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VNQWve PvVVfc>5£ 
VOL. XXVI. NO. IS, 
WHOLE NO. 11SS. 
PRICE SIX CENTS 
*!i.50 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1ST2. by D. I). T. Moobr, in the office of the Librarian of Con K rean, at WaahlnKton.] 
(JlDl'tinttturitl 
hardy, and when well grown, very hand¬ 
some. Its fronds, which are of a pale green 
color, arc thrown up from an underground 
stem to a higlit of from one to two feet. 
To these may be added an evergreen Japan- 
plaoes of the world, as well as thoso of oasy 
aooosfl. for plants that will give to our 
northern gardens a tropical appearance. 
The Gunner a Scabra is a plant well suited 
to this purpose, especially when large and 
but deeply indented on the margin. The 
accompanying illustration shows a plant in 
fruit. The great fleshy axis in the center 
is covered over with finger-like succulent 
conos, whioll are dotted with very small 
fruit. The plant fruits quite freely in Mug- 
land in the open garden, and Is said to bo 
perfectly hardy in the gardens about Lon¬ 
don. It would probably require protection 
in this country, tho same as our Gannas , 
Caludiums, and similar plants cultivated 
for their foliage. Wo hope, ere long, to see 
some fine plants of the Gunnera in our city 
parks and gardens. 
THE WOOD W AUDI AS, 
A mono the many kinds of ferns cultivated 
in our gardens, few are more ornamental 
than tho Woodwardias, and of these IF. 
r a dicans, the subject of our illustration, 
is one of the handsomest, it is well adapt¬ 
ed for conservatory decoration, especially 
as a center pieoe for a vase, on account of 
the broad, graoeful, arched manner in which 
the fronds grow, and in baskets or on pro¬ 
jecting peaks of rock work it is also equally 
pleasing. The fronds, as may be seen, are 
viviparous at the points, a circumstanco of 
which advantage Is taken when young 
plants are wanted. All that is necessary is 
to take a frond that is furnished with a 
number of those embryo plants and lay 
it on the surface of a broad seed pan filled 
with peat and sand in about equal propor¬ 
tions. Peg down the frond quite flat on the 
mold, keeping the upper 'surface still up¬ 
wards, and sprinkle a little silver sand over 
the whole. Do not, however, bury tho 
frond, but on tho contrary, let tho sand 
just nestle about the axils of the pinnae 
and tho base of each young bud. Tho whole 
must be kept moderately moist and tho 
young plants will strike root. Some sever 
the fronds from tho parent when about to 
propagate in this way ; but the surest plan 
is to allow them to remain till tho young 
plants have struck root. 
A close frame or gently-heated pit is the 
besc place in which to strike plants in this 
way, and as soon as the young plants have 
become established, with a sharp knife out 
the frond into several pieces, and after a 
week or two cut it into as many pieces as 
there are plants, preserving to each only a 
very small portion of frond. After this 
allow the plants to remain some days longer 
undisturbed; then lift them out carefully 
one by one, pot them singly into thumb 
or small sixty-sized pots, according to their 
size and strength, and treat them as you 
would young ferns raised from seed. 
Another species quite as useful as IF. 
radicuns is IF. orientalist —a charming fern 
for cool conservatory decoration, and hav¬ 
ing fronds of a somewhat paler shade of 
green than those of radicaiis. Both kinds 
are hardy in the south of England; hut 
when afforded the shelter of glass, their 
growth is much more satisfactory. In a 
cool fernery the fronds of IV. radlca ns 
not unfrcquently acquire a length of eight 
or ten feet. Those of orienlalis are rather 
shorter, and bear on tho upper surface a 
profusion of little bulbiform plants. Wood- 
wardlcis like a loamy soil, and as a rule, 
succeed best when they are planted out. 
For furnishing bare corners of houses or 
indoor vases in whiter, nothing can be more 
suitable than either IF. radicans or o r{en¬ 
tails ; and even the bare brow of a rockery 
may be clad in lovely verdure by planting 
a large 1 VaodWardia, of either of the kinds 
just named, near the objectionable spot, 
and spreading the fronds over it in aucb a 
manner that the young plants at the ends 
of the long shoots may' strike root and es¬ 
tablish themselves where wanted. Wood- 
war dirts when in pots are also useful for 
brackets or for temporary room decoration 
on pedestals. IF. areolata is a fine North 
American species, perfectly hardy ; but, 
like the two kinds just named, well deserv¬ 
ing of a place in a cool house. IF. vlrgln- 
ica , another North American kind, is also 
FLORICULTTJRAL NOTES 
How Shall I "Winter Erythicna.—Tri 
a letter written by Hose Geranium, in tho 
Rural some weeks ago, she speaks of hav¬ 
ing, among other Southern plants, tho Ery- 
thiena or Coral tree. Would she be so kind 
as to toll me, through the columns of the 
Rural New-Yorker, how she kept it 
through tho Winter? I exchanged seeds 
with Mrs. Nickels of Texas—made her 
acquaintance through tho Rural. Among 
other seeds sho sent some Erythieim; only 
one seed outno up; it grew rapidly; its 
leaves were so bright and pretty, and I an¬ 
ticipated great pleasure in seeing it cov¬ 
ered with beautiful scarlet blossoms; but 
alas for human hopes! my anticipations 
were never realized. I took it up carefully 
in the Fall, put it in good soil in a large pot, 
and brought it in the house. Soon tho 
leaves fell. I thought it might be tho na¬ 
ture of tho plants, so put it in the cellar, 
watered it once or twice during the Win¬ 
ter, and brought it up in tho Spring, but it 
was dead. If I should over got another 1 
should like to know how to keep It.— Flor¬ 
ence B-. 
OTJ-N" 1STKltA SCV- R IIA. 
ese specios, (IF. japonlca), likewise a dis¬ 
tinct and handsome fern for a oool house 
—Garden. 
fine specimens are secured. It is a native 
of South America, where it is known as 
Panico; the leaves and stalks being of a sub- 
acid flavor, they are eaten by tho natives, 
and tho roots are used for tanning leuther. 
The leaves grow to an enormous size, meas¬ 
uring, in some instances, nearly eight feet 
in diameter. Their general form is round, 
GUNNERA SCABRA 
Of late, our florist and landscape garden¬ 
ers have searched all the out-of-the-way 
Dried Ferns for Vases.—Dried in tho 
ordinary way, between sheets of absorbent 
paper, these form excellent ornaments for 
vases and every kind or floral embellish¬ 
ment. The ferns look almost as well as 
when gathered, and some forns, as tho Adi- 
autums, quite as well. They last for 
months, and, indeed, only become objec¬ 
tionable from deep coatings of dust,—p 
Wild Tea Again.—The plant sent by a 
subscriber at Sussex, Win., is the one known 
in tho East as New Jersey Tea.—Ceanathus 
Amertcanus. It was used at tho time of 
tho Revolution as a substitute for tea—the 
same as you say the llrst settlers in Wis¬ 
consin used; hence tho name of New Jer¬ 
sey Tea, Wild Tea, etc., etc. 
Dicentra for Winter Blooming in 
Rooms. — James Vick strongly recom¬ 
mends the Dicoutra for winter flowering 
in pots in rooms, keeping in flower a long 
time. It should be taken up .and potted 
before hard frosts. The room should be 
rather cooler than common sitting-rooms. 
Blue Hydrangeas.— M. J. Durousset, in 
a letter to the Revue Horticotc , states that 
he knows from experience that the admix¬ 
ture of coal cinders with the soil in which 
Hydrangeas are grown is sufficient to cause 
the production of blue flowers on these 
plants. 
Cardinal Flower.—Please name the in¬ 
closed flower, and oblige—A Subscriber. 
Lobelia cardinalts , or Cardinal flower, 
common aloug tho banka of ditches and in. 
low, moist grounds, generally. 
