68 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[May 1. 
I descriptions of Dr. Planchon, and from some acquaint¬ 
ance with allied species and genera, we fear lie too has 
i added his mite to the load of genera which have given 
j way to Hedyotis. Be that as it may, such things do 
i not detract from the value of a fine garden plant, or one 
[ of any kind, although they must be recognised by the 
I biographer or faithful chronicler of family connections. 
| And we do not hesitate to characterise this new plant as 
a valuable addition to our collections. 
It flowers in summer, and being a native of Terra Tem- 
plada, or the mild regions in Guatemala, will probably do in 
a warm greenhouse with, perhaps, a little more assistance of 
warmth from the middle of March until the flower-buds 
come in view, when the cautious gardener will remove his 
second plant of it into the greenhouse, to keep it behind the 
first, which he will keep in the stove until the flowers are 
ready to open. The flowers are from the ends of the 
branches, as in the Ixora, Luculia, and other fine plants, near 
relations to it, and in large loose heads called cymes, having 
a great number of flowers in each. The individual flowers 
are about half an inch across, and near the same in length, 
and are of a fine rosy colour, deepening into the tube ; the 
leaves are rough, and two or three inches long, hairy on the 
edges— not a very usual thing in the order—and when the 
plant is not in flower, it appears like some of the Eranthe- 
mums. It is, however, not new to our gardens, for Mr. 
Paxton says it is identical with Rondeletia thyrsoidea, intro¬ 
duced from Jamaica as long since as 1819. 
Stem-Embraced Monarda (Monarda amplexicaulis ).— 
Gardeners Magazine of Botany, ii. 229 . — The genus 
Monarda was named by Linnaeus in his “ Genera Plan- 
tai'um, in honour of M. Monardez, a physician of 
Seville, in the sixteenth century. Like all the plants in 
the extensive Natural Order of Lipworts, the leaves are 
i produced in pairs, opposite each other, on slightly four- 
i angled stalks; and, in this instance, the leaves are what 
I botanists call sessile; that is, without leaf-stall ts; so 
that each leaf is joined to the stem by its base, the two 
leaves at each joint thus embracing the stem all round 
This clasping or embracing of the leaves is called am- 
plexicaulis. This addition to Monarda was lately pub¬ 
lished in Belgium from a plant long cultivated in the 
Botanic Garden at Liege, but how, and from what coun¬ 
try, it was first obtained is a matter of doubt. At Liege 
it was raised from seeds sent from the Strasburgh Gar¬ 
den, where it has been called by this name, amplexicaulis , 
said to have been given by M. Fischer, of St. Peters¬ 
burg. It is said, however, not to be recorded in the 
works of that author by such a name. Be that as it 
may, we have no doubt Monarda amplexicaulis is a 
native of North America, whenco M. Fischer received 
many new plants through the officers aud agents of the 
Russian Fur Company. 
With the exception of the Lemon-scented Monarda, which 
is a native of Mexico, we believe no Monarda has yet been 
discovered out of North America, where some of them, and 
particularly Monarda didyma, is used as tea, commonly 
called Oswego Tea. M. Jistulosa is recommended by the 
North American practitioners as a febrifuge. It may be 
stated as an interesting fact, that there is no deleterious 
quality found in the whole order of Lipworts ( Lamiacese), to 
which Mint, Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, Hyssop, Marjo¬ 
ram, Balm, Basil, and such like aromatics belong. To such 
of our readers as devote a border, or bed, for gay flowers of 
a mixed character, M. amplexicaulis will be a welcome addi¬ 
tion; as it blooms from May to July, and very probably 
much longer, if the plants are reset every year, after being 
parted at the roots. It grows two feet high ; the flowers are 
collected together into a round head, on the top of the stalk, 
like those of the shrubby Phlomis; they are white with a 
rosy tinge, and there are four rows of purple spots on the 
lip, or under part of the opening. Altogether it is a plant 
well worth inquiring after, and which no one could pass 
when in bloom without marking it as conspicuous among a 
collection of mixtures.—B. J. 
THE ERUIT-GAREEN. 
Miscellaneous Affairs. —We must, perforce, let our 
remarks at present assume the character of a memento, 
for now, above all periods, there is a host of things 
impending, which, if missed, nay delayed, will much 
peril the success of the remainder of the year, and, 
indeed, prejudice the year to come. 
Peaches and Nectarines. —We may observe that we 
never saw anything more perfect than our long wall 
this spring. This we refer to, in order to inspire con¬ 
fidence in the course of practice we have continually 
suggested. We yesterday gave the first application for 
the utter extirpation of the aphides, which have just 
begun to appear, and one dose appears to have totally 
destroyed them. In conformity, however, with the 
practice which has insured success, we shall repeat the 
dose, and then, if all be well, we shall hear no more of 
these pests of the peach until the ensuing spring. Tlu-ee 
days since we tested the liquid to be applied, and which 
was composed of tobacco water and soap suds. Six 
pounds of tobacco paper, and one pound of shag tobacco, 
produced three gallons of liquor; and we tried one part 
of this blended with six parts of ordinary soap suds, 
and found them perfectly efficient. It may be added, 
that the trees were well syringed with soap suds two 
hours previous to the application, in order to promote 
economy in the use of the tobacco liquor, which is rather 
expensive. It is somewhat singular that we never have 
even one blistered leaf, about which so many complain, 
and which is mostly attributed to the east wind. Now 
this cannot be, for we never feel slighted with regard to 
these eastors; and although, for a fortnight past, we 
have had a regular “ blackthorn winter,” as our 
cockney friends term such starving and drying periods, 
