The Florida agriculturist., 1907-10-23
~ Ornamental Horticulture *

way. This species has the most color
in 1t, and is a magnificent ornament tC
the lawn, with It's dark red leaves
broadly splashed with a very clear
shade of deep pink or red. At the
present time this shrub is full Of long
tail-like catkins, OF a dark red shade
nearly a loot long. They give 1t an ode
appearance, but are not striking enough
to add to the beauty OF the plant.
"M1ltOnlana, is a variety that l have
never seen excepting on my owl
grounds, and it is truly a most ode
1reak, when you compare it with the
leaf formation Of the others. These
droop about the stems, and look like
long green strings, edged with white
These grow twelve or fourteen inches
long, and widen at the end to an inch
Or whereabouts, and many OF them are
CuriOusly Crlmped and Curled. 1t grow!
five teet high, but | think it might dc
better in ground that was higher ano
richer. 1t is planted very close to the
saltwater Of the Bay.
A variety that grows somewhat tai
ler than the ones already described
is "Marginata, Or Macafeeana.' The
leaf Of this one is inclined to droop
rather than stand out st1tt1y from the
stem, is hardly as large as "MOsa1ca,
and shows brOnzy green ground, witt
an edglng Of cream suffused with rec
and pink.
"Bi-color compacta," has never grown
more than three feet tall Tor me, and l:
not SO thrifty as the others. The leave!
are the size OF "marglnata," a brlgh
green with an edglng Of cream, anC
deep cream bands across the leaves
There are times when this marking Is
very conspicuous, and again the cream
color shows only at the edges.
'Codseff1ana" is new to me, and only
loot high. [ have transplanted it four
times, to please it's fastld1OuS taste, bu
it is a sturdy-looking youngster now
and | think will prove desirable. Its
leaf is smaller than ''marginata," hav-
ing green ground with edges deeply
marked with pale yellow, suffused with
pink.
Last but not least, is Acalypha San
deri, or hispida, which has been adver-
tised as a rare novelty, under the names
of Chenille plant, and Philippine
Medsua. | have lost this variety al
least half dozen times, with the cold
but [ could not give it up, because the
other varieties did so we'll for me. II
is standing on the south side Of the
house now, in a poor place to show
off it's beauty, but the one spot where
it seems to choose to grow III. My
specimen is nearly two years old, is
three feet high, with plain green leaves
g I-2xo inches. Its beauty lies in a
peculiar blossom that very much re-
sembles chenille. Many of the tails on
my plant were tWenty-three inches
long, and an inch through at the stem
The color is a deep cerise-red, or
nearer that than any color l can com
pare it with.
I have nine Acalyphas scattered about
my grounds, and know that there are
no other shrubs that can compare with
them in brilliancy of color, and oddity
They grow in wet places, and they
grow in dry ones, but they seem to do
best in the dry ground. One of my
'mosaicas" grows under a Rubber
Tree, and [ notice that this bush quite
loses its red tints in the shade of this
tree. You can keep them trimmed
back to small specimens, or you may
let them spread to great size.
M. A. Meadow.