VOI,. XXXV. No. 8. 
WHOLE No. 1113. 
NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY % 1877 . __ 
[ Kntored according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by the Rural PubliHlitn* c<imi>»n.v. in the office »c tho Librarian «>t (lonta-enB at Washington.] 
| PRICK SIX CENTS. 
1 *2.50 PER YEAR. 
loriintltural, 
THE WHITE ABUTILON. 
{Abutlion Soule de Nelge.) 
Amateur florists, or those who do not possess 
all the conveniences for keeping and growing 
tender plants, usually found in the establish¬ 
ments of professional florists, soon discover that 
they are obliged to confine themselves to a rather 
limited number of kinds. In other words, it 
will not do to purchase plantH indiscriminately 
and regardless of tho conditions under which 
they are to be grown, for while the rich Orchitis 
from the tropica may do well in an Orchid-house 
constructed especially for their reception aud 
meet all required conditions, they are not likely 
to thrive or to give satisfaction if placed among 
the ordinary window plants, 
such aa Roses, Geraniums, 
aud Fuchsias. 
The number of persons in 
any neighborhood who pos- — 
seas the facilities for keeping 
house plants Of any kind is, - < - 
at best, but a small propor¬ 
tion of the whole; besides, 
it is not every one who oould 
keep them who will, or who 
even possesses a taste for l 
such ornaments, aud conse- 
quently we do not expect to \\ \^\ \ \ 
see plants in every cottage \\ \v 
or palace: 
-"the sashes fronted with a N*' 
range X 
Of orange myrtle, or the fra¬ 
grant weed." 
But the most that can be 
done is to encourage those 
who are inclined to indulge 
In cultivating handsome 
plants to the extent of their 
ability. Many persons, how¬ 
ever, become discouraged in | 
their “ window gardening " 
through attempting too 
much, or in endeavoring to 
raise plants entirely unsnited 
to the atmosphere of rooms | 
in a dwelling* house, whereas t 
if they had made different rr 
selections they would have * 
been successful. \ J~ 
Among tender exotics ^ \ 
there are some kinds which j —J 
seem to adapt themselves to 
almost all conditions under \ 
which they are placed, grow- 
ing freely aud giving satis- ^ 
faction to their cultivators. 
Roses, Geraniums, Olean¬ 
ders, Daphnes, and Abutil- 
ons are among the best 
known of these, aud al¬ 
though some of them soon 
become too large (if not 
kept In check by pruning) 
for what may bo termed 
window plants, still their 
free growth will ever make 
them favorites with those 
who have but little time to 
spend in caring for such 
things. 
Next to the Oleander, the 
old Striped Abutilon, or 
Flowering Maple, as it is 
often called, is perhaps one 
of the moBt common house 
plants to be Been in the win¬ 
dows of dwellings, either in 
city or country. The Abu- 
tilons, like tho Oleanders, are of easy culture 
and will withstand a good deal of neglect, al¬ 
though thriving better with care; henoo one 
reason for their great popularity among those 
who love plants, but who cannot afford to pro¬ 
vide a costly structure in which to cultivate 
them. 
Now, the old Abutilons, with their orange and 
red flowers, variously striped and veined with 
purple and maroon, are certainly plants worthy 
of culture; but tho one shown in tho accom¬ 
panying illustration surpasses thorn all for dnli- 
eaoy and what might be termed modest beauty. 
The flowers are of largo size, pure white, and 
are produced in great abundance throughout tho 
entire year, if the plants art! kept in a moderately 
warm temperature during winter. There is 
roally no beginning to the blooming period, for 
cutting* taken off from the tips of the branches 
will bear flowers while the roots are being pro¬ 
duced. Iu summer the plants may bo set out in 
the garden, and lifted and put into pots in the 
fall. A little pruning or shortening of tho 
branches at this time will usually bo required to 
keep the plants within proper limits and to pre¬ 
vent a severe check to growth through the dis¬ 
turbance of the roots by removal. 
We are quite confident that this new White 
Abutilon will become one of our most popular 
window plants, for white flowers in winter are 
always less plentiful than colored, and come in 
more appropriately on many occasions than their 
more gaudy compauionB. 
Tho cluster of flowers and leaves from which 
our illustration was copied were cut from plants 
growing in tho greenhouse on the Rural Experi¬ 
mental Grounds, aud, therefore, may he consid¬ 
ered a fair representation of this new and lovely 
plant, the Abutilon Boole de Neige, or ** Snow¬ 
ball Abutilon." 
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THE WHITE ABUTILON. 
IS THERE A DESCENDING SAP 1 
That crude sap is elaborated by tho leaves 
into material for the growth of tho plant, and 
that of necessity there is a downward as well as 
an upward flow, have been accepted by all bot¬ 
anists, wo have supposed, as quite fundamental, 
well-established principles. That, however, the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle should publish an article 
from Mr. An tunc w MURRAY explioity denying tho 
"downward flow," seems to provo that there is 
still room for doubt In this matter. The Chron¬ 
icle solicits the attention of its readers to the 
subject, that they may favor it with their views. 
The paper of Mr. Murray was rood before 
some scientific committee, aud was m answer to, 
or rather elicited by, the following, which ap¬ 
peared in a recent issue of tho Gardeners’ 
Chronicle : 
"It is not affirmed by any one that wo know 
of that tho elaborated Bap 
does not descend; tbe mod¬ 
ern notion is simply that it 
may and does ascend, go 
horizontally, or in any other 
direction, as well as descend, 
according to time, circum¬ 
stances and the need of tho 
plant. Suppose, for instance, 
starch is to be stored in a 
Potato tnber, or wood to be 
formed in a Vine rod, tho 
matter out of which that 
starch or that wood is formed 
must, in a great measure, 
pass through the leaves, 
and, therefore, it must de¬ 
scend to reach its destina- 
tion. But starch is likewise 
X. stored up in the grain of 
Wheat; in this case, thou, it 
is obvious that tho nutrient 
C._rlf W’/ ' \ and store - containing, or 
\ store - forming, sap must 
ascend from the leaves, aud 
-— g — J th® sauio holds true of fruits 
^ \ and stones (seeds) placed 
/)■' I )/J above the leaves." 
Ik- \NuLUF Mr. Murray's paper refer- 
ring to tho above is as fol¬ 
lows : 
"Thia is not all what I 
s understand to bo the modern 
view of tho subject; neither 
^ is it the view which was come 
# to by tho Congress at Brus- 
\ bcIs. It Is neither more nor 
^ Y\ less than the old theory, 
y with scarcely any qualifica- 
^ \\ tion. That theory was that 
o w the sap described two courses, 
\ viz., an ascending and a de- 
k r* geending course; the ascend- 
V\ J ing course to the leavos, 
\ | where it was submitted to 
v\ X certain influences which fit 
^X. \ it for the nutrition of the 
plant; the descending one 
from the leaves, in a condi¬ 
tion fitted tor that purpose. 
The modem view, as I un¬ 
derstand it, is that the sap 
describes only one course, 
viz., that from tho root to 
the leaves, being drawn up 
by the power of the sun aud 
other concurrent influences. 
In its course it is like a great 
river, which, while steadily 
flowing to tho sea, turns to 
the right or loft, as obstacles 
present themselves or op¬ 
portunities occur, and when 
in the delta near the termi¬ 
nation of its course, which 
