April  21,  1904. 
jniTU^-AL  OF  FWRTTCULrURE  AFfD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
.3;]  7 
they  exist  only  as  seeds  during  the  season  of  dronglit,  whilst,  r  n 
-the  other  liand,  in  temperate  regions  the  seeds  as  a  rule  lie 
dormant  during  our  cold  and  wet  winters. 
N'ow,  providing  we  find  they  do  not  take  kindly  to  the 
seasons  when  we  would  have  them  in  any  certain  stage  of 
growth,  we  find  it  necessary  to  note  by  reference  to  their  con¬ 
ditions  in  Nature,  whether  it  is  best  to  sow  them  at  once,  and 
therefore  rest  them  under  conditions  of  moisture  and  heat  with 
tender  plants,  or  in  the  case  of  hardy  annuals  conditions  of  cold 
— or  to  keep  them  dry  until  a  more  favourable  season  has 
arrived.  The  storing  of  those  seeds  which  have  to  be  kept  is 
important.  A  fairly  cool,  dry  place  seems  to  suit  most  seeds  ; 
even  seeds  of  tropical  plants  seem  to  degenerate  in  quality  if 
kept  in  a  high  temperature  which  is  obtained  by  artificial  means. 
Herbaceous  Perennials. 
Under  this  heading  we  class  those  plants  which  do  not  po.ssess 
any  ivoody  stem  above  ground,  but  are  made  up  of  softer  tissues. 
will  keep  in  good  condition  in  a  shed  where  the  frost  is  just  kept 
out,  and  where  they  can  be  kept  fairly  dry,  but  not  dry  enough 
to  cause  shrivelling  of  the  roots  or  tubers. 
This  is  prevented  to  a  great  extent  by  covering  the  roots 
with  old  potting  soil  or  ashes,  and  which  also  helps  to  keep  out 
the  cold.  Under  these  conditions  the  young  growth  in  spring 
is  much  stronger  and  healthier  than  is  the  case  if  they  have 
been  rested  in  a  higher  temperature,  and  will  have  suffered  too 
severely  from  drought,  or  perhaps  have  made  an  attempt  to 
grow  before  their  proper  time,  and  produced  weakly  shoots. 
As  spring  advances,  a  little  heat  is  necessary  to  encourage 
young  growth  to  prepare  the  plants  for  their  summer  quarters, 
or  fi’om  which  a  stock  of  cuttings  are  to  be  taken  to  replace  the 
old  plants.  With  the  more  tender  plants  of  this  group,  we  find 
a  great  many  have  tuberous  loots  or  fleshy  rhizomes,  and  can 
best  be  treated  with  the  bulbs. — E.  J.  Allard,  Cambridge 
Ifotanic  Gardens. 
(To  be  continued.) 
Aralia  filicifolia.  (See  page  336). 
and  usually  die  down  to  tbe  soil  in  autumn  or  after  flowering; 
but  it  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between  herbs  and  shrubs. 
The  Wallflower,  for  instance,  may  pioduce  a  stem  which  at  the 
I'ase  becomes  woody  and  persistent.  In  the  flowering  plants,  i.e. 
Angiosperms,  the  majority  are  herbaceous,  and  are  most 
common  in  the  temperate  zones. 
The  I'esting  season  occurs  at  regular  intervals,  either  in 
winter  or  the  dry  season  in  hot  countries.  It  is  therefore  neces¬ 
sary  that  there  should  be  a  storage  of  reserves  to  enable  the 
plant  to  recommence  its  growth  on  the  return  of  .spring  or  the 
rainy  season.  This  storage  is  usually  made  below  ground, 
where  it  is  well  protected,  and  ma3'  be  in  the  root,  stem,  or 
leaves.  The  part  in  which  storage  is  made  is  more  or  less 
swollen,  and  if  it  includes  a  bud,  is  usually  made  to  serve  the 
process  of  vegetative  reproduction. 
As  regards  the  hardy  ones,  the^'  more  or  less  take  care  of 
themselves  during  the  re.sting  season,  but  there  are  a  great 
many  which  are  valuable  in  the  open  garden  in  spring  and 
summer  which  are  not  able  to  withstand  our  winters,  and  so 
have  to  be  protected  in  their  permanent  quarters  from  cold  and 
wet  ;  whilst  others  have  to  be  taken  into  sheds  or  greenhouses 
and  their  welfare  considered.  The  majority  of  these,  we  find. 
A  Natural  Bog  Garden. 
While  taking  a  walk  in  the  evening,  I  accidentally  came  upon 
a  beautiful  bog  garden.  It  was  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a 
wood,  with  a  gras.sy  bank  leading  down  to  it.  The  bank,  by  the 
wajq  is  worth  noticing,  as  it  was  thickly  dotted  over  with  the 
blue  Scabious,  Scabiosa  succisa.  (Why  is  this  prettj'  blue  flower 
called  the  Devil’s-bitlf’)  On  the  outer  edge,  near  to  the  wood, 
were  a  number  of  plants  of  the  broad-leaved  Epipactis,  E.  lati- 
folia.  Less  showy  plants  in  the  bog  were  the  Bogbean,  al;  o 
named  Buckbean,  or  Marsh  Trefoil ;  several  common  Sedges;  the 
rather  curious  Cotton  Sedge  (Eriophorum  pol.vstachyon),  the 
flower  heads  of  which  re.semble  a  bunch  of  cotton,  and  sever^'d 
others.  The  plants  that  gave  beauty  to  the  garden,  however,  were* 
Epipactis  palustris,  or  Gra.ss  of  Parnassus.  There  was  a  great 
quantity  of  the  latter,  the  flower  .stems  of  the  other  two  showing 
well  above  them.  Epipactus  palustris  is  a  more  showy  plant, 
E.  latifolia  having  larger  and  more  pretty  flowers.  Habenaria, 
which  is  sometimes  found  under  the  name  of  Gymnadenia,  is  a 
very  pretty  orchid,  having  tall  stems  bearing  bright  pink  flowei  s, 
with  long,  slender,  curved  .spurs,  and  is  sweet-scented.  The 
Grass  of  Parnassus,  which  only  attains  a  height  of  about  nine  or 
twelve  inches,  has  rather  large  white  flowers  and  shining  green 
leaves. — J.  S.  U. 
