112 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  8,  1900. 
should  have  a  free  hand,  and  so  on.  Then  in  Mrs.  Pierce’s  carriage  I 
drove  about  to  see  the  industries,  also  into  the  country  to  see  what  was 
to  be  seen,  and  had  introductions  to  all  and  sundry. 
After  this  happy  experience  I  spent  some  days  in  Chicago  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Jlichael  Barker  of  the  “  American  Florist,”  Mr.  Grand 
of  the  “  Florists’  Eeview,”  Mr.  Vaughan  the  great  Western  seedsman, 
and  of  course  the  parks  had  all  to  be  gone  over  with  one  of  the 
engineers — Me.  Edgar  Sanders,  a  well-known  figure  in  Chicago.  He 
bi’ouglit  me  some  literature  touching  Barr,  the  nurseryman  of  Balls  Pond, 
the  first  man,  or  his  partner,  to  send  a  collector  to  China  to  bring  home 
the  Chrysanthemums  ;  he  told  me  how  he  failed  and  came  and  settled  in 
Chicago,  first  as  a  farmer  and  then  as  a  nursei-yman.  Visited  Graceland 
Cemetery,  where  you  can  plant  a  tree  to  mark  your  freehold  or  put  a 
border  or  an  ornamental  building  that  will  fall  in  with  landscape  effect, 
but  no  headstones  or  other  disfigurement.  Chicago,  when  the  parks 
system  is  finished,  I  suppose,  will  boast  of  the  finest  town  parks  in  the 
world.  I  made  some  suggestions  condemning  the  floral  elephants, 
monkeys,  and  other  monstrosities.  All  was  to  be  reformed  as  the 
public  taste  could  be  led  from  the  vulgar  to  the  sublime. 
Milwaukee  was  my  next  place.  Here  Mr.  Currie,  the  seedsman,  got 
the  wheels  of  his  buggy  greased,  and  1  was  hurled  about  the  parks.  1 
had  hardly  settled  myself  when  a  lady  reporter  called  to  ask  my  opinion 
of  the  parks.  I  said  they  were  all  too  small,  but  well  laid  out 
originally,  but  some  evil  genius  was  at  work  spoiling  the  whole  affair. 
This  was  nuts  and  honey  to  the  lady.  I  gave  her  a  few  points,  such  as 
red  Altei’nanthera  in  wavy  lines  in  the  grass,  and  asked  her  if  a  lady 
would  adorn  herself  so,  adding  the  same  effect  could  be  produced  with 
pickled  cabbage.  Next  morning  a  stinging  article  appeared,  and  the 
following  night  she  came  for  more  copy,  and  I  condemned  the  filling  up 
of  the  ravines  and  the  great  terra  cotta  pillars  to  bridges  which  should 
have  been  quiet  and  unobtrusive.  The  following  day  came  a  hot  note 
from  the  Chairman  of  Parks  to  justify  his  work;  but  it  w’as  his  death 
blow.  The  City  of  Milwaukee  was  tired  of  the  man  ;  he  had  usurped 
all  the  power  and  did  as  he  pleased,  so  the  next  Mayor  shelved  him. 
At  Cincinnati  I  was  met  at  the  station  by  Dr.  Holmes  and  his 
wife,  and  dined  with  the  parkman  and  the  cemetery  superintendent, 
both  fine  men.  The  cemetery  is  charming,  although  too  full  of  obelisks, 
but  the  trees  save  the  bad  effect.  The  parks  are  not  rich,  but  great 
things  are  in  contemplaticn.  There  is  at  present  great  competition 
with  the  towns  of  the  U.S.A.  for  parks,  large  and  small,  to  meet  all 
classes  and  grades  of  society. 
NOTES  ON  ALPINE  FLOWERS. 
Sempervivum  arachnoideum. 
A  CONSIDERABLE  time  ago  the  W'riter  took  occasion  to  speak  in 
favour  of  the  Houseleek  known  in  gardens  as  S.  Laggeri,  but  which 
botanists  now  rank  as  a  variety  of  Sempervivum  arachnoideum.  The 
latter,  which  I  suppose  we  must  take  as  the  type,  is  in  its  own  way 
quite  as  pretty  as  the  larger  variety  Laggeri.  The  cobweb-like 
tomentum,  which  makes  the  larger  variety  so  attractive,  is  as  well 
marked  in  the  type,  and  when  a  number  of  rosettes  have  formed  them¬ 
selves  into  a  dense  mass  they  are  effective  indeed,  especially  in  dry 
weather,  when  the  “cobweb”  shows  up  quite  silk-like.  The  best  place 
to  grow  the  Cobweb  Houseleek  is  on  the  side  of  a  wall,  or  iti  crevio-s 
of  rockwork  so  planted  that  it  is  in  a  vertical  position.  Grown  thus 
the  rain  does  not  lie  in  the  rosettes,  and  the  danger  of  decay  from 
excessive  moisture  is  warded  off.  It  is  perfectly  hardy  as  regards 
frost,  but  wet  in  winter  is  not  only  injurious  to  it  at  that  season,  but 
lessens  its  beauty  in  summer.  The  flowers,  which  come  in  June  or  July, 
are  in  a  cluster  at  the  top  of  a  long,  thick,  fleshy  stem  clothed  with 
thick  leaves.  When  the  rosette  flowers  it  dies,  so  that  I  always  advi.^e 
those  who  can  only  secure  a  single  rosette  at  first  to  take  one  which 
does  not  show  any  sign  of  flowering.  S.  arachnoideum  likes  a  soil 
composed  of  sandy  peat,  but  1  always  add  some  old  mortar  or  broken 
limestone  to  the  compost,  together  with  a  little  thoroughly  decayed 
cow  manure. 
LiNARIA  ORIGANIFOLIA. 
M'hile  the  Marjoram-leaved  Toad  Flax  is  generally  ranked  as  a 
perennial,  the  writer  has  found  that  it  cannot  be  depended  on  to 
survive  every  winter,  and  that  it  is  generally  safer  to  treat  it  as  a 
biennial,  and  to  raise  it  from  seeds,  or  to  propagate  a  reserve  stcck 
from  cuttings.  It  comes  from  the  South  of  Europe,  so  that  this  pre¬ 
caution  is  not  irnreasonable,  although  some  gardens  are  so  situated  that 
the  owners  consider  it  quite  hardy.  It  is  not  improbable  that  it  is 
kept  up  by  self-sown  seedlings  in  these  gardens,  as  is  the  case  in  that 
of  the  writer.  It  grows  fi'om  G  to  10  inches  in  height,  and  produces  a 
number  of  small,  bluish  flowers  with  a  yellow  throat.  These  bloom 
over  several  months,  generally  coming  into  flower  in  June,  and  con¬ 
tinuing  until  September.  It  likes  a  loamy  soil  with  the  audition  of  a 
little  pieat. 
Linnaea  borealis. 
Any  plant  which  has  been  selected  to  bear  the  name  of  the  great 
botanist  to  whom  science  owes  so  much  deserves  our  notice.  That  the 
Linnma  received  its  name  with  the  sanction  of  LinnEcns  himself,  and 
was  chosen  to  be  typical  of  his  early  career,  ought  to  make  this  little 
plant  doubly  precious,  most  of  those  acquainted  with  the  life  of  the 
botanist  will  agree.  Linmous  himself  spoke  of  it  as — “an  humble,, 
despised,  and  neglected  Lapland  plant,  flowering  at  an  early  age,  like 
the  person  whose  name  it  bears.”  Its  generic  name  is,  however,  far 
from  being  its  only  recommendation,  for  it  is  one  of  the  neatest  and 
most  charming  of  the  dwarfer  beauties  which  are  so  dear  to  every 
admirer  of  alpines.  Its  attractive  small  leaves  and  its  twin  pinkish 
blossoms  depending  gracefully  from  the  stalks  make  it  much  admired. 
It  is  widely  spread  over  the  northern  regions.  It  is  often  far  from 
successful  in.  rock  gardens,  but  is  not  difficult  to  grow  if  its  wants  are 
studied.  It  likes  a  rather  shady  place  in  a  well-drained  but  moist  nook 
in  the  rockery,  wdiere  it  has  sufficient  space  to  spread  by  means  of  its 
creeping  branches.  One  would  hardly  think  from  its  general 
appearance  that  the  Linnaaa  is  related  to  the  Honeysuckle  and  other 
plants  of  the  same  order;  yet  this  is  the  case.  Division  is  the  only 
method  of  increasing  it  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 
Sedum  reflexum. 
Some  readers  will  possibly  find  fault  with  me  for  writing  in  these 
notes  abo  it  a  plant  which  the  advanced  grower  of  alpines  is  disposed 
to  despise.  But  this  Stonecrop  has  its  uses  on  large  rockwork  or  in 
carpeting  the  ground  where  some  of  the  rockery  shrubs  are  planted. 
It  is  always  fresh  with  its  trails  of  pointed  leaves,  and  its  yellow 
flowers,  though  rather  coarse,  make  a  bright  feature  even  in  the 
luxuriance  of  the  feast  of  June  and  July  flowers.  It  practically 
requires  no  cultivation,  except,  it  may  be,  in  restraining  its  tendency 
to  spread  too  rapidly.  Even  a  single  branch  stuck  in  the  ground  is 
almost  certain  to  grow.  It  is  of  evergreen  habit — Alpinus. 
JUSTICIA  FLAAaCOMA. 
I  WAS  induced  to  take  up  the  cultivation  of  this  plant  with  the  hope 
of  making  it  useful  during  the  months  of  September  and  October,  but 
in  this  I  have  so  far  failed.  I  thought  that  it  could  be  so  managed  as 
in  the  case  of  JusOcia  carnea;  it  appears,  however,  to  be  predisposed 
to  flowering  at  this  season  instead.  It  is  an  easy  plant  to  grow  in  an 
ordinary  stove,  and  may  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  Poinsettia 
by  rooting  a  fresh  stock  every  spring.  It  propagates  readily  from  the 
shoots  as  ordinary  cuttings  or  from  eyes.  Large  pots  are  not  necessary 
— nothing  beyond  a  6-inch  pot  is  in  any  sense  desirable.  Dwarf  plants 
may  be  had  by  an  occasional  pinching,  and  thus  treated  it  would  not  be  a 
difficult  matter  to  have  plants  from  12  to  18  inches  high  with  a  dozen 
or  more  spikes  upon  them.  For  this  season  in  association  with  Eran- 
themum  pulchellum,  with  its  deep  blue  flowers,  it  is  an  admirable 
plant.  In  “Nicholson’s  Dictionary  of  Gardening”  it  will  be  found 
under  Schaueria  flavicoma. — Jas.  Hudson,  Gunnershury  IJovse,  Acton. 
Justicia  flavicoma  (fig.  27)  is  known  also  as  J.  calytricha,  but 
according  to  the  “  Index  Kewensis  ”  the  correct  name  is  Schaueria 
caly  cotricha.  The  examples  exhibited  by  Mr.  Hudson  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  held  in  the  Drill  Hall  on  January 
23rd  were  greatly  admired  by  those  present.  It  is  one  of  the  mrst 
useful  yellow  flowering  plants  in  cultivation  for  purposes  of  decorati'ui 
during  the  winter  and  spring.  If  pushed  forward  in  the  autumn  in  a 
temperature  of  60°  it  can  be  had  in  bloom  early  in  January,  and  will 
continue  flowering  until  May  in  any  structure  where  the  temperature 
does  not  fall  below  45°.  The  plants  should  not  be  thrown  away  after 
the  first  flowers  fade,  for  they  quickly  come  into  flower  again,  ai  d 
are  more  beautiful  than  is  the  case  at  first.  Those  who  have  not  the 
temperature  named  may  grow  the  plant  successfully  if  they  can 
command  a  night  temperature  of  45°  to  50°  during  the  winter. 
Plants  for  decoration  in  5  and  6  inch  .pots  should  be  raised  from 
cuttings  annually.  These  are  quickly  produced  if  a  few  plants  are 
pushed  forward  in  brisk  heat  after  flowering.  The  cuttings  formed  of 
young  growths  root  freely  in  sandy  soil,  either  singly  in  small  pots,  or 
a  number  may  be  placed  together,  well  watered,  and  then  covered  with 
a  bell-glass,  hand-light,  or  be  placed  in  a  propagating  frame.  If  inserted 
together  they  must  be  potted  singly  directly  they  are  rooted.  As  soon 
as  they  are  established  in  3-inch  pots  the  points  of  the  plants  may  be 
removed  to  induce  them  to  branch.  The  plants  are  not  pinched  more 
than  twice,  and  are  placed  in  their  largest  pots  as  soon  as  a  good 
number  of  roots  has  been  made. 
When  well  established  they  may  be  grown  in  cold  frames  through 
the  summer  months,  closing  the  frame  early  in  the  afternoon.  By  the 
middle  of  September  the  ydants  will  be  dwarf  and  sturdy,  not  more 
than  1  foot  high,  and  should  be  given  a  light  position  in  some  structure 
where  the  temperature  named  can  be  maintained.  These  plants  do 
well  in  a  compost  of  fibrous  loam  three  parts,  the  other  part  being 
composed  of  leaf  mould  and  manure,  about  one-seventh  of  the  lat'er 
with  the  addition  of  a  liberal  quantity  of  sand. 
