52 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February 
The above engraving is as fair a representa¬ 
tion as can be given (without the beautiful col¬ 
ors,) of a well-grown specimen of this plant, re¬ 
cently exhibited at the office of the American 
Agriculturist , by Mr. Jones of Chatham 4 Corners, 
N. T. If regularity of form were indispensable 
in the structure of a flower, to allow it to be 
called beautiful, then certainly the German 
stock would not be admitted to that class. But 
fortunately, some things are beautiful that are 
not symmetrical. The species here represent¬ 
ed, the Mathiola annua , produces more varie¬ 
ties than all the other species together. It is a 
native of the South of Europe, and is usually 
found growing near the sea shore. The princi¬ 
pal varieties now in cultivation have originated 
in Germany, from which country we obtain our 
seed. This seed produces flowers ranging from 
the purest white to the darkest purple. To se¬ 
cure very early flowers, the seed should be sown 
in March in a hot-bed, or in a box or pot in the 
house. The soil in which they are sown should 
be finely pulverized and moderately rich. Cov¬ 
er the seed about one-quarter of an inch deep, ■ 
and when the plants have grown an inch or so 
high, they should be thinned if too thick, and as 
much air given them as possible, but not enough 
to check their growth. If thinning and airing 
is not attended to, they are very likely to damp 
off, as it is termed by gardeners. As soon as the 
weather has become warm, they should be trans¬ 
planted into the open ground, always taking 
a damp day for the operation if convenient. 
For later flowers, or general culture, sow the 
seeds in drills in the open ground, being careful 
to have the soil finely pulverized, and not to cov¬ 
er the seeds too deeply, or let the soil get baked 
or dry, as this will prevent the seeds from grow¬ 
ing. When the plants have made their third or 
fourth pair of leaves, if they then stand too 
thickly, a portion of them should be pulled out, 
leaving them eight or ten inches apart. The 
plants thinned out may be transplanted else¬ 
where, with moderate care. The seeds are quite 
abundant. We had them in our distribution 
list formerly, but left them off for those more 
novel, or less generally to be obtained. If de¬ 
sired, they can come in again next year. 
Chinese Wistaria—Beautiful. 
One of the best perennial orna¬ 
mental vines, is the Chinese Wista¬ 
ria, ( Wistaria Sinensis). It is found 
native in China and Japan, and 
when first brought to this country, 
was named Wistaria, in honor of 
Dr. Wistar, a well-known botanist 
of Philadelphia.—It is a very rapid 
grower, often making shoots from 
six to ten feet in a single summer. 
It blooms profusely; and, singular¬ 
ly, the flowers appear in the Spring 
before the foliage is fully developed. 
These flowers are quite fragrant, 
and appear in large, hanging mass¬ 
es like clusters of grapes, or more 
exactly, like locust blossoms six or 
eight inches long. Each flower in 
the cluster is shaped like the pea- 
blossom, and is of a pearly-lilac 
color. Last May, we noticed a vine 
covering a space ten by twenty-five 
feet, on which we counted four hun¬ 
dred and sixty clusters of flowers! 
While the plant is young, and mak¬ 
ing very rank growth, the wood is 
apt to die back somewhat in the 
Winter; therefore it should be laid 
down in the Fall, and covered with 
a little litter. When it gets well 
established, it is hardy enough for 
anybody.—There is' scarcely a sit¬ 
uation for which it is not appro¬ 
priate. For town houses it answers 
well to cover blank walls. We 
have often seen it in this city, 
clambering up the sides of build¬ 
ings, fifty or sixty feet high, twin¬ 
ing around lightning rods and con¬ 
ductors, creeping along the cornice, 
and nodding its blooms around the 
garret windows. It is also a good 
vine for covering bowers and ar¬ 
bors, or the pillars of a piazza, for 
clothing a high fence or the trunks 
of trees. It is sometimes used for 
training to the posts and rafters of 
green-houses, in which places it 
blossoms several times a year. It 
may be trained into a bushy pole 
plant, by frequent pruning; and 
when so trimmed, it flowers oftener than when 
allowed to run. There are two other varieties, 
the rosea, and the alba ■ yes, and a third, the 
violacea , with denser racemes, variegated flow¬ 
ers, and with a shade of yellow, violet, and-rosy 
purple. The last blooms later than any other 
species—Plants, to begin with, can now be 
cheaply obtained qf most nurserymen (25 to 35 
cents each.) Nothing is easier than the propa¬ 
gation of this vine. Bend down a shoot in 
June, bury it three or four inches, at several 
buds, wounding the bark a little, and roots will 
soon form. But bear it in mind, not to propa¬ 
gate from an old shoot covered with flower- 
spurs: such a plant will never do well. Take 
a fresh, young cane, and success will be quite 
certain.—As an illustration of the high value 
put upon the Wistaria by our English friends, 
take the following from the London Cottage Gar¬ 
dener: “We would select the Wistaria in prefer¬ 
ence to a pillar-rose, and would prepare a bor¬ 
der for it, as we would for a grape vine, in 
every particular,.. .Our pillar Wistaria should 
be pruned exactly like a pear pyramid.” 
