August 18, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
801 
HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS IN 
FLOWER. 
Rudbeckia purpurea. —Few of the Rudbeckias 
increase so slowly as this one, yet so showy are the 
flowers that the growth of the plant is worth waiting 
for. The stems vary in height from 2 ft. to 3 ft., 
and terminate in a solitary head about 3 in. across, 
with a prominent brown disc and purple drooping 
rays. Propagation may be efiected by careful 
division of old plants in March. Those crowns 
having few roots might be established in pots before 
planting them out. 
Achillea Ptarmica The Pearl.— There are two 
distinct double forms of the Sneezewort in cultiva¬ 
tion, and both are regarded as very useful for cut 
flower purposes. That under notice has the largest 
flowers and is the strongest grower. The rootstock 
spreads rapidly, so that a large clump is soon formed, 
and flowers can be cut from it in remarkable quantity. 
The stems grow about 18 in. or 2 ft. high, so that the 
second line in the border would be the place for the 
plant. 
Lythrum virgatum. —This European species 
varies from 18 in. to 3 ft. in height, according to the 
season and other circumstances, and is much neater 
though less stately than the British species. The 
stems are slender and twiggy, as the name implies, 
and short jointed, so that although the purple flowers 
are borne in three’s in the axils of each leaf they 
appear numerous, and make the plant graceful and 
showy. The plant makes a beautiful border subject, 
but is seldom seen although introduced from Tauria 
in 1776. 
Veronica longifolia rosea. —Blue in various 
shades is so common amongst the Veronicas that a 
little change is desirable. There are some white 
ones, but none, perhaps, amongst the herbaceous 
species with so distinct a shade of rose as that under 
notice. Eighteen inches is about the average height 
of it, and the stems are slender, so that it is advan¬ 
tageous to stake them in the early part of summer to 
prevent their being borne down by wind and rain, as 
they get top heavy. 
PoTENTiLLA NEPALENSis. — This Himalayan 
species has the honour, along with P. argyrophylla, 
of being the parent of numerous garden forms, for 
both are amongst the most ornamental of the 
herbaceous Potentillas. The typical form of P. 
nepalensis has five green leaflets, not three silvery 
ones as in P. argyrophylla. It is perfectly hardy 
and bears bright rosy-purple flowers during great 
part of the summer months, and is easily increased 
by division. 
Lychnis fulgens Haageana. —In this we have 
a showy plant considered to be a garden hybrid, 
but whether that is so or not, it is a great improve¬ 
ment upon L. fulgens itself, and which is now far 
from frequent in cultivation. The flowers consist 
of five deeply bifid petals with a narrow segment 
about the middle on each side, and are about 2 in. 
in diameter and brilliant scarlet. It is a handsome 
border plant about a foot high and continues to 
flower for many weeks together. 
Lysimachia punctata. —Of the numerous species 
of Lysimachia in cultivation this comes nearest in 
general habit and appearance to L. vulgaris, but it 
may readily be distinguished by the shortness, and 
unbranched character of its flower stalks, which 
arise in clusters amongst the leaves. The latter 
are whorled, and from that fact the plant is named 
L. verticillata in the Botanical Magazine 4002. 
Being about 18 in. high on the average, the 
plant would be suitable for the second line of the 
border. 
Lilium pardalinum. —One of the most conspic¬ 
uous Lilies at the present time is the Californian 
species with rich orange-red flowers spotted with 
crimson-purple on a paler ground in the lower half. 
Recent importations, however, show a considerable 
amount of variation into paler and darker shades 
than the type. The stems vary from 3 ft. to 7 ft. in 
height, and bear their leaves in whorls, and the 
drooping flowers in a long, terminal raceme. The 
Lily might occupy the back line of the herbaceous 
border provided the ground is not too exposed and 
dried by the sun. 
Galega officinalis. —There seems to be tall and 
dwarf forms of this species in cultivation, unless it 
be a mere case of starvation, when one sees plants of 
it only 2 ft. high. At all events it is most often seen of 
that size in cottage gardens, whereas in good holding 
soil we have seen it 6 ft. to 8 ft. high. The pale blue 
flowers are produced in great profusion. There is a 
beautiful white variety of it. Propagation may be 
effected by division of the rootstock in autumn or by 
seeds. 
Lythrum alatum . —The stems of this choice species 
are dwarf, slender and four-angled; they usually 
grow about 2 ft. high, bear small, deep green leaves, 
and continue to develop rosy purple flowers during 
a great part of the summer. The plant increases 
very slowly and is therefore not likely to overrun its 
neighbours ; on that account it may be planted on 
the rockery in positions where it will be somewhat 
sheltered during winter. It can be increased by 
cuttings or careful division of large plants. 
Ononis Natrix. —Most of the species of Rest Har¬ 
row in cultivation have rose or pink flowers, but that 
here noted has yellow flowers, conspicuously and 
beautifully striped with red on the standard. It 
forms a sturdy bush about 18 in. high and is well 
worthy of a place amongst herbaceous plants, but 
seems most at home when planted amongst the 
stones of a rockery. 
The late Mr. George Medland (see p. 788.) 
HOYA CARNOSA AND STEPHANOTIS. 
The former beautiful subject—a native of Canton— 
thrives most luxuriantly in a stove temperature 
fully exposed to the sun. It will succeed in a green¬ 
house, but it must be a warm one, more of the 
character of an intermediate house to grow satis¬ 
factorily, and in such a position that it will 
obtain an abundance of sunshine to ripen its wood, 
or its blossoming powers will be limited indeed. One 
of the best examples of growing and flowering Hoya 
carnosa that I have seen was where a plant was in 
a narrow brick pit, situated at one end of a low 
three-quarter span house in which Melons were 
grown. The soil it was grown in consisted of 
fibrous peat, lumps of turfy loam, and old mortar 
rubble, and the pit was well drained, so that copious 
supplies of water could be applied. The growths 
were trained horizontally to the wall by means of 
shreds and nails, and in that high temperature—for 
I used to shut the house up at go°, and copiously 
syringe the plant, which rooted to the wall like Ivy, 
and flowered most profusely. 
It seems surprising that so many gardeners still 
pick off the footstalks after flowering, thereby de¬ 
stroying what would bloom again. I should have 
thought the merest tyro in gardening matters was 
alive to that error, especially as it has been fre¬ 
quently mentioned in gardening literature, but it 
shows that new readers are springing up every year, 
and need instructing—more power to them ! though 
some bigots say, “ Oh 1 I won't take in such a paper,it 
is the same every year ! ” Speaking of the ripening 
of wood to produce floriferousness, recalls to my 
mind a question I have often pondered over in con¬ 
nection with the so-called Elvaston variety of 
Stephanotis floribunda, whether the introduction of 
that was not wholly due to thoroughly ripened wood ? 
When I was at Elvaston some years ago I was ac¬ 
quainted with those plants growing in tubs, about the 
size of a paraffin cask sawn in two, they were situated 
underneath the stage in the plant stove ; the stems 
were brought through up to the glass, and trained 
on wires close to it. 
In that house there was no means of giving top 
air—it was a three-quarter span—and I know it used 
to get terribly hot in the neighbourhood of these 
Stephanotis, and being restricted to root room they 
produced very short-jointed growths, thoroughly 
well ripened. Therefore, cuttings struck from such 
growths would flower at almost every joint, which 
was the character claimed, 1 think, for the so-called 
Elvaston variety. I have not had the opportunity 
of growing that variety—if so it be—but I should be 
interested to hear whether it still maintains its free- 
blooming qualities when grown in other places, 
under less tropical and root restricted conditions.— 
Pathfinder. 
-■ » — - 
FOREST TREES OF 
NICARAGUA. 
In the luxuriant forests that cover so many square 
miles of territory, Nicaragua possesses an element 
of incalculable wealth, which, from its accessibility 
to the great markets of the world, will it is antici¬ 
pated, become the foundation of a great industry. 
According to a recent report of the Bureau of the 
American Republics, the mahogany (caoba) is the 
monarch tree of Central America, and is abundant in 
Nicaragua, growing to an enormous size, frequently 
measuring from 40 ft. to 50 ft, in height below the 
first branches, and from g ft. to 12 ft. in diameter 
at the base. At a short distance, the tree is a mag¬ 
nificent object, its giant arms stretching outward 
over a wide space, and surmounted by a great dome 
of verdure, which, at certain seasons of the year, is 
coloured with hues like the autumnal foliage of 
the trees in North America. This change 
of colour is the guide of the mahogany- 
hunter, whose business it is to find the trees 
in the dense forest, [and point them out to 
the wood-cutters. The hunter climbs the highest 
tree he can find, detects the spot where they are 
growing, cuts a way to them through the under¬ 
growth, and carves on the trunk his employer’s 
mark. This magnificent wood has long been 
appreciated for its beauty by cabinet-makers and for 
decorative work ; but its value for ship-building and 
other similar purposes, has, it is asserted, never 
been estimated as high as it deserves. It is said to 
be in all respects superior to oak; it shrinks less, 
warps and twists less, is more buoyant, and weighs 
less. The tree is generally felled in the dry season, 
between October and May. When the tree is down 
the branches are lopped off and the logs squared. 
They are then drawn by oxen to the nearest water¬ 
course, where they are rafted and allowed to remain 
until the high water of June or July, when they are 
floated to the port of shipment. The tree second 
only to mahogany in beauty and value is the cedar. 
In Nicaragua this tree is abundant, grows to an 
immense size, and produces wood of the finest 
quality. 
The wild cotton tree is one of the grandest forest 
trees. It grows rapidly and to great size ; trunks 
of 70 ft. in length and 14 ft. in diameter near the 
root are not uncommon. The wood is useful for 
building purposes; it is higher than pine, but not 
quite so durable; and can be worked very easily. It 
is largely used by the natives to make canoes, many 
of them of large size, which are hollowed out of a 
single log. It is also used for making barrels. The 
tree produces large pods filled with a downy sub¬ 
stance like floss silk; the shortness of the fibre 
renders it useless for textile purposes, but it is 
frequently used for stuffing cushions, pillows, &c. 
The Guanacaste is a noble tree, renowned for its 
great size, and the enormous spread of its branches. 
It produces fine durable timber, and large quantities 
of gum exude from it, which might be made available 
as an article of commerce. The Jenisero, a tree of 
the Acacia family, also reaches large proportions, 
and produces an excellent wood, which is unknown 
to commerce, but which occupies a middle place 
