1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
181 
native coral-plant. — (Erythrinci herbacea.) 
one side of our path, and part way down the 
ravine, and there was never anything more tan¬ 
talizing ; here below were plants we did not 
know, and above, were mules and their Mexican 
drivers, and wagons, that we knew only too 
well. At length the last wagon had been 
lowered, and the tempting plants could be vis¬ 
ited without neglect of duty. Here was a sight 
than which we have rarely seen one more bril¬ 
liant. A patch several feet across of what we 
knew to be a coral plant, but could hardly 
think it the same as that of the Atlantic and 
Gulf states, so far inland. Still it proved to be 
the same as that, which is Erythrina herbacea. 
It has a large thick root or underground stem ; 
the stems, 2 to 4 feet high, and two sorts, one 
bearing leaves only, and the others only flow¬ 
ers, or with a very few leaves. The leaves are 
compound, having three divisions or leaflets, 
which are somewhat triangular egg-shaped, and 
sometimes lobed at the base; the stems and 
leaf-stalks are prickly. The flowering stems 
bear a raceme one or two feet long, of narrow 
flowers which are about two inches long. The 
structure of the flower shows that the plant 
belongs to the pea family, but here the con¬ 
spicuous petal or standard, which in the pea 
stands erect, is horizontal and folds over 
the other parts of the flower, and is of a 
deep and showy scarlet. The several seeded 
THE 
its native localities, as the stems die down in 
the fall, and the root is protected underground. 
Plants in our garden near New York, survived 
the severe winter of 1874 and 1875, and we 
trust that they may come out all right this 
spring. Should it prove, as now appears likely, 
hardy, it will be a valued addition to our borders. 
Perennial Candytufts—The Gibraltar. 
The common annual Candytuft is a very 
pretty and useful plant; it comes into bloom 
very soon from the seed, and by sowing for 
succession, its clusters of white flowers, of a 
very convenient form and size for bouquets, 
may be had all through the season, and those 
who have a greenhouse can keep up a supply 
nearly all the year. Annual candytufts are 
very common in gardens; the perennial ones 
are not so; }^et the perennial species are much 
finer. But let us first say that these plants, 
both annuals and perennials, belong to the 
genus Iberis , the first cultivated species having 
been introduced into England nearly 300 years 
ago from Iberia, the country we now call Spain; 
those who look carefully at the flowers will see 
that they are much like those of the pepper- 
grass, radish and mustard, and that the plant 
belongs to the Crucifera, or Mustard Family; 
GIBRALTAR PERENNIAL CANDYTUFT.* 
The perennial, or Evergreen Candytuft is kept 
by most florists; it is a low, shrubby plant, 
perfectly hardy, with narrow, evergreen leaves, 
and covers itself in May with a sheet of the 
whitest bloom. A small plant set out in the bor¬ 
der will soon spread and make a large clump, 
which may be multiplied by division or by cut¬ 
tings. Those who can not readily get the plants 
should sow seeds. Here our advice will not 
be followed ; amateur gardeners can not think of 
such a thing as sowing seeds and then wait a 
whole year for the plants to bloom. They 
must have results right off , and can hardly -wait 
for the seeds to germinate, so impatient are 
they. But a twelve-month ! That is not to be 
thought of. The consequence is they deprive 
themselves of many of the most charming gar¬ 
den plants, and content themselves with an¬ 
nuals and bedding plants, neither of -which last 
beyond the current season. Still we hope, by 
setting forth again and again the excellence of 
perennials, to induce some to make a trial of 
them, and the Evergreen Candytuft is a good 
one to begin with. Gardeners take up the 
plants in the fall, pot them, and after they have 
had a rest, force them in a greenhouse for a 
supply of winter flowers. While this is an ex¬ 
cellent plant, it is not the best of the perennial 
candytufts. The finest of all is the Gibraltar 
Candytuft (Iberis Gibrattarica), which seems as 
a good part of it the mules were taken out and 
the wagons let down by hand. Perhaps wag¬ 
ons have been taken down more difficult defiles, 
for it can hardly be called a road, but wc 
have never seen it done. While all this 
hard work -was going on, our eye caught sight 
of a large patch of the most brilliant scarlet at 
pod is much constricted between the seeds, 
which are about the size of the common 
bean, and of a bright scarlet. These brilliant 
seeds are often picked up by travelers in Flor¬ 
ida and other southern States, and they are fre¬ 
quently sent to us for a name. This coral 
plant will probably prove hardy far north of 
the name Candytuft was given because one of 
those first cultivated was brought from the isle 
of Caudia, or Crete, and, having its flowers in 
tufts, it was called Candia-tuft, which very 
easily became Candytuft. We said that the 
perennials were finer, because they have more 
substance to the usually pure white flowers. 
