4 24 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[November, 
full fledged scientific European gardener, on 
his first attempt here. When he starts in the 
spring with his plants, all the conditions are 
apparently the same, as they were when he 
planted near London or Paris, but as the sea¬ 
son advances the conditions change; and he 
has a drier atmosphere and a higher tempera¬ 
ture, making a climate entirely unsuited to the 
crop, and the result in five cases out of six is 
partial or entire failure. But there is one way 
to obviate this failure. If the ground has been 
properly prepared by heavy manuring, and if 
good plants are on hand, they should be plant¬ 
ed the first week in April—certainly not later 
than the second week. By the middle of May 
they will have made a fine growth, but by this 
time the high temperature begins, accompanied 
by a dry atmosphere; to obviate the effects of 
these, and to produce the crop in perfection, 
copious watering is essential. One of my 
neighbors in Jersey City had a patch of about 
half an acre, which he annually, for many 
years, planted in cauliflower, and never failed 
to have a heavy crop, but his land was so situ¬ 
ated that he could thoroughly irrigate at pleas¬ 
ure, which insured his success. When a few 
dozen plants are grown for private use, and 
where water is convenient, each plant should 
have, if the weather is dry, at least three gal¬ 
lons each evening for about two weeks before 
the time of heading up. A mere sprinkling is 
utterly useless ; enough must be given to reach 
the lowest roots. When the ground is thus 
saturated, the temperature is also lowered and 
the atmosphere surrounding the plants made 
also more humid—conditions indispensable 
for the well being of the cauliflower crop. 
The Coral Roots. 
There are some native plants so strikingly 
odd in their appearance, so unlike the general 
run of plants, as to attract the attention of 
those who do not generally take 
much notice of wild-flowers. 
Among the singular looking 
things that those who ramble in 
the woods are likely to come 
across, are the Coral Roots; they 
are generally a puzzle to those 
who have no knowledge of bot¬ 
any, on account of their lack 
of green leaves and the peculiar 
lurid look of the stems and 
flowers; hence it happens that 
specimens are frequently sent 
to us for a name. The coral 
roots belong to the genus coral- 
lorhiza, which is from Greek 
words for coral and roots, both 
names having reference to the 
peculiar much-branched roots 
which bear some resemblance in 
form to a sprig of coral. These 
roots are believed to be para¬ 
sitical upon the roots of other 
plants, and as they thus steal 
their nutriment, the Coral Roots 
have no need of foliage; the on¬ 
ly approach to leaves is some 
small sheaths at the lower part 
of the stem, which, like the rest 
of the plant, are brownish or 
yellowish. They belong to the 
orchis family, which is noted 
for the peculiar structure of its 
flowers, and as it would not be 
easy to describe the flowers of 
these plants without enlarged 
drawings, we content ourselves 
with an engraving which shows 
their general aspect. Tiie flower, 
when carefully examined, is not 
without beauty, the lip, or large 
lower petal, which is usually 
white, being often handsomely marked with 
crimson dots. There are four species in the 
Northern States, two of which are shown in 
the engraving; the smaller one is Corallorhiza 
odontorhiza, the tootli-rooted, and the other C. 
multiflora , the many-flowered Coral Root; they 
are found in woods from July to September, the 
first named being somewhat the earlier. We 
regret that the specimens came to us without 
LIMAS—UPPER, OLD; LOWER, DREEIl’S IMPROVED. 
the peculiar roots from which the plants derive 
their name, and we would request those who 
send us specimens for name, to always send 
the root if the plants are small, and in the case 
of large plants to examine the root sufficiently 
to inform us of its character, whether fibrous, 
tuberous, etc. The herb doctors consider the 
coral root, at least the smaller of these two, as 
possessing medicinal properties, and use it as a 
stimulent diaphoretic, and it is in their nomen¬ 
clature called also Crawley and Dragon’s-claw. 
Lindley’s Buddleya. 
Last summer we grew Buddleya Lindleyana 
for the first time. It is a sort of half shrub, 
growing about three feet high, with leaves and 
flowers of the shape and size shown in the en¬ 
graving. It blooms abundantly, bearing flow¬ 
ers at the end of each branch of a fine violet 
purple color. This species was brought by 
Fortune from China, and named by him in 
honor of Dr. Lindley, while the generic name 
commemorates an English botanist named 
Buddie. There are some eighty species, most 
of which are found in South America and other 
warm countries. This species is quite hardy 
in the Southern States, but having but one 
plant we did not care to test its hardiness. 
-----a©D——-«-- 
Preserving Flowers. — Winter Bou¬ 
quets. —This series of articles is interrupted 
this month, as the writer has had so much vis¬ 
iting of fairs to do, that'he has been unable to 
make tbe necessary experiments. In this, as in 
all similar matters, we like to speak from ex¬ 
perience. All flowers to be dyed, and all the 
grasses to be crystallized, colored, or otherwise 
treated are first dried, and when a stock of 
I them is secured, they can be made up at leisure. 
