FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
white bloom is unique and delicious, and 
it will group well with Judas tree or red 
bud and Gardenia fragrans both single 
'and double. 
The trees and shrubs which I have 
chosen are perfectly hardy and will give 
entire satisfaction. 
Among some tropical shrubs which 
grow again after frosts, are Pleroma pur¬ 
purea, Tabernamiontana, night bloonir 
ing jasmine and the charming group of 
Hibiscus. 
We associate palms with the tropics. 
The following species, however, have 
been thoroughly tested andl we can 
safely plant them ; Cocos iVustralis, Sabal 
palmetto, our own cabbage palm, and also 
another handsome variety from Cuba, 
Chamoerops Excelsa, Chamoerops 
humilis, Phoenix Canariensis and Phoe¬ 
nix sylvestris. Latania Borbonica, and 
Phoenix dactylifera, our date of com¬ 
merce, are sometimes nipped by severe 
freezing but we must risk something for 
their beauty and in the latter for its fruit. 
These palms will make trees; some of 
them growing to a height of 40 
more. They, with many others, are noW' 
growing in the grounds of the late E. H. 
Hart at Eederal Point. 
We must not overlook some very 
charming acaulescent palms and their 
kindred. Chamoerops hystrix or needle 
palm growing wild in many parts of 
Florida and also near Savannah, Ga., 
must be planted in the shade of tall palms, 
and it will then send out a host of glossy 
leaves with long slender stems, admirable 
for cutting. Cycas revoluta cannot be sur¬ 
passed when well grown. Cycas circin- 
alis, a more tender variety, is exquisitely 
beautiful. 
Some fourteen years ago, in June, we 
107 
made a trip on the St. Johns river on the 
steamer “City of Jacksonville.” As we 
went into the brilliant light from the out¬ 
side darkness, we were dazzled by a vision 
of color andl beauty. On a table in the cen¬ 
ter of the salon, where the light fell upon 
them from above, was placed a wonder¬ 
fully beautiful arrangement of aquatics. 
In the center was a large bowl of great 
glowing* blood red water lilies, wide open 
and in bud—Nymphea Zanzibarensis, the 
large night blooming* water lily from 
Zanzibar. On either side, and around, 
were bowls filled with smaller blos¬ 
soms ; pale blue, white, yellow and blush, 
all with foliage. A stand, near by, was 
devoted to a single specimen. It was 
floating in a large bowl. Its abundant, 
shining, dark green leaves and spikes of 
buds and open flowers, lilac shaded with 
purple and a dash of yellow, attracted 
universal attention. 
Mr. Fuller, who was taking this charm¬ 
ing collection from his home. Edge water 
on the St. Johns, to his summer home in 
New York, told us that this interesting 
plant which he viewed with pride, was 
Eichornia crassipes, a new, rare aquatic, 
and that he had paid $10.00 for a small 
plant some time before. It had, however, 
increased so enormouslv that he had 
thrown several cart loads of it into the 
St. Johns river, and he wondered if it 
would grow there. You doubtless recog¬ 
nize that plant, which so greatly admired 
by some, is heartily detested by others—- 
the water hyacinth. 
The most fascinating of all garden 
beds, our water lily pond, is made by dig¬ 
ging out the earth to a depth of 2 or 3 
feet and cementing the excavation. Put 
a la3^er of muck and sand at the bottom 
and fill with water. 
