Elm very properly lays a second claim. For en¬ 
tire symmetry of rounded, weeping forme, it can, 
indeed, be hardly excelled, but lacks the variety 
and irregular grace of the Weeping Beech. The 
color of the foliage is bright and attractive, and 
the tree itself of moderate growth. It is well 
adapted to small grounds or grass-plots. 
Of larger habit and grander form, the Weep¬ 
ing Slippery Elm ) limns fulva pendula ) exhib¬ 
its variety, grace, and late retention of foliage, 
and all the qualities of a first-class tree, except 
freedom from the coarseness resulting from rapid 
development. Its growths are very strong, and 
the strange, irregular shapes it would probably 
assume, if grafted low and left, to itself, would 
undoubtedly astonish the beholder. 
The Weeping Birch is best represented by 
Hdxda alba pendula Young & (Young's variety), 
bearing a fresh, smooth leaf, with drooping 
forms, and entire freedom from disfiguring tas¬ 
sels. The variety elegant, and other forms, are 
not only sometimes disfigured by these tassels, 
but grow with less regularity and healthy vigor. 
ThoWeepirig Ash ( Fra/iuus Enropcea peudula') 
is clean and bright, making strong growths, and 
weeping decidedly. It is necessary, however, to 
cut back, at regular intervals, a certain rampant 
leading shoot that is apt to jut forth from the 
crown of this tree, to the great detriment of 
general symmetry. 
The Weeping Oak ((jiiovus jndunculaia pen- 
dula .) has rich, fine foliage, weeping with regular 
grace. 
The American Weeping Willow fc&alix purpu¬ 
rea pendula ) lias small, delicate, thickly-set 
leaves, very light and attractive. Its habit, is 
quite healthy, but of more moderate growth than 
other members of the family. 
The Kilmarnock Willow is unquestionably most 
prized of all Weeping Willows, on account of its 
rapid growth and regular form; but it contracts 
at times more disease than some other weeping 
varieties. 
The Weeping deciduous Cypress (Taxodium 
distichum pendulum) is a new variety, much ad¬ 
mired, bending Into very perfect curves; other¬ 
wise it is like the well known Southern Cypress. 
The Glyptoatrdbus pendula, wrongly named 
Weeping, although nearly allied, is not at all the 
same as this form. 
The Weeping Flowering Cherry (fieratu* sem- 
per-flonam pendula is a beautiful little tree, of 
very porfect weeping habit, delicate and grace¬ 
ful. There is also a variegated form of this 
Weeping Cherry, which is very pretty, with yel¬ 
low markings. 
Bnjotte's Weeping Honey Locust (Gleditsehia 
triacanthas Jiujotti) is quite rare, with delicate, 
waring, Acacia-like foliage. 
All those varieties of weeping trees, it should 
be remembered, may bo employed bot h high and 
low grafted, according to taste or convenience. 
Prejudice aside, which has long jealously insisted 
on the high-grafted fora, decided advantages 
remain with the low-worked type, especially in 
the trying climate of America. The stem, well 
shaded by branches, suffers no injury from ex¬ 
tremes of heat or cold, and the varied fountain- 
like contour has charms that must always remain 
peculiar to itself. Weeping trees generally re¬ 
quire open, prominent positions to bring out 
their beauty, and no well-furnished lawn can 
dispense with the graceful charms they impart. 
Samuel Parsons. 
ed. He gives seven names or synonyms of this 
plant, and then tells the story which “ T.” re¬ 
peats about how the name Hortensia came to be 
one of the number and its becoming common in 
France ; hut he is very careful not to decide which 
is the correct one. In his “Encyclopedia of 
Plants,” (p. 36G,) however, ho gives the correct 
name as hortensis, awarding proper credit to 
Willdknow, in whose work, published in Berlin, 
1809, (on page 457,) our critic •* T." can find this 
species of Hydrangea relegated to the genus 
whore it has since been retained, with this very 
suggestive remark, Habitat ev.Ua in horlis —Chi¬ 
na-, JapontB. See also Loudon's “ Hortus Brit - 
annicus" and Done’s “ Catabridgensis.' The 
author of the latter work, strangely enough, 
quotes for his authority in retaining the name 
Hortensis, Auouhtin Pyrames De Caxdolle, 
who was a celebrated Swiss botanist and the 
father of the present Alphonse De Candolle, 
referred to above as the man who tickles French 
vanity by restoring the name of Hortensia. Those 
who may have a copy of Curtis’ “ Botanical 
Magazine” for 1799, will tkid a colored plate of 
it. fun-tennis on page 439, also a very full history 
of its several synonyms, and the editor corrects 
the errors of contemporary writers in calling it 
Hortensia. 
Commerson doubtless tried to establish a new 
genus for this species of Hydrangea, and as a 
compliment to his friend Madame JIoutense La- 
peattte, (not Lai-ante as B pelted in the G. M.,) 
he gave it the name of “ Hortensia," and al¬ 
though the celebrated Jusscbo followed him in 
this, it was soon discovered that the plant under 
consideration was a true Hydrangea* and of 
course, it was restored to its proper place by suc¬ 
ceeding botanists. 
If those who are anxious to retain the name 
of “ Hortensia 4 ' for this plant should attempt to 
plead what is termed the “ law of priority" in 
sustaining the claim, they would certainly fail ; 
for the celebrated Kaemfff.r described it as a 
species of Water Elder (Sarhbucus aquatUn) 
early in the eighteenth century, while Joanntr 
DeLoukkiko. in his great work, “ Flora Cochin- 
ehinaeusis,' 1788, p. 104, describes it under the 
name of Primula mutabilis, and as closely allied 
to our now very common Chinese Primrose. 
It is, however, unnecessary to pursue this sub¬ 
ject further, although scores of authorities equal¬ 
ly as good as those named, might be brought for¬ 
ward to prove that “Hortensia” has no valid claim 
to the position of the specific name of the plant 
under consideration, even with the endorsement 
of Prof. Alphonse DeCanooi.i i . Dr. Guay, and 
our esteemed critic, “ T." It. is quite probable, 
under the circumstances, that European Horti¬ 
culturists, as well as those of the United States, 
will continue, aB a large majority have done, to 
use the name “ hortensis ' as the specific name 1 
of onr garden Hydrangea, in lieu of the very 
Frendiy one of “ Hortensia.” 
Malakujt) variegated, is a novelty, with little to 
commend it over the favorite, Thomsonii , which 
it rather closely resembles. In fact, to one that 
does not make a hobby of thiH plant, it would be 
necessary to call attention to the distictions. The 
colors in Thomsonii, it will be remembered, are 
abrupt, like checkered or tesselated work. In 
Malakoff, the veliow, which predominates, blends 
with the green. 
Abnlilon Hlacea alba (florists are fond of long 
names to varieties of Abutilon) is white, shaded 
with “lilac mauve,' dwarf habit—free flowering. 
A. perle (for is also of compact growth, with 
flowers of a canary yellow. 
Echeterias. The immense quantities of suc¬ 
culent plants to be seen in florists’ greenhouses 
for another season, is proof of the general inter¬ 
est taken in them. The JScheoerias and Semper- 
vivums are usually selected for their rosette 
forms and bright, healty appearance, with little 
enro for their flowers. But Echeveria retusa 
florPnmda is worthy of being selected for its 
flowers alone. It blooms very freely—the flow¬ 
ers are large, of a deep orange, borne in loose 
cymes. For terra - cotta baskets and logs, this 
and Olhonna craxsifolia are peculiarly suitable. 
Peperomia magnoliaefolia is well named, its 
leaves recalling at once those of certain Magno¬ 
lias, though as thick and rubber-like as the 
leaves of Ficus elasttca. It looks as if it might 
stand the dust of Bittiug-rooms. 
Sentvio macroglossus. All know of the so- 
called German Ivy—a deceitful name, assuredly, 
since it is neither an Tvv nor is it from Germany. 
Senecio scandals, its hots meal name, is a com¬ 
posite plant from the Cape of Good Hope. It is 
called Ivy, from a similarity in the shape of the 
leaves to the true Ivy, Hedera, which belongs to 
tbe Ginseng (Araliaceae) family. Suitable as is 
this German Ivy for baskets and the like, the 
other, 8. macroglossus, bids fair to eclipse it 
entirely. Its loaves are of a dark green, resem¬ 
bling more nearly the English Ivy. thicker and 
more enduring. It is of rapid growth—requires 
less sun, and " roots ” as freely as a weed. Sido 
by side, the superiority of macroglossus over 
scandetis is very apparent. 
Eivina humilis. There is a secret about this 
little plant that wo propose to divulge. The 
pluut itself, as well as the flowers, are insignifi¬ 
cant.. Its beauty ts said to rest in its scarlet 
berries. They are scarlet, but not hair so pretty 
as a currant, or so large. These berries arc pos¬ 
sessed of ft charm in nowise connected with their 
beauty. It is their juice. This, if applied to 
the cheek, will Impart a healthy, natural, bru¬ 
nette blood-color that, as it will neither rub nor 
wash off very hooii, can not easily be detected as 
artificial. If it were rational to suppose that 
any of our lady readers were silly enough to 
paint their cheeks, we should advise them to 
purchase a plant of Riviua humilis, and to use 
the juice of its fruit in preference to any of tho 
powderR in vogue for that purpose. It grows 
from seeds most readily. 
A NOVEL SUMMER BED. 
To gratify tho desire for something new in tho 
arrangement of our flower borders, it is not un¬ 
usual to form and to execute plans that prove 
more remarkable for novelty than for good taste 
or beauty. We describe this bed as it existed in 
our own grounds last summer. The reader will 
judge for himself whether it is worthy of heiug 
copied or not in its entirety or in any one of its 
parts. 
The bed was a circle of twenty feet in diame¬ 
ter. An inner circle was described, leaving a 
circular band two feet in width. This was 
marked off into six equal parts, and each was 
sown with seeds of double Portulaciiof a differ¬ 
ent color, saved, during tho preceding summer, 
at. a cost of time and patience (in collecting the 
different, colors and keeping them separate) that 
certainly merited, as a reward, nothing less than 
a grand effect. Magenta, lemon, red, orange, 
rose, white were the six colors, and the above 
the order in which they were sown in the circu¬ 
lar band. In the inner circle of sixteen feet 
diameter, several different plants were employed. 
For the center, a spreading specimen of Acha- 
nia malvaviscus: about it, hardy Phlox of all 
colors. Then the Shell Flower—then Linum 
grandijiorum and coccineum. 
The Portulaca, the seeds of which had been 
gathered from double (more or less) flowers, 
bloomed beautifully throughout the season, and 
tho proportion of perfectly double flowers—some 
of immense size—was as great, perhaps, as one 
quarter. Of the six colors, none pleased us 
more than the pure white. Some of these were 
fully seven inches in circumference, with petals 
as numerous as and more delicate than the ltose, 
and of a half-transparent whiteness that left us 
only to regret that they had no perfume, and 
that u beauty so delicate was equally perishable. 
The general appearance of the bed, however, 
was quite impaired by tbe drought. Tho leaves 
of the Phlox were wilted, and the buds dried up 
before they could fairly open. The Linum. with 
flowers more rugged than the foliage, i'loomed 
upon leafless stems. The Achania and Shell 
Flower alone endured the drought without ma- 
HORTENSIA OR HORTENSIS 1 
A few weeks since wc had occasion to refer 
to the statement of a correspondent of the Gar¬ 
deners’ Monthly, who assorted that its editor had 
erred in giving tho specific name of our common 
garden Hydrangea as hortensis when, according 
to the correspondent’s idea, it should have been 
Hortensia, as he claimed it had been so mimed 
iu honor of Queen Hdrtenke. In our remarks 
we asserted that this was a very “ Frenchy" 
story and at variance with the facts, as there 
was no Queen Hobtknse at the time this plant, 
was discovered, named and introduced into Eu¬ 
ropean gardens. Our expose of the error of this 
correspondent seems to have set him to looking 
up tho facts of the case, hut he falls far short of 
reaching them, as we shall presently Bhow -, but 
first we will quote from bis article iu the Gar¬ 
deners' Monthly, that our readers may pee tho 
way clearly for judging who is right in thiB con¬ 
troversy—which, by tho way, is of more than 
ordinary interest at this time, on account of the 
introduction of tho new Hydrangea Thomas 
Hogg, which is supposed to bo a variety of the 
H. hortensis or, as our critic “ T. would say, 
“ Hortensia,' as the following extract from his 
reply would seem to indicate : 
“ Borne weeks ago, in a hurried note, I called 
your attention to the fact that yon had inadver¬ 
tently called the common garden Hydrangea. II. 
hortensis, a very common error, and one that I 
was sorry to see in the Gardeners' Monthly. 
Knowing it to be named //. Hortensia iu honor 
of some French Madame IIortenhk, I wrote it 
“ Queen Hortense,” without stopping to consult 
the authorities, as I should have done had I sup¬ 
posed that the note would be piloted. I was 
wrong as to the particular Hortons©, but right 
as to the point I wished to make—that Hortensia 
is the proper specific name of the plant, and that 
hortensis is wrong." 
From the above it may be soon that “ T." owns 
to having erred iu ascribing tbo name to Queen 
Hortenrf.. which was our principal objective 
point in referring to tho article in question, al¬ 
though we did claim, and still re-assert it, that 
the specific name is horlensis, from “ hortus,” 
a garden, and not Hortensia from Queen Him- 
TEXBF., or any other woman of that name. 
But, says “ T.,’ “ the Rural reads us the law 
with much positivcuesH, and it may be worth 
while to sco how the authorities agree with him 
If our friend will refer to any French work on 
gardening, ho will find that tho common name 
for the Hydrangea is Hortensia, and that the 
same name is also iu common use among the 
Germans. If he will refer to any botanical work 
of acknowledged authority, us De Candolle’s 
for Europo and Gray's for America, he will find 
the botanical name of the plant given as Hy¬ 
drangea Hortensia. The reason for giving this 
name is told by several authors, but the story is 
nowhere more concisely related than in Loudon’s 
Arboretum et Fruitieetum, vol. 2, p. 996. As 
this account will no doubt Interest other readers, 
while it instructs the Rural, I will quote it. 
After giving the names for the plant in Chinese 
and Japanese, Loudon says' In Europe it. was 
named by the celebrated Commf.rron in honor of 
Madame Hortknsk Lapantk, wife of his most 
particular friend, M. Lapantk, a watchmaker. 
Commerson first named it Lapanlw/. but in order 
that the compliment to Madame Lai-ante might 
bo the more direct, he changed the name to that 
of Hortensia. from her Christian name. Hmi- 
tense. The plant was afterwards discovered to 
be a species of Hydrangea, a genus previously 
established by Gronovius ; but tbo name Hor¬ 
tensia was retained as its specific appellation, 
and it is still tbe common name by which the 
plant is known iu French gardens.' I have no 
doubt that tho Rural can find some works in 
which the specific name of this Hydrangea is 
given as H. hortensis, the writers having, like 
some others, assumed, without investigation, 
that the name was from hortus— a garden.” 
Passing over the marvelous phenomenon of 
finding ft French Naturalist so free from Gallic, 
conceit as to appeal to German usage for an en¬ 
dorsement of a form of nomenclature confess¬ 
edly originating in his own country, we have not 
tho least doubt but that the late French works re¬ 
tain the name Hortonsia, for the word IIortensk 
is a very dear one to that peculiar people, and 
probably tho majority believe, as did “ T.' a few 
weeks since, that the shrub iu question was 
named in honor of Queen Hortensic, hence the 
tenacity with which they cling to that nomenclat¬ 
ure. Prof. De Candolle, the youDger, doubt¬ 
less in consideration of this universal sentiment 
of bis countrymen, retains tbe name in his work, 
and Dr. Gray, from a similar consideration for | 
his triend Df. C 
WEEPING DECIDUOUS TREES 
The pi'evalent notion of any exact definition 
of the term weeping, as applied to trees, is some¬ 
what vague. Custom, quite arbitrary in itscode, 
has accepted certain forms and rejected others, 
with seeming caprice. Perhaps as the eye can 
hardly woop except by a downfall of tears, so 
the tree, to acquire proper title to the name, must 
reverse tbe nsnal upward growth of its branches 
to one consistently and systematically downward. 
This would appear to exclude such trees as the 
common Elm and Birch, on account of their un¬ 
certain movements in the same direction. 
The oldest and most typical weeping-tree is 
tho Wfieping Willow (Salix Iiabylonica), sug¬ 
gestive of sad, churchyard memories. Its per¬ 
manent value, however, is much injured by a 
soft, rapid growth, that exposes it to early dis¬ 
figurement through disease and weather. A 
sever© and judicious pruning may perhaps chock 
this tendency and obtain a longer lease of nor¬ 
mal beauty. Notwithstanding these objections, 
the ready and easy propagation of this Willow, 
and its peculiarly graceful effect planted on the 
hanks of streams awd shores of' islands (appar¬ 
ently stooping to drink tho moisture it bo much 
loves), must always render it deservedly popular. 
Of all t he group, however, a competent elec¬ 
tion would probably point to tho Weeping Beech 
as noblest among noble companions. Besides 
being healthy, permanent, and long-lived, its 
grotesque, gothic forms retain, in their great¬ 
est irregularities, a characteristic finish, that 
combines sturdiness and beauty to a very great 
degree. Bucb a specimen may be seen in Flush¬ 
ing, covering a space of fitly feet square—a real 
tree cathedral. The charm of the Weeping 
Beech, moreover, continues peculiar and great 
during every season of the year, showing not 
less grand with the bare outlines of winter than 
amid the leafy bowers of summer. A regular 
system of tying up the leader when young, and 
pruning the side branches for compactness, 
hastens and perfects the development of this, 
as well as all other weeping trees. 
To the perfect finish of outline and texture»of 
tbe Weeping Beech, the Camperdown Weeping 
SPECIAL FLOWERS 
Among little gems that seem adapted to all 
purposes, aud as well to one as to another, is 
Ouphea hyssopifolia. It grows but a foot iu 
bight., is somewhat spreading it habit, and tbe 
sligbt stems are clothed with little linear-ellipti¬ 
cal leaves of a dark, shining green, from the ax¬ 
ils of which spring the small, rosy-lilac flowers 
that bloom perpetually. Cuphea hyssopifolia 
will never call forth exclamations of Oh ! Ah ! 
How beautiful I But its industry (since it is 
ever-blooming) and its humility (since it is sat¬ 
isfied to bo tucked away in any corner) engage, 
after awhile, our regard for the Bprightly little 
thing. Those plants that must have the best 
parts of tho greenhouse and can not endure that 
any other Bbould overshadow or touch them, 
ought to compensate us with beautiful flowers, 
since they ask so much. But this Cuphea asks 
next to nothing, and in return gives ns all that 
it has to give, and seems glad of the privilege. 
All are familiar with the “ Cigar " plant (jplaty - 
centra). They are so alike, and yet 90 different, 
that we should more than doubly prefer to have 
one of each to two of either. 
Abutilon Dame ini is distinguished beyond 
other Abutilons for its flowering qualities. We 
saw, a few days since, at Mr. Petek Hender¬ 
son's, one plant among many, only a foot high, 
that bore twelve buds and flowers. These flow¬ 
ers, though of the usual deep orange-red color, 
seem larger than those of other Abutilons, be¬ 
cause the petals open more widely. There is 
nothing notable as to leaf or habit. It is among 
dark what Boule de Niege i-" among white-flow¬ 
ered varieties—the best of its kind. A. Due de 
follows this great botanical au¬ 
thority ; thus an error is perpetuated by these two 
authorities and backed up by “ T.” iu the Gar¬ 
deners’ Monthly. 
Now for what Loudon says in the work quot- 
