing species with 
most brilliant scarlet flowers, the petals of 
which are more strongly recurved than those of 
the species shown in the engraving. Omitting 
many other equally fine species, wc notice the- 
Japan Lilies, Lilium speciosum, or L. lanci- 
folium of the catalogues. These, which formerly 
sold for §5 a bulb, can be had now for 50 cents 
or less, and wc do not know how the same 
amount can be expended in flowers to produce 
more satisfaction. There are several varieties, 
varying in their marking, and even a pure white 
one. Most are, however, white, with more or 
less abundant red or rose-colored spots. It is 
difficult to convince one unacquainted with this 
