256 
AMEEIOAIf AGEIOULTUEIST. 
[June, 
The Southern or Deciduous Cypress. 
Few of those who read of the great beauty and 
remarkable aspects of the cypress swamps of the 
Southern States, are aware that the eypress tree will 
Fig. 1.— CYPRESS BRANCH AND CONE. 
flourish on dry land, and that it is hardy in locali¬ 
ties far north of those in which it grows spontane¬ 
ously. The lower portions of Delaware and Mary¬ 
land are its northern limits in the wild state, but it 
is hardy throughout the Northern States, save in 
localities with exceptionally severe winters. There 
is a fine group of these trees growing upon tlie 
edge of a marsh, within a few miles of New York 
City, and the writer has a tree about the same 
distance from the city in another direction, which, 
upon ttie sandiest of soils is a fine specimen of vig¬ 
orous growtli. According to Bryant,the tree is hardy 
in Northern Illinois, notwithstanding the growth 
is checked by the severity of the winters. Though 
four or five feet from the surface is of double the 
diameter that it is above. As it grows in the 
swamps, the trunk is clear of branches for the 
greater part of the bight, and hears at the top a 
flattened, wide-spreading head. But in cultivation, 
with abundance of room to develops, the trunk is 
well-clothed with branches, which form a hand¬ 
some pyramid of verdure. The foliage of the tree 
is especially light and graceful. The small leaves, 
not exceeding an inch in length, are arranged 
along the slender branches in two rows, like those 
of the Hemlock (hence the specifle name, distich- 
um, two-rowed). The 
leaves, shown in fig¬ 
ure 1, are of a pecu¬ 
liar light and tender 
green color. To look 
up at the bright sky 
through the spread¬ 
ing branches of a 
cedar swamp, pre¬ 
sents a play of colors 
long to be remember¬ 
ed. In autumn the 
leaves turn to a dull 
red color, and soon 
after fall. The cones 
of the shape shown 
in figure 1, are about 
an inch in diameter 
and contain numer¬ 
ous small seeds with 
narrow wings. A 
marked peculiarity of 
this tree is shown in 
figure 2. When, in its 
native swamps, hav¬ 
ing reached the bight 
of twenty to twenty- 
five feet, there arise 
from the roots numer¬ 
ous woody, conical 
excrescences, which in old trees are produced at the 
distance of thirty feet from the trunk. These are 
popularly known as “Cypress knees.” According 
to Bartram, these are four, five, and even six feet 
high, and from six inches to two feet in diameter at 
the base. They are covered with a smooth bark, and 
are always hollow. In localities where they occur, 
these “ knees ” are made use of as bee-hives, 
elastic and easily worked, it is regarded as superior 
to that of any of the pines, and when obtainable, 
is preferred to the White Pine for all the uses for 
which that wood is usually employed. The wood 
is remarkably durable, and is highly valued for 
fence-posts. Shingles made from it have lasted 
forty years, and the shingle manufacture is an in¬ 
dustry of considerable importance. Hogsheads for 
sugar and molasses are made from the wood. The 
timber has so many valuable qualities that experi¬ 
ments should be made to ascertain how far North 
its eulture may be profitable. As an ornamental 
NEW GERMAN PANSIES. 
tree it takes a place in the front rank. The tree is 
raised readily from seed, and grows rapidly while 
young. Several years ago, Mr. A. S. Fuller sug¬ 
gested to grape-growers, that they could provide 
themselves with excellent and durable stakes, by 
sowing the seeds of this tree. A tree for some¬ 
time grown in the nurseries as the Weeping Decid¬ 
uous Cypress {Olyptostrohus pendulus), and highly 
valued for the lawn, and as a street tree, is now 
regarded as a form of our Southern Cypress. 
J'ig_ 2.— A LARGE SOUTHERN CYPRESS TREE WITH MANY “ KNEES ” {Taxodium distichuni). 
belonging to the conifers, this Cypress is not an 
evergreen, but, like tiie Larch, sheds its leaves in 
autumn. In its native swamps the tree reaches 
one hundred and twenty, and sometimes, even one 
hundred and fifty feet in bight. The trunk is re¬ 
markable for having an immense base, which for 
buckets, troughs, and other domestic utensils. 
Of what use these “ knees ” are to the tree is not 
known ; they have never been found to sprout, 
and thus serve to propagate the tree. The wood 
of this Cypress has a fine grain, and when exposed 
assumes a pleasing, reddish tint; being strong, | 
The Pansy—Why Not More? 
If there is a generally popular flower, it is the 
Pansy. In the old gardens it was something like a 
weed; the plants from self-sown seeds produced 
a few small flowers, quite unlike the improved 
sorts of the present day. The popularity of the 
Pansy in England, is shown by the fact that it has 
some twenty common names. Some of these have 
found their way to this country, and we have the 
flower known in old gardens as “ Hearts-ease,” 
“Johnny Jump Up ” (corrupted to Johnny-jump¬ 
er), “ None-so-pretty ” (often “Nancy-pretty”), 
and some others. Whether our improved Pansies 
were derived solely from Viola tricolor, or by cross¬ 
ing with other species, is a point upon which flor¬ 
ists are not agreed. It is of little consequence so 
far as their cultivation is concerned. Our climate 
is not favorable for the cultivation of the Pansy. 
If the seeds are sown in the open ground in spring, 
by the time the plants are large enough to flower, 
the weather is so hot that, no matter of how good 
a strain the seeds may have been, the flowers will 
be starved and small. To have fine results, we 
must have our plants ready to flower either before 
hot weather in spring or after the intense heats are 
over. Consequently, for the early bloom, we must 
sow the seeds in a window-box or frame in March, 
and for a late flowering, the seeds should be sown in 
a partly shaded place in August or September. To 
have good Pansies, we must have rich soil, and 
whether raised in spring or fail, the seedlings can 
hardly have soil that is too rich. The catalogues 
offer different strains of seed. A catalogue before 
