156 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mat. 
Something^ about Columbines, 
Every one knows our common Columbine, 
which delights to grow on rocky ledges where 
its delicate foliage, and its slender stems sup¬ 
porting the nodding flowers, present an air of 
grace equalled by few of our garden flowers. 
The flower of our native species, Aquilegia Can¬ 
adensis is given in the engraving, and serves to 
show the general shape of the flowers of all the 
species. The petals are singularly formed into 
a long tube which is usually curved, something 
like the talon of a bird of prey, a peculiarity 
which suggested the name Aquilegia^ derived 
from the Latin Aquila, an Eagle. Our native 
Columbine makes itself quite at home in the 
garden, and though the orange scarlet color of 
its flowers is not as delicate as that of some oth¬ 
er species, it excels them all in gracefulness. 
Most of our garden Columbines are varieties of 
the European Aquilegia vulgaris, and they pre¬ 
sent a great variety in color and marking. 
Some of them are very double, though to our 
taste the strongly marked single ones are m-ore 
pleasing than most of the double kinds. A v.a- 
riety called Jucunda is very showy, its petals 
being of the darkest blue, tipped with pure 
white. A striped variety, called Striata, is cu¬ 
riously variegated with stripes and spots. The 
Siberian Columbine, Aquilegia Siberica, is anoth¬ 
er species, and has vciy dark flowers, erect on 
stems about a foot high. Tlie seeds of many 
sorts are sold by tlie seedsmen; they are to be 
planted in an out-of-the-way bed, and the plants 
transferred to the borders 
in autumn, will where they 
bloom the following spring. 
Plants of the leading varie¬ 
ties can be obtained from the 
florists. The Columbines are 
among our most reliable and 
attractive herbaceous peren¬ 
nials, and have not received 
the attention they deserve. 
Pseonies. 
An old-fashioned flower, 
the newer varieties of which 
are very beautiful. A mass 
of them, of different colors, 
on a raised, oval bed, is one 
of the most splendid sights 
which the garden affords. 
They are so hardy, so afflu¬ 
ent in leaf and flower, so 
brilliant and luxuriant, that 
it is a delight to look upon 
them. No plant is more easi¬ 
ly propagated. Divide the 
roots with a sharp spade. A 
single bud, wuth a piece of 
root attached, will make a 
plant. It is best to set them 
out in the fall, as they start 
quite early in the spring. 
Give them a deep, rich soil, 
with a plenty of room on 
every side. The different 
kinds bloom along through 
May and June. There are 
two principal sorts, the herba¬ 
ceous and shrubby. The first 
includes the more common 
kinds, which die to the 
ground in the flill; the second 
includes the Moutans, or 
Tree Paeonies, which have 
woody stalks, often two or 
three feet high. Of the herbaceons paeonies, 
the old double crimson should never be omitted 
in a collection. In color, nothing can surpass 
it. Rosea, blanda, and rubra, are varieties of the 
above, with different colors, flowering the last 
of May. Tenuifolia, or Fennel-leaved, is very 
pretty, though not double, blooming early in 
May. The Chinese Paeonies are another class, 
among which are some splendid flowers. The 
best of them, in our acquaintance, are P. Whitleyi, 
with large, double white flowers; P. Humeii, 
double, lilac red; P. rosea, double rose-colored; 
P. Reevsii, semi-double, purple; P. Potsii, semi- 
double, lilac rose; P. sulplmrea, pale yellow. Of 
the Tree Paeonies, the varieties are many. The 
Banhsia is a general favorite, with its numerous 
large, double pink flowers, varying on tlie same 
bush to crimson. P.papa.veracea has large, white, 
single flowers. Then there are Alba variegata, 
Arethusa, Globosa, Mirabilis, Rosea odorata, and 
many others, which we cannot now enumerate. 
The Black Knot on Plum Trees.— Some 
agricultural papers, who ought to know better, 
persist in stating that the cause of this is not 
known, and others attribute it to insects, dis¬ 
eased sap, and every cause but the right one. 
It was shown very plainly in the Agriculturist 
for April 1863, that this is a parasitic fungus, 
and magnified drawings were given showing 
the plant and its method of reproduction. Its 
fungoid character was made out many years 
ago, but we believe that Mr. Austin, in the ar¬ 
ticle above quoted, was the first to figure the j 
plant. From the presence of this parasite the ^ 
wood becomes diseased, and the trouble goes 
on from bad to worse. Cut out the knot on its i 
first appearane down to the sound wood and 
burn the qwrtion removed. 
-«>-»—- I 
The Jacobean Lily. —Amaryllis formesissima, 
Tliis is one of our oldest spring bulbs, it hav- i 
ing been brought from Guatemala, over two }i 
hundred years ago, j'et it is seldom seen in cul- i 
tivation, though wherever it finds a place in the Ij 
garden, it is always an object of well merited fl 
admiration. The bulbs are sold each spring by ' 
the florists, and when planted in pots or in a , 
rich border they throw up a stem which bears 
a single lily-like flower of the richest crimson 
color. The engraving shows the form of the i 
flower very much reduced in size. The flower 1 
is bent to one side; three of its divisions are 
curved upward while the other three are bent j 
downward, and near their base they are curved 1 
inward so as to surround tlie pistil. The flow¬ 
ers appear in June, after which the leaves in- j 
crease in size, and the plant should have good | 
culture until the leaves wither. Tlie want of ' 
success with this plant which is sometimes com- | 
plained of, and which is one of the reasons why 1 
we do not see it oftener in our gardens, is due 
to neglect to provide for the next 3 'ear’s bloom- : 
Jacobean lilt. — Amaryllisformosissima. 
ing by securing a vigorous growth of leaf. The 
bulb will bloom in poor soil or even in sand or 
wet moss, the first year after purchasing it, and 
will fail to flower the following year for the rea¬ 
son that it has not recovered from the exhaust¬ 
ing effects of flowering. Give the bulbs a plen¬ 
ty of well rotted manure, not so much as to se¬ 
cure a strong bloom, but to induce the leaves to 
