1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
147 
tlior said: “It is a flower of most handsome 
appearance, which should not be wanting in cu¬ 
rious gardens, as it excels all other flowers I 
ever knew in the richness of its color.” There 
are many in England and in this country now 
who would fully endorse this opinion. The na¬ 
tive blue Lobelia is pretty, but not equal to the 
scarlet. 
Clematis. —Of the many beautiful Clematis 
vines, we do not now propose to speak, though 
we beg just to drop a word for the highly fra¬ 
grant flammula. Among the strictly herbaceous 
plants belonging to this family, the erecta de¬ 
serves mention. It grows three or four feet 
high, and has white, star-shaped flowers, ap¬ 
pearing in August. Clematis integrifolia, with blue, 
bell-shaped flowers, is particularly desirable. 
The petals before expanding, form a round, bal¬ 
loon-shaped flower—afterward they suddenly 
burst open. 
Chelone. (C. barbata.) —Sometimes sent out 
as a Mexican Penstemon, has glossy, dark green 
foliage, lying close to the earth, while it sends 
up tall spikes of orange-scarlet flowers, shaped 
like the scarlet trumpet honey-suckle. The 
stalks often rise fou* feet high. The blossoms 
continue from July to October. Said to be 
slightly tender, but it grows well north of Al¬ 
bany, N. Y., without any protection. It is a fa¬ 
vorite plant wherever known. 
Columbine. ( Aquilegia.) —Who does not know 
all about the Columbine, and love its nodding 
blooms ? But does every one know into how 
many colors and stripes and shades, the com¬ 
mon sorts sometimes sport ? In a bed specially 
devoted to them, not far from the writer’s win¬ 
dow, are plants with several shades of blue, 
from almost black to pale blue, then white, yel¬ 
low, reddish-brown, variegated, single and 
double flowers. Whoever has not seen this 
plant in its best forms, let him inquire for Aqui¬ 
legia canaden-se, with maroon colored, or scarlet, 
or straw-colored flowers. Aquilegia glandulosa, a 
new and superior sort, is smaller than the fore¬ 
going : its stems rise a foot high ; the flowers 
are sky-blue. All sorts bloom in May and June. 
Butter-Cup. ( Ranunculus .)—Our Butter-Cup 
has lost his place in the alphabet, but the plant 
is just as good here as anywhere. The double 
yellow sort is very common, and increases al¬ 
most too fast. But the pure white ranunculus 
has no drawback whatever. Its flowers are as 
perfectly formed as the best mountain daisy, 
and are larger. We could wish this plant were 
better known. 
Day-Lilt. ( Hemerocallis .)—Several sorts, but 
the blue and the white are best. The variety 
having its broad green leaves conspicuously 
striped with white, is very desirable. 
Dicentra. —No new comer has found favor 
more rapidly or more deservedly. It is singu¬ 
larly attractive in flower, foliage, and habit. 
The blossoms are borne on a drooping raceme, 
are of a beautiful rosy pink color, appear early 
in Spring, and remain for a long time. The 
plant grows about two feet high, is easily prop¬ 
agated by division of the roots, and asks only 
fair treatment to maintain perennial beauty. 
Whatever else is omitted, give a place to the 
Dicentra. 
Evening Primrose. ( GEnothera .)—The only 
perennial Evening Primrose with which we are 
familiar is the grandifiora , which is very fine. 
Its flowers are canary-color, nearly as large as 
a hollyhock, and open in succession for a long 
time. It grows ten inches high, blooms in July 
and August. 
Fraxlnella. (Bictamnus .)—There are two 
sorts, one with white, the other with reddish 
flowers. Plant is 18 inches high. The leaves, 
when rubbed, have a peculiar aromatic fra¬ 
grance, somewhat resembling lemon-peel. When 
the plant is in flower, a gas passes off from it, 
which in warm, damp evenings, may be lighted 
with a match. 
Larkspur. ( Delphinium .)—Here is a family of 
plants which deserves the attention of every 
body. Hardy and flourishing in any soil not 
positively bad, and easily propagated by divid¬ 
ing the roots. The flowers are borne on spikes 
rising from two to six feet high, are of every 
shade from dark purple to pale blue, and con¬ 
tinue in bloom nearly all the season. Some of 
the darker varieties have a certain metallic or 
coppery luster that is very striking. 
The old Bee Larkspur must be had “ for auld 
lang syne.” Higher than this rank the double 
Chinese and Barlow’s. Better still, are Breck’s 
No. 1, and the formosum. The last named has 
got a national reputation. It is quite dark, often 
curiously mottled, always large, and showy. 
Breck’s has a New-England fame, especially, 
but ought to be known everywhere. It is double, 
of a bright, lively sky-blue, the favorite of the 
ladies. Wrought into a bouquet with white 
pyretlirum, nothing can exceed it. 
Lychnis. —There are many sorts, and all of 
them good. They vary in color from pink to 
vivid scarlet. The double scarlet is perhaps the 
finest. The old Ragged Robin, which belongs 
to this family, every body knows and loves in 
spite of his rags. 
Monkshood. ( Aconitum .)—Is an old-fashioned, 
but excellent plant. Most varieties have blue 
flowers, a few are white, yellow, and blue tipped 
with white. They throw up spikes of flowers, 
mostly two to three feet high. The popular 
name, monks-hood comes from a fancied resem¬ 
blance of the flowers to a monk’s head-gear. 
This plant prefers a rather moist soil. 
Poppy. ( Papaver .)— P. bracteatwn is better than 
none, but P. orientate is better than all others put 
together. Set by the side of a white flowering 
shrub which blooms at the same time, the con¬ 
trast of its brilliant scarlet is very effective. 
Phlox. —Of this family, so large and so excel¬ 
lent, we can only say that the beginner can 
hardly go amiss in procuring any of them. If 
you have room, begin by getting the creeping 
varieties, stolonifera, red, and nivalis , white, bloom¬ 
ing early in May. Then, get an assortment of 
the medium-sized sorts, styled suffruticosa, which 
generally bloom in mid-summer. Respecting 
these, we can speak knowingly in favor of 
Abdul Medjid Khan, Esmerelda, Van Houtteii, 
and Imbricata. Get a collection of the later and 
taller sorts, called decussata, of which these are 
certainly good: Wilderii, Mary Ann, Alba per- 
fecta, Comptesse de Chamborde, and Triomphe 
de Twickel. 
Snap-Dragon. ( Antirrhinum .)—A singular 
shaped flower, but very beautiful, sporting into 
various colors, scarlet, crimson, yellow, yellow 
and white, yellow and crimson, etc. It took its 
name from the fancied resemblance of its flower 
to the mouth of a frog or dragon, and from the 
fact that by applying the thumb and finger to 
the corolla, it opens and shuts as by a spring. 
As it is an imperfect perennial—being apt to 
die out every second or third year—it needs to be 
reproduced from seeds or cuttings. And as it 
“ sports ” when raised from seeds, the only way 
to preserve finely marked specimens is to prop¬ 
agate them from layers or cuttings. 
Spiruca. —A large and worthy family, so large 
that we shall not undertake to call the roll. One 
can hardly go amiss here, but do not fail of fili- 
pendula plena , the flowers of which are worthy of 
a place in the bride’s hair. S. Japonica , is very 
fine, and ulmaria plena, is not inferior. 
But we have not room for further descriptions. 
Now, does some lady-gardener, who has only a 
small border to plant, ask us to name a dozen of 
the best, out of our list ? Take the following: 
Dicentra; variegated Snap-Dragon; Aquile¬ 
gia glandulosa; Chelone barbata; Breck’s, the 
Double Chinese, and Formosum Larkspurs; 
Scarlet Lobelia; Phloxes, Van Houtteii, Alba 
perfecta, and Triomphe de Twickel; White 
Ranunculus ; Sweet-scented Violet. 
--— « o»—--- 
A Hint in Grape Culture. 
It is a well known fact, that vines trained ac¬ 
cording to the renewal method, sometimes be¬ 
come stunted, and make only a feeble and Irreg¬ 
ular growth. This is owing, some vineyardists 
say, to the fact that as the base or horizontal 
canes become old, their ducts become clogged, 
and retard the free and healthy circulation of 
sap from the root and trunk through the canes. 
A grape-grower, at the West, having a few 
vines in this condition, tried an experiment 
upon them. He brought down the horizontal 
canes to the ground, at several points, fastened 
them there by stout pegs, and covered them 
with a few inches of soil. Roots were soon 
formed at each of these points, and the perpen¬ 
dicular canes above them grew with new and 
amazing vigor. He was so well pleased with 
the working of his plan, that he means to repeat 
it whenever a vine appears to need doctoring. 
This practice is not altogether new. In cold 
graperies and in vineyards, it has long been cus¬ 
tomary to renew vines by layering a shoot, and 
then cutting off and digging up the old stock. 
The principle seems to be that the vine continu¬ 
ally needs to make new roots and new canes, 
and to have a free circulation of sap from the 
root to the top. For the vine to stand still, is to 
sicken and die. 
--*-•<--— 
Gardens for Health. 
On every side, we hear it said that American 
merchants, lawyers and mechanics are annually 
growing feebler, and becoming shorter lived, and 
all for lack of cheerful exercise in the open air. 
This fact becoming widely known, has led to 
the establishment of gymnasiums, boat-clubs, 
ball-clubs, etc., all over the country. For per¬ 
sons who can not get muscular exercise in any 
other way, this is all very well. But he who 
can get control of ground enough for a garden, 
will be much better off, and especially, if he own 
the garden. This pleasing occupation is far more 
healthful than wrenching gymnastics practiced 
by the clock, or the highly exciting and over¬ 
taxing exertions of boat-racing, and ball-playing. 
Morning and evening spent at home—pruning 
and hoeing and weeding and training—so em¬ 
ployed, how can one help being happy and 
healthy ? It would be an evil day for a man so 
situated, to hire a gardener to do all his work. 
What harm is there in a little sweat, a little dirt, 
and a few blisters, if thereby one keeps dys¬ 
pepsia and ill health generally, at a distance ? 
--* •—■— e «—-»«.- 
Open your heart to sympathy, but close it to 
despondency. The flower which opens to re¬ 
ceive the dew, shuts against rain. 
