50 
journal  of  horticulture  and  cottage  gardener. 
July  18, 1S95. 
the  most  beautiful  of  the  Evening  Primroses  now  in  bloom, 
rEnothera  marginata,  and  which  has  made  me  pause  for  a 
moment  or  two  to  go  out  and  see  it  once  more  before  night 
falls.  Very  pleasing  it  is  to  see  these  pure  white  flowers  show¬ 
ing  their  snowy  cups  through  the  fast  gathering  gloom  of  the 
night.  This  beauty  and  purity  they  retain  through  the  night 
and  for  some  time  during  the  following  morning,  and  then  they 
begin  to  close,  to  look  dowdy,  and  to  turn  of  a  pinkish  hue. 
It  is  when  perfect  a  most  beautiful  ornament  of  the  garden  with 
its  prostrate  habit  and  jagged,  pubescent  leaves  with  a  white 
midrib.  The  long-tubed  flowers,  about  4  inches  across,  are  raised 
well  above  the  plant,  and  have  a  pleasant  odour  which  is  likened 
to  that  of  the  Magnolia.  We  may  suppose  that  this  is  intended 
to  attract  the  night-flying  insects  so  that  the  pollen  may  be 
conveyed  to  the  pretty  cross  formed  by  the  stigma.  This 
charming  Evening  Primrose  is  said  to  have  come  to  us  in  1870 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  Upper  California,  and  it  is  also 
known  as  (E.  eximia.  It  is  not  hardy  in  every  garden,  or  at  least 
is  not  reputed  to  be  so,  but  possibly  this  may  be  due  to  its  not 
being  properly  established  before  winter  sets  in.  For  some  years 
I  was  unsuccessful  in  establishing  CE.  marginata,  but  it  has  now 
been  growing  for  some  time  in  a  border  facing  west  in  light  soil. 
As  it  survived  even  last  winter  here,  and  has  greatly  increased 
in  size,  it  appears  to.  have  at  last  found  a  congenial  spot,  and 
self-sown  seedlings  are  also  coming  up  roundabout.  It  is  increased 
by  suckers  from  the  roots,  and  also  by  cuttings  and  seeds,  which 
are  not  freely  produced. 
The  Camomiles  are,  as  a  rule,  not  very  highly  appreciated  in 
gardens,  but  the  lightness  and  want  of  clumsiness  of  the  varieties 
of  Anthemia  tinctoria  render .  them  increasingly  appreciated  by 
those  who  do  not  care  for  the  double  flowers  of  many  of  the 
composites.  I  well  remember  seeing  a  fine  picture  formed  by  one 
of  these  in  the  delightful  garden  of  the  Rev.  C.  Wolley-Dod  at 
Edge  Hall  a  few  years  ago.  I  think  the  variety  was  the  one  named 
pallida,  and,  growing  in  front  of  a  dark  hedge  which  formed  a 
most  effective  contrast  and  setting  to  the  hundreds  of  bright  flowers 
of  the  Anthemia,  the  scene  was  exceedingly  beautiful.  It  formed 
only  one  of  the  many  impressions  made  by  the  flowers  in  the  Edge 
Hall  garden,  but  it  is  an  ineffaceable  one,  and  led  me  to  look  upon 
this  native  Dyers’  Camomile  with  more  admiration  than  before. 
In  cultivation  I  have  met  with  the  typical  yellow,  the  pale 
yellow,  and  the  white  varieties,  but  I  am  now  speaking  of  the  plant 
in  order  to  mention-the  newer  variety  A.  t.  Kelwayi.  Its  place  of 
origin  is  probably  indicated  by  the  varietal  name  of  Kelwayi, 
pointing  to  its  having  been  raised  or  first  sent  out  by  the  firm  of 
that  name,  to  which  growers  of  hardy  flowers  are  indebted  for  so 
many  fine  Delphiniums,  Peonies,  and  other  plants.  As  growing 
here,  A.  t.  Kelwayi  has  larger,  brighter,  and  better  formed  flowers 
than  the  typical  tinctoria.  The  latter  is  probably  so  well  known 
that  it  may  be  superfluous  to  say  that  it  grows  about  2  feet 
high,  and  has  fine  greyish  foliage  and  yellow  Marguerite- like  • 
flowers. 
Looking  through  a  seed  catalogue  in  1893  I  observed  a 
Woodroff  offered  under  the  name  of  Asperula  hexaphylla,  and 
recommended  as  being  excellent  for  cutting  purposes,  and  growing 
about  18  inches  high.  One  can  hardly  have  too  many  of  these 
light  and  lace-like  flowers,  and  a  packet  of  seed  was  procured  and 
sown.  Having  so  many  other  seedlings  the  plants  were  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  seed  pot  until  rather  late  in  1894  and  then  planted 
out.  They  did  not  consequently  show  their  true  character,  and 
one  then  began  to  think  that  another  of  the  many  disappointments 
which  await  the  raisers  of  unknown  flowers  from  seed  had  to  be 
endured.  It  is  generally  wise,  however,  to  be  slow  in  passing 
judgment  upon  seedling  plants,  and  this  Asperula  had  another  year 
of  grace  afforded  it.  The  result  is  that  this  year  in  a  half-shady 
border  this  Six-leaved  Woodroff  has  surpassed  my  first  expecta¬ 
tions,  and  has  to  be  pronounced  an  acquisition.  That  this  is 
warranted  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  growing  in  the 
garden  it  has  been  mistaken  for  Gypsophila  paniculata  by  those 
who  know  the  specially  fine  plant  of  that  beautiful  flower  I  have 
the  good  fortune  to  possess.  It  is  not  so  tall,  being  when  tied  up 
about  2  feet  in  height ;  but  in  elegant  habit  it  closely  resembles  it, 
while  the  small  white  flowers  on  the  long  stalks  are  as  pure  as  those 
of  my  Gypsophila  and  mush  purer  than  the  plants  of  G.  paniculata 
as  generally  seen  produce.  The  foliage  is,  of  course,  quite 
different,  being  like  that  of  the  other  Asperulas,  the  narrow  needle¬ 
like  leaves  being  arranged  in  whorls  of  six  round  the  stalks.  The 
only  thing  I  am  doubtful  about  is  the  name,  and  for  this  I  can  find 
no  authority.  The  seed  has  been  offered  in  several  catalogues,  and 
the  plant  is  worthy  of  being  grown  by  those  who  like  white  flowers 
of  this  graceful  habit. 
Almost  annually  for  some  time  I  have  made  a  complaint  of 
want  of  success  with,  the  Madonna  Lily — L.candidum.  This  want 
of  success  was  made  all  the  more  galling  by  seeing  it  doing  well  in 
gardens  close  at  hand.  This  is  a  common  complaint  about  this 
Lily,  and  I  suppose  we  have  given  up  as  hopeless  any  attempt  to 
explain  the  cause  of  failure.  This  year,  however,  this  chastest  of 
Lilies  has  deigned  to  flower,  and  one  is  charmed  to  see  its  blooms, 
which  are  so  beautiful  that  one  feels  inclined  to  think  of  and  quote 
some  of  the  many  references  made  to  it  by  the  poets  and  the  great 
writers  of  almost  equally  poetic  prose.  I  must  content  myself, 
however,  with  dwelling  in  thought  on  the  passages  of  exquisite 
beauty  which  describe  or  allude  to  this  flower  dedicated  to  the 
Virgin. 
This  mention  of  L.  candidum  leads  one  to  make  a  remark  on 
the  flowering  of  the  White  Martagon  Lily.  I  observe  from  a 
contemporary  that  this  beautiful  Lily,  which  does  not  generally 
flower  well  in  the  garden  of  the  Rev.  C  Wolley  Dod,  is  blooming 
satisfactorily  this  year.  Unlike  L.  candidum,  L.  Martagon  album 
is  always  a  satisfactory  bloomer  with  me,  and  never  fails  to  please 
one  with  its  turned-back  white  flowers,  so  freely  prQduced  and 
frequently  with  fasciated  stems.  Why  it  does  so  well  when 
L.  candidum  does  so  badly,  is  one  of  the  many  problems  which 
puzzle  us,  but  which  after  all  are  incentives  to  renewed  effort  in 
penetrating  the  mysteries  and  overcoming  the  difficulties  which 
surround  those  who  seek  to  derive  profitable  pleasure  from  their 
garden  favourites. — S.  Aenott. 
DO  PLANTS  ABSORB  NITROGEN? 
Although  the  question  opened  by  “  Student’s  ”  query  in  your 
last  issue  (page  231)  would  demand  a  special  article  dealing  com¬ 
pletely  with  the  absorption  of  nitrogen  by  plants,  a  short  note  may 
be  of  some  service. 
Briefly  stated,  plants  have  access  to  nitrogen  in  two  conditions 
— i.e.  (1),  As  free,  uncombined  nitrogen  in  the  air  ;  (2)  In  a 
combined  state  (as  salts  of  ammonium,  nitrates  and  organic 
compounds  in  the  soil).  A  very  large  number  of  carefully  con¬ 
ducted  experiments  have  shown  that  the  absorption  and  assimi¬ 
lation  of  nitrogen  in  a  free  state  is  confined  to  the  lower  orders  of 
plants — mainly  bacteria — and  to  leguminous  plants  among  higher 
green  vegetation.  Wheat,  Rye,  Buckwheat,  cruciferous  plants,  and 
many  others  not  belonging  to  the  Leguminos^,  always  die  of 
nitrogen  starvation  when  grown  in  soil  containing  very  little  or 
no  nitrogen,  although  they  may  be  exposed  to  the  air.  Moreover, 
leguminous  plants  die  under  these  conditions  unless  their  roots  are 
possessed  of  fleshy  “  nodules  ”  (well  seen  on  the  roots  of  ordinary 
Broad  Beans).  It  is  from  the  combined  forms  that  an  ordinary 
green  plant — Wheat,  for  example — obtains  all  the  nitrogen  it 
possesses,  and  this  it  lakes  up  by  means  of  its  root-hairs  from  the 
ground. 
In  the  soil  the  plant  has  access  to  nitrogen  in  (1)  complex  organic 
compounds,  resulting  from  partial  decay  of  vegetable  or  animal 
remains  ;  (2)  ammonium  compounds  {e.g,,  ammonium  carbonate, 
sulphate  ;  and  also  (3)  nitrates,  chiefly  of  sodium,  potassium,  mag¬ 
nesium,  and  calcium.  It  was  formerly  supposed  that  the 
ammonium  compounds  supplied  plants  with  all  the  nitrogen 
necessary  for  growth,  but  definite  experiments  have  shown  that, 
although  many  green  plants  can  be  nourished  by  both  organic 
compounds  and  pure  ammonium  salts,  the  results  are  in  every  way 
inferior  to  those  experiments  where  the  plants  are  supplied  with 
nitrates  to  their  roots.  These  facts,  coupled  with  the  knowledge 
