VOL. XXXVI. No. 10. 
WHOLE No. 1141. 
PRICK SIX CENTS 
PER YEAR.1 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In tho year 1877, by the Rural Publishing Company, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
TODEA SUPERBA—POLYPODIUM DIANAS. 
duced; it is of good habit, profuse bloomer and Argus.— A rich plum colored variety, the lobes 
distinct form; the flowers are of a bright light being handsomely rayed. 
blue color, with a deep purple eye, while the culture. 
throat is a rich cream color. The bulbs aro small, and very tender. Three 
shoots an inch high, tho growers of these bulbs 
select as the time for repotting. Bulbs potted 
in February bloom in June, and by planting 
The bulbs aro small, and very tender. Three later, a succession may be kept up. 
__ El Dorado, Cal. W. C. L. Drew. 
Todka superba is so extremely fine, soft and 
velvety, that it must be seen to be appreciated. 
Next however to seeing, one can form a faint 
idea of its peculiar beauty from an engraving, 
and the accompanying is a very faithful likeness, 
Several specimens of this Fern were exhibited at 
tho Centennial—one by Mr. Geo. Sctcii , if we 
remember rightly, to which in our Centennial 
correspondence we referred: another by Mr. B. 
8. Williams, the distinguished florist, and au¬ 
thor of London, to whose courtesy and liber¬ 
ality we are greatly indebted for the present en¬ 
gravings, as well as for othors with which we 
have presented our readers from time to time 
during tho past six months. 
Todoa superba is from New Zealand. The 
fronds arc of a subdued, pleasing green, a foot 
or more In length—of a half-transparent texture 
and an ovate-lanceolate outline, gracefully curv¬ 
ed and feathered down to tho base. Speaking of 
this, Mr. Such writes, “The segments are very 
crowded, and, instead of the Usual flat growth of 
other kinds, they aro so much turned upwards 
as to give the fronds a very rich, moss-liko char¬ 
acter. Tho older fronds are a beautiful dark- 
green, to which the younger ones, of a much 
lighter green, rising from the center, form a 
perfect contrast. 
POLYPODIUM DIANA 
is also a greenhouse Fern from Diana's Peak, in 
St. Helena, where it grows from three to five feet 
in hight. Mr. Williams remarks, after describ¬ 
ing its several parts, which may be as well judged 
from our illustration, that the substance of the 
fronds is herbaceous or 
firmly membranaceous, 
and the plant is alto¬ 
gether a fine, well-mark¬ 
ed and effective Fern, 
where there is space for 
its development. 
- - - 
ACHIMENES. 
Thebe are small bulb¬ 
ous plants which bloom 
during the snramer sea¬ 
son, from June to Octo¬ 
ber. They are seldom 
met with in even very 
extensive collections, 
whereas they deserve a 
place in even the small¬ 
est. One reason I snp- 
poae for this lack of ap¬ 
preciation of one of the 
most delicate of plants, 
is that they are very sel¬ 
dom offered by seeds¬ 
men for sale, or in the 
catalogues of the florist. 
They may be had in 
shades of blue, rose, 
white and yellow, of 
some one hundred and 
fifty named sorts. The 
following selection is, in 
my judgment, the cream 
of the entire list. 
Admiration. — A fine 
variety of a free, robust 
growth and a very free 
bloomer. The flowers 
are very large and of a 
perfect form. In color 
they are a deep - rose 
with a light throat. 
Celestial. —The finest 
blue variety yet intro- 
'Imlitp 
TOHEA 8UPERHA. 
Stella.—A. splendid variety, flowers very large, bulbs may be planted in a tive«inch pot or four 
of a clear magenta color with an orange eye, in six-inch pots. Having tho pots ready filled 
markpd with carmine. with a light rich loam, remove an inch of tho 
Masterpiece .—A well-named variety being in- soil from the top of the pot; level off the aur- 
doed a masterpiece of floriculture; color, rich face, settle the bulbs very carefully about half 
rose-shaded lilac. their depth, and then replace the soil which was 
Williamsii. —The deepest, richest color of all, taken out. Place the pots in a warm, sunny 
being a very bright scarlet with orange throat, place, When the bulbs have started and made 
fp 
W Ai M 
POLYPODIUM !>IA.rST^E. 
GARDENING PEN TALKS. 
BY MBS. ANNIE L. JACK. 
“ Leaves are shrinking on the trees 
Whore the nests are bidden, 
Thoro’s a hnsli among the bees, 
As to roam forbidden; 
There's the silk of corn, that shows 
Faded tangles blowing, 
So that everybody knows. 
Darling Summer’s going." 
So I said to myself tins morning, as the grass 
looked white and filmy after the heavy, chill 
dew that is nearly kin to frost, while some of 
the maple leaves are tinted at the edges with an 
uncertain brown. Oh, Summer, all too short 
are thy fair, Hweot months, and then some fru¬ 
ition, and the falling loaf ! 
In tho Rural of Aug. 18,1 find a valuable arti¬ 
cle,—“ Hardy Flowers for August,”—whioli con¬ 
tains many timely hints regarding a continuation 
of bloom. There is a break between the Juno 
roses and tho perfection of tho annuals, that I 
have never been able to fill to my satisfaction, 
and the list given will spur me to new efforts in 
that direction. In tho “Notes from Rural 
Grounds," mention is made of the codling moth 
not attacking the Baldwin, and I would vonturo 
to remark that our experience has proved that 
the more delicate-fioshed and thin-skinned an 
apple, the more likely it is to suffer from tho 
ravages of this pest. With us, the St. Lawrence 
and Fameuse are often destroyed, while trees 
laden with the hard- 
fleshed, tough - skinned 
varieties esoapo. 
Little Norman —four 
years old—follows me 
often when weeding in 
the garden, and calls my 
attention to any I pur¬ 
posely leave behind for 
him to pull. Hearing us 
call “ pusloy,” “ fat and 
greasy,” ho has dubbed 
it the “ soft-soap plant,’ 
and is very industrious 
in his attempts to eradi¬ 
cate it. By noticing thus 
early,ohildren soon learn 
the habits and nature of 
the “weeds and useful 
plants” in their locality ; 
even at two years of ago 
I have found them quite 
able to discrimiuate, and 
proud to be able to help. 
On this point there is too 
much indifference dis- 
played in training chil- 
dron, both in town and 
country. Parents seem 
have only one ambi- 
tiou for their daughters, 
which is to ho able to 
^0 piano,” as the 
term goes, while they 
aro often in total ignor- 
V-;| a u co of the wonders 
' 4 OSt around them. Not one 
yjmk of my many visitors, 
[ijm this summer, had any 
‘Wf idea of the Diontea aud 
its wonderful fly-catch¬ 
ing qualities, and only a 
few were familiar with 
the Sensitive Plants that 
form a pretty border aud 
NEW YORK CITY, SEPT. 8, 1877. 
