93 
THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
Moss ” ( Azolla Caroh'm'ana), a plant the nature of our 
wild “ Duck Meat.” A small quantity of it will soon 
spread and cover the whole tub, and though it hides the 
lace-leaf from view, it is easily pushed aside when one 
wishes to see it. The ouvirandra is a native of Madagas¬ 
car. A Mr. Ellis, in traveling through that country, saw 
it growing there in places which are dry at certain seasons 
of the year. The leaves then die down, but the root being 
buried in the mud, retains its vitality, and when the water 
returns the fresh leaves burst forth. It would seem that 
a plant which will endure such rough, treatment from the 
hand of “ Dame Nature ” ought not to be a difficult sub¬ 
ject for cultivation. 
O. Berneriana is another species from Madagascar, hav¬ 
ing larger and somewhat coarser leaves, but it is never¬ 
theless a desirable plant. Possibly, these plants may 
prove amenable to culture in aquariums kept in dwelling- 
rooms. This is an experiment which might be worth the 
trial. 
E. D. Sturtevant. 
SUBTROPICAL GARDENING. 
Part II. 
O UR choice of decorative plants is large and varied, 
even if we confine ourselves exclusively to hardy 
ones, but those who have room for winter protection in 
greenhouse or conservatory, will be glad to vary their 
effects with tender plants unable to bear our cold season. 
In the hardy section, nothing excels the yucca, or Adam’s 
needle, in effectiveness. The best, perhaps, for general 
cultivation, is Yucca pendula, with its dark evergreen 
leaves and noble habit. Either isolated or in groups it is 
wonderfully handsome, and the whole plant is glorified by 
a tremendous spike of creamy, bell-like flowers, giving a 
most tropical effect. It is very hardy, standing out un¬ 
protected through our coldest winters. Healthy young 
plants should be set out in the full sun, and left undis¬ 
turbed. They are increased by separating the rhizomes. 
Yucca filamentosa is a pretty and unique variety, hav¬ 
ing bright green leaves fringed at the edges with gray fila¬ 
ments, whence its specific name. It throws up a much- 
branched flower panicle, from four to six feet high. It 
grows vigorously, and flowers profusely, either in a flower¬ 
bed or on rockwork. All the varieties flower best on a 
fine sandy soil. 
Yucca filamentosa variegata is a delicately variegated 
form of the above. 
Yucca gloriosa is a finely marked specimen of distinct 
habit, with stiff, pointed leaves. It throws up a fine pyra¬ 
midal panicle of white flowers, often seven feet in height. 
It varies greatly when grown from seed. The soil required 
is a rich loam. 
Yucca Treculeana is a very noticeable member of the 
genus, remarkable for the beauty of its leaves. The young 
plant differs greatly in appearance from the mature speci¬ 
men. In the former, the leaf is generally bent; in the 
full-grown plant it is rigid and erect. The leaves are 
about four feet long, very pointed ; the serrated edge is 
dark-brown. The flower stalk is very stout, branched, 
bearing quantities of shining white flowers, with narrow 
petals. This is a very vigorous grower, making a fine 
specimen in any position. All of the above are natives of 
North America. 
It is not generally known that the rheums, or rhubarbs, 
of which our culinary pie-plant is the most familiar, offer 
many handsome foliage plants. They are'hardy herba¬ 
ceous perennials ; as they die down in the autumn, they 
should be placed in some position where their absence is 
not very conspicuous. They are very effective on the 
edge of shrubbery or dotted among shrubs, but they 
should never be placed in the vicinity of delicate-look¬ 
ing plants, or their robust habit appears coarse. 
Rheum Emodi is the handsomest variety in cultiva¬ 
tion. The large spreading leaves have red veins; the 
flowers are small and yellowish white. It is very de¬ 
sirable in a semi-wild part of the garden, where lux¬ 
uriant habit of growth is required. Native of Ne- 
paul. 
The Himalayan rhubarb, R. nobile, is a handsome 
form, having its pyramidal flower spikes fringed with 
delicate pink bracts. It is not generally grown, but 
forms a most welcome addition to its class. Many of 
our common garden rhubarbs may be used ornamentally 
to much advantage, if the grower will look at them 
in their aesthetic rather than their culinary light. 
An English writer on ornamental gardening pays 
enthusiastic tribute to our common upland sumach, 
Rhus glabra, and the dwarf form, Rhus copallina. 
They are frequently used in shrubberries or foliage 
gardening in England, though I doubt whether they 
attain their autumn beauty as fully there as here. 
They are very graceful in form and foliage; the pan¬ 
icles of small white flowers are charmingly fragrant and 
a strong attraction to innumerable insects, while the au¬ 
tumn tints are, as we know, gorgeous in the extreme. I 
have seen a graceful clump planted on a lawn where the 
adjacent trees were dark evergreens and the effect was 
very fine at all seasons. The sumachs require a sandy 
soil and plenty of sun ; indeed, they seem to thrive in 
the pine barrens and on the barest rocks through New 
Jersey. 
Have you ever noticed what a beautiful foliage plant we 
have in our common mullein, or “ flannel-weed ? ” It is 
inaccurate, as well as cruel, to call it a weed, for it is cer¬ 
tainly not a plant out of place, when adorning our high¬ 
ways and byways with its pyramid of soft gray leaves and 
bright yellow flowers, nor is it a plant whose virtues are 
undiscovered, for it is extensively grown in English gar¬ 
dens. A recent number of the London Garden contains 
a descriptive article on this family ( Verbascum), from 
which we learn that there are about a hundred varieties 
and natural hybrids in cultivation, all useful garden plants. 
It is almost impossible to keep them to their typical forms 
