EXCELSIOR 
5 Bcokinnn St., IMcw York 
83 BuHttlo St., ltoohcHli-r. 
NEW YORK CITY AND ROCHESTER, N. Y 
@3.00 S’EH YEAR. 
Single ,\o M Elgin Cents, 
WHOLE NO. 1138 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, NOVEMBER IB, 1871 
Act of Congress, In the year 1871, by D. D. T. Mo ore. In the offlee of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington,] -. 
spring. I 111 ink it is rare, and it certainly 
is far superior to many of our cultivated 
plants—R ose Geranium. 
No. 1 is an Iris, but wo cannot determine 
the specific name without having the leaves 
as well as flowers. No. 2 is Phardiu Pur- 
fthii , a very pretty wild 
plant with small blue 
flowers. This plant is 
more commonly known 
as the Fringed Phaiudia 
(P. Jimbriutu), hut iucor- 
| **®v*\ redly, as the latter has 
Ljfm while instead of pale 
IMiL blue flowers. 
[Entered according to 
fanbscapr ^arbrning 
How to Keen Caiman. 
IIow should Canuas be kept through the 
winter ?■—l. E. k. 
Put them in any good, dry, warm place. 
A closet that is warm enough to prevent 
freeziug is a good place, or upon a shelf in. a 
usually varies from shades of light purple to 
violet, sometimes almost while. It is easily 
raised from seed sown In spring, and will 
flower the same autumn. I have never no¬ 
ticed the seed in any oilier catalogue than 
that of Mr. W. Thompson of Ipswich. Like 
its more pretentious 
kindred, the double 
Dahlia, it requires pro¬ 
tection in winter. I am 
sure your feminine read- 
ora will thank me for 
drawing attention to it, 
when they have once 
seen it in bloom. I 
^loruttltttrr 
BEAUTIFYING COUNTRY HOMES, 
NELUMBIUM LUTEUM. 
Strange ideas enter the minds of many 
persons when the subject of beautifying 
home surroundings is mentioned in their 
presence. They will usually utter the far 
too common and absurd remark that such 
things are costly, aud it is only the rich who 
can afford them. It certainly costs no more, 
:i 3 a general rule, to build a house ten roils 
from the highway than one as many tect 
from it; and still these latter unsuitable and 
inappropriate locations arc being occupied 
almost every day. If lawns are named, roll¬ 
ers, particular kinds of seeds, ami lawn mow¬ 
ers are brought to mind; and while we are 
ready to admit that a good lawn cannot he 
made nor kept in first-rule condi!ion without 
these implements, still a grass plat, large or 
small, occasionally mown, Is far belter than 
none. Even u meadow or pasture in front 
or near a dwelling might add something to 
Us general good appearance. 
The far too Common style of arrangement 
of country homes, is to place the mansion 
within'a few feet of the public road, the 
hum a few rods lu the rear, and the in¬ 
tervening space is Oiled with wood piles 
or necessary outbuildings. If there is a 
kitchen garden it is usually situated near the 
road, at one side of the house, and then en¬ 
closed with a picket, fence, painted white or 
white-washed. Where a man owns hut a 
fraction, of an acre, such a cluttered arrange¬ 
ment may bo admissible and passed without 
comment; but upon farms of many acres in 
extent, it not only shows a sad want of 
taste, hut of broad ideas in regard to Hie 
fitness of things in general. A few trees 
from tlie forest, planted here and there, cost 
but little or nothing, and yet how much llicy 
add to the beauty and elegance of home sur¬ 
roundings, besides affording an agreablo 
shade in summer to both man and beast. It 
is true that we have men who begrudge 
even the shadow of a tree to their animals, 
and compel them to stand the live-long day 
beneath a broiling sun ? But we are thank¬ 
ful that the number of such cruel mortals is 
annually decreasing. 
Our idea of an elegant but inexpensive 
country home is more fully shown in the 
accompanying illustration than wo could 
portray it. in words. The surroundings of 
C. W. Spicer, Fillmore, Mo., sends Ihe 
Farmers’ Club a seed pod and seeds of what 
he says is called there “ Yankapins.” He 
adds:—“ The mils taste like oak acorns. It 
grows in a shallow lake near here. The 
flowers are full and double; color creamy 
while or pale huff; petals fleshy ; blossoms 
verv fragrant; in bloom from June to Sep¬ 
tember. I think it a fine ornament for the 
shallow ponds in your parks. To get plants 
throw the seeds into the water and they will 
take care of themselves. What is the botani¬ 
cal name of this plant?" 
The seed pod (see illustration) referred to 
was handed A. 8. Fueler of the Rural 
New-Yorker, who responded as follows: 
This plant belongs to the Nymplnecc® or 
Water Lily family. The scientific name of 
this particular species is Kdumhinru luteum 
or Yellow Nelumbiurn. It is rarely found 
in the Eastern Stales, there being hut three 
localities yet discovered where it appears to 
be A unlive, viz.: Sodus Bay, N. Y., Lyme, 
Conn., and in one pond below Philadelphia. 
At the West and South it is quite common, 
where it is known as Water Chinquapin, 
probably because the seed resembles the 
Chinquapin (Castanea 
Five I? I ora I Iiifiiiirioa. 
lion l<> llio lisunl mini- 
berof poute, («>.!..'I- 1. -f/i 
oped two olhers, per- 
feellv formed, inside the /■[(//{, St*. ^ § 
flower. Is this a sign (c'■'I- mP''''' 
of a double flower? V Rw MWpL 
2. What is the florist’s 
name for the larger leaf vjl• 
inclosed? Out here it is v 
called "jPlue-apple Ge- j f" ’* 
nudum,” 
0. Is the small leaf 
inclosed 8milax? 
4. What is the cause "C- 
of my gold • margined ^5 
geranium leaves wither¬ 
ing around the edges 
like the inclosed? Aly /ftfibkiix 
silver • edged leaf acts /////jjlvm, 
the same way. mimlmIM 
5. Do Verbenas come 
true to seed, or will they 
change color every 
time? Pinks the same? 
—J. G. G., Pcs Moines , 
Iowa. 
1. Yes; and the seed from this flower 
would he more likely to produce double va¬ 
rieties than those from a flower that had no 
extra petals. 
2. Cannot tell from a dried leaf; send a 
flower and leaf. 
3. Probably. 
4. Don’t know, as it is difficult to deter¬ 
mine a cause without seeing the patient, or 
having a full diagnosis of the disease. 
5. No. Verbenas and Pinks sport in all 
directions when they are raised from seed. 
Scarlets may produce while, aud so on, ad 
infinitum. 
Pi I always find my 
plants do bettor out of 
doors until the buds 
show color than when 
L take them in before 
that time. 1 do not 
house my plants before 
1 never find frost inter¬ 
feres or injures the buds 
before that time, as they 
do not bloom before the 
middle of November, 
even if I put ill a month 
earlier. Heavy rains 
and Avinds are more 
injurious than bright 
days aiul slight frost. 
P jmfrrK-yj by night, as a little 
MM frost renders the plants 
hardy, and prevents 
' drawing and the wculc- 
fj ening of the buds. 
Liquid manure l use 
very sparingly; I de¬ 
pend more on a good 
top-dressing composed 
of a mixture of soot 
and well rotted manure, as it causes the foli¬ 
age to be retained aud at all times supplies 
nourishment to the plant .—Cottage Gardener. 
Dwarf Chestnut or 
puraita) of the Southern States. The large 
fleshy roots or tubers sotul up long leaf mill 
flower stalks, their length defending entire¬ 
ty upon the depth of water in which they 
grow. The leaves arc one to two feet broad 
and slightly turned up at. the edges. Flow- 
era yellow, fragrant, five or more inches 
broad, sepals and petals many and gradually 
passing into each other; stamens numerous 
on the receptacle, which enlarges Into a lop- 
slmpeil body, (see 1 in figure,) hearing ten 
or more ovaries (seed, see 2 in figure) which 
are each separately immersed in as many 
cavities. The seeds resemble small acorns, 
and are composed ofllestiy farinaceous sub¬ 
stance. The tubers or root stalks are also 
edible. As soon as the ovaries are fertilized 
the seed vessel bends over and sinks below 
the surface, where the seeds mature and 
then fall to the bottom. 
Nclumbiuni specuwtm is the celebrated Lo¬ 
tus, or Sacred Bean of India so frequently 
referred to by historians and travelers in the 
East. 
Near to the Nelumbiums are the Nymphosa. 
or common pond lilies, of which we have 
two or three native species. They arc beau¬ 
tiful plants similar in habit to the Nelumbi- 
ums. Nymphma aarulea is the well known 
blue Water Lily of Egypt. 
Another closely related genus deserves a 
notice in tills connection. It is the Nitphars 
or Spatter Dock, Of these we have four or 
five species. They are excellent decoys for 
enthusiastic young men who desire to show 
their gallantry and risk wetting their hoots 
in gathering water lilies for lady friends. 
The Nnphars are quite showy, hut their 
flowers possess a fetid odor more pronounced 
than agreeable. 
NBUjTTMBIUM LUTEUM. 
dry, warm cellar. Have the roots perfectly 
dry and free from soil before storing. The 
main thing to be observed is to keep Canuas 
dry and warm during winter. 
Dav Flower. 
Will you please tell me the name of the 
within specimen plant? It has a blue flower 
which closes in the day. I think it is peren¬ 
nial. The "cup” outlie top of the stalk, 
where the blossom is, is always full of water. 
—Dick Hopson, Sherman, Texas. 
The plant is probably Commelynu Viryini- 
ca, hut it is difficult to determine the species 
from small and imperfect specimens. 
Flowers I'oi* it Nome. 
Can you give me names for the two in¬ 
closed specimens? No. 1 is a bulbous root¬ 
ed plant, blooming the last of June. It is as 
common as it is beautiful, hut the name by 
which we know it (Serpent Lily) is surely 
not the correct one. No. 2 is a lovely little 
wild annual, producing its delicate lavender 
colored flowers for a month or two in the 
EL0RI0ULTURAI NOTES. 
Dahlia Glabrntn. 
Uortator, in London Cottage Gardener, 
saysThere is a small unpretending flower 
to which I would draw the attention of your 
readers. I call it “ the lady’s flower,” as I 
have never known a lady who seeing it did 
not admire it. It is a small single Dahlia, 
called Dahlia ylabrata; a florist proper 
would, doubtless, despise it, hut few, I think, 
who could see it, as I now see it before me 
in a vase with Roses, Mignonette, &e., as 
companions, but would lie charmed with its 
eleguut simplicity. In size it varies from 
that of a florin to a live-shilling piece, ac¬ 
cording to the vigor of the plant. Its color 
HOW iY COUNTRY HOME MAY THU BEAU TIFT 1UTD 
