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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
bight. It has apparently no aspirations, all its 
tendencies being earthward; no sooner does a shoot 
start than with a sort of arboreal depravity, it at 
once turns downwards, and while in this manner it 
builds a broad fountain-like mass of branches, its 
upward growth is very slow. While we can not 
commend this, if one is to set a very few trees, it 
may well find a place in a collection of moderate 
size. This also came from Messrs. Parsons. There is 
one matter concerning the care of small evergreens, 
which, though it has been frequently stated, may 
be repeated here, with emphasis. When there 
is a heavy fall of snow, these are quite surrounded, 
and almost, if not quite, covered. The surface of 
the snow, softened by the sun’s heat, and by rains, 
freezes with every cold spell; and all the while the 
mass is gradually settling. If the surface snow 
entangles and freezes around the branches of these 
trees, while the mass at the same time settles, the 
result will be to disfigure the tree by a severe dis¬ 
tortion of the branches, or what is worse, to tear 
them off altogether. The only safe method is to 
remove the snow from around them after every 
heavy fall, a matter of little trouble, if done at once. 
--- —»©«- -- 
The Thick-leaved Elm, ITlmus Crassifolia. 
It is now more than twenty-five years since, in 
exploring that part of Western Texas, that lies be¬ 
tween the San Antonio and the Pecos Rivers, that 
we came across a remarkable Elm. The habit of 
the tree was more that of an Oak than an Elm, 
while its dense foliage was made up of leaves so 
small and thick, and so unlike those of our North¬ 
ern Elms, that, had we not found the fruit, we 
might have been in doubt as to the kind of 
tree. Upon examining the specimens, after our re¬ 
turn home, we found that Nuttall, in his continua¬ 
tion of “ Michaux’s Sylva,” had figured and de¬ 
scribed it (in 1842) as the Opaque-leaved Elm, TJl- 
musppaca, forgetting (as he not infrequently did), 
that he had already, (in 1834), described the same 
tree, in his “ Flora of Arkansas Territory, as Ulmus 
crassifolia —the Thick-leaved Elm, which is the oldest 
name, and must be adopted. Nuttall first found the 
tree upon the upper waters of the Red River, where, 
in a richer soil than that of Western Texas, it at¬ 
tained a medium size, and afforded a dense and es¬ 
pecially acceptable shade. Different persons recog¬ 
nize trees by very different characters. The 
lumber man, who is among trees, as a general 
thing, in the winter only, learns to distinguish them 
by the bark, and this he will do with an accuracy 
which surprises those who are accustomed to look 
to other characters. The landscape gardener stud¬ 
ies the outline that trees make against the sky, the 
angle their branches form with the main stem or 
trunk, and the character of the spray. The botan¬ 
ist is too apt to disregard the points observed by 
those skilled in woodcraft, and those who study 
the picturesque effects of trees, as these characters 
are only learned by long familiarity with the ob¬ 
jects, and can not be definitely recorded in descrip¬ 
tions in such a manner that others may make use of 
them. While the botanist notices any strikingpecu- 
liarity of the habit, or the bark of the tree, his main 
dependence in identifying species is upon the 
leaves and the flowers, and on the fruit in genera. 
While we have often been astonished at the accu¬ 
racy with which woodmen will tell a tree by its 
bark, we have in. turn as much surprised them by 
telling the tree from the mere form of the leaf, a 
character which they do not take into considera¬ 
tion. With this digression, we will say that the 
leaves of this thick-leaved Elm, are, including their 
short stalks, only about an inch in length, and half 
that in breadth, varying somewhat in size in trees 
in different localities ; they are unequal, i. e., with 
one half larger than the other; very deep green, 
somewhat shining, and roughish to the touch on 
the upper surface, and paler below ; the margins 
serrate with blunt teeth. When very young, 
and but partly developed, the leaves are thickly 
covered with down. The very small flowers are in 
clusters of three or four in the axils of the leaves, 
appearing late in the season, and the small, deeply- 
notched, and downy fruit ripening in autumn. This 
species is mentioned here as one concerning which 
it is desirable to know more, our interest in it being 
increased by the fact that a small specimen in our 
grounds, near New York, much to our surprise, 
eudured the past rather severe winter without in¬ 
jury. Should this not prove to be an accidentally 
exceptional case, and the tree survive the present 
winter, there will be good reason to hope that it 
may be safely added to our collections, as it may, 
no doubt, to those of England and Southern Eu¬ 
rope. By this time, settlements must have extend¬ 
ed to the localities of this tree, and we shall be 
glad to learn from those who live where it grows 
as to the nature and uses of its timber, and how 
nearly, In its native localities, it comes to be an ev¬ 
ergreen. The engraving is from a herbarium speci¬ 
men, showing a small twig, with leaves and fruit 
of the natural size. 
Tropseolams as Greenhouse and Win¬ 
dow "Plants. 
Tropieolum is a South American genus of very 
showy plants, most of which are climbers. The 
best known member of it is the common garden 
Nasturtium, or “ ’Sturtion,” (Tropceolum majus), 
often cultivated for its showy flowers, and for its 
pungent fruit, to be used for pickling. Other spe¬ 
cies, especially those with tuberous roots, are only 
suited for culture under glass, and are so unlike the 
coarse garden annual in foliage and flower, that one 
would hardly recognize them at first sight as be¬ 
longing to the same genus. The “ bulbs,” or more 
properly tubers, vary in size from that of a boy’s 
marble up to that of an English walnut, and are of¬ 
fered by the seedsmen with their assortment of au¬ 
tumn bulbs. The leading species are the Three- 
colored, Tropceolum tricolorum, the Blue, T. azure- 
urn, Jarratt’s, T. JarraUii , and perhaps one or two 
others. The tubers should be potted as early as 
they can be procured, by September if possible, in 
light rich soil, and provided with a trellis, or some 
kind of a frame, usually of wire, or of rattan, to 
run upon. A very pretty effect is produced by us¬ 
ing a very twiggy branch, or the top of a young 
tree, of some kind, instead of a regular frame. In 
the greenhouse they may be trained to a wire fixed 
for the purpose along the rafters, for the freer 
growing kinds. When the shoots first start from 
the tubers, they are exceedingly slender, but little 
larger than a common horse-hair, and before the 
leaves develop, they make so little show that they 
may be broken unless care is taken. Several shoots 
usually start from the tuber, and should be trained 
out separately to the support, at once, else in a few 
days they will entwine around one another, and be¬ 
come a tangled mass, from which it is almost im¬ 
possible to extricate them. When once fairly 
started, the vines grow rapidly, and may be helped 
with a little weak liquid manure. They do not be¬ 
gin to flower until the support is well covered with 
foliage, but if potted early, they will be gay with 
flowers from March until May. The engraving, 
given on the preceding page, is of the natural size, 
from a spray of the Three-colored Tropseolum, the 
flowers of which are scarlet and yellow, tipped with 
black in unusual and brilliant contrast. They will 
flower well in a temperature of 50°, and with care 
will make satisfactory window plants, but they are 
very sensitive to cold, and any thing like frost will 
kill them outright. When done flowering, the fo¬ 
liage should be kept growing to mature the tubers, 
aud when this shows signs of fading, water should 
be withheld, and the tubers allowed to dry off. 
They may be kept in the pots in the di - y earth until 
time to repot the next season. 
- ■*> * - i K CEO--- <»--. 
A Wonderful Prairie Flower, “ The 
Cockatelle,” 
BY PETER HENDERSON 
The vender of that wonderful novelty, the 
“Cockatelle Flower,” is “ Comanche George,” as 
he calls himself. George was one of these terrible 
fellows, a Texan scout. To dispel all doubts on 
this point, the garb of the plains is so necessary to 
him, that even in the streets of New York, while 
selling his seeds of the “ Cockatelle,” his hunting 
shirt and boots, and that leathern belt, so sugges¬ 
tive of bowie-knives and revolvers, still clothe the 
stalwart form of “ Comanche George.” In one of 
his many wanderings he discovered, on the banks 
of the Brazos, the “ Cockatelle,” a flower at once 
so surprisingly beautiful as to subdue the savage 
instincts of this man of war, and convert him at 
once into a peaceful seedsman. He describes this 
wonderful flower as vicing in colors with any rain¬ 
bow, the foliage simply grand, and the odor, sur¬ 
passing that of the Rose and Jessamine combined, 
is wafted over the plains for leagues. After secur¬ 
ing the seeds, he made straight for Washington, 
and gave the officials of the Botanic Garden the 
first offer, but through jealousy, or something else, 
they would Dot purchase, so George wended his 
way through Baltimore to Philadelphia, and easily 
found more appreciative customers. When he 
reached New York the demand had been so great, 
that he thought of raising the price from 5 seeds 
for 25c., to 1 seed for 25c.—so he said—as he wished 
every man and every woman to be able to feast 
their eyes (and noses too) on this Texan wonder. 
We saw him some time in March, and either be¬ 
cause our quarters were scarce that day, or we, too, 
were jealous of this formidable rival, we failed to 
secure seeds. But we have seen the products of 
these seeds in the possession of several of our 
friends, during the summer. There must have 
been something wrong in cultivation or climate, for 
the wonderful flower of the Texas prairies, when 
transferred to our colder region, is not much of a 
flower at ail, and as for odor—but that is so much 
a matter of taste (or smell) tliatit may be as well not 
to express an opinion on that. In fact, “ Comanche 
George’s ” flower of rainbow hues, turns out to 
be nothing more and nothing less than common 
garden Okra, or Gumbo. Not a few of the scout’s 
customers are ready to assert that he was no scout 
at all, nexer saw Texas, and that he had had a 
heavy contract with some one for Okra seed. When 
last heard of, he was working his way Eastward, 
slighting no town of any size worth “ doing.” He 
no doubt will turn up in some other section with a 
fresh supply of “ Cockatelle ” seeds for the coming 
spring, and your Eastern readers should be on their 
guard. It is hardly to be wondered at, that this 
plausible scamp found so many victims, when we 
know that not a few “professionals” were unfor¬ 
tunate enough to exhibit to friends plants of the 
“ Cockatelle,” the seeds of which they had pur¬ 
chased of “ Comanche George.” 1 doubt if there are 
any fields for humbug so varied as those provided 
for the amateur horticulturist. Year after year, 
as regularly as spring comes, the swindlers, 
now known as the “ Blue Rose Men,” plant 
themselves in the most prominent streets of near¬ 
ly every city of sufficient size in the country, 
and openly sell what the merest tyro ought to know 
are impossibilities in fruit and flowers. They don’t 
even go to the trouble to vary the names of their 
frauds, but the same colored plates of Blue Moss 
Roses, Blue Dahlias, and Blue Gladiolus, and of 
strawberries, (growing on trees), as large as tur¬ 
nips, do duty just as they did 10 years ago. A new 
crop of victims comes up every season, and like 
gudgeons, swallow these most thinly baited hooks. 
The other day, on Broadway, at Trinity Church, an 
old colored man had taken up a position against the 
fence ; at his feet lay coiled a few dozen of spiny 
briars. I stopped and asked him what they were, 
and the price, “ Dems Rosy bushes—de only Rosy 
bush dat am fragrum, and dat bloom all de time— 
jes 25 cents a piece.”—“ Where did you get them ?” 
—“From de boss, and he get dem from Yourup.” 
The “ Rosy Bushes ” that “the boss ” had import¬ 
ed, were not at all “Rosy,” but just the common 
“ Green Brier ” or “ Cat Brier,” Smilax rotundifolia, 
to be found in almost every thicket, or along nearly 
every neglected fence row in the country, North 
and South. Some industrious scamp had dug these 
from the Jersey swamps, and had given to this 
simple son of Africa to sell as “ Rosy bushes.” 
[“ Comanche George ” has at last come to grief, he 
has fallen into the hands of an interviewer, and, in 
an unguarded hour, told who were his patrons, and 
