1879 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
267 
The Neapolitan or Daffodil Allium. 
Those with only a limited knowledge of plant 
names are aware that the Onion, the Leek, the Gar¬ 
lic, and other odorous and useful plants of the 
kitchen garden belong in the genus Allium. But it 
is not so generally known that this genus contains 
plants of real beauty, and even of fragrance, in 
the proper sense of the word. Some of our native 
species, especially those from the far-West, are very 
pleasing, while various parts of the old world’fur- 
shape are in great demand by makers of bouquets 
and floral designs, especially if, added to these, 
there is the quality of lasting for a long time after 
cutting. The fact that the flower clusters are 
brought from the South of France, and arrive, ac¬ 
cording to “ The Garden,” at Covent Garden Mar¬ 
ket in a fresh state, shows a remarkable persis¬ 
tence. The plant forces so readily that we bring it 
to the attention of those who grow “ cut (lowers ” 
for winter, and it will prove very satisfactory in 
window culture. The engraving was made from 
European 6eed-house as Silene orientalis, var. com- 
pacta. Wishing to make our flower-loving readers 
acquainted with such a fine hardy plant, we had an 
engraving made, not supposing that there could be 
anything obscure about such a striking species. 
But upon looking up, both its horticultural and 
botanical history, we found ourselves at once sur¬ 
rounded by difficulties and contradictions. Mr. 
Robinson, in his usually accurate work on Hardy 
Flowers, gives Silene orientalis , evidently referring 
to this plant, and says it is a perennial, and that 
THE oriental catchflv —(Silene compada. [?] ) 
nish such a number that it is safe to say that over 
a hundred species have been first and last tested in 
European gardens. The Neapolitan Allium is one 
among the examples frequently met with, where an 
old and long-cultivated plant acquires a new inter¬ 
est from a new use being found for It. This spe¬ 
cies, Allium Neapolitanum , is not, as its specific bo¬ 
tanical name, and one of its common names would 
imply, restricted to the vicinity of Naples, but is a 
native of the South of France and of Southern Eu¬ 
rope generally, of the islands of the Mediterranean, 
and it even extends to Northern Africa, showing 
the folly of imposing local names without wider 
knowledge. Our engraving, taken from a forced 
plant, is somewhat undersized ; the stem, under fa¬ 
vorable conditions reaches a foot, or even 20 inch¬ 
es in higlit, with leaves broader in proportion. The 
rather loose umbel stands well up above the leaves, 
and consists of flowers having a parity of white 
which recalls that of a pure white Narcissus. This 
Allium is hardy in England, but did not prove so 
with us last winter, in the only trial we have made 
of it. Last winter was exceptionally severe- upon 
many plants, and no covering was given the bulbs; 
those kept in a cold-frame passed the winter in 
safety. This old plant has suddenly become of 
commercial importance in the London flower mar¬ 
ket, where it is largely used for bouquet making ; 
pure white flowers of small size and manageable 
plants that bloomed in a greenhouse, where there 
was only sufficient heat to prevent freezing. The 
small size of the bulb, and the slender foliage, al¬ 
low in forcing it a great number of flower-clus¬ 
ters to be produced in a small space—which in 
a commercial view is a matter of no little import¬ 
ance. “ Scratch a Russian, and you’ll find a Tar¬ 
tar,” is not more true than “crush an Allium, 
and you’ll smell ingyuns.” Moral: Don’t crush. 
The Oriental Catchfly. 
Rarely have we been more strongly impressed 
with the beauty of a plant at first 6ight, than in 
coming across a Silene, which may be called the 
“ Oriental Catchfly.” We saw this in the collection 
of hardy plants of Messrs. AVoolson & Co., Passaic, 
N. J., where it formed robust, much branched 
specimens about two feet high. A branch rather 
less than the average natural size is shown in the 
engraving, which, while it gives the shape of the 
leaves and flower-clusters, of course quite fails to 
convey the color effect. The foliage is of the most 
tender, pale glaucous green, while the exceedingly 
dense, almost perfectly globular heads, one and a 
half to two inches across, the very largest being 
even nearly three inches through, are of a bright 
lively rose-color. Upon inquiry we learned that 
the plants were from seed sent out by a well-known 
its “Native couutry is unknown.” But bota¬ 
nists do not recognize any such species as S. orien¬ 
talis, it being a garden name. Vilmorin and De- 
caisne both give “ Oriental Catchfly ” (Silene d' Ori¬ 
ent) as the common French name of Silene compac- 
ta, a Russian species, the figures in both works 
showing that these authors have one plant in view, 
but these authors say it is a biennial. Turning to 
Ledebour’s “ Flora of Russia,” it is spoken of 
twice in the description there given as “perennial 
or biennial(?).” But this is sufficient to give an 
idea of the difficulties often met with, if one would 
trace up the history of a plant and endeavor to find 
accurate information upon so simple a point as to 
whether it is a biennial or a perennial. We shall 
be obliged to await the result with the plants of 
Messrs. AVoolson & Co. before its character in re¬ 
spect to duration can be satisfactorily known. 
Should it turn out to be only a biennial, it will be 
well for our seed-dealers to add it to their lists, 
though our cultivators are generally too impatient 
to wait a whole year before a plant yields them 
flowers. AVith most biennials this time may be 
shortened by sowing the seeds the last of August 
or the first of September ; the plants will be large 
enough to winter well, aud they will bloom the fol¬ 
lowing summer. Should this Catchfly prove to 
be a perennial—as we hope it may—then the 
dealers in such plants will no doubt make it known,. 
