1883 .] 
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AMEK10AJST AGEIOULTXJE1ST. 
The Missouri Evening Primrose. 
The Evening Primroses, of which there 
are about 100 species, are mostly natives of 
North America, and are especially numerous 
in the far South-west. The plants vary in 
6tature from a few inches to five feet, and 
the flowers are pure white or yellow, or of 
several shades of pink and purple. Some 
open in bright sunshine, while many bloom 
only at dusk, a peculiarity which gave the 
popular name. The Common Evening Prim¬ 
rose ( CEnothera biennis ), a coarse, tall spe¬ 
cies, sometimes disposed to be a weed, is one 
six inches across. The broad, roundish petals 
are bright yellow, veined with orange, and 
very showy. The flowers appear towards 
sunset, and remain open most of the follow¬ 
ing day; they are produced all summer. The 
engraving of a part of a branch, which is 
much reduced in size, will give an idea of the 
habit of growth. The plant succeeds best in a 
light sandy soil, its large root soon decaying 
in a heavy damp one. It is propagated by 
division of the old root or from seed, but in 
the latter case the plants will not flower un¬ 
til the second year. On account of the large 
size of the seed-pod, this is sometimes called 
given abundant room, that it may attain its 
full size. One of the most striking floral 
displays the writer ever saw was in Northern 
Mexico, where the ground, as far as could be 
seen, was covered with this plant, to the ex¬ 
clusion, apparently, of all else. The fruit 
does not become, as in the common Stra¬ 
monium, a hard, prickly capsule, splitting 
regularly when ripe. It is globular, some¬ 
what succulent, and bursts open irregularly 
when ripe. It blooms the first year from the 
seed, and is usually treated as an annual, but 
it is really a tender perennial, living on from 
year to year, and its fleshy roots may be 
THE MISSOURI evening primrose ( CEnothera Missouriensis). 
tde garden datura ( Datura meteloides). 
of the evening-flowering kinds. It has pro¬ 
duced a variety, “ Lamarckiana,” which is a 
showy garden plant, bearing an abundance 
of large bright yellow flowers. It is most 
interesting to watch this plant towards sun¬ 
set. Many of its flowers are all ready for the 
opening, the petals and sepals being partly 
separated, and just kept closed by a few 
points of adhesion. As daylight fades, the 
performance begins, and the flowers pop 
open with a surprising suddenness, and ex¬ 
pand their broad petals with a visible move¬ 
ment. One after another they open in quick 
succession, and the stem, which a short time 
ago was unsightly, is soon transferred into a 
spike of showy flowers. If the flower-buds 
be gathered towards evening, the opening 
will take place while they are held in the 
hand, and may be closely watched. Among 
the species that have been brought into our 
gardens is the Missouri Evening Primrose 
( CE. Missouriensis), from Missouri and Texas. 
This capital plant is a perennial, with a very 
large root, from which arise numerous pros¬ 
trate stems, 12 to 18 inches long, that spread 
upon the ground in all directions, to form 
a dense green mat of lance-shaped leaves. 
The flowers, produced in the axils of the 
leaves, have a slender calyx-tube, six or seven 
inches long; when expanded, they are often 
CE. macrocarpa, a name which must give way 
to the older, CE. Missouriensis. The generic 
name, CEnothera, is from the Greek words 
for “ wine ” and “ hunt,” though its applica¬ 
tion to these plants is not obvious. 
Ornamental Daturas, or Thorn Apples. 
The most common species of Datura ( D. 
Stramonium ), the “Jamestown” or “Jim- 
son-weed,” is such a dangerous and unsightly 
plant, as to create a prejudice against the 
whole genus. As the related genus, Solanum, 
produces both the indispensable potato and 
the poisonous Deadly Nightshade, so Datura 
affords us repulsive weeds and choice garden 
plants. Among the ornamental species is 
the Metel-like Datura (1). meteloides), from 
New Mexico, Arizona, and Northern Mexico, 
It forms a much-branched plant, about three 
feet high, with purplish stems and dull-green 
foliage. The long funnel-shaped flowers are 
often six inches across, pure white, and 
sometimes suffused with a most delicate lilac 
tint; the border of the corolla has five slen¬ 
der teeth. The flowers bloom at night, and 
remain open the next day, diffusing the mo5t 
delightful fragrance. The engraving gives 
the shape of the leaves and flowers. This is 
an excellent border plant, and should be 
taken up and preserved through the winter, 
treating them the same as Dahlia roots. 
How to Lay Out an Orchard. 
It often happens that one must lay out and 
plant an orchard without assistance. Mr. 
Geo. F. Mumma, a horticulturist located in 
Montgomery Co., Ohio, sends us a device 
of his own, which greatly simplifies the task. 
Even with help, the old way of first staking 
off the ground is laborious, and takes a great 
deal of sighting to get the stakes in range. 
Moreover, when the hole is dug, the setting 
is to be done by ranging again. Mr. Mumma’s 
plan is to take twine, like that used by 
nurserymen in packing trees, and stretch it 
across the place where the end trees in the 
rows are to stand. Mark the twine at the 
place for the comer tree, by sticking in a pin, 
bending it to keep it from falling out. Next, 
measure on the line the distance the trees are 
to be apart, putting a pin at each place where 
the end tree should be. Before removing the 
line, put a small stake or stick in the ground, 
at the spot indicated by each pin. 
Now stretch the line the way the rows are 
to run, commencing at the corner, and en¬ 
deavoring to make the rows as near at right 
angles as possible with the line of end trees. 
