1872.] 
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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
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The White Lady’s-Slipper. 
Among our wild-flowers, none are more at¬ 
tractive than those belonging to the Orchis 
Family. The singular structure of their flow¬ 
ers, aud the beauty of their coloring in most 
species, are sure to attract attention, ana the 
rarity and very local character of many of 
them make them great favorites willi plant 
collectors. The Lady’s-Slippers, as the species 
of Cypripedium are popularly called, are among 
the most noticeable of our native orchids. 
There are six species in the Northern States, 
one of the rarest of which is the White Lady’s- 
Slipper, Cypripedium candidum, which w T e have 
figured of the natural size. The lip, which is 
the conspicuous portion of the flower, is of a 
pure white, the rest of the flower being green¬ 
ish. This rare little plant is found in bogs from 
Central New York westward. 
All the Cypripediums are worthy of cultiva¬ 
tion, but they can only be grown successfully 
by imitating their natural conditions. They 
require a peaty, sandy soil and a shady situa¬ 
tion, and under these circumstances their culti¬ 
vation is not difficult. They are all perfectly 
hardy as far as enduring cold is concerned, but 
they will soon die if continually exposed to a 
hot sun. The finest of our species is C. spec- 
labile, which has a large white and crimson 
flower, is quite common in some of the West¬ 
ern States, and is justly prized in Europe as 
one of the most beautiful of herbaceous plants. 
The Wild-Yam. —(Dioscorea nllosa.) 
One of our commonest climbers, the Wild- 
Yam, seems to be among the least noticed and 
the least known, as we very frequently have 
plant belongs to the same genus with the 
edible Yam of tropical countries, and the more 
northern Chinese Yam (Dios¬ 
corea Batatas). The root of 
these is very large, fleshy, aud 
edible, while that of our wild 
plant is knotty and medi¬ 
cinal, rather than nutritious. 
The stems of the Wild-Yam are 
slender and herbaceous, and 
climb to the bight of eight feet 
or more. The shape of the 
leaves is given in the engrav¬ 
ing, which is about half the 
natural size. The staminate 
and pistillate flowers are borne 
upon different plants, the stam¬ 
inate ones being in loose 
clusters, as shown in the en¬ 
graving. A small raceme of 
pistillate flowers is shown at 
the right-hand side of the en¬ 
graving. These are quite dif¬ 
ferent in appearance from the 
staminate ones. The fruit is a 
dry, tliree-winged capsule, 
which is conspicuous in win¬ 
ter when the foliage is gone. 
A single fruit is given in the en¬ 
graving. This yam grows near¬ 
ly all over the United States, 
being much more abundant 
southward. It makes a very 
good and quick-growing climb¬ 
er for covering low screens 
and trellises, aud is sometimes 
cultivated for that purpose. 
The botanical name of our 
species is Dioscorea villosa; 
the specific name is not a de¬ 
scriptive one, as the plant is 
far from being villose (having 
long hairs), but the leaves are 
nearly smooth, or at most 
downy on the lower surface. The generic name 
was given in honor of the Greek Dioscorides. 
■- <*>—* - ' a — 
Flower-Garden Plans. 
BV XL FRESCO. 
In a late issue of your paper, I noticed a plan 
for flower-beds by a .contributor; and as I am 
opposed to beds of complicated forms aud nu- 
PLAN OP FLOWER-BEDS CUT IN A LAWN. 
merous angles, I inclose a simple arrangement 
of beds which has given me much pleasure. 
In planting, numerous angles present difficul¬ 
ties ; and when the owner of a garden prides 
himself upon a well-kept lawn, he should so 
design his beds as to enable him to use the 
wild - yak .— (Dioscorea villosa.) 
mowing machine or grass-hook to advantage. 
Nothing, in my opinion, is so attractive as 
well-defined masses of color in appropriate beds 
surrounded by luxuriant and well-kept turf. 
The accompanying plan is cut out of my 
lawn in front of my library window, and the 
effect from both the house and street is satisfac¬ 
tory. The center bed is four feet in diameter; 
then there arc two feet six inches of grass, be¬ 
yond which are outside beds three feet wide. 
At present the beds are filled with Hyacinths, 
aud as soon as these can be removed they will 
be planted as follows: No. 1. Scarlet Geranium. 
No. 2. Variegated-leaved Geranium “Bijou.” 
No. 3. Achyranthes Lindenii. No. 4. Coleus. 
No. 5. Striped Petunia. No. G. Phlox Drum- 
mondii. No. 7. Tropaiolum Tom Thumb. 
Some of your readers will exclaim: “ Oh ! 
what nonsense! I can not afford to purchase 
such expensive plants.” For the benefit of such 
persons, we will point out what can be accom¬ 
plished by the expenditure of fifty cents—an 
amount that can be spared by any one who is 
desirous to make home cheerful and attractive. 
To such I would say : Prepare the ground by 
deep digging and pulverizing, and send to a 
responsible seedsman for the seeds referred to 
below—costing from five to ten cents per packet. 
At the proper time plant them as follows: 
No. 1. Crimson Petunia. No. 2. White Phlox 
Drummondii. No. 3. Crimson Phlox Drum- 
mondii. No. 4. Tropaeolum Tom Thumb. No. 
5. Petunia, Countess of Ellesmere. No. 0. 
