GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA $1.50 The Year JANUARY, 1917 15c. The Copy "When your trees need the Tree Surgeon '' Here is a hook that will he of vital interest to every gardener, superintendent of estate, and tree "uiier. in it has heen compiled a mass of extremel.v valuahle information about trees and their needs J'rofusely illustrated with a very fine series of photographs, it takes up the major troubles of trees and exjjlauis them clearly and explicitly. A partial list of subjects discussed Hidden Decay and How to Determine Its Presence. The Fatal V-.sliaped Crotch and the Remedy. Fungus— what causes it; why it is fatal to tree life, and "Tree Butchery" vs. Tree Surgery. Dangerous and Incipient Tree Troubles Which Are Apparent Only to the Experienced Tree Surgeon. In addition to describing in full the common and most apparent symptoms of tree disorders, it tells you about the wonderful work which the Davey Tree Surgeons are doing m saving trees for estate owners everywhere It tells you why Dayey Tree Surgery only is scientifically , accurate and mechanically perfect; why it is the only / tree surgery that saves trees without guessing with- ^ " out experiment. It e.xplains Davev methods, based j^ on the life experinece of John Davey, and au''- * mented and refined by the massed experience / of the greatest body of tree men that the J^ world has ever known. ^' This book is free. A request for it will J THE not put you under the slightest obli- * DAVEY gation. Mail coupon for it today. / EXPERT CO 4 301 Elm Street, TL T\ T r n .•' Kent, Ohio. The Davey Tree Expert Co., 301 Elm Street, Kent, Ohio / J^rii ;i"J nZ (Ol^crahiig the Davcv Inslitute of Tree SurPerv) ^ ^°°^ "When Your - " J> . Trees Need the Tree how to arrest its destructive eiifects How to Determine When a Tree Is Dying of Hunger or Thirst. The Dangerous Practice of Using Climbing Spurs on Trees. The Importance of Correct Tree Pruning. The Right and Wrong Way to Clean and Fill a Cavity. Scientific Bracing of Weak or Splitting Crotches. The Ugly Skyline Eflfect. and How to Beautify It. Vistas Properly Made. John Doc, the "Tree Doctor." JOHN OAVEY jFather of Tree Sufger^[ .Accredited representatives available between Kansas City and Boston Permanent representatives located at Boston, Albany. White Plains N V -St,™ ford Conn. Jama.ca. L. I., Newark, N. J., Philaddphia, WashTngton Buff! r' * Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit. Cincinnati, Chicago, Mifwaukee Minneaoolis S? > Louis, Kansas City. CcinadUxn OKcc, 81 .St. Pete^ Street" Quebec '^' ./ Surgeon." It is under- stood that this book is free and sending for it involves no obligation on my part. Kami- Address. Cilv 1 J\ THE GARDENERS' CHRO^ilCLE OF AMERICA (^Jyi^AJ^J^'^ ^ r v.. "Everything for Poultry" We have in our mammoth salesrooms, 52 to 56 Vesey Street, a complete line of Poultry Supplies, also Fancy bred Pullets, Game Cocks, Baby Chicks, Gold Fish, Snails, Aquaria, Incubators, Brooders, etc. Send for our free illustrated catalogue. Expert Poultry- men in charge of our Poultry Department. Consult them when in doubt about anything pertaining to Poultry. IHE MacNlFF HORTICULTURAL CO. 52-54-56 VESEY STREET NEW YORK Our new illustrated gar- den seed catalogue will be ready for mailing about February 1st. May we send you a copy Free o/ Charge? Send us your name and address ^ IM MacNiff Horticultural Go. 5101 2 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA gniiiiitiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiililiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiilliiiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilliiiililliili| ^iiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiii iiiiniiiiniiiiiiiin i wiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii n iiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiitniiniimiiiiiiiiimniiiiwiKii "Louisa Pockett" Immediate delivery on this white 'Mum; the best we have ever dis- tributed— we predict it will dis- place Turner. 2^" pot plants; $2.00 per plant; $20.00 per dozen. If you have not received our cata- logue write for a copy! Charles H. Totty MADISON NEW JERSEY ^niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Orchids If you contemplate buying semi-es- tablished, established or imported Orchids, consult us first. We carry in stock about 25,000 plants and from April to July we receive large consignments of im- ported Orchids. We specialize in supplying the pri- vate trade. Let us figure on your requirements — our quality is second to none. Orchid Peat, Live Sphagnum Moss, Baskets, Pot Hangers, always on hand. Send for our price list. G. E. Baldwin &- Company | Orchid Collectors, Growers and Importers | Mamaroneck Box 98 New York I I DREER'S I I GARDEN BOOK | I FOR 1917 I I Seventy -IS inth Annual Edition | = A dependable guide-book which tells when to plant, h 1 how to plant, and what to plant. It gives cultural § M articles, written by experts, which will be valuable to = 1 every gardener. It contains 288 pages, four colored and % i four duotone plates, and lists all the dependable tested i H standard varieties of Vegetables and Flowers, besides s 1 many important Novelties. % = The newest Roses, the best Dahlias, and Dreer's Im- ^ ^ proved Hardy Perennials arc given special prominence. = 1 It features a number of noteworthy specialties in = 1 Vegetables, Sweet Peas, Asters and Columbines. s i Whatever is worth growing you will find in Dreer's 1 1 Garden Book for 1917, with full instructions how to 1 i grow it. 1 p A copy will be mailfd free if you mention this 3 H publication. % ^ Lawn Grass Seeds, one of our leading specialties. = § If interested, ask for a copy of our Lawn Booklet. M I HENRY A. DREER | I 714-716 Chestnut Street PHILADELPHIA | fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ '|iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN[i>iiii:iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ I CHRYSANTHEMUMS | I We are offering several | I Hf II' varieties for 1917 I They are of the same high standard as has characterized our former products. Descriptions are now ready. If you do not receive a copy, ask for one. Elmer D. Smith & Co. ADRIAN MICHIGAN iSHiiiiiiiiiiiJinniiuiiilliliilliiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Fninniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniil THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Quality and Reputation ALL of the seeds, plants and bulbs that you pur- . chase are bought on the reputation of the seller. Even the most thoroughly trained seedsman or horti- culturist is unable to give a satisfactory opinion with- out exhaustive tests, and with this fact in mind it is always desirable to first investigate the reputation of your seedsman. The business of Peter Henderson & Co. was established in 1847 and has been built to its present proportions by the most careful attention to quality. The third generation of Hendersons are in charge today and there is something more than just a plain business rela- tionship existing between themselves, their employees and their customers. When you buy Henderson's seeds you buy 70 years of experience; you buy the prestige and reputation of years of successful seed raising and selling; you buy seeds that have behind them the sentiment brought out by many years of careful, conscientious attention to our customers and their wants. The very smallest part of the cost is repre- sented by the seeds and it is by far the most important. Try the Henderson way this year and see if there isn't a difference. "Everything for the Garden" is the Title of Our Annual Catalogue It is really a book of 208 pages, handsomely bound, with a beautifully embossed cover, 32 color plates and 1,000 half tones, direct from photographs, showing actual results without exaggeration. It is a book that should be in the hands of every one interested in gardening. We should be glad to send it without charge to anyone mentioning The Gardeners' Chronicle. PETER HENDERSON & CO. 35-37 Cortlandt Street New York THE GARDE^ERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNUiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 'iiii:i!Niiiriiii!iiiniiN:iiiiiiiii:iiiiN[ii'iHi;iiii:iiii:iiiitiiiiiiiliiiin:!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiHiiiiii^^ I KEEP IN TOUCH WITH BOSTON | I Boston is receiving more new Material for the Garden than any other city in | I the world. | I The Arnold Arboretum in recent years has brought to Boston, from China alone, | I over 1500 new^ plants, besides many from other sources. This work of the Arnold | I Arboretum is being energetically continued. Mr. E. H. Wilson, the famous collector, | j has just started on another plant collecting expedition in the far East. | I The new plants are being propagated and disseminated by R. & J. Farquhar & | I Co. of Boston. Write for their catalogue. | I KEEP IN TOUCH WITH BOSTON | .^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiii{iiiiiiiijmiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ iiiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiuiiiniiniii 1 'iiiniiHiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiii iiiiiiiiimiuiiiiiii 1 iiiiittiiiuiii{ii{iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii;iiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii5 ^'iiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii!iiiiiiiiiiii{iiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiii!iiiiiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN I PIERSON'S PLANTS | I will produce results because we carefully select our propagating stock and ship out nothing but quality plants. Orders are i I tilled in rotation and you can rely on us to satisfy your wants in the plant line if your order is placed early. | i The Cromwell Gardens Handbook for 1917, which will be mailed this montli, gives a complete list of the best to grow | i in the way of _ 1 I Greenhouse Roses Greenhouse Flowering Plants Perennials | I Carnations Bedding Plants Hardy Roses | I Chrysanthemums Dahlias Nursery Stock | I If you wish a copy of our Handbook, send us your name and address. | ANPlE^SON INC. CeOMMLL CARpENS Ci^MWELL Conn ^iiiiiNiminttmniiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiffliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN iriNriiiiniiHiiiniii'!iii:iiii:iiii;;iiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimi!iiiiiiiiiiiii:iiii:NIII!IIIIINIIIII|l|lllinillllllll|lll|||l|||||||||||||||n|||||||||||||||||||||||||i|{|l|ll||!|l||{l|l|N ifi tfiffiffiffiifiSfiifitfiifiifiifiifiifiifiifiifiifil ifi I }^ ill WINTZER'S COLOSSAL CANNA "As Big as a Man's Hat" Wintzer's Colossal Cani>a is not only the largest Canna in commerce, but is without even a near rival. To say that it is as big as a man's hat is not exaggerating. Its flowers are over 8 inches across. Its color is a strikingly vivid scarlet that retains its brilliancy. It is far and away the most prolific of its class. It is the result of years of tireless hybridiz- ing and experimenting on the part of Antoine Wintzer, Vice-President of this Company. Mr. Wintzer has been well called the Canna Wizard. He has probably done more to make the Canna the thing of beauty that it is today than any other man in America. For twenty years he has patiently worked with his "Canna children," continually and persistently striving to improve the type. The Colossal Canna and our other Swas-teeka Brand Cannas bear convincing witness as to the measure in which he has succeeded. Send for our Canna price-list of Swas-teeka Brand Cannas. Swas-Teeka Brand Cannas CONARD & JONES CO. WEST GROVE, PA. \£ ifi lifiifiifiifiifiifitfiifiifiifiifiifiifiifiifilfiSfifffil yUdtJLcL Sj^^C4^ I To introduce these superior seeds to you we make the | I following special offer. Each and every variety is a | I novelty originated at our Raynes Park trial grounds. I I This Carter Collection for $1.75 net | 1 Beans — Carters Sunrise — 25c. packet. M I Beans — Carters Holborn Wonder — 20c. packet. U E Carrot — Carters Early Market — 10c. packet. = i Celery — Carters Solid Ivory^lOc. packet. = 1 Cucumber — Carters Ideal Frame^25c. packet. = 1 Lettuce — Carters Holborn Wonder — 10c. packet. 1 i Lettuce — Carters Giant White Cos— 10c. packet. 1 E Onion — Carters Record — 10c. packet. M 1 Onion— Carters Holborn— lOc. packet. 1 I Parsley— Carters Crested Bouquet — 10c. packet. 1 i Parsnip— Carters Holborn Marrow— lOc. packet. i I Peas— Carters Giant Lightning Early Round 2^ ft.— 15c. packet. 1 I Peas— Carters— Quite Content Maincrop 5 ft. — 20c. packet. § I Spinach—The Carter— 10c. packet. 1 g Turnip — Carters Little Marvel — 10c. packet. 1 I Turnip— Swedish— Carters Prize Winner Purple Top— 10c. packet. 1 g Tomato — Carters Golden Sunrise — 25c. packet. = i Tomato —Cnrters Duke of York — 10c. packet. 1 I CARTERS TESTED SEEDS INC. | 1 ISO Chamber of Commerce BIdg., Boston, Mass. = I Branch of James Carters & Co., Raynes Park, England i ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiii'iiiii^ THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA gliiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNi^ I BOBBINK & ATKINS | I "WORLD'S CHOICEST NURSERY AND GREENHOUSE PRODUCTS" | I Grown in America I ROSES SHADE TREES FLOWERING & BERRIED SHRUBS EVERGREENS & RHODODENDRONS HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS FRUIT TREES & VINES HOUSE PLANTS HEART CYPRESS PLANT TUBS Visit our Nurseries and see the quality of our products and the completeness of our collection. Write for ILLUSTRATED GENERAL CATALOG No. 45, it is complete in every way. NURSERYMEN AND FLORISTS RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiHiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ |lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll|l|lllllllllllllillllillUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllll[lllllllllllllllllinilllN BURNETT BROTHERS FLOWER SEED NOVELTIES SEASON 1917 NEW DOUBLE COSMOS A decided novelty of great merit, these beautiful new Cosmos ar€ most striking botli in color ami appearance. Double Pink, Double White, Double Hybrids. Each, per pkt., 25c., 5 pkt. for $1.00 NEW DOUBLE QUEEN POPPIES Flowers of the Shirley type but double, measuring 3 to i% inches atross, of the most delicate and brilliant colors, including white, with salmon pink or crimson margin; orange salmon shaded white, fiery rose scarlet shading down to white, cherry red shading to white, brilliant scarlet with white center, etc., all showing cen- tral yellow anthers. They grow two feet high and are of great decorative value for cutting. Mixed colors, per pkt., 3Sc. PANSY "Apricot Queen" A very pretty apricot shaded yellow. The plants are very free flowering and compact, which makes it excellent for bedding work. Absolutely distinct. Per pkt., 2Sc. CINERARIA "Matchless" An excellent new strain of Cineraria, containing many new colors not seen before in this class. The plants are very vigorous and compact, and grow to a height of from 15 to 18 inches. The flowers are very large, with solid petals. Per pkt., SOc. SCHIZANTHUS RETUSUS "Pink Beauty" Flowers an exquisite shade of rose pink, a pure self without any marking or shading whatever. A distinct advance upon any- thing of this color yet known in Schizanthus. Per pkt., SOc. EREMURUS— GOLD MEDAL HYBRIDS The Eremurus, or "Hardy Foxtail Lilies," are rapidly becoming known as amongst the most desirable of Hardy Plants for the border and massing. They vary in height from 6 to 10 feet, and, once established, will go on for years improving and increasing. They arc raised easily from seed, and are of easy cultivation. Per pkt., SOc. NOTE" Novelties are sent out in original packets. Descriptions are those of introducers. If you have not received our complete "Novelty List" and 1917 Spring Catalogue, write for same. BURNETT BROTHERS 98 CHAMBERS STREET SEEDSMEN TELEPHONE, BARCLAY 6138 NEW YORK ^uiuiiiiiiNiiniuiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Niiiiiuiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiii:iini{iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii»iiiiiiniiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiii iiiiiiiNiiiNiiiiiiniiiiiiiii iiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA n minirnrnminiiTn^ W^t^e €ant^nts---3(anuarij, X917 Page Things and Thoughts of the Garden . The Onlool(er Growing Peaches Under Glass . . . . Samuel J. Trepass How to Grow the Gladiolus Arthur Coleee Diseases of the Violet What Science Has Done and Will Do for Floriculture . Prof. Edrvard A. While Eupatonums for the Greenhouse Always a Flower in the Garden Adornment of Home Grounds The Colorado Blue Spruce Burning of Leaves Wasteful In the Greenhouse Month to Month W. R. FoTvkes February's Work in the Garden John Johnson Sedum Spectabile Periodicity in Plants .... Culture of Alpines Without Rocks 9 10 10 11 14 15 16 16 16 17 18 19 19 19 ^iiiiilliliillliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii»iniiiiiNiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiii:ii» )siiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiiii»iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiliiliiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|iiiiiiii:iiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiiiii^ Page Proper Soil for Dahlias .... . 19 What Economy Is Teaching . 20 Delphiniums Becoming Popular . 20 Treatment of Evergreens 21 Simple Facts About Spraying 2! Planting of Ornamentals 22 Fragrant Pathways 22 How Plant Food Is Formed 23 The White Pine Blister Rot . 23 Massachusetts Agricultural College 23 Park Superintendent's Function E. T. Mische 24 American Association of Park Superintendents 27 National Association of Gardeners 28 Among the Gardeners .... 30 Practical Gardeners and College Graduates 30 Farmers' Week at Cornell University 31 The New York Horticultural Society 31 The Massachusetts Horticultural Society 31 Horticultural Events ..... 32 Local Society Notes 33-35 It ntdnn RiinniriiiiitMiflii i^ Stumpp & Walter Co.'s Catalog Our 1917 Spring Catalog will be mailed to you on request, if you have not already received a copy. Many New and Exhibition varieties of Flower and Vegetable Seeds are offered. Farm and Grass Seeds are also a feature. Cannas, Dahlias, and Gladioli — the best varieties to date. eJ^^^ft^j^^ 30-32 Barclay St. ^sI e w T o r k .^Knniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiniiiiiiiiililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiiinniiii iiiiiiiiiiiniii iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii inn iininiinni iiiiiniinunniiiiiiiiiiiiininnnniiiiiiinninunniii inniiiiiuiiniiiiiaiRoiiiiiuiimniijiiiminiinaiiiiiiiiiauni;^ piiinmHmiiiPiHiiiiiHiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiy I GARDENERS' CHRONICLE I OF AMERICA 1 Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture ■ Vol. XXI. JANUARY, 1917 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii No. 1. I iiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Things and Thoughts of the Garden By The Onlooker GARDENING is an ancient art whicli has been the study and recreation of men for ail ages. Its lit- erature is e.Kceedingly voluminous, e.xceeding probably a total of between 12,000 and 15,000 volumes. Notwithstanding this great body of literature, and the historical record of the art, there nuist forever be begin- ners. These beginners need not always be youths, or on the threshold of life. It frequently happens that a family has been denied the pleasure of a garden from circum- stances over which they had no full control until middle life, or a later period. We would suggest that the begin- ner in gardening start with well-known favorites, and when these have become well established, and a good framework and foundation have been achieved for the garden, finer subjects, or those that are less well known, or perhaps which rec|uire more care, may be added. Choose a list of showy, ever-blooming, vigorous perennial plants. The same remark applies to ornamental shrubs and vines. When the garden fever has seized hold, it may be that the enthusiast will want to specialize in a good flower. -Most flowers, it will l)e found, deserve and appreciate special care and treatment and there are many genera or families that oflfer infinite opportunities for study, in- terest and recreation when taken up in detail and made the most of. * A ^; The more popular plants are of course the Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Chrysanthemums, Pansies, Roses, Peonies and Gladioli. The Rose furnishes in itself an endless source of interest. The study of its various kinds would require one's whole time, as well as deiuanding travel in many parts of the world. One of the beauties of gardening, or the special study of any one flower, is that it brings us in close touch with people of kindred tastes; some of the warmest friendsliijjs have been formed in this way ; friendships that have become a family tradition. It will be found that those who love flowers are of a generous and kindly temperament, gentle, and given to the pursuit of the finer arts generally. It is a quiet recreation, pursued at home. It is good for tlie man of the house ; good for the lady ; good for the children. In recent years school gardening as a feature has been much encouraged and it has many points to commend it, both observationally and from the point of view of bodily well-being. * * * Much of the best work in gardening and in the develop- ment of plants, either by hybridizing or selection has • been done bv the man or woman whose business has lain in an entirely different direction than that of horti- culture. We are indebted to many amateurs for valu- able plant introductions from other lands. Beyond the purely sentimental, recreational, or cultural benefits to be obtained from the pursuit of gardening as a hobby, there is also the economical side to be considered. There is money in it. Perhaps not always in the direct pro- duction of plants or vegetables for sale, although that side also would warrant atteiuion, but in the saving that a garden eflfects on one's household bills. An attempt has been made in a section devoted to fruit and kitchen gardening to show how families of varying sizes may obtain the greater part of their culinary or fruitarian products from their own home grounds. It may be fitting to explain some of the more promi- nent divisions of the plant world. The number of species of known plants is 180,000. These are divided into arboraceous and herbaceous groups, and these again into their several divisions. Thus there are trees and shrubs, which, in turn, are divided into hardy, tem- perate or half-hardy, and tender or tropical kinds. In the herbaceous division of the plant world we have the same classification, namely, the hardy, temperate, and tender. It is with the fully hardy or temperate va- rieties of trees, shrubs or herbaceous plants that this book of course deals, and the various divisions of these, such as bulbous plants, ferns, border plants, aquatic sub- jects and succulents are each discussed in groups by tliemselves. 1 rememiier, many years ago, listening to a very interesting lecture on Lilies by a clergyman, who, in opening, made a remark that stuck in our mind, namely, that in taking u]) the study of any floral subject the first thing he wanted to do was to get into the history of it; in that way he had the fullest comprehension of the plant, — what it had been and what it had come from, and it saved him needless work and gave him the right ]ioint of view. It will be found in gardening" that there are books treating of the history of the subject; bright books, interesting books, which touch on the social side of the development of man's interests and in- cidentally refer to many well-known historical characters that have been interested in gardening, and the reading of which can be commended as warmly as the most in- teresting story-book, or other book of a purely enter- taining character. * * * In addition to the historical side of the subject there is the cognate one of plant geography, or the story of the distribution of plants over the world. Although this THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA presupposes some knowledge of botany, it need not necessarily be an extensive knowledge of scientific botany, but can be taken in conjunction with works of travel, or works of adventure. We all know that Japan is a great land of flowers, and indeed the cognomen "Japa- nica," has been given to gardeners as a class. Another land of flowers is Chili, many flowers from that country being grown in our gardens, in the South particularly. California is one of the greatest countries from which we draw our variety of annuals, and South Africa gives us a race of bulbs and ericaceous or heath plants. Europe, of course, whose temperature in the main resembles our own, has contributed innumerable races of plants that are our oldest favorites in America, mostly brought over long ago : and from generalizations of this kind a very little reading and study gets us down to definite discrimination of kinds ; and soon we begin to talk of this or that, in terms of native country or of its actual habitat in that country. Many people, when they have heard that a plant, say a Rhododendron, hails from India, immediately assume that the said plant requires the protection of a hot house, forgetting that altitude makes all the dififer- ence, so that a plant from high in the Himalayas may be as hardy as one from the Adirondacks. As our coun- try becomes older various sections are more developed, and as gardening flourishes, the man or woman who is ignorant of the great world of plants and of the outdoor life, and lacks a knowledge of gardening in its manifold phases, will be looked at askance. An intelligent knowl- edge of flowers and gardens is one of the first essentials in social circles of European countries and the time is not far distant when it will also be so here. ^: * * A word might be said on the point of the need of per- sistency in gardening. Too often the care of the garden is left to the lady of the house; yet it is a man's job, inasmuch as it requires steady persistence. When the Spring opens with all its promise of flower, leaf and fruit, there is something in the garden that appeals to us, but in the wanner, longer days, when the pestiferous in- sect tribe in their multitudes swarm around, it is so much easier to lie in a hammock, or take a spin in an automo- bile, or simply read on the veranda or piazza, while at the same time something demands attention out in the border, or the beds, or the plots of the garden. That is where the quality of persistency is called for, and he who would make a success of his garden must be prepared to forego certain easy pleasures, for nothing will be achieved by looking at it. The recompense that will come later as a reward, however, will be well in keeping with all the effort that has been put forth and when the habits of in- dustry and application have been learned, the rest is easy, and indeed we can assume superior airs in thinking that we are more industrious than our neighbors, and it is an industry that pays. At the Tanuar}- meeting of the New York Florists' Club one of the exhibits was a vase of cut sprays of that delightful dwarf greenhouse shrub Daphne odora. While I never had the pleasure of growing this, I have often seen it and always loved its little creamy pink clusters of flowers in their rosette fringe of foliar leaves These leaves remind one of the Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia. Daphne odora, the latter name implying frag- rance, which is so strongly characteristic of the plant, has to be grown in a greenhouse temperature ( .^0°-.t5°) in a peaty loam, in semi-shade and should be kept fairly moist. It loves a place in a solid bed rather than in a pot. As it flowers now (January) and lasts good for weeks, being also fine as a cut flower (shrub), it will be seen how desirable it is. Good drainage is essential. Other two noteworthy Daphnes are Mezereum, in pink and white forms, hardy, and Cneorum, rich pink, one of the best plants we have for the rock garden. This is generally hardy too, and will thrive in a good loam. At the .\pril shows last year the latter was several times prominently exhibited in the rock garden displays. The grower of the D. odora, aforementioned, was Fred Byxee, a Connecticut gardener. He got a cultural cer- tificate. ^ ^ ^ .■\11 the fellows who write are busy suggesting to garden owners that now is the time to go to the top story window, look out upon the garden, sit there with a note-book in hand and dream of the plantings and plannings to be done next April and onward. A clump of evergreens are wanted over there ; a border or a big bold bed of hardy flowers could with advantage be de- veloped 3onder. Is there not room for a dainty water tank in that rather blank and bald spot near the Sum- mer House? Why not have a trellis to shut ofif that property across the way? Have you not got the rock- garden fever yet ? Roses — what of them : hundreds more are wanted. Order them now ! You know you forget about the biflbs until it was almost too late — in fact it was too late, and the result is you haven't got those golden patches of double dalTodils you intended to have along the shrubbery borders, nor the yellow and blue Crocuses that were to be so freely naturalized in the grass. Yes ; you can purchase a car in January as well as in June, or a photographic outfit at any time you like, but in gardening the plants have their seasons and you must respect the fact or fail. Gardening teaches us many excellent lessons — does it not? * * * On the table, as a centerpiece, in front of me there is a bowl of Roman Hyacinths. They are arranged in a shallow glass bowl with a silver rim and handles. The flowers are simply placed in one of those holders that one can buy at the stores for from 15c. to a quarter. How graceful and pure and fragrant they are, and how much appreciated on a dull January weather ! How fortunate I am ! Yes, and do not call me mean if I put another question to the string in the previous paragraph : Did you plan to have a little greenhouse built against your residence? If you have a greenhouse vou need never be without some flowers. Think it over. Make the auto last another season and build an attached greenhouse with the money. You will have the latter after two or three cars have been worn to pieces — plus $150 a year they cost for new tires, not to mention gasolene at 22 cents a gallon. A letter from a reader of The Gardeners' Chronicle, which has been forwarded to me by the editor, discusses briefly some points in my paragraph on the definition of an amateur in a previous issue. The correspondent's chief complaint appears to be that at some of the flower shows the professional gardener gets no credit at all for the exhibit he stages : all the credit goes to the employer. The reader referred to lives at JNIilwaukee. He says that in England, where he formerly lived, if he exhibited grapes the card would be worded thus : First Prize for Black H.amburgh Gr-^pes Grown by Gardener to • . He adds: "Here [in America] the wording is reversed.'' Now, as "The Onlooker" recollects the cards at the English shows (and I have seen them several times in inv travels there), the w^ording was like this, mostly: Class 00. — Six plants Begonia Gloire de Lorraine Exhibited by Sir George Snowball, Bart., Elmcroft, Bexley, Kent. Gardener, Thomas Hustler. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA It should be added that the Royal Horticultural and other leading- societies regard the owner of a place and not the gardener, as the exhibitor. The gardener is but the agent. Unless an understanding exists, as it usuallx' does, the prize money, cups or any other premium is paid to the owner. Should any doubt exist as to who the money should be paid to, the secretary of the society would write to the gardener-owner for information. In- variably, however, the premiums go to the gardener, he being the grower. Some gardeners were encouraged to exhibit by their employers, as the prize money helped out their all too fragile salary, and this was one way of getting somebody else to pay the man ! L)thers encour- aged their gardeners purel\' for the renown it brought to the employer. We in America have no true conception of the Englishman's craze for flower shows. Once, while over there, I made a count of the shows that were being held around London, all within three or four days in mid- summer— thirty-one ! It is no exaggeration to say that every little village, as well as big towns, has its own show. In Paisley, Scotland, they have pansy shows — a cult by itself, upheld by the working men. There is even a Pansy and \'iola Society, a national organiza- tion. Elsewhere the working people specialize in mari- golds. In the north of England the miners have hot- houses and grow giant stove plants. In Lancashire the cotton spinners specialize in big gooseberries. E.ver heard of this cult? Tell you, Ciironici.ites (excuse the appellation), you would be amazed were I to relate all I know about these Lancashire men and their goose- berries. Blood manure, carcases, bring — oh, yes, lots of them. They even tie a worsted thread to the stalk of the berry, winding it around and giving it a turn rotnid the tip, then carrying" this thread down to a jar of water under the bush. It is found that this aids the swelling of the fruit. Do you know that an annual publication, called the Gooseberry Grower's Register, is (or used lately to be) published containing a record of the year's heavy berries with tabulated lists of the heaviest berries ever grown ? Yes ; most exciting. Lancashire, the home of cock-fighting, bulldog baiting, and other more or less brisk little games and pastimes, has its votaries of Flora and Romona. Some day it will be worth while writing a tale on the tricks and strivings of the workmen florists of the northern industrial districts of the island home of the Englishman — not forgetting those greatest of gar- deners, the Scotch. Herewith, take notice, I copyright the theme. Growing Peaches Under Glass By Samuel J. Trepass, New York. THE peach is considered to be of Persian origin and is supposed to have been carried into Egypt dur- ing the reign of Cambyses, then into Greece, and after a lapse of time into Italy, when it began to be known about seven years before the Christian Era. The native country of the Peach is, however, still a doubtful point and as such we may pass it over. A very good house for Peaches and Nectarines is equal span running east and west into two lines of ventilation on top and one line each side. (Propagation) Seed, budding, or grafting, I prefer the latter, as you get a tree for planting much quicker, using the muscle plum for stock, which I select from suckers from the existing trees which send up consider- able during the summer. Pot these into small pots and plunge outside, leaving them to get some hard freezing weather ; afterwards store in cellar or pit till January ; bring them into a cool house for starting and by the latter part of February they will be in active growth, ready for grafting. After this operation put them into a box cov- ered with glass or frame in a temperature of 60^, keeping them tightly closed for about ten days, when growth will have commenced and the union formed. A little ven- tilation at this time will be needed, commence first by opening the box at night, closing again in the day time for two or three days when you can begin to gradually remove the glass altogether and removing to a cooler house, avoiding direct sunlight for a few days, when you will have a splendid foundation for a new tree. The border should not be made too rich, use a good mixture of green bone, broken or ground to a size of one or two inches, well mixed into a good sandy loam three feet deep. For planting I prefer trees of bush form, as you al- ways have plenty of good wood to start with. The trees planted crosswise of the house, five feet apart, cut off wood, to fit to trellis also in front of the tree, leaving each side to tie to trellis, to form the tree. I have al- ways found them preferable to trained trees, as they cover the space in much less time. Peaches and nectarines are very sensitive to too much fire heat, when first started. The starting to the inex- perienced seems a little slow and tedious, 40 degrees at night with a rise of 10 to 15 in the day with sun heat, gradually increase this temperature until 50 at night is reached with 60 to 65 in the day, which temperature should be carried until the trees are in flower, when another 5 degrees may be permitted. ^^'hen the fruit has set then comes a busy time, dis- budding, pinching and selection of wood for the follow- ing year. This should be done when the shoots are about an inch long, leaving sufficient to furnish the tree with ample foliage, without crowding. Disbudding and pinch- ing should not be completed at one time. Go over the trees about three times to avoid any check to the tree. Thinning of the fruit should never be neglected. It is far better to carry the average crop on your trees every year, than to have an over-crop one year with none the next as thinning insures quality. Borders should be examined frequently, as they require an abundance of water, where you have good drainage. I have seen crops spoiled for the lack of water. The sur- face would appear sufficiently moist but dry below. They enjoy alternate watering with liquid manure. When carrying the crop ventilation should be given on every possible opportunity avoiding draughts, as they de- light in an abundance of fresh air. Syringe the trees twice a day in bright weather, but stop when they are in flower. When the fruit is set sy- ringe again twice a day on bright days. After the fruit is picked, go over the trees and take out all useless wood, to make room and admit light, for ripening the wood for tlie following \ear. This is also a good time to take out an\- undesirable trees and replacing with those in [lots or tubs. The Winter pruning will be but a selection of the best wood to retain, also any root prtming can now be done if the trees have made much rank growth, also a good s]iraying with scalecide before the buds begin to swell, "^'our trees are then ready for the following year. 10 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA HOW TO GROW THE GLADIOLUS 'T* 1 1 R ( iladiolus will s^row and bloom in almost any kind of soil, if only it can have full exposure to the sun. it re(|uires no "fussint;" over. It is singularly free from disease or insect pests. It will stand more dry weather than most flowers. It will even survive outright neglect, returning good for evil by its wonderful bloom. At the same time, no plant responds more quickly or sat- isfactorily to good treatment. It likes best a rich, sandy loam. If your soil is heavy or stiff, work in a liberal amount of sand. If it is very light and sandy, spade in a liberal amount of well-rotted manure in the Fall. Best results are obtained by preparing the beds in the Fall. This is especially true when thoroughly rotted manure is not to be obtained and fresh manure must be used. By Spring it is decomposed, and the ground in the very best of condition. Fall-turned sod makes an e-xcellent foundation. If not I'all-prepared, the land should be given a liberal dressing of manure or commercial fer- tilizer, and this s]3aded in to a de]5th of 15 inches. With a well-prepared bed in a sunny exposing the measure of your success with Gladioli rests wholly in the quality of your bulbs. I have found by experience that a great many people fail to understand the vital im- portance of these brown-husked treasure boxes, in which are locked the plants for which they have made such care- ful preparation. To them bulbs are just "bulbs," either large or small as the case may be, and the larger bulbs are necessarily the best. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Small bulbs, properly grown, cured and stored, will often throw up plants and flowers twice the size of large bulbs which have been poorly grown and improp- erly cared for. Soft, light bulbs will never make strong plants. The best of soil is useless unless the bulbs put in it have within themselves the vigor to make the most of it. With your bed prepared, and sure of the quality of your bulbs, the next ste]> is the planting. In the latitude of northern New York this may be an}* time from the middle of i\pril to the middle of May, whenever the frost is wholly out of the ground. Farther south earlier plant- ing is advisable. For succession of bloom, bulbs may be set at intervals u]> to the 15th of June. The smaller bulbs should be set two inches deep, and the very large ones twice that de])th. In ])lanting small beds I have found it an excellent plan to remove the soil to the re(|uired tlepth. lay down an inch of said over the exposed surface, set the bulbs at proper intervals, pointed side up, replace the soil and firm down thoroughly. Mass eiTects are best obtained in round, oblong or square beds. For cutting purposes plant in single rows, four inches apart in the row, and rows 12 inches apart, or in double rows 18 inches a])art. .\ succession of bloom from the middle of July until frost may be obtained by planting early and late varieties together, and also by setting the first bulbs eight inches apart in the row and two or three weeks later making a new planting between these. Gladioli are also very effective in clumps and among other plants in the her- baceous border. When used in this way, set the bulbs four to si.K inches apart each way. See that the jjlants have ])lenty of w'ater when they first appear above ground and later when the flower- spikes begin to show color. Keep free from weeds. If this is done they will require no other care. However, an occasional stirring of the soil around them will be an advantage, as it tends to kee]) the top-soil finely pulver- ized, forming a dust mulch which helps to retain mois- ture. l'\)r cutting purposes I know of no other flower to com- pare with the Gladiolus. Beautiful as it is in the garden, it is even more beautiful when cut and tastefully arranged for interior decoration. Cut when the first bud shows color, and given fresh water daily, it will open every bud to the last one, and this will be as beautiful as the first. The stalks should be cut well down toward the base and then j)laced in tall vases filled with clear water. No charcoal or other substance should be used for ]>urifving the water, as the Gladiolus will not foul it as some flowers do. Change the water daily, at the same time cutting a small piece from the stems. This should be done on a slant as then the water has a freer passage up the stems. As the lower flowers wither they should be removed, which is easily done by a gentle pull. As the lower buds always open first, the symmetry of the spike is jireserved to the last. The result is a succession of fresh flowers every day for a week and even longer from the same spikes. — .\rthur Cowee in Glorv of the Garden. DISEASES OF VIOLETS T^ 'HE control of diseases and insect pests is a problem which always confronts the Violet grower. How- ever, since growers have come to realize that sanitary con- ditions in greenhouses go a long way in controlling disease, there has been a marked improvement in the healthfulness of the crop, says Prof. E. .\. White in Florists' lL.vcliaiii;e. The principal diseases are leaf s])ot and stem rot. The leaf spot is the most feared. The character of this disease is too well known to need description. It forms semi-transparent spots on the leaves which spread rapidly under favorable conditions. Reproduction is bv spores which are carried from one plant to another by currents of air. They germinate rapidly and in a very short time the disease may spread over an entire house. Humid atmospheric conditions and high tem])eratures induce the disease. Heavy fumigations with tobacco smoke also cause the disease to spread. Plants weakened by abormal conditions in the houses are more susceptible to spot ; therefore the plants should be kept growing vigorously from tl;e cutting bench to maturity. As soon as spot ajipears on a plant, all affected leaves should be picked and destroyed immediately. Great care should be taken in watering the plants so that the foliage may dry i|uicklv and not remain wet over night. ."^tem rot is very troublesome in some sections. It fre- quently makes its appearance in the cutting bench and the disease is not noticed at the time of planting the houses. During the Summer the aft'ected plants may grow vigo- rously, but as Fall approaches, they wilt diu-ing the dav. After a short time the plants die, and examination shows that the fungus has ]3enetrated all portions of the stem, thus cutting oft' the food supply. Care should be taken to select healthy plants for propagation. Cuts should be made at a node and fresh sand used with each lot of cuttings. If a diseased plant is noticed, it should be re- moved and some of the soil taken with it. Fresh soil should then be obtained and one of the reserve plants used for filling the vacancy. C»ther fungus diseases which may appear if cultural conditions are not ideal are crown rot, scald or edge burn, and oedema or the wart disease. With careful attention to soil jjreparation, ventilation and watering, these troubles need not exist. Among the insect pests the aphis and red spiders are the most troublesome. Water spray for the spiders and cyanide gas for the aphis keep these insects in control with little difficulty. What Science Has Done and Will Do for Floriculture By Prof. Edward A. White, New York IX this a.y^e of intense specialization in all liorticultural jjractices it may be well to review some of the scientific factors which ha^•e played and are now plaxing such an important part in the develojiment of ornamental plant production. In the earlier periods of ayricnltiu'al education the term IturticiiltKre covered a wide range of subjects. In many agricultural colleges the horticulturist was ex- pected to teach forestry, landscape gardening, plant breeding, pomology, vegetable gardening and floricul- ture. In some cases he was also expected to teach bot- any, entomology and other sciences. In fact, it was ex- pected the instructor would be capable of teaching all subjects which pertained in any way to plant life. Not only was he expected to teach these subjects, but much of his time wa.s required for the administration of the business of his department ; also for research and for what we have now come to know as extension teaching. This field was altogether too broad for the ordinary man to master, although certain horticulturists did make a marked success, even when handicapped by the re- quirements of such a broad field of duties. The scope of the work was nevertheless too varied for the best re- sults. The last decade has witnessed a decided change in all lines of agricultural teaching. What was formerly des- ignated as agriculture in the curricula of land-grant col- leges, has been subdivided into dairy industry, animal industry, poultry raising, farm crops, and subjects of a like nature, until there is now no distinct course in gen- eral agriculture given in some agricultural colleges. The same trend toward speciahzation has been notice- able in horticultural subjects, and the old idea of horti- culture has been merged in the development of special departments, such as landscape gardening, fruit-grow- ing, flower-growing, forestry, vegetable gardening, and the like. This is an age of specialization, and the ad- ministrators of agricultural colleges have come to ap- preciate the fact that no individual can teach satisfac- torily a wide range of subjects, requiring such intensive ap])lication as do those dealing with special phases of animal and plant life. In the earlier ])erio(ls of horticultural teaching, major attention was given to fruit culture, some emjihasis was laid on landscape gardening and vegetable culture, but little attention was given to instruction in flower grow- ing. .\ few agricultural colleges had ranges of glass where some flowering plants were grown, but these were largely plants of botanical interest rather than of com- mercial importance. About ten years ago a Department of Floriculture was organized at the Massachusetts Agri- cultural College and distinct courses in commercial flower growing were ofl'ered. A little later, courses in flower growing were developed at the University of Illinois. So far as can be learned, these were the first atteni])ts in this country to train men in a broad way in distinctly scientific aspects of the subject. Since that time, courses in floriculture have been introduced into the curricula of many agricultural colleges, and much investigational work along flower-growing lines has been undertaken. In the larger number of instances, however, this work is *.\n abstract of .T lecture tlelivered .it tlu animal banquet at the Missouri jnotarical tianleus, St. Louis, IVceuibtr, 1*^16. Still intimately connected with other branches of horti- culture, and the work is being done by men interested in other subjects. The application of :_',cientific principles to floriculture is, therefore, of comparatively recent date. The flower- growing business, however, is an old one. In the early days of American flower production, commercial grow- ers of flowering plants recognized the need of but few scientific principles. The greater number of these florists received their training abroad, and the apprentice svs- tem through which this was obtained, taught methods rather than priiicif'Ics. These men learned to grow plants and to know under what conditions they attained their best development, but they knew little of the reasons for their successes and failures. During the last decade, conditions have changed in a marked degree. The de- mand for rare flowers of better quality has steadily in- creased, and with this demand there has come a keener competition. This competition and the demand for bet- ter products has made it necessary for present-day lead- ers in the flower-producing industry to call on science for every assistance possible, so that there should be better methods of production and these at the least pos- sible expense. The margin of profit in the flower busi- ness is not a broad one. In the earlier periods of work in teaching floriculture the writer met with but little encoiu-agement from men engaged in the business. Their opinion of the courses at the agricultitral colleges was often expressed in terms far from comjilimentary. Within recent years the hori- zon has broadened and many men who at first ridiculed the teaching of floriculture in agricultural colleges have so completely changed their opinion that they are now not only eager that their sons should take work in these institutions, but they are ofTering most cordial co-opera- tion in every way possible. The field trulv has broadened during the period in which floricultural instruction has been given in the United States. But we should review rather briefly the relation which the various sciences bear to methods of present-day flower and plant production. Botany in its various branches prol)ablv touches the subject most closely, for in ]ilant growing untler the somewhat artificial condi- tions in greenhouses an application of the principles which govern healthy reproduction and growth in jilants is constantly necessary. However, before we have plants we must have soil, and the application of chemistry to the soil is doubtless as important as is botany. The flower-growing business in the United States is im])ortant. In New York State it is especially so. The last census states that the value of the production of flowers and ]ilants in this State approximates five million dollars. This is approached by no other State. The total annual jiroduction for the United States was valued at thirty-four and one-half millions. This was an in- crease of 85 per cent, during the last decade. In the early history of plants and our study of ]ilant nomenclature such names as Theophrastus. Pliny. Lin- naeus and others stand out prominently, and we must not forget that scientific floriculture as it is ])racticed todav owes much to these men. During the earlier periods of ornamental i)lant culture, 11 12 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA valuable work was done through scientific expeditions to foreign countries, piloted by experienced plant collec- tors who were for the most part systematic botanists. These men brought back many species especially suited, not alone for growth under glass but in the open as well. Most of these earlier scientific collecting expeditions were from England, Germany and France, but the species of plants collected were sooner or later brought to Amer- ica, and our conservatory collections were thus en- riched. The painstaking work of Cesalpino, Linnaeus, Jussier, Gartner, and others in the classification of plants has been of inestimable value to present-day plant grow- ers, for through a knowledge of the habitat and rela- tionship of plants, we have gained valuable information of their cultural requirements, such as soil, temperature, light and moisture. In the early part of the nineteenth century many col- lecting expeditions were piloted by such systematic bot- anists as Sir William Hooker, Sir Joseph Banks, and others ; and the species of plants from both tropical and temperate sections which were found suited for growing under glass in this country were increased many fold. In later years, the work of these men was followed by many others, among whom were Sir Harry Veitch, Verschaf- felt, Engelmann. Victor Lemoine and the Vilmorins. The scientific work of Dr. Torrey, Asa Gray, and other systematic botanists has been of great value to floricul- ture, for many of the species of native plants they listed are now valuable garden species. Through the work of these men, therefore, our list of ornamental plants has been increased by introduced species from the flora of every part of the globe. While some of these plant collectors have been prac- tical horticulturists, they have been so educated that they have been enabled to conduct scientific experiments. They have learned to associate practice with scientific truth. Among such men who have been engaged in the work in recent years, no name stands out more promi- nently than that of Jackson Dawson. While Air. Daw- son's early education and training was largely of a prac- tical character, his natural instinct enabled him to do work of a strictly scientific nature. The results of his propagation of material sent him by plant collectors and his breeding of hardy roses have been unusual. His in- troduction of the Dawson Rose, W. C. Egan, Farquhar and Sargent roses have been valuable acquisitions in the floricultural list of species. His "passing on" is a dis- tinct loss to the horticultural world. A scientific collector of note in recent years is E. H. Wilson, the student of Japanese and Chinese species, whose work for the Arnold Arboretum at Forest Hills, Mass., is bringing to our American flower lovers such ornamental species of value as Lilium niyrophyllum, Lilium Sargentiae, Hydrangea Sargentiana, Clematis montana, var. rubens, Buddleia variabilis var. supurba, Syringa Wilsonii, and many others. The history of the work of these collectors and a study of their introduc- tion of ornamental plants is extremely interesting, but space will not permit a detailed discussion of these. Following the introduction of species of jjlants from foreign countries and the somewhat unnatural conditions under which it became necessary to grow them, the plant culturist began to realize the need of a thorough knowl- edge of the requirements of different plants as regards light, moisture and heat. Slowly but surely present-day floriculturists are coming to realize that they must have a better knowledge of plant structure and physiological processes in plant life before they can successfully grow plants. That division of botany which we know as Plant Physiology and which relates to the vital function of tlie plant, is, then, of the greatest importance to the grower of ornamental plants under glass or in the open. Not only has the scientist learned many plant secrets in this respect during the last decade, but he has been able to instruct the practical grower regarding these and to demonstrate that certain environmental factors, such as heat, li,ght, and many others, so change and modify plant tissue that improvement in plants may be marked. The results of the wonderful investigations of Hof- meister, Green, De Candolle and von Mohl in morphol- ogy ; of Robert Brown, Schleiden, Malphigi and Nageli in vegetable anatomy ; of Koelreuter, Sprengel, Major and many others in plant physiology, have taught and are now teaching plant growers the principles which underlie cultural practices A thorough knowledge of the science of botany is therefore necessary for the successful cultivation of or- namental plants, either under glass or in the open, and the gradual development of this field through scientific investigation and research is constantly revealing new truths which closely afifect plant growth. X'egetable pathology has an intimate relation to the healthfulness of plant tissue. Study in this science by such men as De Barry, Wakker, Tubeuf, Unger, Hallier and others has revealed the character of many plant para- sites, and these men have given suggestions for extermi- nating and avoiding them. Probably the most valuable suggestions which have come from scientific ])Iant pathol- ogists in recent years are those which have shown practi- cal growers the importance of proper sanitary condi- tions in greenhouses if a healthy and vigorous growth is to be maintained. Since the pathologists have shown carnation growers that stem rot is induced by deep and careless planting, and that rose mildew is the result of sudden and pronounced atmospheric changes, there has been as marked a decrease in these diseases as if special directions for their eradication had been given. It has been necessary for men of science to demon- strate to practical flower growers that proper environ- mental surroundings are as essential for healthy plants as they are for human individuals in the home. In an excellent paper delivered by Prof. E. O. Pippin before the New York Federation of Floral Clubs during Farm- ers' Week, Professor Pippin considered the relationship of sanitary conditions in the soil to healthy plant growth. In this paper Professor Pippin states : "It should always be known that the crop produced is competing with many other plants in the soil. We well recognize the importance of keeping down weeds which will compete with the main plant for food and moisture ; but we have not given so much attention to the competi- tion of the crop with the microscopic plants in the soil, the bacteria and the fungi. Instead of being a dead mass, the soil is teeming with life. In every grain of soil there may be millions of bacteria and many kinds of fungi and molds. These require the same food elements that the higher plants use, and it may frequently happen that the soil conditions are as well or perhaps a little better suited to the development of these microscopic plants, than to our higher jjlants, and they may gain the ascendency and utilize the plant food designed for the crop. "This idea, too, is one of the recent developments in soil fertility. In England, Russell and Hutchinson have developed many facts showing that in their soil, and especially in soils known to be sewer-sick, and in green- house soils that have come into a so-called sick condi- tion, there may be the development of excessive numbers of the very simplest animals, protozoa, which compete with the plant roots and with beneficial forms of bacteria. Thev have developed facts which indicate that any treat- ment which kills or reduces the number of these com- THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 13 peting organisms tends to promote the growth of higher plants, and in general to create a better state of fertility. It should be pointed out that in the greenhouses, where conditions are continually favorable for their growth, such difficulties may become more acute than in the field where the variations in climatic conditions and the changes in season, including freezing in winter, tend to hold such processes in check." During the earlier periods of plant culture, the dealers in novelties were dependent on material introduced from foreign countries. These plants are still interesting many dealers. Within recent years, however, native haunts of ornamental plants have been so thoroughly gone over by the collectors that there are now fewer new species of value. Since this is true, plant growers and the intro- ducers of novelties have come to lay marked emphasis on the study of genetics, and this somewhat new subject has influenced the character of plant products to a marked degree. This influence has, however, been more pronounced in the changes of special characters because of changed environmental conditions, so that new varie- ties have interested our plant culturists. While some work in scientific plant breeding was done by Linnaeus, Koelreuter in the latter part of the eighteenth century laid the first real foundation of our scientific knowledge of the subject. Later, such names as Knight, Gartner, Darwin, Focke, De Vries, Mendel, Bateson and others stand out prominently in scientific literature relating to plant breeding. In their recent book on this subject, Bailey and Gilbert state as follows : "One of the 'signs of the times" in North America is the attention that is being given to practical breeding of cultivated plants. Lentil within a comparatively few years, however, breeding work has been unscientific in the extreme. Much of this has been because there have been few scientific principles which were tangible. Scientific experimenters are rapidly acctimulating results with many kinds of plants, and eventually there will probably be formulated definite statements as to how to proceed to secure desired results. However, there is no hope that plant breeding can ever produce forthwith the things that we desire, in the way in which the mechanic devises new machines, notwithstanding all the sugges- tions or persons who write with nnich self assurance. For all that we can now see, plant breeding will always be an exjjerimental process." It is then for men of science to formulate, through experimentation, the laws which govern heredity in plants so that practical growers may apply these insofar as possible in bringing out new and improved varieties. Present day scientific breeders of plants are, there- fore, not now working to produce new varieties so much as they are to discover, if possible, the laws which govern hereditary characters. Definite color and form inheritance, which may be expected by crossing dififerent plants, is of far more importance to the scientific mind than is the production of some commercial variety of plant which excels those now in existence. As has been stated, next to botany in its various di- visions, probably no branch of science has been more beneficial to floriculture than chemistry. Botany and chemistry are so interwoven in plant culture that it is impossible to state the relative importance of each. The application of chemical principles touches many phases of plant life closely. Both organic and inorganic sub- stances must be studied ; air, moisture and the soil ele- ments, which make life possible, are all intimately bound up in chemical substances. A study of the atmosphere in its relation to plant life, and of the soil in its relation to vigorous plant growth brings us closely into the chemical world. In earlier hcritcultural practice, little attention was paid to at- mospheric conditions. The air as a source of plant food was unthought of, for the plant growers of that early period had little to aid them in solving their problems regarding the source of material for improving the growth of their plants. For years there was a realization that the nature of the soil was important for healthy growth, but only within comparatively recent times has there come to be a realization that the atmosphere is equally important. Outdoor atmospheric conditions are little subject to con- trol, but in greenhouses the plants' environment in this respect may be more easily governed. With the dis- covery that a large jjercentage of a plant's substance was carbon, and that the plant received this carbon from the air, there came to be a better appreciation by plant growers of the fact that plants are as dependent on a liberal supply of fresh air as is man. The greenhouse builder, therefore, began to consider the principles of ventilation, and, although present day methods of green- house ventilation are extremely crude, nevertheless plant growth under glass is much more healthy than in the earlier days, when it was thought that all that was neces- sary was to give the plants warmth and light. Conse- quently, the early greenhouses were small and sunken in the soil so as to retain all the heat, and every possible effort was made to prevent the escape of warm air from the greenhouses, and to let little fresh, cool air in. Con- sequently the plants became so susceptible to fungous tliseases that it was almost impossible to grow many species. When the scientist showed the culturalist the value of fresh air. there was an improvement in the quality of the plants grown. Larger, airy houses were built, and these were located on more exposed elevations where good air circulation could be obtained and larger su])plies of fresh air were given the interior of the houses. The plant grower, however, is more concerned with soil and fertility questions than with almost any other problem in science. He grows a wide range of plant species, each with its own requirements, not only with the chemical constituents of the soil, but with the phys- ical character of the soil as well. It is generally known that plants under glass grow best if the soil contains a mixture of medium sand, silt and clay. The proportion of these varies with different crops, and all species re- quirements have to be studied carefully. They are learned largely by investigation and experimentation. Experiment stations in connection with the agricultural colleges and the United States Department of Agricul- ture have done nnich valuable scientific work in deter- mining correct conditions for various species of plants, yet much remains to be learned. Probably no cultivated plant is more particular re- garding proper physical and chemical constituents of the soil than is the rose. The best commercial rose growers in America today are those men who have kept closely in touch with the scientific work of the experiment stations. The chemist, and especially the agricultural chemist, is rendering valuable assistance to the flower grower. Unfortunately he is handicapped to a certain degree, and his limitations will not always permit him to fulfill the expectations of practical men. Only a few days ago the writer received a sample of soil, with the request that it be analyzed and the sender informed as to what he should apply to make it a good soil for violets. Many men fail to realize that all mineral elements must be rendered soluble before they can be used by plants, and that organic substances must exist in correct combina- tion before they are of value to plants. A soil may con- 14 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA tain a quantity of food elements and yet the plant may starve. For this reason chemical analysis is seldom sat- isfactory from the grower's viewpoint. The chemist can determine tlie minerals which comprise the soil, but he is not familiar with the food requirements of plants of dif- ferent species and the availability for these plants of the minerals ami organic substances in the soil. This is a problem to be determined onl}- by experimentation for each particular crop and for each type of soil, and it is the function of the scientists in our experiment sta- tions to work out these problems for the benefit of the practical grower. The chemist is, however, teaching the flower grower tlie sources of plant food, and how to treat his crops so they will receive the proper amounts of nutrition. The chemist is also giving the flower grower a better knowl- edge of the so-called "commercial fertilizers" and their ettect on plant growth. It is impossible to discuss fully all that scientific chemistry has done for floriculture. The results of this type of work have been so far-reaching, not only as re- gards a plant's environment with reference to atmos- phere, soil and its fertility, but along the lines of in- secticides and fungicides as well. We know that sanitary conditions in the home have much to do with keeping disease germs and insect pests from gaining a foothold ; nevertheless, contagion sometimes spreads from less care- ful individuals in the human family. The same principles appl\- with plants, especially in greenhouses. The scien- tific chemists have solved many a complex problem for the florist in the eradication of both insects and fungi on plants. In this work the chemist has been assisted in a con- siderable degree by the entomologist and the plant pathologist. The work of the entomologist has been to studv the character and the life history of different groups of insects injurious to plant life, and through this intimate knowledge to aid the chemist in compiling formulas of sufficient strength to exterminate the pest. As certain chemical substances are injurious to plant issue, the scientific work of the plant physiologist has also been necessary to bring about methods of insect ex- termination by the use of chemical substances, which are effective and which are in no way detrimental to tlie vigor of growth of plants. A question has sometimes arisen in various depart- ments of agricultural colleges regarding the value of a knowledge of physics. One of the fundamentals of plant growth is light intensity, and I consider physics a most important subject for all students in floriculture. The science of physics has been of great value to the florist, but it might be much more so if some enthusiastic student would perform his experiments on light intensi- ties in greenhouses, and demonstrate the influence of diflr'erent light intensities on different types of plant growth. We know in nature that there are many species of plants which are light demanding ; others are shade enduring and even shade demanding. We usually con- sider that it is necessary that greenhouse plants obtain all the sunlight possible. This is, in general, true for most plants, but others demand some shade. The per- centage of light under which jilants make their best de- velopment is still a matter of conjecture. The physics of light, however, has been studied, and science has demonstrated the possibility of building greenhouses with the pitch of the roof at such an angle that the maximum amount of sunlight will be available. It is impossible to properly demonstrate in a single article all that science has done and will do in the future to develop the art of flower and plant production. As has been stated, the necessity for an application of scientific principles to floriculture has been of compara- tively recent origin. As competition increases in the world of flower production, there is sure to be a greater demand for scientific information, and the field of in- vestigation is broad. There is a constantly increasing demand for men in the flower producing industry, who have had broad, scientific training. These men are to become in the future America's foremost flower producers. EUPATORIUMS FOR THE GREENHOUSE. 'TPHE genus Eupatorium is an extensive one, consist- ing of some 400 species. Some, which are natives of North America, are hardy, but many that occur in the warmer districts require the protection of a greenhouse, llieir flowering season extends from the autumn till the spring, and all are extremely prolific in the production of blossoms. The first to flower is E. riparium, a loose-growing shrubby plant with a profusion of small white flowers, disposed in open clusters. Close after it, as a rule, or occasionally even in front of it, comes E. odnratissinnini (or Weinmannianum), a far more upright, compact- growing plant. Next to these in time of flowering comes E. petiolare, and from my point of view this is the best of all. It makes a bushy plant from 2 feet to 5 feet in height, and the flower heads are very suggestive of a single daisy in the bud state, being pink in the center and white towards the edges : after a time the petals protrude from the disc, and impart a fluft'y appearance to the flower heads. Individually the latter are about half an inch in diameter, white or nearly so when fully expanded, and borne in branching corymbs. They have a very agreeable perfume, and last well in water. The plant is of cut-and-come-again character. Apart from its use in this way, the eupatorium in question is verv orna- mental as a flowering specimen. E. adenophorum ( another name for which is E. tra- pezoideum) is a larger grower than the preceding, but if pinched freely good examples may be obtained from 4 to 5 feet in height, and nearly, if not quite, as much tlirough. The individual flower heads of this are about one-third of an inch across, and borne in flattened corymbs 4 inches or so in diameter. As a rule, this flowers during the latter part of the Winter and in early Spring. Soon after Christmas the blossoms of E. vernale ex- pand. This does not attain anything like the dimensions of the preceding, but is much valued as a pot plant, as it will flower freely when about 18 inches high. The blossoms are white, and borne in loose clusters. As spring advances the lilac-colored blossoms of E. ( Hebeclinium) ianthinum, a good deal like an enlarged ageratum, put in an appearance, as also do those of the deeper-tinted E. atro-rubens. These make good pot plants, and are in this way more useful than for cutting from. The culture of these Eujiatoriums is very simple, as they readily strike from cuttings in the spring, and grow away freely afterwards. The Summer treatment given to chrysanthemums will suit them well, as they are at that season better outside than under glass. As the pots become well filled with roots an occasional stimulant is very beneficial. Spring-struck cuttings may be flowered in pots 6 inches or more in diameter. — The Gardeners' Magazine (English). Always a Flower in the Garden IX the c(5ld grey days of winter the eye asks for cheer- hig color ; green is the easiest color to produce then. In a large garden ninch may be done by planting evergreen shrubs and those with variegated foliage, but in a little plot one jiiust rely on the blue grey of a bordering of old-fashioned Pinks, on the duller grey of Rosemary hedges, whose stems become a vivid green after autumn rains, and on the pale shading of Lavender and Santolina. These with the bright green of Wallflowers and the deeper hue of Sweet Williams refresh a mind weary with Winter's cold and form a charming background for the scanty and delicate hues of Winter flowers. Foremost among these I place the Winter Heath. Erica carnea is the species I have grown, but there are varieties as good or better. It lives in a bed edged with Box and carpeted with rock plants, and shows its pink blooms against the green of Aubrietia foliage and the grey of Cotton Lavender (Santolina). In the first season of its blooming it was a rich crimson, but succeeding years have only brought blossoms of the color of Ling. It blooms from November till February. I would like to grow Winter Aconite among the Aubrietia, but it re- fuses to live in this garden, otherwise January should see its cheerful little yellow flowers. Winter Coltsfoot ( Tussilago fragrans), sometimes called Winter Heliotrope, is a delicate and fragrant thing, pale pinkish mauve in color and delicious in scent, but rather inclined to want a lot of room for its abundant leaves. Iris stylosa grows in a wall garden with success and is a thing of beauty. Christmas Roses (Helleborus niger) will flower in the open, but to retain their exquisite purity they need some protection and shelter. Winter Sweet or Japanese Alls])ice ( Chimonanthus fragrans) will put forth flowers on a warm wall. So much for January. February, often "fair and fine" with "worst of Winter coming behin'." On the walls is the welcome scarlet of Japonica ; through the orchard grass peer "February's fair maids," the Snowdrops ; in stone vases on the terrace walls flame yellow Crocus : purple and white will follow later in the garden beds. There are also several delight- ful blue flowers, Chionodoxa Luciliae (Glory of the Snow), being the most brilliant; Scilla sibirica is very deep and rich in hue. Later come Grape and Feather Hyacinths (Muscari botryoides and M. plumosum). Nor must be forgotten that demurely charming shrub. Daphne Mezereum, its thin brow'u boughs clustered thick with blossoms of deep pink or pale mauve, to be ex- changed in autumn for yellow berries almost hidden by neat green leaves. After February, blustering March ; cold winds and strong sun shepherding the advance guard of the noble array of spring flowers which this month shares with April. Dafifodil, Violet and Primrose are three lovelv sisters of the spring, beautiful alike in field or garden, and each variety seeming in its special way loveliest of all. Sturdy Pirompton Stocks and fragrant Wallflowers fill the gar- den beds. To my mind a long stretch of Wallflowers in full bloom radiates light and heat, and bees think as I do, crowding to enjoy it. These plants begin in March and attain fulfilment in April ; the rock plants begin in April and are in full beauty in ]\tay. I speak now of flat beds edged with Box and filled in with Rock Cress (Aubrietia) of many hues, white Arabis and yellow Alvssum, also Saxifrages, pink and white. In May come Tulip, Iris, Crown Imperial : herbaceous Lupines send up spikes of blue : the Pasony leaves turn green from crimson brown ; the Kerria flaunts its golden buttons against the walls ; yellow Jessamine sheds a lovely scent ; Banksia Roses, yellow and white, peep modestly from the shelter of pale foliage. Sweetest of all is the breath of the Lily of the Valley. The flowers of May are many, but the flowers of June are more. Red of Roses, pink of Psonies, blue, pink and mauve of Canterbury Bells, crimson of Sweet Williams, blue of Delphiniums ; a riot of color in the beds, and on the paths the rich gold of self-sown Saxi- frage. So to the calmer moments of July when Summer is getting just a wee bit staid. Chimney Campanulas and Bellflowers give their more sober blue in place of vivid Delphiniinns, Balsams bloom, and French Marigolds and the scarlet Lychnis. Clumps of Carnations succeed the "river of white snow"' — the white Pinks that edged the long borders. "This is the month when Lilies do blow," pure ^Madonna, fiery Tiger Lily, scarlet Martagon, grace- ful lancifoliuni and all the rest of them. August is like the little pause which comes at the crest of high tide, the level quarter of an hour before the ebb sets out. This is the month when those who have spent hours of care tending and transplanting annuals reap the harvest of their labors. Snapdragons are now abloom and stately Hollyhocks, and the more artificial beauties of Geranium and Begonia. September ushers in the autumn flowers, which it shares with October. Anemones, Sunflowers, Red-hot Pokers, Michaelmas Daisies or Starworts, and Phlox in many colors, all these and many another beauty blend in shades of yellow and orange and mauve and white, harmonising with scarlet-tinted creepers on the walls and golden leaves on fading trees. Heliotrope greets you sweetly and modestly and seems as if bent on blooming forever, till there comes the sad morning when, after a shar]i frost overnight, you go to enjoy Heliotrope and find a mass of black, shrivelled stems. This may not be till November should the season be mild, but for the rest of the year the garden only con- tains the crumbs that fell from the table of Summer's feast. Chrysanthemums may possibly linger, but the chief beauty now to be found is in berries. The best of these are provided by the Rock Sprays (Cotoneaster macro- phylla and C. liorizontalis), whose wee white blossoms shone in the spring ; Ceanothus, which gave branches of lovely blue flowers in July: Summer .Allspice (Calvcan- ihus), whose dull crimson blooms showed in August; and several varieties of Barberry and of Thorn ( Cra- taegus Pyracantha, etc.). There are some good autumn- blooming Veronicas. Myrtles bear dull black fruits where once were starry white flowers, and in the borders Red Giant Mignonette and the dainty flowers and seed vessels of Love-in-a-Mist, or Nigella defy frost and blossom crisply. So the year creeps on to Christmastide. Yellow Jes- samine (Jasminum nudiflorum) and Winter Heath be- gin to bloom to link the old year with the new, and many a plant that made us gay in Spring brings a second offering to make us glad in Winter. The Rock Cress shows little sprays of mauve and pink, perennial Wall- flowers give a gay patch of yellow in a corner of an old grey wall, a Pansy peeps out shyly, Love-in-a-Mist creeps softly round red-berried Rosa rugosa, autumn Molets smell even sweeter than in Spring'. T\Ianv a flower ot >ummer Iitts a reproachful face that I should have left its name unmentioned in the calendar 1.^ 16 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA of the year, but between the Daisy and the Rose are crowds of flowers, and none can count them all. It is Christmas now : the Holy Thorn prepares to open its pale buds at the Epiphany, and a West Country girl always expects to find a Rose in the garden to wear on Christmas Day. — S. Hope Evans in The Garden (Eng- lish). I ADORNMENT OF HOME GROUNDS. X all the world no country surpasses America in in- spiring scenery. Nature has been very lavish in this respect, but with many Americans there seems to be a great lack of appreciation, as shown in the way in which the natural beauty of our scenery is frequently defaced or entirely destroyed. The most attractive and inspiring element in any land- scape is its trees. A denuded mountain-side or hill-slope is comjiaratively devoid of beauty or interest ; a river winding through a land stripped of trees has lost its greatest charm. Hill and valley and far-reaching plain are largely dependent on the trees for their scenic effects. And yet we in this country have hacked away at our forests, once the finest in the world, leaving mountains, hills and plains almost treeless, and only in recent times iiave we begun to realize that in our haste to gain wealth, build cities, lay out highways and construct railroads, we have neglected or destroyed that which is quite as neces- sary for right living — inspiring scenery and beautiful surroundings. We ourselves may not be able to replace the trees on the bare hill-slopes or in the valleys about us ; that, in most cases, is a task which calls for state or national effort, but individually we can improve our home sur- roundings by providing a proper setting of trees and shrubs in the yard and along the roadway. If every home-owner in town or country would do this the result would be a remarkable improvement in appearance, a greater degree of comfort and healthfulness and a marked appreciation in the value of his own and adjacent prop- erty. The embellishment of home grounds is not an ex- pensive or difficult operation. In the case of extensive grounds it is advisable to consult a landscape artist be- fore undertaking the work of planting, but with the ])lot a little careful planning on the part of the owner will enable him to make a pleasing arrangement. One thing amateur planters are apt to lose sight of — that little trees grow to be big ones — and they often make the mistake of setting too thickly or too near build- ings. When planting such varieties as elms, oaks and maples, forty or fifty feet apart is about right unless one expects to cut out alternate trees in after years. Shrubbery and the smaller evergreens are more orna- mental and pleasing if planted in groups about the grounds, and are excellent for the purpose of hiding un- desirable views or objects on the premises. "Best re- sults are obtained with nothing individually conspicuous. The beauty of the whole is greater than the beauty of any part," says an authority on landscape art. The Winter months afford an excellent opportunity for all who contemplate tree planting to make suitable plans and to prepare lists of stock required. A study of books on the subject and of the catalogues of leading nursery- men will be helpful, and there are many works on land- scape architecture that give all the needed information regarding proper arrangement, etc. A little time spent during this period of comparative leisure will put any- one in a position to plant the right kinds at the proper time and in the most suitable location. — Tree Talk. THE COLORADO BLUE SPRUCE. A T one time or another every conifer which had any chance of surviving has been tried in the Arnold .Krboretum, and some useful information on the value of the different exotic and .'\merican species, with the excep- tion of a few of the new introductions from China as orna- mental trees in this climate, has been obtained from the Arboretum experiments. Considering how generally un- favorable the New England climate is for trees of this class, the large number that succeed here is surprising, although it must be remembered that in this climate manv conifers, especially spruces and firs, are often at their best when not more than forty or fifty years old, and that as they grow older they gradually fail and lose their value as ornamental trees. This is true of the so-called Colo- rado Blue Spruce (Picca puHs:ens), which is still one of the most popular conifers in the Northern United States, where it is propagated and planted in immense numbers, in spite of the fact that it early loses its value as an orna- mental tree. The blue spruce is very hardy, is easily raised and grows rapidly ; young plants are of good shape and dense habit with their lower branches resting on the ground. There are two forms, one with dull green and tlie other with blue leaves, and the latter especially ap- peals to persons who are fond of unusual looking and sensational plants. For the nurseryman the blue spruce has everything to recommend it, easy germination of the seed, quick growth and unusual beauty in the young plants, and therefore a certainty of a quick sale. For the planter looking for something more important than a plant for a city garden or a small suburban yard this tree has proved a failure. It is not surprising, for Picea piiugois growing in small groves near streams in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, long before it attains its full size is a thin, scrawny, miserable look- ing tree with a few short branches only near the top of the stem. This tree was discovered in 1862 ; seed was planted the following year in the Harvard Botanic Garden, and one of the plants raised at that time is still alive in the Arboretum on the southern slope of Bussey Hill where it is kept as a warning for planters who are deceived by the beauty of young plants of the blue spruce. — Arnold Arboretum Bulletin. BURNING OF LEAVES WASTEFUL M^ ANY tons of valuable fertilizer are wasted every year through our practice of raking the fallen leaves from lawns and parks into the street and burning them. We destroy one of the best of nature's fertilizers, that on which she relies for the renewal of the vegetable humus in the soil. All nature's protection is removed in the interest of tidiness ; then we wonder why lawns must be so fre- quently resodded a^d why grass seed "won't catch." The fallen leaves protect the roots of grass and shrubs from the freezing and thawing of Winter, and deposited in a corner of the back yard with a little earth thrown over to prevent them from blowing away, in a year or two are converted into what the forester calls "duff," an organic material which makes the loam that grows the farmer's best crops. It is an excellent top dressing for the lawn, and enrichment for flowers and shrubs, and, mixed with a little ordinary earth, a most desirable soil for filling the window boxes and repotting plants — something hard to get in town. It is invaluable to the amateur gardener who utilizes his back yard, and yet it is almost invariably wasted. We pay thousands of dollars every year for phosphates and nitrates, and overlook this valuable product of nature's laboratory. — Detroit Free Press. ^'imiiiiiiiiiiiiminiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiHiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiuimiiii umiiiii i miiiii muiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiimiiiiiHiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiimiiiiifliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinuiiG The Greenhouse Month to Month I By W. R. Fowkes, New York. i inu 'if til lia\c le' lilts fioni tlir cdinmittees on Xomendature and alsd Bird Preservation for the February issue of the Chroxuxe. I icail with iiitciest tie secretary s enninieiit on the absence of must ct' llio Xew Liiglaiiil lacnileis and will liave tri afjvee with him that tluy I'ave bei n >adly missed at tlie hist two conventions. As there are several i^ast presidents among their number, from wliiini ill t'..e I a~i wo could .ih\ays expect something new and pro- j;iessivc ill lark niattcis. we inisfed tl-ese members very much. Well here's hoping we may see them all in St. Louis this fall. I have received seveial communicati^ms fiom members, contain- ing very good suggestions, which I hojie to see Jiut in practice vet y soon. Hut 1 expected a great many more and want to again ask the meml;erfi| to bear in mind that all suggestions will lie ap- preciated. The members should send p'notographs of buildings, playgrounds, athletic fields, stadiums or any other interesting work which they may have. Kach issue should contain several photographs in con- junction witii the reports and notes as it would tend to make our official organ more attractive, also perhaps help other members decide on the style of building or work for their particlular system. Again 1 ask every member to boost for the best attended con- vention at St. Louis next fall. Urge every member you know who is doubtful of attending to come along. Til warrant from what I saw of the St. Louis officials and other citizens two years ago, on the return of the members from the coast when we stopped ofi' for a day in that city, that they will make everything so aureeable tliat no one will regret attending. A large attendance will tend to increase the membership and adiaiice the aims of the organization, and that, I lielieve, is what every member wishes to see accom- plished. Xow fellow members when you receive the Chkonki.e don't just glance over tliis and then liy it aside, but make u]i your miiiils to do something to furtber the interests of tliis oigiuiization. Pe up and doiii^ and do it now. JOHX F. WAI>SIL .Tr.. President ]•;. K. Sheinian. Commissioner of Parks at Sioux Falls. South Dakota, and a memlier of the association for many years, died last June, the secretary has recently learned. Kvery member should read the article "A Park Superintendent's Funetion." which will be found elsewhere in this issue. It is a most valuable contribution and should be called to the attention of commissioners, as it is brim full of hard facts liy one wlio knows from practical experience. Tliis article was the annual address of Past President E. T. Misclie at the Xew Orleans ennvention. but was not delivered in full, its .Mr. Misclie very modestly eiirlniled it on accourit of the short time allotted, heme it will be of inii'cst even to those who attended the convention. Frederick Law Olmsted's paper, ••Playgrounds in I'arks From a Designer's .Standpoint," ha,'-, attracted a great deal of attention. having been printed in a number of publications of national circula- tion. The papers and addresses of our Xew Orleans con\'ention. by Olmstead. Sialey. Weir and Jlische oimstitute, in the jud.gment of many, the most valuable group of contributions to our work of an.v single convention in recent .years. The jiroceedings of our X'ew Orleans convention are in the hands of the lu'inter at the time this is written and will no doubt be in the hands of the memliers by the time this is read. The secretary had hoped to have this delivered prior to the holidays, but delay in securing complete notes of the convention, also photos of officers for cuts, made this impossible. The following have been drop|ied from our ndls in accordance with o\ir by-laws, for non-payment of dues, but can be re-instated within the year by full payment of arrears: .Tolin II. Rcatty. Xew York: Edgnr JI. P.rown. Hartford; Alex Ciinunings, .Ir.. Cromwell. Conn. : Ricliard C. Driver. Lyneliburg. Va. ; Edw. JI. Swiggett. I'ticn. X. Y. : Richard Tacke. I.,exington, Ky., Geo. Walker. Water- bury. Conn.; W. .1. Zartman. Brooklyn. X. Y. : .1. H. Blackwood, Wm. J. Stewart, editor of Horticulture of Bo.ston. has resigned on account of minimizing the number of organizations which he- l;elongs to. C M. Loring. the "Father of the Minneapolis Park System," has recovered from a very severe illne.ss and is so.iourning at River- side. Cal.. fiU' the winter, where he presides as superintendent of the wonderful Huntington Park. Fred C. Alber. for many years superinteudeiu and commissioner of parks at Cleveland. Ohio, has abandoned park work and is now a maniifactiirer. his firm being the Champion Stove Co. of Cleveland. Mr. Alber is well known to many of our members, ha\ing attended several conventions and all will regret liis retire- ment from park circles, althongh wishing him well in his new venture. Lyman Xewell is his successor at Cleveland. J. J. Levison. former .secretary of the association and for many years forester of Prospect I'ai-k in Brooklyn, is now forester for the Department of Parks of Xew York City. This is a well-de- served recognition of his ability as a tree specialist, ami he has a great work before him in connection with the street tree problem of the metropolis. Our members. F. L. Mnltord and (Jeo. W. Hess, took an active part in the recent annual conventiim of the X'ational As.sociation of Cardiners. held at Wa.shington, D. C. Theodore \Mitli was elected as vice-president of the association. Henry Cleveland, superintendent at Duluth. .Minn, has assumed a new title in connection with the new form of government in- stalled in this city which eliminated the Park Board. Mr. Cleve- land is now the \\ bole show as far as the park department is con- cerned with tlie title of superintendent and manager. .lohn W. Duncan is making an eflfm-t to secure from members accurate data regarding niunieipal golf course operation, from which he will compile a chart which will be used by the association for the members' benefit. Chas. L. Seybold. supervisor of parks at Wilke.s-Barre. Pa., is Imsy on plans for the improvement of a O.'i acre municipal athletic and military drill field, which is to be added to the recreation svstem. W. IT. niinman, for several years connected with the de|iartment of horticulture at the University of X'ebraska. on .Tanuary 1 assumed the position of superintendent of parks at Colorado Spring. Colo., succeeding .Tolin B. Lang. Both are members of the association. Will O. Doidittle. superintendent at Jlinot. Xorth IHikota. and one of our new members, sends in a neat pamphlet which his city issues, calling attention to the facilities offered to the public by the park system. A unique feature is an iiiviiation to farmers of the surrounding country to use the parks of Minot for recreation purposes in con- nection with picnics, grange meetiir^s. etc. Louisville, Ky.. has comiileted the re-organization of its park deiiartment. Harry S. Smith, secretaiy of the board, assuming the ti'Ie of general manager and acting as executive oHicer. Superin- tendent Louis Kettig retains his standing and title, but is relieved of all duties in connection with oflice work, confining himself to supervision of all maintenance and construction. A supervisor of recreation will handle all playground activities and policing will be handled by a separate head. This plan of organization is a development of the managerial form of government and is in successful operation in a luiiuber ef cities. While it is a]iparently a relimiuislmient of authority by the superintendent, in iiractice it means that he is relieved of a mass of office and clerical work to which luany of our liest [lark superintendents are ill-adapted, and leaves him free to de\ote liim- self to outdoor operation and construction. 28 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA |iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiii^ i National Association of Gardeners I I Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. James Stuart, Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. | I Theo. \\'irth, Vice-President , Minneapolis, Minn. M.vrtix C. Eiiel. Seerelary, Madison, N. J. i I Trustees far n/iy 1 I William Kleinlieiiiz. Ogontz, Pa.; John F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff. Orange, N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J.; | i William H. Duckliam, Madison, N. J. 1 I Directors | i (To serve until 1918)— William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J,; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove. N. Y. ; Carl N. | 1 Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, X. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. | = (To serve until 1919) — John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; § = John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David l-'raser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C. : (To | 1 serve until 1920) — William N. (Traig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal. ; William Gray, i i Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. i Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiii:iiiHiiii;iiii:iiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:fiiiiii;iiiiiiiii:iiii:iiii;iiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. Fellow niembPi-.'i : The lionur bestowed upon nie at your conven- tion in Washington in Decemlier. electins me to the presidency o£ onr national association is accepted with keen appreciation. It comes to me, as I believe, at a most opportune time, for the West is now onyagcd in thi' work of (levelo])ini; many extensive private estates with interest sjireail- ing in ornamental horticulture and opening up greater opportunities for those engaged in our profession of gardening than ever before, as you will realize when you attend our next annual convention, which is to be held in the city of Chicago. The work ahead of us as a national body is great and it is up to all of us to get together this year and make our association the strong- est organization of its kind in the country; it^ aim being to lietter the position of tlie gar- dener through advancing the interest of orna- mental horticulture alid by creating a better under standing among those re- quiringthe serv- ices of gardeners of what reall.v constitutes effi- ciency in gar- dening. The members should strive to direct attention to their national association whenever the occasion pre- sents itself and in this wa.v as- sist in firmly establishing the association as a potent factor in horticulture, for wliatever is ac- complished by the association is naturall.v in the interest of »,.t^_,», ^.,.^„. and to the bet- MARTIN CEBEL ferment of the szcy gardener and to him only. In striving to get all you can interested in our association, do not overlook the fact that we all had our start at the bottom of tlie ladder and tliat there are hundreds of young men who are starting out in our profession who need our assistance in many ways, and, when you find them worthy, endea\or to induce ranks through membership, for it is anion: THOMAS W. HEAD PRESIDENT them to join our this class of young services of gardeners, as the reliable source to which to turn to secure capable men ; so whenever you hear of a position being offered, or when in need of assistants, do your part by advising our secretary: thus you will be helping the association as well as yourself, for it is from among our members that we should en- deavor to fill these positions if possible, re- membering that such positions as well as the ones we occupy are what we ourselves make them. for. "Tlierc's only one iviiy of meeting life's test, ■I list keep on striving and hope for the hest. Don't give up the ship and retire in dismay, Because hammers are thrown when you'd like -a, bouquet. Xow, this icorhl uould be tiresome, tce'd all get the blues. If all the folks in it held the same views. .^0. continue uour u-ork. show the best of your skill. Some people uou't like it. but other folks will." At this time. I should also like to firing to your attention the lack of ar- ticles written by members for our ofl'cial or- gan, and I ask all to strain a point and see if you cannot find time to send in. if not a long article, some short writeup of any- thing pertaining to horticulture, especially when in connection with our daily labors and to use The (Jar- dkners' Chrok- u i.E more freely in asking ques- JAMES STUAR-t tions. ■^'^^■^^- That our next icinvciitiou is to lie held in Chicago is most gratifying to me and I know also to many others of our western members, as this is the lirst time our association has ever held a con- vention in the west, and so it will be the am- liition of myself and my co-workers to make the 1P17 annual meeting the most important in organization. de\'otiug time for free discussion I i men that we must look to fill the various positions that come under us as managers, superintendents and head gardeners, and in time to fill the positions which are now occupied by the older men in the profession. I wish to call your attention to the Service Bureau, which while it has not as yet developed to the department it should, is gradually becoming recognized by estate owners and others requiring the the history of our of subjects of vital interest to our profession, which should always be one of the predominating features of our conventions, while not overlooking instructive entertainment as a part of our program. I believe we can make our annual conventions of value to members, and compensate them for the time devoted to these annual meetings and the distance traveled to attend them, through the knowledge they will gain in the exchange of views by men who are the lead- ers of our profession. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 29 Soliciting the active suii|poit nf tlip innnliers in luy administra- tion and their co-operation with diu- viii'loiis 1hdorraiw [DORRAllURSERIES \\^\^i'' L'l suits. <^ ou add HUMUS and PLANT FOODS to depleted soils vou cannot cxpcc DIAMOND BRAND COMPOST Well-Rotted Horse Manure— Dried, Ground and Odorless. is free from weed seeds, largely HU.MUS and abounds in plant foods. It will also stituulate bacteriogical action in the soil. A large grower aptly says "Stable ilaindc is the only thing that sup- plies alt the needs for trucb gardening, greenhouses and lawns, zeith one applieation." Give your lawn a coating of Compost — need not be raked otT — it will hold the moisture during the summer and keep your grass green. Use it in your vegetable and flower gardens official State Analysis sliows: Nrtroyen 2.0Q per teiil.. Plutsplu.ric Acid 2.37. Potash 1.70V Put up in bags 100 lbs. each. 2 lb. sample box 15c. Write for Cir- NEW YORK STABLE MANURE CO. 273 WASHINGTON 5T.JERSEYCtTY..N.J. \ \ IM T"he seeds listed in the Thorburn Catalog are of just one quality — the best. You run no risk in using them — they will yield you a splendid return for the time, labor and money you invest in their planting and cultivation. In spite of conditions abroad, which make importations ir- regular, the assortment of seeds offered in our 1917 catalog is unusually attractive and complete. The cultural directions given represent the experience gained during the 1 1 5 years this firm has been in the seed business. Send for the catalog now, Lt that your order may be \jr made up in good season. K, J. M. Thorburn & Co. Established 1802 53U Barclay Street, through to 54 Park Place New York M THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Tile retii'iug iiri'sidem was given n risins vole of thanks for his services (luiini: the past .year. Mr. Miller liriefly responded in 4i few well chosen remarks and tlianked all those who had helped to make his term of office pleasant and helpful, and trusted the same genenms supjiort would be given his worthy successor. Kriiest Kiibiusou, of the Plant Estate, ex- hibited a plant of \'auda Uoerulea in tiower. STAXLEY JORDA.V. Sec\ KIVERDALE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. '1 he aljoM- society held its reiiidar niontli- Jy meeting Tuesday, January 9, 1917. The topic for discussion was Koses, by .loi.u Brunger, president of the society. He be- ^an by giving his early e.xperiences when first coming to the coiuitry, toucliing upon the old-time method of growing and varie- ties then used. \\lien one realized, lit \vent on to say what vast changes had since taken place right up to the present day, it clearly showed what a wonderfid i>rogrcss had been accomplished. As was to be expected from a |iractical man, much valuable information could be gathered from his remarks, although he fully emphasized the fact that no set iileas coulil lie given, rather it depended absolutely on location, soil and varieties. AVliat one man was successful with, others failed with, and so on. In the discussion, which the \-arions mem- bers took keen interestin, were shown many instances (luite contrary to one another, but all bearing evidence of their successful ef- forts. Time to depart came all too soon, whereupon a vote of thanks was tendered to the lecturer for his able remarks on Roses. The essay for the next meeting is on 8hrubs, by Mr. Albert Jlillard, T\-ho is high- ly known as an authority" on that suliject and whose equal is rarely met. The society moved a vote of appreciation be recorded on the miuutes for essay on The .lapanese Garden, forwarded recently from the National Association of Gardeners. F. BATEMAN, Sec. WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD HORT. SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the West- chester and Fairtield Horticultural Society was held in Hubbard's Hall, Greenwich. Conn.. Friday evening. .January I'J. Jlr. Stuart, in a very able and instructive manner installed the new office-bearers for llllT. Mr. Whitton. the newly elected in-esi- dent then took charge of the meeting. There was a good attendance of members and they were well repaid for coming out on such a cold night by seeing one of the tiiiest displays of flowers and pot plants ever seen, at any of our meetings. The judges made the following awards for the exhibits of the eve- ning : Cultured Certificate to William Gra- ham for two fine vases of Carnations, (iood Cheer and Pink Sensation. William Whitton was awarded a Cultural Certificate for a beautiful vase of White Kil- larney Ro.ses. he also got a Cultural Certifi- t'ate for six plants of Primula Malacoides. These plants were in ten-inch iiots and were quite an exhibit themselves. .Joseph Stuart was awarded a Cultural Cer- tificate for a vase of Cahuithus Vietchii. This flower showed up fine mixed with P>uddleya Asiatica. .John Forbes was also awarded a Cultural Certificate for a very fine vase of Laclia \n- oeps. Robert Grunart was highly commended for five vases of sweet peas, also for vase of JIatchless Carnations. .John Harper was highly conunendKl for a rew Seedlii'g Carnation : the .lodges would like !o see the ]ilaiits growing liefire pissing If You Would Have England's Wonderful Gardens, plant Sutton's Seeds YUV know there was a time, years ago, when travelers returning from Eng- land, filled with the charm of her wonderful gardens, thought it was impos- sible to have like results in America. Happily for you, the facts are exactly to the contrary. Surely, nowhere, for e.xample, are there lovelier gardens than at Lenox and Tuxedo. Gardens filled with the choicest things; the unusual things; such as are the con- tinual pride of their possessors. In these gardens, Sutton's Seeds are used extensively. The one below at Lenox, Mass., is a delightful instance. -Aside from the wonders of Sutton's Ray .Asters. Phlox, Giant .Antirrhinum of gold medal fame; this year's catalog contains the usual number of interesting new things. Every one has been painstakingly tested and has abundantly proven its merits. Xo seeds, so it is commonly acknowl- edged, are tested quite so vigorously as Sut- ton's. That is why they are uniformly depend- able. Send for our Garden Guide. So costly is this superb catalog that we customarily charge 35 cents for it. But to you, as a Gardener's Chronicle reader, we u ill send it free. Royal Seed Establishment — Reading, England WINTER, SON & CO. 66-C Wall Street, New York. Sole Agents East of the Rocky Mountains. THE SHERMAN T. BLAKE CO.. 431 -C Sacramento St., San Francisco, Cal. Sole Agents West of tl'; Rocky Mountains. •'.,4s-^S^ '-1 ■'■•K-r-l;*- . y- t>^ 1. *' further .indgment on them. The thanks of the Society were also awarded by .John .An- drew fin- plant of Begonia Ciniinnatta. to William Graham for three heads of cauli- Hower. to J{obert Grunart for two vases of Carnations and to P. W. Popp for vase of Freesi.'i. *f'e- a "cod deal of discussion it was de- cii'el not to bold our annual concert and dniic\ but to have a smoker instead; so the J'yiMct've Coir.n'ittee was to arrange matters for holding same, after the business of the February meeting was finished. Mr. Sealey then read a \ery interesting es- say on "How to Grow Bush and Standard Mums." which was en.ioyed very much by the members present. He was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his instructive pa- per. Three new members were elected and two applications were filed. A, G, ( J.A1;T\S()X. (orr. Sec. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 00 NASSAU COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Tho ivRiilar inpotin.ff of flic soi-icty was held in Pembriiki- Hall. Gleu Cove, mi Wednesday. January 10. President James McCarthy in the chair. E. J. Brnwn, cliairman of tlie Dinner Com- mittee reported progress and it is hoped there will be a good turnout at our animal dinner to be held January 2::! at the Oriental Hotel, Olen Cove, at 6.30 p. m. Andrew Kennedy, New York, and Arthur Harri.i of Glen Cove, were elected members and one iietitimi was received. The presi- dent apiiciinted Uobert .Tones, James (ilad- stone and Samuel J. Trepess to act as ,jud.2;es for the monthly exhibits and their decisions were as follows : First — John F. Johnson. for one pot of Primula Malacoides : Ilarry Goodband fin- three Poinsettias. and Harry Goodband for 12 sprays of Freesias. Special mention to .lames Duthie for a pot of Pri- mula XIalai-oides. Townsendi. Mr. Tuthie. who is the orisinator of this valuable type of Malacoides, upon request of the .iudges, gave us a very interestins ttilk on the lii.s- tory of this variety. Samuel J. Trepess ably read a very inter- esting and instructive essay from the Garden- ers' National Association, entitled. "The Gardener and His Profession." by W. N. Craig, M.iss. This essay was thoroiislily en- jo.ved by all members present and a motion was made and carried that a letter of thanks be .sent to the author. James Duthie then read an essay fnnn the National .\ssociation. by John Johnson, en- titled, "The Japanese Garden." This also proved very interestins: and a letter of thanks was ordered sent to the author. Exhibits for the Febrnary meeting to be held on the 14th at 2 p. m. sharp, are : Twelve Mixed Roses, si.K Tomatoes, and one pot of Cvclemen. HARRY GOODBAND, Cor. Secy. SEWICKLEY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY The regular meeting of the above was held in the "Odd Fellows Hall." on January 9. Vice-Pi-esident Boxell presiding. After the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved, the Chairman called upon .Tames Scott. Elmsford. N. Y., to install the office-bearers f.u- 1017 as follows: John A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN .\ pure plant iaod. unlcaclicd and uiiburnt: proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen, .\bsorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Kequires months of preparation. Try a bag! One 100-lb. bac, $1.35 I Four 100-lb. bac<. $4.00 Two lOO-lb. bags, 2.50 Five 100-lb. bags, 4.50 Tbree 100-lb. bags, 3.50 I Six 100-lb. bags. 5.00 F. O. B. New York or .Jersey City on any Railroad or Steamboat Line Send check or money order with order MAGIC HUMUS CO. ti. \V. Cir.xNDLEB, Sales .\mnt 264 WEST 34th STREET, NEW YORK 40 PETERS PLACE, RED BANK, N. J. U-Bar Greenhouses — How They Differ THEY differ mainly in being made ot galvanized, alu- minum tinished U-Bars. These U-Bars make a complete steel frame that is as enduring as it is light and strong. From the outside, they have a pleasing grace and refinement. 1^'rom the inside, their sunshiny lightness gives the im- pression of being inside a bubble of glass. When it comes to comparing them with other green- houses, it is hardly fair to them. Hardly fair, because they are of necessitj- constructed so differently. We say of necessity, because no other concern can use the U-Bar greenhouse frame in their construction. .\11 of which is stating the U-Bar differing points but briefly. Our catalog gives an extended explanation. Send for it. Or send for us. Or both. U-BAR GREENHOUSES Barnet, president ; A. E. Boiicey, vice-presi- dent : J. Carnum, secretary : \Y. Thomson, Jr., treasurer. Executive Committee ; Alex Davidson, chairman, R. Boxell, \Y. Thomson, Sr., 0. Pattou and W. Gillies. It was resol\-ed to hold a show during Sep- tember, date and arrangements for same to be decided later. James Scott, for Scott Bros, showed his generosity by subscribing ten dollars to the Show Fund. The same gentleman as lecturer of the eve- ning prefaced his remarks by saying what pleasure it gave him to install the new of- tice-hi^arers. Ha\ing kiio\\'n some of them for a niimber of years, he felt sure that they would rise to the occasion and do their be.st b.v the Society. Taking up his subject, he dealt witli horti- culture as a profession, enlarging on its vast possibilities, and the elevating effect it had upon those wdio were engaged in the work. GLASS CLOTH A transparent waterproof fabric, guaranteed to generate about tlie same warmth and light as glazed sash, or money back. For all forc- ing purposes. .Sample 5x6 feet. -SOc. prepaid. PLANT FORCERS TURNER BROS., Bladen, Nebraska He tried to impress upon all the importance of theoretical knowledge, especially the .sci- ences of botany and chemistry. Se\'eral members of the Western Pennsyl- vania Society were present, and Da\id Fra- zer .spoke of the po.ssibilities of a Chrysanthe- mum Show in Pittsburgh for next Fall. The following members brought exhibits: •T. Barnet, tomatoes, "Carter's Sunrise." M. Curran, a well grown plant of Primula Mala- coides. a Hue spray of Buddleya Asiatica and Moschosma Reiiarii. ^V. Thomson, Jr. showed fine types Pri- mula (»be(uiica and the double form of Pri- mula Malacoides. G. Reig, some exceptionally fine spikes of Moschosma Rpparii and a plant of that old- timer Eranthemuni Bulchellum. J. CARMAN, Secy. ^ / \ f CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO IMAMUFACTURERB PHILADELPHIA, PA. A \ / k: 36 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Boddington's Garden Guide 1917 NOW READY It contains all that is new and best in Sweet Peas, Flower and Vegetable Seeds, also Kunderd's new Gladioli. If you are an intendiny exhibitor send for your copy now. Arthur T. Boddington Co., Inc. 128 Chambers St., New York City BEGONIA »« • _. 0„JJ„_ This beautiful variel.v originated MarieniOnt rieaaer. on the estate of Mis. T. J. Emery, Newport, K. I., where it is extensively used in beds and borders. It is the hnest bedding variety grown, very compact, with small, reddish brown foliage and a perpetual bloomer. Tlie flowers arc of the most brilliant scarlet and so freely produced that the foliage is almost hidden. If the plants are lifted in the Fall, cut h.nck and taken into the house, they make one of the finest Winter bloomers. Small Pkt. 25c. Large Pkt. 50c. THREE BEST FORCING TOMATOES , Comet, Pkt. 2Sc. Lister's Prolific, Pkt. 25c. Crockfcrd's Alaska, Pkt. 50c. THOMAS J. GREY COMPANY THE SEEDSMEN 16 South Market St. Boston, Mass. '«ss?»asE':^9 Begonias, Lilies g I Cy^^ie. SEEDS ^^^^^ I I Kir^v^^^.d^fn^^oor PLANTS I i Wrile for 160-page 1917 Catalog FREE g I Cbicago VAUGHAN'S SEED STORE New York [ Piiiiii I iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiminiiiiiii! iiiiiiiiitiiuiiiiiimiiiiini iiiiinniiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin Hardy Native Trees and Flowering Shrubs i RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM A SPECIALTY J Send for Price List | THE CHARLES G. CURTIS COMPANY | Collectors and Growers | CALLICOON, N. Y. I 3;iiiiiiiiliiiiiiilllllllllillililiUllllliiiiiiiiilillliiiiiiiiiiilllliiiuiiiiiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJi^ I IMPORTED ORCHIDS | i H you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. i I JOSEPH MAMDA.Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist I I WEST ORANGE, N. J. I ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiininiiiwiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim^^^^ ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN I ORCHIDS I s We are Specialists in Orchids, we collect, grow, import, export anil g E sell orchids esclusively. If you are in the market for Orchids we | I solicit your inquiries and orders, Catalogues and special lists on | E application. 1 I Lager & Hurrell, Orchid Growers and Importers. SUMMIT, N. J. | ^lllllllllUllllllllllllllllllllllilllirilltllllllllllllllllllllllKI[|IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!llllll!IIIIM ^iiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^^^^^ I GREENHOUSE SHADING § Write for particulars. j E. A. LIPPMAN, Manufacturer j 6 HIGH STREET. MORRISTOWN, N. J. ^iiiiiiiiiiiuiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiJininiiJiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiniiiiHuiiiiuMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin jjiiiiiiiiiii)iiiKii{!i!i[tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiun iiuT ronfiisi' tho ninislurf-trt.H*. finely gramilated Preijared Alphano. Willi the water-logged, generally sour, so-called ' ■natural" humus, which is nothing more nor less than inert swamp muck. PREPARED ALPHANO The Organic Fertilizer With a Guarantee Ttie Inie Prepared Alphano is a dry. finely i^raoulated organie fertilizer, adding concentrated humus and plant foods to the soil. It is at once active and beneficial. VELVETY lawns without weeds. Vigorous shrubbery and tree growth. Flowers of increased size and beauty. Veg- etables greater in j'ield and succu- lence. Your soil at once enriched and permanently bettered. You can accomplish all this at small cost and effort by doing it The Alphano Way The clean, sanitary waj', without stench, disease germs or caustic ac- tion. Prepared .A.lphano is a well bal- anced organic fertilizer, made from rich organic matter in concentrated form, skilfully blended with the plant foods found in chemical fertilizers. It carries in active form, all the important soil bacteria that force the earth to liberate plant food, and the air to lend its nitrogen to plant growth. Prepared Alpkano is Xalure's bal- anced soil ration. It puts the most into the soil, gets the most out of that soil and per- manently benefits that soil for the least inonev. We Stand Back of It It has ten years of fertility pro- ducing success to its credit. Pre- pared Alphano, if used as directed, will and must make good. We stand without question, back of every pound sold. Price Advance March 1st Due to the increased cost of labor, fuel and raw materials used in the manufacture of .Alphano, a con- sistent advance in price has become imperative. This increase gives you assurance of the quality being main- tained. It hardly seemed fair, however, to make such an advance without first giving both our old customers and prospective new ones, a chance to Ijuy at the old prices. After March First, price per ton in bags will be $15 instead of $12. — Price per ton in bags bv carload. $12 instead of $10. 5 10" lb. Bans fc- S5 '^'2 i ton -n l-ags $10 a ton in bags by the carload $8 a ton in bulk by tne ca''load F. O. B. Alphano, N. J. 1 hcsc price-'' !n'l(i good until March Ist only — Price per ton in bulk bv carload, $10 instead of $8. — Price on 5 100-lb. bags will for the present remain the same. $5. Even at the advanced price, it is far cheaper than any fertilizer of anything like an equal in plant foods alone, regardless of the high value of the concentrated hutnus it con- tains. Rot Proof Bags Alphano is now put up in rot proof bags, thus insuring its safe arrival to you in good condition, and can be stored safely if desired. Railroads are still moving freight slowly, so order early. It's the only sure way of getting it early. Take advanlai'e of its present ton.' price. The Alphano Book is a soil fer- tilizing guide and friend. The Lawn Book tells of their care and fare, and how to make theiri. Either or both, you arc welcome to. For those who want HL'ML'S only, we offer our sun-dried, com- posted. Natural Humus at $5 per ton in bulk carloads. F. O. B. Alphano, N. J. This we believe to be superior to any other natural humus on the market. It comes from cultivated I'lelds of nroven fertilitv. AtpKamio riutTLU^ Co^ 17-G Battery Place Established 1905 New York THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 37 Young Chicks $15.00 to $20.00 per 100 Hatched from Hens Eggs and not the weaklings that have been hatched from Pullet Eggs Delivery in March, April, May and June Follow Nature — Your Best Guide Pullet eggs cannot produce strong chicks, they will ' be weak and undeveloped, just struggling along to live, and finally 75% or more will die. Chicks hatched from Hens Eggs are strong and robust and will pay for themselves tivice over. That is the sort of chick we are offering you. We guarantee the safe arrival of Chicks, and we will make good on any Chicks that die in transit, caused by rough handling of express companies, pro- vided the express receipt is properly signed by the consignee showing the number of dead birds received, and the said receipt is sent to us. During the season, we can deliver Chicks at short notice, from Hatches coming off weekly, such breeds as Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, White Rocks, White, Brown and Buff Leghorns, White Wyan- dottes. Etc., making shipment two or three days after receiving your order. We can furnish other varieties of Chicks not men- tioned above, if sufficient time is given us for hatching. We have in our salesrooms at all times, Pullets, Hens, Cockerels, Cocks, of various breeds. Ducks, Turkeys, Etc., also Pet Stock, such as Dogs, Pigeons, Etc., and a complete line of Poultry Supplies. Do not fail to consult our Practical Poultrymen when in doubt about anything pertaining to Poultry. // yoii have not received our Illus- trated Poultry Catalogue, advise us and copy will be mailed at once Remember they are not catalogue salesmen, but men who own Poultry Farms, and will give you practical advice free of charge. Free instructions given to our customers on ca- ponizing, provided they bring their birds to us, so that our poultry salesmen can give the proper instructions. This caponizing is taught free to those only who purchase goods of us. The MacNiff Horticultural Co. 52, 54 and'56 VESEY STREET NEW YORK The Largest Horticultural, Seed, Plant and Poultry Salesrooms in the World 38 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Mystic Orchids Friends Well Worth Cultivating OF all Mother Nature's creations, the orchid truly makes the most persistent appeal to that seeking for the elusive: the mys- tical; that finds a place (no matter how deeply buried) in most of us. In the large variety of greenhouses which we have on our xmder-glass acres, we are able to secure the widely differing conditions so essen- tial to the fullest development of the different varieties of the orchid. We not only import ex- tensively, but you will be surprised to learn, also grow them from seeds. VVe are able to satisfy your desires for orchid friends, from a choice, well-developed stock, which is perhaps the most extensive in this country. The range in tlieir prices is most surprising, going all the way from two or three dollars to hundreds of dollars. In our Orchid Book, we list 10 well-rounded- out collections. Tliere are three for $25, each containing 12 varieties. There are three con- taining 17 for $35. Three of 25 for $50. One of 36 for $75. Is there then any real reason why your green- house should not have its quota of this flower of charming wonderment? Our entire collection is described and fully illustrated (a good many members of it in their exact colorings) in our Orchid Book. It is truly a guide post to orchid possessing. Send for it. Julius* t^eKr5* Cor ^ Box 20 Rutkerford N.J. /■ T'l* "'■T '.;»"* ..jib''s,« /.as; 1.1 ■»' The Man in the Moon Urges Autumn Planting of Moons' Shrubbery because he believes that it is cheapest and best. Cheapest, becau.se its bushy nature gives more flowers per phuit and in Shrubbery Borders it covers more square feet, making fewer plants necessary. Best, because it has been transplanted and there are abundant fibrous roots capable of feeding a ])lant right from the start. Moons' Shrubbery assortment is large; you have a range of sizes to select from; you are in- vited to inspect it, and to send for catalog. THE WM. H. MOON COMPANY Ferry Road MORRISVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA PHILADELPHIA OFFICE 21 S. Twelfth Street THE MOON NURSERY CORPORATION While Plains, New York «RsB,vi»a^gB^aa!i>g» Water Lilies for an Artificial Pool or Along a Natural Water-Course In the gardens at Arlington I grow many varieties of Water Lilies and aquatic plants. My collection in- cludes those that are specially adapted to planting in the pools and natural water-ways that are nearly al- ways found on large estates, parks, and cemeteries. I shall be glad to assist gardeners and landscape architects in selecting the varieties that will be suited to their purpose. I have the largest establishment in the world devoted solely to aquatics, and have propa- gated and introduced many of the varieties that are in cultivation today. Write today for a copy of my 1917 booklet, which describes and illustrates Water Lilies and Water Plants for greenhouse, garden and estate. Mailed free. Box P WILLIAM TRICKER ARLINGTON, N. J. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 39 m= ma Silver Medal Ptoses Each of these roses scored 85 or more points out of a possible 100, judged strictly on its merits as a garden rose, and received the Silver Medal of The American Rose Society. To the well informed gardener, this means more than a Gold Medal awarded in Europe, where roses have been judged on the exhibi- tion table, purely from an exhibition stand- point. It means that these roses are OFFICIALLY STAMPED as ideal garden varieties under se- vere climatic conditions — the logical varieties to use in quantity when arranging your out- door planting. The Silver Medal Collection of Everblooming Hybrid Teas Radiance Color, bright carmine-salmon mingled with rose, shading to a coppery salmon at the base of the petal. Vigorous, branchy growth, every shoot ter- minating in a flower. 60c. each, $6.00 per dozen. Crimson Champion. Scarlet - crimson, '^ overlaid with deep velvety crimson; large, well-rounded petals of excellent texture, forming a very large flower which is of good form and not too double. Dark, glossy green foliage; growth vigorous and spreading — an ideal habit. One of the most prolific roses ever introduced. $1.50 each, $15.00 per dozen. The original Killarney rose is, perhaps, the most popular rose ever sent out. This variety is, in every way, superior as a garden rose, be- ing larger in foliage and stronger and more robust in growth. It is also better in color, a Killarney Queen. sparkling cerise-pink, and is larger in flower — a handsome rose at any stage of development. 60c. each, $6.00 per dozen. Panama Color, delicate flesh-pink with lighter shadings toward the edge of the petals. A seedling from the popular Frau Karl Druschki, equally vigorous but more prolific and continuous in flowering. 75c. each, $7.50 per dozen. Robin Hood. ^°**> ''°^y scarlet changing to bright, scarlet-crimson as the season advances. Vigorous, robust grovrth quite immune from disease. Large flowers of beautiful form produced freely throughout the season. 75c. each, $7.50 per dozen. Lady Pirrie. Coppery, reddish salmon ■' ' mingled with apricot yel- low, fawn and copper. Not very double, but beautiful when cut in the bud. A fine garden rose in an exceptional color. 50c. each, $6.00 per dozen. The Best Red Garden Rose Red Radiance. Not included among the Silver Medal Roses because it is a new variety. With Radiance as its sponsor, we do not hesitate to offer it here because it is a better garden rose than Radiance and a much desired color. It is an even shade of clear red, resembling American Beauty in color, and, to some extent, in form. Extremely free and continu- ous in flowering. $1.50 each, $15.00 per dozen. These varieties will be supplied in strong, 2-year plants from large pots for plant- ing after May 1. Our Rose Catalogue and Handbook will be sent you on request. A.NPlERSON mc. QpMWELL Gardens Ci^MWELL Conn ^m i: ^ 'W 40 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA ii'iiinniiiiiiiiiuiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHilllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiini giiiijiiimiiiiiiiiiiinniiimiiiiini niiiuHiimiiimiii wuiiiiniiriHiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii KiininiwnnmiiiimmiiiMiiimmiiiMS I BoBBiNR & Atkins I World's Choicest Nursery and Greenhouse Products. 1 Grown in America. I The supreme excellence of our products upholds I the high Standard attained by them. Our j organization is efficient and equip- I ment complete. I Homegrown Roses I Evergreens and Rhododendrons I Trees and shrubs I Hardy Old-Fashioned Flowers I House Plants I ASK FOR OUR ILLUSTRATED GENERAL CAT- I ALOG — also for our catalog of— I Our Heart Cypress Plant Tubs I NURSERYMEN AND FLORISTS RUTHERFORD NEW JERSEY liiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiHii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiininiiii iiiiiiiiiiiif piiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinmiiiwiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ I CARNATION I I "Cottage Maid" I I W/^E have 5000 pot plants of the | I Novelty for 1917 in excellent | I condition, ready for immediate | I shipment. "Cottage Maid" is a | I sport from Mrs. C. W. Ward, I I identical in growth and habit — | I colof a lovely, light pink, which | I never fades but comes a little | I deeper in hot w^eather. j I 2V^ Pot Plants | I $3.00 Dozen $20.00 Hundred | CHARLES H. TOTTY MADISON NEW^ JERSEY DREER'S GARDEN BOOK FOR 1917 Seventy -Ninth Annual Edition A dependable guide-book which tells when to plant, how to plant, and what to plant. It gives cultural articles, written by experts, which will be valuable to every gardener. It contains 288 pages, four colored and four duotone plates, and lists all the dependable tested standard varieties of Vegetables and Flowers, besides many important Novelties. The newest Roses, the best Dahlias, and Dreer's Im- proved Hardy Perennials are given special prominence. It features a number of noteworthy specialties in Vegetables, Sweet Peas, Asters and Columbines. Whatever is worth growing you will find in Dreer'i Garden Book for 1917, with full instructions how to grow it. A copy will be mailed free if you mention this publication. Lawn Grass Seeds, one of our leading specialties. If interested, ask for a copy of our Lawn Booklet. HENRY A. DREER 714-716 Chestnut Street PHILADELPHIA ^iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiifliiiuiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiin ^iiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiniiuiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ TWO PLANTS EVERYONE SHOULD GROW Azalea Kaempferi HARDY, SCARLET, JAPANESE AZALEA. Tile most gorgeous of the hardy Azaleas. Flowering PlanU, $10.00 per doz., $75.00 per 100. Larger Plants, $20 per doz., $150.00 per 100. Hypericum patulum var. Henryi A new hardy St. John's Wort, growing 2^2 to 4 ft. with masses of clear yellow flowers, produced in great profusion during July and August. The leaves are eliptic-ovate, about V/2 in. long and are retained late into the fall. A very desirable yellow-flowered shrub. Flowering Plants, $3.50 per doz., $28.00 per 100. Larger Plants, $5.00 per doz., $40.00 per 100. Catalogue on application. R. & J. Farquhar & Co. 6 South Market St., Boston, Mass. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 41 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII^ Since 1847 THE firm of Peter Henderson & Co. was founded in 1847 and the 70 years of success that are behind Henderson's Tested Seeds must and does make them the best that it is possible to buy. More than half a century ago Henderson's was the standard by which other seeds were judged, and the same condition exists in 1917. Our methods of seed trials and seed testing, which were the best three generations ago, have been im- proved upon from year to year and to-day are still the best. The unknown quantity in your garden and farm is the quality of the seeds you sow and you cannot be too careful in making sure that you obtain the best procurable. For many years the name of Peter Henderson & Co. has been indissolubly linked with all that is best in seeds, because our con- stant purpose has always been — and will continue to be — to supply to our customers pure seeds of the highest germinating power only. Henderson's Seeds are Tested Seeds. Everything for the Garden is the title of our annual catalogue. The 1917 edition is really a book of 208 pages, handsomely bound, and contains 32 color plates and over 1000 half tones direct from photographs, showing actual results without exaggeration. The cover is another of our unusual historical series and has for its subject Thomas Jefferson's home, "Monticello." This series of covers, which we have used for several years, is decidedly unique and has occasioned a great deal of favorable comment from our customers. This year's is even better than the previous ones. We should be glad to send a copy of this great catalogue without charge, if you will mention the "Gardeners' Chronicle." I PETER HENDERSON & CO. | I 35-37 Cortlandt St. New York City | liiiiiniiiinuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM 42 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA |iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiniiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii iniiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiii niiiiiiiu i iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii uiuiuiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiuiiii i ^ife Cont^nta—iF^bruary, 1917 Page Things and Thoughts of the Garden The Onlooker 43 Berried Shrubs for the Rock Garden . . 44 Chrysanthemums for Exhibition Adam Patterson 45 Pot Culture of Maidenhair Ferns ... 46 Growing Bush Plants of Chrysanthemums Wm. J. Sealed 47 Bulbs for the Rock Garden .... 48 The Funkia 48 Work for the Month of March John Johnson 49 Outdoor Melon Culture Henry Knight 50 The Greenhouse Month to Month W. R. Fowkes 51 Culture of the Cypripedium . Alex. Robertson 5 I Selected Shrubs for Our Climate Albert Millard 52 Page Buddleia Variabilis ..... 54 Anomathecas 54 Garden Roses for Cut Flowers 55 A Pretty Shrubby Irid 55 Japanese Flower Groupings 56 Dianthus Allwoodii 57 Spiraea Henryi 57 The Mineral Food of Plants 58 Getting Shrubs into Shape 58 Roads Not Public Property . 59 Analyzing Soils 60 American Association of Park Superintendents 61 Disease Resistent Chestnuts ... 62 National Association of Gardeners . . 63 Among the Gardeners ..... 63 Horticultural Events 64 Local Society Notes 64-68 1 II Stumpp & Walter Co.'s Catalog Our 1917 Spring Catalog will be mailed to you on request, if you have not already received a copy. Many Nevv^ and Exhibition varieties of Flower and Vegetable Seeds are offered. Farm and Grass Seeds are also a feature. Cannas, Dahlias, and Gladioli — the best varieties to date. &Wim)^(J^^j^^^ 30-32 Barclay St. Mew To r k PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllh^ GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture I Vol. XXI. liniiuiiuiHiiiiiiiii FEBRUARY, 1917 No. 2. I Things and Thoughts of the Garden By The Onlooker ALL of us are keen to have or at least to see new Roses. It is early to think of the hardy ones for an outdoor collection, but for the greenhouse or Rose house there is one that thoroughly deserves a place. Its name is Alme. Collette ^Martinet, which may be likened in the golden ruddy color of its flowers, to Soliel d'Or. The latter, however, is a thorny, semi-rambler or pillar rose, sometimes grown in pots, where it is quite nice and cer- tainly free and vigorous, but Mme. C. Martinet is as good a grower as Ophelia and fine for the benches for forcing. Picrson of Cromwell, Conn., were advertising it in the last issue of The Gardener's Chronicle of America. At this season we are all anxious to know which are the best Carnations, particularly of the new varieties. There are many of the old ones that cannot be beaten yet, boys. Only a few days ago I saw one of the finest benches of the now ancient Mrs. T. W. Lawson that any one could wish to see or have. Victory, too, held on a long while, and Beacon, Enchantress and Mrs. Ward are past the pullet stage of their existence. How many thousands of dollars, yes, thousands of thousands, they have earned, and how much of joy they have given. For a dark pink Lake Ward still. For a bright pink with a warm glow of salmon chose Enchantress Supreme. For a scarlet, shall we hang on to Beacon or go to Belle Washburn or Merry Christmas? The latter are both good. For a white Matchless and White Wonder are fine, although White Enchantress is popular, too. Yel- low— Yellow Prince. There are several good new dark crimsons notably Doris and Arawana, but Pocohontas holds the field. x\s a rival to Mrs. Ward the new Albert Roper calls for consideration. Superb is undoubtedly a good pink, and for those who like a two-color flower there is Cottage ^laid and Old Gold (yellow, striped scarlet). Others will be heard more of. Do vou employ any bottom-heat in rooting your Carnations? Some growers strike their cuttings cool — without any heat — while others like to keep a bot- tom temperature of 65 to 68 deg., with atmospheric temperature of 52 deg. (day time). In the latter case the cuttings root and are ready to be lifted from the sand in three weeks or very little more, whereas in the other case it takes six weeks to get a nicely rooted cutting. Of course some varieties can hardly be got to root at all ; Pink Delight is one of the hard ones. There is much to be said for quick rooting. You get a kindlier plant, one that has not been allowed to get hard at the base, which is often a fertile cause of after-trouble, and one which grows away freely. All considered, I vote for a wee bit o' warmth at the base. What is Shamrock ? Nobody actually knows, although long and learned disquisitions have been written upon the question. St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, whose day in the Christian calendar is March 17, a day on which Irishmen in America also sport a green Carna- tion (a dye is scarce this year!) — St. Patrick is said to have plucked a small three-leaved plant and expounded from it the doctrine of the Trinity, the Three in One, or triune God. Just what that little plant is is the old, old question. The majority opinion favors the dwarf white Clover, Trifolimn minus. This is die plant whose seeds the florists sow and the plant they sell. But it may have been the larger Red Clover, Trifolium incarnatum, that the priest of old took up. Some have even said that he got a leaf of the Water Cress, Nasturtium officinale, from the brook. This seems a little far fetched. Let us call it the three-leaved Clover. A man asked me the other dav if he could sow seeds of it in February and still have plants for sale by March 17. The best I could say was that he wakened up too late, that around February 10 the young plants should be at least an inch across, in the size of pots called thimbles, in a temperature of 55 deg. * * * Those who do their gardening by dates rather than by the actual condition of the weather make up their first hot-bed on March 17 — St. Patrick's Day aforesaid. There is nothing in signs of the moon or of any other heavenly body, unless it be the sun, that should be taken any notice of in our land work. The practice of doing certain jobs at the waking or waning (the turn) of the moon, is by no means dead. Perhaps the empiricals are right ; perhaps not. Science doesn't believe in them, and Science is nothing if not thorough. Science orders him- self adroitly : he is demonstrable mathematically. Not only his ten toes but all his hairs are counted ! Science is the opposite of supposition — so-called theory. But the middle of March is a good time to make a hot-bed — always provided you have an ample supply of horse manure to draw upon. Many amateur gardeners in sub- urban places cannot get dung. For them the hot-bed is a problem worse to solve than any that chess ever gave them. \\'here the writer is, in an open suburban quarter, the grocers and a large contractor who has horses, stable dung is fairly easy to come by — had for the asking, if you are on good terms with the grocer and pay your bills promptly. There are now double glazed sash frames, 43 44 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA made by the King Construction Co., that can be heated from a small boiler. In the larger places a row of hot- water pipes is sometimes run around the frames. The dung hotbed, however, has always been a favorite and will doubtless continue to be. Do not let the manure get over-heated. It "fangs" or dries out if not kept turned when the manure is being collected. Sometimes a good douch of water is a good thing. Or tree leaves, partly rotted, may be mixed with the manure. This equalizes the heat, steadies it, and helps to maintain the warmth over a longer period. One of the new perfectly hardy shrubs that all of us will have when we can afford it is Viburnum Carliesii. It grows only to the size of Berberis Thunbergii, or about 3j/> ft., branching nicely and crowded with very sweetly scented pink and white neat clusters of flowers in May. The Onlooker was the fortunate possessor of a plant of this new shrub five years ago when there were only a few score of it anywhere in cultivation in the world. It also forces in the greenhouse temperature, the same as suits that other delightful new shrub of great merit. Azalea Kaempferio. Farquhars of Boston has these and other of the noteworthy new Chinese plants and shrubs, and their catalogue should be studied. * * * Have you an old greenhouse that you don't think much of — one in which a little heat can be turned on? Perhaps the benches are a bit worn out. maybe rotted and tumbling down. Pull these benches out : burn them : clear the ground of all rubbish, bricks and lumber ; fork over the soil and perhaps bring in some sand loam and rotted manure. In beds made on the ground you can plant at once, a selection of Delphiniums, Belladonna type preferably, also Gladioli, Pansies. Dielytra specta- bilis (Bleeding Heart), Pyrethrums (the improved strains), Centaureas and the like and have them in flower throughout the Spring. Try it. The so-called pot cherries, varieties of Solununi capsi- castrum, which are so effective at Christmas when be- dedecked with their scarlet berries, has a number of forms. By selection almost any grower can pick out from his batch of plants some that are dwarfer than the rest, or some that have either larger or brighter colored berries. Ten years ago at a place much frequented by this writer, a selection was made of a variety with scarlet berries that were about the size of a robin's egg. There are others on the market or at least are grown by a few florists, that should be watched. Some growers certainly hide their goods things behind locked doors. * * * In these stormy winter days are those of my readers who took the advice given in November to have a col- lection of alpines got ready for bringing indoors, not rejoicing now? Very few, no doubt, followed the sug- gestions, but those that did will now, in snowy, ice February and March, have a gay and absorbingly in- teresting floral show. Any little greenhouse that can be warmed or kept at 50 degrees, even 45 degrees, can have Snowdrops, bulbous Irises, Squills, hardy Primroses, Iberis, Fritillary Lilies, Narcissi, hardy Cyclamen, Daphne Cncoruni and many other things in flower in pans. ■ '^ '^z t- There are many failures always to be recorded by those who try to grow Dutch Hyacinths. Tulips or Nar- cissi in dishes or glasses in their dwelling rooms. It would be closely read by all of us if some one could write a story of thorough success. The atmosphere of the living room is so dry the foliage of the bulbs gives out. The leaves go first at the tips and then the plants stop growing. Perhaps a flower struggles to meet the rays of the sun and look out on a world mantled in white, but many a bud turns yellow, many a spike fails to mature. It is not the watering, although that may be always attended to with due care. It is the dry, hot air, the gases, the draughts from doors and windows left open, the fluctuating temperatures ; these destroy the vitality of the growth from even the best bulbs. If the conditions were cooler and the atmosphere more moist, steadier in its temperature, and if the light were good all the time there need be no tale of failure. I have seen excellent results at a cellar window, or rather un- der a sash-covered front level with the top of the base- ment. A friend has converted the disused steps that lead from part of his basement, into a miniature green- house ; but this is not to be regarded as "practical poli- tics" except in very rare instances. The moral is, if you can't grow your plants all the way along, having only your house window, then buy them fairly well in bloom and keep them as long as you can. It may not be generally known that certain bushy, dwarf Dahlias of the show and decorative sections make good plants for a greenhouse bench. Jack Rose and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria are the types meant ; each does well and can be had in bloom early in June. D BERRIED SHRUBS FOR THE ROCK GARDEN I URING the autumn and winter months, when rock garden flowers are by no means plentiful, the dwarf Cotoneasters, with their scarlet or red ber- ries, and, in some instances, evergreen foliage, are in- teresting and beautiful. There are several species well adapted for planting at the summits of good-sized boulders, over which their neat, close-growing branches can trail ; or, if preferred, such as C. horizon- talis can be planted at the foot of a large rock, which, as it grows, it will hug so closely as to almost appear to be part of the rock itself. This is a deciduous species, but in autumn and winter its branches are be- spangled with scarlet berries. C. microphylla, as its name implies, has very small leaves. It forms a neat little shrub, and is evergreen. It has red berries, and is perhaps the best of the older species for the rock garden. C. rotundifolia is deciduous or sub-evergreen, the leaves being nearly rovmd and dark green in color. It has red berries, which are usually produced in abund- ance. All three are natives of the Himala3"as, and are not difficult to grow. C. adpressa promises to be a very useful shrub for the rock garden. It is of very dwarf habit and deciduous, but before they fall the leaves turn a beautiful orange color. It has small pink flowers, which are succeeded by red berries. C. humifusa or C. Dammeri grows only a few inches high, and is ad- mirably adapted for trailing down the face of a pro- jecting rock. It is evergreen, the foliage taking on a fine tint in autumn, which harmonizes well with its scarlet berries. All these Cotoneasters like good loamy soil, and C. humifusa appreciates a little peat mixed with the loam. They should be given a fairly deep root run; a foot is not too much for C. horizontalis, C. rotundifolia and C. microphvlla. All can be successfully planted early in April, but it is advisable to obtain plants that have been established in pots. — Excliaiige. Chrysanthemums for Exhibition By Adam Patterson, Connecticut* THE successful grower of fine chrysanthemums for exhibition purposes is not developed in a day. week, or year. He must commence at the bottom and learn by experience and practice the fundamental principles which underlie the profession. While the good derived from listening, or reading what another has to say on any subject cannot be overestimated. One must first obtain a good deal of practice in this line before he is in a position to understand what the other fellow is doing. The chrysanthemum grower should take delight in the study and cultivation of his plants as well as in the admiration of the beaiUy of their form, bloom and foliage. In order to start right do not leave anything to memory, keep a record of your different operations, and at the end of the year you will be able to find out the good and bad points practiced. Out of the dilTerent varieties started set aside a few plants to be experimented upon : Here you will have an opportunity to test your composts ; fertilizers, the taking of the buds, etc. If for any reason you do not succeed there will be no serious loss. Experimental work is oi tremendous im- portance to the, chrysanthemum grower and when in- telligently pursued will not fail to repay one for all ef- forts put forth in this di- rection. In regard to taking the cuttings I have found it best to propagate as near as possible the last week in February. When selecting the cuttings avoid long, weak growths, or hard woody cuttings, the best cuttings are those of a moderately soft growth. The cuttings should come out of the sand when they have made roots about half an inch long as they only deteriorate by being left there longer. llefore I go any further I will take up the ques- t i o n of compost. The beginning of all success is to a greater or less de- gree in having good compost. I always make it a point to get my compost made up early in the Atitumn. This will give you a chance during good weather to get yotir soil and manure together, and yet leaving plenty of time to work it up into a desirable condition before storing. Compost consisting of two- thirds turfy loam to one-third of decomposed cow manure put into a pile, and then turned over and chopped up at intervals of about every two or three weeks until you have it in a good condition. This will make the founda- tion for the growing of fine Mums later on. It must be remembered that good soil and mamire is the first item to be considered under the head of cultural methods. Doing things on time and when they need doing ap- plies to the growing of nuuns perhajis with more force than in growing any other plant. When your cuttings have made enough of roots get them out and pot up, for the sooner yoii can get them into the light and air and the cooler and hardier you can grow the young plants * Paper rend before the Stamford Horticultural Society. Ten I'arictirs of E.vhihilioii Chrysaiilhcmuins. the better flowers they will produce. I always pot them lip into 2^4 inch pots and when they are well estab- lished place out into a cold frame on sifted ashes, hereby keqjmg the frost away. They will appreciate the con- dition by showing a dark green foliage and sturdy growth not to be had in the house. About the end of March or just as soon as they have made a fair amount of roots, I shift into 3 inch pots. From the 10th to the ISth of April I shift again into 4 inch pots. Always remember as the shift becomes larger you will want to use more drainage. This is very important so you will secure good and effective drainage in every pot. The next shift is into the 6 inch pots, and about the 10th of June I shift into their last pots, which are 8 inch. When shifting iiUo these pots leave as much space as possible for feed- ing and top dressing as they may need it. After they are potted up into these pots they can be placed where they are to grow in your house. ' These pots should be [jlaced on a bed of sifted ashes, which will keep the worms out and also keep them cool and clean. When they have had every care and attention up to this you are on a fair way in having success. The next thing of importance is staking and tying so as to keep your plants properly supported, I stretch a wire about 4 ft. high over the bench so as to give the stakes some support. During their pe- riod of growth they should be kept nicely tied up from time to time. In producing fine chrys- anthemums it should al- ways be remembered that they will need plenty of ventilation at all times, but the grower must be guided entirely by the condition of the weather, as two suc- cessive days at any season of the year may demand a difference in the manage- ment. It must be remem- bered that ventilation that causes a direct draft of cold, arid air through >our plants is sure to make them suff'er, so use judgment at all times with your ventila- tion. It is in the Autumn that it recjuires the greater care. It is then that the weather conditions will have to i)e taken into account. When the flowers begin to open a drier atmosphere is called for, so it is always better to have a little heat run through your pipes during September as we are sure to have cool and damp weather, but always keep air on night and day. Every grower frequently finds it difficult to keep his temperature right. It is (juite natural for the inside temperature to be affected by the prevailing outside temperature, but it is to the grower's advantage to re- duce these extremes as much as possible. I generally like to keep my house as near 50 degrees at night as the conditions will allow. During dark and dull weather I let the temperature run up to 60° with air on. This helps to dry the atmo- sphere of your house, which is important during the Fall months. 45 46 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA From May and up to the end of August the plants should be syringed frequently two or three times a day, but always doing the last syringing early enough to have the plant dry oiT before nightfall. During September you can reduce the syringing to once a day. When they begin to show color discontinue alltogether. During all their growth mums will require care as to watering. When the pots show signs of being dry give them a good watering, btit never allow them to become bone dry, or on the other hand, excessively wet. Watering is one of the most particular points to watch in chry- santhemum culture. In pot culture watering ought to be attended to two or three times a day, watering only those that are dry, using a can if the time permits. As the plants become pot bound artificial feeding will have to be resorted to. Watch the plants carefully, and one will soon be able to judge where to start feeding. Aim to have ripe wood and good foliage, and then you can feed safely, feeding can continue until the blooms are half developed. This is the one thing that will require care and study. It is very hard to fix dates for bud taking. This will have to be governed to a large degree by the climatic conditions. Most buds can be taken after the 15th of August with fair restilts. Chrysanthemums, like all other plants, are subject to disease, but this appears most frequently where a wrong course of treatment in their culture has been followed, or by neglect in any way. Always make it a point to start with nothing but healthy stock. If any of them show the least sign of having a trace of disease, why, discard just as soon as you discover it. The presence of some species of fungi is a direct reflection upon the skill or care of the grower, as mildew and rust and certain other diseases may frequently be traced to the lack of suitable cultural conditions, such as proper venti- lation, watering, over-feeding, etc. On the other hand when such conditions are favorable to their growth, fungous diseases will more or less be absent. When mildew appears there is nothing better than blowing sulphur through your plants. For rust, on its first ap- pearance, spray with ammoniacal mixture every ten days, this will help to check it : also keep plenty of ventilation on and see that the atmosphere is kept dry even if vou have to use fire heat. In order to keep down the aphis you will have to fumi- gate at least once a week. When the flowers begin to open there is nothing better than Nico fume paper. Before chrysanthemums are exhibited thev should be placed in water at least 36 hours in a cool, dark place where the temperature stands at about 42°. This will help to give substance in every way. POT CULTURE OF MAIDENHAIR FERNS. '"pHE growing of maidenhair ferns in pots is not very ■^ extensive. As a pot plant, writes A. V. Main, in Canadian Florists, the private gardener will find it an admirable subject for many purposes. A common objection to the maidenhair fern is that it is no good as a house plant. I have never found that to be so. Though the Boston fern would easily outstrip it as a lasting fern, where it was a ])eriod of months, it could not be condemned on that accoimt. The requirements of good pots of this beautiful fern are few. Cutting down all the fronds, say. twice or three times a year, and letting the plants 'Jtart up afresh again, is poor policy. To get strong frofids and plants fit for house decoration, conservatory or exhi- bitions, aim to get one crop of foliage and to'get the foundation of this foliage prefeYably in the Sjjring months. Shearing the plants down in Summer and expecting Fall fronds, worthy of the name of frond, was never a success with us. After the plants have done justice for the Summer and Fall months, rest the plants somewhat. With- hold water to about twice a week. Keep the plants presentable by removing bad fronds. Keeping the plants fairly dry in November and December will keep the crowns dormant or the young tender fronds from shooting up. The potting compost is no secondary consideration. One-half decayed sod, broken up with the hand (use no sifter for the compost), one-quarter rotted cow manure, one-quarter sand and charcoal. We use bone- meal freely and find a six-inch potful none too much for a barrowful of compost. Bone-meal fertilizer for pot plants is our stand-by. Clean pots and extra pains for good drainage are certainly pointers for maidenhairs. Cut the foliage clean over, put vigorous plants in a pot two sizes larger. For exhibition specimens, we generally put a nine or ten-inch pot plant into a twelve-inch pot. Pack the compost firmly around it. Finish ofif the new soil and the crown of the plant level, two inches below the rim of the pot. In preference to top-dressing, split up the plants into two pieces or four. The ptiint we are strong on is to get new compost all around the plant at this annual potting time, as the plants are not disturbed in potting for another year. Twelve-inch pots will give specimens four feet through and fronds twent}' inches long. Severe mu- tilation of the plants should be avoided. Best formed plants are got b}- rejiotting on into larger pots with- out dividing. This is not only nature's time for repotting, but January and February are the inonths where we can get steady bottom heat. This gets the ferns on the move. ■Wash out a clean place for thetn on a bench, have th'em all together, where you know there is no draught. If the ashes or gravel where the pots are placed closely together is kept warm by piping under- neath, so much the better. Keeping this moist and confining the spraying between the pots, will lie as- sisting nature. The first two months of the year they can stand all the sunshine. Early in March shade with cheesecloth, and for the Summer provide a heavier shade. As the season advances, they will require ample space, and the increasing ventilation will bring them into hardi- ness. As a Summer and Fall plant it is not by any means a delicate subject in the greenhouse. \'igorous plants respond to liquid cow manure once a week when ap- proaching the end of Summer. The best varieties in use are Adiantum cuneatum, A. crowcanum, A. hybridum. A. farleyense. All are good growers with useful fronds for cutting. Adiantum farlevense gloriosa is a particularly fine variety-, but not inclined to grow so well. A favorite here is A. gra- cillimum. as light and graceful as Gypsophila panicu- lata. Where drainage, is defective, the plants soon show it, as they do not assimilate the watering. Cover the drainage with spaghnum moss. This prevents the soil from mixing up through time with the drainage. Maidenhair ferns are worthy greenhouse subjects, and no establishment, public, private or commercial, should be without them. Growing Bush Plants of Chrysanthemums By Wm. J. Sealey, New York'-= T(_) produce first class specimen ISush plants of chry- santhemums the grower must use all availalile means at his command in order to obtain such specimens as are seen at our exhibitions today. To get large plants, cuttings should he propagated be- fore January first, but good sized jjlants may be grown from cuttings rooted even as late as February fifteenth. Cuttings should be taken preferably from stock which ^^^^ 4 '^m^HJ '-, i yQ y ' '-' -^ ^^^^H ^F^l ^ Xiri >^fciS-#^H K^ ra^ ^■pirS:i^^^«| lyy yiglHJ ^4 Half Glibi' Siia/^cd Chryscvitliciinini Plant. was planted in the open ground the season iiieviotis. These stock plants may be lifted before the weather gets too cold and placed in a cool house. Another method as practiced by a number of growers is to cut out three or four suckers from an old stock plant and place into 3 or 4 inch pots in a light soil and when the ball becomes filled with roots treat the same as those grown from cuttings. In selecting varieties choose those having a vigorous but rather dwarf habit of growth, heavy foliage, and good color. There are very few of the many varieties of chrysanthemums that make good bush plants. When the cuttings have made roots about one-half inch long they should be potted into 2 inch pots using loam, a little leaf mold and enough sand to make the soil iwrous. The plants will make roots rapidlv and should be repotted as soon as the ball of earth has become fairly well filled with them until they are into 8 or 10-inch pots, when they may be shifted into the pot into which they are to flower. Each time the plants are potted they should receive a stronger soil, but for the final shift a good com- posit of fibrous loam, well decayed manure and a little ground bone will carry the plants well along into the sea- son. When the plants are about 4 inclies high the center should lie stopped in order to have the plant send out branches from below. After these branches have made from ,S to 5 leaves they must also be stopped. At this stage training to se- cure the form of the future plant should begin. There is a great variety of shapes to which the v/lants mav readily be trained, but the form mostly used ap])roaches very nearlv a half globe. As the ])lants make growths from 5 to 7 leaves they are again stopped and this continued until about early in August. Then no more stopping or pinch- ing should be done. *Paper read before tlie Westchester & Fairfield Horticulture Society. Keep the plants growing all the time, giving them ample room and all the air possible during the hot summer months. When the pot or tub into which the plant is to Hower becomes fairly well filled with roots they should receive a stimulant of some kind. Begin by using in weak hquid form cow or sheep manure, occasionally using soot, Clay's blood and bone or any good standard fertilizer. The grower must use his own judgment in feeding as to what he thinks the plant requires. Some varieties will not stand strong feeding, while others can scarcely be o\erfed. A light dose of nitrate of soda will often help a plant that has been checked or that lacks color if used at the rate of IS ounces to 50 gallons of water. Great care must be exercised when the plants are making rapid growth, as the branches are very easily broken and the loss of a branch will often times ruin a plant for exhibi- tion. About Sejjtember first the buds will form, gener- ally 2 or 3 at the end of each shoot To obtain good results all of these except the one at the extreme end of each shoot should be removed. When the buds begin to show color, preparations should be made for getting the blooms tied in the positions they must occupy in order to make a symmetrical plant. There are two methods of doing this and both are excellent if well done. For small plants use galvanized stakes, using one stake to each flowering shoot, which will hold the flower in the desired position. For larger plants, and one that is more used at the present time, make a wire form about the plant, tying the blooms to it. When tying the plant begin at the center and place the flowers so that they w\\\ be evenlv distri- buted over the frame. The varieties that seem best adopted for bush plants to-day are Lady Lydia, Telton, Wells Late Pink, Pearson, Annie Laurie and Garza. The treatment for standards are exactly the same as for bush plants, except that in- stead of stopping the plant when 4 inches high the stem is allowed to grow to whatever height the grower desires. A Fan-Shaftrd Cltrysanthcmtim Plant The center is then stopj^ed and the head is formed by stopping and tying the same as for a bush plant. In order to grow good bush plants or standards it is not necessary to have a large green house especially for them. With some cold frame sash a portable house can be erected and with the use of an oil stove on cold nights excellent results can be obtained, especially if the grower will choose varieties that flower by November first. 47 48 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA BULBS FOR THE ROCK GARDEN. AA^HILE there are certain devotees who would ban bulbous plants from their rock gardens, it can- not be denied that the presence of such plants adds immensely to the charm of the scene. Without their presence some of the most delightful effects would be absent, and, with judgment, bulbous plants may be planted in considerable numbers in even the smallest rock garden, with the happiest results. First must coine in point of season and value the Snowdrop, and with this gem of the earliest days our own growers need fear no rivals. Our common Snow- drop, Galanthus nivalis, is one of the best of all ; the double variety is also plentiful : G. Elwesi and sev- eral others, such as G. Imperati and its variety Atkin- soni. As for the Narcissus, its name is legion, and it can hardly be used amiss. Even the larger varieties may be successfully employed, but N. cyclamineus, N. mi- nimus, X. nanus, X. minor, N. gracilis, N. bulbocodium. and a wealth of others may be planted in clumps. When above the level of the eye man}' look very tell- ing. Glories of the Snow are gems for the rock gar- den, and may be planted in sun or partial shade. It is almost needless to detail them, but Chionodo.xa Lu- cilije, C. Tmolusi, C. Gigantea, and C. sardensis will all add a definite charm to the rock garden. Scillas also, and we may plant groups of S. bifolia, S. sibirica, S. italica, and a few more early bloomers, adding, if we please, some of the taller named vari- eties of Scilla festalis, our English bluebell, with va- rieties of S. hispanica, the Spanish Squill. All of these are lovely on rockwork. Snowflakes, or Leucojimis, and L. vernuni, with its varieties carpaticum and \'ag- neri, are the best. L. autumnale, a dainty gem, may be had also. Fritillarias are also available. Varieties of our native F. Meleagris, especially the white one; F. citrina, F. pyrenaica, and F. rotundifolia are among the number to be obtained. They generally like a moist position, and should be planted as soon as pos- sible. The glowing Crocus and we need not despise the Golden Yellow, or the varieties of C. vernus with all their wealth of beauty. In clumps these and their al- lied species are superb in a sunny place. Of the species the following, for Spring, can be procured, and are of much charm. C. Sieberi, C. Imperati, C. chrysanthus in many varieties, C. biflorus, equally varied, and a number more. For autumn it is onlj' necessary to mention C. speciosus, C. iridiflorus, C. pulchellus, and C. longiflorus as a few of high beauty among the plethora of lovely flowers. Colchicums are also invaluable for .Autumn^ and the best are C. speciosuni rubrum and album, C. gigan- teum, C. Bornmuelleri, the double varieties of C. au- tumnale, and C. variegatum. Plant in good soil, pref- erably heavy and moist, at a depth of four inches. Muscaris make pretty groups in the rockery, and none are prettier than the old M. botryoides. although it in- creases rather too freely for some places. The white and flesh colored forms make a nice variety. Plant these Grape Hyacinths about two inches deep. Orni- thogalums are often too prolific for the rockery, but in large places O. nutans is quite good, with its nod- ding silver-white flowers on stems about a foot high. Tulips mav be employed with profit, but some of the dwarfer species, excellent tor the rockery, are not easily obtained in this country. Tulipa persica and T. australis may be procured. The taller Tulips are alsa much better suited for large rockeries than many sup- pose, and groups of the self-colored Darwin and other varieties may be employed, and in the rock garden often prove more permanent without lifting than is generally understood. Anemones of the coronaria section are also excel- lent, and tubers of A. hortensis, A. apennina, A. blanda, and A. fulgens can be obtained. Erythroni- ums, planted an inch deep, in light soil, in sun, are lovely things. Other kinds suited for the rockery are such as Oxalises, dwarf Iresis, Brodiasas, and hardy- Cyclamens. Planting in clumps is the most satisfactory plan for soon as the bulbs come to hand. Deep planting is gen- erally better than shallow, especially in the rock gar- den, where it is expected that they should become permanent occupants. As a rule, the small bulbs and tubers should be one or two inches deep, but the larger,, three and even four inches deep, counting from the top of the bulb. Planting in clumps is the most satisfactory plan for the rock garden. In the form of these clumps some consideration should be given to the position and ar- rangement of the rock-work, i.e., a stiff' outline of the group is out of harmony with its genus. A lovely ef- fect is produced in large rock gardens by masses of the dwarfer plants, peeping up among some dwarf carpet plant, such as a mossy Saxifrage. — Gardeners' Magazine (English). THE FUNKIA PLANTAIN LILY. TN dealing with moist and shady spots, where many flowering plants make but sorry specimens, the Funkia calls for a word of commendation. It is a hardy herbaceous perennial, and is often called the Plantain Lily. The flowers appear from July on- wards, and are borne in spikes well above the foliage. The colors include snowy white and shades of lilac and purple, and are very effective. But without its flowers the Funkia would still be an accjuisition, for its foliage is perhaps more ornamental, whether we take the pale or deep glaucous green or the variegated species. The leaves are in most cases large and ovate in shape. Funkia ovata has deep glaucous green foliage, while its variety marginata has leaves of bright green, with a broad, silvery white margin ; and aureo-variegata has gold, green, and silver in its colorings. The flow- ers of this species are purple. I', sieboldiana has leaves of a bluish-grey, with spikes of violet-blue flowers : F. S. major is an even finer form, verj- bold and striking ; and F. S. pallida is equally good, with paler colored flowers, approach- ing the lilac. F. subcordata grandiflora, the Corfu Lily, is by many regarded as the gem of the collection. The leaves are pale, tender glaucous green, and the flow' ers snowy white and sweetly fragrant. This is es- pecially recommended for pot culture. F. fortunei robusta, is another handsome species, the leaves glaucous, and the flowers silvery lilac : and there are also several others that might be mentioned. For outdoor culture it is only necessary to plant them in good soil, preferably in a lightly shaded posi- tion, where their leaves attain a greater size. They are deciduous, that is, the leaves die down in winter. — Garden Life (English). giwimiiwwiiiiiuiiiiHiininiiiniHiiHHiwiminwmiiiiiiwfliiiiniHiniiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiinim Work for the Month of March I By John Johnson, Massachusetts | iiiiiiiiiiiniitiiiiniuiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiijiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNn THE work done last month in the hot-hed depart- ment was but a foretaste of this month's require- ments. Beyond the handling of young stock of previous sowings, a fall coin])lenient of both vegetable and flower seeds must be sown this month, attention given to bush fruits, shrubbery, roses, perennial border, asparagus and strawberry beds, as well as the beds in which are planted early flowering and bulbous stock. As the transplanting of seedlings becomes necessary, the cultivator of the hot-bed system iinds himself deci- dedly handicapped against his more fortunate neighbor, the man with a greenhouse. A little patience and due regard to weather conditions will, however, work won- ders. Should a previous sowing have failed lose no time to make good the loss. Be not discouraged — Sow again. Raising young plants this early in the season is a constant struggle with Nature, and an occasional failure befalls the most skilful cultivator. Look to the cause of the trouble and, if possible, try to avoid a recurrence. Such rebuffs properly dealt with are but stepping stones to fu- ture success. Handling Seedlings. — In the greenhouse seedlings may be pricked off when ready to handle, but where this fa- cility does not exist the cultivator must exercise judg- ment. Avoid chilling the young plants by exposure, either atmospheric or by the use of a too cold compost. Prepare soil for pricking off seedlings, similar to that seeds were sown in. A compost containing grit and a goodly portion of leaf-mould, or well-decayed manure, such as that from a spent hot-bed or exhausted mushroom bed, will be suit- able, and will encourage the formation of fibrous roots. Shallow boxes are generally preferable to small pots for the first shift. Indeed, boxes may be with advantage employed for any subsequent transplanting that may re- quire to be done before the final planting. Less room is needed by this method, which not only facilitates water- ing and transportation but off'ers some advantages at planting time. Where small pots are used in quantity, plants often suffer neglect in watering and pot-bound starvation. In this condition, the roots being so matted, the plants do not readily take to new quarters. For similar reasons the roots of plants taken from flats or dug from frames should not be unduly packed with the hands. Egg Plant, Peppers and Tomatoes will require a little more warmth than the general line of things. Onions intended for show purposes should not be given much animal manure in the soil at this stage, and in prick- ing off these exercise a little extra care. The primary root of the onion usually descends to a much greater depth than the top-growth would suggest, and as this solitary root first emitted is the sole support of the young plant, endeavor to keep it intact at the time of transplant- ing. Sozving Seeds. — This is a favorable time for the sowing of most anntials required for bedding. Take advantage also of the present by starting from seed sown inside, a few beets for setting out later. String beans, peas and sweet corn trans])lant readily and may be similarly treated in northern districts to prolong the season of these desir- able crops. Supplement last month's sowings of Cabbage, Cauli- flower, Celery, etc., by now putting in seeds of maincrop 49 and late varieties. Next month will, however, be early enough to sow winter celery. The increasing power of the sun's rays demands ex- treme watchfulness, air the hot-beds early in bright weather, but avoid cold draughts. Remove the covering on cold frames in which stock has Ijetn carried through the winter. Peel off decayed foliage, and ventilate freely on all favorable occasions, removing the sash entirely on warm days. The Flozver Garden. — As the weather shows signs of breaking up, gradually insure the light by removing the loose covering material on roses. Toward the end of the month will l)e early enough to start pruning. Ramblers may be first dealt with. If these were taken down for the winter, cut away all old wood not required for filling in and tie in only as many of the strongest canes of the previous season's growth as may be necessary. Don't overcrowd them ; allow 18 inches between the canes and avoid stiffness in training. The Hybrid Perpetual type may next be given attention. These can be pruned closer than is good for most of the other varieties, but if a fine display of flower in the bed is the desired aim, it will be advisable to leave strong growths 2 to 3 feet long and several of these on a bush. This method is productive of a profusion of small flowers with short, weak stems of little value for cutting, but effective in the mass. For finest individual flowers prune more vigorously. Hybrid Teas and the more tender varieties should be left till last. When the work of pruning is done, clear away rubbish and lightly fork over the beds, incorporating a little manure. As soon as the frost is out of the ground rake off strawy litter or other protection used on the perennial border. Although the Spring months are considered by some cultivators a better time than Autumn for over- hauling perennial borders, I believe the latter season presents numerous advantages. However, any planting in this de])artment deferred since last tall shotild be hur- ried along at this season. Perennials are gross feeders and the borders would now benefit by a dressing of short farmyanl manure, or other comjilete fertilizer forked in. Beds containing bulbs for Spring and early Summer displays should also have the surface soil stirred as soon as the winter covering is removed. Trim grass verges that need it as soon as the weather permits of the work being done, but cut away only sufficient to give a uniform edge. Where the soil is of a sandy nature it is better to do this somewhat obliquely to prevent crumbling in dry weather. Above all, avoid a deep edge to either flower beds or pathways ; these might appear trim to some people but void of all elegance to those of an aesthetic frame of mind. Try to keep the width of the verges strictly in accord with the paths and borders they skirt, ' and to which they furnish the setting. It is not uncom- mon to see a pathway 4 to 6 feet wide bounded bv a grass edging as many inches in width. This is altogether wrong and oftentimes the result only of unnecessary and wan- ton whittling on the part of inexjierienced woi-kmen. Shrubbery Border. — In the shrubber\- finish any prun- ing left over from late Fall and avoid formality.' How painfully square is the pruning done of many of our most charming and naturally elegant shrubs. This often hap- pens where s])ecimens have attained dimensions which, to meet certain requirements, enforces their being kept 50 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA within bounds. However, a judicious thinning" of the branches, no matter how severe could be generally done without a suggestion of 'shearing,' and without taxing the natural beauty and freedom of growth to the extent which even nowadays is all too common. Relegate the rubbisli of this department to the burning heap, and lightly work into the border dead leaves, a sprinkling of decayed manure, bone meal, or ether fertilizer of a lasting nature. Climbers ill Conjunction Willi Tree:. — The covering of degenerate trees and shrubs in the pleasure grotmds with suitable climbing plants is a very commendable practice. Trees or shrubs endowed, maybe, with family traditions cannot well be disposed of, and it therefore behooves the gardener to try to make these decrepit specimens some- thing which at present they are not — objects of beauty. Sometimes in the home grounds we see trees of a failing character lapped back so repeatedly that in time there remains little top growth save a few leading branches, conspicuous only by reason of their vinsightly butt-ends. These may be clad in a season or so with any of the numerous climbers of rapid growth — Aristolochia. Ac- tinidia, Akebia, Celastrus, Ampelopsis, or even that most rampant grower the Kudzu vine. Suitable, too, for this purpose, are many of the most beautiful of our floral climbers — Clematis, Lonicera, Rignonia, Wistaria and Polygonum baldschuanicum, a most beautiful climber and never more at home than when scrambling upward and displaying its charming racemes of white flowers from a point of vantage gained at the expense of some worn out tree or shrub. Rambler roses also lend themselves admirably to this purpose, in fact, there are few better or more effective ways of employing this type of rose. fhe most common method of planting climbers thus appropriated is to dig a hole at the foot of the tree and lerhaps replacing the old soil with new com])ost. ■ While this sometimes happens to be the only satisfactory way, where ])racticable. it would be wise to plant them on the outside where the branches are nearest the ground. They could be trained over the intervening space with the aid of a stout stake fixed in the ground and securely attached to the branch to prevent swaying. When the plant is well established there will be little need of the stake. Outdoor Melon Culture By Henry Knight, New York. TO cultivate successfully large crops of melons of high c[uaUty and flavor, dig holes six feet apart, twenty- four inches deep and thirty inches in diameter ; place the soil to one side of the hole, add one sixth of good rotten manure, one five inch pot of air slacked lime and some wood ashes : thoroughly mix and replace in holes ; pre[;are one month before sowing, or if the grower has on hand a quantity of maiden loam and manure prepared for potting or bench work, to which add the lime and wood ashes, it could, with advantage, be used, wholly or in ])art, to fill up the holes, which should be raised not more than two inches above ground level, 60 that any surplus moisture will not remain around the base of the plants. When sowing use one tablespoonful of Clay's, or similar fertilizer, mixed in the soil to the depth of three inches, which will supply immediate food for the young ])lants. The middle of May is generally the right time to sow, but the seed should not be sown before the groimd is warm if any early crop is desirable. Procure the desired number of early plants by sowing some approved early variety. Sow the last week in March in four inches, which must have the assistance of bottom heat until the seed has germinated, after which give the plants plenty of light to ensure a stocky growth before planting. When planting these early plants select warm dull weather ; or, if small hand lights are available use them to protect the jilants until they are well established. If the grower is unable to use bottom heat, and has a number of hand lights, use them to sectu-e an early crop by sow-ing in April, when the weather commences to warm up ; or, failing the foregoing accommodations, sow in the hills and cover the soil with pieces of glass, which will help to generate heat and protect the soil from excessive mois- ttire. When the plants appear tilt the glass on one side by placing something solid under one edge, which will pre- vent the plants scalding when there are sudden spells of sunshine. In every case sow at least six seeds either in pots or hills. When the plants have attained the desired strength, thin out the plants, leaving three of the strong- est in each hill or pot ; give water when necessary ; when the days are hot syringe the plants at 4 p. m. To encour- age a healthy growth, cultivate the soil until the vines cover the ground, but avoid disturbing the plant's twines, the omission of this precaution often proves disadvan- tageous. Spray every two weeks with weak bordeaux mixture : two ounces copper sulphate, 3 ounces slacked lime to three gallons of water. The mixture acts as a repellant to mildew, stiped beetle and fungi, or the fol- lowing is equally efficacious and is also easy to handle : use one himdred parts air slacked lime ( b_v weight) to one part Paris green : mix these together thoroughly and allow it to stand at least ten days before using; when us- ing this place a quantity of it in an open canvas bag and shake it over the plants when the leaves are moist. The ])lant should not be allowed to suffer for the want of water ; give an occasional dressing of fertilizer after the fruit has attained the size of an egg ; don't give stimu- lants when the plants are in a dry condition ; when the fruit is ripening give jtist sufficient water to keep the plants in a growing condition ; the flavor of the fruit is best wdien the plants are not too w-et ; when the fruit has attained a nice size, raise them up as mtich as possible, so that it can get all the air and sunshine possible ; attend to sto]:)ping and remove all weak and superfluous growth. By following the above methods of cultivation, the writer has had a succession of large fine flavored fruit, quite a number weighing over eight poimds each. INTERNATIONAL FLOWER SHOW New York, March 15-22, 1917 NATIONAL ROSE FESTIVAL Philadelphia, March 20-23, 1917 BOSTON SPRING FLOWER SHOW Boston, March 21-25, 1917 ST. LOUIS SPRING FLOWER SHOW St. Louis, March 15-18, 1917 I n n n « The Greenhouse Month to Month iiii By W R Fowkes, New York n I I ijiii n II THE busy days are again with us, stronoer sunshine, inoie Hght and the drying winds which will tend to exert our caution with temperatures, and ventil- ators will have to be attended to frequently. The peaches will bloom and not one atom of sunsliine should be lost. Give all possible air, and as they go out of bloom syringe them each morning; more water will also be required at the roots, together with moist atmosphere. Seedlings of annuals that are ready should be trans- planted and shaded for a time until well established. Young plants of carnations should be placed in the cold frames where they will develop a sturdy growth. Seedling Cyclamen that are on shelves near the glass must be sprayed several times daily to help their young fleshy leaves. .'\bout the middle of March Cannas that have been at rest should be started. They never succeed by being started in pots. Cut each root through and select the strongest eyes and place in flats in a compost of old mush- room soil or sand, leafniould and moss if the former is not to be had, and they will soon emit roots if placed under the bench in a teiiiperature of 6J degrees at night. Very little water is necessary. Palms, Ferns, Orchids and kindred subjects will re- quire shade or thev will be impaired. Azaleas will re- quire a little Clay's fertilizer to finish their growth, after which place them in a cool house. Much interest is now in evidence with regard to the constantly increasing interest taken in greenhouses by people who desire a few flowers always, and who do not employ a gardener and whose place is not large enough for such.v There is an endless amount of real pleasure derived from such hobbies. Most people de- light in growing old fashioned flowers and in this class are to be found an endless chain of such. People with a leanto house can grow a large plant of Heliotrope at one end of each and over a part of the roof the old fashioned Rose Marechal Niel can be trained to wires and give a large number of beautiful blooms with short stems that are a real pleasure. Swansonia can be grown tied to a center pillar or post while the Glox- inias, Begonias and Celosias and many well known plants easily raised from seed will flourish in a re- markable way under the rose. The small grower may not attain the perfection of the specialist, but who ex- pects to? There is pleasure indeed gained from the hours spent in one's own small place without interrup- tion. A well known writer said a while ago that or- chids were too costly for a small place, but I refute his statement. There was a time when any person who could keep orchids alive vs^as supposed to be en- dowed with some remarkable gift from the gods, but that once prevalent idea is obsolete. Besides, being an orchid grower is a special study, when we remember the wonderful collections abroad ; orchid culture there embraces every known kind and variety together with seed raising and hybridizing, but here in this sunny clime any person can grow a few Cattleyas, Cypripe- diums and Dendnibiums with wonderful ease and suc- cess. I have been noticing the efifort of a clerk in a bank for the past eighteen months. He erected a small sto\'ehouse a little more than a year ago and his place is a delight, not only to his family but as an incentive to others, and I can see that many such places will be erected shortly. He has a few orchids, Cypripediums and Cattleyas. He bought imported pieces upon my advice and the Cattleyas Trianae have just finished blooming and Percivaliana are now a wealth of bloom. Cypripediums, in fact all the lot, have paid for the original cost together with the further delight of grow- ing them another year. Any person can grow them and learn a lot if they will subscribe one dollar and a half to the Gardeners' Chronicle, where they will learn the rules of the interesting game. There is more satis- faction in growing orchids than Easter lilies, which cost as much and take about seven months to grow and bloom and then throw away. Spirjeas will require plenty of water now. All foliage plants, Crotons, Ficus and Dracaenas should be sprayed. If any need repotting it should now be done. Only give a slight shift of one inch and pot as firmly as you would an Erica or any hard wooded plant. Sweet peas will need plent}- of water and a feed of liquid cow manure each week will help them. See to it that \'entilators are open a little before the sun sends the temjierature up too high or many buds will be lost. Lettuce, Carter's perfected, is a grand variety for suc- cession and can be planted from the seed flats into the frames now. Cucumber Telegraph can be grown in a ten inch pot in rough sod, leaf mould and manure and will give bet- ter satisfaction than outdoor varieties. T CULTURE OF THE CYPRIPEDIUM. By Alex. Robertson, New York. HESE plants are of easy culture and require but little space. I prefer to grow them in pots where they do much better than in baskets. For potting the compost should consist of fibrous peat. Sphag- num moss, charcoal and sand mixed together. They require a liberal quantity of water during their period of growth. As they need but little rest they should never be allowed to get too dry at the roots. The Cypripedium, unlike many other kinds of orchids have no thick fleshy bulbs to supply them with nour- ishment and hence require a constant artificial sup- ply. They are propagated by dividing the roots. Nothing in the orchid family offers such a great number of s])ecies, varieties and hybrids as do the Cy- pripedium. The number of hybrids is becoming al- most vmlimited and the colors are almost bewildering. There is nothing more beautiful in the plant line than a collection of Cypripedium. They are a constant source of interest to the cultivator from one end of the year to the other. Some of the best know-n are : Spiceranum, Barbatum, I^aweranceium, Aurthura- nium, Maudica, Harrisanium, Curtisii, Selligerum, Prewetii, Rudiosum, Tonso and its varieties. Also Seeanum Clinkaberryanum. There is not a finer Cy- pripedium in cultivation today for its charming beauty and distinctiveness. Also the Insignes such as San- derse, Nitens, Ernestii, Manlii, Maculatum, Harefield Hall, etc., etc. They should have plenty of air and light, but slightly shaded from the direct rays of the sun. In summer time the ventilation should be open night and day. 51 I Selected Shrubs for Our Climate By Albert Millard, New York.* T IS not m}' intention to name a long list of shrubs, for such can be looked up in every good nursery catalogue, but I desire to direct your attention to the different varieties which you do not find represented on many of our country places and which are of the greatest value to con- sider. In the first place, I would like to name and recommend a few of our native shrubs of the most importance in garden making. Those I name I have planted at Riverdale and have found them hardy and of much merit. Among them are: 10. ^'ibnntl(m deiitfitiiiii. — One of the native snowballs — fine foliase and in fall covered with blue berries. Very ornamental. Itoses, wild varieties, are all very effective to plant in patches in front of shrubliery or on dry banks. 11.- Rosa blniiilu flowers. — Abundantly rose colored, also lli. Ji'osii liirida and lo. h'ljsu seliijci'a indispensable for wild effects. 14. Rosa Carolina grows only well in swampy places. We cannot forget to mention here, the beautiful varieties of Rubus. Ihe flowery Rasplierry. one nf the best is 1. Hcu riiyjiiiica (Viri;inia Willow) with pure white Hoovers, very fra- grant during .June. The foliage colors fine in autumn. 2. Andromeda ar- h o r c a (oxydcn- dronl called ' the ^'orrel Tree, really more a small tree than a shrub, Ijut a beautiful one; flowers like Lily in autumn. In my Abrliii Chiuoisis Crandiflnrd. of the Valley, the leaves turnini; lirowii red opinion it is hard to grow. 3. Kalniia latifolia or .Mountain Laurel. Would advise to plant :N'ursery grown stock, tine for ijlantiuj; in front of Uhoil.iilendrdU. 4. Ceanothiis ainericana (Jersey Teal grows well in dry spots; flowers the whole summer, white, abundantly. Prune down se- verely in spring. 5. Cliionantliiis liniinica t White Fringe), great as a single plant, grows to quite a height. It is a beauty when in flower. G. CMJira ainifolia (Sweet I'epper Bush I must fragrant white flowers in July. Slow growing and very effective in masses of 12 or more. Does well in half shade. 7. Ainelancliicr, the Sluid Hush flowers very early with showy white' flowers and reddish fruits. Easy grower. 8. Piinis-arhutifoUa. — The red chokeberry is just wonderful. Has white flowers, bluish-black berries and brilliant colored foliage in fall. 'J. iiumhuciis (Elder). — Several varieties with big white flower- heads — and masses of red or black berries. * Extracts from New Yorl<. *We are indrbted to Henry A sented. — Editor. Rhus Tyfliiiia Laciiiiata. pai>er read Iiefore tlie Riverdale Horticultural Society, Dreer, Inc., for the illustrations here pre- Clcthra Alinfolla {Si^'cct Pepper Bush) l.'i. Riihns-delieioHs from the IJocky Mnuntains, has very large single white flowers — like a wliite Dogwood. I could mention many more of these exquisite native shrubs, but time will not permit me, and if one plants in the near future, some of these fifteen varieties named he will derive much pleasure therefrom? I will not take your time to talk about Lilacs, Forsy- thias. liierberis. Honeysuckles, but name and describe in short some of the beautiful uncommon varieties which de- serve a place in our gardens. liuddhin iir butterfly slinfl). — No other shr\ib has gained so much in popularity as the Ruddleias — only a few years ago nobody knew them. In our locality they are hard.v if the rootstock is covered in winter. They may die down but they sprout imt again and grow very quick and flower in profusion the n-hole summer. There are two varieties in commerce, the veitchiana and the mag- niflca, Init I could not find mucli difference. On this occasion I would call ycmr attention to the tender variety, B. cliinensis alba, a wonrful fragrant variet.y for the greenhouse, flowering at Christmas and January. Up to this time it was always grown cold, but in a temperature of 55-(30 it improves — in every respect. Rhus Si/I'l'i'iiis lariiiiata. — The fern-leafed Suniac is exquisite, decorative, foliage colors fine. I cut it severely back every spring 52 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 53 mi hk^ ^"^ ^ ^ ^\«^^ Viburnum Carlcsi. and onoe more in summer, tin- nnly ilisatlvantnae is tlial it riius — soon a distance of by suclsers. Enocliorda uruinli/lora. — Tlie beautiful pearl busb, one of tbe earliest flowers. King shrubs — covered with elesant white flowers. Tumuno} aestivalis hisiiiilu. — A variety with delicate pink flowers — blooming in fall, this variety may be pruned in spring ; is- fine for cutting in long sprays with dainty glocious foliage, needlelike. Kerria japoiiit-a ariiciitea variegata. — Low growing, pink flowers, very good for front planting. H1yra.T japoidca. — Xo garden should be without it. but it is very rare. The white nodding flowers and the bluish .seed capsules are very attractive. Uesmodiiim juponicuiti — Two varieties, one indigo, the other white, flowering at a time in September and Octol)er when very few shrubs are lilooming. They die down to the ground and sprout out from the roots every spring. EuoHijmus — chitiis. — Nothing can be more effective, the foliage turns to coppery red, and the red fruit stays almost all winter through. Althaeas (Rose of Sharon). — Personally, I must say that I care only for two varieties — the single white, Tatus albus, a slow grower, but exeeptionably fine, and Beatrice, single pink ; both do not need much pruning. There is a new variety out, William li. Shiitli. a giant, flowering with 4-inch while single flowers. CaUieariia amerieaiia purpurea is another plant that deserves more attention. The clusters of blue berries in September are wonderful. They should be pruned very severe in spring to get fine results. ('oriilus-arellaiiu atropurpurea. the red-leafed hazel, with the chocolate-colored leaves, will grow good under trees, in half shade. Viten- ngnus castiis, the chaste shrub, is another rare shrub of great beauty. The foliage is star-shaped and flowers appear in fall, pale lilac and white. They die down to the ground every winter l)ut sprout up quick again. Do not think they are dead because they take their time in spring. /.aiitliiH-rras sorbifolia. — Shrul). Yellow Root: flowering with fine cut foliage and flowers like an orchid ; the large seedpods look very interesting. I'liilailelplius (mock orange). — If ymi want the sweet-scented plant only the old-fashioned variety eoroiiarius, some of the newer varieties have no fragrance at all. Hulesiii Setraptera. Silverbell. — Makes fine specimens fcU' single planting on the lawn, the bell-shaiied wliite flowers have to be seen nearby and the dark blue large seeilpoils. makes it a very interesting subject. Cunius alba '\k most effeclive in winter. The darkened branches and twigs — above the white snow — look very jirominent planted on a hillside. H ijdrtiiiftaea arborisc<'us frainlitlnni. alba l.snowliall Ilydranga^a ) with a long name, but do not miss it, blooms in midsummer and Ampclopsis Tricolor Anipclopsis Loivi ^'iburuum. — The well-known Snowballs. OpuU.s is the well- known High Cranberry P.ush. with red berries, lasting almost all through the winter. There are two new varieties — rhi/tiiluplii/lluiii. with the fine 8 to 10-inch-long leaves, almost evergreen, and the beautiful V. C'arlesi, with beautiful white flowers, bouvardia-like. Forsiithia suspeiisa, with the hanging branches, and in spring covered with the yellow flowers, is the best variety. AnHia Peittaphiilla is a shrub from Japan with very attractive leaves — five lobed and pale green. Elaeofii'us argentea anil lungipes. — Can be grown in dry places. With their silvery foliage and in autumn the orange berries, should have a place in every garden. The berries make a fine preserve. Buddlcia (lUillrrlly Bush) (all with large flowers — cut back to one or two eyes. Flowers fine in pots for memorial day. Zanthorrhiza apiijolia., — Yellow Root thrives well in front of trees — and is one of the most beautiful colored plants in fall. Spiraea Recresii is one of the finest blooming Spira?as — with the double white flowers — so that almost not a leaf is to be seen. Catuneastcr are most all low-growing evergreen shrubs, with the red berries lasting all winter. Highly to recommend ; very showy. C. liorizontalis is the variety famed in some places, but I iiave a plant of salicifolia floccosa, the leaves are beautifully dark brown colored and should be quite an acquisition for decorative work in n^inter. C. Franchetti is also an attractive variety with orange colored berries. 54 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Iltiiiliiic ridoriiiiii is a ihvarf, spread iiii; sliruli. tiiii' for mrk gardens, grows oul.v (J iuclies high, flowers very early, ijiiik and fragrant. Needs a light covering in -winter. Vraliicijiix J'l/rueantha Laltiiidi. — A groiii) of this plant most be admired by everyone. Evergreen and covered with orange berries. It makes some trouble to keeii the birds away from them, but it i.s a beauty seldom seen. For hillside plantins,'' on a dry slojje itot far from a driveway or path I would recommend : liohiniii hisiiiila — The roots run all over the ground; flowern pink, very fragrant; and liUics aiireiiiu. the fine scented yellow flowers, early in spring, fill the whole atmosphere. They are easy growers and cover quite a space in a short time. Ohclia ihiiiciisix gruiidi/tora. — I found one of the.se iiotted in our greenliouses, but they were hardy in Pennsylvania, and I tried the.se outdoors. They lived through our severe conditions for seven years. It is one of the most beautiful little shrubs with grace- ful bauvardia-like flowers, blooming all summer through, and the foliage is exceedingly fine ; try it and be convinced. Cari/oplcris iiiastneiiiitliiis (Blue Sijirea). — It is really a shrub, but on account of it growing back to the ground every j'ear, we find it in many catalogues, classified under Perennials, In Sep- tember and October this is certainly a beauty as a border plant in front of shrubs. Needs some protection in winter. I would also like to call your attention to a few hardy climbers of the greatest service. Ai)iitcloi)sis Enficlmanni is a far better variety than the common Virginia creeper, it will cling to a rough surface without any support, the same as the P>oston Ivy, but it does not look as stiff, plastered. The color effects in a sunny position are excellent. Xmiielopsis Lairii. — I believe it was introduced by Henry A. Dreer. Philadelphia, perhaps 10 years ago. It certainly is a most graceful climber without any suiiport, nothing better to cover rocks, etc. The leaves are of a pale green cidor in summer and change to all kinds of color in fall, Vitis lieferopln/lla varugnta or tricolor. — It is the climax of beauty all the time. The foliage is fine cut, the young shoots are pink and green, leaves — beautiful variegated, and in August the berries appear in multitudes. — The color of the berries is like a paint box, light green, dark green, indigo, rose, ultramarine blue, navy blue, etc., not to describe. If you see this vine once in August or September you will never forget it, I am sure. If I am not mistaken we grew this Vitis -10 years ago as a fine pot plant — but now it is hardy as a rock. Habit of plants might change like human beings. Forty years ago we had felt straps around the windows that no draft should strike us in the night ; now science warns that we cannot get enough fresh air in our sleeping chambers. Shrubs appear at their best when planted in masses — • to hide the border, as some fancy, or planted in front of trees, while some very effective shrubs look well when planted singly. In large parks, especially when not far removed from the driveway a mass planting of one va- riety may look well, but on smaller lawns smaller groups, say, two, three or up to a dozen, are more effective. Mo- notony should have no sentiment in a small place. It makes your place interesting to discover something new — something different — without making it confused or bizarre. BUDDLEIA VARIABILIS DUDDLEIA variabilis, which in Xature, is a vigor- ous, much-branched shrub, may, under artificial conditions, be grown as a standard or against a high wall, I remeinber, writes W. Betting Hemsley in The Garden (English), seeing in 1908 a very fine ex- ample covering the front of a cottage at Abbotsbury, Dorsetshire. Two rooted cuttings of this plant were among the shrubs giveti me by Kew to help furnish my empty garden at Strawberry Hill, on my retire- irient at the end of the same year. The winter of 1908-9 was relatively severe, and one of the cuttings perished. The other grew freely and flowered pro- fusely in the summer of 1909. It presented a main stem with lateral branches, the lower ones of which I cut away, leaving the plant in the form of a miniattire tree. This habit I encouraged from year to year, and now mv tree has a trunk 4 feet high and 18 inches in girth, just below the point from which spring six primary branches. The crown is almost sp;herical, with a diameter of about 15 feet, and is kept to this size by annual pruning of the very mimerous year's growths, from 4 feet to 7 feet long. These yearl}- growths are much branched, each branch bearing a number of pani- cles, successively developed from the apex downwards, the whole continuing in flower for from four to six weeks. The panicles are dense, cylindrical, curved and tapering to the tip, and from 6 inches to 18 inches long, the terminal ones being much the largest ; and the fra- grant flowers, in my variety, are a bright red lilac with a yellow eye. Perhaps the safest method of growing Buddleia variabilis is against a wall with a southeast to a north- west aspect ; but as a standard it is almost incompar- able. On account of the extreme brittleness of the wood at the base of the shoots it demands a sheltered situation. Steady rains, as well as violent winds, are destructive, as the woolly tomentum of the leaves holds a large quantity of water, soinetiines of sufficient weight to break ofif the bough. Nevertheless, Buddleia variabilis is well worthy of cultivation, both for the beauty and abundance of its flowers, as well as for the long duration of its flowering period, at a season when the majority of flowering shrubs are over. I have a suspicion, however, that an unusually severe winter will kill it. Like its South American congener, B. globosa, it readily responds to changes of temiierature during the cold season, A mild week in inidwinter will cause it to put forth fresh shoots, to be nipped the next week perhaps, and replaced, maybe, two or three times during the winter. ANOMATHECAS. A MATEURS and others should now turn their thotights to the question of what bulbs can be procured and planted in Spring. There is special need for the brightening influences of flowers in these times, and the Anomathecas are capital for the border, rockery, greenhouse, or conservatory, and are also used with most attractive effect in window boxes, for which they are well suited. The Anoinathecas are dwarf plants belonging to the same Natural Order as the Irises. Few plants of that Order lack beauty% and the Anomathecas possess it in a high degree. They are attractive plants with grass-like leaves, broadish, however, and spikes of charming starry flowers of a good red, tinged with scarlet, with a deep crimson blotch on three of the lower segments of the flower. The plants are from six to nine inches high, and the flowers are borne in succession for a considerable time in suniiner. A grotip in the border is a pleasing feature, and in pots or window boxes well-grown plants are of great as- sistance in giving a welcome bit of color. Value is added to the Anomathecas by the fact that they look brighter even in shade than in sun, and that the intensit}' of their coloritig is greatly improved by their being screened from the brightest simshine. The best time for planting is the month of March, \\'hen the bulbs ought to be set about two inches deep in light, sandy soil. Where the soil is heavy some sand and leaf-soil should be mixed with it, and a hand- ful of the former placed about the bulb will be helpful under such conditions. For pots and window boxes, a compost of loam, leaf-soil, and sand may be made up in about equal pro- portions. In a small pot one bulb will be enough, but THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA :iD in a six-inch pot from three to five bulbs will give a much better effect. In some localities these Anomathecas are not quite hardy, but in the warmer parts of the United King- dom no doubt exists as to their hardiness. In cooler districts, however, it is advisable to lift the bulbs in autumn and store them away beyond the reach of frost. Dry sand is capital material for storing them in. When grown in pots it is usual to shake them out in late autumn and to re-pot in the soil advocated, keeping the compost dry and the pots out of reach of frost until Spring, when water may be gradually given. Those who are unacquainted with the beauty of these brilliant flowers will find it worth their while to purchase a few bulbs for the adornment of their gar- dens in the coming summer. — The Gardeners' Maga- zine (English). FIELD-GROWN ROSES FOR CUT-FLOWER. IN deciding the time to plant cut-flower roses, the gardener must take into consideration the kind of plant, the location, and to a certain extent, the sea- son. The roses may be obtained either as dormant or potted plants. It is best to use the former and plant in the fall in those sections where the temperature does not fall below 10 degrees F., where the winter winds are not exceptionally drying, and where the soil has been so prepared that it does not heave badly. In other places spring planting with potted plants is best. If budded or grafted roses are used they must be planted deeper than own-rooted roses would be, because of the liability of shoots starting from the stock below the scion. The point of union between the stock and scion should be planted three inches under the ground. By planting in this way the scion will have an opportunity to form roots from the part of the stem in the ground and thus become at least partially own rooted. Planting the stock so deeply discourages the formation of new shoots from it. If any appear they must be removed at once. Potted plants, as opposed to the dormant sort, should be set out only in the spring not over two weeks be- fore the oaks come into leaf. Tea roses should be planted from 18 to 30 inches apart, depending on the vigor of growth and proposed treatment. The hybrid tea roses have a greater range of charac- ter of growth even than the other kinds discussed, and the proper distance for planting corresponds. The planting distance is from 20 inches to 3 feet, being greatest in the warmer regions where they get an abundance of water and least where they are retarded in growth by cold winters or dr_v summers. One of the special requirements of cut flower roses is cultivation. They should, therefore, have the ground in which they are planted entirely to themselves to fa- cilitate frequent stirring of the surface. Cultivation should begin early and continue until within six weeks of the dormant season. The first spring cultivation should be deep enough to work into the soil the winter mulch of manure or a good special application of ma- nure if there is no mulch. The latter cultivations should be just deep enough to maintain a surface dust mulch. The quality of the blossoms as cut-flower roses can be controlled largely by pruning. For the production of individual blossoms of greatest perfection, as well as to secure a succession of bloom, severe pruning must be practiced. When a large number of blooms of small size is the aim, the pruning is less severe. Where the greatest amount of bloom is desired, without re- gard to the size or quality of the individual flowers, the least pruning is done. If dormant roses have been set out in the fall, one- half the wood will have been removed. In the spring these roses should be cut back more, leaving only two or three stems with four or five eyes on each. This will leave them six inches or less in height. When dormant roses are planted in the spring they should be pruned at the time of planting, leaving four or five eyes on a stem as above recommended. In regions where there is no danger of injury from frost or dry winds the final pruning, as described for spring, may be made in the fall. After the first year, pruning should be done as soon as freezing weather is over. In regions where roses never suffer from cold it may be done in the fall. All weak wood and crossing branches should be remo\-ed every year. For fine specimen blooms on hybrid perpetuals the remaining shoots should be shortened to four or five eyes. For the greatest mass of bloom only one-third to one-half the length of the shoots should be cut away. It is sometimes desirable to subject cut-flower roses to somewhat rigorous treatment in summer to force a rest. This is usually found necessary only where the plants are grown under irrigation a part of the vear and have but a short winter check. Under such condi- tions it will be advisable to dry the plants out for a month or six weeks. When plant growth is not satisfactory and some plants do not seem to take hold as well as others, the application of a diluted liquid manure often stimulates and starts a plant to growing well. — Southern Florist. NATIONAL ROSE AND PEONY GARDENS. P LOWER lovers are being asked by the Office of Horticultural Investigations of the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture to contribute to the test gardens at x-\rlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington, roses and peonies of varieties not now represented in the Government collections. It is the hope of the Department to assemble at the Arlington gardens as nearh' complete collections of varieties of the two flowers as possible. These collections will be used for comparison and study of conditions under which they thrive best, and also as a basis for plant breeding work. At the present time, approximately 700 varieties of roses and 400 varieties of peonies are growing in the Arlington gardens. These represent about one-half the varieties of each of the flowers be- lieved to exist in the United States. The Department of Agriculture is creating the test gardens in co-o]3eration with the American Rose So- ciety and the American Peony Society. The rose garden was begun in 1915. The peony collection was started last fall. The majority of the plants have been contributed by nurserymen and florists, though many have been given by amateurs. Express or postal charges are paid by the contributors. Plants should be sent during the dormant season, which lasts from fall to late April. Potted plants may be sent success- fully as late as the last of May. Persons who believe the}- have varieties of roses or peonies not represented in the Arlington gardens and who wish to contribute to the collections, should first write to the office of Horticultural Investigations, Washington, D. C, offering specific varieties or re- questing a list of the varieties desired. 56 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NAT I O N A L A SSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published on the I5th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All edi- torial matter should be addressed to M, C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. \'ol. XXI. February, 1917 No. 2. JAPANESE FLOWER GROUPING 'TplllS art of flower grouping and arranging is in its •*■ graceful efl:'ects rather a linear than a color study. It is undoubtedly a fine art, and represents a scientific study of nature in grouping branches and blossoms to form a decorative picture. A. Japanese flower artist does not merely take a pretty natural branch or flower and place it in a vase, but subjects it to certain treatment, manipulating his materials as a painter would his colors, to form the design, according to traditional rules, which have to be carried out most faithfully. Very few flowers are used, but are perfect of their kind, as every small leaf or branch has its particular value in the composition of the picture ; superfluous ones are clipped away to attain the desired efl:ect. But per- haps the beauty, rather than the philosophy of the flower are appeals more readily to the western mind, though the designs show nature in her active and passive moods. A creeper in one of their hanging Bamboos becomes a trail hanging over a clifl^, shaken by the wind. A modest little Japanese group of water plants, in a flat stand, will give the effect of flags or reeds growing up the river- side in a way that a bouquet arranged in European fash- ion can never do. A juniper, or Fir branch, properly fixed in a Japanese vase makes one think of a calm forest tree, whereas in an English one it may mean a piece of greenery, while their curved branches of plum blossom fully convey the life and virility of a fruit tree in springtime. The simpler arrangements of the groups are made in three parts — shin, or highest, soye, middle or support, and tai, the lowest or finish, which may be de- scribed as the equivalent of a picture composit'on, back- ground, middle distance, foreground. In the more elabo- rate designs these divisions are increased to five or seven parts. These are all carefully proportioned so as to give balance and symmetry to the group. The different parts are carefully prepared before being put together, the right-sized flowers, buds and leaves chosen, they are then cut to the right length, the bottom of flag leaves sliced into a point, and stalks cleanly cut. To get a leaf to bend the right way it is damped and pressed gently over the hand. Japanese hands are soft and flexible, and the flowers seem to respond to their gentle touch very readily. Branches of fir or juniper, bamboo, or flowering plum are pruned, bent and twisted into the right shape and curves for the desired effects. The parts being carefully prepared, a number of short pieces of stalks and leaves are cut into corresponding numbers, about an inch long. The high vase, or stand, may be either of bronze or bamboo, and across the top of it is fixed a short forked stick, in which the flowers or branches are placed in the right positions, the middle part leaning slightly either to the right or left — for nature is never straight, and each leaf and flower is separated by a piece of short stalk, and this needs most careful haiulling. While the flowers are held in place with the left hand, the little pieces or wedges are slipped in by the right, and when properly made should be as firm as a growing plant. A loosened leaf or flower will spoil the harmony of the v^'hole design, for to keep the right lines is most important. For the grouping of flowers in the low vases, or flat earthenware stands, heavy metal separate stands, or holders, are used. They have little partitions in them, and are made in a variety of shapes and sizes. Seasons and Their Flowers. — For a Summer group of Iris fully developed blossoms are used, and for Spring arrangement more buds. Dividing the leaves and blos- soms into three parts, take the highest for the first divi- sion, those a third part shorter for the second, and for the lowest use a flower and leaves about half as high as the whole ; the latter come into the foreground. The ends of the leaves must be cut to a sharp point, and other short pieces cut exactly to the height of the metal stands are slipped in firmly between every leaf and blos- som as it is put in its proper position, wedging them in the stands as steadily as in the forked sticks. When placed in the dish little pebbles of stones are put in to conceal the stands, and when the water is added the effect is complete. Any v^'ater loving plant may be used successfully for this style of arrangement. The water can be changed without any fear of disarranging the group, which will be found to last a long time, keeping fresh. Simplicity is the keynote of the Japanese taste, and where the English will have a dozen vases the Japanese will have one, but that one, placed in the tokonoma or alcove of the room, will, as well as the flowers it liolds, be perfect of its kind. It will generally be a flower of the season, as for decoration each season has its special flower, beginning with the Plum (ume), which comes into bloom at tlie end of January and lasts till March. The middle of April sees the Cherry (sak- ura) in full bloom, followed hard by the Azaleas (tsutsiji) on the mountain sides and garden banks. The Tree Pseony represents the month of May, at the end of which the V\'istaria comes into bloom. The Iris and Lotus and the Convolvulus come in full Summer ; the glowing maples and Chrysanthemums finish the floral season. . Colors have their values in Japanese flower grouping also, and red, which represents the male, and white for the female, are the suitable flower colors for a wedding. The mourner's color in Japan is pure white. Purple is forbidden, and certain flowers, willow branches and plants are considered unlucky. The heads of Daphnes and Cameillias fall oft' too easily to please the ancient Jap- anese. Pine trees and Bamboos represent longevity. Horal design, as understood in Japanese painting, when known more generally to the western schools exercised a wide influence in them and possibly their flower art would bring its teaching to bear upon our floral arrange- ments, were its methods better known among us here. — The Times (London). THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 57 DIANTHUS ALLWOODII. Ti EW varieties of plants arc quite ci.imnioii in the horticultural world, l)ut an entirely new race of plants is an incident of note. The newly introduced race known as Dianthus Allwoodii is an acquisition, since it can be grown by anyone in an ordinary gar- den. It simply excels on rock gardens, dry walls or in window-boxes. D. allwoodii originatetl from numerous crosses carried out with different species of the Dianthus fam- ily, and was eventually obtained after six years of ex- tensive research with many thousands of seedlings. The habit of growth of the ])lant is similar to that of the common garden Pink, exce]5t that the growth is much stronger and more rapid. With this great ■charm the plants commence to flower in May, and continue tn ])roduce an endless su])ply of bloom until late autumn. The}- have the delightfid ))erfume of the garden Pink, but a stronger and slightly longer Dianthus Allzcoodii, New Hybrid I'ink of Great Promise. stem, with sound calyx ; while the range of color even now is wonderful, but the future will undoubtedly un- fold almost every known shade. Many of the vari- eties have the beautiful eye or lacing of the old show ■ Pinks which were so popular a decade ago. The flowers of D. allwoodii are double, semi-double and single. Some varieties produce blooms measur- ing three inches and grow two feet high ; others, quite small blooms and grow only a few inches high. There are fringed flowers and those with smooth-edged petals. Couple all this with the perfume, variety of colors and combination of the same, and ease of cul- ture, and the future of D. allwoodii must be apparent to all. The raisers, Messrs. Allwood Brothers, Carnation specialists, of Hayward's Heath, describe their crea- tion as "the most reasonable plant in the world," be- cause all it requires is a direct light. It flourishes in any soil, and is readily propagated by cuttings, pip- ings or layers, which root easily from May to Octo- ber, or by division in the early autumn. If the plants are not propagated, they grow in large clumps, and continue to flower for upwards of three years if ma- nured and attended to. The use of the short-growing varieties for edging, intermixing with Roses, bulbs and other plants will be extensive ; while other kinds will be used in herbaceous borders and for special beds, in vases, etc. Their suitability as pot plants for cultivation in cold conservatories and frames for the production of early Spring flowers adds greatly to their value, many of the varieties producing pryamids of bloom under this system. Their glorious bluish green foliage in winter is not the least beautiful fea- ture. The culture of D. allwoodii is simple, and closely resembles that of the old garden Pink. No amount of rain, frost or snow can hurt them ; in fact, the foli- age assumes a lighter tint and appears to revel in it. Propagation by divisions can be done, but not so suc- cessfulh- as in the case of the Pink. Yet another fea- ture of this plant is that it may be grown in pots for late autumn flowering in the greenhouse or for forc- ing into bloom in the early spring; so there is little wonder that the scientific committee of the Royal Horticultural Society gave a unanimous vote of ap- l)reciation to this new race of plants. — The Garden ( English). SPIRAEA HENRYI. 'T^HUUdH introduced by E. H. Wilson as long ago as 1900, when collecting in China for J. Veitch & Sons, this spiraea is now making" its presence felt in many gardens. Young plants make very rapid prog- ress after the roots get well established, by throwing up vigorous stems, at first erect, then arching. No flowers are produced by these stems the first year, and they are termed barren. They are characterized by the length they attain in one season and by the large size of the leaves they bear. In these respects the species closely resemble S. canescens from the Himalayas, and the two are certainly not distantly related, for the latter is a very variable plant. Species belonging to diverse orders in the Himalayas are linked up by related or connected forms, extending through China to Japan, and this would indicate a natural line of direction of distribution extending back to relatively ancient times, and no dotibt still in progress. Both these spiraeas, during the second season, produce short side branches terminating in a large, corymb or cyme of white flowers, and when the barren shoots of the previous year are long, say four feet to six feet or more, the effect is bold and pleasing. The leaves are much smaller on the flowering twigs, and this brings the flowers into greater prominence. On very vigorous shoots of the previous year the internodes are long, but as growth becomes more staid by a fuller occu- pation of the grotmd by the roots, the internodes are shorter and the trusses of blossom touch one another. The habit of the species indicates that it should be planted in an open position, where the arching branches can develop equally on all sides, and not in a crowded shrubbery. — Gardeners' Chronicle (English). 58 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA w^ GETTING SHRUBS INTO SHAPE. TJl the Ixginning ot the }car those having the eare of shrubs will rind occupation in their pruning. The main principle of shrub pruning has been too often explained to need much repetition now. Briefly it is to prune but little, shrubs that flower in Spring, and severel}' those known as late Summer or Fall flowering. It is presumed, writes Joseph .Meehan in Florists' t.vc/uin^i^c, everyone knows or can easily ascertain the season the shrub before him blooms, so that just how to proceed in the use of the knife is not difficult. In a general wa}-, those that are Spring blooming are supposed to go untouched after their growth is made in Summer, but the writer has found it to ad- vantage to look them over again in Winter or in ad- vance of S])ring. There are often awkward-looking branches which would be better removed, as well as some old growth, the removal of which would add to the neat appearance of the bushes. Besides this, one may often put a better shape to them by cutting back some of the past season's wood, but not all of it. There are always shoots of some length, of this latest growth, so that, even when these are partly cut back, there still remains some of the flowering wood un- touched, and often the result is that the flowers that do come later are better and finer than they would have been had the branches been impruned. ^\'hile well recognizing the importance of keeping in mind the different ]3nming required by the two classes of shrubs, the writer by no means thinks that the Spring blooming sorts should go untouched in Winter. _^ The partial priming in Winter gives to the florist and the nurseryman the opportunity to procure cut- tings for propagation, an important matter with many of them. Those who rely largely' on such propaga- tion provide for a supply Ijy having a portion of their grounds set apart on purpose to grow shrubs for cut- tings. These shrubs are, of course, treated in the way of priming to give the greatest number of shoots for cuttings, irrespective of flowers. The harder they are pruned back in Winter, the more and stronger will be the shoots that are made the Summer following. The principles of pruning are now much better known than they were in the past ; still one may see now and again shrubs on small lawns totally ruined for flowering, where incompetent men have been sent to prune them. THE MINERAL FOOD OF PLANTS. C O far as our present knowledge goes, the food re- quirements of plants are surprisingly modest. Besides water and carbon-dioxide all they e.xact from the soil are compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, sul- phur, potassium, lime, magnesium, and iron. Hence it is not surprising that physiologists should from time to time ask the question. Do these elements satisfy all the complex requirements of plants or are other ele- ments, albeit in minute quantities, also necessary? The question is easier stated than solved, for there are many and formidable experimental difficulties to be overcome before a sure answer may be obtained. It is obviously impossible to seek an answer from the behavior of plants growing in soil, for it is a well-established fact that just as jackdaws acquire and secrete in their nests any unconsidered trifles which come their way, so plants may absorb in considerable variety and quantity many, if not all, of the mineral elements which occur in the soil. They may even to their detriment absorb poisonous substances. Wherefore it follows that the occurrence of this or that element in a plant is no index of its usefulness or indispensableness to the plant. Di- rect experimental investigation of the problem is difii- cult owing to the facts that, on the one hand, ordinary chemicals are by no means absolutely pure, and glass or earthenware in which plants are grown contains many dift'erent substances, traces of which may pass into solution, and, on the other hand, a substance may be essential to growth even though the minutest traces of it are required. Therefore in order to carry out an experiment the utmost care must be taken to emplo}' chemicals of ab- solute purity and to see that the plant used in the experiment does not serve, by way of the reserve food of its seed, to supply a sufficiency of these doubtful elements to the germinating seedling and to ensure that no substances derived from the glass receptacles in which the plants are grown or from particles of dust find their way into the plant. The most recent experiments which have been made ha\e been carried out by M. Maze* with all possible [irecautions. They appear to show that with the maize plant the above enumerated indispensable elements da not e.xhaust the list, but that to them must be added manganese, zinc, silicon, and cerium. It may be noted that the importance of manganese has long been sus- pected, that zinc is known to play curious tricks in the speeding up of growth, and that silicon, according to some experiments, though not according to others, is essential for the growth of cereals. Furthermore, al- though the maize plants developed and set seed when all the elements of the two lists given above were pres- ent, this was only the case when spring water was used. W^hen spring water was replaced by distilled water purified by repeated redistillation even this lengthy series of elements did not suffice for complete development. The failure of the crop was traced to the absence from the distilled w-ater of compounds of boron, aluminum, fluorine and iodine, traces of which were found to occur in the spring water. Whether these remarkable conclusions apply to other plants or whether they are peculiar to maize is not known. On general grounds we may be fairly sure that if the conclusions hold good for maize they will also be found to apply to other plants as well. Nor should anyone hastily conclude that facts such as these are of academic interest only. They may well prove to be of economic value as well. For example, the presence or' _absence of traces of one or other of these supernumerary elements may exercise, for all we know to the contrary, a decisive influence" on the immunity from or susceptibility to disease. It is- therefore to be hoped that the all-important question of the complete dietary of the plant shall be established on an indisputable experimental basis. — Gardeners' Chronicle (English). •Comptes Pendus, 1915, 160, 211. Of Interest to Estate Owners The National Association of Gardeners maintains a Service Bureau n-hich Is at the disposal of all who may require the serrices of efficient gardeners In their various capacities. The association seelis the co-operation of estate owners in its efforts to secure opportunities for those engaged In the profession of garden- ing who are seeking to advance themselves. It malces no rtiarpe for services rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to asRiime the responsibilities the position may call for. Malie your requirements iinown to M. C. EBEL, Sec'y, National Association of Gardeners, Madison, N. J. Roads Not Public Property A QUESTION frequently asked is: Who owns the trees, the shrubs and plants that grow along the public roads? Not only priVjite individuals but offi- cials are confused by the question. Recently a resident of New York State ordered certain travelers to stop picking apples from a tree that grows in front of his property. The\^laiighed at him and said that he had no more right to them than they had as the fruit was growing in the public road. To maintain his position he submitted the question to The Rural Nciv Yorker. The reply was that the owner is right and the travelers wrong. The question was submitted to Cummings & Lockwood of Stamford, Conn., as to the situation in that State. Their report covers the whole ground and is here printed. "It appears that tree wardens are somewhat limited in their power. They do not own the trees along the public road as their actions not rarely suggest. The trees belong to the owner of the adjoining property. It appears from this opinion that the owner of the ad- joining property owns not only the fruit but the flowers, raspberries, huckleberries, strawberries and the grass that grows along the public road. Children especially sometimes think that they must ask permission to pick daisies from the field, but that they are at liberty to gather them up from the sidewalk and the roadside. The owner of the adjoining pro])erty controls the flowers in the roads as completely as he controls those in the fields. It seems to be a general belief that pedestrians may break down shrubs and flowers and pick berries in the public- road without saying even, "if you please." The public has no such right. They have only the right to travel over the road. It would be a pleasing consummation if the restrictions described were respected not only by private individuals but by some public officials. A tree warden acting in behalf of the public should keep clearly in mind when he is trimming the trees that he is dealing with private property. The right of pasturage along public roads be- longs only to the owners of the adjoining property. No one has any more right to pasture his cattle along a public road in front of private property than he has to feed the horse or the cow in the middle of the owner's farm without saying even as much as, 'Tf you please." The opinion stated by the legal firm above mentioned is, in part, as follows : "We have received your request for an opinion regard- ing the law of Connecticut as to ownership of land traversed by highways, and rights in trees and herbage growing thereon. We are glad to comjily with your re- quest, but it is proper in doing so to add a warning to your readers that a legal opinion rendered upon any subject without references to a particular state of facts, should not be relied on as controlling those facts. This opinion is intended merely to give a very general and non- technical view of the law, as a matter of abstract interest to your readers. "It is safe generally to assume that each proprietor whose land abuts on a highway owns the fee of the land to the center of the highway. The reason for this rule of law is that the town or State by which the highway is opened, does not acquire any actual ownership (viz.: the fee) of the land, but only a right to travel over it, which right is held in trust for the public at large. When the highway is opened, therefore, the fee of the land remains in the original proprietors : and because most highways are so ancient that it would not be possible or convenient to ascertain who actually owned the fee of the land taken for highway purposes, the law supplies a strong presumption that the proprietors on either side own to the center of the highway. That is the normal situation, and strong proof is necessary to controvert the claim of any proprietor to his fee to the center of the highway. Of course if a single proprietor originally owned all the land through which the highway passes, he remains the owner of the fee of the entire highway after it is opened. "Your readers will jierhaps be most interested in the rights which the abutting proprietors and the public, re- spectively, have in the trees and herbage growing on land within the limits of a highway. The above discus- sion is necessary to a proper understanding of these rights, wdiich we now take up. We assume, in what fol- lows, that the normal situation prevails, viz. : an open traveled highway over which the public has a mere ease- ment or right of way, and of which each abutting pro- prietor owns the fee of the land to its center line. "In law, everything that grows upon land, or is so attached or annexed to it as to be practically inseparable from it, is part of the real estate itself. Thus, title to a tree, a shrub, or to a house, follows title to the land, for each of these is in law a part of the land. Since the abutting ])roprietor owns the land to the center of the highway it follows that he also owns the trees, shrubs and other natural products found thereon, and such is the law of Connecticut. It may be laid down broadly, that the abutting proprietor, as between himself and any other private person, owns the trees and other growths on his portion of the highway, absolutely. Any other person not clothed with public authority or not in the act of removing an obstacle to his proper use of the highway for travel, has no color of right to injure any such growth or to take its fruit. A violation of the proprietor's rights as above outlined is a trespass just as much as it would be to commit a similar depredation on the owner's premises a hundred feet back from the high- way, and the unauthorized taking of anv of the owner's property in either case is a theft. "It does not follow, however, that the proprietor of the highway land can enjoy the untrammeled use of these trees and other growths. He is curtailed in his enjoyment of them just as his control over his half of the highway itself is limited, by the reasonable require- ments of the public use. Thus a tree or any other object which obstructs travel, may be trimmed or removed, as public convenience demands ; for the public easement within its limited scope is paramount. "In Connecticut, by statute, the public has acquired additional rights in wayside growths, wholly apart from the primary common law rights as to highway travel. These public rights are exercised chiefly by Town Tree Wardens. Their jurisdiction extends over all public trees within their towns. Since all the territory in Connecticut is within the borders of some town, all public trees in the State fall under the jurisdiction of the respective Tree Wardens, Public trees are defined by the statute as "all transplanted trees, and all other trees not less than six inches in circumference measured two feet from the ground, within the limits of any public way." Tree Wardens may, with the consent of the selectmen of the town, trim or remove any such tree when they deem public welfare or safety demand it ; and any person may make application, as representing the public, for such trimming, cutting or removal to the Tree Warden, and in that case the Warden will hold a public hearing, after giving due notice thereof, on such application, and anyone aggrieved by the Tree Warden's decision may 59 60 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA appeal to the County Coniniissioners of the county in which the town is situated, and the decision of the Com- missioners on the appeal will be final. "All of the provisions limiting the rights of the abut- ting proprietors in these trees are designed solely with a view to the public welfare and enjoyment, and do not affect the proprietor's rights as against private parties not acting as representing the public. The public good is superior to the private right, and even the proprietor himself cannot injure these so-called public trees which he owns ; but on the other hand, when other private parties, merely as such, desire to act in any way affecting such trees (as, for example, a telephone company in stringing its wires), they must first obtain the consent of the proprietor, since they are engaged in a private enterprise primarily, and they must in addition obtain the consent of the Tree Warden, to insure against an interference with the public enjoyment of the trees affected by the enterprise. — The Guide to Nature. ANALYZING SOILS 'T*EXT books classify "clayey soil," "loam," "light sandy ■*• soil," and the like and the average person looks at his lawn, which to him is only plain "ground" and is quite at a loss to know its real description. The principal ingredients of soil are sand, clay, gravel, and humus ; and it is the proportion in which these are mixed that determines the kind of soil. A loam, as far as plants are concerned, writes Leonard Macomber, in Tlie Golf Course, is a workable and a most digestible mixture of clay, sand, silt and humus, but when one or another of the ingredients predominates, it gives its name to the loam — viz. : sandy loam or clay loam. A sandy soil, by adding humus, can be converted into a sandy loam, and a heavy clay soil by adding sand, peat, leafmould, and often lime is necessary, can be converted into a clayey loam. Aside from the feel of soil and its appearance, there are mechanical tests which are not so difficult to apply. First get a fair sample of the soil from several differ- ent places (say a quart). Weigh this and put down the weight. Next put the soil in a pan at the back of the stove and let it stand until thoroughly dry, but it must not be allowed to burn. Weigh again and the differ- ence between this and the first weight is the amount of water the soil holds. Now put it in a hot oven for three or four hours ; then weigh again. The humus will have burnt and the differ- ence between the second and third weights gives the amount of humus. Now in your pan is clay, sand and silt. Put this soil in a wide-mouthed glass bottle or jar — a two-quart jar will do ; the larger the better. Fill it with water and then shake it violently. Then set it down on a table and observe. The sand or gravel being heaviest will settle first ; next the silt ; while the clay will remain in the water for hours. After a day or so, it will be seen that there are no sharp divisions, but yet the different elements are separated de- finitely enough to give a fairly good idea of the propor- tions. You can then work and treat your soil accord- ingly to make it well balanced. It is hardly ever necessary to make a complete chenn'- cal and mechanical analysis of soil, unless one knows for certain that its failure to carry the desired crop is entire- ly due to the structure or chemical constituents, and not to position or environment or the climate conditions rul- ing in the district. If soil is known to be barren, it is necessary to make a close analysis of it to find out why it is barren. If however, soil is not barren, but does not carry a crop well or is under suspicion, it is well to test for nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash and lime, but unnecessary to test for iron, magnesia, sulphuric acid, silica, soda, or chlor- ine, because the latter are so generally present that they can be almost ignored. It is almost always better to work from a description and an examination of samples of soil in prescribing than from the closest and cleverest analysis, unless the soil is known to be barren. The analysis of soil can only be approximately true for these reasons : If the sample is taken from one place and represents several acres, it may be absolutely misleading. The pres- ence of a leguminous plant growing on the spot, the stall- ing of a beast, or the presence of a piece of refuse, might throw the analysis right out of gear. If the area to be analyzed is plotted and samples care- fully taken from each plot, the whole mixed and a small portion analyzed — the result would be substantially cor- rect, but in all probability if portions of the one sam])le were sent to dift'erent chemists for analysis, each one would give a slightly different result. To sum up, science in regard to agriculture is a good servant, but a cruel master — or in other words, a crop cannot be grown by thumb and rule, and unless rainfall, temperature, the humidity of the air, the quality of the soil, its conditions, drainage, power to conserve water, and all such factors are taken into account, and are more or less favorable — soil may be barren, although it may be proved by analysis to be rich and fertile. The analysis of poor soil placed against a good soil is pretty confusing to the ordinary man, and so hopelessly imintelligible to the majority, that they rarely exist ex- cept in text books. Poor Light Poor Heavy Good Heavy Example : Soils Soils Soils Nitrogen 0.10 0.12 0.19 Potash 0.02 1.11 0.60 Lime 0.10 0.00 2.61 Phosphoric Acid 0.05 0.05 0.27 The usual chemical analysis of a soil consists in find- ing out the amounts of the above elements present and also the percentage of magnesia and humus contained. These materials, except the humus, are extracted from the soil by strong acids, and the action of these acids is many times stronger than is ever brought to bear by plants on the soil in its normal condition in the field. It is therefore impossible at present to draw any certain conclusions from the results of such an analysis that are applicable to field conditions, since the acids used in the laboratory dissolve out much more of the plant-food in the soil than is ever in solution in normal soil water. If, however, an analysis shows only a very small amount of nitrogen, then one can certainly conclude that the soil is deficient in this element and would probably be benefited by its application. In inspecting new property and judg- ing the qualities of the soil it is always advisable to ob- serve the natural plant growth. .\ soil deficient in nitrogen is constantly showing its condition in the growth of the plants on it. Short growth of straw and vine, failure to develop a full dark green color in the foliage and the growth of sorrel and ox-eye daisy, all tell as accurately as the chemist, with all his skill, that the soil lacks nitrogen. It is the same with the other constituents. It is only when a soil is extremely deficient in certain plant foods that a chemical analysis of it shows the cause of the trouble. Casually an examination by an expert will suffice. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 61 piuiiimiiiiiiiiiniiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiimii i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:ii»iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu| j American Association of Park Superintendents \ John F. Walsh, Jr., President, Nciv York. K. W. CoTTERiLL, Scc.-Trcas., Seattle, Washington. Vice-Presidents = HENRY W. BUSCH, Detroit, Mich. I HERMAN W. MERKEL, New York, N. Y. liiinninnniiiiiiiiiiniiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i CLARENCE L. BROCK. Houston, Texas ERNST STREHLE, St. Louis, Mo. John F. Walsh, Jr., President American Association of Park Superintendents STAND BY THE PRESIDENT. Tlie lipading (it tlii.s lu-tii-li' iii:i.v infer tlial we have the war in mind, but in tins ease we mean the Presidpnt of the American Association of Park Superintendents. Did you read his program of proposed activities of the Association for 1017 and his appeal for the support of the memhership, published in the December number? If not, you owe it to liim and to the Association, to do so and to give it .your most earnest consideration. It is just brimful of good suggestions as to what our membership can and should do. It outlines a program of constructive work, which, if carried out, will give our Association ]irestii;e it has never before attained. Oin- organization has too ureat an opportunity to be a force in the country and of so much lienefit to its members, that we should not permit ourselves to drift into what might be termed a social organization. In line with his program. President .Tohn F. Walsh announces a series of special committees to take the lead in working out the various phases and it is hoped that these committees will enter seriously upon their work and will receive the support of the membership at large, whom I hey will no doubt call upon for assistance. Committee on Uniform Cost Records. Henry W. Busch of Detroit, Chairman : All Vice-Presidents, Alex Fisk. of Racine: tJeo. A. Parker, of Hartford,; Ralph Benedict, of Kansas City : W. S. Planning, of Baltimore, and Theo. Wirth, of Minneapolis. This committee is expected to secure, upon a standard form which they will decide upon, cost records of all forms of park construction and maintenance In all sections of the country. A comprehensive report on this subject will be expected at the St. Louis convention and should form a valuable document for publi- cation, tor comparative purposes and as an aid to members in making up estimates and budgets. Committee on State, Provincial and National Parks. W, S. Manning of Baltimore, chairman ; F. T>. Mulford and Geo. W. Hess of Washington. D. C, John McLaren of San Francisco. ALEX. STUART, Ottawa, Canada 1 CHARLES W. DAVIS, Memphis, Tenn. | niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiu iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii iiiiiiiiiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin m | E. T. Mische of Portland, L. P. ,Ten.son of St. Louis, Fred Green of Providence, Geo. W. Burke of I'ittsburgh, Gus Amryhn of New Haven, Jas. R. Shea of Boston, .John Berry of Denver, Walter Wright of Chicago, ,Tohn Meisenbacher of Tulsa, Okla., and Geo. Champion of Winnipeg. This committee sliould ascertain systematically, who the execu- tive people are in charge of the man.y state, provincial and na- tional parks, which are being established at an increasing rate and endeavor to interest these people in our Association and secure their affiliation with us. Their work is becoming more and more in common with ours and they should be members of our Association. We should take more interest in their work and establish working relations with the government authorities who have this important work in charge. This committee has a broad field of effort and we hope the.y will show results at the St. Louis convention. Committee on Good Roads Construction and Maintenance. Harry S. Richards of Chicago, chairman : Edward A. Miller of New York. .T. B. Shea of Boston, .John W, Duncan of Spokane, Alex Stuart of Ottawa. Fred Steinhauer of Denver, E. P. Griffin of East St. Louis, Wm. II. Dunn of Kansas City, John W. Ker- nan of Lowell, Chas. W. Davis of Memphis. John Morley of San Diego, C. L. Brock of Houston. Grant Forrer of Harrisburgh, J. W. Thompson of Seattle, and Theodore Wirth of Minneapolis. The construction and maintenance of good roads that will stand up under all sorts of conditions, in various sections of the country, is an important subject. The members of this committee are men wdio have had a wide range of experience with different types and they should be able to submit a report embodying the result of their experience and submitting specifications and data of cost, etc., wliicli would be invaluable to all. Committee on Park Playgrounds and Activities. Alex Fisk of Racine, chairman ; Ralph Benedict of Kansas City, C. A. Bossen of Minneapolis. Frank Hamilton of New York, E. P. Griffin of East St. Louis, Lionel Evans of Youugstown, J. P. Foster of Chicago. G. Hennenhofer of Pueblo, Adam Kohankie of Denver, W. S. Manning of Baltimore, Ernst Strehle of St. Louis and Geo. .\. Parker of Hartford. Playground facilities and activities in parks, is a problem which aroused considerable discussion at our New Orleans convention and merits further consideration and investigation. A .symposium of views based on praetii-il exjierience in various cities, would form a most interesting report and the conclusions of the group of men forming this committee, will be of great value. The carrying on of this committee work is going to mean a lot of thought and correspondence by the various members, but it is to be hoped that no member will shirk the duty assigned. The working out of details will be left entirely to the chairnien and we will all hope for some reports at the St. Louis convention in Septendier. which will be of benefit to the Association and its entire mend)ersbip. The secretary has been assigned the leadership of a plan of ex- tension work to increase our membership and later on he will call upon every member of the Association to assist him. This is go- ing to be a big task but he is going after it in a systematic way a month or two prior to the convention. This is going to mean that he will have to write hundreds of personal letters so he hopes that the committees outlined above will relieve him of as much as pos- sible of their detail work and as it were, work out their own plans in their own way. R. W. C. PERSONAL AND OTHERWISE. Conrad B Wolf, of Hibbing. Minnesota, who hasn't missed a convention for years, has the distinction of being the first mem- ber this year to send in an application for membership. His applicant 'is Jas. A. Spurrier, park superintendent at Eyeleth, Minnesota This will make the fourth small Minnesota city to be represented in our Association. Hibbing. Chisholm and ^ irginia, being the others. These cities, though small, are very progressive and have well established park systems with competent officials '"pr'' Frank Baker, for many years superintendent of Zoological Park' at Washington, D. C. has resigned, writes F. L. M^l^ford our former secretary, who is so busy with the Bureau of Plant 62 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Industry of the U. S. Department nf Asrifiilture. that he passed up our last convention, a most unusual thin.' for ilr. Miilford, who is one erf the tried and true, old guard. Richard II. Tacke. sujierintendcnt at Lexington. K.v.. who was reported last munth as having dropped his membership, has tliought better of it and is again on tlie rolls. There are a number of fine cities in Kentuck.v that should be represented on our roster and when they are. it will be easier for Ixaiisville to secure our convention, which she surel.v will some of these times. They put up a gallant fight at New Orleans, but St. Louis had jjrior claims which could not be resisted. George H. Hollister. of Hartford, was elected pre.sident of the Connecticut Horticultural Society, at its recent annual session. Hartford has surely produced its share of leaders along horticul- tural lines. As an example, it is a fact that our Association has six members in that city, a record equalled only by Boston. The six member.? are : Geo. H. Hollister. Sup't Keney Park ; H. O. Clarke. Engineer Keney Park ; F. .1. Huss, Sup't Goodwin Park : Edgar M. Brown. Park Forester. Robert A. Parker, Engineer and Geo. A. Parker. Sup't Parks and Cemeteries. Some other notables in our Association also made their way to fame, at Hartford. Our genial ex-presideut, E. T. Jlische has been taking another trip to California recently and something tells us that some of these days a California city is going to take on a park executive we know of and ne also know that he will be a credit to that city and to our Association. Prof. Jas. Sturgis Pray of Boston, president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, who had promised us a paper on "City Planning In Relation to Parks." for our New Orleans con- vention. Init who through illness was prevented from doing so. writes that he will yet prepare and submit the paper. This will be good news to our members who were disappointed at our failure to secure this contribution. When received it will be published in these columns. Henry H. Elbers. director of tlie South Park Botanic Garden at Buffalo, has received considerable press notice of a unique exhibit which he had recently on view in the conservatory. It consisted of a severed limb of a Banana Tree, with forty bananas growing on it. A part of a tree was cut away and it was observed that the severed limb was about to produce a banana stalk. The limb was placed in the conservatory in a tub of water and the stalk de- veloped and bore fruit, forming a most interesting freak exhibit. .Tas. A. Barr, who was in charge of the San Francisco Exposi- tion Convention Bureau, is working on a plan which is worthy of the support of all organizations which hold annual conventions in various parts of the country. The plan is to induce the United States Government to provide facilities for the holding of con- Tentions in our national parks. These would certainly provide scenic environment par excellence, there would be no city bright lights to draw delegates away from sessions and yet there would be ample opportunity for diversion in the way of auto tours, mountain climbing, camp fires and evening social affairs. There is a lot of merit in the plau. so think it over, for it may be heard iif nationall.v in the near future. Did you get your copy of the New Orleans convention proceed- ings? If not. notify the secretary and lie will supply you. It is the largest document of the kind the .\s^i elation has yet had. be- cause we had more in the way of papers, addresses and discus- sions, at New Orleans than for many years. The secretary is quite proud of this booklet as it is the first one he has personally supervised the publication of. The next thing in order will be the 1917 Year Book, which will be sent to members not later than March 1st. MEET ME IN SAINT LOUIS. Our fellow members at St. Louis. Messrs. L. P. .Trnsou. Ernst Strehle. Emmett P. Griffin, W. W. Ohiweiler and Juliu.s'Koenig. have organized themselves as a special convention conimittei' and have shattered all records b.v alread.v outlining Ikow they iiropnse to entertain our next convention and a glance at their preliminary program is siifPcient to show that the St. l.ouis convention will be (•lie which should attract ever.v member of the Association. Here it is : Tuesday. Krpt. 11th. 9 a. m. Executive Committee Meeting. 10 a. m. Business Meeting. 1 p. m. Tour of East St. Louis Park System. 4 p. m. Visit "to the Indian Slounds' I Proposed State Park1. G p. m. Supper at East St. Louis. S p. m,. Business Meeting. \Vedncsiilay Sept. 12th. 10 a. m. Business Meeting. 1 ii. m. Aut'i Tour. City Nursery. Chain of Rocks; refreshments at River- side Club: North StT'Louis parks and Forest Park -and Jlissouri Botanical Garden. 7 p. mv Annual Shaw Banquet for meaihers. Theatre Party for the ladies. -. Thiirf-dn;/. fiept. 13th. 10 a. m. Busini^ Sleeting. V2:'^0 p. m. Luncheon at Anheuser-Busch Brewery: 1:30 p. m,- Auto tour of South Side parks, then to Grants Farm where closing conven- tion session will be lield : 0 :-'!0 p. m. Luncheon at the Sunset Inn : 0 :"0 p. m. Reception"and Dance by the St. Loijjs--P#i'k Depart- ment Assmialion. " ■'• ' ' Special entertainment for the ladies during business sessions. To these V ho have heretofore been fortunate enough to, par- ticipate in entertainment furnished to our members by our St. Louis friends, it is not necessary to comment further, but to others, the above program should be convincing' evidence that those who mi.ss the St. Louis convention, will miss the big event in our history. DISEASE-RESISTANT CHESTNUTS. T^HE possibility for contintied growth of chestnut •^ trees in the United States, in the face of the rapid spread of the destrtictive chestnut blight, may depend mainly upon replacing of the susceptible na- tive trees by disease-resistant strains and hybrids bred from As'iastic stock. This is pointed out by plant pathologists of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who have made exhaustive studies of the disease in field and laboratory during the last five years. The chestnut blight, which is rapidly exterminating the American chestnut, came from eastern Asia on nur- sery stock. The disease is coiumon in both China and Japan, but in those countries causes relatively much less damage than in America. In both Asia and Amer- ica the parasitic fungus causes cankers on chestnut bark, but in the American chestnut these cankers soon completelv girdle the tree, and invariably cause death. In China and Japan, however, the trees commonly re- main alive and productive for many years although cankered, the cankers seldom growing fast enough to girdle the trees. The specialists have identified seven species of the genus of fungi to which the organism causing chest- nut blight belongs, five of which now exist in the United States. None of these causes disease, except the one which causes the chestnut blight. Fortu- nately, the chestnut blight fungus rarely grows on trees other than the chestnut : during their studies the specialists were able to find but four such speciiuens — three of these were oaks, and one a maple. Inocu- lation experiments indicated that although the fun- gus can be made to grow on trees other than chest- nut, it usually is but slightly parasitic in such cases and seldom injures the trees greatly. In their age-long struggle with the blight, the Jap- anese and Chinese chestnuts have acquired a high degree of resistance to it, and this fact is being util- ized by the specialists in breeding resistant chestnut trees for American use. Hybrids between the highly resistant Japanese chestnut and our native chiiuiua- pin have been raised in considerable numbers. They quickly form handsome dwarf trees, bearing at an early age profuse crops of nuts of excellent quality, five or six times the size of those of the wild chinqua- pin parent, and ripening weeks before any other chest- nuts. So far these trees show a very high degree of disease resistance. The second generation of hybrids, grown from self or chance pollinated nuts, appear quite as good as their parents, which is an important feature when the cost of propagation of nut trees by budding and grafting is considered, .-\nother line of breeding lies in the intercrossing of disease-resisting Japanese and Chinese varieties that are rapidly being imported into this country by the ofiice of Foreign seed and Plant Introduction, and the selection of the best resulting forms. Four generations of cross-bred Japanese chestnuts of a very early bearing type, pro- ducing nuts when two or three years old, have al- ready been grown, and the varietal characters appear to be well fixed. Some of the Chinese chestnuts are said to gmw 100 feet hi'^h in their horn- forests. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 63 I'""" »»"' "" iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiniim INI iiiiniiiiiii iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiitnniiii iiitiniiiniiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiihniiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiuii ii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii niiiniiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii iiiniin^ I National Association of Gardeners I N. J. ; William Turner, Oceanii N. J. Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. James Stuart, Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. Theo. Wirth, I'iee-l'residcnl, Minneapolis, Alinn. Martin C. Eisel, Seeretary, Madison, N. J. Trustees for igjy William Kleinheinz, Ogontz. Pa.; John F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. Directors (To serve tintii 1918)— William H. Waite, Rumson, X. J.; Edward Ku k. Bar Harbor, Me.; Jolin Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Eraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C; (To serve until 1920)— William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal.; William Gray, Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, X. Y. ; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva Wis. Johnson, Glen Cove, X'. Y. ; Carl N. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. siiiiiiiiiiinmiimiiiiiiiiiii iiiinmmiiiciiii Ill iiioimmiii i iiiiwitiriiiiimmiiiiiii iiiiiii:iiiiiiiiii«iiiiiii:i iiiiiiiiini imiiiiikiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii in ilililliiiiiiiiiiiiiilliiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiii iiuiiniip THE SECRETARY'S CORRESPONDENCE. The secretai'.v diii'cts atU'utiou to tlio lar.w amount of cor- respoudence lliat lias eonip to hi.s office within the past thirt.v da.vs and hi.s inability to piomptl.v repl.v to all commnnieati, three hundred and sixty-four letters have been received requiring personal attention and replies, while since the 20tli of .Tannary more than five hundred receipts and membership cards have been forwarded to members who have paid their due.s during that iuterim. ESSAY CONTEST. The essay contest for assistant .gardeners closes on March 1. The Committee on Essays and Horticultural Instruction trusts that the assistant gardeners will show their appreciation of the liberal prizes offered by Ex-I'residcnt t'raig is taking a .great in- terest in the contest. The rules governing the contest are as follows : The prizes are $2.") as first prize, .$1.> as second prize and .$10 as third prize, in gold — for the three best essays on any subject per- taining to any branch of horticulture. The essays are limited to twenty-five hundred words and must be signed with a nom de plume, must bear no evidence of the author's identificatiou, and be mailed in a plain envelope, carefull.v addressed to the chairman of the com- mittee. \Villiam X. Craig. V. O. Box 200, Madison, X. .7. The contestant will place his name ami full address, stating the position he holds, in a separate envelope, writing tlie nom de plume he si,gned to his essay on the outside of this euvehqie. and mail same in separate envelope to JI, C. Ebel, Seeretary, Xational Associa- tion of Gardeners, Madison, N. J. This envelope is not to be opened until the judges have rendered their decision on the contest. Write your essay distinctly and use one side of paper only. These rules mnst be strictly followed to avoid disqualification. A CONTEST FOR ALL GARDENERS. All members of the association arc invited to cmnpclc in the con- test for which the Lewis & Valentine Company offer twenty-five dollars in gold for an essa.v to cover the following subjects and not to contain over five thou.sand words: (1) The most favorable season of the year to move trees of the various species common in the Xorth Atlantic States, and the States of the Middle ^Vest. (2) Transplanting of trees. (3) Care of the roots after lieing trans|dauted. (4) The size of ball. (.5) The treatment of exposed roots projecting beyond the ball. (6) Fertilizing the ground around the free. (71 The pruning of the tree, the guying of the tree, and wrap- ping the trunk of the tree. This contest will clo.se on JIarch 31, the essays to be sent to M. C, Ebel, Secretary, JIadison, N. J. DELINQUENT MEMBERS. Article 3, Section 1. — The annual dues for active and associate members shall lie two dollars a year, due and payable on .January first of each year. Members in arrears of dues for more than one .year shall be suspended and cannot be reinstated to good standing in the association until their indebtedness to it is paid. .\s the secretary will have to submit a list of delinquent mem- bers at tlie next executive meeting, which will be held in Xew York Ciiy in March. delin(pients are recpiested to remit their dues al as early a date as possible to avoid unfavorable action being taken against them. Kemit before March 5. NEW MEMBERS. Tlie following new members have been added to our membership roll during the pa.st month : William F. MuUally. Louisville, Ky. ; Louis n. Symes. Robert Broadfield and Henry Kalthoff. of Cleve- land, Ohio; W. E. JIattison, Mt. Kisco, N. Y. ; Uobert De Schryver. Prides Crossing, Mass. ; Henry T. May, Ilingham, Mass. : Robert Wood, .South Hamilton, Mass, ; -Vdam Mann, Tyringham, Mass. ; Thomas .Judge. Portland, Ore. : John G. Walker, (jlad.stone. X. J. ; (Justaf E. .\nderson, Wa.shington, D. C, : Arthur .Johnson, Harts- dale, X. Y. ; Ilerliert Andrews. JIamaroneck, X. Y. ; Cyril Barnes, (ireenwicli. Conn.; E. Gregg, Convent Station. X. .1,: Harry Xicholson, Evanston, 111. : .Tames Xeil, Staatsliurgh, N. Y. ; John- C. Taylor, Bar Harbor, Jle. : John D. Wilson. Grosse Point, Mich. ; Edward \. Ward, Xewark, X. J.: John I>. Lewis, Spring Grove, Pa. AMONG THE GARDENERS It gives us much pleasure to be able to report that William H. Downs, formerly of Chestnut Hill, JIass,, is greatly improved in' health. Mr. Downs is now staying at Belfast. Me. P. Back has resigned his position as su]ieriutendent of the E. L. Ryerson estate. "Havenwood,"' at Lake Forest, 111., to enter into the commercial business. Tie has organized the Standard Seed Company, of Racine. Wis. Jlr, Bach is succeeded by G. .Vnderson, formerly of tlic .\. M. Eay Estate, at Lake Forest. Geiu'ge lustoue, formerl.y of Lenox, Mass., but now with A. C. Loring, at Yumbra Heights, Excelsior, Minn., was recently mar- ried to Miss P>eatrici> .Jenkins, of Richford. Vt. William .\rbert. late with the Roessler Estate, is now engaged' in laying out the ground of .lohn .J. Murphy, Great X'eck. X, Y. retci- Waddell, formerly with the Froh Heim Farms, Far Hills. X. J., has accepted a position as superintendent on tlie J. A. lii elding estati'. "'T!i ulilci wood," Bernardsville. X. .T. Cyril Hayman and Harry Cartwright. who. have both been en- gaged in the greenhouse department on the estate of .1. Thorne. Black Rock. Bridgeport. Conn., have resigned their positions and accepted similar ones under Jlr. Edwin .Tenkins. at Bellefontaine, Lenox. Mass. Percy I'lumeridge. formerly located at Jenkintown. Pa., has for some time past been engaged on the C. L. Hay estate, at New-- hury. X. IT. .Tames .Tobnsfime. who for some years has been located at "Seven Oaks." Mamaroneck, N. Y., on February 1 assumed his new duties as su]>erintendent to Mrs. De Lancy Kane, at Davenport Xeck, Xew Rochelle. X. Y. Frank Humphreys, who has been with P. W. Livermore. at Glen Head. X. Y.. for the past seven years, goes with Mr. Livermore to his new propert.v at .leric ho. Long Island. .Tames Stewart, for the iiast seven .vears in charge of the P^dward A. Woods estate. Sewickley, Pa., has resigned and accepted the position of head gardener on the estate of Mrs. J. R. Reynolds, Winston-Salem. X. C. 64 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA HORTICULTURAL EVENTS International Flower Show, Grand Cen- tral Palace, New York, N. Y., March 15-22, 1917. National Rose Festival, First Regiment Armory, Philadelphia. March 20-23, 1917. St. Louis Spring Flower Show, Armorv, Marcli 15-KS, 1017. Fifth National Spring Flower Show, Coli- seum. .'-;t. l.ouis, April l5-l."i. 1918. Cleveland Fall Flower Show, Cleveland, O., November, 1917. NORTH SHORE HORTICULTURAL SO- CIETY OF LAKE FOREST, ILL. The members of the North Short Horti- cultural Society of Lake Forest were in- vited on Thursday, January 25. to Jlelody Farms, the estate of .3. 0. Armour, by the superintendent, Thomas W. Head, on the opening niglit of the new reading and rec- reation room which Mr. Armour built for the men employed on the estate. The entertainment provided was an in- structive lecture on "Insects and Bugs In- jurious to Plant Life and the Best Methods of Control," by Prof. D. K. JIcMillan, as- sistant to the State entomologist of Ur- bana, III. It was a complete lecture of persoiu>l ex- perience and as such may prove of gi'eat u.se to the horticulturists and agriculturists, especially to vegetable gardeners. He mentioned the thousands of dollars of damage done every year to one crop and another by injurious insects, which, by proper efforts, could be considerably cur- tailed even to the extent of reducing the loss to 50 per cent of its present dimensions. Professor McMilla:'. spoke on quite a numl)er of insects and bugs, going into de- tails, as the corn root aphis worm, the cut worm, melon and cucumber beetles, cabbage maggot, which is very prevalent among truck gardeners in Cook County; Spring laid insects, onion maggot, sucking insects such as thrip and its relations, san joss and oyster scale, squash masffot, corn ear worm, plum beetle, codlin moth and rose midge, which has been so destructive in some of the west side Chicago parks. With each life history of the bug came the detail of how to recognize it and better still, preventive and curative metliods of obliterating those insects; these metliods having been tested and showing the best of results in Illinois. Mr. McMillan emphasized the inability of some agriculturists to see the advisability of expending a little labor and expense to keep insect pests under control, thereby losing greatl.v when tlie time came for marketing their crops. Questions were asked after the close of the lecture which wen, ablv answered. William N. Craig. The last named made a motion which met with enthusiastic approval, that the meeting tender its united support to President Wilson in the present grave in- ternational crisis. Following the speechmaking an entertain- ment from high class artists was given, after which dancing was engaged in until "the wee sma' hoors agont the hoor o'twall." The club took in sixty-six new members dur- ing 1916 and its present membership is four hundred and sixty, average attendance at meetings in 191G was one hundred and sev- enty-five. MASSACHUSETTS HORT. SOCIETY. At Horticultural Hall on February 3 there were fine displays of Primula sinensis from William Thatcher, gardener to Mrs. J. L. Gardener and A. M. Davenport, Eric H. Wetterlow had a nice group of primulas, the result of a cross between P, sinensis and P. Stellata. Thomas Roland showed a batch of the pretty light pink begonia Flora Ro- land, same habits as Cincinnati, but of paler ccdor. William Thatcher showed Aphelan- dras, Senecio petasites and Cincinnati be- gonias. George Melvin. gardener to Col. Chas. Pfaff was awarded a silver cultural medal for a beautiful specimen of Dendro- binm mobile virginale. ASSOCIATION OF KEW GARDENERS. Tlie members of "Floreat Kew." the Asso- ciation of Kew Gardeners in America, will hold their annual banquet and reunion on March 10, 1017. in New York, this being the second da.v of the International Flower Show. Full particulars of the event can be obtained from the Secretary, S. R. Candler, GARDENERS' AND FLORISTS' CLUB OF BOSTON. The annual banqviet of the Gardeners' and Florists' Club of Boston was held at Horti- cultural Hall on February 7 and was a pro- nounced success, over .SOO ladies and gentle- men Ijeing in attendance. The tables and platform were beautifully decorated with plants and choice cut fiowers from loading private estates and commercial growers. .Tames Methven, the president, introduced A. P. Colder, who acted as toastmaster in his usual inimitable way. Speeches were by R. M. Saltonstall, president of the Massachu- setts Horticultural Society; William .J. Ste- wart, the club's first president in 1887 : Vice- President Andrew K. Rogers and Secretary ST. LOUIS ASSOCIATION OF GARDEN- ERS. The Febriiary meeting of the St. Louis Association of Gardeners was held last night, February 7, at the assembly room of the Forest Park Greenliouses. The meeting was devoted to a discussion of a large num- ber of activities, on suggestions for the fu- ture work of this new organization. Many excellent ideas were bi ought forward, which will, no doubt, be of much value to the exec- utive committee in idainiing for the season. It was decided that members bring material of interest to each meeting, and to hold a fall Hower show, and possibly a smaller show in .June. The following vice-presi- dents were elected: Mr. George Pring, to represent the ilissouri Botanical Garden; Mr. -Tohn Moritz. to represent the Park (Jardeners; !Mr. Stephen Beer, to represent the Clayton section of St. Louis County, and yh: V. Lindahl, to represent the Kirk- wood section of the St. Louis County, they being designated first, second, third and fourth vice-jn-esident respectively, in the order named above, these with L. P. .Tenseu. president; Hugo Schoflf, secretary, and Ernest Strehle. treasurer. STAMFORD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the Stam- ford Horticultural Society was held Friday evening, February 2 at the home of Miss Helen Smith, iu the Little Theatre on Glen- brook Road, with a very good attendance. A ver.v interesting paper on the culture of Chrysanthemums was read liy Adam Patter- son. Mr. Morrow read a paper on Budding. Grafting and Arching Numerous exhibits liers of the" Society, as follows : Vase of Seedling Carnations by A. Wynn was highly commended, also 3 vases of mixed Carnations receiving a cultural certificate. were shown by mem- Among the best were A Hardy Dwarf Perennial with double, semi- double and single flow- ers, desirable for beds and borders. Beautifully colored yellow and orange petals, splashed in varying degrees with darker shades of red. Also ma- hogany and chooolatc, with purple or yellow centers. If sown early in March under glass, will flower the first year. 2Sc. the packet )'ou avi// be intereited in our 1917 Catalog — send for it today. J.M.Thorburn&Co. 53U Barclay Street, through to 54 Park Place New York THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 65 Ho^w^ to Choose Fine X rees YOU ^vho love trees for their own beauty or value them for tKe charm they lend to roadside and lawn must have often "w^ished deeply for a more friendly know^ledge of how to choose and group them best. This is to say that at last a book has been w^ritten w^hich tells just what you want to know about trees. It is the new catalog of the w^ell-known ornamental trees and shrubs gro'wn at Andorra Nurseries. It tells -what shrubs and trees are best adapted by nature for each garden and landscape purpose. "Suggestions for Effective Planting" is not the usual dull nursery list. To read it is like going around your grounds with an old, experienced gardener and discuss- ing in a friendly %vay what the place needs. This book is free for the asking. Send for your copy at once. Box 110. And N, orra iNurseries \Villiain ^^amer Harper, Proprietor CHESTNUT HILL Philadelphia, Pa. A vase of Sweet I'eas Yarrawa by A. I'ed- «rson received a cultural certificate. Vase of Sliawyer Roses by J. Foster re- ceived cultural certificate. Vase of Carnations JIatclile.ss also shown by Mr. Foster was highly ccunmended. A group of Flowering, and Foliage plants by P. J. Burns received a vote of thanks. Pot of Farleyense Regina by G. Cannon received a vote of thanks. Striptisolion .Tamsoni and si.x Malacoides b.v .J. Wyun received a thanks. Prinula Malacoides by A. Petterson re- ceived a vote of thanks. Numerous vases of artistic design were offered by (i. Cannon, which were looked upon with much favor. At the close of the meeting, refreshments were served, and a very interesting entertain- ment was arranged by Miss Smith, consist- ing of piano and vocal solos, recitations, and numerous otlier selections, F. S. IIARTWRIGHT, Corr, Secy, Prinula vote of OYSTER BAY HORTICULTURAL The regular meeting of the Oyster Bay Horticultural Society was held in Firemen's Hall at Oyster Bay, N. Y, The meeting was well attended and quite a few good exhibits were put up, and a strong comiietition for the .society's prize, which called for three varieties of carnations, 12 white, 12 pink and 12 any other color. The judges awarded first prize for 12 white to Jas. Diiokham, supt. to F. F. Whitney and Archie Andrews, supt. to J. Stuart Rlackton, was awarded first prize for 12 innk and 12 any other color. Frank Kyle, supt. to Wm. C. L. Tilfan.v, received lionorable mention for vase of Fresia Purity and plants of Primula Malacoides, and special mention for Primula obonica. Wm. Ford, supt. to F. D. Morgan, received cultural certificate for American Reauty Roses, and special mention for Ophelia Ro.ses. Mr. Duckhani received and Frank Petroccia for Lilies. Exliibits for honorable mention for vase of Gladioli next meeting will be Violets, Sweet Peas and single Tulips. Four names were proposed for active membership. G, H, II., Secretary. THE MISSOURI STATE FLORISTS' ASSOCIATION. The appointments of the vice-presidents of the Missouri State Florists' Association were made last week, and comprise the following: II. Arcliis, Sedalia, Mo., two years; Frank A. Windier, St. Louis, Mo., two years; William Rock, Kansas City, Mo,, one year; Earl Reed, Louisiana, Mo., one year, Piesident Knapp is to be congratulated on the selection of such able and progres- sive material to constitute part of the executive board of the Missouri State Florists' Association. W. S. WELLS, Secretary. SOUTHAMPTON HORTICULTURAL The regular meeting of the above society was held in Oddfellows Hall, Southampton, N. Y., on Thursday, February 1, at 8 p. ni. President C. Guilloz in tlie chair, iluch interest was shown in three ex- hiliits of evergreen, deciduous and berried shrubs put up for competition and for which Jlr. ,J. Cassidy Wainscott was awarded jjrenuum honors. Mr. L. JIcRobbie, from Swan River Nursery, Patchogue, gave an instructive address on the characteristics of the varieties exhibited. Some well-grown Carnations were also shown by Mr. Cassidy, for which he was awarded a Certificate of ilerit. An exhibit of more than usual in- terest was put up by Mr, S. R. Candler in some fine sprays of the beautiful Skinimia japonica, which, as Mr. Candler explained, is quite liardy in tliis section, and deserves to be more generally grown. Mr. Candler also showed some well-berried sprays of Ilex crenata. On motion it was agreed to hand over these exhibits to the Botany Class at Southampton High Scliool and Southampton Hospital. Tile committee appointed to arrange for the annual dinner reported progress, and, as dancing will follow, everyone is looking forward to a good time at the Commercial llotcd on tlie 8th inst. The annual flower show will be held on .July 25 and 26 in tents on the park grounds at the head of Lake Agawam. The subject for competition at the next regular meeting on March 1 will be a centrepiece of cut flowers. J. DICKSOX, Cor. Sec. TARRYTOWN HORTICULTURAL Tlie eigliteeuth annual dinner of the Tarrytowu Horticultural Society was ludd in the Florence Inn, Tarrytown, N. Y,, Jan- uary 16, and proved to be one of the most enjoyable events in the history of the society, and it must be added that the an- nual dinners of this society have always BURPEE'S SEEDS are grovpn not only to sell but to grow again. The fact that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to be our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseof Burpee continues to grow just as surely as Burpee's Seeds Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A postcard will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Burpee Buildings Philadelphia ^M/yWWAW//MWWW/////^////M//W///////W/M \,ff^,WJMM/W/MMMM/^///M////////////77777:77777?^ 66 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA been among tlio ileliylitfiil events of tlie I winter. Tlie large dining liall was- never more resplendent in its deeurations, whieli represented a flower garden. After tlie dinner, well and generonsly served, President Bradley in an appropriate speeeh tnrned the gavel over to .James T. Lawrie, for many years secretary of the society, vvlio made a most excellent toast- master. After a few well chosen remarks he introdnced the former village president, Frank R. I'ierson, who was warmly wel- conu'd. The speaker praised the work of the society and its numy excellent cxhihi- tions, calling attention to the prosperity of the organization, which had now become a connty institution. The second speaker was •Judge Frank L. Young, who spoke of the large attendance at the dinner and felici- tated the society on its growth and said that Tarrytown was to lie congratulated in having such an organization. He coniidi- mented llr. Pierson, wliose efforts have lieen of such great lienefit to the conuinity. Judge Young spoke of many matters of civic interest and his address was vigorously applauded. Juillowing several solos by Ed- ward E. Carman, wdiich were most ilelight- fully rendered, were other speakers, among them being the Rev. J. J. Henry, District Attorney; Ix'e P. Davis, Chas. H. Tibbits, county ]ilanning commissioner; Supervisor John T. Sinnott, Rev. Lucas Boeve and Wal- lace Odell. The regular meeting of the society was held in the Corporation building, January 17, President Bradley in the chair. This being "carnation night,'' a fine display of many varieties of recent introduction were featured. For three varieties, six blooms of each, first honors went to Caleb Wi eks, T. Rtrutheway being second. The tlianks of the society were tendered to other exhibi- tors. A fine seedling adiantum was shown by George Mcintosh which received a Cer- tificate of Merit. An interesting discussion on the cultivation of carnations followed the judging and many valuable points were brought out. For the February meeting the exhibits will be flowering plants in )iots not to ex- ceed seven inches and 12 cut roses, two varieties, six of each, other than .\merican Beauty. E. S. Dodd, Irvington, and John W. Dowling, Tarrytown, ^ere elected to mem- bership. ■ J. GRANT, Cor. Sec. NASSAU COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The eleventh aimual dinner of tlu" above society was held in the Oriental Hotel, Glen Cove, X. Y., January 23. Jhere was an attendance of nearly Ifin members and friends who sat down to a suni])tnous re- past, which reflected great credit on the dinner committee, and for the time being made us all forget the higli cost of living. Tlie tables were all splendidly decorated with well grown cut flowers and pot plants. After we had taken good care of the inner man and nearly 100 per cent. ]ircsent were enjoying their Bobbie Burns. President James McCarthy, with a few well chosen words, presented James JFcDonald with a small present, as a token of appreciation for his excellent administration as our presi- dent during the past year. Wm. J. Stewart, of Boston, Mass., was then introduced as toastmaster for the evening. Toasts were responded to as follows: Nassau Connty Horticidtnral Society, John E. Johnson; New Y'ork Florists' Club, A. Guttnian; Seed Trade, Wm. Sperling; Nurser.v Trade, W. E. Maynard; Medical Profession, Dr. Con- naly; Glen Cove Village, Rev. .J. W. Gam- mack; Our Country, County Supervisor .J. H. Cocks. A telegram was read from M. C. *«»Vv .iuii.'.i^..yi.!.j.i '.^. In Sutton's Catalog Are Choice Flowers and Vegetables Fcund Nowhere Else i^^ T'^^ lave favored us by coming to an- beautiful, garden graced England; know fully well the surpassing beauty- and charm of its flowers. You American we understand, sometimes think of us as being a bit stolid, and lacking in enthusiasm. But surely no nation so enthusias- tically fosters, or more genuinely love flowers. Every little town has its liberally patronized flower shows. In this exceptional environment, the Sutton family have been growing, developing and per- fecting seeds for generations. Very naturally, it has resulted in being more than a business with us. It is a life work of genuine pleasure. This pleasure we would share with you in the wonderful charm of our flowers and the surpass- ing varieties of our vegetables. Let us send some Sutton Seeds to you this year. Our Catalog — One of the finest published — will lie sent for 35c.; which will be refunded when your orders amount to $5 or over. To you who are gardeners, if you will send us your name and name of employer — the catalog will be sent free. StdCfenJ^ MJttJoTurit CfJCo Royal Seed Establishment — Reading, England THK WINTER, SON & CO. 66-C Wall St.. New York. Sole Agents East of the Rocky ■Mountains. SMKR^rAX T, I'.LAKE CO. 43 1 -C Sacramento St., San Francisco, Cal. Sole Agents West of the Rocky Mountains. { l'',l;el. iladison, X. J., and best wislies were also received from the Massachusetts Horti- cultural Society and the Horticultural So- ciety of Boston. Practically all the im- portant mu-scry and seed houses in the country were represented by members of the firms or their travelers. Among those who added to the pleasure of the occasion by their singing were: Furgnerson T. Twigg. Andy Wilson, Robt. Jones, W. J. Collinc and R. T. French. A rising vote of thanks and the singing of "He's a Jolly avey Tree Expert Company's convention. The lot fell to Mr. Ileidkamp who we expect to bring back much that will lie instructive and educative. The essay for the next meeting will be by George Norris on "Outdofir Roses." F. BATEMAN. Secretary. NORTHERN 'WESTCHESTER HORTICUL- TURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The 14th annual dinner of the Northern Westchester County ITortii'ultnral and Agri- cultural Society was held al New Castle Inn. m U-B.'ir Rreenhouse erected for R. M. Ben- nett, "Northome" Lake Minnetonka, Minn. The Cobweb and U-Bar Greenhouses S(J light and jet so strong, ciii tlie framework of a U-Bar greeii- lioust' be made, that n uii are hardly conscious tiiere is any "^irVeems qnite like being inside a big, flower tilled web of ^ Spklers are more than Ijuilders. They are wonderful little construc- tion engineers. ■ - ., r { Based on the principle of a web s construction, is the frame ot U-Bar greenhouses constructed. The steel C-Bars running from the top of the foundaton to the ridge, are similar to the straight strands radiating from the web's centre. The connecting, encircling cross .strands correspond to the steel purlins or horizontal members run- ning at intervals lengthwise of the roof. (hilv U-Bar greenhouses can be constructed in the L'-Bar way, bee use no other houses can be constructed with L -Bars. bncle Sam has given us the exclusive right to so use them U-Bar glass enclosed gardens are the Tiffany and Ureicer among greenhouses. r^ y ^i. .Send for catalog. Or send for us. (Jr both. U-BAR GREENHOUSES PIER SON U-BAR CO ONE MADISON AVt NEWYORK. Mt. Kisco, N. Y., on January IS. -T.I17. which was enjoyed b3' all. Professional entertainers, also talented speakers, were on hand in considerable num- ber. At the dinner were seated over sixty men. including a number of our business friends from New York who we were de- lighted to have with us. Among those pres- ent were W. E. Maynard. Sam Burnett, .lames Scott. Harry Rute, George Strange. .Mr. Carter, of Boston, was unable to be with us on account of sickness hut telephoned and wished all a very pleasant time. Dr. Arthur R. CJreen was our toastmaster and we were more than jileased with the manner in which he conducted the meeting. It was an occasion which no doubt ail will remember for some time, as every one seemed to enjoy it to the uttermost and all wished the society a happy and prosperous year. The newly elected officers who were in- stalled before the dinner are : President. M.ir.shall Crissman : Vice-President. E. C'lillum; secretary, W. E. Mattisou; Finan- cial Secretary. F. E. Towsen : Treasurer. iMlward Heller. The society was started in 1S!>7 and has held some of the best flower shows in West- chester County. W. E. MATTISOX. Secretarv. A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleacbed and unburnt; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months nf preparation. Try a bag! Oae 100-lb. bai. $1.35 I Four 100-lb. bii(i. {4.00 Two 10l)-lb. bags, 2.S0 Five lOO-lb. bad, 4.50 Three lOO-lb. bagi, 3.50 I Six 100-lb. bagi. 5,00 F, O. B, New York or Jersey City on any Railroad or .Steamboat Line Send check or money order with order MAGIC HUMUS CO. r,, W. CliANPlER. Sales Acent 2(4 WEST 34th STREET, NEW YQBK 40 PETERS PLACE. RED BANK, N, J. 68 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA SOUTHAMPTON HORTICULTURAL The annual baniiuet of Soutliampton Hor- ticultural Society was held in the Commer- cial Hotel, Southampton, N. Y., on TTiurs- day,, 8th inst., Mr. Chas. F. Giiilloz, presi- dent of the society, presiding. The attend- ance of members and their wives was up to its usual standard. The seed stores were well represented, among whom were Jlr. J. Morrison, Mr. W. Kickards, Jlr. D. A. Dean, Mr. Wm. Sperling, and Mr. Gomersall, Nyack, N. Y. The banquet committee. Messrs. Candler, Campbell and Malcolm ex- ceeded all previous efforts on this occasion. The repast was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and the tables were beautifully decorated with roses. The president made a few re- marks, and presented the retiring president, Mr. M. McLoiighlin, with a gold watch charm as a small recognition from the society. Speeches were omitted, owing to having an entertainer, Mr. Shackleford from the Star Lyceum, New York, who entertained the company with song and story. Dancing was enjoyed between Mr. Shackleford's addresses and the company broke up about 12, voting this banquet "the best ever." J. DICKSON, Corres. Sec. GROSSE POINTE HORT. SOCIETY. The regular fortnightly meeting of the above society was held in the Neighborhood Club on Tuesday evening. February 2, with President James Taylor in the chair. Four new members were elected and several more applications for membership were received. Mr. W. A. Manda, of South Orange, N. J., gave a very interesting and instructive talk on "Horticulture as a Profession." Mr. Manda's talk was very much appreciated by the members and more especially so when he announced at the end of his talk that he would donate $20 in gold as a sweepstake prize to be competed for at the society's ex- hibition in June. The members were also informed, through Jlr. A. Jackson, that on behalf of the society he had been offered a silver cup (value .$2.5) to be competed for by exhibitions of either plants, flowers, fruit or vegetables at the regular meetings of the society. Mr. Barmwatter, of the J. Scheepers Co., attended this meeting, and in giving a short talk mentioned that his firm would be pleased to donate a prize also. Donations from the following firms have also been promised. Stumpp & Walters, Knight & Struck, Scott Bros, and W. E. Marshall. Messrs. W. A. Manda, D. McLean and J. De Carteret were the judges appointed to judge the exhibits at the meeting and their awards were as follows : Certificate of Merit to A. Jackson for dish of mushrooms, Cultural Certificate to Thomas Connors for vase of carnations and vote of thanks to J. Nollet for vase of mignonette. Arrangements have been made to have a social and dance under the auspices of the society on February 15. Considering this society has only been in existence for seven months the prospects for the future are very bright indeed. With an enthusiastic body of members which keep Increasing at every meeting and a large field to work in there is no doubt that the society is bound to flourish and be a success. JOHN MAIR, Secretary. Rear View of Range of Greenhouses Recenth- roniplcteil on Estate of E. \V. C. .\rnold at Babj-lon, Long Island, showing Lutton cold frames heated from the greenhouse. LUTTON GREENHOUSES ON LONG ISLAND THERE is probably no other section of equal area that presents a greater diversity of problems to the green- house builder than Long Island. Greenhouses on the hilly north shore are often built on sloping ground. Tlieir heat- ing plants must be designed with the great- est skill so that the heat will be distributed evenly, otherwise there will be a "chills and fever" ef^^ect — too cold at the low and to hot at the high end. Greenhouses on the flat south shore are often built on ground so low that trouble is encountered with drainage. At the west end of the island, which is densely settled, every square foot of land must be utilized to best advantage in plan- ning a greenhouse for this section, whereas further east, in the more sparsely settled sections, the greenhouse is often an impor- tant feature of an extensive landscape scheme and requires architectural treat- ment of an advanced grade. Added to these local problems is another — the formation of rust, which is particularly troublesome in all coastal regions where the atmosphere is laden with salty moisture a large propor- tion of the time. In vieiv of these conditions, there must be sound basic reasons for the fact that in no other section of the country are LUTTON (,rcciih"iiscs held in greater favor than on Long Island. LUTTON V-Bar Greenhouses not only embody approved architectural features in tiicir design and sound scientific principles in their construction but the metal of which Uiey are constructed is thoroughly rust- f roofed — not merely painted, as is the case with ordinary greenhouses. Among the larger LUTTON Greenhouses on Long Island are those owned by the following gentlemen: Mortimer L, Schiff, Ovster Bav. C. K. G. Billings. Oyster Bay. T. A. Garver, Oyster Bay, J. T. Pratt, Glen Cove G. M. Pratt, Glen Cove T. E. Aldred, Glen Cove E. W. C. Arnold, Babylon. Duncan Arnold, Babylon. Benjamin Stern, Roslyn. E. L. Meyers, Lloyds Neck. Many other LUTTON Greenhouses are in operation in other parts of the island. Let us cite the experience of those in charge of some of the principal greenhouses in this section and tell you more about the unique LUTTON features. We also have some sample V-Bar sections and would like to present you with one. WM. H. LUTTON CO. Show Room — 3rd Floor, Grautl Central Terminal, New ^'ork City Main Office and Factory: 265-271 Kearney Ave., Jersey City, N. J. Western Office^710 Sykes Block, Minneapolis, Minn. Builders of Modern Greenhouses of All Types and Sizes Cold Frames Glass Gardens Conservatories Sun Parlors For the Private Gardener %yho wishes to "brush up on things," who desires to be kept in touch with all horticultural doings, and who wants to read of how the problems of the "other fellow" have been solved. AH this, and more, will be found in the GARDENERS AND FLORISTS' ANNUAL FOR 1917. 50c. per copy. A few remaining copies of the 19Lt and 1916 issues at 35c. each. JOHNSON'S GARDENERS' DICTIONARY AND CULTURAL INSTRUCTOR In advlition to concise cultural directions, this book gives the most complete list of known species of plants published to date. The only Dictionary of its kind in print, and all in one volume. In durable cloth binding, 9x6 in., $6, deliv- ery prepaid. Prospectus on application. A. T. DE LA MARE CO., INC. 442 West 37th Street New York City -* --y CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MANUFACTURERS PHILADELPHIA. PA. 4 /^^ GLASS CLOTH A transparent waterproof fabric, guaranteed to generate about the same warmth and light as glazed sash, or money back. For all forc- ing purposes. Sample 3x6 feet. 50c. prepaid. PLANT FORCERS TURNER BROS., Bladen, Nebraska Warm, Bright, Sunny GREENHOUSES 11;(\-' a .--peeial type of construc- tinii. which permits of great strength without the need of heavy shadow-casting supports. This gives the plants all the sunlight all day Km?. Sent! for bulletin No. 47. KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 303 Kine Rd. North Tonawanda, N. Y. 113 State St,, Boston, Mass, Harrison Bldg,, 16th & Market Sts,. Philadelphia, Pa. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 69 aunniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ nnn nn m ihh :^cc^Ct;i^x^ 1 1 Orchids Sj^^c<1ermit swaying without breaking the filling. This tree has since stood through many <^evere storms in iierfect condition. New bark i*^ now growing over the filling along the edges. The tree has been saved permanently! Davey Tree Every real Davey Tree Surgecn is in the employ of t^e Davey Tree Expert Com- pany and the public is cautioned against those falsely representing themselves. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 71 All decay removed . cavity disinfected and waterproofed, mechanical bracing installed. Davey Tree Surgery is safe It is scioiiifically accurate and mcchanicallv per- fect. Your trees, many of them the product of several generations, are priceless. Once lost, they cannot be restored in j-our lifetime or that of your chil- dren. To whom shall you entrust them? There can be only one answer, for there is only one safe place to go — to Davey Tree Surgeons. Tlus is Davey Tree Surgery. It is scientifically accurate and mechanically perfect. The sectional iilling permits szuaying without cracking. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgery is time- proved; its record of successful performance for thousands of estate owners spans a generation. Safe — because no Davey Tree Surgeon is allowed any responsibility until he has con- clusively demonstrated his fitness. He must have served his full course of thorough practical training and scientific study in the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery — a school. I lie only one of its kind in the world, wliich we conduct for the specific purpose of drilling our men according to Davey methods and Davey ideals. Safe — because we who know values in Tree Surgery and who demand and delivtr the best, select the man to whom the treat- ment of your priceless trees is to be en- trusted. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgery has been endorsed as best by the United States Government after an exhaustive official in- vestigation. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgery is recommended by thousands of prominent men and women, whose endorsement you can accept with complete confidence. (Several such endorsements appear on the left.) Safe — because Davey Tree Surgeons are picked men, thoroughly trained, conscien- lious. intelligent, courteous, in love with their work. "Men," writes Dr. H. D. House, New York State Botanist and for- merly professor in Biltmore Forestry School, "who would do honor to any in- stitution of learning in America." Safe — because the Davey Company is a successful and responsible house, amply able to make good in every instance, and not needing, for the sake of temporary exist- ence, to sacrifice in the slightest degree its high standards. Tree "patching" cannot save your trees. Unly scientific, mechanically perfect treat- ment by men trained through years to the Iioint of finished skill can be permanently successful. And for such treatment by '-uch men there is only one safe jjlace to go^to Davey Tree Surgeons. The Davey Tree Expert Co., Inc. 302 Elm Street, Kent, Ohio iO'^criiting the Da-;-ey Institute of Tree Surgery. Kent. Ohio.) Branch Offices: 225 Fifth Ave., New York- 2017 Land Title Bldg^., Philadelphia - Chicago Permanent representatives located at Boston, Newport, Lenox, Hartford, Albany, Poughkeep- sie. White Plains, Stamford. Januuca, L. I., Morristown, N. J., Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Baltimore, Washington, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chi- cago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City. Canadian address: 81 St. Peter Street, Quebec. Surgeons FOR SAFE TREE SURGERY Write today for FREE Examination of your Trees —and booklet, "When Your Trees Xeed the Tree Surgeon." What is the real condition of your trees? Are insidious diseases and hid- den decay slowly undermining their strength? Will the next severe storm claim one or more as its victims? Only the experienced Tree Surgeon can tell yon fully and definitely. Without cost or obligation to you, a Davey Tree Surgeon will visit your place, and ren- der an honest verllict regarding their condition and needs. Write today. 72 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Bon Arbor Chemical Co. PATERSON, N. J. Manufacturers or BON ARBOR No. 1. Soluble Plant Life. A most wonderful and invigorating food for all plants, indoor and outdoor. BON ARBOR No. 2. Best dressing for your lawns. RADIX WORM ERADICATOR. Instant- ly removes worms from your Tennis Courts, Putting greens, etc. ANT DESTROYER. Will remove all ants outside or indoors in a week's time. Be sure and try it. NATURAL HUMUS. Is the best for mak- ing new lawns, gardens, etc. Write for descripive catalogue and prices ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuii!ii) iiiiiiiiniiuiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim imiimiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiniiii iiiimii i^ I IMPORTED ORCHIDS | 1 If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. | I JOSEPH MANDA.Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist I i WEST ORANGE. N. J. I = a ?rllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUI»llllllllllllllllllllllllllll<.NIin giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiniiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiinii^ I ORCHIDS I i We are Specialists in Orchids, we collect, grow, Import, export anfl | = sell orchids exclusively. If you are In the market for Orchids we | 1 solicit your inquiries and orders. Cntalogues and special lists on ^ ^ application. E I Lager & Hurrell, Orchid Growers and Importers, SUMMIT. N. J. | iiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia im^ ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiNi^ I HILL'S EVERGREENS | = Send for Price-list. Mention this magazine. E I D. HILL NURSERY CO. I I Evergreen Specialists, I Largest Growers in America. ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiinHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiimiimii^^ Box 305 Dundee, III: Hardy Native Trees and Flowering Shrubs RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM A SPECIALTY \ Send for Price List | THE CHARLES G. CURTIS COMPANY Collectors and Growers I CALLICOON, N. Y. I MllllllllllltllltltOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllKIMIII^lllllll'llllllll lllllllllllllimHHIIHIIIIIinHIHHIHIIIIIIIIillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHlHllJ lailllllllllllllllllUIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiniHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII^ HARRY B/VLD\A/IIN | Manufacturer of = GREEN-HOUSE SHADING | LATH ROLLER BLINDS | MAMARONECK. N. Y. | niiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Boddington's Garden Guide 1917 NOW READY It contains all that is new and best in Sweet Peas, Flower and Vegetable Seeds, also Kunderd's new Gladioli. If you are an intending exhibitor send for your copy now. Arthur T. Boddington Co., Inc. 128 Chambers St., New York City TSUGA CAROLINIANA from the high Carolina Mountains, the most beautiful Hemlock known. RHODODENDRON CAROLINIANUM. the new clear pink species. Rare American Plants and Specimen Evergreens. Rock, Water and Wild Gardens designed and executed. HARLAN P. KELSEY Landscape Architect SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS Owner, Highlands Nursery in North Carolina. Boxford Nursery in Massachusetts. Catalogs. I Tree Owners and Tree Lovers | i Will find much to interest and instruct M g in the E I NEW ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE I (( TREE TALK" Devoted to Arboriculture and Forestry. All about the planting, care and treatment of trees and shrubs. Accurate information about pruning, spraying and tree surgery. Send 1 dollar for a full year's subscription to "Tree Talk." Sample copies free on receipt of 2 cent stamp to cover postage. Published quarterly by THE F. A. BARTLETT COMPANY STAMFORD, CONN. I Nurserymen, Gardeners, Dealers, Landscape Gard- f I eners, and our Customers in general who have seen our Nurseries agree that we have THE FINEST i STOCK OF LARGE SPECIMEN EVERGREENS ! I IN THE COUNTRY IN PINES, SPRUCE, HEM- I I LOCK AND FIRS. I THE F. E.CONINE NURSERY CO. \ I STRATFORD CONN, i I GREENHOUSE SHADING | § Write for particulars. 3 j E. A. LIPPMAN, Manufacturer | j 6 HIGH STREET, MORRISTOWN. N. J. | i{iiiliiiiiiiiiiiinnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii»iiiiin»ii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuuiiiHJiiinimiiiiuiiii IIIUIHIIIlmilllllHIIIIIIC= I iiu nil iiiiuii iiui n luuiiuiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiu ik iiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii ml IIIIUII mil iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii nil 1 1 i i null iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii in ii iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii III iiiiiiiiiii I II I THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GAKDEN For the Greenhouse — Applied at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent as a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most effective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efficient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. Sold by dealers in various sizes APHINE MANUFACTURING CO. MANUFACTURERS OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON. N. J. FUNGINE For mildew, rust and other blight* affecting flowers, fruits and vegetables. VERMINE For worms and insects infesting the soil. F'liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii^ ii[Nnilllll{l9l[lllllll|IIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIINilllllimillllllllll)lllllllllllllllllllllllU[IIIIIINIIIlllllll{lll{llllllllllllllll!ll|l^ j CA,.li'BELL TUKBO-IRRIGATOR i Made entirely of Iirass with exception of Tripod .Stand. \ I / I ^HE watermotor in the head makes the stream rise to a ver- = I tical position and then fall again as it slowlv revolves I -■■ around the machine, thus evenly watering the ground ; ^ from the center to the circumference, covering from one position g an area 80 to 100 feet in diameter, according to water pressure. \ i Especially adapted for large lawns, gardens and putting ^ greens. I Price Sl.S.OO. Shipping weight IS lbs. Price of sprinkler with- = out stand, for use on stand pipes of permanent irrigation plants, I Sl.'.OO. H . ^ = Money refunded if not satisfactory after ten days* trial. j ESTIMATES FURNISHED ON PERMANENT IRRIGATION ; I PLANTS. i .Send for catalogue of other up-to-date portahle sprinkling de- : I vices suitable for all purposes and at all prices from .iOc. to $25.00. = I Inspect our exhibit at International Flower .Show, North .Msle, = g Second Floor. Grand Central Palace, .\ew York, March 15-22, 1917. I I THE GEO. W. CLARK COMPANY I 259-E. Fifth Avenue New York, N. Y. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiii ii»iiiiiiniiiniiiiiiifi:iiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiii::i i ah m I i An Unusual Greenhouse Catalog WE made our greenhouse catalog with a determination to get away from the usual cut-and-dried treatment, and have it a real help to those who would know the genuine joys and advantages of .greenhouse possession.. It tells interestingly of our every type of greenhouse and shows even more than it tells. It contains plenty of plans of practical layouts and is replete with vital information about greenhouses and conservatories. It contains 58 color pages and is handsomely illustrated throughout. This catalog will lie sent only on reauest. HiicKingrs^ Contpart^ General Offices and Factory; Elizabeth, N. J. NEW YORK BOSTON PHILADELPHIA 1170 Broadway M Federal St. 40 So. 15th St. W i i w M w m \U.\t]V_ AX D GREENHOUSE COMBINATION ON THE GROUNDS OF JAMES ARTMAN, NARBERTH, PA. A Greenhouse Suggestion Well Worth Considering lUI it You may already have very definite ideas of just the kind, size and design of green- house you want. Your conclusions may be founded on much careful thought — even ex- tending over years. Still the chances are, that when you have one of our experts come and talk it over with you, many unanticipated points of impracticalness will develop. Points that seriously atTect both the produc- tiveness and economy of running it. Over and over again is this thing happening with our prospective customers. Often we are able to make suggestions that work out in allowing the erection of a larger house for less money. By attaching it to your garage, as in the above case, for instance, there was a dis- tinct saving. So no matter whether you contemplate build- ing this year, or next, why not start at the start with practical view points, such as we are glad to offer you entirely at our expense? As a pleasurable introduction, let us send you our interestingly informative greenhouse Booklet No. 116. For over three score years we have been building greenhouses. it BUILDERS OF GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES SALES OFFICES GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERIC ORTic tlLTURA-t '|^^>^^*|#!|'; .♦"VoJfVwfJ ■f^^^m^ Av^'i , ♦1^ % ^^^^ ^^ PARKS ac GARDENS ILLUSTRATED $1.50 The Year MARCH, 1917 15c. The Copy ^iiiiiwiiiiiiiiiiiiim^^^ iiiiiiiiiiiii ARE you neglecting your trees? Do you know positively that they are strong and healthy — are you sure they are free from decay am d d isease I The owner of tlie tree shown above assumed that its condition was perlert, but he intended to find out some day for a certainty. His neglect was fatal. The tree, sound in appear- ance to the untrained eye. inside was seriously de- cayed. One day a severe .'itorm blew and th.' weak- ened tree gave way — ruined beyond saving! It was a case of "the last straw which broke the rainers back." Take no chances with your trecs^have them ex- amined now. But be sure to select Tree Surgeons of proved ability — experts who can save your trees without guessing or experiment. Davey Tree Surgery Is Safe Your trees, many of them the product of several generations, are priceless. Once lost, they can not be restored in your lifetime, or that of your children. To whom shall you entrust themV There can be only one answer, for there is only one safe place to go — to Davey Tree Surgeons. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgery is time-proved; its record of successful performance for thousands of estate owners spans a generation. Saffr — because the Davey Company is a successful in- stitution of financial stability and amply able to make good in every detail. Safe — because no Davey Tree Surgeon is allowed any responsibility until he has conchisively demon- strated his fitness. He must have served his full course of thorough, practical training and scientific study in the Davey Institute of Tree Surgerj-^ — a school, the only one of its kind in the world, which we conduct for the specific purpose of drilling our men in Davey methods and Davey iri.als. Safe — Iwrause Davey Tree Surgery has been edflorsed as best by the United States Government, after ex- haustive official investigation. Safe — because Davey Tree Surger>' is recommended by thousands of prominent men and women whosi' en- dorsement you can accept with complete confid nee. (Several such endorsements appear on the right.) Tree "patching" I'annot save your trees. Only scien- tific, mechanically perfect treatment by men trained through years to the point of finished skill can be permanently successful. And for such treatment by such men there is only one safe place to go -to Davey Tree Surgeons. Write today for Free Examination of Your Trees — and booklet. ' ' When Your Trees Need the Tree Surgeon." What is the real condition of your trees? Are insidious (hseases and hidden decay slowly un- riirmining their strength? Will the next severe storm claim one or more as its victims? Only the experi- enced Tree Surgeon can tell you fully and deflnit ly. Without cost or obligation to you. a Davey Tree Sur- geon will visit your place, and render an honest verdict regarding their condition and needs. Write today. The Davey Tree Expert Co., Inc., .i03 Elm St., Kent. Ohio i Of' crating the Davey Institute of Tree Si'.rgcry. Kent. Olno.) Branch Offices, with Telephone Connections: New York. Philadelphia & Chicago Peiniancnt representatives located at Boston, Newport. Lenox. Hartford. Albany, Poughkeepsie. White Plains. Stamford, .lamaica, L. I.. Morristown. N". J., Phila- delphia. Harri.sburg. Baltimore. Washington, Buffalo. Pittshurgh. Cleveland. Detroit. Cincinnati. Louisville, riiicago. .Milwaukee, Minneapolis. St. Louis. Kansas City. Canadian .\ddress: SI St. Peter Street. (Juebec. Five typical letters from hundreds by satisfied Davey clients Mr. iniliam .-Jlmy, William Ahny & Co., Boston : "The skill of your workmen is remarkable. I jiin sorr>' I did not have this work done sooner as 1 apparently lost a tree by not having an expert examine my trees before." Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., owner of the New y ork I'i'orld ami the St. Louis f'ost-Disfiiteh: "Your work on the trees on my place was done in a most thorough and painstaking manner." O. S. Chamberlain, President, Chamber- lam Meilieiue Co.. Dcs Moines, Iowa: "\ congi-atulate you on the excellent work you arL- doing. I have seen much of this character of work clone in some foreign countries, as well as in the United States, l)ut none as perfect, scientific and satisfactory as yours." Hr. G. L. Dpenges, Superinteudent. The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Baltimore. Md. : "We have been very much impressed by the work done here by the Davey TVee Company," Mr. Robert E. Friend. Second Ward Sa7-iugs Bank, Milwaukee, Wis.: "] cannot commend too highly the work you have done both this year and last on our placf (it Pine Lake. Y'our work on the Cniversity Club trees here in the city, under my super- vision. «as also very good indeed." DaveyTree Surgeons FOR SAFE TREE SURGERY Every fcal Davey Tree Surgeon is in the employ of the Davey Tree Expert Company and the public is cautioned against those falsely representing themselves THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 77 !i II I I II iiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiii Ill I iiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiii I iiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiii I I n I II iiiniiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I mill iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiii iiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii ig Burpee's Seeds Grow THE PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT SEEDS THAT GROW WAtlee Burpee s Co, J BURPEE'S ANNUAL The Leading American Seed Catalog With the close of 1916 forty years of Burpee Effort have passed into Seed History. These were constructive years, years of careful, intensive, scientific investigation and experimenting. Starting in a very modest way, acre af- ter acre, building after building, have been added until today we enjoy the distinction of being the World's Largest Mail Or- der Seed House. The House of Burpee in this forty years has introduced more distinct new varieties of Vegetable and Flower Seeds that are now in general cultivation, than have any three other American Seed Firms, but never have we cataloged any one of these varieties until it has passed all the exacting requirements of the Burpee Standard. This Burpee Standard is maintained by rigid tests at Fordhook Farms, America's largest and most complete Trial Grounds. These tests are made each year for the purpose of strengthening the bond of confidence between our customers and ourselves. With the culmination of these forty years we enter the fifth decade of our active business life, with the firm intention of continuing to Better Service. Burpee Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is bigger, better and brighter than ever before. Twentv-two pages have been added, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustrations. Write for this catalog today. A post card will bring it. W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. SEED GROWERS Burpee Buildings Philadelphia, Pa. iiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii»iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii>'iiiiin^ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiDiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiis 78 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA gMtniiiiiiiiiiiii 1 1 1 iiiiiiiii null II iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN We Are Prepared I to fill your orders with plants which will give you satisfaction. We know | I we have some you will need when the Planting Season comes. | j ^t/ Few Specials — Ail the Best Varieties j I DORMANT ROSES POT-GROWN ROSES I I For April delivery. For May delivery. | f PERENNIALS | j A complete collection, both field-grown clumps and pat plants. j I How about that Rockery or Alpine Garden? We have the newest and best | I Alpine Plants and shall be pleased to send you a complete list of the varieties. 1 I Our cntnlotj is yours jor tlw asking. | I ANPlERSON INC. I I QpMMLL GAI^ENS I I CivpMWELL Conn j ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim^^ :iilliiilliiiiiiiiinnniiiiiiini!iiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiirmiiiniiiiiiiiiii:iiii:iiiiiiiiMiiiiHiiiiiir.iii ['ini:i[iMi{ni{i:ii!i:iiiriiii:iin[tii[:imiiiii:iiiuiii:iiii:mi:iiii:iiii;iiiiiii«iiiiiiiiiiiiiii:i!l''' No Trees Like These | For Avenue or Lawn j •I The superiority of the Norway Maple and the American f Linden, as shade trees, must be conceded. They are not only | clean, wholesome trees, beautiful the year around, but they | thrive in any soil or any location, even in the smoky atmos- | p he re of cities. d ^ The Maple* s symmetrical, rather drooping shape, its lovely | yellow flowers in Spring, its dense dark green foliage and its = brilliant coloring in late Autumn combine to give it an all- = season elegance, well suited to refined home surroundings. z ^ The Linden is of rapid grow^th, forming a broad, round open Z top, and its large, handsome leaves make it exceedingly de- p sirable. Its fragrant, creamy-white flowers in July are great | favorites of the honey bees. | ^ Our stock of both these trees is probably the largest and i finest in America, and w^e can fill all orders, in any quantity, | in uniform sizes. They are straight, healthy trees, grown six | feet apart to give ample light and air and nourishment for the = fully developed root systems. Every one is big enough to look E well right now^, but not so big as to be extravagantly expensive. 1 Write for Our 1917 Hand Book To-day | ^ It describes in detail hundreds of choice, vigorous Trees, i Shrubs and Hardy Flowering Plants and tells how to grow ^ them successfully. Mailed free. = THOMAS MEEHAN & SONS ' 6765 Chew St. Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. | uiiiiiiiiiiuillliiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiuniiiiNiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiNiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiin ^J?^^. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 79 laiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ BURNETT'S SPECIAL GRASS SEED MIXTURES Burnett's "Killarney" Mixture The above Ltwii t'.rass Mixture "Killariie>" is composed of a ciniibination ot the \'ery linest European grasses and fescues, the highest grades possible to procure, and specially adapted for this climate. This mixture weighs 2S lbs. to the measured bushel, and is composed of all solid, recleaned seeds of the highest germination. Therefore, owners of large estates requiring a permanent sod and everlasting lawn should by all means use this high-grade mixture. We can recommend "Killarney Mixture," if the ground is properlv preparefl, to produce a turf of velvet, erjutl to the most famoiis Lawns in Eurnj>c '*Sow Killarney and Walk on Velvet." Qt. 35c., pk. $2.50, bushel (25 lbs.) $8.50. Burnett's Special Lawn Grass Mixture The above mixture is made from our own turmida, ani.1 composed of grasses specially- adapted for ttie purpose of producing turf which retains its rich green color and velvety appearance throughout the entire Summer and Fall. In making up this high grade mixture we are careful to use only the very finest quality of all the most desirable dwarf evergreen, redeemed grasses, free from chaff and weeds, which thrive well on any soil, thus ensuring a lieautiful and permanent lawn. To obtain good results Lawn Grass Seed should be sown as soon as the ground can be prepared in early Spring, It may also be sown in the Fall with good results. One quart wdl sow 15 x 20 feet (^OU square fet-t); 1 bushel, 100 x 108 feet (10,800 square feet): 4 to 5 bushels to the acre. Price: Qt. 25c., pk. $1.75, bushel (20 lbs.) $6.00. Burnett's "Bridle Path" Mixture for Drives and Walks The above mixture is adapted for a strong, hard wearing turf of tile linest texture, and is composed of some of the liardiest grasses, whicli will produce a close, thick sod and stand hard usage under all conditions. For drives and walks or an.v place where a strong turf is necessarv. this mixture cannot be equaled. Qt. 25c., pk. $1.50, bushel (20 lbs.) $5.00. Burnett's "Central Park" Lawn Grass Qt. 20c., pk. $1.50, bushel (20 lbs.) $5.00 Burnett's "Shady Place" Lav\rn Grass Qt. 30c., pk. $2.00, bushel (20 lbs.) $7.00 Burnett's "Bank and Terrace" Lawn Grass Qt. 30c., pk. $1.75, bushel (20 lbs.) $6.50 Grasses for Golf Courses, Etc. We have made a specialty of Fine Grass Seed Mixtures for man>- years, suitalile for Putting Creens and Fair oreens, and are direct importers of the various European grasses and handle largely the domestic varieties necessary for the formation of correct formulas to cope successfully witfi the many different conditions of soil, location and climate. Many clubs have experimented with their greens until they have been successful in the combination of a mixture that gives perfect satisfaction in tlieir particular location. In such instances we will be glad to otTer the necessar>- grasses separate or make a mixture to the rer|uired formula. BURNETT'S FAIR GREEN MIXTURE Bus. (20 lbs.) $5.00 BURNETT'S TENNIS COURT MIXTURE. . Bus. (20 lbs.) $7.00 BURNETT'S PUTTING GREEN MIXTURE Bus. C20 lbs.) 7.00 BURNETT'S SEASHORE MIXTURE Bus. (20 lbs.) 6.00 Grass Seed Mixtures For Hay, Meadows and Permanent Pastures PERMANENT PASTURE MIXTURE. For high and dry soil. Per bus. of 18 lbs $4.00 PERMANENT PASTURE MIXTURE. For wet soil. Per bus. of 18 lbs 4 00 PERMANENT PASTURE MIXTURE. For medium soil. Per bus. of 15 lbs 3.00 MEADOW MIXTURE. Made up specially for any soil or location. Per bus. of 18 lbs 4.00 BURNETT'S SPECIAL MIXTURE. For rough ground, woodlands, etc. Per bus. of 14 lbs 2.50 NOTE. — // you have not received copy of our Spring Catalogue, please forward name and address, and same tvitl be mailed promptly. BURNETT BROTHERS, Seedsmen TeUphone, B„.ciay 6I3S 98 CHAMBERS STREET, NEW YORK 80 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA OW Charms of Old Plantinos tUv Repro Can Be duced ON Long Island is an estate that three years ago bore all the un- desirable evidences of newness and unrestfulness. Adjoining it was a stately mansion of half a century's standing, with its surroundings of arch- ing trees; flowering shrubbery; box bor- dered walk; and old-fashioned flowers. About it hung that indescribable air of delightful repose. The neighboring place, however, has in three short years acquired a surprising look of similar long establishment. Skillful planting, thoughtfully planned, has accomplished it. Already tlie big stone chimney is vine clambered. The largest trees were moved in from the surrounding country. All the other trees, shrubs and hardy flowers are nursery grown. The fine old box came — some from, Vir- ginia, several from South Jersey. SJuVvu9 i^ekrS' Cor Box 20 RutKerford Nj, Whether yovir property is measured in square feet or acres, matters not; in either case, we can quickly give it that much sought for look of long establish- ment. You are cordially invited to visit our nursery and convince yourself oi its su- periority. Or at your suggestion we will gladly call. Our catalog you are welcome to. iiSf£3^:°f.|-^ih'i::^?l'-^^ jassa Moon's Trees and Shrubbery ^^^ Individually or collective- ly, Beechesadd beautyand dignity to the house and grounds. An Avenue of Norway Purple Leaved Beech ii *■ i i i J* T» Maples or a hedge oi rur- ple Leaved Beeches will beautify anyproperty. This is shipping time. Place your orders before the season is too far advanced. Our extensive stock insures you trees of any size or shade you desire. Catalogue A-8 sent free on request. THE WM. H. MOON COMPANY ISurserymeii WHITE PLAINS NEW YOKK JglBM^BM^JMP^^^ Trees — Shrubs — Evergreens All Kinds, All Sizes, For All Purposes. /"^VER 800 acres of selected stock — the largest and most varied assortment of ornamentals in America — all planted, grown, dug, packed and shipped by the most approved scientific methods in order to insure effective trans- planting. T?APID delivery of all orders is made certain by the accessibility of our nurseries which are within a few minutes of New York. 127 years of satisfactory service to a critical clientele proves conclusively the reliability of American Nursery slock. AMERICAN NURSERY CQ. "Successful for over a Century" Singer Building New York THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 81 ailllilliiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ I BOBBINK & ATKINS I One of the important Products of our organization apart from Nursery Stock is: 1 Our Heart Cypress Plant Tubs I Modern machinery, skilled craftsmanship and the "Wood Eternal" i have made our Tubs famous. They arc ornamental and durable. mMMMMMmssm ASK FOR OUR TUB CATALOG and see the wide variety of shapes and sizes we make. OUR ILLUSTRATED GENERAL CATALOG DE- SCRIBING OUR NURSERY AND GREENHOUSE PRODUCTS MAILED ON REQUEST Come and See Our Nursery and Tub Factory. I NURSERYMEN AND FLORISTS RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY =ill{|{{||||||Hi|l|llll|l|llllll [iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiii[iiiiNiii{iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiNNiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiii^ [ffijaififfiaffiaaffiaifiaffiffiffiffiaffiffiaffiffiffiaffiffiaffiififfiffiifisfiififfiaaifitfiffi !fi The Verdict of the Expositions on Swas-teeka Cannas SWAS-TEEKA BRAND CANNAS walked away with the gold medals at both the San Francisco and the San Diego Fairs. That was the verdict. A verdict which means that when you buy Swas-tecka Brand Cannas, 3S the best Cannas to buy, your opinion agrees with that of the judges at both Fairs, as to what the best Cannas to buy really are. Milo M. Potter, President of the Potter Hotel Co., Santa Barbara, Gal., visited the San Diego Fair. He saw our Gold Medal Winner Cannas. This is what he wrote about them: "While in San Diego, I visited the San Diego Fair, and had the pleas- ure of seeing your Cannas. I not only looked once, but several times. I mean by that, I went away and then back again to look again Have visited thousands of beautiful gardens and parks; but I have never seen such Cannas as you have at the San Diego Fair." These Gold Medal Winner Cannas are selling like hot cakes. Send for our price list. THE CONARD & JONES CO. WEST GROVE, PA. I^ffiffiaaffiaaatf^ffiaaififfiaatfitfiifiaaffiffiifiaffiaffiffitfiaaa!^ 82 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA '^iiiiiiiniiiiiiiiii:ii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiii:iiiiiiill'iillliiiiiniiiniiuiii;iiii:iiii:iiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiii{iiiiiiiiu^ ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinmiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'. I Grow GLADIOLI Exclusively ( )wins' t(_i this fact. I am not dependent on foreign importations, so can offer the best varieties at es- pecially low prices — for example : America, light pink, $2.00 per 100 Baron Hulot, blue . 3.00 " " Halley, salmon pink 2.00 " " Isaac Buchanan, yel- low 6.00 " " Mrs. Frank Pendle- ton, Jr., Pink, red blotch 7.50 II II Panama, pink . . . 5.00 My illustrated booklet de- scribes many new and mar- velous creations. You should have a copy of it. It is free for the asking. B. HAMMOND TRACY Cedar Acres DREER'S GARDEN BOOK FOR 1917 Seventy-ISinth Annual Edition A dependable guide-book which tells when to plant, how to plant, and what to plant. It gives cultural articles, written by experts, which, will be valuable to every gardener. It contains 288 pages, four colored and four duotone plates, and lists all the dependable tested standard varieties of Vegetables and Flowers, besides many important Novelties. The newest Roses, the best Dahlias, and Dreer's Im- proved Hardy Perennials are given special prominence. It features a number of noteworthy specialties in Vegetables, Sweet Peas, Asters and Columbines. Whatever is worth growing you will find in Dreer's Garden Book for 1917, with full instructions how to grow it. A copy will be mailed free if you mention this publication. Lawn Grass Seeds, one of our leading specialties. If interested, ask for a copy of our Lawn Booklet. HENRY A. DREER BOX C WENHAM, MASS. 1 714-716 Cheslnul Street PHILADELPHIA siii»iiilliiiiiiiiiii!liiiii!iiii»iiiiiiiiinii:iiii!i!iiiiii!mi:iiii:ii!i:iiii:iiii:ii»:iiii'iiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniH:iiii:iiiiiiiiiiinii^ -:!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiii;iiii:iiiiiiii;iiii:iiii:iiii.iiiiJiiiiiiii;iiiiiiiii:iiii:iiii:iiiiiiiii!Niiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ -iiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiuiiiiiiiniittiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiim THOMAS J. GREY CO. I I Water Lilies and Water Plants THE SEEDSMEN 16 South Market St., Boston, Mass. EVERYTHING FOR THE FARM GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Send for catalogue. Water Lilies gruw readily in ponds or quiet streams. No care is needed after the roots are planted, yet the lily pond is one of the most in- viting places about the estate, the park or the cemetery. My collection of varieties for the garden and green- liouse is complete, and includes pure white, crimson, pink, and various shades. I have the largest estal)lish- ment in the world devoted exclusively to Nymph.-eas. Nelumbiiims. Victorias, and other water plants. I will gladly assist you in planning the pool or in arranging the natural water-way. Write for my liooklet — free. WILLIAM TRICKER Arlington, N. J. Box P Among our specialties are: I Begonia Mariemont Bedder. Best bedding variety y I grown. Pkt. 25c. [ i Mignonette Improved Eclipse. Immense spikes. | I Best sort for greenhouse. Pkt. 25c. | I Giant Cyclamen. Separate colors or mixed. j I Finest strain grown. Pkt. 75c. 1 j Primula Chinensis and Stellata. Finest giant strains. j I Pkt. 75c. I I Primula Obconica Giant. E.xcellent strain. Pkt. 50c. | I Special strains of vegetables for greenhouse and | I outside. I iiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^ THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 83 'jiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiii ini!!i;iii iiiiiiiiii Ill iiiiiiiiiiiii :iiii;iiii:iiii!iiii:iiii! :iiii ';■: iiinnriiriiiiiiiiiiiiii: i i I i i ii ini ii ii'i iu> iiii nil mil lui'inni' Scheepers Gold Medal Winterflowering Begonias Awarded the Gold Medal h\ the Horticultural Society «/ New York. Mar. 7, 1917 There has been enor- mous demand for these magnificent Begonias; don't be withoitt them, you will miss them. Better ask for our Win- terflowering Booklet to- day, so that you can send your order without delay. Tubers are ready for delivery in April; plants ready in July. Order now. !iiiiiiiiiii!t[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iitiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiii]iiiiiiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii The following gratis catalogues are now ready for distribution: (Since we have separate booklets for each spe- cialty, please ask for the specific booklet that in- terests yon.) 1. Winterflowering Be- gonias. 2. Summernowering Be- gonias and Delphin- iums. 3. Complete Iris cata- logue arranged in an entirely new way. 4. Fancy Lilies. 5. Booklet of the finer varieties of Narcissus. JOHN SCHEEPERS & CO., Inc. Flower Bulb Specialists 2 Stone St., New York City ALTRIXCHAM PINK iiiili[i'ii[i'iliriili:ii1liilll'l!llll>lllllilllMiii:ijhllllll E^llllllll IIIIIIIIIIIIHNttllHIIIIilllllllllllll'lllinillllillllllllllllillllllllilillinililllllllliri:!' .' :.: . piiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiNiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiMiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiNNiiniiiiiiiiiimMniiiin^ I For the Rock, Wall, and | I Old Fashioned Garden j I A ^ ^^ specialize in Roclf; and Wall I I Plants and old-fashioned hardy r; I plants, we are offering both at these e I attractive prices, in small and large as- S j sortment — your or our selection. i Tiielve i'lants $2.00 '\ Tiientr-five Plants... 3.75 . Prepaid Fifty 'Plants 7.50] Descriptive Catalog Sent on Request if 5c. is enclosed for po.slage I PALISADES NURSERIES, Inc. | I SPARKHILL NEW YORK j- I Hardy Perennials Our Specialty i iliiliniUlliiiilNNiliiiiiiiiniiiiiNiiiNiiiii[iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii«iiiiir«iiiiiii:iiii!i^^^ /iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniinii! nniinii! [iiNinmnnniiiiiiii inn nniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiii{iii!iiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiinuiniiiiiiu>| j HICKS NURSERIES | I Rare and Showy Plants | = Japanese dogwood blooms a month later than our dogwood; ^ ^ globular, sweet red fruit. i i Cornus officinalis blooms before forsythia, fruit like tlie 1 z Cornel' an cherry, makes good jam. ^ :; Styrax Taponica, a dainty Utile tree with flowers like the | ~:i orange. = '= I)Ox liucklfbcrry antl pacliystima, 2 new evergreen cover g ■= plants. g = Photina villosa, an Amelancia like tree with red berries in 1 = the autumn that attract the birds. $10.00 prize for a good | = CO nmoii iianitr. = j Shade trees 15 feet wide, save 10 years g i Large evergreens. 6-20 feet high. E s Xordrnann's fir, 1 B Colorado blue spruce, 1 1 Concolor fir, p p_ Douglas spruce, E E White pine, i 1 Austrian pine. 1 § These big tree^ are grown wide apart and fr._(iiieiul\- trans- 1 E planted. E M Evergreens from 1-6 feet in large variety. = 1 Trees for the seashore and dry and acid soils, not usually avail- 1 I able. j H All idanls from Hicks Nurseries are guaranteed h 1 to grow satisfactorily or replaced free. 1 M Send for catalogs. § I HICKS NURSERIES I Dept. 1. Westbury, L. I. rillllllllllllNIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIINIIIININIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIinillllllllllllllllllinilllllllllNllllllllim 84 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA piilillllllilllllllllllllillllllliilililllliliililiiliiliiiiiililiilillilillliiiniiiiiililililMllllilililllii iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiuii iiiiiiiiiiiuii li gi iiiiiiiiiiiiii nniii iiinm u uuiinn mn m i iniiiimiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiii g Orchids JH^CLcL Sjb-c^^ I To introduce these superior seeds to you we make the 1 I following special offer. Each and every variety is a 1 I novelty originated at our Raynes Park trial grounds. | I This Carter Collection for $1,75 net | s Beans — Carters Sunrise — 25c. packet. 1 s Beans — Carters Holborn Wonder — 20c. packet. = p Carrot — Carters Early Market — 10c. packet. = g Celery— Carters Solid Ivory — 10c. packet. 1 i Cucumber — Carters Ideal Frame — 25c. packet. i § Lettuce — Carters Holborn Wonder — 10c. packet. 1 = Lettuce — Carters Giant White Cos — 10c. packet. 1 g Onion — Carters Record — 10c. packet. 1 i Onion — Carters Holborn — 10c. packet. = = Parsley — Carters Crested Bouquet— 10c. packet. % i Parsnip — Carters Holborn Marrow — 10c. packet. 1 I Peas — Carters Giant Lightning Early Round 2^ ft. — 15c. packet. 1 1 Peas— Carters— Quite Content Maincrop 5 ft.— 20c. packet. 1 ^ Spinach — The Carter — 10c. packet. p 1 Turnip— Carters Little Marvel— 10c. packet. 1 1 Turnip— Swedish— Carters Prize Winner Purple Top — 10c. packet, p s Tomato — Carters Golden Sunrise — ^25c. packet. M = Tomata— Carters Duke of York — 10c. packet. 1 j CARTERS TESTED SEEDS INC. | £ 150 Chamiber of Commerce Bldg., Boston, Mass. 1 € Branch of James Carters & Co.^ Raynes Park, England 1 ^y means of the former we can get an early start, defying a certain amount of frost and cold, and by the time the weather has become sufficiently warm, so as to do away with the need of hot beds, the frames come in fine for lettuce and radishes for the whole s u m m e r, where, owing to the generally greater richness of soil and proximity to water, far better and surer crops of lettuce may be had through the hottest weather than can be had in the open garden. Needless to say, dur- ing this period the sashes are dispensed with. With the advent of fall, cauliflower and even celery, as well as endive and other crops, can be grown to perfection in frames with the protection which may be afforded with coinparative ease. The effect of richness on quality has been referred to previously and it is hardly possible to overdo the manur- ing of the vegetable garden. Fifty (50) tons of good, well-rotted, farm-yard manure is not excessive for most gardens — if this is spread and plowed in during the fall — something is gained in the way of forwarding the spring work, but this is not always possible and if it is done in the spring possiblv there is less loss from the leaching of the manure. Whether the garden is dug with a spade or fork, or whether it is plowed — dig deep ! or plow deep ! — as deep as possible without turning up too A l\ much of the infertile subsoil, 'i'oo much stress can hardly be laid on this matter of getting the greatest possible depth of soil so long as it is fertile. Vegetable gardens should be treated to a dose of lime at least as often as every three years — one-half ton of buried lime per acre spread evenly over the plowed ground and harrowed or raked in. Plan the garden planting as early in the season as pos- sible, making a record of all the important crop plantings, both as to time of sowing or planting and the location of each main crop. This, so as to rotate the crops around the garden in such a way that several years elapse be- tween the same crop occupying the same spot. If the garden is large enough to allow a crop of clover to be grown annually on a difTerent piece and this clover plowed or dug in, the soil will be cleansed and renovated in a wonderful way, and in the long run the clover crop will pay as well as any. Vegetables for ExiIUUTION Exhibition vegetables cannot be grown in the ordinary way any more than fine exhibition menus or any other ma- terial whatsoever that is out of the ordinar3^ Therefore, if ordinary methods will not suffice, we must, perforce, resort to methods extraor- dinary. Securing good strains of seeds from reliable firms is the first step. Then onions and leeks must be sown early in ]'"el)ruary if full time for maturing such varieties as Ailsa Craig or Gigan- tic Gibraltar Onions or Lyon Leek is to be al- lowed. Onions and leeks must be kept growing in flats or pots until planted out earh" in May. After planting syringe daily in fine weather until the plants have made a good start. Water about every other week with weak liquid ma- nure and keep a lookout for thrips. which are a very common pest on onions and leeks. Forceftd syring- ing or hosing is about the easiest way of combating thrips, but sometimes it is necessary to use some of the prepared remedies, such as Aphine, to keep them in check. Onions are planted a foot apart on well manured land and should be ready to lift in August so as to thoroughly ripen. Leeks, on the other hand, should be planted about 15 inches apart in a trench about 8 inches deep and gradually earthed up as they grow. Brussels Sprouts are frequently a failure, because they are started too late. March 1 is about right for sowing these and "The Wroxton" is one of the best varieties. Plant about 30 inches to 3 feet apart and put a stake to each plant ; feed well, and look out for a gray aphis, which plays the mischief with sprouts from Julv on to October. L^se the tisual remedies for aphis. Winning Collection of Vegetables Exhibited by Ediiin Jenkins at the Lenox, Mass., Flui\.'er Shoz^: 89 90 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA The Globe .Vrtichoke is a choice vegetable and good specimens are very telling in a collection of vegetables. January sown seed will frequently produce good heads the first year. There are so many inferior strains of this vegetable that it is well to save the old roots if you have a good strain and start from suckers each spring. Globe Artichokes should be planted at least 4 feet apart and seem to enjoy good dressings of wood ashes occa- sionally. Producing extra fine specimens of carrots, parsnips and long beets is one of the most difficult problems which confronts the exhibitor of vegetables. If your soil is naturally deeji and sandy, then you have a com].)aratively easy task. But usually we nuist bore holes three or four feet deep with a post hole auger and fill these holes with light sifted soil, sowing seeds on top of these holes. Parsnips, middle of May ; carrots, middle of June, and beets (long), about July 1, will produce the best roots tor fall shows. The New Intermediate Carrot, Student Parsnip and Blood Red Beet are about the best sorts. These roots must all be harvested with e.xtreme care by digging down alongside the root and should not be ex- posed to strong sunshine at all, but must be kept in moist sand until needed for the show. Beans, mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, cauliflower, lettuce and celery -will all require a little extra care in selection of specimens, of varieties, and will need to be timed so as to secure the specimens fresh and at their very best. Needless to say, care in handling and artistic merit in setting up an exhibit are great factors of importance in the exhibition of vegetables. I advise all who can to sow each year some asparagus seed, so as to have your own young plants growing along for forcing or to replace those lifted for forcing. Do not cut from those you intend to force this fall, and if you want the largest crowns give a little extra feed through the growing season. Sow a little rhubarb seed annuallv for the same reason as above. In conclusion, have respect for the vegetable garden. Do not speak of it disparagingly as the "truck patch," but give it equal, if not greater, thought and care in planning and attention than you do the flower garden. Bear in mind : "Good selected seed stocks." "Thorough tillage and heavy manuring." "Crop rotation with a clover plot." "Succession sowings." • "Value of cold frames for summer crops of lettuce, radishes, small beets and carrots." Insect Enemies of Trees THE elm leaf beetle, native of southern Europe, became established in Baltimore about 1834. Now it is found along the coast from Charlotte, N. C, to Magnolia, Mass. It is destructive throughout southern New England and in the Hudson Valley. It has become established in several localities in the central part of New York State, and has been reported from Ohio and Kentucky. The dull yellowish and black beetle, only about >4 inch long, winters in attics, outhouses, and similar shelters, appears with the unfolding leaves, and commences eating irregularly oval holes between the leaf veins. The laying of eggs begins about June 1st and the great majority of them are dejiosited prior to the 20th. They are yellowish, occur on the under side of the leaves in clusters of three to eighteen, and hatch in about five days. The young grubs confine their feeding to the lower sur- faces of the foliage, thus producing the familiar skeleton- ized leaves, which soon die and turn brown. In fifteen or twenty days the grubs complete their growth, at which time they crawl to the base of the trees in large numbers and change to oval, golden-yellow pu])3e from which adult beetles may emerge in as short a period as five days. Nothing has proved effective against these destructive leaf-eating grubs except poison applied by thorough spraying that reaches the under sides of the leaves. This is not guess work or theory ; it is demonstrated fact. Even for a tree that stands in a badly infested neighborhood, such spraying is jiracticable and effectual. The poison to use is arsenate of lead (15 per cent. arsenic oxide) at the rate of at least 4 pounds to 50 gal- lons of water. This solution is best applied with a power sprayer, especially if it is built for shade tree work. A moderately fine spray, ladders, and plenty of hose are necessary, since with the low power outfits it is impos- sible to throw the poison any great distance unless the trees are climbed. A number of communities are using a high pressure outfit adapted to maintain a ])ressure of 200 pounds at the nozzle, and with a si>ecially designed nozzle it is feasi- ble to spray even the tallest trees from the ground. This a])paratus gives surprisingly good distribution, and owing to the great rapidity with which the work may be done it is one of the most economical outfits which can be em- ployed in localities where a large number of trees are to be sprayed. The spraying season for this insect is extremely lim- ited, extending approximately from the middle of May or when the leaves are about half grown, to the first of July, a date when most of the grubs are nearly full grown and consequently stop eating. TJic broiun-tail moth, another undesirable immigrant, brought to this country in 1889, flies readily, and as a consequence is widely distributed, especially northeast of Boston. The caterpillars feed mostly on pear, ap])le and oak, and are not so destructive as those of the dreaded gypsy moth, though their hairs produce the annoying and at times extremely jiainful aft"ection known as the brown-tail itch. Unlike the gypsy moth, this insect winters as a small caterpillar in a closely webbed shelter including a few leaves at the tips of twigs. These retreats are several inches long, easily seen, and upon examination may be found to contain caterpillars about a quarter inch long in little pockets lined with snow-white silk. The caterpillars complete their growth in June, the snow-white moths with conspicuous brown tails usually appearing early in July. They deposit brown egg-masses upon the leaves, the eggs soon hatch, the caterpillars feed for a time, and then construct the winter nests described above. There is danger of the winter nests of this insect being distributed on nursery stock. Many seedlings thus in- fested have been imported during the last few years from France, and some shipments from the infested region in this country have also borne these nests. The detec- tion of this insect on nursery stock is usually compara- tively easy, and every suspicious web or nest should be cut off and burned. Cutting and burning the winter nests, and early spring applications of poisons are the best method of controlling this pest. TIic whife-iiiarkcd tussock moth, a native species, ap- {Contiiiucd on page 96.) A Gardener in California By E. O. Orpet. SITTING before the open fireplace, on a birthday night, in peace and contentment, reading over again the request of our editor for a few impressions gathered by the way of things seen here, the magnitude of the task grows and one does not rush to it as at first impelled. After fighting frost for forty years, in all its many phases and seasons, it is hard to describe the feeling that the sight of the first big Palm stirred up when seen froiu the train at one of the stations just after passing for a day and a night over dreary snow swept Utah and Nevada, this was the advance guard of the verdure to come, and after crossing the summit, the Olives and Oranges appeared. The native trees seemed to be all burdened with Mistletoe, and this carried me back ten thousand miles, and, seemingly, as many years to the old Hampshire days of early gardening experience. It is not intended to give more than a few first impres- sions of things seen, and one of the first was a curious one, that the native Sycamores looked out of place be- cause these were deciduous and losing their foliage at this time. The live oaks are glorious, and it is now forbidden in many communities to cut them down — we saw a broad highway widened so that traffic might pass a live Oak on each side. Apart from the live oak most trees in- troduced are evergreen. The Eucalxptus is planted everywhere and, strange to say, stands frost with impun- ity. We have had the cold here 18 degrees below freezing four times this winter, and these great evergreen Eucalyptus seem not to mind it. To the writer, at least, the huge Ficus and Magnolias are the best of the broad leaved evergreens, the latter especially being of tropical look, though it is the best of all native liroad-leaved ever- green trees, almost always in flower, and the fruits very ornamental. Araucarias, Grevilleas, Jacarandas, Cam- phor trees and a number of other exotics are used as street and avenue trees, with the ubiquitous Pepper tree and Palm. These two last-named have been overdone, the Schinus is becoming hard to keep clean of scale, and the Palms if not kept trimmed up when tall cease to be beautiful by comparison with their surroundings. Speaking of Palms, one is reminded of an afternoon that will live on to the ceasing of memory, spent with a grand old gardener among the plantings all done by him, and like most of us he was pleased to talk of his treasures gathered together during the best years of his life. There v.'ere over 200 species and varieties of Palms and Cycads seen there, and near a terrace with a grand outlook, just on a level with the balustrade, was a pair of tall Sea- forthias laden with clusters of brilliantly colored fruit, that one can never forget. There are real enthusiasts here on the coast who are collectors of all that is good and likely to succeed. When visiting one man, he told of taking an inventory of things growing there, and there were over 1,200, exclusive of Palms and Cactus, and all seemingly as contented as if at home. The Cactus family never appealed to the writer as seen in the so-called succulent houses at Botanic Gardens, but as managed here in various collections, one of which contained 1,300 kinds, beautifully grouped and arranged on a sandy side hill with winding paths about them, there is a great fascination, especially when look- ing at the masses of Dasylirions, Yuccas, Agaves and similar really decorative plants grouped among their hor- ribly armed, weird and fantastic congeners. Someone once said, "Oh, that mine enemy had written a book" — there are some who, if led to the middle of a Cactus plant- 91 ing on a dark night, would ha\'e their thoughts diverted from the hereafter. Most of us have seen Japanese Gardens in miniature and with varying degrees of pretentiousness, but, oh ! that all could wander for a day following the sinuous little stream, over its many quaint bridges, its pools with real aquatic birds, and plants trained with the skill brought to bear only with the patience of the Japs. The distortion does not appear as when cramped in at the root, but lends a flavor and environment that is all pervading, so nuich so that the Wistarias do not need even to have foliage on, or the ]\Iaples to have color for the effect to be felt. In a secluded corner is a miniature Jap cemetery, above it the temple, a tea house, and later we found masked cleverly with Bamboos a set of little houses where the men live who lend their skill and talk most interest- ingly of each detail as they understand it and keep all spotlessly clean. Here and there are the presiding Deities placed in suitable angles, and it seemed that no item or detail was left out of the scheme which has been the work of years, in an admirable location, one could but wish to spend the whole day there and restfully drink in the sun- shine while studying the plants old and new that were a surprise at every turn. A word more should be said of the Bamboos, Arundin- arias and Phyllostachys as seen here, some growing 30' feet high in a season and, as often seen, used with great effect. Kandina domestica, too, which resembles a bam- boo somewhat, is often found in large clumps with panicles of holly-red fruits that remain all winter. Most planting is planned for the winter season, and we were led to believe that good lawns were a rarity, but in some of the best residential sections lawn grass is seen just as fine as in any other part of the country, it was in fact almost painful to see the trimness and amount of pains taken to keep each place in order, and the conclu- sion was arrived at that Gardeners are the same every- where, putting in a great many hours labor for the love of their art itself as witnessed in the growing of the pot specimens and blooms of Chrysanthemums entirely with- out glass covering, and these of real exhibition qualitv in some of the small gardens. ( llass houses are not as necessary here as elsewhere, Inn the lath house is featured to the extent of acres in at least two places seen, here are the Palms that do not stand the sun or are too small to set out permanently, also the ferns and other shade loving subjects, all planted for effect with winding paths that are a veritable maze, and as watering is done by the Skinner system, the labor of upkeep is minimized. \'ines climb up to the roof and out into the glorious sunshine, flowering as never seen under glass, here we see the tender Jasmines, Bougain- villeas, Bignonias, Actinidias and even the Dipladenia was seen and bearing fruit. The Actinidia chinensis seen also proves to be an acquisition as an edible fruit, and most delicious in November, when the two sexes are available to planters with certainty it will be much valued. The fruiting form is readilv grafted on the other and is now to he seen thus worked to ensure fruitfuhiess. One could write at great length of the many plants seen, by this time, however, the editor will call a halt on space. In future travels more may be found room for; it seems even now that something should be said of the fruit and the many kinds found doing so well here, but of this we will tell in another chapter. One thing is certain — that on coming to California one sees so much to enjoy it is a pleasurable feeling to know that one is a gardener. 92 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA NEW HYBRID WINTER FLOWERING BEGONIAS. npHIS entirely new race of i5egonias — single, senii- double, and double flowered varieties of varied and brilliant colors — commences to bloom in early Autumn, and continues to flower well into the early months of the following year. In point of size, the blooms e<|ual those of many Sum- mer flowering tuberous rooted varieties, whilst the stems, of a thick fleshy character, are clothed with stout, bold, handsome foliage. They are also somewhat of a shrub- by character, in so far that their stems and leaves, under proper treatment, are retained through the resting period until the following season. The plants have passed through the resting period and commence to grow in April. From the axils of the leaves young growths are developed ; these should be taken off as cuttings when about ly, to 3 inches in length. Insert singly in a thumb pot, or several around the edge lliiiUr Flozccring Begonia — EUilior. of a 3 inch pot, and place in a propagating case or in a close house in a temperature of 70 degrees. The cuttings root readily, and will soon require to be potted, w'hen they may be placed in a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees. \\'ater should be given with discretion, and ventilation afforded whenever the weather is favor- able : shade from bright sunshine. Care should be taken to avoid condensation of water on the foliage during the night. Cuttings struck from .April to June will make large plants in 6J^ or 7 inch pots: cuttings struck during July will make good plants for 5 inch ])Ots. All will bloom freely the same season. Early struck cuttings will require to be stopped once or twice, according to the strength and habit of the va- riety, otherwise they would come into bloom too early, and the plants would not be so bushy as if they had been stopped. The first stop should be made when the plants are 6 to 8 inches high, taking out the tip and removing JViiitcr FIozi'cri)ig Begonia — Emily Clibrain. flower buds, if any, and the last stop not later than .Au- gust. In the Autumn the plants commence to bloom, and continue until the early part of the year. A temperature of 60 to 65 degrees suits them admirably at this time. When the flowering period is over, the plants rest until the end of March. Water should then be given very carefulh- : sufficient to retain the stem and leaves is all l]'ii'.tcr /•7ir;Li;i)(,y Bi-gonia — Siinrixc. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 93 Winter rio'i^'i'riiig Begonia — Splendour. that is necessary. Too liberal watering induces rot, whilst too little will cause the leaves and stems to drop away, and tlie plant is less ready to commence growth Winter Flowering Begonia — Scarlet Beauty. little well dv-cayed manure should be added. The plants at all stages should be potted fairly light, and not made too firm. I'rovided that care is exercised during the resting pe- riod, the culture is comparatively simple, whilst the re- ward in brilliant flowers at a dull period of the year well repays a little extra trouble. Winter Flowering Begonia — Felit>se. later. In the early part of .\pril sui)])lies of water may be increased. An excellent com]iost consists of three parts good loam, one part leaf mould, and one part silver sand, for cut- tings, together with a little fine charcoal ; for jiotting on, a SEED TIME AND HARVEST. By M. E.\RLE. Through winter frost and summer dew. By garnered wealth and famine blight, The ancient pledge of God stands true. Sealed on His sevenfold of light. What though the golden year's increase Be blasted once or twice again ? Seedtime and harvest shall not cease ; The soil shall feed the sons of men. O, ye who stay your hearts in trust Upon that primal pledge of earth. The rhythms of sun and star and dust. The blessing of the harvest's birth — Can ye not trust a little more The patience of His slow-wrought ])Ian Who built the carven coral shore, And fashioned earth a home for man ? Shall not His love supply the need Of heart and mind and soul for bread? Shall the great God who stoops to feed The ravens leave His child unfed? Our souls have known their famine years ; Our hearts have thirsted for His rain : Yet ever answering our fears His hour of reaping came again. O, trust Him in the days of dearth, O, praise Him in the frost and dew. The Lord who gives the fruits of earth. Shall bring the heart's full harvest, too. Violet Culture THERE are violet y;ro\vers who grow their plants under glass in summer, but the plan most gener- ally used is the growing of them outside, the same as any garden crop. They will grow on almost any soil, but the best results are obtained on a relatively light soil ; that is, one which contains a small amount of clay. A practical grower learns by experience how to judge a soil, mainly by its "feel" when picking up a handful. It should be remembered that violets like rich ground : that is, one with plenty of well-rotted manure in it. Chemical fertilizers are not to be thought of, exce])t perhaps a little pure ground bone, but it must be "])ure" and used very thinly. The violet may be propagated in a number of ways ; the most common is to divide the crowns or old plants when they are through blooming in the sjiring. The plants are simply lifted, the dirt shaken off the roots, and the side shoots or rimners pulled apart. Care should be taken to choose only those which appear the stronger. The runners are held in the left hand with the hearts or top even, and when a dozen or so are held they are cut off even, leaves and roots, the length of the hand when closed. These are ready to be planted in the field. An- other method of propagation, but which can only be done under glass, is to take cuttings of the growing plants in February or March ; that is, cut off the oft'- shoots and after trimming the cuttings are ]nit in sand to root. This will require at least six to eight weeks to root properly. There are other methods, Init the two given are the principal ones. Planting in the field should 1)e started as soon as pos- sible before dry and hot weather starts, which too often happens before all the plants are set out. One can always tell which plants were set out first : they are the first to show that healthy green color which any grower loves so much to look at. Even if a few light frosts come along, it will not hurt the plants at all, provided, of course, the runners were not kept too hot before plant- ing. The violet does not differ from any growing crop in regard to cultivation : the more the hoe and cultivator are used, the better ]:)lants will be the result. When the nights are getting cooler in late August and Septemb?" is the time when the violet is making the most growtn. Runners are sent out in every direction, and these should not be left on the plants, but cut or pulled oft". If the runners were left to grow, this would give weak, straggly plants, and the flowers would be small and short of stems Single violet plants should be left outside until they have had a few frosts, or if preferable they can be housed sooner, and the frames or greenhouses, as the case may be, opened during two or three nights when it is freezing. This freezing-out process checks the leaf growth on the plants to the benefit of the flowers ; in other words, if the plants were not frozen, they would give a tremendous crop of leaves and the flowers would be very few. Better results are obtained with solid beds than raised benches. When the beds are ready to be planted, the plants are dug out, care being taken to leave as much dirt on the roots as possible, as then with a judicious amount of water the plants do not show the transplanting to any great extent ; in fact, they keep right on blooming as if they had never been disturbed. The violet is unlike the rose or carnation as regards heat ; it must be kept cool, and any attempt to force it will result in overgrowth of leaves and blasting of the flowers. Of course, temperature changes a good deal, but every effort should be made to keep the night temperature as near 40 degrees as possible, with a day temperature of between 55 and 60 in bright weather. The violet is a lover of fresh air, and ventilation should be carefully at- tended to. The same care given in the houses must be observed where frames are used. Plants in a frame will burn up on a bright day unless air is properly given, so watch the thermometer and give air when the plants need it. For the night, if indications point to severe weather, the frames should be protected with mats, straw, pine needles or whatever one has handy on the place. If the temperature in the frames should get to the freezing point, do not be alarmed, no harm will result. I had a few frames which got frozen one night quite hard. Early next morning I took the sashes off and with a fine spray of water, thawed out the plants as well as the flowers with the result that 75 per cent of the latter were saved and picked that same afternoon. Violets properly grown, are always sweet, but the delicious odor may be lost through improper handling. Throughout the entire work of i)icking, bunching and shipping every precaution must be taken to keep the flowers away from all foreign odors. Violets can be left outside all winter provided the suit- able variety is used. There is nothing so beautiful as a bed ; they are the last flowers to be killed by frost in the fall and the first to bloom in the spring. They bloom in the fall until very severe weather sets in, when they can be jjrotected by spreading straw or leaves, hay or cornfodder over the beds ; then when the spring days .nrrive, the covering is taken off and the violets start to bloom again. The sight must be seen to be appreciated. A. B. Perry. IN THE G.'KRDEN OF EDEN. (i!|W(f'\ Eve — Vou must eat this, Adam. Adam — Not on your life, when I can sell them at ten dollars a dozen. 94 The Planting of Home Grounds By Richard Vincent, Maryland. THIS article is not intended to cover large estates where the grounds are extensive, the correct way would be then to employ a thorough, competent landscape gardener. Therefore, my article today takes in the places and situations that practically can be made good by the owner, or ordinary gardener. The list of trees, shrubs, plants, etc., that are here offered are those that, in my judgment, are best adapted to the majority of locations. Too many places have their beauty spoileil by too much tree planting ; that is, in a great many cases, too many trees are planted on a limited space. This not only fre- quently occurs around the humble cottage, but also on many places of large dimensions as well. This, some- times, is solely the owner's fault, and oftentimes the man supplying the trees, who wants to dispose of as many trees as possible, and so induces the party for whom he is planting, in order to make a display at once, to plant many trees. This is all very well if they are planted so as to be removed or cut out in a few years, and they should be so placed that this can be accomplished, but often it is not. The consequences are that after a time one tree overgrows and disfigures another. Too many mistakes are also made in not studying the size to which the tree will grow, and in planting too close to buildings, a road or pathway, thereby making them a ntiisance by crowding roadway or path. Limbs have to be lopped olT to make room for passage, disfiguring the trees or bushes and making a bad appearance generally. Another point where a number of mistakes are made is in planting too many of the same variety, as is freqtiently done on small places, while we study that the varieties of trees and shrubs are innumerable and can be gotten in endless variety, and variety is what gives charm and beauty to any place, whether large or small. There are some situations where certain kinds of trees or shrubs planted en masse is correct and gives a goodly appearance. This is not what I have reference to, but to small places where you will see possibly four or five weep- ing trees, positively all of one variety, or the same in hardy Hydrangeas or shrtibbery of a like character — too much sameness to be beautiful. If those planting home grounds would spend a little time inspecting other places that are well planted, and then consult some good gardener the result would be more artistic, and even though expense were added, they would be well repaid in after vears. Do not consult the man who calls himself a "landscape gardener" sim])ly because he has a few trees and shrubs to sell, as he is more than likely to recommend what he has in stock, than varieties you would have to procure elsewhere. I have heard several lectures by parties advocating the procuring of trees, etc., from the woods or forest for their own home-ground planting. This might do, and has been done in some cases, but it has not generally been successful, as a tree or bush grown in some shade or par- tial shade, more or less, then transplanted otit into the bright sunshine is apt to harden the bark, and then takes a long time to start growing ; whereas, the nursery grown tree has been grown out in the elements, and if it is of any size it has been transplanted several times ; is better rooted and is in a condition to grow right along, and if properly planted it will soon outstrip the forest tree. I once heard a speaker, who claims to be an educated gardener, tell his audience that they should go out in the woods near by and dig up some of the large holly, cedar 95 and [line trees and [ilant around some of their buildings that needed hiding. Of course, he was telling the people something he, himself, had never tried out, for if he had, he would have known better than to recommend any such policy, as anyone who has tried to transplant large wild evergreens knows to his sorrow. Small ones can be, and are transplanted, and occasionally a large one, but a great deal of care is required. The various Garden Club members are doing a greater work than they have any idea of in not only beautifying their own grounds, but by educating their neighbors along the same lines. Good work is also being done in a great many cities and suburbs in teaching the people to improve their surroundings by having flowers either in window or porch boxes, or in making their back yard a little paradise. In many cases the fences for a whole block have been removed, giving the block a park-like appearance, a thing of beauty instead of ash barrels, bot- tles, tin cans and rubbish of all kinds. If such a change can be made in and under these conditions in a city, how nuich more can be done away from the city in the suburbs under much more favorable conditions than our city cousins have. The man or woman who does not in these days wish for a garden is hard to find, and there are some gardens that are beautiful, even though very small. It may be only a porch or window box, but for all that it is a joy to the owner if well kept, and that owner is often as proud of that box when the plants therein look well, as the owner of a large garden or park. Trees, deciduous or evergreen, shrubs, perennials, etc., are as much a part of the well-balanced garden as the lawn or flower beds. - Many of them are as highly decor- ative as any ornamental foliage plants, and some varieties are as useful for cut flowers, and a planting can be arranged so as to have some bloom or attraction the entire growing season, and with the evergreen tree, ever- green shrubbery, etc., a cheerful appearance will be had when the winter's snows are falling. Shrubs have many tises, such as a dividing line between places, or to screen the vegetable garden, or between the lawn and unsightly scenes beyond. They can be planted in a mixed shrubbery border, the taller growing ones in the background and the short, dense growing ones in the front. Tliorough preparation of the soil by sjjading, or where possible the tree holes should be dynamited, as this does the work much more thoroughly than is possible by spading, and a properly prepared hole in which to plant a tree or bush means much in the quickness and healthi- ness of the growth. To get this result, well-rotted manure or bone meal should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil. After the trees are planted if a good mulch of manure or litter is spread over the ground, only a lim- ited amount of cultivation will be necessary — just suffi- cient to kee]) down the weeds. When planting, care should be taken not to overcrowd, allowing ample room for future development, imless immediate effect is wanted, in which case they may be planted close and afterward every other one removed, but it is far better to plant at a regular distance, using some annuals to fill up until the regular planting covers the ground. I would advise, whenever practicable, that all planting be done as early in the fall as possible, as all trees planted early will take root before severe weather sets in, and are in a much better condition to start in the spring than 96 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA those of late spring planting. In case of their being ten- der varieties, a light covering of brush or similar mate- rial will help them over the first winter. The question of the right distance to plant is often asked, but this cannot always be answered, as there is much difference in certain varieties, and the fertility of the soil has much to do with it. But would say, five to six feet for strong growing varieties of shrubs, and about three to four feet for the low growing, compact sorts. We are also asked about pruning" of shrubbery, etc., but really no hard or fast rule can be given. I can only indicate in a general way what may be done. All shrubs that bloom before mid-summer, such as Deut- zias, Forsythia, Lilac, Philadelphus, Weiglias, etc., produce their flowers on the previous season's growth. To prune these in the fall or spring would destroy the crop of flowers for that season, therefore, they should have their pruning immediately after blooming. Va- rieties of shrubs that bloom on wood made the same sea- son, this class including such kinds as Altheas, Des- moduims. Hydrangea, Paniculata, etc., may all be trimmed in the early spring. Too much pruning is often done on shrubbery in many cases, and according to my judgment, all the pruning really necessary is generally some over-grown branches, dead wood, or sometimes a little thining out to let necessary air and light in, but to shear shrubbery like you were trimming a hedge is really an eyesore, and an injury to the beauty of flower and shrubbery. The earliest spring flowers, commencing with the little Snowdrop, Crosuses, etc., may be planted in the grass on the lawn or under the trees, where grass will not grow. There are lots of places where these little souvenirs or springtime can be grown, as they grow and mature be- fore the moisture is taken out of the ground by trees, etc., and they will be done blooming and be gone before the lawn really needs mowing. Narcissis, Hyacinths, Tulips can also be planted in certain locations in the shrubbery, or certain blocks or beds about the lawn. Planted in the grass like the aforementioned Snowdrops, etc., unless they can be left until later is not advisable ; that is, if you want to retain them for other years, as the grass may have to be cut before the roots of these bulbs have matured. Bulbs form a link between winter and the time the earlv shrubbery gets in bloom. INSECT ENEMIES OF TREES. (Continued from page 90) row drives away our insectivorous birds and inciden- tally protects this bright yellow and black caterpillar with coral red head and gorgeous plumes. The female is wingless and the spread of the pest is therefore slow, dependent upon the caterpillars crawling, or being carried from tree to tree. The winter is passed in conspicuous white egg-masses (more than 300 in each), the young caterpillars appearing the latter part of ^lay and com- pleting their growth in about a month. They feed by preference on horse chestnut and linden, though they may be abundant on elm and maple. There is only one generation yearly in inland Northern cities, such as Al- bany, though in both Boston and New York a later, mid- summer brood appears. This pest is easily controlled by removing and destroy- ing the conspicuous egg masses, or by timely spraying with a poison. In spite of this being the case, the cater- pillars annually defoliate or partially strip many trees in various cities. Ill regard to spray compounds and their proper appli- cation. Dr. E. P. Felt, New York State entomologist, gives the following helpful information : It is absolutely necessary, when fighting insects, to know whether the pest devours or chews its food, for, if not, contact insecticides or other means must be em- ployed. Biting or chewing insects devour or eat away portions of the plant, and the poison, in order to be ef- fective, should be applied where it must be eaten or the msect go hungry. If this is done thoroughly at the time of the appearance of the pest most excellent results may be expected, since young caterpillars usually succumb to poisons much more quickly than older ones. Sucking insects, as a rule, produce a wilting or discoloration of small areas and sometimes considerable curling of the leaves, as, for example, certain plant lice. Such attacks should be checked at their inception by the use of contact insecticides. Thoroughness is more than half the battle, and in applying poisons aim to cover all i)ortions of the plant liable to attack, and when using contact insecticides strive to hit as many insects as possible. Internal poisons or arsenical compovmds are applied where they must be eaten if the plant is attacked and on nothing soon to be used for food. They are valuable only for insects which devour their food. Arsenate of lead is the preferred poison for most leaf eating insects. A standard paste arsenate of lead shotild contain 15 per cent, arsenic oxid and is generally used at the rate of 2 to 4 pounds to 50 gallons of water. The dry arsenate of lead, a more recent development, has not proved satisfactory in all cases. In any event, this |)oison should be valued for its arsenic oxid content and freedom from water soluble arsenic oxid. Arsenate of lead may be added to either a lime-stilphur wash or bor- deaux mixture and thus form a combined insecticide and fungicide. Paris green may be applied at the rate of 1 pound to 100-300 gallons of water. When used on fruit trees, 1 ]X)und of quicklime should be added. Repeated applica- tions will injure most foliage, tmless lime is employed. Paris green and bordeaux mixture can be applied to- gether with perfect safety. Use at the rate of 4 ounces of poison to 50 gallons of the mixture. This is combined insecticide and fungicide. London purple may be used in the same way as Paris green, but as it is more caustic in its action, two or three times its weight of lime should be added, especially for plum and peach trees. Green arsenite can be similarly employed. A well known authority on the subject says : "The time of spraying will depend upon the purpose in view, but in no case should the spraying of fruit trees be done when the plants are in full bloom. Spraying at this time will often interfere with the fertilization of the flowers, and consequently reduce the crop of fruit, while there is much needless destruction of bees and other insects which work upon the flowers. "Insecticides and fungicides are more eft'ective if ap- plied in a liquid rather than in a dry form, since they adhere to the foliage better. Sprinkling is not spraying. The best results are obtained from the use of a fine spray cr mist forcibly applied to the foliage ; and so far as possible, it should reach the under side of the leaves. A fine mist is preferable to a coarse spray, as there is much less waste of material and much less danger of injury to the foliage." — Tree Talk. Herbaceous Perennials We Should Grow I AM happy to have an opportunity to address you on the suljject of '"Perennials We Should ( irow ," be- cause it is a group of plants in which I am especially interested. For the last three years 1 have been devoting a great deal of time to the study of perennials, and I do not think I have ever worked with a more interesting group of plants, and I wish to say at the outset, that herb- aceous perennials unquestionably deserve the popularity which they are enjoying at the present time. When we think of an ideal jjerennial garden we usually include the spring flowering bulbs. Can you imagine our gardens without the dainty Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), fol- lowed by clumps of Crocus (Crocus versi-color), and the Showy Squill (Scilla sibrica), which open their flow- ers even before the snow has entirely disappeared? After these have passed away come constant changes in a well arranged perennial garden every week, in fact every day will bring forth something new to interest and delight the eye of the flower lover. CJnly severe freezing weather will put an end to such persistent late blooming sorts as hardy Chrysanthemums, Japanese anemomes. New Eng- land asters, Gaillardias, Aconitums, etc. It is not my purpose today to treat the subject in a general way, be- cause so much has been said and written of late con- cerning the management, planting, and care of herbaceous borders. I will be more specific and deal only with the perennials we should grow in our gardens. Before I take up the actual materials, however, let us trace briefly the evolution of gardening in this country from the time the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the bleak barren shores ot New England, bringing with them a few seeds of garden pinks, and other old-fashioned garden flowers, to the present day. \\ hen we study the histor}' of gardening in .\merica, we find that many changes have been brought aljout from time to time, especially in the ty])es of plants used in beds and borders for ornamental purijoses. These changes might be termed fashions in plants. The most important change occurred with the introduction of the so-called bedding plants at the time of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. These showy plants appealed strongly to the pulilic and from that time on the so-called old fashioned flowers which our grandmothers had been growing with good results for years and years, came into disfavor with the gardener, especiallv the home gar- dener. Even twenty years ago there were few borders outside of those planted by professional gardeners on private estates and in public parks. With the adoption of the naturalistic style of landscape gardening, a decided change occurred not onlv in the type of materials used, but also in the manner of planting, and the last ten years has seen a growing interest in the so-called old-fashioned hardy plants which are technically known as hardy herbaceous perennials, and never have they been so highly esteemed as they are at the present time. Everyone who is fortunate enough to have even a small garden should devote at least part of it to hardy plants. The reasons for this popularity are obvious. First of all they are plants that live from year to year. Although the tops die ofif at the end of the growing season, new growths come from parts underground the following sea- son. This of course gives the garden a feeling of per- manency and by selecting the proper varieties the disap- pearing flowers will be continuously replaced by new ones. The colors of the varieties must be carefullv By Arno H. Nehrling, Massachusetts studied, as the color scheme is one of the primary features of the garden. The season of flowering must also be studied in order that the plants may be arranged so as to avoid clashes in color and so as to have an equality of flowers over the entire season. Even though the bor- der is planned with utmost care, it is not always possible to have the entire border a mass of color throughout the season, and as already stated, in planning the perennial Irorder a few clumps of spring-flowering bulbs such as Snowdrops, Scillas, etc., and masses of annuals should be added. Annuals have a particular charm because quick results may be obtained v^ith them, and although they are secondary in a border, they are nevertheless of vital importance in making a successful garden. Another reason for the popularity of perennials at the present time is because of the fact that great improve- ments have been brought about by our nurserymen and plant hybridizers. We have much finer and many more varieties for planting than had our predecessors. It is only when a comparison is made between Delphinium, * Extracts nf Society. a lectiirt- delivered before the Massachusetts Horticultural Paeony, Phlox, Asters, etc., of today with those in gen- eral cultivation ten or fifteen years ago that one realizes the extraordinary improvements that have been made. Summing up the reasons for the increasing interest that has been taken in the cultivation of hardy Herbaceous jierennials the past few years, we must not overlook the fact that they are planted for efliects to cover a period of years. Then too, there is no group of plants more adapt- able to varied conditions of soil and location. While the majority of species prefer a good deep soil and an open position, there are a number which succeed under par- tially shaded conditions, and soil heavy and light, or moist and dry. Although they thrive best in the flower garden proper, there are a few which will grow better planted in the rockery, shrulabery border, or the wild garden. I might add at this point that men who are familiar with the construction of gardens have made the statement that te year 1916 went down in the history of gardening as the year of the true beginning of rock gardening in this country. The interest in this type of gardening was stimulated to some extent by the fine displays of rock garden plants at the exhibitions throughout the land the past season. Professional gardeners and amateurs have long ago come to the conclusion that the perennial border has passed the experimental stage and is, now an important feature in every modern flower garden. From a well- planned garden or border is derived a feeling of quiet and rest that no amount of showy bedding plants such as red Geraniums, yellow Coleus, or Scarlet Sage can give us. By making the proper selection, any garden can he made attractive from early Spring tmtil Fall. Coming to the species and varieties we should grow, we now have a splendid list from which to make selec- tions. Many of our progressive firms have gone into the culture of perennials on a large scale. However, the number of species and varieties does not compare with the number grown on the other side of the water, where this group of plants has always received a great deal of attention. Mr. M. Free, the superintendent of the Brook- Ivn Botanic Garden in an article written by him, makes the following statement with reference to the number of species in cultivation in this country, compared to the number used in England. "It must be generally admitted that our perennial bor- ders, with some few exceptions, are characterized bv a great lack of variety in the plant material used. Espe- cially is this noticealDle when comparisons are made with 97 98 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA the hardy flower borders of several European countries where the culture of herbaceous plants in borders and rock gardens has assumed enormous proportions. In the Royal Gardens, Kew, over 8,000 species and varieties of herbaceous plants are grown, and it is no uncommon thing to see catalogs published by nurserymen containing over 2,C00 varieties. \\'hile not advocating for an instant the growing of plants simply for the sake of having a large collection, it must be conceded that when a nursery- man catalogs 2,000 hard}- plants, there must be a number of really meritorious subjects which are not grown in our borders, and which are not to be found in the lists pub- lished by the majority of American firms dealing in hardy plants. "The deriiand for, and importance of, hardy i^erennials, is increasing l)y leaps and bounds. People are getting tired of the monotony and expense of formal bedding and demand a return to the old-fashioned perennial border which, when ]jroiierly constructed, provides plants in bloom, of some kind or other, from April to November. It is up to the nurserymen, therefore, to see that this de- mand is supplied. The man who is able to do this is the one likeliest to reap the largest profits. \\'e will have to break awa\' from the stereotyped list of plants that everyone who grows herbaceous plants already has in his possession and launch out in introducing new plants. Novelties are a necessity, not only from the interest thev generate, but from the point of view of the matter of hard cash involved." The English firms who specialize in hardy plants real- ize the important psychological fact that people are always seeking something new, and strenuous efforts are con- stantl}' being made to add new plants to their collections. The majority of the new sorts are obtained by cross- breeding standard varieties. Others obtain their novel- ties bv sending exjieditions for the purpose of collecting new plants in their native habitats. Our own Mr. \\'ilson has brought to this countr}- a large collection of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, among the latter being Lilium, Regale, Buddlei variabilis, Aconitum \^'ilsoni, Anemone huphensis, Artemesia lacti- flora, etc. Even though our brothers across the water are offering a larger number of species in their catalogs, we have at the present time a vast amount of material to choose from. The range of color in these plants covers a wide range of tones. Mrs. Francis King in her work on '"The Weil- Considered Garden'' says, "Never before were seen pinks of such richness, such deep velvet-like violets, delicate buffs and salmons, 'actual blues, vivid orange tones and pale beautiful lavenders." Through the magic of the hy- bridizers we are today without excuse for ugliness in the garden. The question of color, if good efl:ects are to he ob- tained, is an important one, and should lie considered seriously when materials are being selected. The average descriptive seed or bulb list is not always as accurate as it might be. We have as yet no color standard for garden flowers. Mrs. Sedgwick in The Garden ^Nlonth by Month provides a chart which is of great value in the selection of plants for a perennial garden. It is rather difficult to make definite recommendations regarding color selection because of the likes and dislikes of the individ- ual. Most of us have ]irejudices against a certain color and disregard it completely when selecting material. This same color, when judiciously used with correlated tones may have been transmuted into a perfect picture. The successful gardener must also be somewhat of an artist and have a keen e_\e for color effect, whether the scheme is one of contrasts or a gradual verging from one shade to another. On some of our larger estates entire gardens or por- tions of a garden are devoted to plants of one color, such as blue, red or white. The blue garden has been espe- cially poptilar of late. Again coming back to the actual problem of the herba- ceous perennials we should grow, let me say that in a list of ICO of the best sorts, few people agree as to which actually are the best subjects for a particular purpose. The personal element will again be an important factor in making a choice. I will not weary you with a list of all the meritorious hardy plants, but select only those which are the most use- ful among those we should grow. The writer has endeav- ored to put aside his own likes and dislikes, and included only the more satisfactory forms. There are many more sorts with strong claims of inclusion, but as our time is limited, the exclusive of many good things is inevitable. The plants I will mention have been placed in their approximate order of flowering and there will of course be cases of overlapping throughout the season. A collection could be selected to good advantage from the following list : .\I'i;iL-.MAY. Color. Height. Name. Inches. ArabLs alhida Wliite fl to 8" Aly.ssum saxatih' r-Dinpactiim Yclhiw 0 to 18" Phlox suliiilata Pink 6" .Vnemone piilsalilla Liyht lihie 9" Vpiiuiifa :;i'ntianoiiles Blue 1 to 2' JIAT-.Tt'XK. Poroniiuin plaiitn:;iii(nim exfelsum Yelliiw llnto 2' .Vnuileaia caeniloa Light blue and white IV. to 2' plandnlosa Blue and white 1' olirysantlin Yellow 2 to 3' (•anaden.sis Scarlet and yellow ly,' Dicentra .spectabilis Rose 2' Iris gerraanioa vavs Various 2 to 3' Diauthus deltoides Deep jiink 0" Pyretlirinn hybridiun Vaiious Iji to 2' Lychnis viscaria splendens Pink 1 to IXi,' Veronica amethystina Dee]i blue 1 to lyi' -VstiT alpinns Puiple 9" .JUXE-.JULY. Papaver nrieiilale Searlet 2 to 3' Paeonia \'arions 3' Lniiinns polypliyllus Jlocrlieiini Pink 3' Dianthns glumavins "Her Majesty" White P lleniercicallis flava Yellow 3' Polcninninm Uichardsoni Bine lij.' Ileleniuin Hotipe.sii Yellow 3' riclphinium hybiidnm Blue 4 to .5' '■ belladonna Pale blue 4 to 5' Hemei'ocallis Dumortiei'i Y'ellow IV.' P.aptisia anstralis Dark bine 3' Peutslemon laevigatu.s digitalis .Lilac white 2' , to 3' Dictarauns albns White 2 to 3' .\conitnm Napellus Deep Idue 2i/^' Anthemis tinctoria Kelwayi Y'ellow 3' .Vnchnsa italica Dropmore Bine 4 to 5' Opal Xiphtblue 4' Campanula persicifolia Blue 2 to 4' Coreiipsis lanceolata ^ ellow 2 to 2'/,' Campanula cnrpatica JJliU' 9" Oenothera missunriensis Y'ellow 1' frnticc^sa Deep Acllow 2 to 3' Ueueliera sanguinea Red 1 to 1 U' Veronica incana Blue 1 to 1 %' Iris laevigata ( Kaempferi) Various 2 to 3' Spiraea Arnnc\is White 3' Silene orienralis Pink 1 to P-;' Poleniouinra caernlenm Blue 2 to 3' Centaurea macrocephala Yellow 4 to 5' (Co)itinucd on page 110) THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 99 CULTURE OF RHODODENDRONS By Alex. Robertson, New York /^ROWING under natural conditions in the nioun- ^^ tains our native Rhododendrons thrive in an at- mosphere of cool forest-fresh air, surcharged with mois- ture. In the British Isles, where the hyhrid varieties display their gorg'eous colors, we find again a climate that is pre- vailingly moist and where the nights are usually cool. If we would attain the greatest success with these won- derful plants, than which nothing is more beautiful in blossom, and which, during all the seasons of the year, possess an infinite charm of rich green foliage, we should bear the following points in mind : Rhododendrons thrive best in masses, the shade of one j)lant benefiting and protecting the other. The groups should l)e arranged so as to have natural or artificial protection from tlie prevailing inclement winds of winter and early spring. The Rhododendron is a surface rooted ])lant ; keep the surface of the ground under the plants thickly nuilched with rotted leaves to a sufficient depth to keep the ground still cool and moist during the hottest summer weather. In dry weather the beds should be thoroughly soaked with water. Pinch off all seed pods after flowering, in order to get good buds for next season. In the fall mulch the beds a foot or more with leaves, and if these can be left to decay it is advisable to do so. Rhododen- drons will not grow well in a limestone soil, and if this condition exists it must be rectified by the use of peat or leaf-mould. In exposed situations in winter a wind- break of some simple sort should be erected to break the full force of the wind, as the strong winds of winter break and disfigure the plants. Rhododendrons are well worth cultivating, as they lend both beauty and richness to an estate. There are so many varieties and hybrids that the most critical can be suited. I prefer the planting of home grown stock, as the imported plants do not stand our hot summers well and generally there are a lot of deaths among them the first year after being planted. The species most commonly used are our native ones, R. Catawbiense and R. Maximum. The latter is hardy farther north than the former, but both are quite hardy ir; the New England states. Catawbiense differs from Maximum mainly in that it makes a better specimen, ri'imder, and well furnished with foliage: tlie flowers are K/uHiiniL-iuirnii Culai^bu-iisc. Usually mauve, running to lavender, or lilac purple in many cases, and are carried in conical trusses ; the leaves are oval, rounded at base, 3 to 5 inches long, rather thick ii; texture, and dark green in color, with light green un- dersides. Its flowering period is in June. Ma.ximum is not quite of such good form as Catawbiense, less regular in shape, and bears flattish trusses of flowers, in color varying from purest white with tinges of pink or yellow, to clear pink, and all blotched with a deeper shade on the upper lobe of each flower. The leaves are longer and narrower than those of Catawbiense, bright green, lighter beneath, and often tinged with brown. It flowers in July, and is, practically, the last of all the Rliododendrons to bloom. This species is very largely used for planting in masses. .-/ Mass PUiiiti)iii of Rhododendron Ma.viinuin. 100 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA fe,:'.;/..l!r. Ci ■ Photos Loaned 6ii FROM Yesterday, I had a wonderful expei ence. There were two of us. One j them was a charming little old lady J a wheel chair. Her dress was blacf Around her neck and a bit over hi shoulders, was a soft white kerchi^ pinned just above the waist with an ol timev cameo. Peeping from her culj was 'a fold of white. In her hair, sprav of heliotrope. I Her face wore an expression of pan] battle, mingled with a rare sweetnel that fairly liUed the room. I She is my Chum Tom's Aunt Elvi^ a crippled shut-in for twenty-five yeai As is inevitable these days, we talW of the war. How her eyes glistened I telling of the French soldiers and th^ patlietic attempts to have flowers their trenches. . J Then with a gesture she immediate changed the conversation, telling of tl amusing antic of her dog Rex when tl new wiiite kitten was brought in fro| the stable. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 101 -■'«fL_«'.i' ■3:-^^ fe '•i3^i"V : TO FLOWERS "Auntie," I asked, "how is it that all these years you can keep so young in thought, so keenly interested in every- thing?" Her brief, softly modulated answer was, "My love for children and flowers." "Hours each day I spend in my little conservatory, and scarcely a day goes by that some one of the neighbors' children doesn't come in. With the flowers of : earth to cheer me ; and the children, (heaven's flowers), to share their joys with; and to relive my youth in the memories they prompt : how can I grow old?" And with that thought, I left. It was raw and cold outside. The cares of business came rudely jostling hack- but all day and ever since, the part that nowers play in that dear old lady's life (herself a rare exotic) has helped to take the frost out of me. Would that we all could have a con- servatory or a greenhouse where we could every day go from frost to flow- 102 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS. Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Subscription Price, 12 Months. $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1914, 1879. at the Pos Offict at New Published on the Advcrtisine forms 15th of each month, close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., torial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel New York, N. Y. Editor, Madison, All edi- N. J. Vol. XXI. March, 1917 No. 3 THE JAPANESE MAPLES. There is quality, richness, and class in the Japanese Maples. There are really two groups of them, i. e., varie- ties of Acer Japoniciiin and varieties of Acer palinatum or polymorphiim. Broadly speaking, varieties of the latter are much more free growing, and attain much larger proportions than varieties of Acer Japonicum. The one that is best known and most popular is the Blood Leaf Japanese Maple, Acer polyinorplinin atropiir- pureiim, chiefly on account of its color ; Init in addition to this there are many beautiful varieties, equally de- serving of attention. It is easy to learn the different varieties and their habits of growth, but to be really suc- cessful with them one must become very intimate with their nature. The one curious fact about them is they make their growth for the entire season in about 10 days or two weeks in April or early May. There is practi- cally little or no growth after that during the entire sum- mer. If the foliage becomes marred through late plant- ing or other cause it remains so all summer. Foliage that is produced so quickly is necessarily very tender, a cold night, or a shower of rain, followed by a hot sun, will occasionally spoil it before it is hardened. A vigorous Blood Leaf Japanese Maple will make as much as eighteen inches of growth in its short growing •season. Another peculiar feature is, the sap seems to be active all the winter, as they bleed very freely if pruned at that period. This would suggest that summer is perhaps a better time to do necessary pruning. The common stock, Acer polymorphiim is really a beau- tiful tree, or perhaps it would be better to class it among the shrubs, although they are miniature trees in every sense of the word. It is not uncommon to see specimens 20 feet high, or more. The finely cut forms such as A. p. dissect um do not get so large ; the branches have a downward tendency so that a well developed specimen is as broad as high. The variegated forms such a.s A. p. reticulatum and rosea niargiuntiiin are not very satisfactory, the coloring of the foliage very soon fades out under the hot summer sun, although they are very beautiful when they first come out in leaf. The variety Acer Japonicum anreitui has a beautiful fan shaped golden leaf, but unfortunately it is a very jjoor, short, stubby grower, good specimens are rarely seen, but well worth striving for. There are several varieties with green foliage that are often ignored on this account, but are wonderfully beau- tiful when well grown. Chief among them is Acer Japon- iciivi acomtifoliiim. The unusual shape of the leaf, com- bined with its lovely fall coloring, makes it worthy of more attention. — National Nurser\mau. THE GARDENER. It is not mine, this fair domain. This lordly scene of bold contour ; Though mine the hand, and mine the brain — And mine the heart — that did conjure From Nature's orderless grandeur. And far-flung wealth of crowning splendors, This well-planned scene with cunning sure That beauty doubly lovely renders. / wove those twining paths around That steep green slope, faint, self-effacing; To make those arbors, leafy-crowned, / trained those trees, all interlacing. / led that brook to linger more. As down its winding path it traced ; Those dancing flow'rs that fringe its shore Ry ;;;-i' own thought and hand were placed. I did all this, but not for me — Another owns what I have wrought. I took — and still receive — a fee ; My skill of mind and hand was bought. Another conies at times to see Mis land, his flow'rs, his trees above. All his — but in true equity They all are mine by bonds of love. Can he who owns them take more joys. Who cannot half their beauties find. From them than I whom he employs ? They reach my heart, but scarce his mind. He owns by law — and I by love ; In whom does truest title lie? In God's great record books above Who truly owns? I think 'tis I. — Herbert S. Richland. Back Yard Gardens A GARDEN is possible in any space admitting; sun- light, and of any size from the area of a window box up. Quite an effective garden can be devel- oped in the typical back yard of approximately 30 by 60 feet. Larger spaces admit of greater possibilities, of course, perhaps more than one garden being practicable. Probably there is no better way to bring out ideas on the development and possibilities of back-yard gardens than by a description of the plans of four such gardens to be laid out this spring in the new economic garden of the Missouri Botanical Garden. These four gardens, each of which is about 29 by 60 feet, differ in design and in the types of planting material and should suggest other designs and arrangements to the garden enthusiast. There will be a combined flower and vegetable garden, a shrubbery and perennial garden, a rose garden, and a sub-tropical garden. All of these will be separated and enclosed by a hedge of California privet and each will have one large tree, in this case an apple. A small and inexpensive pool will be included in each, and an arch for flowering vines will mark what would be the gateway to the alley. In the flower and vegetable garden the flowering plants are confined to the borders, and the vegetables to the interior square beds. A rectangular space is reserved in the center for a central pool, small lawn, and four dwarf fruit trees, and seats at either side mark the cross axis of the garden. Four additional dwarf fruits are placed near the corners of the garden for accent. The shrubbery and perennial garden attempts more in- formality than the others, though this is difficult to attain with success in a space so small and so formal in outline. Once established, this garden would require much less maintenance, and would be much more permanent than any of the others. The shrubs used are mainly low-grow- ing types, and the few taller-growing ones could easily be kept under 8 feet in height by judicious pruning. The perennials will border and intermix with the shrubbery, the taller kinds in the background and the smaller ones at the border. As is desirable in this type of develop- ment, as much space as possible is devoted to open lawn. The pool is in the center again and seats are placed at either side. The rose garden dift'ers materially from the others in design. The pool in this case is at the end, on the long axis of the garden, and there is a seat against the shrub- bery in addition to those on either side. A large part of the space is devoted to lawn, and the roses are con- fined to the border, standard varieties being used for accent, as shown on the plan. Except for the hollies and junipers, the su1j-tropical gar- den is devoted almost entirely to types of ])lants that are not indigenous to .'^t. Louis and yet which thrive magnifi- cently in our summer climate. LTsed with native shrub- bery and perennials, this materials usually produces the •Extract from Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin. most incongruous and inharmonious effects, but when grouped with others of their kind, striking and beautiful results are possible. Again the plan is formal in design, with the pool in the center and seats on either side. For the best results first settle on the best design you can think of. Even though the beauty of living plants may make a garden of poor design attractive at times, it is quite evident that only by a combination of healthy, vigorous plants, excellent maintenance, and good design, will the greatest success be attained. Avoid freakish and unusual plant forms ; there is usually far more beauty in the plants of normal growth. Weeping mulberries, um- brella catalpas, and similar types are hardly adapted to the small lot, and are usually in place only in the formal garden of large scale when used much the same as the standard roses shown in the plan of the rose garden. Though it is true that most plants should have sunny exposures, it has been proven in this city by actual experi- ence that most of the hardy shrubs will thrive if planted on the north side, even at the base of the house. Strictly speaking, there is scarcely a part of the grounds of our typical house-lot that will not get the sun for a part of the day, at least, during the summer. Many home-owners are afraid to attempt back-yard gardens because of the poor condition of the soil — the brick-bats, stone, plaster, and tar paper inherited from the house contractor — but this obstacle is easily over- come. Replacing the soil with good loam would be best, but by no means absolutely necessary, and if the stones, bricks, etc., are removed from the bed in the fall, and manure, lime, ajid fertilizer spaded in, the soil will be in fair condition by spring. The constant spading, manur- ing, and proper fertilizing thereafter will gradually build up a good soil for garden purposes. FLOWER AND VEGET.ABLE GARDEN Bed No. Common Name Botanical Natne Trees 1 Apple I'yrus Mains 2 Dwarf cherry Prtinus Cerasiis 3 Dwarf peach I'niiius persica \'egetables 4 Tomato Lycopersicum csculcntum 5 Beans Phascolus vulgaris 6 .\sparagus isfiaragus officinalis 7 Mint Mentha piperita 8 Rhubarb Khcum Rhaponticnm 9 Radish Kaphantts satifus 10 Lettuce Lactuca sativa 1 1 Leek illium Form in 12 Spinach Spinacca olcracca 1.1 Parsley Carum Pctrosclinum 14 Swiss cliard Beta vulgaris var. cicla 15 Cabbage Rrassica olcracca 16 Turnip Brassica rapa 17 Parsnip Pastinaca sativa 18 Beets Beta vulgaris Animals 19 Cosmos ( mi.xed ).. .Co j'l/io.s bi/^iniialns 20 Dahlia innxuil) ... .Dahlia coccinca var. rosea 21 Sage Salvia farinacea 22 Floss flower(blue).. /?i'r(7/»/» ntc.vicanum 23 Zinnia Zinnia clegans 24 Tickseed (yellow) . .Coj-ro/'.f/.f coronala 25 Verbena lm\xeA')..l"erbcna hybrida 26 Petunia {m\y.C(\^ . .Petunia hybrida 27 Bachelor's huWon. .Comphrciia glohosa 28 Cockscomb Cclosia plumosa 29 Corn-flower Centaurca Cyanus 30 China aster (\\h\te)Callistcphns hortcnsis 31 Siiider plant Cleomc pungens 32 }vIarigold Tngctes crecta 5i Pansy ( mixed) ... .fVo/n tricolor 103 104 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 34 Shirley poppy Papaver Rhoeas 35 Cone-flower Rudbcckia bicolor var. supcrba 26 Sweet-Williani Dianthus barbatus 37 Wistaria H'istaria chinensis LJ CiTcn'T'rMG a-roMEiT,-?' "- ■■■.■■■ -' ■-■'■■■'■■"■ ■■•■.:■:-.-"■"■■■ ^■;--...-:--V--".j.H,dti.. '-■>■''■ ' Scale Fig. 1. Plan of flower and vegetable garden. SHRUBBERY AND PERENNIAL GARDEN Bed No. Common Name Botanical Name Trees 1 Apple I'ynis Mains Shrubs 2 Golden-bell Forsythia viridissima 3 Barberry Berberies Thunbergii 4 Spiraea Spiraea Thunbergii 5 Spiraea Spiraea Van Houttei 6 Globe-flower . . . .Kerria japoniea 7 Deutzia Dcutzia scabra 8 Deutzia Deul::ia gracilis 9 Buddleia Bnddleia variabilis 10 Hibiscus Hibiscus syriacus 11 Weigelia Dicrvilla "Eva Rathke" Perennials 12 Candytuft Ibcris scmpervirens 13 Peony (red) Paconia albiUora 14 Oriental poppy .. .Papaver orientate 15 Iris (blue) Iris germanica 16 Iris (blue) Iris Kacmpferi 17 Alyssum -ilyssion saxatile var. compac- tum 18 Canterbury bells.. Cam/'OMu/a carpatica 19 Milfoil Achillea Ptarmica "The Pearl" 20 Phlox (p\nk)... .Phlox paniculata 21 Plilox (red) Phlox panicnlata 22 Phlox ivthhe) .. .PItlox panicnlata 23 Tickseed Coreopsis lanceolata var. grandi- tlora 24 Blanket tlowcv . . .Gailtardia grandillora pnancnDnaaaanciinna ■ : :JMfUi:^-.::-\: -.r.. ■:,!■.:. ;.: .■:^. ■■.:■.:■ ■.- : \ ■.■■;•: :.::.■ O $ Ip IS 5CALE Fig. 2. Plan of shrubbery and perennial garden. 25 Helenium Hcleninni autnmnalc 26 Pink ...Dianthus latifolius var. atrococ- cineus 27 Shasta daisy Chrxsanthemum Lcucanthemum 28 Hollyhock Althea rosea 29 Golden-glow Rudbcckia laciniata 30 Aster Aster novae-angUae ROSE GARDEN Bed No. Common Name Horticultural Name Color 1 Apple Pvrus Malus 2 Holly licx opaca 3 H.T. Rose Antoinc Rivoire Pink or yellow 4 H.T. Rose Duchess of Wellington.. Yellow Illustratinns by courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 105 9 10 11 12 13 H.T. Rose Francis Scott Key Red H.T. Rose Gruss an Teplitz Red H.T. Rose Kaiserin Augusta t Victoria White H.T. Rose Killarnev Pink H.T. Rose Lady Ashto wn Pink H.T. Rose La France Pink H.T. Rose Miss Cynthia Forde. . . .Pink H.T. Rose Sunburst Yellow H.T. Rose Lady Hillingdon Yellow /\n.c\-i ?OOL 0- LAvm mc a (3 Scale Fig. 3. Plan of rose garden. 14 H.T. Rose White Killarney White 15 H.T. Rose Mrs. Andrew Car- negie White 16 Rosa Rugosa 17 Climbing Rose Dorothy Perkins Pink 18 Standard Vichuraiana Rose Lady Gay Pink SUBTROPICAL GARDEN Bed No. Common Name Botanical Name 1 Apple Pyrus Mains 2 Juniper (2 ft.) Juniperus clunciisis var. Iiibcrnica 3 Holly (4 ft.) Hex opaca 4 Croton Codiacum variegatum 5 Castor-oil bean Riciiius zansibariciisis 6 Elephant ears Colocasia csculciiln 7 Great reed 4rundo Doiia.r 8 Zebra grass Eiilalia japonica 9 Fountain-grass Pcnniscluin japonicitni 10 Fire-bush Kocliia Icaparia 11 Geranium (white) Pelargonium coiuilr 12 Geranium (red) Pelargonium ^onalc 13 Geranium (red) Pelargonium ::onalc 14 Geranium (pink) Pelargonium zonalc 15 Scarlet sage Salvia splendcns 16 Zinnia (mi.xed) Zinnia clegans 17 Dahlia (mi.xed) Dahlia coccinea var. rosea ■ Jt(-dtt. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 3CA1.E Fig. 4. Plan of subtropical garden. Cockscomb Celosia cristata Cockscomb Celosia plumosa Floss flower Ageratum mexicanum Canna (red) Canna hybrids Canna (yellow) Coiimj hybrids Copperleaf (red) Aealvphia It'ilk-esiana Begonia Begonia semperfloreus var. "Ver- non" Coleus (red) Coleus rershaffeltii Virgin's-bower Clematis panieulala 106 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THINGS AND THOUGHTS OF THE GARDEN. {ContiiiHcd from page 88) mind the minutest variation of the character of scores of varieties, and it is to them, their knowledge, their en- thusiasm and their selecting and cross-breeding activities that we are indebted for the steady progress in develop- ment and the novelties that constantly appear. Yet I would rather roam or browse over the entire horticultural field. Once I was asked to be secretary of a big national society devoted to — what do you think ! Potatoes. May make you smile ; but do you realize the extent of the potato industry ; do you realize the amount of money in it, in new varieties even ; and think you there are not big and serious problems as to cropping pow'ers, eating qualities, earliness or other period of ripening, disease, shipping, advertising, selling? The time I refer to was when a variety named Northern Star was selling as a novelty for a fabulous sum — many times its weight in solid gold. The ''boom" and speculation then might be likened to the Dutch Tulipomania of the seventeenth centurv. troiluce these not to have an)' demand for them. Our hardy borders are all too deficient in variety. Let's add to them. ARNO H. NEHRLING. pROFESSOR A. H. XEHRLING, head of the De- partment of Floriculture, suddenly has tendered his resignation and announces that he is to enter the field of Ijusiness, having taken over the McDonald Floral Com- pany, Crawfordsville, Ind., but intends to keep in touch with educational work and will devote some time to giving lectures throughout the Middle West. In connection with his business Mr. Xehrling will inaugurate a landscape service bmxan. Professor Xehrling came to the college early in the year 1914. In the three short years that he has been at the college he has become popular both among facultv and students. Without doubt it gives every one of us immense pleasure to look over the seed and nursery catalogs that have been arriving so freely in recent weeks. Dreer's, Farquhar's, Boddington's, Marshall's, Carter's, Totty's, Pierson's, Henderson's, Sutton's — one and all are good and interesting. How much we ought to compliment the careful and clever compilers of them. There is no catalog that has not points of its own. Don't we like to compare prices, too ! It must be in- teresting work, even if exacting. Some firms hold the record for one thing, some for another. Roehrs and Michel, Burpee, Bobbink and Atkins — all have some- thing we want or we like. It is a good plan to try a few more things each year. The coming season I am adding to my hardy plants and among the subjects to me most desirable are Perry's White double Achilles, undoubtedly one of the best outdoor flowers to-day. Aconitum Wilsoni, which used to be in my collection, will also be there again, and if the purse will run to a root or two of the fine white Everlasting Pea, White Pearl, that, too, will find a place. Both for the private and commercial grower it is desirable. Of Irises, none beats dalmatica pallida (pale blue), and of a different type, but equally graceful is orientalis (white). Its variet\- Snow (Jueen is an improved form. For a dwarf, early bloomer Eu])liorbia e])ithymoides can be tested. Nor do any of us make enough of the Sea Hollies — Eryngium. The variety Oliverianum is one of the best. Among the Oriental Poppies the apricot flowered Mrs. Perry is unbeatable, and in the line of Evening Primroses the choice falls on CEnothera Youngii and speciosium, yellow and white respec- tively. The time for planting all of these is April and early May — April preferably, as it allows the plants longer to get established before the hot weather be- gins. In passing May I mention a sweet little creeper for the rock garden — one of the Mint family, Mentha Requieni. Some of the newer Heucheras also deserve attention. The selectors have introduced some grace- ful if not over-brilliant kinds, varieties of H. gracil- lima and hybrids of sanguinea. Look them up. There ought to be a place likewise for that choice hardy flower Incarvillea Delavayi. The Pinks, the Delphini- ums, the Gaillardias, Day Lilies, Geums, hardy Asters and Campanulas have all been added too, and it is small encouragement to the go-ahead firms, who in- Anio H . Nchrling. Since he has been at .\mherst he has inaugurated many new things in the department, and has improved the de- partment many times. The deiiartnient is now on a sys- tematic business basis. From a department of four courses he has raised a de])artment of ten courses. I'nder his direction a large perennial t^arden was started at the college. One of the biggest things Professor Xehrling has done since he came here was to liring about a better under- standing and co-operation between the college and the gardeners and florists of the State. He has been especially active among the florists of the Connecticut \'alle\- and has succeeded in liringing about a real co-o|)eration among them. ■wiiwwuimiimmfflmfiffl « m h H II II « IH I n u nni in H imiici The Greenhouse, Month to Month By W. R. Fowkes, New York. niimniKiin i miiniii" iiiiiniiiniiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiniiinni iniiiii iiminiiii i iiiiiiiiiiimiii iiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiniinii iniii iim mi iinimii im niiiiiiiiiu ,111,111111 „ „ „„, j SPRING time ever brings back fond memories and, though the clouds of winter have been hanging- over us, we can look forward with joy to the promise of Spring and change the familiar hymn a little. "Change and decay in all around I see" can be altered to "'change and improvement." How much happier are those of us who have the green- house. It is summer all the time and Americans are becoming alive to the fact that there is something more in life than the rush of business and so the}' are getting familiar with Nature's charming gifts, which will help to make this prosperous clime a garden of flowers. In the same greenhouse the Primulas, \'iolets, Sweet Peas, Orchids and Ferns have given a lovely display all winter and the Liliums for Easter are ap- proaching to maturity. The sweet scented Wall Flowers and Jonquils in the house among the peaches will be a source of joy and together with the bees so industrious among them, will awaken anew the inter- est of all. The culture of many of our loveliest flowers is getting to be gradually understood, and readers of the Gardeners' Chronicle, following the cultural de- tails of the general run of plants, will soon become experts. The peaches that have set their fruits should have all dead blossoms or petals cleansed ofi' to give the fruits an unblemished appearance. The young growths that so quickly run away, as it were, from now on will need to be disbudded or thinned out. Take out every second shoot, being careful to leave the leader at the end and sufficient to furnish the i^lant with fruiting wood next year, for on this young wood depends the future crop. Peaches and Nectarines usually set too many fruits but the weaker ones will fall off and the others had better not be thinned out too soon, because during the stoning process many more may fall. But one good fruit, ten inches apart is sufificient for the present. The atmosphere of the house must now be more moist. These trees love and revel in a moist atmos- phere and they should be gently syringed every fair morning and the ventilators carefully handled in order not to blast the foliage. At this period the green fly will show in spite of precaution. I always fumi- gate with a vaporizing compound which is safer for fruit trees than any form of tobacco paper. Atfer a trial I have dropped all in favor of Nikotiana which is particularily adapted for this purpose. Once a week will be sufficient to keep the aphis away. Visitors to the shows will note the kind of tulips and other bulbs they would like to grow next year and much can be learned from these visits. Some people have no idea as to the perfection Schizanthus can be grown to until a glance at an ex- hibition has revealed it. F.verybody has not space for large specimens and need not be discouraged, at all because their own small plants are just as pretty, but the exhibition shows the full extent of the perfected plant in many kinds and varieties. Gladiolus of many varieties can now 1)e planted if there is a vacant space in the bench of Mignonette or among Carnations or the Snapdragons. Merely press 107 the bulb into the soil, and soil and conditions will suit admirably. Buddleia Asiatica is a grand plant to grow in a cool house. Cuttings should now be made and they will make good plants by the fall and can be potted on until nine inch pots are reached. Any ordinary loam, sand and well rotted manure will do. They require regular syringing and spraying with Aphine because red spider is its worst enemy. Acacias will be noted at the flower show. They have been the emblem of the ancient order of Free Masons from time immemorial. Their culture is of the simplest. Loam one part, peat and leaf mould two parts, sharp silver sand the other. They should be ]30tted very firmly, the pots well drained, and will thrive in a house where frost is excluded the greater part of the winter. During summer stand outdoors plunged in ashes. The rose lover will be looking for the novelties but the old ones are hard to beat. Mrs. George Shawyer, as a pink, will never be excelled in my opinion, and only careless folks complain about it. Most roses thrive better grafted, but Mrs. George Shawyer succeeds better on its own roots. It will thrive grafted imtil it becomes servicable and then frequently it dies at the union, but it is the most prolific pink in existence and does splendidh^ on its own roots. The new yellow rose, Madame Collette Martinette has the same fault and like Sunburst does best on its own roots. The roses should have a topdressing of good manure and a half inch of soil to cover it. Carnations will require good nourishing now and a rich liquid of blood and soot will be ideal, given weak and often. Give all the air possible and the ventila- tors should never be closed. Sow a packet of Celosia Thomson], or Castle Gould in light soil and as soon as one inch high, place in pots The}- \\\\\ have their place when the palm-house is empty. Gloxinias that were started will require potting on. They are shallow rooted subjects and Azalea pots or pans are best suited for them. They delight in light soil and one half the compost should be leaf movild made from oak or beach leaves, the rest turfy loam, rotted manure and sand. Gloriosa Rothschildiana is a grand summer blooming vine. It does finely exposed to the light. Tubers can be started in shallow boxes in a compost of peat dust, sjihagnum moss and sand. Then transferred either singly into seven inch pots or three bulbs in ten inch pots in a richer compost of one half cow manure, the rest sods and the pots to have two inches of crocks for drainage. Seedlings of all kinds should be transplanted. In the orchid line Cattleya Schroederae will be blooming, and afterwards if they require repotting, just take out and wash the roots and place in as small a receptacle as possible, for orchids do better if the roots are confined. Osmunda fibre will do fine and must be firmly packed around the roots together with lilenty of crocks for drainage. Sponge all orchids. Palms and Rubbers with a weak solution of Aphine mixed with a little dissolved Ivory soap. 108 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Achimenes should he transferred to baskets and will do nicely the coming summer. More syringing will now be required for all ])lants and the floors should be frequently damped. Keep Azaleas cool, also Camellia and Ericas and all their kindred subjects. Caladiums should now be potted on and they will give a delightful appearance to the warmest part of the house for a long season. Amaryllis are better .planted in leaf mould. They like bottom heat and as the flower spikes appear, feed well with cow manure and soot water. After bloom- ing any that so require, may be repotted. Use an open compost together with charcoal and sand. Nerines require similar treatment, although of smaller growth. When in flower in the cool house, arranged among scented geraniums, they look very prett}-. After blooming repot if necessary. They like a limy soil, and old mortar rubble is a fine thing to add to the soil. They will make their flowering bulbs in summer. Cannas that were started early, should be jjlaced in pots in a compost of old manure loam and sand. The main stock can now be started in shallow boxes. All seedlings in pots or pans should be watered by being held in a pail of water and given a thorough soaking when necessary. Sprinkling with a fine nosed can is the frequent cause of loss by damping oft". Clarkias that are now in three inch pots should be given a shift into larger jiots and they will help brighten up the house until outdoor flowers are more numerous. Carnations and Chrysanthemum plants in frames should be looked over carefully for water require- ments, and given all possible air and sunlight. Young Gardenias just struck should be potted on into a mixture of peat loam and sand and grown in the warmest and sunniest position. All pots should "be washed before using and those that have been roasted and stored away in a dry place should be soaked in water a few minutes before using, other- wise they absorb the moisture the young plants should "have, and the check will be unnecessary and bad for their welfare. M MEDINILLA CURTISII. By George F. Stewart, Massachusetts. EDINILLA AMABLIS, Magnifica and Sieboldii are well known to cultivators of tropical plants, but one very rarely sees the variety Curtisii. M. curtisii has many good points that recommend it to flowering plant lovers that are on the lookout for a free flowering plant. It is a native of Smnatra and was introduced to greenhouses about the year 1884. This variety can be grown at a much lower temperature than Medinilla amablis or magnifica. We have wintered it for several years at a night temperature of fifty degrees, and it flowered nearly all winter and kept in excellent health. M. curtisii is a dwarfer and more compact shrub than the more well known varieties, the foliage being also much smaller, and it is also a freer flowering plant. Cuttings may be secured at any time from the half ripened wood. Take them with a heel, and pot them in thumb pots in a mix- ture of finely sifted peat and sharp sand, adding a little powdered charcoal. Place them in a tight case with about ■80 degrees bottom heat, having the overhead temperature around seventy degrees. They will be rooted in four weeks when they may be removed to the open house near the glass with a light shade over them. Pot the plants into larger pots as they require it, using a compost of equal parts of fibrous peat and loam, adding sand and charcoal to keep it open. Aledinilla curtisii will flower in the smallest pot and to encourage growth the flowers must be persistently picked off until the desired size is attained. We find the plants flower best during the fall and winter. During the early summer a slight rest, by withholding water, is beneficial, after which they may be trimmed into shape and repotted. We find after they are well rooted they may be stimulated by applications of Clay's fertilizer or similar plant food. A PRETTY SHRUBBY IRIS (Aristea Corymbosa) T X olden days this shrubby member of the Iris family was a great favorite for growing as a specimen plant in the greenhouse. Being of slow growth and somewhat exacting in its cultural requirements, it is now very rarely seen. Unlike most of the Iris family, it forms a sturdy stem of a stout, woody texture, which in its turn is well furnished with branches. The small, sword-like leaves are arranged in a fan-like man.ner at the points of the shoots. During the blooming season, which is in the early autumn, the lea\'es are overtopped bv racemes of charming blue flowers resembling those of a small Iris. Arislca Ci>ryiiibosa. Cuttings take a long time to root. They succeed best in a mi.xture of peat and sand, put singly into small pots, and covered with a bell-glass in a greenhouse temperature. The mature plants thrive best in fibrous peat and sand, with just a sprinkling of loam. The drainage must be effective and the potting firmly done ; indeed, the ■ general conditions stiitable for Cape Heaths will just meet its requirements. — The Garden (English). ^iiilimnilHIiiiHIiiiiiiuiiliiiliiiliiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim^ iiiiiiiimiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiij; April's Work in the Garden _i | j By John Johnson, Massachusetts 1 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii)iit:iiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ APRIL heralds the advent of Spring and the pronounced activity of growth. This month demands a corresponding amount of activity and exertion on the part of the gardener. Increasing power of the sun's rays, less frequent frosts, showers and sunshine now seem mutually ambitious to again clad mother earth with a beauteous sheen of bloom and verdure. With vegetation greatly accelerated, the gardener in his endeavor to help Nature, now finds his energies taxed at high pressure. Work in the main must be carried on as weather permits and anything advised in last month's calendar yet undone must have attention forth\\ith, LAWNS The present is a favorable time for renovating old as well as for making new lawns. Old lawns which have become patchy through constant weeding, may have bare spots re-sodded with sound turf, similar to that existent. Imperfections accrue from various causes and it is part of the gardener's work to try and determine such causes and if possible, apply a remedy. Sometimes by incorporating a little fresh compost or something of a fertilizing element, before laying the sod will insure a good stand of grass. The re-seeding of such bare or weedy spots is not always advisable since the grass, resultant of the sowing, almost in- variabljr produces a still patchy appearance. In making new lawns, the trend of the ground and the outlook from the residence are primary considera- tions of much importance. A perfect level may not be necessary or indeed advisable, but evenness of sur- face is an absolute necessity before the seed sowing is attempted. Lawns can have neither the advantage of a change of groimd, nor the benefit of l)ut little cultivation after being once made. It is therefore im- portant to make provision for the future by sound and practical treatment of the soil at the outset. The soil of the locality is usually all one commands and under ordinary circumstances this can be made productive of a fine dense green sward by the addition of suitable manures. Good farmyard manure has the double propensity of inaking a sandy soil more retentive of moisture and of rendering soil of a clayey natiu'e less impervious. A point to be regarded is to try and pre- serve the same consistency and character of soil throughout. Although the ideal may be wanting, it is most urgent to obtain a uniform conformation of top soil to insure a really good sod. If one part of the ground be of a clayey nature, and another part sandy loam, the result will be a patchy appearance as soils of varying character foster grasses indigenous to them. The work of grading arovmd new buildings often re- sults in the exposure of some subsoil. LTnless this is given a covering of nearby topsoil, good results cannot be reasonably expected. Estab- lished lawns that were top-dressed with rotted manure last Fall should be either harrowed or raked at the first opportunity, at the same time removing anything of an undesirable nature. This should be followed by a heavy rolling to firm the ground which has heaved during hard frosts. Where objection is made to the autuinn application of farmyard manure, on account cf the weed seeds it contains or because of its un- sightly appearance, a light dressing of an approved artificial fertilizer may be now applied, and this re- peated a little later in the season. Grass well nourish- ed withstands drought far better than that which is growing on impoverished ground. Contiguous with the subject of these remarks are the lawn mowers. Have these been overhauled dur- ing the winter months, or were they stored away last autumn and forgotten thus far? Take advantage of the first rainy day to have them sharpened and put into working order. It is bad policy to be doing this when the grass needs cutting. ROTATION (IF CROPS The subject of rotation in cropping the vegetable garden is worthy the attention of all who aspire to the best results since it is known to directly affect the natural relations of plant and soil as to their chemical constituent. Crops should be organized as far as pos- sible that plants of the same natural order never im- mediately succeed one another. It is good practice when possible, to alternate top-rooted crops with, those of a surface rooting character. Plots which last year carried celery could be planted to peas this sea- son with very little preparation further than leveling- the ground. The pea crop being cleared fairly early in summer, the same ground after liberal manuring- would be in condition to receive late brassicas which would include Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, etc. Similarly, the plot on which early potatoes are planted this Spring might subsequently be turned to good account b}' making a new plantation of straw- berries. To further deinonstrate, we might consider the vegetable garden as divided into four parts, one plot being devoted to permanent crops, such as Asparagus, Rhubarb, bush fruits, etc. On the other three plots the crops could rotate on a three course basis in somffe- thing of this order : No. 1. — Potatoes, Celery, Carrots, Parsnips, Salsify" and Leeks. No. 2. — Peas, Beans, Turnips, Eggplant. Pepper, Sweet Corn, and Okra. No. 3. — The brassi- cas, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Melon and Squash. In the succeeding year No. 1 would be cropped as No. 2 and No. 2 and No. 3 and so on through future years. If not already done, the winter mulch of manure may now be removed from the Asparagus plot, or if well decayed much of it can be carefully^ worked into the soil between the rows. As the work proceeds avoid injury to the root system by forking to the depth of but two or three inches near the crowns. If an application of salt as a stimulant is contemplated, do not apply it too earh^ as it renders the bed cold for a time. In giving- stimulants of this kind it is best to apply them at intervals of two or three weeks than to give a too heavy dose at one time. If a new plantation of this much prized esculent is to be made this season and trenches were not prepared last fall, lose no time in making such preparation. Open trenches 6 ft. astmder, selecting a well-drained' and sheltered piece of ground. Asparagus responds to generous treatment as does no other vegetable, therefore make ample provision in this respect before 109 no THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA cittenipting- to plant. Two or three year old crowns are best for making- a pernianent bed. Transplanting should be expeditious as the roots are very sensitive and rapidly suffer as a result of exposure to the atmos- phere. BKDDI.XG STOCK Commence hardening off all bedding stock by mov- ing into cold frames early this month. Avoid chill blasts at the start and maintain vigilance throughout the month since April is particularly characterized by variableness of weather conditions. Even though the weather may be apparently settled do not on a single occasion neglect covering the frames by night, or much valued labor and stock may be sacrificed to an unexpected frost. \i:i;i-:T.\r,LE pl.vnts The hot beds from which the bedding plants have been transferred may be at once utilized for starting successional annuals and the main sowing of stocks and asters. Or with a view to planting in the open when weather permits, a few seeds may be sown in pots of Melon, Cucumber, Sweet Corn and Lima Ileans. This method of handling Lima Beans is often the only wa}' of insuring a good even crop. Where cut worms are likely to be troublesome to limas germinating in the open, sowing in frames, not onlj' gives an early start, but almost entirely obviates the cut worm nuisance. About the middle of the month, or a little earlier, if weather conditions jiermit, sow in the open early Beet, Carrot, Peas, Spinach, Parsley and maincrop Onions. Plant Potato and Onion sets, and Celery, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Onions and Leeks raised on hot-beds, and which are well hardened ofif in cold frames. Toward the end of the month sow Parsnip, Salsify, Radish, Lettuce, String Beans, Sweet Corn, Turnip and Squash, as well as Celery for main supph', and Peas for succession. It is good practice to repeat sowings of peas as the seedlings of the jire- vious sowing show above ground. Lettuce. RacUsli, Mustard and Cress may be similarly dealt with. HARDY .\NNUALS These may be sown as early this month as the ground can be got into a fit condition. The seed should be sown on a carefulh' prepared seed bed from which stones or rough clods have been removed. Do not, however, make the surface so smooth that it will poach under rain. Probably the most important mat- ter in the after culture of these desirable subjects is early thining out or transplanting of the seedlings and freedom from weeds. By exercising judgment a wealth of continuous bloom may be had in the hardy plant border by introducing some of the hardy an- nuals. They may be sown where intended to flower or raised in a seed bed for later transplanting and filling in bare spots in the border. Particularl}- suited for this purpose are the Sweet Peas, Centaureas, Chrys- anthemums, Coreopsis. Larkspur, Antirrhinum, Popp\% Lupinus, Nigella, and many of the half hardy annuals as stocks, Asters, Browallia, Cosmos, Niko- tiana, Salpiglossis and Zinnia. These possess a free- dom and habit of growth combining jiersistent flower- ing propensities, which renders them better adapted for this style of ])lanting than many which are know-n as true bedders. Newly planted trees now need attention. Any that were moved with frozen balls of earth attached should be giu'ed up straight and made secure against storm winds. The soil about the roots might have settled unevenly when thawing out and should now be levelled and made firm. The present is a suitable month for further transplanting of deciduous trees. Indeed, beech, magnolia and peach trees, move better at this season than in the autumn or winter. Remove wind screens and other protection given the choicer evergreens, and give a general clean up this month. Endeavor to keep everything in good order throughout the busy season. Re-gravel drives and pathways that have suffered winter erosion or at least make good such imperfections. Attention to detail in every particular and in every department is the only real management giving best and permanent results. HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS WE SHOULD GROW. (Continued from page 'J8.) JULY-AUGUST. Name. Color. Height. Homoriiralli.s uiirantiaca major Orange 3' Delphiiiinm srandiflorum Blue 2y^' Avmeria maritima splendeus Rose 1' Camiiauiila latifolia macrantlia Purple 3' C. glomerata daliurica Purple 2' Gypsojihila pauiculata White 2%' .\ster ami'Uus bessarabious Blue 2' Ileliopsis Laevi.s Pitcheriana Vellow 3' Lilium ti;;r!uum splendeus Orautre 4' Lysimadiia clethroides White 21^' Pentstemon barbatus Torreyi Orange scarlet 4' Geum Shilocnse "Mrs. Bradsliaw" Crimson P/,' liaillardia aristata Vellow and red 2' Mouarda didyiua Bright red 3' Physosteuia virginiana Rose purple 3 to 4' I'latycodou graudiflora Mariesii Blue ly,' Potentilla hybrida "Miss Willmott" Cerise 1^' Asclepias tulierosa Orange Zi^' .Stokesia cyauea Blue 1' Centaiirea moutaua Purple ii^' Saponaria officinalis Pink 1 to I V^' Lythrum salicaria roseum .superbum Pink 4 to fi'" Astilbe Davidii Deep pink 2' Budilleia variabilis magnitioa Lilac 3 to 5' Lepachys piunata Yellow 3 to 4' Phlox glaberrinia suffruticosa. var. Jliss Lingard White 2 to 3' Sidalcea Candida Wliite 2 to 3' Centaurea inacrocepliala Vellow 3' Calegia Iiiculor Ilartlaudi Pale lavender 3' AUGUST-SEPTEMBER. Phlox panicnlata var.? Various 2 to 3' Si-.-diiosa eaucasica Pale blue 1 Va' Sedum spectabile roseum Rose ly/ Chrvsanthemum maximum King Edward Vil White 1%' IIuird pro- tection, like education, takes shape slowly, the initial stages in both being imperceptible to the eye and mind. It would seem rather difficult to check up the results attained in this work on a larger area, such as a public park, but this can be done on a smaller area, such as around the home. Such results would prove sufficiently applicable to a larger area and in proportion would prove fully as favorable as those of my own experience, my efforts to attract birds to Sycamore Terrace, m\- present home in Rockford, 111. Six years ago we took up onr residence in the present home, located hard at the city limits. I'Viur or(linar_v city lots, a little more than one-half acre of land, made up the sum total of our possessions. The land was entirely bare, save for seven fine sugar maples, tweh-e inches in diameter, which lined the highway. The adjacent land also had been but recently converted from a cornfield into city lots and trees were correspondingly at a pre- mium. Two old estates, a block away, however, bore ample testimony of the owner's love for trees and a small grove of white pine, a row of Norway spruce, one balsam fir, a number of white cedars, some fine white elms, and white silver maples grew to stately proportions and held out many inducements for birds to take up their residence, but bird life was not abundant. Bird protec- tion was unknown here and bird enemies ranged freely and in great numbers. Some robins nested in these trees and occasionally made us a visit, also a flicker, but for three years not a bird nested with us, excepting some English Sparrows. Determined to give bird attraction and protection a consistent and systematic trial a cement drinking dish was kept well filled with fresh water and two Von Berlepsch nesting boxes, one for a flicker and the other for a bluebird or redheaded woodpecker, also one wren house, were placed in the trees in the spring of 1913. A change was noted at once, undoubtedly due to the bird bath. Robins and flickers came in increased numbers and ranged freely over the yard and made free use of the bath. A pair of brown thrashers also began to frequent the place. The shrubs and trees and some coni ferae by this time had grown to some extent and in these we found two nests of the yellow warbler, but unfortunately they were defiled by the eggs of a cowbird. A pair of chip- ping sparrows built a nest in another evergreen and successfully raised four young. A redheaded woodpecker also raised four young in the flicker box, the bluelaird box being intermittently occupied by English sparrows. The house-wren also hatched four offsprings, The chipping sparrow barely escaped capture by a cat in her second venture and she transferred her housekeeping outside of our place. Here was a transformation at once, one that warranted operation on a larger scale. The first season totaled twelve young birds in three successful nests and three unsuccessful nests. The bird-l)ath was continued until freezing-up time and millet, sunflower and hempseed scattered on the ground, a suet holder and \'on Berlepsch foodsticks nailed on the trees and a large hanging feedery suspended in the sum- mer house. Slate colored juncos came early in the fall and delighted, especially in long protracted immersions in the bird-bath. They remained throughout the winter and were later joined by two downy woodpeckers and one hairy wodpecker. Feeding on the ground was continued during Spring of 1014 and man>- white throated sparrows availed themselves of the food. Their exquisite chorus from a nearby young orchard is one of the sweetest memories of their three weeks' stay. An ornamental bath made of cobble^ones, with a rising misty spray, was installed early in the spring and a num- ber of new nesting boxes, all of the \'on Berlepsch pat- tern, were hung up in suital)le places. Of these there were three for the bluebirds, one for flickers, three for chickadees, two for nuthatches, one for redheaded wood- pecker, six for wrens and one large house for martins. Many migrants stopped oft" going north and this place aoparently became one of their "small way-stations, where feed was always plentiful. Meadowlarks, oven birds, 111 112 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA yellow-billed cuckoo, brown thrashers, Baltimore orioles, and catbirds now ranged the grounds, some of these regularly. The brown thrashers built their nest in a low tree nearby, purple martins, house-wrens, flickers and bluebirds set up housekeeping in the various boxes, while the chipping sparrow, rose-breasted grosbeak and robins nested in the trees and bushes. Regularly kejjt notes during the entire season gave the following summary : Young hirds raised — nine bluebirds, two flickers, three robins, eleven wrens and three purple martins, or twenty-eight birds in all. But — in addition to these we noted thirteen other un- successful nests disturbed by various causes, as appended list will show. The fall migrants of 1914 again deli.ghted us for all too short a time and the slate colored juncos in this vicinity were absent the entire winter. This left us but few winter guests — two white-breasted nuthatches, a brown creeper, two downy and one hairy woodpeckers. The spring of 1915 opened up with the stopping oft' of the usual migrants, also many new ones, especially the warblers, which seemed to find something to hold their interest. Goldfinches, too, now were daily visitors, the rrtartin colony became quite strong and season promised to be one of great importance. Alas — it rained and then it poured and rained again and precious eggs and fledglings got chilled and drenched. However, our notes were yet encouraging and thirty-one birds were success- fully hatclied during this adverse season. No radical changes took place among the nesting sum- mer residents, the only addition being an American gold- finch, which built in a secure whorl of twigs in a maple above the highway, and, but a few feet above the tops of passing automobiles. One pair of catbirds built just outside of the vard, as did two pair of wrens, a bluebird and several rolnns. All of these, with the exception of the robins and catbirds, used the nesting boxes furnished by me to neighbors, who heretofore did not care for birds at all. The fall migrations of 1915 also brought increased nunil)ers of birds, and, with the advent of winter, came a redbreasted nuthatch and five blackcajiped chickadees in addition to the former guests. The season of 1916 again proved to be a disastrous- one. The appended table shows clearly the additional feathered tenants and species represented before, but there were several additions of new species which hereto- fore had not nested on Sycamore Terrace. The catbird moved across the alley into a honeysuckle bush and a Bewicks wren occupied a nesting box in one of the maple trees. An Orchard Oriole and a warbling vireo alsa moved into the neighborhood and were frequent visitors on the place. Neither of these two species have been noted before anywhere in the neighborhood. A total of fifty-six nestlings, .many with an interesting family his- tory, were raised at Sycamore Terrace, the fourth year of systematic work of attracting and protecting birds. The continued rains played havoc with the bird's building in trees and bushes, such as the chipping sparrows, robins and catbird. In fact, a little over 28 per cent, of the nest failures were due to natural forces, according to the appended table. A little over 42 per cent of the nests built were unsuccessful. The contributory causes are as follows : Cats 1.2 7o ■; Cowbirds 2.4 % Unknown causes 19.28% Wind and rain 12.00% Bluejay Crackles 2.4 % English Sparrows .... 2.4 % \\'oodpecker 2.4 % Cats were but a small factor in the destruction of bird life in this yard, since many cats are caught with box traps annually and in consequence the neighborhood has become practically catless. There surely are no tramp cats. The English sparrow too is consistently kept in check and e>rterminated where possible. Sucking eggs Interference Sucking eggs X,-sts built 1913 Woudpecker. reilhe.ided. . . 1 ChippiniE: .sparrow 2 Yellow WarblPV 2 House-wren 1 1914 Woodpeoker, readheaded. . 2 Flicker 2 Chipping Sparrow 1 Purple martin ."i Rose-breasted grosbeak. . . 1 House-wren 3 Robin 4 Bluebird 2 1915 Woodpecker, redheaded. . . 1 Flicker 1 American goldfinch 1 Purple martin 11 Chipping sparrow 1 House-wren 2 Robin St. Louis wbii'h the asso- ciation will be proud of. I fail to see 'iny report from the (.'oiiimittee on Xomenclature in the Februaiy issue. Let us hope for belter results in the March number. Tf ever.\' State wotild do as wll as Minnesota our membership ■would increase rapidly. The plan of Jlr. James A. I'.arr to induce the U. S. Government to provide fncilities for the Ixdding of conventions in the various national jiarks is an excellent idea and I wouhl be very much in favor of lioldina: our next year's convention at either Yellowstone ■or Glacier Park if arrangements could be made for so doing. What the members .saw of Glacier Park two years ago on the way to the coast will lie long remembered. I feel sure that if the asso- ciation could see its way clear to hold the future conventions in the national parks it would give more time for business sessions while the members enjoy the scenic beauty and invigorating air. I desire to call the members' attention to the generous gift of $20,0(10 from tlie National (Jeographic Society to assist Secretary Lane and the U. S. riovernmeut in securing private lands in the .giant forests of the Sequoia National Park fiiorarv members, C. M. Loring and .John Dunbar. Jas. O. Howard has resigned as superintendent of Letchworth Patk, at Portage, N. Y., and is available for a similar position elsewhere. Letchworth Park is a country park of 1,000 acres, donated to the State of New York by the late Wm. Pr'yor Letch- worth, in lillO. Mr. Howard was its first superintendent, prior to that having had six years' experience with municipal tree work and one year in the government forestry -ervice. Mr. Howard's address is Castile. N. Y. Ned Hollister is now superintendent of Zoological Park at Wash- ington. 1). C, succeeding Dr. Frank Baker, who resigned recently. The secretary has meagre information that the Board of Park Commissioners of Baltimore recently abolished the position of gen- eral superintendent, thus eliminating Mr. Wm. H. Manning, one of our oldest and most loyal members. This is hard to understand, as Jlr. .Manning is one of best known and most efficient park executives in the country, but local politics sometimes brings about queer results. Harry B. Frase, of Des Moines, Iowa, one of our new members, rec-ently suffered the loss of his mother. The members extend their sympathy to him in his bereavement. Wallace R. Pierson. Jr.. is a new arrival at Cromwell, Conn., under date of February 18. Those who attended the San Fran- cisco convention will recall how Wallace R., Sr., -n-as out of luck at that time, having to go to the hospital immediately upon arrival at San Francisco and undergo an operation for appendicitis. 'J'he secretary recently had a pleasant call from Fred C. Alber, formerly superintendent at Cleveland, but now engaged in the manufacturing liusiness, and he was shown the sights of Seattle and iis recreation system. Mr. Alber resigned at Cleveland over a year ago to accept the position of city manager of Newburgh, N. T. After six months' service in that capacity, he found he had .so many assistant managers that his retirement followed. He now has an interest in a stove factory. John Boddy, for many years city forester of Cle\eland, and who has attended our conventions, has retired from public service and is now engaged in the greenhouse business in Cleveland, with great success. The convention gardens of the Society of American Florists, in connection with their .\iigust convention at New York, will be in the New York Botanical Gardens in Bronx Park. Here is where our members. George Nash and John F. Walsh, will have a chance to make a showing. A. Sherriffs, formerly with George B. Post, of Beruardsville, N. J., has secured the position of superintendent on the S. D. Brewster Estate, at Glen Cove, N. Y. The new roster and year book is out and we hope it will be pleasing to the members and that everybody has his name spelled right, his title proiierly given and his correct mailing address. If not. just stop and think as to whether you gave the information to the secretary or did you just let him find it out as best he could from eld lists, etc. L. P. .Jen.sen, of St. I>ouis. is the first member to send the sec- retary a list of prospecti\e new meniliers to work an, but we hope he will not be the last. We want one hundred new members for St. Louis convention. 114 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA '^nimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i:iiniiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiui National Association of Gardeners James Stuart^ Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. Martin C. Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J.; Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest. 111. Theo. Wirth, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Trustees for icti/ William Klcinlieinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. Directors (To serve until 191S)— William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Carl N. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Eraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C; (To serve until 1920)— William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal.; William Gray, Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. nIHIIIIIII inilllim llllilulllNllllllllllll Iin^ iiiiiniiniiiliiimitilll Ill nilllllllllllllllllllllllliuimmi IIIIII.NI<:ill!inillllllllli;illlllllllllllllNlllllllinNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIl:illH ADVOCATING A RELIEF FUND What becomes of aged gardeners who have not been able to save enough or invest enough to keep tliem when they have to retire? Gardeners never retire, it may be said, or at least only those that have been fortunate in the positions they have held. Some must assuredly fall by the way. Sickness is not foreign to the professional gardener, despite the fact that gardening is a health}' occupation. Statistics of the live assurance companies prove that farmers, lawyers, clergymen and gardeners are among the longest lived men. Jlany gardeners suffer badly from rheu- matism probably brought on from working in tropical plant houses and having to face Arctic temperatures immediately after. Gardeners are not immune from human ailments. To assist needy cases should there not be a relief fund begun in connection with the National Gardener.?' Association, or should it be a separate organization? None of us know what our future may be, what the future may bring. It would ease the mind of many an earnest man to know there was some fund from which he could obtain support or help in time of need. What of the j'oung orphans of gardeners? Are there none? There are, and some ready money would be an untold blessing to many a joung widow. In Great Britain there is a Gardeners' Benevolent Institution subscribed to by the gardeners themselves, and the patrons of gardening. The annual pensions paid are in addition to the Government State pension that those over 70 may apply for. Tlie Gardeners' Benev- olent Institution collects by subscription the svuu of at least .$20,000 (£4,000). There is also the Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund to which the nursery, seed and florists trade subscribe, as well as owners of gardens and gardeners themselves. Thirdly, there is the- United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society. with ample invested funds, which is purely a self-help organiza- tion, every member being eligible for sick-pay during illness. The dues are less than $15 annually, and in case of sickness the member receives $1.50 per week on the higher scale and $3 per week on the lower scale. Before the war these amounts repre- sented from one-half to two-thirds of the ordinary' weekly (money) wage of the majority of working gardeners. In addi- tion, this society has a Distress Fund from which voluntary re- lief grants can be and are made at the discretion of the executive committee. It appears to "The Onlooker" that sooner or later we in America must initiate certain financial relief schemes, not in the nature of a charity, but as a deferred annuity, or pension, or help, to those above mentioned. NEW MEMBERS. The folldwiug new members have been added to our ranks during the past month : Charles Valentine, Hackensack, N. .T. ; Anton Lindahl, Kirkwood. Mo. ; Oliver Sears, Hingham, Mass. ; Theodore J. Carlson, West JIanchester, Mass. ; John J. Wood, Manchester, Mass.; M. II. Horvalh, Cleveland, Oluo ; Itobert Whan, New Rochelle, N. Y. ; Louis M. Lenington, Wyoming, N. Y. ; Cuno Wenk, Rosljn, X. Y. ; Fred Klingler, Lawrence, N. Y. ; .Toe Skal- berg, Chicago, 111. ; .Tames Bray, San .Jose. Cal. ; Frank Kary, Chicago, 111. : Harris L. Lohnes. AVoreester, Mass. ; J. Thoreton, Springfield Centre, N. Y. AMONG THE GARDENERS .Tames Bell has secured the position of superintendent on the Howanl Brokaw Estate, East Norwich, Long Island. Henry Gibson has resigned his position as superintendent on the W. Ij. Austin Estate, Rosemont. Pa., to accept a similar position on the estate of Meredith Hare, Pidgon, Hill. Huntington, Long Island. Thomas Hambleton has secured the position of head gardener on the W. W. Fuller Estate, Haymount, Briarclifl' Manor, N. Y. John Tliomson is now in charge of the estate of Mrs. Robert L. Stevens, Beruardsville, N. J. Samuel B. Fislier lias resigned his position as superintendent to C. A. Grisconi. Haverford, Pa., to accept a similar position on the estate of Countess Santa Eulalia, Ogontz. Pa. S. G. Ingram has accepted a position as gardener on the estate of Geo. r. Baker, Tuxedo Park, N. Y., over which Mrs. James MacMachan supervises. W. H. Robertson, formerly gardener to H. H. Jenkins, Norwich, Conn., has secured the position of superintendent to J. A. Burden, \Vestbury, Long Island. Charles Dumper lias secured the pcisili(ui of gardener to H. H. Jenkins, Norwich, Conn. Samuel Grigg has resigned his position as gardener to A. H. Scribner Estate, Mt. Kisco, N. Y., to take charge of the estate of ilrs. Itoswell Miller, Miirorook, N. Y. Charles Scott has obtained the position of gardener on the Moses Taylor Estate, Mt. Kisco, N. Y. George Wilson, formerly superintendent of the Taylor Estate, Jericho, N. Y., has resigned to accept the position of superintend- ent on the estate of Mrs. E. Blair, Lake Forest, 111. Fred Faulkner has succeeded George Wilson as superintendent of the Tavlor Estate, Jericho, N. Y. William Reid has been appointed head gardener on the estate to .J. MacDonald, Trenton Junction, N. J. W. H. Stirling, who has represented several of the New York seed firms as traveler, has joined the staff of Burnett Brothers and will represent that firm on the road. Mr. Stirling served his apprenticeship with Dickson & Company, Edinburgh, Scotland, and later represented this well known firm on the road for many vears. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 115 HORTICULTURAL EVENTS International Flower Show, Grand Cen- tral I'alace, New V(,rk, Jlarcli 15-22, 1917. National Rose Festival, First Regiment Armory, Philadelphia, JIarch 20-23, 1917. Boston Spring Flower Show, Horticul- tural Hall, Boston, March 21-2.5, 1917. St. Louis Spring Flower Show, Armory, March 15-18, 1917. Fifth National Spring Flower Show, Coli- seum, St. Louis, April G-15, 1918. Cleveland Fall Flower Show, Cleveland, O., November, 1917. THE WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of tlie West- chester & Fairfield Horticultural Society was held in Hubbard's Hall. Greenwich, Conn,, on Friday evening. February 9, President Wni. Whitton in the chair. There was an exceptionally good attend- ance and a very fine display of exhibits. For the exhibits of the evening the judges made the following awards: Cultural cer- tificates to .James Stuart for plant of c.vclamen, to Thomas Aitchison for displa.v of amaryllises, to Wm. Whitton fur vase of antirrhinum and to .John Forbes for vase of Hoosier Beauty roses. High commenda- tion to Wm. Graliam for two vases of car- nations, vase of mignonette, violets and two vases of sweet peas; to Robt. Grunert for four plants of cineraria, two vases sweet peas and display of Primula; to P. W. Popp for display of narcissus; to John Forbes for vase of roses; to .John Andrew for collec- tion of vegetables, and to Wm. Whitton for display of Primula. Wm. Wliitton was also awarded honorable mention for vase of Darwin tulips. The thanks of tlie society was awarded to James I^anaine for displaj' of Primula ; to P. W. Popp for vase of Freesia, and to Robt. Williamson for new Rose Los Angeles. The prize for the most mcritoriiuis exhibit was awarded to James Stuart for plant of cycla- men. Thos. Aitcliison secured second prize for display of amaryllises, and Wm. Whit- ton third for vase of mixed antirrliniums. After the business was finished a smoker and social session was held. Henry Wild was elected toastniaster and he filled that oflice to perfection. Songs were rendered by W. J. Collins, Boston; Mr. ilitchell, Greenwich; Mr. Maynard, Portchester; Mr. Paton, Coscob; ilr. Foibes. Portchester, and Mr, Clarkson, Greenwich. Mr. Scott. Elmsford; Mr. Xewliauud, Tarrytown, and Mr. Troy. New Roclielle, each said a few words. Light refreshments and cigars were passed around and it was nearly midnight when the company broke up, after singing "Auld Lang Syne." The new executive conunittee are to be congratulated on getting up tlu' entertain- ment, as it was certainly one ol' the best times that ever was held by tlie society. — Alex. Clarkson, Sec'y. MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. The annual Boston trip of the Floricul- ture classes took place February 1.5-18. On Thursda.v the Waban Rose Conservatories were visited. Here Mr. ^Montgomery took the students around and jiointed out many interesting things pertaining to rose grow- ing. Mr. Montgomery's roses were in ev- cellent condition, being very clean. From Xatick the classes visited J. T. But- terwortli in Framinghaui, where a most ex- cellent collection of orchids was seen. Some of the orchid plants were valued at over .$1,(100 apiece by Mr. Butterworth. To the students Mr. Butterworth gave tlie impres- sion of "knowing his line" comiilelely. At S. J. Goddard's in Framingliam were viewed some of the best carnations met witli on the trip. Mr. Goddard, and Stanley Hall, a graduate of the college, who is now work- ing with Goddard's, pointed out the diifer- ent varieties, including Doris and liosalia, over which both were very enthusiastic. Friday morning the wholesale fiower mar- kets were visited, where the students were very kindly shown around by Jlr. 'lliurston. For the remainder of the morning a study of retail stores was made. Penii, Galvin and (.'arboiie were all visited. At Penn's, William Peiin kindly talked to the sludents. At Galvin's on Park street, Mr. Slattcry gave the classes permission to go through the store. At Carbone's Mr. Gross showed the students around. Here, the collection of pottery, etc., was particularly interest- ing. The last store visited was Thomas Gal- vin on Boylston street. Jlr. Boyle proved very interesting, showing the students vari- ous cut (lowers and corsages. In the afternoon, private estates in Brook- line were visited. At Faulkner farms, Mr. Ness and Mr. ilclntj-re showed the stu- dents through 4he greenhouses, while Will- iam N. Craig, superintend<'iit of the estate, took the students on a tour of the estate, pointing out the new Rock Garden, the formal Garden, Conservatory, Approach, etc. -At Weld Gardens, the students went through the greenhouses and saw many plants grown to perfection. Saturday morning Thomas Roland's houses at Revere were visited. Here some excellent roses and sweet jieas were ]iointeil out by ;\Ir. Livermore. The establishment impressed the students as very neat and systematic. At Cliftondale the famous Sim's sweet peas were inspected. Mr. Sim took the students around and pointed out his ex- periment with Primulas and Auriculas. From here Thomas Roland's houses in Xaliant were visited. This establishment gave the impression of being one of the best and most business-like of its kind. Mr. Ringdahl proved very interesting and showed the students many interesting things. All the students voted the trip a tremen- dous success, and only wish there had been time to visit more of these large establish- ments about Boston. SE-WICKLEY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular meeting of the above was held in the Odd Fellows' Hall on Tuesday, January 14. President J. Barnctt in the chair. The secretar.v reported that the societ.v was invited to send a delegate to the Davev Tree Surgerv Convention, to be held Jlarc'h 5 to 10, at 'Rent, Ohio. It was resolved to accept the invitation and the appointment of delegate was left to the president. A committee was appointed bj' the presi- dent to make |u-eliminary arrangements for the coming September show. itr. Curran gave the financial report for the late Fall show and was accorded a rising vote of thanks for the aide manner in which he had managed the show finance. The treasurer was instructed to pay the prize money as soon as possible. R. Taylor showed some fine celerv (Fin more necessary than ever before! WHEN you plant vegetables this \-ear you want to be sure that your yield is as near 100% perfect as possible. With wars and food shortage, vegetables and wealtlt are becoming- synony- mous. You'll plant Thorburn's this year because you can rely on Thorburn's. No time to take chances now if you're planting for profit. Thorburn's seeds have been of superlative quality for 115 years. Today send for our lat- est catalog — it's free and it contains much inter- esting, useful in- formation. Write today! (.^^^ J. IVI.Thorburn & Co. 53 W. Barclay St. Through to %i Park Place New York 116 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA A Most Helpful Catalog ol Plants, Shrubs, Trees You who love trees for their ow^n beauty or value them for the charm they lend to road- side and lawn must have often w^ished deeply for a more friendly knowledge of how to choose and group them best. This is to say that at last a book has been written which tells just what you want to know about trees, shrubs and plants. It is the new catalog of the well-known Andorra Nurseries. It tells what shrubs and trees are best adapted by nature for each garden and landscape pur- pose. "Suggestions for Effective Planting" is not the usual dull nursery list. To read it is like going around your grounds with an old, experienced gardener and discussing in a friendly way w^hat the place needs. This book is yours for the ask- ing. Send for your copy at once. Box 1 10. Andorra Nurseries William Warner Harper, Proprietor CHESTNUT HILL Philadelphia, Pa. de Siecle), a sport fiuin ciiniatioii (jlracon) and some Howers of a doul)lo cyelanu'ii. J. Reig showed forced chicory, asparagus and rhubarb. The same were of high qual- ity and were accorded special mention. G. R. McDonald gave an interesting lec- ture on poultry, treating the subject in a comprehensive manner, giving the members present some good information. Jas. Stewart, who laid out the estate of Edward A. Woods, Esq., and who has had charge of same for the past seven years, is leaving Sewickley to take charge of and de- velop the estate of Mrs. J. R. Reynolds, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The best wishes of the society accompany Mr. Stewart as he leaves to take up his new duties. JOHN CARMAN, Secretary. CONNECTICUT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY The Connecticut Horticultural Society has made an auspicious beginning for 1917 Through the efforts of its president, George H. Hollister, superintendent of Zency Park, the members were addressed, Friday night, in the County Building, by Dr. C. J. Clinton of the Connecticut Experiment Station at New Haven. Mr. Clinton spoke on "The White Pine Rust and the Diseases of Flowering Plants," and the members were so interested ami the doctor so warmed »ip to his subject that President Hollister had to remind him of the time. His remarks covered the history of the study of fungi and the scientists who devoted the greater part of their lives to the work. In the eighteenth century there was no definite knowledge of fungi. Knowledge really began in the early part of the nineteenth century, when the various kinds, shapes, color, etc., were distinguished. The first time fungi was ever studied in a university was in 1870. The white pine rust is the result of parasites. These summer on the leaves of currant bushes, and during the winter live on tlie young green leaves of the white pine. Dr. Clinton would combat the disease by removing all tlie berry buslu'S through- out the State, burning them up and then removing all imported since from Europe. By the removal of the berry bushes it is hoped to control the spread of the disease, as the fungi are dependent upon the berry bushes to tide them over from one season to another. At tlie close of liis reuuarks the members extended a rising vote of tluinks to Dr. Clinton. The following members were named to serve as the executive committee: John F. Huss. Warren S. Mason, C. H. Sierman. \V. W. Hunt and Francis Roulier. This society will hold three flower ex hibilions this year. There will be a show in June of hardy flowers, a Dahlia show in September, and a Chrysanthemum show in November. The.se exhibitions will surpass anything of the kind ever held in previous years.— ALFRED DIXON, Secv. NEW LONDON HORT. SOCIETY. The New London Horticultural Soeiet.v held its regular monthly meeting in the Council Chamber, Municipal building, State street, Thursday, February 8. Meeting called to order by President Rough at 8 p. m. Secretary Jordon read a letter from William Gray, secretary of the American Sweet Pea Society, asking the society's help towards their prize fund this year, the same appeal being made to all New England societies. This was favorably re- ceived by the members and a donation will be sent Mr. Giay in the near future. The Davey Tree Expert Compan.v, Inc., extended an invitation to send a delegate from New London to their annual convention in March, expenses to be paid by them, all arrangements for the journey being in tlie hands of Mr. Ebel. It was hoped some one would consider the offer and try to make the trip to Kent, Ohio, next month. President Rough then introduced Mr. Edwin .Tenkins, of the Bellefontaine Oar- den (Girand Foster Estate), Lenox, Mass.. who gave a most interesting and instructive talk, his subject being "Some Important Points in the Culture of Fruit, Flowers and Vegetables." Mr. Jenkins was given a ris- ing vote of thanks for his talk. A large number of members where present. The speaker congratulated the society on its charming meeting place and of the fine at- tendance of the ladies and their interest shown in the society's work. A very handsomely arranged basket of Lilium Formosum was exhibited by the president, J. D. Rough. Some well grown plants of Primula Malacoides came from the Guthrie Estate. .John Malone.v, gardener. Carnations and Frnsias from the Harkness Estate. STANLEY JORDAN, Secretary. NEW YORK FEDERATION OF HORTI- CULTURAL SOCIETIES AND FLORAL CLUBS. A most enthusiastic meeting of the fed- eration was held iu connection with Farm- ers' Week. Uf the ten federated socie- ties and clubs, nine sent delegates. Be- cause of the scheduled meeting coming on St. Valentine's Day, it was considered bet- ter to postpone the luncheon and oliicial meeting of the federation from Wednes- day, the 14th, until Thursday. During the morning and afternoon tlie delegates of the federation attended lectures and viewed the exhibit prepared by students iu the I)e|iai tuient of Lloriculture of the univer- sity. At noon a luncheon was given by the department for the various delegates in at- tendance; thirty were seated at tlie lunch- eon. At four o'clock the business meeting of the federation was held. At this meet- ing it was voted to amend the constitu- tion so that four meetings will be held during the coming year: the annual meet- ing at Syracuse in connection with the State F.iir; a winter meeting at Ithaca, during Farmers' Week; a tliird meeting at New York City during the annual flower show, and a fourth meeting to be held with some affiliated society, upon the call of the president. An invitation was accepted from Dr. Bates of the Syracuse Rose So- ciety for the federation to hold a meeting in .Syracuse at the time of the next annual exhibition of the society. A discussion then took place regarding the progress of a bill for the erection of a horticultural building on the New York State fair grounds. After discussion it was decided to appoint a committee, with a joint committee of the New York State Vegetable Growers' Association and with members from horticultural organizations to confer with various otiicials at Albany inlluential in appropriations. It was voted to instruct this committee to make every effort possible to impress these officials with the need of an immediate apropriation for starting the development of the plans for a horticultural building. It was the feel- ing of the federation that such a building was ab.solutely essential for the best de- velopment of the horticultural interests of the State of New York. It was also moved that the question of the introduction of a bill to the Legislature, asking for a range of glass houses for in- vestigational use in flower growing and vegetable culture at Cornell University, be referred to the same committee, with power. It was voted that the president apoint a committee of three to work with the Com- missioner of Agriculture and the superin- tendent of the New York State Fair in re- vising the premium list. W. F. Bultman, of Syracuse, presented an aplieation from the Syracuse Florists' As- sociation for membership in the federation. This association was voted into member- ship. Tlie report of the treasurer showed a balance on hand of .$2(1(1.4(1. E. A. WHITE, Secretary. NASSAU COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The monthly meeting of the above so- ciety was licld iu Pembroke Hall. Glen Cove, on Wednesday, February 14, at 2 p. m.. President James ^IcCarthy in the chair. A letter was read from the Davey Tree Expert Co., Kent, Ohio, inviting a delegate representing this society to attend their an- nual ecuivention to be held on JIarch .5-10, inclusive. James Holloway was appointed. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 117 and if lie is iiiial)le to attend John F. Jolm- son was chosen as an alternate. Adam Brezneck was elected an active member and two petitions were received. The president appointed George Ashwortb. James McDonald and .Joseph Adler to act as jndges for the monthly exhibits, and their awards were as follows: First, John F. Johnson, for a pot of cyelemeu ; first, Harry Goodband, for six tomatoes, and first, Frank Watson, tor a vase of mixed roses; honorable mention to Robt. Jones for a vase of sweet peas. Rose Queen. A very inter- esting and instructive essay was ably read by Robt. Jones, entitled ''What Science has Done and Will do for Floriculture," by Prof. E. A. White, New York. A vote of thanks was ordered sent to the author. P. W. Popp, Marmoneck, ofl'ered a special prize of $5 for the most meritorious ex- hibit at our next meeting. Robt. Jones offered a prize of $10, to be competed for at our annual Tulip Show, to be held some time in May. Exhibits for the next meeting, to be held on March 14, at 7 p. m., are 12 white, 12 pink and 12 mixed carnations. HARRY GOODBAND, Corresponding Secretary. SHOW AT ORANGE, N. J. The eleventh annual show of the New Jersey Floricultural Society was held in the Jr. 0. U. A. M. Hall on Monday, Sep- tember 18. The date proved to be a trifle early and the number of entries fell short of the previous year. The vegetable classes were well fixed with some fine displays. A group of herbaceous plants and shrubs by the Elizabeth Nursery Co. was well staged and received a special prize. A collection of fruit by S. M. and A. Colgate of Orange was the finest ever seen in this part of the country. The judges were John P. Soren- son, Alex. Robertson and Walter M. Gray. Best 36 dahlias in 12 varieties. First prize, silver cup. donated by Hitchings & Co., New York City, awarded to Dr. Daniel T. Millspaugh, Pat'erson, N. J. Best 50 sin- gle dahlias, one or more varieties, C. C. Goodrich, Orange, N. J. Best 25 show dahlias in variety, Mrs. William Barr, West Orange, N. J. Best 25 decorative dahlias in variety, W. A. Manda, Inc., South Orange, N. J. Best centerpiece of dahlias, Peter Hauck, Jr., East Orange, N. J. Best displa.v of seedling dahlias, Mrs. William Barr. Best flower of dahlia, "Hortulanus Fiet," Dr. Daniel R. Millspaugh. Best dis- play of "Canna Firebird" in pots, Peter Hauck, Jr. Best display of gladiolus with no less than 20 spikes arranged for effect, S. M. & A. Colgate. Best 'l2 decorative dahlias, one or more varieties, W. A. Manda, Inc. Best 12 cactus dahlias, one or more varieties, Mrs. William Barr. Best six decorative dahlias, three varieties, Hugh Volkening, Orange, N. J. Best four yellow show dahlias, one variety, Essex Coimty Country Club, Orange, N. J. Best four pink show dahlias, one variety. Dr. Daniel T. Millspaugh. Best four white decorative dahlias, one variety. Dr. Daniel T. Mills- paugh. Best four red decorative dahlias, one variety, W. A. Manda, Inc. Best four maroon decorative dahlias, one variety, W. A. Manda. Inc. Best four red cactus dahlias, in two varieties, Mrs. William Barr. Best four cactus dahlias, in two varieties other than the above. Dr. D. T. Millspaugh, also for best 25 pompom dahlias, in variety. Best si.x decorative dahlias, one of each in one named variety, W. A. Manda. Inc. Best show dahlia, straight color, Dr. D. T. Millspaugh. Best Erected for S. Ro Campbell, Cvnwvd Pa. rhe curved end plant house is 20' X 45'. The two com- partments in the rear house are each 25' X 25'. The U-Bar Greenhouse — Its Fitting Fitness WHEN \ ou think of an inside garden, you naturally think of a place of extreme sunshiny lightness. A place where conditions are ideal for the making of a happy home for plants and flowers. Logically it should be so. To secure such a condition, de- mands a frame of extreme lightness and yet ample strength. Tliis is a requirement difficult to se- cure without compromise. The U-Bar, however, with its com- bined core of cypress and U-shaped enclosure of steel, gives a rafter and roof bar in one. The result is a struc- ture of cobwebby lightness; one of abundant strength and endurance. Every appointment, detail and finish is of the finest. It is a construction of fitting fitness. Send for catalog. Or send for us. f)r both. U-BAR GREENHOUSES decorative dahlia, straight color. Dr. D. T. Millspaugh. Best display of vegetables in 12 varieties, arranged for effect, first Dr. D. T. Millspaugh; second, Peter Hauck, Jr. Best collection of vegetables, Peter Hauck, Jr. Best display of fruits, S. M. & A. Col- gate. Best display of outdoor grown grapes, in variety, Peter Hauck, .Jr. WORCESTER COUNTY (MASS.) HORTI- CULTURAL SOCIETY. The society held its annual fruit and vegetable exhibition Thursday. October 17. Besides the collections of fruits and vege- tables, miscellaneous cut flowers and 'Mums were shown. The 'Mum show w'ill be held on Thursday and Friday. November 9 and 10, at Horti- cultural Hall. An attractive list of prizes has been composed and a close competition is expected. Classes have been arranged calling for one specimen bloom, collections of six and of 12 blooms, different varieties, and vases of 10 blooms, one named variety. The schedule also calls for displays of vases of pompons and single varieties. Specimen 'Mum plants will be exhibited and a feature of the exhibit will be the special display of plants and flowers. Table decorations, laid for four, is quite an attraction and always brings forth much praise. The committee in charge of the show are Albert Lange, of the H. F. A. Lange Com- pany, E. W. Breed of Clinton, Mass., and L. C. Midgley of the Worcester Conserva- tories. ' M. C. M. NASSAU COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The monthly meeting of the Nassau County Horticultural Society was held on Wednesday evening, October 11, President James MacDonald presiding. The report of the Dahlia show was read and approved and final arrangements were made for hold- ing the Chrysanthemum Show on November 2 and 3, of which James Gladstone was appointed manager. It was decided to hold a smoker after the next meeting on No- vember S. and it was left to the executive committee to make the necessary arrange- ments. Robert Jones offered a prize of $10 for the best table decoration of chrysanthe- mums, by assistant gardeners, to be com- peted for at that meeting. An essay received from the National As- sociation of Gardeners on "Malnutrition in Trees." by Arthur Smith, of New Jersey, was read and was afterward discussed by the members present. JAMES MCCARTHY, Cor. Sec'y. 118 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA SEWICKLEY (PA.) HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Till' regular iiLdutlily nici.'tiii.n of tin' Seviekley HortifiUtuial Society was lielil on Tuesday, SeiUemljer 12, in tlie OJcl Fel lows" Hall", Broad street, Sewiekley. Tlie cominf; show on September 22 and 23 was up tor disenssion, and a tinal oomniittee ot arrangenrents appointed. Win. Tbomson, Sr„ showed some orchids, and Thos. Sturgis showed a collection of gladioli, also some very tine seedling dahlias. A vote of thanks was accorded the exhibitors. The after business and reports ot the field day were gone through, the picnic being voted a suc- cess in every wav. The society extended a vote of thanks to Mrs. Wm. Tliaw for her kindness in granting the freedom of her estate for that day. Applications were re- ceived for five new members. M. C SOUTHAMPTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular meeting of Southampton Horticultu'ial Society was held in Odd Fel- lows' Hall. Southampton. X. Y., on ilarcli 1, I'resident Chas. F. Guilloz in the chair. There was a good attendance of members The principal event of the evening was the competition for a centre-piece of cut fiowers, which was won by Jlr. .Toseph Cas sidy of '\\'ainscott with a beautiful arrange- ment of matchless Carnation and Lily or the Valley. Mr. Cassidy also read a splendid e.ssay on the Winter flowering Carnation, which was Avell received by all present. Mr. Wm. Mc- Leod was awarded a Certificate of Merit for a fine e.xhibit of Richardia Africana. ilr. JIcLeod was asked to give an essay on Winter flowering Sweet Peas, and he prom- ised to do so at the next regular meeting. April 5. Mr. .hiles W. King was appointed a dele- sate to the Davey 'convention and Mr. H. H. Wells was appointed substitute. The comi)etition for the April meeting w'ill be for the best exhibit of forced hardy flower iiig shrubs. •T. DICKSOX, C(n-, Sec, GSOSSE POINTE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The re.sular meeting of the Grosse Poiute Horticultural Society was held in the Neigh- borhood Club on Tuesday evening, February 27. with President James Taylor in the chair. Two new members were elected and two more applications for membership were received. It was decided that this Society accept the oft'er of the silver medal offered by the National .Association of Gardeners. Several more checks for various sums were received for the Society's Exhibition Fund. The social and entertainment under the auspices of the Society held on Thur.sday evening. February 15, was a huge success. As this was the first night in tlie competi- tion for the I. A. Manda silver cup, there was a fine display of flowers and vegetables. As this competition is decided on points gained at each meeting and added up at the end of the year, some of the niemliers got a good start away, Tlie priiici]ial ex- hibitors were: Robert Lillie, Arthur .Tack- son, A, L. Lamond, .Toliu De Carteret, Will- iam S.ymons, Patrick ilcKiiight and Joe Van Teim, Tlie judges were .Tames Hamil- ton, William A, McElroy and J(diu Mair, Robert Lillie was awarded a Certificate of Merit for a new rose, sport of Hoosier P.eauty, It was the finest thing in roses. seen in this section for some time, and every- body admired it. JOHN MAIR, Secretary. The Largest Range of Greenhouses in Massachusetts Up in the historic Cape Cod sec- tion, at Marion, Mass., is lo- cated one of the finest green- house installations in this country. It was built by the W'ni. H. Lutton Co. for Galen L. Stone, Esq., and is one of tlie show places of that locality. It is a noteworthy fact that this installation is considered the larg- est modern range of glass in Mas- sachusetts— a state noted for its great area in cultivation under glass. There are luuulreds of other LL'TTOX Greenhouses, both large Flower House ol Ihe Ston.' Range and small, in operation in all parts of the country. The Lutton Co., however, practically limits its work and study to the private estate. By specializing in this way, we . have built up an enviable reputa- tion among up-to-date gardeners and owners. Would you like to know how and why our work differs from that of our competitors? We \v<.ulfl like to tell you. WM. H. LUTTON CO. Man Offic and Fa^tc:; Jersey City, N. J. Show Rooms. 3rd Floor, Grand Central Terminal, N. V. City. Weste'n Office. 710 Sykes Block. Minneapolis. ,Vlinn. Mtlin I!ou.se of tiie Stone Range Horticultural Architects Builders of all kinds of iModern Glass Structures, Greenhouses, Conservatories, Cold Frames, Hot Beds =iiiiiii:iiii:i!ii:iiii:i!ii:iiii:iin'ini'iiiLmi':iiiniii:iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii!iiiiminiii^ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiriiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiii'iiii'iiii'iiiniiriiiiitiniiMiiiiniiiiiii^ OYSTER BAY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Tlie regular meeting of the Oyster Bay Horticultural Society was held in Fireman's Hall, at Oyster Bay, on February 28. 1917. The president, Mr. William Eccles, called the meeting to order at 7:30. There were a large number of members present. .Vlso the exhibits were ciuite num- erous. The .I'ndges for the evening were Messrs, Robert Wright. William Ford and .Tolin McCullocli. Their decisions were as follows : Joseph Robinson, superintendent to AV. R, Coe. Esq.. first for the Society Prize, which called for .50 violets and Dun- can Beaton was awarded first prize for three vases ' phot<^aph. All of which accounts for this rendering of It in pen and ink. A Charming Group of Glass Gardens ERECTED FOR Mr. J. A. ALLISON, at Indianapolis, Ind. As an example of where practical- ness of plan and effectiveness of design were successfully combined, this is a Glass Garden grouping- well worth considering. The arrangement of the three par- allel houses makes a compact layout, giving si.K goodly sized separate gar- den plots. In addition to these, are two smaller plots in the houses connecting the centre one, with those on either side. Future additions can be made in several different ways and still pre- serve the effective balance and prac- ticalness. , It is an exceptional case where a duplicate of such a grouping would not work out both economically and effectively. There is your case, for instance. Before, however, coming to any def- inite conclusion, you might incline to have one of our experts come and look conditions over with you. This Expert Advisory Service brings with it no expense or obligations on your part. The fact that we have offices in so many of the principal cities makes it possible for you to enjoy exception- ally prompt attention. Having been building greenhouses for considerably over half a century, it is only logical that we know how- to best build them. Our booklet No. 116 you will find rather interesting. It gives a peep into the pleasures of glass garden owning. SALES OFFICES: NEW YORK BOSTO.N PHILADEUHU OncAfiO ROCHESTER 42nd St. Bide. Tremont Bldg. Wldener Bids. Bookrry Bldg, Grinltt Bldg. DETROIT TORONTO MONTREAL Penobscot Bldg. Royal Bank Bldg. Transportation Bldg. FACTORIES: Irvington. N. Y. Des Plaincs. 111. St. Catharines, Canada. CLEVELAND gnetland Bldg =i LORD S-BURNHAM CO. GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA n °^'iciiL.ru;A.P»«""' ILLUSTRATED R i Ai J LdCJSfflB' i^ w ---^^X^ W $1.^0 The Y_ear APRIL. 1917 15c. The CoD^ ^ U-Bar Greenhouses How They Differ THEV differ mainly in being made of galvanized aluminum finished U-Bars. These U-Bars make a complete steel frame that is as enduring- as it is light and strong. From the outside they have a pleasing grace and refinement. From the inside their sunshiny lightness gives the impression of being inside a bubble of glass. When it comes to comparing them with other greenhouses, it is hardly fair to them. Hardly fair, because they are of necessity constructed so differ- ently. We say of necessity, because no other concern can use the U-Bar greenhouse frame in their construction. All of which is stating the U-Bar differing points but briefly. Our catalog gives an extended explanation. Send for it. Or send for us. Or both. ( U-BAR GREENHOUSES PIER50N U-BAR CO ONE MADISON AVE. NEW YORK, THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA ;iiii:ii!:.iii:iiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiililiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiliiilliillliilliillliillliilliiililiilllH^ 129 III BURNETT'S SPECIAL GRASS SEED MIXTURES Burnett's "Killarney" Mixture The above Lawn Grass Mixture "Killarney" is composed of a combination of the very finest European grasses and fescues, the highest grades possible to procure, and specially adapted for this climate. This mixture weighs 25 lbs. to the measured bushel, and is composed of all solid, recleaned seeds of the highest germination. Therefore, owners of large estates requiring a permanent sod and everlasting lawn should by all means use this high grade mixture. We can recommend "Killarney Mixture," if the ground is properly prepared, tn produce a turf of velvet, equal to the most famous Lawns in Europe. "Sow Killarney and Walk on Velvet." Qt. 35c., pk. $2.50. bushel (25 lbs.) $8.50. Burnett's Special Lawn Grass Mixture The above mixture is made from our own formula, and composed of grasses specially adapted for the purpose of producing turf which retains its rich green color and velvety appearance throughout tlie entire Summer and Fall. In making up this high grade mixture we are careful to use only the very finest quality of all the most desirable dwarf evergreen, recleaned grasses, free from chaff and weeds, which thrive well on any soil, thus ensuring a ]:ieautiful and permanent lawn. To obtain good results Lawn Grass Seed should be sown as soon as the ground can be prepared in early Spring. It may also be sown in the Fall with good results. One quart will sow 15 x 20 feet (.W square feet); 1 busliel, 100 x 108 feet (10,800 square feet); 4 to 5 bushels to the acre. Price: Qt. 25c., pk. $1.75, bushel (20 lbs.) $6.00. Burnett's "Bridle Path" Mixture for Drives and Walks above mixture is adapted for a strong, hard-wearing turf of the finest texture, and is composed of some of the hardiest which will produce a close, thick sod and stand hard usage under all conditions. For drives and walks or any place strong turf is necessary, this mixture cannot be equaled. The grasses, where a Qt. 25c., pk. $1.50, bushel (20 lbs.) $5.00. Burnett's "Central Park" Lawn Grass Qt. 20c., pk. $1.50, bushel (20 lbs.) $5.00 Burnett's "Shady Place" Lawrn Grass Qt. 30c., pk. $2.00, bushel (20 lbs.) $7.00 Burnett's "Bank and Terrace" Lawn Grass Qt. 30c., pk. $1.75, bushel (20 lbs.) $6.50 ir e make n specialty of Latin Grass Seeds and mixtures for all soils and situations. Write for our new complete Strawberry and Perennial List If yuu have not received our illustrated Spring Catalogue write us and same will be mailed to you promptly. BURNETT BROTHERS, Seedsmen 98 CHAMBERS STREET Telephone, Barclay 6138 NEW YORK 130 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllllllllllliliiiiiiiliiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiNNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^ I Kelsey's Rare, Hardy American Plants I and Carolina Mountain Flowers I RHODODENDRON CATAWBIENSE (illiistiated above) (True), bright red-purple. Cluiups as grown at my Nurseries. Hardiest and l^est speties know ii. Tlie Ilard.v plant of the hardiest hybrids. Prices at HIGHLANDS NURSERY 9-12 in $.35 each; $2 per 10; $18 per 100 1.11/2 ft 50 each; 3 per 10; 25 per 100 11/2-2 ft. clumps, budded, $2 each; $16 per 10; $135 per 100, and up to 5 ft. clumps by the carload. HARLAN P. KELSEY, Owner - // ghlands Nursery, 3,800 ft. Elevation in the Carolina Mountains. Boxford Nursery, Specimen Evergreens, Bo.xford, Mass. i t{iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitii{i[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iHi:iiii:n^ I iiiNiini uniiiiiiii 1 iiii.iiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiii iiiiiMiiiiiiiiiii I II I iiiiniii!ii| ,'i|iiiiiiiiiiii|i|||||||||i|i|||||||||||| i m uiiiiin niiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniii iiiiiiiniii iiii iiiiiiiii iiniis RHODODENDRON CAROLINIANUM -New, clear pitik-'riic most beautiful dwarf species known. Prices at BOXFORD NURSERY 9-12 in., strong plants, $.75 each; $6 per 10; $50 per 100 l-l'/a ft. clumps, budded, $2 each; $17.50 per 10; $I5« per 100. 2-3 ft. clumps, budded, $6 each; $50 per 10. LEUCOTHOE CATESBAEI— The finest broad-leaved edging and border plant. Foliage green, rich bronze where e.xposed to sun in autumn. Prices at HIGHLANDS NURSERY 6-12 in. $.20 each; $1 per 10; $8.50 per 100; $25 per 1,000 1-11/2 ft. $.25 each; $1.50 per 10; $12.50 per 100; $100 per 1,000. 6-12 in. clumps $.50 each; $3 per 10; $27.50 per 100; $225 per 1.000. 1-1'» ft. clumps $.75 each; $4 per 10; $37.50 per 100; $325 per 1.000. AZALEA LUTEA, Great Flame Azalea— Colors, red lead, orange, yellow and cream color and others. ( )iir most brilliant flowered .\merican shrub. Prices at HIGHLANDS NURSERY 6-12 in. $.25 each; $1.50 per 10; $12.50 per 100. 1-11/2 ft. $.40 each; $2 50 per 10; $22.50 per 100. 11,2-2 ft. clumps, budded, $1 each; $8.50 per 10; $75 per 100. 2-3 ft. clumps, budded, $1.50 each; $12.50 per 10; $100 per 100. 77(1- finest Collection of Rare. Hardy, Natii-e i'lanls in li.vistencc. A'ezv Illustrated Catalogue. Salem, Massachusetts Orchids If you contemplate buying semi-es- tablished, established or imported Orchids, consult us first. We carry in stock about 25,000 plants and from April to July we receive large consignments of im- ported Orchids. We specialize in supplying the pri- vate trade. Let us figure on your requirements — our quality is second to none. Orchid Peat, Live Sphagnum Moss, Baskets, Pot Hangers, always on hand. Send for our price list. I j G. E. Baldwin ^ Company | I Orchid Collectors, Growers and Importers | I Mamaroneck Box 98 New York I Why Not Have a Good Lawn by using Far quhar's Heavy Seed ' Evergreen Lawn Grass Mixture Price per bushel of 25 lbs. .$10.00 Farquhar's Evergreen Lawn Grass Mixture Price per bushel of 20 lbs., $6.00 Price of larger quantities on application Special Formulns for Special Purposes Write for a copy of our Catalogue R. & J. Farquhar & Company 6 South Market St. Boston, Mass. giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiii iiiiiimiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiini^ "niiiiiiiiiiiHiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiinm i iiiiiiiiiiiiininiini iiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,T THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 131 [ffijffi!fiifiatfiaffiatf^aaaaaaffi!fiffimfiaaatfiaaffi!fi!fiaffiffiaa iii if; yi !fi !fi ii; !fi ifi \^ }^ \R If; A Washington Interview of Canna-Quality Convincement "ripHE fact of the matter is that in I the next IS years Cannas are going to have the right of way. There is nothing to equal them." It was Mr. Henlock speaking, express- ing, not a burst of entlnisiasm, but de- liberate conviction born of long experi- ence. Mr. Henlock is a gardener of the first order. Technically, he is in the War Department, U. S. A. ; practically, he is responsible for the best possible show of bloom and color display through- out the grounds that surround the Capi- tol, White House, and the other public buildings of our National Capital. When the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Lane, wants a bit of beauty made to modify the severe e.xterior of the Patent Office, it is Mr. Henlock who knows what is needed, and who does it. "Well, what did it need?" It needed color, of the right shade, in the right place, and for such big buildings, a bold stroke of color, and further, color that would stay there all Summer and still not break up the broad sweep of lawn round about. What plant is there that can turn such a trick but the Canna — the new, big, broad petaled Cannas, such as have been coming out of West Grove, and such as have convinced the men who know how to use them that "there is nothing to equal them." You may think this eminent gardener prejudiced because, well, for any one of several reasons. Then listen to the opinion of Oglesby Paul, a widely trav- eled man of culture and artistic taste, un- til recently landscape architect of Fair- mount Park (Philadelphia). Six montlis before his death he visited the park areas of Washington and after a comprehensive survey declared that "never in all his travels had he seen so fine a display in any park as in Washington." And he went home with the avowed intention of really introducing real Cannas into Fair- mount Park. "He was convinced," said Mr. Henlock, "that they could use thou- sands upon thousands of Cannas in Fair- mount Park to advantage." Mr. Henlock had much to say about the different varieties, especially "Lafayette," which he had selected from our seedlings at West Grove, and so christened by us because planted in Lafayette sq. in front of the White House. But in front of the massive capitol itself, on the broad terraces, he had placed in the position of boner the one variety that has distinguished itself for size, color and abun- dance of bloom — "Wintzer's Colossal," "flow- ers as big as a man's hat." "Is there any wonder," he said, "that tourists from Denver, Chicago, St. Louis and New York ask, 'What is it?' 'Where can I get it?' We tell them!" "It seems to me," he continued, "that the Pari; Superintendents of litis country should take the lead in planting these notable flowers and not let the private planters get ahead of them." "And," he added, "I want to say this — Practically ALL the Cannas that we liave here in IVashinglon (d'.'er 20.000) came front The Conard tf Jones Company at West Grove!" £fl T Read the Interview at the left Then Order YOUR Share of Swas-teeka Canna Novelties }R 0 see our Cannas as others see them, is to see them as they really are. We might be prejudiced in their favor. Others are not. That's why Mr. Henlock's interview should carry such exceptional convincement to all Park Superintendents and gardeners. If you read it, we need not further vouch for Swasteeka Brand Cannas. If you read it, you will right away want some of these gorgeous, full- rooted Cannas yourself! Our novelties are listed below. We liave made ordering them easy. Just fill in in the spaces at the left, the ones you will want. Total up at the bottom; tear off and send to us. In any event you will surely want our Complete Wholesale List of Cannas, Shrubs and Roses. The same coupon brings it first mail! No. Total. Name. Ht. Description. Each. Doz. NOVELTIES TALL Gaiety Olympic Wintzer's Colossal (Flowered) City of Portland Bccldisli orange, mottled with carmine and edged with yellow. The tonijue is yellow and densely spotted with carmine. Rich oriental red. with center shaded lighter red. and dappled carmine. Large, individual blossoms tliat make heads which are simply immense. Without doubt the largest -flowered Canna to date, as the average flowers more than cover a man's hat. The color Is a strikingly vMd scarlet that retains ita brilliancy. 3H The color is a beautiful, glowing pink, deeper in color than its parent, Mrs. Alfred F. Conard, and the flowers are produced in great- est profusion ou strong, erect, branching stalks. It is an early and continuous bloomer, bloom- ing freely in hot or cool weather. Canna ex- perts last season pronounced it the '"finest all- round pink Canna to date." $.50 .50 55 MEDIUM Firebird Flag of Truoe Golden Gate Jane Addams Lafayette Mrs. Wood row Wilson Clear, glistening scarlet flowers borne In I immense trusses. Very fine. Foliage faulty. ! Large-flowered, cream-white Canna, with faint pink dots on each petal and a sulpbur- colored tongue. When a short distance from the flowers they appear pure white. I The flowers open almost pure gold, but soon become richly rayed with orange crimson and apricot; throat deep carmine red. Foliage Igreeii^ i\<2 True, bright Buttercup yellow. This Canna was selected to plant in Lafay- etf-e Square, directly in front of the White House, for 1916. In some respects it resem- bles the famous "Meteor," but the flowers are more intense scarlet. The heads of bloom are ■arried erect above the healthy green foliage, producing a brilliant efl'ect in mass planting. A charming shade of rich, soft crimson pink, particularly clear and pleasing to the eye. Flowers are large, with broad, overlapping, rounded petals of great eubstance and dura- bility. Foliage is light green, prettily veined; the habit is robust, but the leases do not bide the flowers. Pocahon- tas (Bronze Olympic) San Diego 4^! Large, orient-red flowers, borne on firm, up- right stems, just enough above the foliage to show the entire head. The foliage is a dark bronze green with emerald shadings, the ribs a darker bronze. Descril)ed as Chinese orange or Persian yel- low in color. The crimped petals are remark- able for substance, which enables them to with- stand the hot Simimer sun without wilting, and another charm is in the buds, which are dark bronze, harmonizing with the golden bronze foliage. Orand in every way. .50 1.50 DWARF Dragon Sam Tre- lease (Imp.) An incessant bloomer which keeps sending up new bloom-stalks, until cut down by frost. Dark ox-blood ri'ii. An intense, briglit Poppy red. with a thread I ]f Buttercup yellow aroimd each petal. [ 2.50 VARIEGATED MEDIUM Panama Tlie color is an attractive, rich orange red, I with a well defined edge of bright golden yel- low. The flowers are very large, .25 2.50 Write for prices in quantities. Above prices for roots, till May 1st. Plants at 5c. each additional. The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, Pa. Please send me Cannas of varieties and the number intlicated on this order blank, for which I enclose $ Prices F. O. B. West Grove, Pa. Send me complete Wholesale List of Cannas, Shrubs and Roses. Address !fi !fi \^ !fi m 3n I Name Address ISni 132 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH^ giiiiiiiiiiiiiiHniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimni niiii i i i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiniiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiniiiiL BIG SHRUBS FOR IMMEDIATE EFFECT We have an exceptionally fine stock of exceptionally choice Shrubs, in LARGE SIZES — 5 feet and more. They are not OVER-GROWN, however, but par- ticularly WELL-grown — distinctively "MEEHAN PRODUCTS." They have lived a different life from the ordinary run of shrubs — have had more room, more care, better cultivation. They are ideal for new planting on old places, for screens to hide un- sightly buildings or views, or for quick results in any location. We can make specially low prices on large quantities. Here are a few unusually beau- tiful varieties: THE SKY BLUE ROSE OF SHARON (Hibiscus Syriacus coelestis). Flowers azure, changing to lavender blue. A charming shade. August. STORAX (Styrax Japonica). Loveliest tall-grow- ing, hardy shrub. Flowers pure white. Elegant foliage. May. CORK-WINGED SPINDLE BUSH (Euonymus alatus). Unique and always attractive. Gorgeous Autumn foliage. Brilliant scarlet berries. CORNELIAN CHERRY (Cornus Mas). Yellow blossoms in April, followed by bright red berries. WHITE FRINGE (Chionanthus Virginica). Rich, bold foliage, unusual fringe-like blossoms. May. PINK DEUTZIA (Pride of Rochester). Superb specimens of this elegant, useful and popular Shrub. June. SMOKE BUSH (Rhus cotinus). Misty, smoke-col- ored flowers in June. Gorgeous in Autumn. PINK SPIRAEA (S. Billardi). Spikes of bright pink flowers in July and August. Fine habit and foliage. These are only a few of the multitude of really good things described and priced in our 1917 Handbook of Trees and Hardy Plants Write for your copy today. You will find it full of helpful suggestions and cultural information. I THOMAS MEEHAN & SONS | I Nurserymen and Landscape Gardeners | I 6765 Chew St., Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. | iiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ DREER'S GARDEN BOOK FOR 1917 Seventy -Ninth Annual Edition A dependable guide-book which tells when to plant, how to plant, and what to plant. It gives cultural articles, written by experts, which will be valuable to every gardener. It contains 288 pages, four colored and four duotone plates, and lists all the dependable tested standard varieties of Vegetables and Flowers, besides many important Novelties. The newest Roses, the best Dahlias, and Dreer's Im- proved Hardy Perennials are given special prominence. It features a number of noteworthy specialties in Vegetables, Sweet Peas, Asters and Columbines. Whatever is worth growing you will find in Dreer's Garden Book for 1917, with full instructions how to grow it. A copy will be mailed free if you mention this publication. Lawn Grass Seeds, one of our leading specialties. If interested, ask for a copy of our Lawn Booklet. HENRY A. DREER 714-716 Chestnut Street PHILADELPHIA ^iiinimiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i>iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[iiii:iiiiiii»iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii»iiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinuiiiiiiiiii^ JlLitixl Sj^jC4^ I To introduce these superior seeds to you we make the | I following special offer. Each and every variety is a | I novelty originated at our Raynes Park trial grounds. | j This Carter Collection for $1,75 net | = Beans — Carters Sunrise — 25c. packet. 1 s Beans — Carters Holborn Wonder — 20c. packet. e H Carrot — Carters Early Market — 10c. packet. % 1 Celery — Carters Solid Ivory — 10c. packet. M = Cucumber — Carters Ideal Frame — 25c. packet. 1 H Lettuce — Carters Holborn Wonder — 10c. packet. p 1 Lettuce — Carters Giant White Cos — 10c. packet. = 1 Onion — Carters Record — 10c. packet. % 1 Onion — Carters Holborn — 10c. packet. 1 = Parsley — Carters Crested Bouquet — 10c. packet. 1 1 Parsnip — Carters Holborn Marrow— 10c. packet. i 1 Peas— Carters Giant Lightning Early Round 2J^ ft. — 15c. packet, i = Peas — Carters — Quite Content Maincrop 5 ft. — 20c. packet. M 1 Spinach— The Carter— 10c. packet. = H Turnip — Carters Little Marvel — 10c. packet. = I Turnip^Swedish — Carters Prize Winner Purple Top — 10c. packet. = 1 Tomato — Carters Golden Sunrise — 25c. packet. ^ s Tomata— Carters Duke of York — 10c. packet. g I CARTERS TESTED SEEDS INC. | = 150 Chamber of Commerce Bldg., Boston, Mass. m § Branch of James Carters & Co., Raynes Park, England % rrllllllllllllIIIIII[[|||||||!|||||||||||||||||||||(|!|[]|||||ij|[|[||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||T|||||||||||[||[[[||||||K THE GARDENERS' CHROMCLE OF AMERICA 133 3iiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ DOES YOUR GARDEN PLEASE YOU? IF NOT, CONSULT R. & J. FARQUHAR & COMPANY 6 SOUTH MARKET STREET BOSTON, MASS. ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii inn nniiiiuiiii iiiiinunnnunnuniiinnnunnn nniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNNniinnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiini nnnnn i n in in n in ii i ii iiiiiiiii in ii in nnnniiiii n in nnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiinin? Competent Gardeners y The comlorls and products ol a country home ore increased by employing a competent gardener ; if you want to engage one, write to us. q Please give particulars regarding place and say whether married or single man is wanted. We have been supplying them for years to the best people everywhere. No fee asked. PETER HENDERSON & CO. Seedsmen ^nd Florists 33 and 37 Cortlandt St. NEW YORK CITY ORNAMENTALS of every variety. Thousands of them, all sizes, for all purposes. We can fill and ship any sized order at once, no matter how great or how small the quantity and assortment. All our stock is carefully nursed and han- dled to make transplanting simple and effective. For 127 years the horticultural trade has looked to our nurseries — which now embrace over 800 acres — for the finest to be had in shade trees, evergreens and shrubs. AMERICAN NURSERY CQ "Successful for over a Century" * SINGER BUILDING NEW YORK ie«'ffi»«soffl'ai5» I Just a Little Different The Abelia or Bush Arbutus An increasingly popular ' plantthatisrapidly coming . into garden use because of I its beauty and ceaseless I blooming from July to October. It grows as well in the shade I as in the sunlight. Catalogue A-8 shows a large stock in this and other varieties of trees and shrubbery. Order them now. Planting time is here. Use them freely south of New York City. THE WM. H. MOON COMPANY MORRISVILLE NllRSERYMEy PENNSYLVANIA i^^J«^M«Mlg^«»!gf^^ |tiiliiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiinnnHitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiniinnnnninniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ I Big Trees: \ i Specimens for Immediate Effect | 1 Hemlocks up to 15 ft. | j Norway Spruce up to 15 " 1 I Oriental Spruce up to 12 " | I White Spruce up to 12 " | I Douglas Spruce up to 12 " | j White Pine up to 12 " | I Rhododendrons 1 ft. to 4 " | I Other Broad Leaved Evergreens in various sizes. | I A FULL LINE of various kinds and | I sizes of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees | j and Shrubs, Irish Roses, Tree Roses, etc., | I etc. Catalogue Free. ] j Box C, I I ROSEDALE NURSERIES | I TARRYTOWN, N. Y. | "ninniiiii in i i nii inn ninin iiiinnn i iiiiiiinin nniiiiiinn niiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiij 134 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iiii iiiiiiiiiiii ini I {iiiiiiiiiuiii 1 iiiiiiiiiiii 1 nil iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I iiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiimiiHiHiiiniiiiiimiiiiiiii i iiimiiiiiiiiiiwi i iiiiniiiiiitii i imiiiiiii«iimiii uiiiuii| Roses — Chrysanthemums — Carnations Dormant Rose Plants Are Scarce This Year— You Should Get Your Order in at Once We still have on hand in A-1 plants: 500 each Ophelia; Francis Scott Key; Lady Alice Stanley; $35.00 per 100 500 each Hoosier Beauty ; Tipperary ; Cleveland ; Gorgeous ; $10.00 per dozen ; $7.-'. 00 per 100 100 Geo. C. Waud; 150 each Juliet; Rayon d'Or; His Majesty; $35.00 per 100 i 200 Mme. Edouart Herriott, $10.00 per dozen; $75.00 per 100 * 1. Chrysanthemums for Outdoor Planting The largest and finest collection in the country. Write us your requirements both in Hardy and Greenhouse \'arieties. ■SB?-' Carnations Matchless ; Alice ; Enchantress Supreme ; Gorgeous ; Mrs. C. W. Ward and Alice Coombs ; as well as other staple varieties. Splendid 2V2" pot plants: Ready for Immediate Delivery. Madison Charles H. Totty New Jersey I nil inn 1 1 1 11 II iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii I i iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiniiiii Some Particularly Choice Poppies and Larkspur Grown From Imported Stock THERE is absolutely no reason why your Poppies and Larkspur and any other hardy plants should not grow vigorously the first year; flower freely for the most part; and be absolutely true to color and habit. The onh- sure way, however, to insure this result is to plant plants grown from cuttings rooted from choice, vigorous stock. Every hardy flower we sell is so rooted. Being pot grown, we can ship the soil with them, so they can be transplanted w ithout their knowing anything has happened. Such plants are absolutely dependable. They have strong constitutions, and flower true to color. The Poppies and Larkspur listed below are all imported and they are the very cream of England's most highly prized productions. But few of them can be bought anywhere else. The quantity of both is necessarily somewhat limited. So it will be best to order early. The range of colors in this collection defies description. Autumn in all her brilliance and color gradation can scarce vie with them. Poppy enthusiasts who have seen the collection claim it has few equals outside of England. 12, 2 of each. $3.50. 6 for $1.90. Rosy Pink $0J5 each Bright salmon .35 " Salmon Pink .25 " Orange scarlet .35 " Ros\- salmon .35 " Blush pink .25 " Delicata Iris Perry Mrs. Perry Oriflamme Perry's Favorite Perry's Blush Oriental Poppies Larkspur or Delphiniums This list represents the latest, as well as the choicest things of England's expert hybridizers. Those marked with a star have obtained an award of merit from the Royal Horticul- tural Society of London. 12, 2 of each $7.50. $4 for 6. *Rev. E. Lascelles Deep blue, white centre 5-6 ft. $1.00 each "Belladonna semi- plena Sky blue, rosy mauve center 2}4 ft. .35 " "Moerheimi Pure white 5-6 ft. .50 " Salland Dark blue, branching 4 ft. .75 " Capri Sky-blue, much branched 5-6 ft. .75 " Lize Van Veen Cambridge blue, white eye 6 ft. .75 " This cl.arming booklet contains 18 different collections for nine different planting Heloful Helo Hint Booklet l"^,^*^^.- ^^.^^^ evergreen foundation treatments to shade trees. It is teeming with help- ful planting hints. We \\ant you to have as many copies as you wish for yourself and friends ^Julius* T^eKrS* Cor v^r A^ The Si£n oflhe Trge Box 20 Rutkei-ford NJ, THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 135 I Why Not Have a Lily Pond | I In Your Garden or Greenhouse ? | 1 Many varieties of Water Lilies can be grown in i I a pool (or tub) just as well as in a small pond. j 1 Every garden has soil, water and sunshine — all the 1 1 lilies need. They grow as readily as asters or sweet | 1 peas — and are far more beautiful, fragrant and un- i 1 usual. If you have a greenhouse you can have 1 1 blooms all the year. My new booklet | 1 Water Lilies and Water Plants | 1 pictures several varieties in nature's glorious col- j 1 ors. The best sorts for garden and greenhouse i I growing are described. Full directions are given i f for constructing a water garden, with a list of | j plants that will be useful with the lilies. Write | 1 today for a copy of this booklet and plan for a j 1 water garden this summer. i I WILLIAM TRICKER | I Box P Arlington, N. J. 1 iiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ iiiiiiniiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiii^ Grasses for Lawns We have made a life study of the various Grasses that are suitable for certain soils and climatic conditions. You would do well by consulting us be- fore ordering. Write for catalogue, mailed free. W. E. MARSHALL & CO. Inc. 1 66 West 23rd St. New York Boddington's Garden Guide 1917 NOW READY It contains all that is new and best in Sweet Peas, Flower and Vegetable Seeds, also Kunderd's new Gladioli. If you are an intending exhibitor send for your copy now. Arthur T. Boddington Co., Inc. s[iiiiiiii!iiiiiniiiiiii;iiii;iiiuiiiiiiiii.iiii;iiiiji«iuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM^^^ I DE LUE'S GOLDEN GIANT I I SWEET CORN | -■1 The most important horticultural acquisition of recent 1 ~_ years. Awarded the only Silver Medal ever given by 1 i the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for novelty 1 ^ and excellence in Sw^eet 1 Corn. = DE LUE'S GOLDEN GIANT | is the result of eleven years' 1 selection by Dr. Frederick p S. De Lue of Boston, Mass., I from the product of "Howl- | ing Mob" crossed with | "Golden Bantam." 1 With its 12 to 16-rowed | ears it gives nearly four § times the yield per acre 1 that the Golden Bantam i does w^ith its smaller 8- 1 rowed ears. The stalks are § short and fre- 1 quently produce 1 two ears each. i Its orange golden 1 color is richer; it 1 is nriore delicious 1 _ in flavor and is = p equally early. = I To introduce DE LUE'S GOLDEN GIANT we offer a j I limited quantity in packets containing 25 kernels each i i at 25 cents the packet, not more than 4 packets to § i any one customer, postpaid anywhere in' the United | i States and possessions. § 1 Our 170 page Aimual Catalog and Gardeners' Guide. 450 illtis- 1 s trafiotis. several colored plates and cultur'dl directions, will be 1 H ynailed on application. '' = JOSEPH BRECK & SONS | E New England's Leading Seed Stare for Nearly 100 Years h i 51 and 52 N. Market Street, Boston, Mass. i lillllllnlllllllllllmlllllllllllllllllllllll!lUllllllllllUll!lnllll!l!lJ:llLul:[llllllllllll^l!llJllIl^lli:lK IMPORTED ORCHIDS If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. JOSE PH M ANDA.Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist WEST ORANGE N J The Wonderful "Suffragette" Mammoth Summer Flowering Cosmos Largest blossoms, earliest blooming of all. In normal seasons more than twelve weeks of blossoming. Endorsed by the best and most widely known gardeners. Plants only. Send for circular. EDWARD LEWIS Box 662, New Haven Formerly Derby, Conn ORCHIDS We are Specialists in Orchids, we collect, grow, import, export and sell orchids exclusively. If you are in the market for Orchids we solicit your inquiries and orders. Catalogues and special lists on application. Lager & Hurrell, Orchid Growers and Importers, SUMMIT, N. J. 128 Chambers St., New York City H/\RRY B/\LD\A/IN Manufacturer of GREEN-HOUSE SHADING LATH ROLLER BLINDS MAMARONECK, N. Y. HILL'S EVERGREENS Send for Price-list. Mention this magazine. D. HILL NURSERY CO. Evergreen Specialists, Largest Growers in America. ^ox 305 Dundee, 111; iiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiHt': 136 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA aniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ DELPHINIUMS CROMWELL GARDENS HYBRIDS. — A strain of choice hybrids grown from seed, carefully selected from the best va- rieties and types. Dark blue and light blue shades. 20c. each, $2.00 per dozen, $12.00 per 100. Choice Named Varieties. BELLADONNA. — Dark blue. 23c. each, $2.50 per dozen, $15.00 per 100. BELLADONNA. — Miss Fanny Stormoth, a lovely shade of azure blue. 25c. each, $2.50 per dozen, $15.00 per 100. LILACINA. — Mauve pink; very good for mass effect. 50c. each, $5.00 per dozen. MOERHEIML — The best pure white Delphinium yet introduced. 30c. each, $3.00 per dozen. PERSIMMON. — Pure light blue with a very pretty bluish-white eye. 30c. each, $3.00 per dozen. AN?IEI\SON mc Ceomwell Carpens Ci^MWELL Conn i iniii nil nil ' iiNii ininiiii i iiiinniiiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiiiii i liiiiiiiiiiiiii i ninni iiiiiniilliiiililll niii iiiiiiiii nn i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i iiiiininiiiii iiiiiiiii iiiirr iiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii«iiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ |iiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiili^ I I Grow GLADIOLI j I Exclusively | Owing to this fact, I am not dependent on foreign importations, so can offer the Ijest varieties at es- pecially low prices — for example : America, light pink, $2.00 per 100 Baron Hulot, blue . 3.00 " " Halley, salmon pink 2.00 " " Isaac Buchanan, yel- low 6.00 " " Mrs. Frank Pendle- ton, Jr., Pink, red blotch 7.50 " " Panama, pink. . . 5.00 My illustrated booklet de- scribes many new and mar- velous creations. You should have a copy of it. It is free for the asking. I B. HAMMOND TRACY | I Cedar Acres | I BOX C WENHAM, MASS. | ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiniiiii^^ Bobbink & Atkins "JVorld's Choicest Nursery and Greenhouse Products" GROWN IN AMERICA Our complete collection and efficient organization enable us to fill our or- ders promptly and exactly both for hardy and greenhouse Plants. Our ILLUSTRATED GENERAL CATALOG No. 45, is a splendid ref- erence book — it is mailed on request. The quality and durability of OUR HEART CYPRESS TUBS will also appeal to you — we have a splendid cat- alog for these, giving all shapes and sizes — send for it. NURSERYMEN Rutherford and FLORISTS New Jersey THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 137 ^he Cant^nts— April, X91T Page Things and Thoughts of the Garden The Onlooker I 39 Distinctive American Plants .... Edwin H. Costich 141 1 he Rock Garden in Spring Time S. Golding 143 Daturas (Trumpet Flower) . . . .144 Hardy Roses and Their Culture George Norris 145 Daphne Odora Under Glass H. Fred B^xhee 1 46 The Greenhouse, Month to Month W. R. FoTvkes 147 Essential Points in Bird Conservation Paul B. Riis 1 48 The Essentials c^f Gardening . . . .150 Grovk^ing a Year's Vegetable Supply John S. Doig 151 Page Dipladenias . . . George S. SteTvart 1 52 The Annual Spring Flower Shows — New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis . 153 Some Thoughts on Naturalistic Planting . 156 Work for May in the Garden John Johnson 157 How to Control Hollyhock Rust . . .158 The Fatherland 158 Hardy Asters (Michaelmas Daisies) . . 159 Hardy Perennials and Biennials Henry Wild 161 Tree Surgery Investigated . M. C. Ebel 1 63 City Planning and Beautification Henry Busch 167 American Association of Park Superintendents 1 69 National Association of Gardeners . . . 1 70 Local Society Notes 171-174 ^niiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN^ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu ^iiiiiiiii nil I I niiiiii fliiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiuiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH^^^^ iiiiiii luiiiniiiini iiiiiiiiiuii in iiiiiiii iiiiiiiuiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiniii nniinniiui^ I STAIGREEN LAWN SEED | I April is the best month during the Spring to make your lawn. "While the proper preparation of the | 1 ground, fertilizing, rolling and watering is considered very essential, the mixture of grasses is a very a I important one and should be given considerable thought. | I 25-Pound versus 14-Pound LAWN SEED | I Many low-price Grass Seed mixtures weigh only 14 pounds per bushel. This indicates either a good | I proportion of chaflf or some of the real good varieties in the rough state, not properly cleansed so as to | I leave only the vital part and less of the chafT or shell. | i In other words, so many less seeds to the quart or pound that will germinate and grow real grass. 1 I Why Not Buy the Re-cleaned Kind? | I A mixture of grasses weighing 25 pounds per bushel, of high germination and purity, permanent in 1 1 nature, the varieties carefully proportioned so that they will succeed one another in brightness of f I foliage, with the result that the lawn, even in its first year, will have a bright, rich green color from | 1 early spring until covered by snow. 1 POUND 40 cts. 5 POUNDS $1.75 25 POUNDS $8.00 100 POUNDS $30.00 One Pound Will Sow a Plot 20 x 20 feet. Sow 80 Pounds to the Acre 30-32 BARCLAY STREET NEW YORK Illlllillll li will nil Illlllillll mill mil iiiiiiiii iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmi iiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiii imiimmmmiiiiiii iiimimi What hand so bold to strike from its fold. One star or stripe of its brightening; To him be each star a fiery Mars, Each stripe a terrible lightning. Then hail the true— the Red, White and Blue, The flag of the Constellation : It sails as it sailed, by our forefathers hailed. O'er battles that made us a nation. Peace, peace to the world — is our motto unfurled Tho' we shun not a field that is gory ; At home or abroad, fearing none but our God, We will carve our own pathway to glory. Then hail the true— the Red, White and Blue, The flag of the Constellation : It sails as it sailed, by our forefathers hailed. O'er battles that made us a nation. — T. Buchanan Reid. iWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIUIIIillllllllllllUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlillllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllli e GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture I Vol. XXI iMniioHiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii APRIL, 1917 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll No. 4. i IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIll Things and Thoughts of the Garden By "The Onlooker" BEFORE me as I write there is a big, inspiring war cartoon and by the side of it an editorial telling us what our duties as citizens should be in the face of the struggle that our country ha? entered upon. These are momentous times. What changes are working in men's thoughts ! The editorial says we ought to go ahead with our individual duties until called upon by authority otherwise. Good advice. Our duty is to make the earth lovelier ; to tidy up neglected places, to adorn the desert, to plant sheltering belts of trees, to set out plants whose blossoms will refresh the weary-minded, which will cheer the young and aged, and which will make of our homes and the land in which we dwell brighter places, places that the warriors will reflect upon in their sad or lonely watches whatever they may be, and in reflecting, find consolation and inspiration. There will be some faint hearts who will leave the lawns unkempt, the borders unfurnished, the planting undone. There will be some who will tell us that ornamental gardening is contrary to the spirit of the moment. So then are all pleasures ; theatres, operas, musicales, dances, motor- ing, fishing, tennis, golf, baseball, boating. Possibly public parlts are nuisances, too. Possibly they should all be planted to potatoes and corn. Meanwhile, if I've to economize it can be on an odd cigar or two — when I think of it, that's about all I can give up unless I pinch on food and clothes. * * * The busiest season of the year ! How did you feel that warm Sunday, Palm Sunday, the first of April? With us in the southern end of New York State and in New Jersey the temperature climbed up to 79 de- grees Fahr. Think of it — summer heat out of the cold of Winter. But it wasn't the heat that troubled one so much as the thought that those new sash frames weri- encumbrances ; that the hotbeds were superfluous ; that your Spring sowings were all behind, and that hot, dry weather was upon us even before our orders for hardy plants had been filled. Yes, but it was only the very young and impetuous who believed that there would be no more cold snaps, no more need for hotbeds and cold fi"ames. * * * At the last of March, however, we got all our cold frames cleared, or nearly all. Some of the tea and finer hybrid tea roses were still under a goodish load of salted hay, and the standard roses were still, in a few instances, under the soil, but in the main they had been lifted, re- planted and were on their way to renewed growth. At that time we were getting in our IJ^-inch cast-iron water pipes over the garden for irrigation purposes so as to be independent of droughts and heat spells. What a blessing to be in this happy position. Every garden should have a water supply laid on. Our hose is attached to stand pipes which are 50 feet apart. The hose covers 25 ft. on each side of the standpipe; thus all the land can be watered. We would not like to attempt to do gardening without this water system. In another part of the ground we have the Skinner overhead irrigation ; in other words, we can turn on the rain when we want it, where we want it, and keep it on as long as we wish. It's a cinch. * * * Looking over the rockery on March 31 it was a genuine surprise to find several colonies of plants bloom- ing as in the height of their glory. It spoke volumes for the mildness of the season, and despite all that has been said to the contrary, I think the Winter has been kind to us. There was that ever-handsome plant, never-to-be- spoken-too-highly-of, Saxifraga cordata, the Saxifrage with the big, leathery, heart-shaped bronzy-green leaves. Its pink flowers are much prized coming so early. Then there were several of the early bulbs — Crocuses, Snow- drops, Squills, the pale blue Puschkinia libanotica, the hairy Pasque flower or Passion Anemone, coming about the Easter period, and there were also the yellow Adonis- amurensis and its double variety, as well as Andromeda (Pieris) floribunda. These were all without protection on a rockery facing west. A friend and neighbor who wisely has built, or rather fitted in, sashes against the southeast wall of his dwelling, forming a miniature greenhouse and converting it into a perfect sun trap, has had early Daffodils, Pansies, English Daisies, Hyacinths and other bulbous plants since the third week in March, and probably by the time this is printed his double Daf- fodils up in the wooded glade above his house will be all aglow. These are followed by the poet's Narcissus, and these again by a good selection of Darwin Tulips in beds and borders. ^ ^ ^ A gentleman who loves the old-fashioned roses and shrubs, especially those mentioned in early writings, who lives in northern New Jersey where the winters are pretty raw, asked if Southernwood, also known as Old Man, was hardy. Gladly I was able to say yes. So is the delightful Lavender Cotton and the Sweet Lavender it- self, always provided that a little covering over the plants and around their roots be given. This covering need not be heavy. Too many folks actually smother their plants by an over-plus of straw and mats. Another of the 139 140 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA shrubs of old-time is Rosemary, which also carries through, but this is better close to a wall in a dry position. Each of these shrubs must have a well-drained soil. * :;; ^ The successful gardener is usually spoken of as a "practical" man. Usually the implication is that he is a bone and muscle fellow — a sort of Jeffries-Sullivan- Fitzsimmons individual (I admit I am away behind on my pugiHstic favorites, begging young Mr. Willard's pardon). But it is much nearer the truth, very much nearer the truth, to say that they are dreamers. They have to possess the mind of a painter; albeit they may not be good executionists as artists with palette and brush. They must be dreamers, able to see a finished scheme as to its color and form before it exists. This qualification is not sufficiently appreciated by gardeners nor by those who employ them. It accounts for some awful composi- tions and some appalling garden scenes — scare-crow planting, shrubs that are "exclamation marks" on the lawn and an olTense to the eye of taste. Coupled with the lack of the imaginative faculty, if a planter and planner also only half understands his plants, particularly the conditions in which they grow in their natural habitat, he can make some woeful blunders and atrocious mix- tures. To see Senecio cliorum or Spiraea palmata frizzling in a border where only the rhizomatous Irises should be, is to give one the creeps, or, on the other hand, to see a row of big Agaves in pots plunged along the side of an ornamental pond, is enough to condemn our gardener friend to the ranks of the untutored and incompetent. Happily such instances of bad taste or want of technical knowledge are rare indeed, although I have seen both. The imaginative gardener, fortified by correct knowledge, is a master in his profession. All he then needs is a free hand and a fair stock of energy. Such a man will make a beautiful wild garden out of the odds and ends that an- other man would throw away. * * * One of the best artist-gardeners this writer has been privileged to know spent one winter scooping out what appeared at first to be merelv big irregular trenches in a piece of neglected woodland lying between two parts of the real flower garden. He had a vision. He also knew that the powers that held the money bags would have been frightened at what would have seemed to them an expensive undertaking had he gone to them with his project. By a little management of his stafT, by accumu- lating some necessary material in the shape of stumps and roots of trees, boulders, large flatfish stones, hardy ferns, Polygonums, Honeysuckles, Clematis and other necessary plants, he was ready early in the Summer to open up pathways leading across the wood lot to his "surprise garden" — a cool wilderness garden or retreat which eventually became a much frequented spot on hot, sunny days. The trenches were trenches no longer. TJiey were flag-stoned paths with irregular sides which were banked and here and there studded with the roots and stumps already mentioned in and around which were the colonies of ferns and over which the rambling Roses, Grape vines, Eulalias, Foxgloves, Primroses, Funkias. Violets, Hypericums, Day Lilies, Oenotheras, Mulleins, stately Lilies, Dame's Violet, Summer Snowflakes and other semi-shade lovers, revelled. By loops, and bays, and knolls and prominences ; with steps down here and an ascent there : by placing seats about in a shady recess or in the more open, sunny corners ; by winding the one circumambient path in and out with a skill that the good practitioner alone can exercise, he made a charming garden feature. When he took his employers there and introduced them to it they were as pleased as they were surprised, probably more so since it all looked like a fine free gift. In any case, as he remarked to me, "it was made and they couldn't very well veto it." One thinks how much better it is, however, when owner and gardener can do their planning and their gardening together in perfect trustfulness, and with mutual pleasure and satis- faction. :(: :;; ■.;■. Do not let us get too far into dreamland — no ; but before we quit speaking of the desirability of z'isions, may a plea be registered for such dream gardens as liacon described and which others, too, have fancied for themselves? — scented gardens of all the sweet smelling herbs, annuals and perennials ; or a garden of many kinds of hardy Liliums, or an Iris garden, a Primrose garden (this would go well by the water side), gardens with hedges of roses, borders of roses, arches of roses ; |)aved gardens with benches and wins set about, bird Ijaths, sundials, fountains and little plants creeping and growing among the stones. Yes, such are our dream gardens. I do not lay such stress on Japanese gardens, so-called, nor on grand bedding schemes of the re- splendent old-time sort. Japanese gardens may be fine in Japan, but neither in Europe or America have we much use for them. A series of these "special gardens" could be linked to each other by the rose hedges and grass paths — if one only had money enough to realize the dreams. But failing a series of gardens, one well-appointed gar- den area of roses and hardy flowers combined is greatly to be desired, and happily many splendid examples exist. At this season we are busy making, altering, finishing or planting the rockery. Too many have a very limited selection of plants and it is largely because of the won- derful variety of plants that can be had in the rock garden that they are so deservedly liked. The following is about as complete a list of plants for the rock garden as the average grower will desire, at least to start with. The list has been compiled from collections seen by me in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania gardens and nurseries. Some of the subject are but little known ; some may only be obtainable from British or I'rench nurseries : Andromeda floribunda Cotoueastei' lnu-izontalis .\iidrosacea carnea Campanula carpatica Arabis albida Campanula carpatica alba Arabis albida flore plena Campanula glomerata Anthyllis moiitana Chrysogonum virginicum Aster linaris Calystegia sepia Aethionema grandiflora Coronilla varia Antirrhinum asarinum Crucinella stylosa Aster alpinus Campanula rotundifolia Aster alpinus albus Campanula rotundifolia alba Asperula odorata Campanula sarmatica Acaena argenta Campanula alliariaefolia Aconitum Lyeocotonum pyre- Campanula punctata naieuni Corydalis lutea Arenaria balearica Cerastium Biebersteini Aubrietias (several) Cotoneaster buxifolia Aljyssum saxatile Draba cuspidata Abyssum saxatile fl. pi. Dianthus eaesius Abyssum saxatile Wierzbiski Dianthus phimarius Ajuga metallica crispa Dianthus barbatus AdeMO]>1iora Potanoni Dianthus deltoideus Armeria formosa Dianthus japonicus Arnieria cephalotis Diantlius neglcctus Arenaria caespitosa Diantlius Napoleon III. Anemone Pulsatilla Daphne Cneorum Al.vssuni nrsenlnm Draba Corsica Al.vss\ini prosti'atnm Draba aizoou Biscutella laevigata Draba verna Campanula muralis (syn. C. Draba frigida Portenschlagiana) Dryas octopetala Calluna vulgaris Dicentra formosa Calluna vidgaris allja Dicentra eximia Calluna stricta Doronica caucasicum (Continued on /'i/.cr 160.') Distinctive American Plants By Edwin H. Costich, New York A FEW years ago it was authoritatively stated that fully 90 per cent, of the trees and shrubs used in American landscape plantings were of exotic origin, and that only 10 per cent, were American. It needs only a glance at the catalogues of American nurserymen of that time and a brief survey of almost any landscape planting to bear out this statement. And only during the past few years have our native trees, shrubs and perennial plants begun to receive a fair portion of the attention they deserve. It is true that some planters have used native plants very ex- Cotirtesy of Hick's Nurseries. Stuartia Fciitagyna, (Mountain Stnrlia) Surynuiidcd with Kaliuia {Mountain Laurel.') tensively for a good many years, especially in designing large places, and that a few of our native trees and shrubs are old standbys in landscape work, but when it is con- sidered that there are probably over two thousand species and varieties of trees and shrubs alone, native to North America, and that of these not more than two or three hundred are in general use, it is easy to see that the widest use of our native flora has \et to be attained. It is not that the countless European, Asiatic, particu- larly Chinese and Japanese plants, are not worth while, for they most certainly are, but that the greater number of our native trees and shrubs are better suited, being naturally adapted to the varied conditions under which they are found growing native. It is far more satisfactory to plant our own Azalea (now Rhododendron) nudi- florum, A. viscosum, A. calendulaceum, A. arborescens, A. canescens, and Rhodora canadense, than to try to ac- climate a collection of Ghent varieties to the conditions in which our native plants are already thriving. And they are none the less beautiful and attractive, in fact they are more so because they are so much healthier in appearance. It is a sad trait of human nature that we should become calloused to things around us and then when they are brought to our minds to shun them. It is impossible to show a person the merits of Rhus copallina, the Shining Sumach, if it happens to grow wild outside his door or along his roadside, and yet Rhus copallina is invaluable for planting on dry situations and for covering banks and hillsides and the dark, glossy foliage is especially hand- some in fall coloring. Happily this idea is fast disappear- ing and it is pretty generally conceded that the most last- ing and naturalistic efifects are produced by the use of our native plants. Altogether, this is a very propitious season to advance the cause of American plants. The uncertainty of ship- ments from Europe and the added financial risk entailed, and the patriotic idea, much talked of just now, of using American made goods, are pretty good reasons for getting acquainted with our own native trees and shrubs, even though less important than the facts that American plants are already naturally adapted to our varied conditions of climate and soils and are not a whit less beautiful than any of the foreign introductions. What we need is an efficient and intensive use of our trees and shrubs. To illustrate, take the dififerent pines native of North-eastern North American from Virginia northward, there are seven species, three of which, Pinus pungens (Table Mountain Pine), Pinus virginiana (Jersey or Scrub Pine) and Pinus echinata (Yellow Pine) are seldom planted even within their known range of hardiness, and the picturesque Jack Pine (Pinus Banksiana), our northernmost pine, is too little used. As for our many western pines they are rarely ever seen e.xcept in arboretums and in a few private collections of conifers. It may not be amiss right here to mention a few worth while American trees and shrubs that should have a place in our gardens, but that at the present time are badly neglected. A complete list of such plants would be too cumbersome to print here and so we have noted Crataegus Geneseensis (.American Hawthorn.) 141 142 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA at random onl}- a few species, mainly native to eastern United States. All of these plants can be seen in Botanic Gardens, arboretums and park collections, but the best way to know them is to plant them in your own garden and watch them develop. The Papaw, Asimina triloba, is a very ornamental shrub or small tree, with large, handsome leaves and curious white or pinkish flowers in May. The Papaw belongs to the tropical Custard Apple family and pro- duces large, oblong, apple-like edible fruits. As yet the fruit of the Papaw is of little commercial importance, but by selection and breeding, it may soon become a valuable fruit. They grow naturally in rather heavy, moist soil, but can be grown successfully on a light, sandy loam soil, well drained, if mulched well with manure in spring and fall. Because they do not transplant readily, it is best to plant young stock or sow the seed where the plants are to stand. This is an exceedingly interesting plant both from a horticultural and botanical standpoint. It is native as far north as western New York and is hardy as far north as Massachusetts. Our native Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is a very distinctive tree with its bright, shiny foliage and its conspicuous yellow plum-like fruits. If only planted for its glossy leaves it would be well worth while, the edible fruits should make it doubly attractive. There are about forty horticultural varieties recognized, differing only in most cases in the size of the fruit. The Persimmon grows native from Connecticut to Florida, west to Kansas and Texas. It is not particular as to soil, thriving in almost any location. Gordonia alatauiaha is a tree with a history. From the Arnold Arboretum Bulletin of Popular Information for October 13, 1916, we quote this interesting story : "It was discovered by John Bartram, the famous Penn- sylvania traveler and botanist, in 1765 near Fort Barring- ton on the Altamaha River in Georgia. John Bartram's son, William, visited the locality in 1778 and collected seeds and roots of this tree and Dr. Moses Marshall, who visited the locality in 1790, was the last botanist who has seen it growing naturally. Many botanists have hunted for it in vain but without success and this tree has been preserved by the plants collected by William Bartram and his descendants." The Gordonia produces its large, creamy, white flowers in September and October, being one of the few trees blooming so late in the year. The flowers are delightfully fragrant. The Gordonia is per- fectly hardy at Philadelphia and in a sheltered position with some protection in winter it will stand as far north as ]\Iassachusetts. Stuartia pentagyna, sometimes called the Mountain Stuartia, is an ornamental flowering shrub quite closely related to the Loblolly Bay, Gordonia, and belonging to the same family. Few of our woody shrubs produce more attractive and such large flowers which resemble somewhat those of the Hibiscus, or Rose of Sharon. The Stuartia is chiefly important because it blooms in July and August at a time when most other flowering trees and shrubs are past. The bright colors of the fall leaves are unusually attractive. The Gordonia, although a southern plant, is hardy as far north as western New York. However, it gives better results when planted in a sheltered location. Neinusia alahamensis, the Snow Wreath, a very orna- mental shrub, is especially interesting because of its natural rarity. It is found in only two stations in Ala- bama, and is the only representative of its genus. The Snow Wreath, belonging to the Rose Family, is very attractive when in full bloom with its countless white, feathery flower clusters, literally covering the branches. It is hardy north ; at Highland Park, Rochester, N. Y., it has stood without protection and in an exposed posi- tion for many years, and even the most severe winters, when the temperature has been at 15 degrees below zero, have failed to injure the flower buds. The Oak-leaved Hydrangea ( Hydrangea quercifolia) is another of our too little known southern plants that is hardy as far north as western New York and Massa- chusetts. Its large, handsome. Oak-leaved shaped foliage is very striking, and its long panicles of pink to purplish flowers are quite showy in late June and July. Like all Hydrangeas this species makes a very ornamental specimen plant, but it is especially effective when planted at the edge of a shrubbery border, its broad, woolly leaves presenting a marked contrast to the usual narrow-leaved foliage of deciduous shrubs commonly used in borders. \'iburnum pubescens, the Downy Arrow-wood, is a low, straggling shrub in its native home. But in culti- vation it is one of the finest of all the viburnums, with- out equal in producing a rich color effect with its pro- fusion of lustrous jet black berries. Specimen plants usually assume a densely compact habit, forming some- what globular-shaped bushes. In border plantings it will form thickets, suckering from the roots. The flat-typed flower cymes are borne abundantly, and are very deco- rative. Taken all in all the Downy Arrowwood de- serves to be more widely used, especially in the North, where other plants might be tender. Two of our native Dogwoods, Cornus alternifolia and C. asperifolia, are very ornamental and attractive plants. Both are tall growing species, the Alternate-leaved Dog- wood sometimes attaining a height of twenty-five feet. Cornus alternifolia is particularly distinctive because of its unusual size, the unique arrangement of its branches in irregular whorls, the alternate instead of opposite leaves, as in the other Cornels, and the decorative beauty of the deep blue berries, all combine to make it worthy of a place in our gardens. Probably the most noticeable character in Cornus asperifolia are its brownish branches, its curious, rough-pubescent leaves and the waxy white fruit. When in full bloom Cornus asperifolia is remark- ably showy, and it is no less handsome when covered with a multitude of white berries in autumn. Both of these dogwoods should be a welcome addition to our list of tall shrubs or small trees. Few people have ever planted the Dwarf Alder, Fother- gilla, yet it is a showy flowering shrub. There are three or four species native of the southeastern United States, of which probably F. major is the best known. The Dwarf Alder is a member of the Witch Hazel family and has leaves somewhat resembling those of the Witch Hazel. The pretty spikes of flowers come into bloom just after the leaves appear in May, and it is safe to say that few plants present a more charming aspect just at this time. They require a rather moist, peaty soil, or sandy, and seem to be averse to lime. During the past twenty years no plants have received as much attention from the botanists as have the Haw- thorns (Crataegus). Up to the present time there have been about one thousand species described, nine hundred or so American. But this genus is worthy of all the study given it, and now the planting folks should give it a fair place in their planting plans. It is hard to con- ceive of any more beautiful picture than a meadow dotted with Hawthorns in full bloom. And in the Autumn, in fact, beginning in August and extending almost through the Winter months in some species, the showy scarlet fruits are exceedingly decorative. Few shrubs or trees have handsomer foliage ; in some species bright green, in some dark, lustrous green, and again yellow- ish and densely pubescent. The brilliant Fall coloring of the leaves is characteristic of nearly all the thorns. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 143 One of the foremost authorities on Hawthorns in the country has selected the following species as being fairly representative of their kind and worthy of being grown and planted extensively : Crataegus Arnoldiana, C. Barryana, C. colorato. C. compta, C. Dunbari, C. Durobrivensis, C. Ellwangeriana, C. ferenteria, C. foetida, C. Geneseensis, C. Laneyi, C. pedicillata and C. persimilis. However, the Hawthorns are widely distributed, and although few of the above species may be found in nurseries at this time it is a simple matter to collect small plants from the wild ; and those kinds growing in your vicinity are, no doubt, just as valuable ornamentally as any of those we have listed. In digging wild plants be careful to save all the roots. In transplanting cut back the branches severely and when the plants are set mulch heavily with well rotted manure. Hawthorns treated in this manner may make little growth during the first season, but they soon become established and grow vigorously. In all this use of native plants, the important thing is to see how nature plants and what she uses. A suc- cessful use of native material is a duplication of a natu- ral planting. "There is nothing new under the sun," and nature has solved every imaginable kind of planting problem. If you need a bank planting, a cover planting of deciduous or evergreen shrubs, a list of tall growing shrubs or small trees or medium sized shrubs for a shrubbery border, material for a seaside planting, vines, or if you contem])late an alpine garden, you can't do better than try to cop}- nature. A well planned rock garden, with its stone steps leading doivn to pool fed by a cascade tumbling down the side of the rock ivork. The Rock Garden in Springtime By J. S. Golding, New Jersey THINKING of rock gardens, one's thoughts dwell on the many beauties and wealth of coloring to be found among the so-called rock and Alpine plants with which, b}^ judicious arrangement in plant- ing, a beautiful picture can be presented during the early spring months, a most refreshing change from the usual displays of spring bedding. Many of our dwarf spring flowering plants are worthy of a place in any rockery and vice versa, many alpines grace a place of honor in the herbaceous bord- er. But when planted in a well-planned rock garden their beauty is greatly enchanced with the plants and flowers the pictures, and the rocks the frames, espe- cially so with the trailing plants when their growths are draped upon overhanging stones. At this early date when the gardener or enthusi- astic amateur is anticipating the glories of May and June, it is time to go over the plants and fill up any blank spaces caused by death or failure during the winter months. It is a wise plan to have a reserve of plants in cold frames (in pots preferred) for this operation, and much disappointment will be avoided if this is done, whether you have the highly specialized type of rock- ery ; where you see a miniature of the alps with the Matterhorn as the centerpiece ; with its Moraine for the more moisture loving plants, such as some of the varieties of campanulas, androcace, carnea, etc. ; its cave for filmy ferns, and waterfalls and steps leading to the bog and watergarden below ; or the more humble type built on a sloping bank or a rough stone retaining wall. The ideal rock garden should resemble the sides of a stone quarry with rugged stone paths to walk around 144 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA and some rocks placed boldly out, others receding with nooks and crannies where the sun and shade loving plants can find a homelike environment. But wher- ever they are planted the only real road to success is in the question of soil and drainage. I consider two feet or more of good soil by no means excessive, for although most alpines are of lowly growth, their roots ramify deeply into the crevices and fissures of the rocks, enabling them to withstand the rays of the sun in the most exposed places ; the soil should be solid but well drained. I think more failures could be traced to the disregard of this most important thing than to any other cause I know of. I would be bold indeed to attempt to add to the vol- ume of information already published on this subject. I consider a little practical experience on the subject, combined with sound, common sense, with observa- tions on the habits of the plants, will take us further on the road to success than lots of theory, good though that is in its place. As to planting, copy nature as much as possible : avoid covering all 3'our rocks or stones. I consider that as great a mistake as to have all rocks without draping. Choose the happy medium ; much is left to the judgment and taste of the individual planter. The list of spring flowers is long and varied, and we also have many of the Dutch bulbs to choose from. Bold masses of one plant or color are preferable tii Bcrlcfisch box is exceptionally zcell adapted for nest photography. The chieadees nest shows a natural eonfonniiy to an ancient custom. These six little chieadees permitted of a degree of familiarity attained by an absence of fear, possible only ivhere vio- lence is unnecessary to gain an entrance into their sanctuarv. The shelling box and its popularity is attested by its occupant, a robin. Note the ivhite straws in the nest, lemonade straivs, picked up around the park, show- ing the trend in bird architecture. which found those homematle Ijoxes admirably adapted for their use. Among these are noted the martins, tree swallows, chickadees, wrens and bluebirds. Wood- peckers, on the other hand, build no nests, a small hand- ful of sawdust composing the nesting material ; conse- quently these flat bottomed afifairs were unsuitable. The birds were unable to hold together and hatch success- fully the rolling eggs. growth and tangle and trees, and their existence de- pended on the presence of shrub and tree growth. And these deficiencies in a measure could be supplied by sheltering screens and piled up brushwood, piled up in suitable out of the way places, little frequented and little disturbed. Just think of a region having become silent for the want of a brushpile. and then think of the same region enriched by the incomparable song of the brown Four ycar.^ pruning zi'ill produce crotches for many birds, that will prove to he absolutely safe sites for their nests. The sa)ne crotch a fczv months later, illustrating the desirability of the site. Note the sitting robin below the cross. The elements of nine months have scarcely changed its original form, so securely has it been anchored. There were other birds afifected by the spread of civilization, which foinid sufficient food in the changed aspect of the country, but they found no suitable sites where thev could build their nests. The vanishing of thrasher, simply because of the presence of a brush pile. ^^'"hiIe the bird population is vanishing, with the dis- appearing" woodlands, it makes necessary provisions to offer them a substitute. Here in the city of Rockford we 150 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA listened to the flute-like notes of the woodthrush but six blocks removed from the busiest corner of the city. A year later another woodthrush cast her lot with the dwellers of the "Forest City" and last year no less than eight pair of thrushes delighted in various parts of the city, the initial bird still holding forth at his old site. The "Forest City" has been gladdened with the music of the forests. Realizing that the bird box of commerce is but partly successful, Baron Hans von Berlepsch of Seebach, Ger- many, attacked the proposition from the standpoint of the bird. He cut down many woodpecker holes and split them open vertically only to learn that the cavity in every instance was approximately a gourd shaped one, rounded at the bottom, and tapering toward the en- trance. He immediately began constructing" all of his bird boxes from logs and along the same lines that the birds themselves had followed for ages. These boxes served not only the woodpecker, which used but a little sawdust on which to lay their eggs, they also served the birds which build a nest of soft materials, and thus the boxes became 100 per cent, efficient. The Govern- ment Bulletin No. 609, "Bird Houses and How to Build Them," illustrates the principle to a nicety, but the gov- ernment log is split in two so that it may be gouged out by hand. These boxes are practical and in case of nest photography are more desirable than the original, but the labor involved against the cost of a machine made box makes them prohibitive. \'on Berlepsch also thought of the many birds which always will nest without and thus began to plant shelter woods with evergreen and thorns and wild fruits. The thorns he pruned systematically until they assumed the desired density and growth. He provided heaps of brushwood for the birds of the wood lands and pruned forks of trees and tied bushes into crotches, which were safe and desirable sites for tree and shrub building birds. Other methods which provided for the welfare of marsh and aquatic birds also were carried on in strictly the same natural way that the bird would have selected, had it been able to control the situation. In consequence Seebach became a paradise for birds, hundreds of birds nesting in less than IV2 acres. Seebach also became a j\Iecca for bird lovers in search of truth. Here they found a true conservationist going to nature for advice and inspiration. Thus the message and gospel of his unswerving devotion to nature's own principle has been carried to the corners of the civilized world and ac- cepted everywhere as standard. While it is impossible for every individual to carry out the Von Berlepsch ideas in detail, it is always pos- sible to carry them out in principle. Sinnissippi Park here in Rockford covers 124 acres. Of these, 60 acres are in fine timber, but the early management of the park fell into unsympathetic hands, in consequence of which it was robbed of much of its natural beauty by denuding it of its undergrowth. It no longer knew the song of the brown thrasher, the mocking bird of the north. How eagerly the few initial brush heaps, composed of fallen twigs and limbs and disposed in out of the way places, found ready takers. Again the carols of ecstacy range forth from liquid throats, the park became filled with music, the brown thrasher had accepted the sub- stitute. There also was an absence of bird life in Fair- grounds Park (24 acres), but with the help of a feed house, border planting of berried shrubs, pruned crotches and bird boxes it has become a desirable park for early morning bird walks. Black Hawk Park, 80 acres, presenting the typical Illinois woodland scenery, is adding annually to its abundant bird population. Rose breasted grosbeak, robin, American goldfinch and cat- bird in one instance all nested in a radius of 15 feet. In addition to many resident and winter resident birds, juncos and tree sparrows also remained here in large numbers all winter, ever increasing, due to systematic winter feeding. Both of these species were met with but sparingly anywhere else in this region. Consistent winter feeding, hanging out of nesting boxes, new plantations of wild fruits and shelter belts, annual pruning of crotches, check of natural enemies, restoration of natural conditions and an untiring love for the work are bound to bring success. A few years of effort count but little in the beginning and more often they prove a failure, but since nothing succeeds like suc- cess, keep on until you reach the successful stage. The \'on Berlepsch principles of attracting and pro- tecting birds are amply illustrated and discussed in a book by Thisenian, which at a small cost may be ob- tained from the National Audubon Society, 1974 Broad- way, New York City. THE ESSENTIALS OF GARDENING. TpHOSE who desire to produce early crops should bear in mind that a warm, sandy loam will produce an earlier crop than a heavier soil that retains more water and less heat. Frost is less apt to injure vegetables planted on high ground than those planted in low places or valleys into which the heavier cold air commonly settles. The garden should be fairly level, but well drained. The crop will mature more rapidly on land that has a sunny, southern exposure than in other plots. The essentials for successful gardening on a small or large scale are soil, water, and cultivation. Much de- pends also on the grower, the season, and the crops selected. The soil is the storehouse of plant food. The garden, therefore, should contain humus or rotted material in large quantities. The gardener should remember that about 50 per cent, of ordinary earth is not soil at all, but consists of air and water. \\'atcr makes plant food that is present freely soluble. Rain and snow water are soft and contain ammonia. The magic of soft water on the plant world is one of the miracles of good gardening, as every one who has con- trasted the effect of rain with that produced by sprinkling with a hose realizes. Plants are succulent and contain large amounts of water which they have to draw from the soil. The conservation of soil moisture is the most inijiortant reason for cultivating crops. The two other principal things accomplished by cultivation are the killing of weeds which draw moisture and plant food from the crops, and the aeration of the soil. Too much stress can not be laid on the preparation of a good seed bed. A seed bed of fine tilth — made so by deep plowing, careful harrowing, and fining of the soil — is the foundation of good gardening. It is essential for the projier germination and growth of young plants. The soil must be friable and free from clods. A clod can hold no plant food in solution, the only form in which it is available for the plant. Good soil and fine tilth insure an excellent root system to plants. Upon the fine, hairy, fibrous, feeding roots, which are possible only in well-tilled soil, the plant depends for its stockiness and growth. The careful gardener will regard his whole garden as a seed bed and will cultivate and fertilize it accordingly. Fertilizers, the plant food for the garden, should be carefullv selected. Growing a Year's Vegetable Supply By John S. Doig, Massachusetts TO obtain a supply of vegetables, the year round, without the aid of a greenhouse, is a big propo- sition to carry out successfully, but it can be accomplished if one has the use of a good root-cellar and a good deep frame, the latter to be used as a hot- bed during the early part of the year, and as a place for storing vegetable plants in the fall, for winter use. A good supply of mats and shutters is required for protection during the early part of the year, and also for the fall and winter months. The frame should be at least three feet deep and thoroughly drained. There are a great many different kinds of frames advertise'd, but what I consider the best for the purpose of a hotbed and storage, is a deep pit of the depth above mentioned of cement or brick walls with frame work set on top. It should be built in a sheltered position with a southern exposure so as to get the full benefit of the sun. The best hotbed sash that can be had should only be used as it is necessary to have good material to work with to obtain the best results in raising young vegetable plants, and to bring early vegetables to maturity earlier than would be the case if using poor material, always in need of repair, and that contracts and expands according to the climatic conditions. A good supply of loam, leaf mold, old and well decayed manure, and sand should always be on hand, and should be stored away in a place in the fall where it can be reached when required in the early spring for use in the hotbed. The vegetable garden is best situated in a sheltered position, with a southern exposure, well drained and free of rocks, and should have a good irrigation system throughout its whole area. If the soil is heavy it is bet- ter to be well trenched and manured in the fall and given a good topdressing of lime in the spring before forking it over with the digging fork. Light soils, I consider, give the best results if just ploughed over in the fall, and well manured and spaded over in the spring. Vegetable seeds should be bought of a reliable seed firm, of which there are many in the United States. The amount of vegetables to be grown will depend on the size of the family to be supplied the year round. The seed list is the first consideration and should be made out as early as possible, so that the seeds will be on hand when the time arrives for sowing. As to the varieties of the different vegetables, most gardeners, professionals and amateurs as well, have their own fancies. The time for preparing the hotbed varies according to the different latitudes, and as a basis I would suggest from the beginning of February until the middle of March, according to latitude. In making up the hotbed good strawy stable manure is the best, mixed with leaves if they can be obtained, as they help to modify the tem- perature and help to retain the heat longer than if the manure is used alone. When filling the frame with it tramp it well and see that there is sufficient moisture to create fermentation, otherwise, if too dry, it will not heat properly. A layer of half rotted leaves should be spread over the surface and then the compost put in to a depth of three or four inches. The first seed to be sown is lettuce, followed by radishes, and carrots, which can be grown to maturity in the hotbed. A second sowing of lettuce is necessary so that nice plants can be had for transplanting outdoors when the ground is in working condition and the weather is favorable. After that the following vegetable seeds should be sown, viz. : Toma- toes, peppers, egg plant, and, if desired, sweet corn. Cu- cumbers and summer squash can be sown in pots, two or three seeds to each pot, and plunged in the hotbed, later to be transplanted in the open ground, which will come in bearing from one to two weeks earlier than those sown outdoors. The next in order of sowing is early cauliflower, early cabbage, leek, celery and onions ; the latter to be sup- plied to the consumers from the frame. Tomatoes, pep- pers, egg plant, celery and also the second sowing of lettuce should be transplanted in the hotbed and grown (m, and thoroughly hardened off, then transplanted out- iloors as soon as their respective season comes round for transplanting which varies according to latitude. If the ground has been prepared as before mentioned all that will be required before transplanting or seed sowing is raking and leveling it. The ground should be measured off and stakes put in to mark where rows are to be, either for seeds or plants. I firmly believe in the rotation of crops as a necessity to success in growing vegetables and no same crop should be grown on the same land year after year. The distance apart for planting is also an important factor in growing good vegetables, and I submit a list of measurements here that I consider the best. Lettuce should be planted eighteen inches between rows and twelve inches from plant to plant ; cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, two and a half feet between rows and two feet from plant to plant ; egg plants and peppers three feet each way ; tomatoes four feet each way ; leeks two feet between rows and nine inches from plant to plant ; celery three feet between rows and nine inches from plant to plant. The same importance should be attached to seed grow- ing outdoors. Peas vary according to height of variety, from two and a half feet to five feet between rows ; onions eighteen inches between rows, and when the plants are large enough for thinning, two to three inches from ])lant to plant ; the same for parsley ; parsnips two feet between rows and one foot from plant to plant ; dwarf beans, two feet between rows and when sowing the seed, the seed can be dropped in the row from three to four inches apart; pole lima beans, four feet between hills each way and four plants left to a hill when thinning; potatoes two and a half feet between rows and eighteen inches between tubers ; sweet corn three feet between hills each way ; cucumbers, squash, etc., twelve inches between hills each way. Throughout the Summer months the hoe should be used freely to keep down weeds and to keep the surface of the soil loose. Staking and tieing and also thinning out and watering should be thoroughly attended to. A sharp lookout should be kept for insects that infest all vegetable plants and the destroying of same should be regularly attended to. There are so many dift'erent kinds of insecticides on the market that there is no ex- cuse for vegetable plants to be eaten up and ruined by bugs if the grower has the time, and help, to attend to the crops as he should have. A succession of sowings is necessary to keep up the supply of fresh vegetables throughout the season ; also for a winter supply. Lettuce should be sown every ten days until the end of August : peas from April until July every two weeks ; dwarf beans from May until the end of ^\ugust every two weeks ; beetroot from May until the middle of July every two weeks ; early cabbage and cauliflower second sowing in April, and in May for late and winter varieties. 151 152 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA The hotbed, after all the plants have been moved out- doors, is a very useful place for raising radishes, cress and pepper grass throughout the stimmer, and in Sep- tember it can be partly filled with lettuce so as to keep up a supply until the middle of December. September is a good month to begin harvesting the crops. Squash and pumpkins are the first two crops that should be lifted and stored. Next come onions, beets, carrots, cauliflower, endive and celery, also po- tatoes and rutabagas. Endive, cauliflower and leeks are best transplanted in the frame, a part of which has been emptied of the manure admitting air on all favor- able weather conditions. Celery should be transplanted in the root-cellar with boards separating each row of plants, watering carefully and only when the plants re- quire it. Onions, after they have been well ripened, should be tied up in bunches and suspended from the roof of the root-cellar ; cabbage should also be sus- pended singly from the roof, head down. Potatoes, squash and pumpkins keep well when spread out on shelves in the root-cellar covering the potatoes with a layer of marsh hay or other similar material. Beets, carrots, salsify, rutabagas and parsnips should be buried in sand in the root-cellar, as sand keeps the roots in a fresh plump condition and prevents shriveling. During the winter months look over the vegetables at least once every two weeks and remove any that show signs of decaying, but if the cellar is well ven- tilated and the frost kept out there should be very little loss through decay. *As interest in vegetable growing has become universal, tiiis timely article which deals so lucidly with the subject, is reprinted from a former edition of the Gardeners' Chronicle. — Editor. Dipladenias By George F. Stewart, Massachusetts OF late years there has been a tendency among gardeners to eliminate many of the beautiful tropical flowering plants that used to be a test of cultural ability. In their place greenhouses are largely devoted to the forcing of hardy annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Of course the tendency of the age is quick re- sults, and the above mentioned subjects are a great temp- tation to the modern gardener. One rarely meets a young gardener today who is familiar with many of the A fine spcciiiu'ii plant uf Dipladenias grown Geo. F. Stewart. bx oldtime favorites. Among the plants that should have a place in all collections of flowering plants are the genus Dipladenia. I question if there is a more beautiful class •of plants in cultivation, or any that can be used with more ■efifect in grouping of plants, and other decorations. For ■instance, where pot plants are used for a mantel decora- tion sma:ll plants of Dipladenia can be used with telling effect, and for specimen plants trained on a trellis the illustrations speak for themselves. Dipladenias are not at all difficult to grow, failure can very often be attributed to a high temperature, and too heavy a shade. In winter fifty degrees during the night and seventy by day is high enough, and in summer all the air that can be given night and day, with a very light shade when the sun is hottest. Where we grow them, we use no shade what- ever, the house being old style 12 by 14 glass with rather heavy woodwork running north and south. Cuttings may be rooted any time during the year, in a temperature around seventy-five degrees. We generally root them in February, as at that time the plants get a general over- hauling, such as repotting, if they require it, trimming back all the weak wood, and tying them into shape. Take the strongest wood of the prunings, with two leaves at- tached, and about an inch of a stem under the leaves. Pot them singly in two inch pots in equal parts of the siftings of orchid peat, charcoal, and silver sand plunge in bottom heat, of the above mentioned temperature, keep slightly shaded from the sun, and water freely. In a month they will be rooted well, and may be shifted into a larger pot, and get them accustomed to the lower temperature men- tioned above. We use the following compost for all future pottings. Equal parts of fibre of loam, Osmunda fern root, sphagnum moss lumpy charcoal, and about a fifth of sand. The whole compost, being used in as rough a state, as can be convenientl}- worked around the plants in potting. I find that Dipladenias do not like to be disturbed at the roots often. After they have attained say the size of an eight-inch pot, we frequently have left them three years in the same receptacle, the illustrations are an ex- ample ; they are eighteen years old from a cutting. When well established we water with manure water, and give occasional applications of the various commercial fer- tilizers, taking care to give three waterings of clean water between applications. Insect pests are got rid of in the usual manner. We find Hydrocyanic gas the most effective. Large plants of Dipladenias seed quite freely, and to raise plants from seed is quite interesting. We have raised a great many from the variety Splendens profusa, and never found two alike. Some will flower at the third new leaf, and some will not flower until they have made fourteen pairs of leaves. Some have leathery smooth evergreen leaves, and others are of a rough furry nature and are deciduous. The colors range from pure white to a deep crimson. Some of the flowers are all one color, others have a yellow throat, but among all the seedlings I have raised, I have never found one with all the good qualities of Splendens profusa. The Annual Spring Flower Shows NEW YORK'S Fifth Annual Spring Flower Show, more popularly known as the International Flower Show, has recorded another great suc- cess in the annals of New York's flower shows. Though possibly lacking somewhat in quantity of ex- hibits, as compared to the shows of previous years, quality, however, surpassed all previous attempts. There was some objections voiced on the sameness of arrangements, but it is an easy matter for "we critics" to stand in the balcony after the opening of the show, pick flaws and point out what might have been done. Those who have had the experience of serving on committees of flower shows of the magnitude of New York's spring shows realize what a stupendous task it is to attempt to annually plan for new features. And, in a building such as the Grand Central Palace the massive pillars are a serious obstacle to the radical re- arrangement of exhibits each year, thotigh we have no doubt that the able management with its increas- ing experience will in time even surmount that diffi- culty. The private growers were a greater factor than ever before in this year's show and this is most encouraging, for the success of future shows will rest in a large measure more and more on the extent that private growers will participate in them. The two splendid exhibits of the park departments, the magnificent groups of foliage and flowering plants of New York City and the interesting collec- tion of cacti of Brooklyn added much to the attractive- ness of the show. The rose gardens of A. N. Pierson Inc., and F. R. Pierson, the Dutch garden of John Scheepers & Company, Inc. ; the rock gardens of A. N. Pierson, Inc.. ISobbink & Atkins and Julius Roehrs Company, were all predominating attractions which interested the public eye. As for the spring flower- ing and bulbous groups of the private growers too much praise cannot be bestowed on them. Space will not permit a detailed account of all the prize winners, but among the most prominent in tlie various classes were : Plants in Flower: P. W. Popp, gardener to Mrs. H. S. Darling- ton, who won first honors for a group of flowering plants and bulbs covering three hundred square feet, with J. W. Smith, gardener to F. V. Lewis, second honors; James Stuart, gardener to Mrs. F. A. Constable: William W. Vert, gardener to Howard Could; R. M. Johnson, gardener to W. B. Thompson; John Can- ning, gardener to Adolph Lewisohn; A. M. Golding, gardener to D. G. Reid; Robert Tyson, gardeiier to Jlrs. H. McK. Twombly: Robert Jones, gardener to Percy Chubb: Cliarles Riithbiin, gar- dener to Mrs. E. 0. Meyers, Jr. Roses in Pots and Tubs: R. M. Johnson, J. W. Smitli. Robert Jones. Bulbous Plants: George Ferguson, gardener to Jlrs. Payne Whitney; James A. MacDonald, Joseph Tansey, Thonuis Wilson, gardener to Mrs. J. Murray Mitchell; E. Fardel, gardener to Mrs. A. M. Booth; P. W. Popp. Orchids ; E. Edwards, gardener to Arthur N. Cooley : J. P. Moseman, gardener to Clement Moore; P. E. Venzie, gardener to Col. H. H. Rogers; R. M. Johnson, James Stuart, A. M. Golding, Thomas Page, gardener to William H. Walker. Palms and Foliage Plants: .James Stuart, A. M. Golding, Wil- liam Wliitton, gardener to Mrs. J. H. Flaglier; R. M. Johnson, R. Heidkamp, gardener to Mrs. H. W. Boettger; J. W. Smith. Cut Roses: A. A. Macdonald, Duke's Farm; George Ferguson, R. M. Johnson, William Whitton, A. J. Loveless, gardener to Wil- liam E. S. Griswold; .James Stuart and John Canning. Carnations: A. M. Golding, D. F. Roy, gardener to H. K. Con- verse; William Reid, gardener to S. and A. Colgate; Robert Jones and William Vert. Sweet Peas: William Whitton, David Francis, gardener to Mrs. Charles P.radley; William W. Vert, J. W. Smith, Robert Grun- nert, gardener to W. W. Reiss. pOSTON'S Spring Flower Show was the most suc- cessful one ever held by the Massachusetts Hor- ticultural Society, with paid admissions of nearly twenty thousand in addition to numerous members' tickets and thousands of school children and students admitted free. It was certainly demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that publicity pays. Boston's and New England's champion advertising man was en- gaged and he certainly drew the crowds to the flower show. Passing two thousand free tickets on the open- ing day to representative people, the exhibition, which was a splendid one in all departinents was further boomed and Boston gained a publicit}' lesson which it will not readily forget. A period of five days is a fairly long one for plants and flowers to stand up in Al condition, but at this show nearly all exhibits were as fresh at the close as the opening, thanks to well ventilated halls and a minimum of artificial heat. It could not be said by visitors on even the closing day that exhibits were "all in" to quote a common phrase, but five days is as long a period as a show can be continued and kept fresh without plants and cut floweis being changed, and in a condition which would satisfy visitors. To Mr. James Wheeler, as show manager, much o^ the success of the exhibition is due, his arrangements of the exhibits being excellent and his idea of having a corp of competent gardeners act as an "information Bureau" kept the latter body busily occupied. R. & J. Farquhar Company's Flemish garden, with its bulb borders, verdant leaves, masses of flowering shrubs and other features was a very pleasant feature. F. J. Dolansky's group of orchids made a notable dis- play and Julius Roehrs Company also had a very fine collection. Thomas Roland staged a wonderful col- lection of Acacias and Ericas in perfect condition The groups of flowering and foliage plants by .A. N. Davenport and W. W. Edgar Company were remark- ably good. Prize winners among the private growers were : Donald MeKenzie, gardener to E. B. Dane, who received first prize for the finest orchid group; William C. Rust, gardener to Mrs. C. G. Weld, secured second, with Henry Stewart, gardener to Miss C. Warren, and J. T. Butterworth also successful com- petitors in the orchid classes. In Flowering Plants: E. H. Wetterlow, gardener to Mrs. Lester Leland; William C. Rust, John S. Doig, gardener to J. M. Sears; W. H. Jolly, gardener to G. A. Clark; M. Sullivan, gardener to William Whitman; A. E. Parsons, gardener to H. S. Greer; Peter Arnott, gardener to E. S. Webster; W. N. Craig, gardener to E. D. Brandogee, and Henry Stewart all made interesting e.xhibitB. Honors went to Duncan Finlayson, gardener to Larz Anderson, for palms; W. N, Craig, for lilacs and forced shrubs; W. C. Rust and Henry Stewart, for hard wooded plants. In carnation classes A. E. Davies, gardener to W. H. Welling- ton; W. C. Rust, and George Page, gardener to Mrs. Frederick Ayre, showed some fine flowers. ANY one who would have suggested a few years ago ■^ that a rose show of the scope of the American Rose Festival held in Philadelphia, under the auspices of the American Rose Society were possible, would have been regarded as an extreme imaginist, but those who beheld the sight of roses, roses, everywhere, and nothing but roses, will not soon forget it. To William Kleinheinz, gardener to Joseph Widener, belongs the credit for the splendid show management, its artistic arrangement and general preparedness. The contest for honors was principally among com- mercial growers as private growers were much in the 153 154 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA A view of the International Flower Shmv, New York, showing the Rustic Rose Garden of A. N^ Picrson, Inc. minority. The rose garden staged by the American Rose Society was tlie most imposing feature of the show. Henry A. Dreer's rose garden with a conserva- tory attached filled with roses, one hundred and sev- enty odd varieties being exhibited, was the delight of the rose enthusiasts. The Michell exhibit, which consisted of planted rose beds with grass borders was also a pleasing sight. A. N. Pierson, Inc., carried of? the honors among the commercial growers for cut flower classes. J. H. Dodds, gard4ner_to John Wana- maker, was foremost in the display's of pots and plants among the private growers with William Robertson gardener to J. W. Pepper, winning;honors with an ex- hibit of hybrid Tea roses. npHE St. Louis 1917 Spring Flower Show proved a decided success, both financially :and artistically. Society entered into the spirit of the show and the A view of the Spring Flower Show, Boston, shozcing the Flemish Garden of R. &• J. Farquhar Co. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 155 A view of the Aineriean Rose Festival, Philadelphia, shoiving the Rose Garden of the .Imeriean Rose Society. Russian Tea Room was a great drawing crowd. The show was a forerunner of what may be anticipated at the Fifth Annual Flower Show, to be held in St. Louis next year. Several exhibits made by the Missouri Botanical Gardens added much to the general attractive appear- ance of the show. The orchid display being regarded as the finest exhibit made. The St. Louis Park De- jiartment had some excellent beds of flowering and foliage plants and grasses in variety surrounding a large electric fountain. As for the general competi- tive exhibits they were for the most part staged by the commercial growers. At the national show a 3'ear hence a much great- er interest should be aroused among the private erowers. A view of the Spring Flower Shozs.', St. Louis, showing the Electric Fountain in centre. 156 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE.. NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON. N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Stibtcriptioa Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class nxatter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertisini forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All edi- taritl matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol. XXI. April, 1917 No. 4 SOME THOUGHTS ON NATURALISTIC PLANTING. 'TpHE first thought in landscape building is analysis, an •*• interpretation of the "atmosphere" of a place. It is the analysis of those things that are characteristic or un- usual— the topography, the spirit and nature of the views, the rock exposures, and the other elements that enter into a landscape, writes Theodore F. Borst in Tree Life, a new publication of the American Forestry Company. And the ne.xt necessity is a clear conception of the wants and tastes of your customer. What uses will he put his property to? What are his especial demands? Proper appreciation of ivhat is is the first step. When you go on to a property look to see what its owner found in it, why he was attracted to it. Don't start at the first glimpse to do something; start to see something. Then in the planting or in the development of that landscape follow the spirit, the atmosphere of the region. Emphasize the motif of the place, extend and work in harmony with it. Do not cover up every knoll and think that it is a place where nature intended to have trees. Your planting should be set in such a way as to emphasize the topography. Do not cover up your valleys but plant so as to show their beauty. Hillsides may be planted so as to bring out characteristic features, or simply to be covered up ; it is generally better to do the former. In placing evergreens and hardwoods follow the sug- gestions of the land itself. Generally speaking, the ever- greens will thrive on shallower and poorer soils than the hardwoods. They can also go in more e.xposed and dryer places. Keep them as backgrounds so as not to fore- shorten the views. Use them to cover what you want to cover or as a background to emphasize what you want to emphasize, such as the boldness of a rock exposure of the elevation of a knoll. They may be used in groups and scattering, to divide up a large, open, monotonous hardwood area, and to represent natural evergreen under- growth. This will give variety, distance and detaih Underplant the edges of the woods to prevent the wind from sweeping over the forest floor and drying up the soil moisture, which keeps the trees from growing rapidly and healthily. Such border planting prevents the snow from drifting and makes the woods pleasant and mild in winter and cool in summer. And as it makes the ground in the forest warmer in winter, it permits a greater num- ber of wild flowers to reproduce and grow there. And many more varieties of birds will come to woods so underplanted. Plant as nearly as possible like Nature. Do not plant trees in rows or have them equidistantly spaced. Set them broadcast, some far apart, some near together ; sometimes a group of White Pine such as the gregarious groups we have in Nature ; at other times a mixed group of evergreens and hardwoods. Avoid clustering the trees in ones and twos and tens and twenties over the landscape. It makes blotches. The lines are hard and artificial ; they hurt the eye. This holds true also in the planting of hardwood trees and shrubbery. Many people's idea of landscape planting looks like spotted fever and reminds one of blotches on the face of a fair woman. The very finest home grounds we see are those that were cut out of woodlands, where natural conditions have been the motif of supplementary planting and other development. The further away we get from purely studied plans, from architectural, geometrical and arti- ficial lines, the more beautiful the home surroundings are, the more satisfactory and restful. A simple and generous development satisfies the longest. It is ginger-bread that bores and pesters us in landscaping as it does in architec- ture. It is like the clutter of bric-a-brac in a house. In all building of landscape pictures, right choice of material is the basis of permanent beauty. We have to have an intimate knowledge of trees — their native habitat, their sensitiveness to frost, their requirements of soil and sunshine, and many other factors of their growth. The landscape forester must know his materials exactly — the fungus diseases that are subject to, the insects that attack them. He must aim to have the picture perfect and permanent, self-maintaining wherever possible. I cannot too often remind you that the forest engineer must possess the genuine scientific spirit, careful, exact, humble : he must know how to listen, how to look, how to love Nature. The best choice is always the native, the indigenous material, from which then we select what is best to carry out our plans. It is wise to enrich our existent native flora. We can work with Nature, increase her diversity, and still remain obedient and harmonious with her. Of all the trees indigenous and suited to the environ- ment of eastern and middle United States, the choicest for the largest number of purposes is the White Pine. I am, as you know, an ardent advocate of White Pine, as indeed every true student of dendrology in this country must be. There is no question about its supremacy here. It reigns "easily first" in the tree world, for its great combination of the qualities of use and beauty. All our authors of treatises and books on trees speak of each tree with interest and appreciation ; but when they come to the chapters on White Pine, one and all pour out their super- latives. It is our "king of trees," our "perfect ever- green," our one "supremely beautiful and valuable American tree." In the commercial field it is to the others as the grains are to all other foodstuffs — the basis. itnMHiiwMnNMwtmtMtnHm h hi n 1 1 nm n in II MUWIUU H u Work for May in the Garden By John Johnson, Massachusetts iniiiiiiiiiiiiliiliEiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiniinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ VEGETABLE GAKDEN. DURING this month more than at any other season the cuUivator finds himself encumbered with work in urgent need of attention. Growth is rampant in every department. Due regard then must be given all young stock in either hot-bed or cold frames to avoid injury or loss from starvation and overcrowding. Cauliflower and celery are two of the most hungry and thirsty plants in the garden. Keep them on the move by generous treatment. If allowed to hang about in a half-neglected fashion, the cauliflower plants will produce "buttons" instead of good solid heads. The earliest celery will likewise give trouble in "bolting" prematurely. It is good practice to plant young stock of these subjects, if only for a week or so, on a spent hot-bed, or in frames prepared by a heavy dressing of well-decayed manure. The young plants root into this medium very readily. They move with a goodly portion of it attached to the roots, and will withstand check at the final transplanting. Remove suckers from celery at the time of planting, water thoroughly, and finish by dusting the plantation with soot. A few plants of the earliest sown Brussels sprouts may be planted in showery weather. Rich ground and an open position are the requirements of this crop. Given these, the plants will produce good, solid buttons at a time when many of the more tender vegetables are past. Keep up a succession of peas, spinach, string beans, beets, carrots and lettuce by sowing at frequent inter- vals. Peas should be sown up to the end of the month, but after this time they cease to be a paying crop. These, as well as string beans, are often sown far too thickly even in gardens otherwise well conducted. Nothing is gained by overcrowding ; and it must be said that the now almost prohibitive price of bean seed is a point favoring better cultural treatment. Give peas the necessary support as soon as the seedlings are above ground. Some growers stick rows at the time of sowing, a method very commendable. Where spinach is in constant demand, it will be necessary this month to make a sowing of the New Zealand type to carry through the heat of _ summer. For similar reasons sow Cos Lettuce. It is a hard matter to produce good "head" lettuce from sowings made during the two months which ensue. Chicory is an excellent substitute for lettuce during winter. Sown now on a bed prepared as for carrots or parsnips, in drills a foot apart : later thinning the plants to nine or ten inches in the row, good clean roots will be ready for lifting in the fall, preparatory to forcing. Although the ground should be in a high state of culti- vation, it is inadvisable to now incorporate fresh manure. Such practice would tend to forcing of the roots, which is undesirable. Egg plant, pepper, lima bean, melon, cucumber, tomato and squash raised under glass should be planted as soon as climatic conditions warrant. To- ward the end of the month will be early enough for New York latitude. It is even then advisable to defer the planting for a few days rather than be m undue haste, unless ample provision is made for their pro- 157 tection against inclement weather. Seeds of melon, cucumjjer and squash may not be sown in the garden in hills of 10 ft. asunder, also the seeds of winter greens and late celery. Give the strawberry bed a dressing of 1 oz. nitrate of soda and 2 oz. super-phosphate per square yard, cultivate and later apply a mulch of clean strawy litter. The mulch will conserve soil moisture and provide a clean bed for the berries. Cut asparagus when occasion demands. Go over the plantation carefully every morning, cutting all stalks of proper length regardless of quality. Small useless stalks can be discarded at the time of bunching those fit for the table. If left uncut, these inferior growths not only become unsightly, but tend to ex- haust the crowns. Cultivate persistently among all growing crops. It means less weeds, better tilth of surface soil, and conservation of moisture. THE ORCHARD. Spra3nng of fruit trees will again be in order this month, and should be done as soon as the petals fall. Use arsenate of lead solution for biting insects, cater- pillers and grubs. A combination of lead arsenate and bordeaux in paste form is now on the market and serves both as an insecticide and fungicide. The most economical preparation can be made by dissolving 1 oz. of arsenate of soda in a little hot water and mix in 20 gals, of rain water. Then dissolve 4 oz. of acetate of lead in water and add to the first solution If about 1 lb. of molasses is stirred into the whole, the spray will be of a more adhesive quality. For aphis on grapevines, peach trees, plums, cher- ries and kindred subjects, spray with Aphine or any approved nicotine solution. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Although the flower garden possesses less material utility than the departments dealt with in the fore- going remarks, it must be admitted as being essential to any well-ordered establishment no matter how limited in area. It contributes not the substantial of the table, but the material for artistic display. How many thousands have a veritable feast on the floral arrangement staged in competition at our leading flower shows, in classes for table decoration alone? The flower garden then gives enjoyment alike to cul- tivator, designer, and casual observer. To the most magnificent country home it gives a dignity that would be otherwise' wanting, and to the more modest villa imparts that admirably conspicuous, yet restful, elegance characteristic of the suburban dwelling. Nor does the charm of the flower garden end here. The simple flower patch adjacent the humble cottage home, the bespattered flower or window-box of the city apartment house, each imparts to its owner a de- light equal in fullness to that of the proprietor of a vast estate. Flowers of April have appeared in sufficient quantity to assure us the rigor of winter is past. They pave the way for increasing galaxy this month when the or- chard, shrubbery and rockery will be ablaze with blossom. These, together with gorgeous displays of tulips, peonv and iris in the flower garden, fire the 158 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA gardener with keen entlnisiasni. There will be a natural desire to start summer bedding in earnest, ere the floral gems of springtime have faded. The congested state of affairs in pit and frame now give cause for anxiety. Be patient ! Although the days are bright and tempting the nights are often treach- erous. Guard against losses by being cautious. Begin early in the month by giving a maximum ventilation to frames on fine days and, by degrees, open them at night until the sashes can be left oft entirely. To re- lieve the overcrowding, start planting operations with a few of the hardier kinds, as antirrhinum, verbena, larkspur, nemesia, coreopsis, dianthus, phlox Drum- mondii, and stock. There is yet time for sowing many varieties of an- nuals, and also to make further sowings of some that were started in heat earlier in the season. Balsams, asters, stocks, nicotiana, portulaca and zinnia if sown in the open ground this month will produce a welcome display late in the season. Portulaca requires to be sown where intended to flower and thrives remarkably well in a dry exposed position which would mean death to some of the more fastidious species. Plant dahlia and canna this month and another batch of gladiolus for succession. Toward the end of the month sow perrenials in- tended for fall planting into permanent quarters, and biennials as foxglove, Sweet William and Canterbury Bells. Canterbury Bells sown at this time withstand the rigors of winter much better than those raised earlier in the season. Specimens of gross leafage in the fall, often succumb during the winter and spring months. SHRUBBERY. Evergreens move well at this season. Have the holes prepared well in advance, then push transplanting. Give an overhead spray in bright weather and keep the roots supplied with 'water. Spruce, arborvitae and native cedar are susceptible to red spider attack. Spray them in good season with whale oil soap solu- tion as a deterrent. Prune shrubs as they pass out of flower. The contour of the various leaf-clad speci- mens is now very pronounced. Pruning can, there- fore, often be done more efficiently at this time than at any other season. Now is the time to transplant hardy bamboos and to increase them by division _ if necessary. Stake perennials which are growing rapid- ly; don't allow these to flap about before giving the support needed. Clip hedges, mow lawns and main- tain order throughout. T HOW TO CONTROL HOLLYHOCK RUST HERE is no need to have your hollyhocks ruined by the rust which has become such a common pest on this stately and old-fashioned perennial, says the New York State College of Agriculture. Just as soon as the snow is gone and the frost is out of the ground, examine each hollyhock plant carefully and cut off down close to the ground all of the large old leaves that overwintered, leaving only the central heart with the small young green leaves. It is on these old leaves and partly developed larger leaves that the pathogene, or disease-causing organism, winters and is there readv to infect the new leaves as fastas they come out. All of the old leaves and stems should be carefully gathered up and burned. The next step is to examine the lawn or garden in every direction from at least 50 to 100 feet and carefully remove all of the mallows — the low prostrate weed with small pink hollyhock-like blossoms whose seed heads are known to children as "cheeses." This is a very persistent and diflicult weed to eradicate because of its long stock- like root. It should be cut off well beneath the ground and all of the plant removed and burned. The reason for this is that this plant harbors the rust fungus and is par- ticularly favorable to it because the rust can develop all over these mallows plants without really killing them out. One cannot be too thorough in his eradication of the mallows. The fungus will spread from these to the holly- hock plants at every opportunity. For the first six or eight weeks of the growing season the hollyhocks should be examined frequently and care- fully for any evidences of the yellow rust pustules which will appear on the under surfaces of the leaves, on the petioles, or leaf stems, and on the stalks themselves when the plant begins to shoot. This examination should be made two or three times a week and should be very thoroughly and carefully done, particularly on the first set of leaves which develop. If anv yellow pustules appear on any of these leaves, the whole leaf should be cut oft" down close to the ground, gathered up and burned. It will not be sufficient to carelessly pull of the leaf leaving the old petiole, because the fungus may be in that also. The plants at first will look rather ragged and it will seem a shame to pull oft" a large leaf with only one rust spot on it, but this will be necessary if the plants are to come through in good shape later in the season. The spraying and dusting of plants has been tried, but the results have never been very satisfactory. According to the college, the things to be insisted upon are: thoroughness in the examination and removal of diseased leaves : and frequency in doing the work. Two or three times a week is not at all too often for the first month or two in the growing season. The directions here given have been used with good results in every case where thej' were properly carried out. THE FATHERLAND. Where is the true man's fatherland? Is it where he by chance is born? Doth not the yearning spirit scorn In such scant borders to be spanned? Oh, yes ! his fatherland must be As the blue heaven wide and free ! Is it alone where freedom is, W'here God is God and man is man? Doth he not claim a broader span For the soul's love of home than this? Oh, yes, his fatherland must be As the blue heaven wide and free ! Where'er a human heart doth wear Joy's myrtle-wreath or sorrow's gyves, Where'er a human spirit strives After a life more true and fair. There is the true man's birthplace grand His is a world-wide fatherland ! Where'er a single slave doth pine, \\'here'er one man may help another — Thank God for such a birthright, brother- That spot of earth is thine and mine ! There is the true man's birthplace grand. His is a world-wide fatherland ! — James Russell Lowell. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiii Hardy Asters {Michaelmas Daisies) HARDY asters are not exclusively fall flowering perennials, for, with the rockery as a coming fea- ture of American home grounds, the beautiful spring flowering Alpine asters are becoming quite popular. Of the Aster Alpine plants, Aster alpinus superbas, a valuable garden type, eclipses the original Aster alpinus. It bears its masses of large single Novae Anglac Varieties pale blue, yellow-centered flowers on single siems. about 12 inches high, and appears at its best dur- ing May and early June. Very handsome are the new varieties Aster alpinus nixe, producing star- shaped blossoms distinguished by long, narrow petals of the same color as the former, and Aster alpinus ruber, a claret shaded novelty. Being typical mountain plants, and as such rock garden inhaliitants, their usefulness for edging the mixed herbaceous borders should not be overlooked. The floral designer will find those asters a verj' acceptable material for certain lines of his work. The best of the springflowering class of asters for cut- ting are doubtless Aster subcaeruleus and .\.ster Fre- monti. Of stocky, robust growth they show a wonderful freedom in the produce of large, handsomely shaped flowers, borne on erect stems from 15 to 20 inches long. Aster subcaeruleus should be grown in masses and used freely in every garden. It is by far the best of the spring flowering kinds, bound to become very popular with garden and flower lovers. Of medium high summer and early fall asters, the bushy compact growth of the new Aster amellus varieties, requiring little or no support, is of great advantage. Aster eordifoUus Literally covered with their wealth of blossoms they prove an excellent material for very attractive mass eft'ects during August and the early part of September. The list of the tall growing Novae anglae and Novae Belgii classes is bewildering in length. Of those free flowering varieties which by color and size of blossoms prove of extraordinary value for massing are of the pink- A Field of Flozveriiig Miehaebnas Daisies. (Hardy Asters.) 159 160 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA sliaded and rosy purple Aster Novae Anglae, Lil Fardel, Mrs. F. W. Raynor, rosea and rubra. Feltham Blue, laevis, laevis floribunda and William Bowman represent the best types in bluish tints. Of the small flowering asters, their waves of long, thin swaying sprays of little star-shaped blossoms possess a charm of their own. It is the class which very few- gardeners know, and yet, a class offering wonderful opportunities for surprisingly beautiful eiTects, when em- ployed the right way. Study and enjoy the incomparable gracefulness of the habit of growth of the Aster cordifolius varieties. If you have an eye for decorative garden planting at all, you will detect more than one chance to use them in your garden. As a material for artistic arrangement of vases, the hght sprays of the pale lavender and delicate blue blossoms of the species Aster cordifolius are invaluable. The last of the Michaelmas daisies to flower is the new Aster grandiflorus, distinguished by very attractive dark biuish-violet blossoms, frequently measuring 2 inches across. In bloom late in October and early November, specimens can be lifted and advantageously employed for indoor decoration. Alpine asters are easily raised from seed sown in spring. Seedlings do not flower until the second year. Plantations need leaf-covering during winter. They thrive best in high locations with light, but enriched soil. Garden varieties of all the other classes, after being es- tablished, require a minimum of care. Avoid hot arid slopes. To bring out the full efl'ect of the improved large-flowering hybrids necessitates well prepared and richly manured ground, besides properly staking and irrigating of plantations. — Henry Rothc. THINGS AND THOUGHTS OF THE GARDEN. (Continued from page 140.) Dodacatlioon media. Junipenis Sabina Euonymus radicaus Lithospermum prostratiim Euon.vmus radicaus vegetns Lamiuin purpureum maculatum Euonymus rosmarinifolius Liiuiiu alpinum Euonymus Kewensis Lysimachia nummularia Erinus alpinus Lychnis viscaria Erinus alpinus alba Lobelia cardinalis Edelweiss (Leontopolou) Liatris pyrnostacliya Euphorbia epithy moides Lychnis flos-cuculi Euphorbia corallata Linnaea arborealis Eriferon philadelphicum Lcontopodon alpinum Erigeion intermedia Leontopodon sibiricum Epimedium sulphureum Linaria Cymbalaria Epimedium diphyllum rosea Linaria aer|uitvilol>a Eryngium aniethystinum Mazus ruj;osus Erysimum helvetica Mentha Requieuii Erica carnea Muchlenbeckia nana Geum coccineum atrosangui- Myosotis Fischeri neum fl. pi. Nicrembergia rivnlaris — Nepeta Gypsophila repens Mussini Gentiana acaulis Oenothera pusilla Gentiaiia cruciata ' Oenothera tussellata Geraniums (Imrdy species, sev- Primula Caslimeriana eral) Primula japonica Globularia tricosantha Primula denticulata Heuehera sanguinea Primula capitata Heuchera brizoides Primula veris Helleborus niger Primula Bees' Hybrids Helleborus orientalis Primula Vulgaris Hutchinsia alpina Primula rosea Helianthomum eroceum Primula farinosa Helianthemum parvifolium Primula acaulis Helianthcmum ciliatus Polyanthuses Hedera cruciatum Phyteuma orbiculata Hypericum Jloserianum Phyteuma Sieberi Hypericum calcycinum Polygonum Brunonis Iberis senipervii-ens Potentilla anrea Iris pumila Prunella vulgaris Inula ensifolia Platycodon grandiflora Iris cristata Parrya Mendzusa Iris tectorum Pnlmonaria augustifolia Iris chamaeiria Plumbago Larpentae Iberis gibraltarica Pentstcmnn glaber Plilox subulata Sempervivuni tectorum Phlox subulata alba Sempervivum araclmoideum Phlox divarieata Sempervivum globiferum Phlox divarieata Laphamii tjedum album Phlox divarieata Laphamii Sedum stoloniferum Perry's var Sedum Sieboldii Ramondia pyrenaica Spergula pilifera Rhododendron amoena Selaginella Kraussiana Rhododendron Sagina patula Ranunculus acanitifolius Soldanella alpina Ranunculus acanitifolius fl. pi. Thalictrum minus adiantifo- Saponaria ocymoides Hum Saxifraga cordata Thymus albus Saxifraga ligulata Thymus citriodorus Saxifraga Stormouth's Seedling Tliymus Serpyllum lanuginosus Saxifraga eaespitosa \iola alpina Saxifraga peltata Viola carnuta and V. c. alba Saxifraga irrigua Veronica alpestris Saxifraga Hostii Veronica incana Satureia montana Veronica prostrata Silene acaulis Veronica rupestris Silene asteroides Veronica repans Silene Schafta \'iscaria urticulata Silene Saxifraga Trollius pumilus yunnanensis Stokesia cyanea To the above lists may be added a selection of dwarf hardy evergreen coniferous shrubs. To those who are aflame with the love of these dwarf and wonderfully in- teresting gems of the mountain, hill and upland plains, even the reading over of the names is sufficient to set a train of happy memories and emotions into action. It might be observed, too, that ferns can find a place in near association with the rock garden joined up to it in fact. The hardy fernery, like some other parts of our outdoor gardens, is much neglected. And a happy com- bination of rock garden, fern garden, water garden lead- ing into the wild garden portion can often be developed. The rock garden aft'ords a fine means of connecting the highly kept lawns, rose beds and flower garden proper with the free and easy outlying parts. Here we wander off into the pine woods and forests where also some planting may be done in places but where fancy planting of choice shrubs or plants is not wanted. If your place is not a large one never mind. But don't imagine that you cannot still have a charming rockery. Have we not seen the prettiest, and not always the smallest, rock gardens in suburban grounds? Have a try. Then you will want, most likely, a greater selection of shrubs, particularly evergreens, than you have. Several times in this department of The Gardeners' Chronicle I have pleaded for the greater use of fruit trees. Is it recognized that these are ornamental as well as useful ? If you don't want big fruiting apples or pears, then plant ornamental crabs. They blossom grandly and their fruits are as gay as Chinese lanterns and as plentiful as the bells on a spike of Lily of the Valley. They simply rope the branches. The fuits are the size of small apples. Crab jelly is a delicious conserve. So here, again, have a try. Of Interest to Estate Owners The Nationnl Association of Gardeners maintains a Service Bureau wbicb is at the disposal of all who may require the services of efficient gardeners in their various capacities. The association seeks the co-operation of estate owners in its efforts to secure opportunities for those engaged in the profession of garden- ing who are seeking to advance themselves. It makes no charge for services rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to assume the responsibilities the position may call for. Through this service the National Association of Gardeners aims to liring the Country Estate Owner and tlie truly efficient men engaged in the profession in closer relation to oacli other, that the interest in ornamental horticulture and its greater development in this country may thereby be elevated. Make your requirements known to U, C, EBEL, Sec'y, National Association of Gardeners, Uadison, K. J, Hardy Perennials and Biennials By Henry Wild, Connecticut. WHAT is the cliarni that keeps the old fashioned flowers of grandmother s garden ever green in our memories ? Is it the fact that they flower year after year, or because they need so little attention.^ Perhaps it is because the) are the flowers we knew first of all, back in the days of our childhood when with mother we watched for the blossoming of the Rock Cress to open with the first warm days of spring. The hardy Alyssum followed in the crevices of the old stone path — self sown and hardly noticed till its cheery yellow blossom gave the first touch of color to the garden after the snow had gone. The Columbines, ever a source of delight, unfolded their blue and )ellow flowers, showing to perfection in the green setting of foliage of the Foxgloves, Delphini- ums, Peonies, etc., that filled the border with their stately flowers, spikes and blossoms in early summer. The old clove Pinks and Lily of the Valley that spread out on to the path were allowed to ramble at will, and were only kept in check by cutting the flowers freely and taking of slips and roots for the neighl ors. The secret of the old fashioned garden lies in its set- ting and simplicity. The Lilac bushes, Syringa, Rose of Sharon and spice bushes all play their part, forming an irregular yet effective background, and lending a touch of privacy to the garden inviting one to linger and rest among the flowers that breathe a welcome in their own quiet way. The Damask Rose, the bush of yellow Persian Roses that grew close to the porch, or perhaps near the well, all had their history, and with the Sweet Williams, Canter- bury Bells, Phlox, Madonna Lilies, Larkspurs, Hollyhock, and last but not least the hardy Chrysanthemum that braved the early frosts and supplied flowers for the Thanksgiving table, ending the season in a blaze of glory that endeared them to all. The old fashioned garden is "Read before the Stamford Horticultural Society, March 2. here to stay, it has come into its own — supplying flowers from April to November it is no wonder we love it. During the last generation a great deal of attention has been given to improving the various types of flowers, and there are some wonderful hybrids among the Lark- spurs, Phlox, Iris, Day Lilies, Spirreas, etc., the old flowers in new forms. New introductions, such as the Anchuras with their glorious shades of blue, Japan Iris that almost equal orchids, and many other types have been added that lend an attraction to the garden. Among the early attractions of the hardy garden are the Narcissus and Darwin Tulips, the former when planted near Peonies show the many shades of yellow, lemon and white in which colors the Narcissi family pre- dominate to perfection against the unfolding stem of the Peonies. The Darwin Tulips, also the old Cottage Tulips, are seldom seen to better advantage than when inter- spersed among the tender foliage of the perennials. These Tulips add a glorious touch of color to the border or garden, owing to their length of stem — from 18 inches to 23^ feet in height. They stand well above the early foliage of Phlox, Larkspurs, etc., which act as Nature's setting to the most glorious of all the Tulip or early bulb family. Add to the attraction of these Tulips the splendid deco- rative quality as a cut flower and the fact that they in- crease and last for years in the garden, and you have almost the ideal flower for the old fashioned border. Lilies may be planted between Peonies and among other early flowering plants, such as Aquilegia, or they may be jilanted among late plants, such as Anemones. The Ma- donna Lily is a splendid companion for Delphinium, Bella- donna or the beautiful pink Phlox. Elizabeth Campbell. The sky blue of the Delphinium and the pure white flow- ers of the Lily form a symphony in blue and white. If voti prefer pink and white, try the Phlox with Lilies. An Interesting Old-fashioned Garden Planted with Herbaceous Plants purnishing a Beautiful Sii^ht in Ploi^'ering Time. 161 162 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Other combinations in the garden that prove effective and are well worth trying follow : Boltonia white with Aster Beauty of Colwall ; Mertensia \'irginica and Eng- lish Primroses ; Phlox Tapis Blanc and Dianthus Salmon Queen; Salvia Pitcheri or Azuria with white or pink Phlox ; Phlox Arendsi Helene and Campanula carpatica ; Phlox Antoine Mercier and Delphinium Moerheimi ; Phlox Jean de Arc and Stokesia; Phlox Mme. Paul Du- trie and Scabiosa Japonica; Aconitum Wilsoni or Au- tumnale, and Anemones ; Heuchera and Spirea Japonica ; yellow, pink or white Hollyhocks and Larkspurs ; Fox- gloves White and Sweet William Newport Pink; Mon- arda Didyma and Hyacinthus Candicans ; Centaurea Montana and Yellow Columbines ; hardy Cornflower and white Phlox: Anchura Dropmore and Phlox Miss Lin- yard ; Poppy Miss Perry pink and Aquilegia Ceorulea ; Poppy Scarlet and Yellow Foxglove (evergreen back- ground) ; hybrid Delphinium with Coreopsis or An- themes ; Lupin's Mauve with Anchusa ; yellow Foxgloves and blue Cornflowers ; Phlox Pantheon and Achillea The Pearl ; St. John's Wort and Forget-me-nots. This list of color schemes or combinations could be lengthened indefinitely, but enough have been given to show what can be done. It depends entirely whether you want them to flower together, or in succession. Daphne Cneorum is charming for planting near the garden entrance ; its fragrance appeals to all. Artrantia major is a most interesting species, its bluish flowers form a veritable carpet or undercover for blue or white Campanulas. Campanulas Glomerata supplies a tone of color in violet blue, forming a delightful contrast with the white and pink of the early Phlox. Statice latifolia is ideal to soften the effect of erect growing plants, such as Campanula Persicifolia, white ; or pink and white Phlox. The Cerartiums and Dwarf Campanulas — Iberis Hardy Pinks (Violas and Hypericum with Forget-me-nots where there is a little shade) are all ideal for placing near paths. Let them run into each other, breaking into them with such plants as Mertensia, Iris Lupms and Oenotheras. Try to make the planting appear natural. Colors themselves are easily produced, but the art of planting calls for study and knowledge of the various plants. Iceland Poppies, for instance ; running into Larkspurs or blue Lupins soften the severe outline without any fear of color clashing. PhloxArendsi fill a long felt want in the border, being low in growth and more graceful than the older types. They form at once an under cover and a real acquisition to their more robust parents. Artemeria Lactiflora is a splendid companion for the early Aconitum or Platycodens. Plumbago Larpentea, a little gem of blue, the poleno- niums in blue and white and the Veronicas are ideal con- trast with yellow. OLD FAVORITES Anchusas supply blue shades before the Larkspurs. These are seen at their best against a background of Mock Orange or Snowball, Larkspurs, tall and stately, em- bracing every tone of blue and Moerheimi white. Aquilegias revel in partial shade. They may be ob- tained in colors from blue to yellow, white, to old rose and some finer shades of pink. Canterbur}' Bells, Foxgloves, Sweet Williams Pyre- thrums and Campanula in blue and white, all flower in early summer, forming a symphony color in different forms. All of these may be easily raised from seed sown in the open ground, using a shade until germination. Gaillardias Heleniums, Helianthus, Heleopris, all run to shades of yellow and red. These are easily raised from seed and divisions. \'eronicas, Funkias, Hardy Salvias, Phlox, with the Helenium and Helianthus, start the rise of color that is the forerunner of Fall. These are followed by Boltonia, Farly Chrysanthe- mums, Anemones and the hardy Asters or Michaelmas Daisies of old world gardens. The improved types are splendid and eloquent reminders of the strides made in hybridization. The Hardy late Chrysanthemums and Wall flowers end the season, going out quietly as the Winter comes, leaving behind them a love for the simple flowers that still form a link with home. I would earnestly advise the cultivation of these old favorites. All have their use, many their memories, and whether it is the Formal Garden, Park Cottage Garden, or backyard in which they find a place to grow they will add beautv to each or all. THE GREENHOUSE MONTH TO MONTH. (Continued from page 147.) grower remarked a short time back in his writing that this and its companion. Glory of Mordrecht, did not usually shine as well as the ordinary Adiantim Cronecinum. This is not so, but if he treats all similar in regard to soil, they will fail. Adiantum Farleyense will not succeed in leaf mould, sand or heat. Give it the heaviest sod you can get. In fact, I grow mine in sub soil and drain the pots with coal cinders and they are less trouble to grow than Geraniums. There is a lot of talk about it being foolish to mix dift'erent soils for different plants, and to quote on old doctor's re- mark that hospitals give their patients medicine out of the same case for all diseases, but it is worth while pondering a little while and study what the successful man does. He puts his Azaleas in peat and sand. His neigh- bor uses common soil and fails the next year, and infers that it is useless to try and grow them two years in this climate, but it is a question of soil. Calceolarias, Gloxinias and Streptocarpus are very par- tial to leaf mold. On the other hand, our old friends, the useful Pelargoniums, delight in strong soil that con- tains little humus. The best Caladums I ever saw were grown in tins of chopped up green, burnt clay and sand. A curious mix- ture, but they outgrew and excelled a lot that were grown in any soil. Because a plant exists is no real argument that the soil it contains is suitable for all things. Cucumbers revel in light soil and melons succeed best in small pieces of sods. The soil taken out of benches should never be used for jiot plants, but it is excellent for bedding plants: also to fill up low places in the Summer show beds and borders, or to grow Celery to perfection in the cold frames. W^e need the following: GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Vol. 1-15, 1905-1911 lo complete our files. If >ou ha\'e any of these volumes and will sell tliem, address F. K. W. DRURY, Ass't Librarian. Tlie University of Illinois Library, Urbana, HI. Tree Surgery Investigated By M. C. Ebel, New Jersey TO state that tree surgery has not always been re- garded as favorably as it is today, even by those who have been in a position to carefully watch its development, and that there are many people interested in the preservation of trees who still regard the efficacy of tree surgery with more or less skepticism is divulging no professional secret. Tree surgery, or tree doctoring as it was called in its early days, though its critics were wont to refer to it then as tree butchery, has, like every other science, had to pass through the experimental stage and has had to overcome the many difficulties with which it found itself at times surrounded, until it has reached that degree of perfection which entitles it to be ranked with the foremost skilled arts of the day. The writer has but recently come to the realization that tree surgery has attained the high standard referred to, for it was only a year ago at the National Flower Show, in Philadelphia, that he questioned the merit of some of the methods which were employed in the treatment of trees, and which were illustrated in a collection of photo- graphs exhibited by the Davey Tree Expert Company. The response to his criticism was an invitation to visit Kent, Ohio, the home of the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery, to investigate at first hand the methods and services of that organization with the assurance that nothing would be concealed, that "the cards would be placed on the table face up." The invitation was ac- cepted conditionally that the writer be permitted to have two experts accompany him. This was agreed on and the final outcome of it has been that some forty scientists and gardeners in charge of some of the foremost private estates in this country, gathered at the annual convention of the Davey organization in March, 1917, to investigate as to what really constituted the training, the knowledge, and the ability of the tree surgeons. Meeting the general field staff of the organization, the salesforce, the foremen and tree men, shortly after their arrival at Kent, gave the visitors, or "investigators," good opportunity to closely scrutinize the calibre of the organ- ization's operating force. A visit to the various depart- ments of the Davey Institute followed, after which the party proceeded to Akron to become the guests of the company at a banquet at the Akron City Club. No time Vi-as lost in dispensing with the demand of the inner man, tables ordered clear, and the subject of the hour, "The Tree," was approached and for four solid hours the silent sentinel of Nature was the topic of discussion. The discussion centered on the use, habits and general care of trees. During the session it was disclosed that those present were not all converts to tree surgery and that many had come to Kent with the "you will have to show me" frame of mind, but with an open disposition to see, learn and be convinced. So absorbed had the gather- ing become in the subject that midnight arrived all too soon. Adjournment followed, to meet again in the early forenoon of the coming day, when full opportunity was provided to get a closer insight in the workings of every department of the Davey organization. The first visit was to the executive offices, where acquaintances were made with the executive staff ; then to the school where the instructors and students were met in session and there considerable time was devoted Visitors .It the Davey Tree Surgery Institute Convention. In tlie ijroup .Ire Several .Menilyers of the Davey Organisation, 163 164 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA to examining the general course of studies, the library and laboratory equipment and in interrogating the students on their method of training. The inspection of the treatment of trees in the vicinity of Kent, much of which is experimental work by students while undergoing their period of study, proved of ex- ceptional interest to the visitors as much intricate tree surgery was found among the work inspected. In the afternoon J- Horace MacFarland, of Harrisburg, Pa., President of the American Civic Association, de- livered a lecture on "Trees That I Have Seen," in which he depicted in beautiful word pictures civilization's debt to the trees and how much mankind's very existence de- pends on them. He furnished some most interesting statistics on the subject and provided an instructive en- tertainment which will not soon be forgotten by his audience. At the conclusion of the lecture the visiting party pre- pared to the club house to meet John Davey, the founder of the Davey organization, now seventy-one years of age, and who up to this time had not appeared owing to the condition of his health. The visitors had already been deeply impressed with the rank and file, but their meeting with father John, as he is alluded to by all. was truly an inspiration. The climax of the event came in the evening when the visitors, together with the entire executive and operating forces of the Davey organization present at the conven- tion, over two hundred in number, assembled at the Social Service Hall. Here again the wants of the inner man were substantially disposed of with dispatch, covers re- moved and the gathering comfortably assigned to enjoy the evening's programme. Following the rendering of "The Star Spangled Ban- ner" by the entire assemblage, Judge D. L. Rockwell, of Cleveland, acting as toastmaster, again introduced Mr. Mac Farland who presented some splendid lantern slides, illustrating some of our magnificent trees, following each in turn with beautiful colored slides of their foliage, buds and blooms in course of growth and, as he stated, no orchids can compare to the delicacy of some of the blos- soms portrayed. He showed illustrations of the desecration of beauti- ful trees as well as of their preservation. Standing out prominentlv was the destructive tree work of public service corporations, going through a community with but one motive in mind, to get their wires strimg and obtain the toll to be derived therefrom. As in the after- noon, Mr. McFarland produced a most instructive en- tertainment, causing one of the visiting party to remark 'T used to like trees, but since I have come here I have learned to love them." The amusement of the evening was furnished by Charles C. Dibble, a prominent life insurance man of Cleveland, who, when introduced, pleaded that when he had been invited to make an address at the convention on effective salesmanship he was at a loss to know what to say to a body of tree surgeons, so he applied to a doctor to come to his aid and received the following reply : "Alen and trees are alike to life insurance agents. First thing you notice when you go at them is their bark. A tree is easier to handle than a man, for yoti can strip a tree of its bark, but the man keeps on barking at you. 'When a tree dies it gets burned, when a man dies the in- surance company gets burned. Trees don't know enough to take out insurance because like some men they are only blockheads. Tree surgeons and life insurance men have much in common, it is the interest of both to keep their subjects alive. " The visiting guests were next called on and were in one accord in their praises of what they had seen, heard and learned un the subject of tree surgery since their arrival at Kent. When John Davey arose and announced that while serving his apprenticeship in England as a gardener, he was selected to be educated for the ministry, but finding that he could not subscribe to some of the doctrines, de- cided then and there if he could not save souls that he would make it his life work to save trees, and with that purpose in mind and feeling that he was inspired in it, emigrated to America more than a half century ago, the sincerity that sprang from his utterances won the hearts of all present. He in turn related that while the idea was his, first credit for the successful starting of his idea publicly was due to the publisher who sixteen years ago had sufficient faith in his theory to bring out his first book, "The Tree Doctor" ; then pointing to his son, Martin L. Davey, now general manager of the organiza- tion, he said, "to this lad who went to Cleveland and sold more than a thousand copies of that book belongs the next credit, for it caused the papers of that city, which in turn was taken up by the press of the country, to raise a hue and cry against tree butchery with which they declared the country was being threatened," and which .Mr. Davey declared was the greatest publicity that ever came to his cause as it brought inquiries to him from all parts of the country. Credit was given to the son for the organization as it exists today. He next alluded to the men in the field, through whose loyalty, devotion and co- operation, it was possilile to maintain such an organiza- tion and to the executive staff which had much to do in guiding its service. Turning to the students he re- marked, "these are the j-oung men whose devotion to their work will help to perpetuate the science." Those who heard John Davey speak know^ that his life is in harmony with the life of the trees — that he loves them. Alartin L. Dave_\', general manager of the organization, who developed his father's ideal and then successfully commercialized it, was the next speaker, talking on the subject, "Service, the Greatest Word in History." He reviewed his father's history in the cause of saving the trees, the privations suft'ered by him until he was able to present it in some tangible form to gain the confidence of others in his idea and expressed his regret that his father could not have enjoyed the fruition of his work in his younger days. He then embarked on the general history of the Davey Tree Service. That the tree work of a few } ears ago was not to be compared with the tree surgery of today in which wonderful strides has been made in a short period of time, was one of the assertions of Mr. Davey. The loyalty, co-operation and devotion of every member associated with the organization accounted for its general success. Full measure of service to its clients was ascribed as ha\-ing gained the public's confidence in the organization. At 2 :30 a. m., after an actual continuous session of eight and one-half hours (exclusive of the dinner), de- voted entirely to the life and preservation of trees the event was concluded with the singing of "America" and "Auld Lang Syne." ^^'hat the impressions gained b_\- those who pilgrimaged lo Kent to investigate tree surgery were are best told in their own words in the following expressions : J. Horace ilcFnrhtnO. I'rcsiilciit American Civic Association, llarrishurg. Pa.: "Vshen I cdusidev the acoomplishmeuts of .John Davey I am full of admirntimi and wonder. These accomplish- ments ought to encourage any ynung man. for certainly what Davey has done has been against handicaps such as few young men in the T'nited States are now under. His success in arousing so many of the people of America lo a proper estimation of the importance and needs of trees, is wholely due to the splendid determination with which he took up the work, and to the vigor with which he (pvercame every obstacle. I have known Mr. Davey for many years. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 165 I owe to liim my own iiwnkeuiug, not so much to the beauty and importance of trees as to tUe fact that they are living organisms, needing to be respected as such and treated as such. To have liad in a comparatively few years the thought of a whole nation changed towards its duties to tho trees by the efforts of one man is a mat- ter for great congratulaliou." Edwin A. Kanst. Siiiicrinicinlrnt and Acting Secrcturii. The Commissioners of Liiicoln I'nrlc. Chicago, III.: "I have known of the Davey Tree Expert Company for several years — if not the company, at least Davey 's book and also his work. From time to time I have seen their men working on trees in the vicinity of Chicago, and I was smninvhat curious to know just how a con- cern who made a specialty of tree surgery alone conducted their business: hence, my visit In Kent, Ohio. I am frank to say that I was delighted with everytliiug 1 heard and saw in tlieir instittitiun. I met not less than one hundred and tifty of their workers, among them foremen, students, mid workmen, and I was greatly impressed with the tine character of all of the.se men. I also had occasion to see some of their recent work on trees at first hand. Honesty, sincerity and earnestness seem to be the three watchwords of the institution. I also had the ph-asure of meeting il. L. Davey. the ings produced by my trip to the Davey Tree Surgeons annual con- vention." Alfred Walter, Gtirdencr to Howard Caswell Smith, "Shoredge." Oijster Bag. .V. 1'..' Keflectiug on ray visit to the Davey Tree Surgery convention, there are several things which impressed me, chiefl.v, tile organization itself, its depth, scope and honest yet costly way so ably united and built up. Its candid open way of showing things as they are. Tho truly remarkable work done by its students, and the lovable interest shown by every unit of the organization. Lastly, the manager, JIartin L. Davey, who is pre-eminently an organizer of worth." I'layton D. Oliret. (lardener tu Mrs. Ueorgc Bliss. Beriinrdsrillc. -V. J.: "I was convinced that John Davey is a man with an ideal. That M. L. Davey has made this ideal into an organization. That every member of the force has caught the spirit of the ideal as shown by their loyalty, fidelity and devotion. That the students are inspired with this ideal as well as thoroughly trained for prac- tical lionest work. That their system is complete and any im- provement must suggest itself by experience." The Opcrali I Uu I \ liLL L.ipiri Lii. and Slitdiiils .1/ lis Iiisliluli- t/c/Z/i./ii/ in ii'oiit oj t'lU- L.Wiulil Offices of tl\c Company. general manager. I found him one of the best posted men on trees I have ever known, and 1 am glad to feel that I can heartily rec- ommend the Davey Tree Kxpert Company to any one who desires intelligent and conscientious work on his trees. I wish them every success." Robert Cameron. Superintendent, Iluirard Botanic Garden. Cam- hridfie. Mass.: "After spending two days at Kent, Ohio, thoroughly investigating the Davey Institute, the training given to young men. examining tree surmery and methods of the work, I am con- vinwd that the tree suigery tlie Davey Tree Expert Company is doing is of the very highest quality that thorough training and experience can produce." F.ilwiii Jenlcins, Superintendent Bellefonttiine Gardens, Estate of Girnnd Foster, Lenox, Mass.: "The pilgrimage to Kent — the home of .Tolin and Martin Dave.v — reflects with satisfaction from be- ginning to end. satisfaction in the men we met. satisfaction with the whole-souled hospitality, satisfaction with the firm's business methods, satisfaction with the methods of instructing their pupils, satisfaction in samples of work done, satisfaction with the con- tasiouv; enthusiasm, s.-iiislaciion with Davey. Such were the feel- llenry 11*'/'/. Landsi a/ir Gardener. Greenwich, Conn.: "What impressed nic most duriiij; uur visit to the Davey Tree Kxpert t'ompauy perhaps is the fact that I know I can sal^ely recouunend the company to any of my clients, who have trees that need at- tention by tree surgeons. I consider the object lessons learned from the opiiortunity lasting, and their organization and its work at Kent invaluable." ■/ohn B. l'rI. L, Davey, backed by the inherent love of trees, of .John Davey, forms an irrepressilile wave of magnetic enthusiasm which permeates the whole ideal organiza- tion, brought to such a creditable state of efficiency, and which H. D. House, New York State Botanist, Albany, N. Y.: "My impression of the Davey organization is chiefly one of admiration for the professional ijride. the thorough training and the efficient workmanship shown by the men who perform tree-surgery service for the Davey Tree Expert Company. That fundamental essential, combined with perfect organization and the high character of all of their representatives, should be, and I know that it is, pro- ductive of successful results aud deserving of entire public con- fidence in a profession whicli has been sadly abused by unscrupu- lous and untrained workers," James Donald, Gardener to Cabot Estate, I'onkapoag, Mass.: "Their system is perfect; its controlling influences are love, faith and the hearty co-operation between employer and employee ; their esteem and confidence in 'Father John' (as his boys call him). What better example than this could illustrate the fact that co-operation is the ke,v to success, that merits confidence, and that unity assures success. Would it not be a God-send it we could instil this sentiment of good-will and hearty co-operation in our societies today? Yes, and in our daily lives, as I saw in the Davey company ; in other words, this firm is simply a large family working haruKmiously together as Father John and his boys. After a thorough study of the methods of this firm, both practical and scientific. I am thoroughly convinced that their work measures up to the highest degree of efficiency." A. J. Smith, Superintendent Ceylon Court. Estate of J. J. Mitchell. Lake Genera, Wis.: "1 cannot speak too highly of my trip to Kent. I am more than satisfied with what I saw tliere. The Davey organization from Father John and son down to the office boy is one of the first things that attract attention. The enthusiasm aud unity displayed by the employees towards their work and their employers show the master mind of organization and fairness and appreciation towards the men that are sent out to do the work. I mu.st admit starting for Kent rather skeptical on tree surgery, but if "Billy" Sunday can create converts as quickly as M. L. Davey, then we shall soon be heralding the millennium." William Till. Superintendent Coolidge Gardens. Magnolia, Mass.: "My opinion of The Davey Tree Expert Company is the result of eight years' knowledge of that organization and of having had work done by it under my personal observation and also seeing its work done on other estates. My trip to its conveution only increased my respect and personal esteem for John Davey and his life work among the trees. Two words express my opinion of the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery, Efficiency and Service. Those words apply to all — officers, salesmen, foremen, workmen, pupils and the young ladies in the clerical and accounting departments, I believe the Davey methods to be the very best in the actual work on the trees and in training their young men to carry on that work. The point that impressed me the most was the spirit of helpfulness that every one showed towards each other and the organization and the great love of all for Father John Davey. I wish them all continued success." Robert B. Allan, Siipcrinteudeni S. R. Guggenheim Estate. El- beron, N. J.: "The convention was one of the most instructive it has been my pleasure ever to attend. I was skeptical regarding tree surgery but after the masterly way Martin L. Davey and liis aides described tree surgery as practiced by them and the examples of tlieir work I saw I am now convinced Father Davey's system is correct and his organization has my best wishes for its future success." Thomas J. Hughes, Superintendent Oakleigh Thome Estate, Millbrook. X. Y.: "The trip to Kent was one of the most important events of my life as tree surgery is practically a new field added to our profession. I was very much impressed by the ability and con- scientiousness of M. L. Davey who has worked so hard to bring the organization up to its present standard, and with Father John Davey, whom I was proud to meet, and to see such love as the boys had for liim and the harmony that exists among them. From a personal standpoint I consiilcr thorn the most conscientious and diligent class of men I have ever met in any organization." William Longland. Superintendent Wychioood, C. L. Hntehin- son's Estate, Lake Geneva, Wis. : "The program laid out by the Davey Company was ver.y instructive and also entertaining. 1 was much impressed by the way the company is organized in all its branches and the goodfellowship displayed by its eflicient force. Everybody was full of vim and energ.v, held together by a master hand which certainly must make the Davey institution one of tlio best in the land. Their work of bracing aud reinforcing a tree sliows good judgment and fine workmanship as also the preparing the trees for filling." City Planning and Beautification By Henry Busch, Michigan. PUBLIC parks of older countries are but an evolu- tion of the private estates of medieval times when the serfs, and later on the peasants, were per- mitted to enter and glory in the beauties of nature on days especially set aside for them, and these days being so few and far between, took on the aspect of holidays. High walls or fences usually surrounded these estates or parks, and their exclusiveness taught more than anything else that caste above all things was to be recognized. How fortunate that there was left this great western hemisphere, where was to be established a great country, which, in turn, was to point the way to the rest of the world. With libert)' came a higher degree of education and better opportunities for the masses, and it is no longer a question of formulating public opinion alone, but of being ready to meet the demands of the people as they arise. Parks, playgrounds, social centers and boulevards are here to stay, and it is for us to give our best thought to their creation and perpetuation. President Eliot of Harvard said : "Landscape architecture is primarily a fine art, and as such its most important function is to create and preserve beauty in the surroundings of human habitatioti and in the broader natural scetiery of the coun- try, but it is also concerned with promoting comfort, con- venience and health of urban populations, which have scanty access to rural scenery, and urgently need to have their hurrying, workaday lives refreshed and calmed by the beautiful and reposeful sights and sounds which nature, aided by the landscape art, can abundantly pro- vide." And I add, not only the satisfying of the aesthetic and the tickling of the vanities of man, but the practical should also be kept in mind. Broad streets or avenues are essential to traffic, and as cities grow, certain streets must necessarily assume the nature of trunk or main arteries, and radiating from these are necessary the numerous feeders or narrow streets. These wide streets or avenues are usually select- ed for transportation lines because of the advantages afiforded. The changes usually resulting work to the good of the commercial interests, as the increased traffic passing by results in increased business, and the ad- vantages of advertising are never overlooked when the attention of the masses can be attracted. The contrast, however, between the sordid business street and the quiet, restful residence thoroughfare is so apparent that we are soon attracted to the latter, and as our means permit the beautification of the residence thoroughfare follows. Well kept lawns, shrubbery and beautiful shade trees can and usually are had, and because of the pride in- stalled in the householder after a keen, friendly rivalry in care of private grounds follows and the pride men- tioned extends to all residents, for note how invariably when showing a visitor around town their steps are di- rected to the thoroughfares which are most pleasing. In recent years American cities have been establishing what are generally known as Boulevards. Boulevard (B61 var) a French word formerly applied to the ramparts of a fortified town, but when these were leveled and the whole planted with trees and laid out as promenades, the name Boulevard was still retained. Modern usage applies it also to many streets which are broad and planted with trees, although they were not originally ramparts. In other words, we know them today as broad continuous avenues through what has been or is a residential district. .In some instances such 167 a boulevard is the approach to a large park, a public building, or other attraction. The most advanced method now in vogue is to plan an entire system for the future, and the boulevard furnishes the connecting links to the various parks, thus forming a part of a compre- hensive whole. The early planning in any growing city is economical ; in fact it helps the growth, and, more important still, it preserves natural scenery. Where cities have to restore natural features artificially it means enormous expense. If a feasible working plan is adopted and the objections which are sure to arise in nearly every instance are over- come, it matters not so much who carries out the work. Under our system of government, changes are constantly being made in officials and it is highly important that a set plan be followed if waste and extravagance are to be avoided. In some European cities one can enter the office of the city engineers and there find drawings of work contem- plated as far as fifty years in advance, and strange to say they are following the plans laid down. Too much of the haphazard has been our policy. And don't blame your public officials entirely, for you, Mr. Citizen, are equally guilty. I would hesitate to approve an attempt to pattern after Europe in the matter of government, and yet I realize that too often under our republican form there is much truth to the saying, "That which is every- body's business is nobody's business." There is hardly a proposition which comes up for consideration but what some one at some time is prompted to act in a certain way because of selfish interests. In considering a proposed boulevard the preliminaries, of course, are important. First we have the idea, then the proposed location, and now comes the question of authority and funds. Often legislation is necessary, as many cities are not permitted to go outside their corporate limits to acquire land, or probably there is a limitation on the amount of the indebtedness that may be incurred. In this connection let me say that there is no reason why a lasting public improvement should not be paid for at least in part by posterity. One of the prejudices which had to be overcome in the past was the supposition that a boulevard was a rich man's thoroughfare. This is not borne out, as Detroit, as well as some other cities, have demonstrated that a man of moderate means can and does take advantage of an opportunity of this kind, provided that the abutting property is not so highly restricted as to value of build- ings to be erected thereon. The attractiveness of a boulevard drive depends largely on the amount of land available. A width of 200 feet is little enough, and more would be highly desirable. Con- tinuous straight lines should be avoided where possible and curves substituted, and single and double road- ways alternated to break any monotony. If considered desirable, service drives can be constructed along the front of the residences with an occasional opening to the main roadway. This would probably be necessary where no alleys exist in the rear of the premises. In some in- stances, there might be a demand for bridle paths through the parkway. Roadways should, however, be laid out at a width to make available every inch so that all remain- ing spaces may be used for lawn and planting. In other words, the roadway itself should not be wider than is necessary to accommodate the traffic. In planting the lawns and parkways care should be exercised in the composition and arrangement, as lack 168 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA of character is likely to result in much criticism. Plant- ing should be strikingly beautiful, and if left to an ex- perienced man, should not cost any more than indifferent work. I spoke of the practice of using boulevards as connect- ing links. There might be situations where no parks are available at the extreme end, in which case it might be policy to let the formal lines gradually decline, and, if possible, let the road lose itself in a maze of some neighboring wood. The ending abruptly of a beautifully improved boulevard would, in my judgment, be a mis- take. The sudden change from strictly formal landscap- ing to the natural should be avoided. The same general idea of landscaping as is followed around a building should be kept in mind in boulevard work. The formal should always be in closest proximity to the artificial with a gradual change to the natural as distances are increased. The city should also set the example by showing proper care of its property and in most cases the adjoining prop- erty owner will co-operate. We must shame the man with a beautiful home and grounds who neglects his back- yard and permits our senses to be jarred by unsightly ash piles and rubbish at his back fence. I would insist that every property owner be prohibited from erecting other than an open wire fence at the rear of his property. If a city is about to establish a boulevard at great ex- pense it is only fair, especially if the cost is to be born by the general tax-payer, that everything possible be done to preserve it as a pleasure drive far into the future and many mistakes of the past should be avoided. First, and most important, is the subject of restric- tions. Every piece of property facing or adjoining the boulevard should be covered by iron clad restrictions which will forbid anything but a residence to be con- structed. The question of what constitutes a residence in a legal sense should be known also in advance. If possible the approval of the plans by some constituted authority should be provided for. The distance from the side as well as the front property lines at which build- ing is to be permitted is important as well as the height of buildings. The sky line broken by an irregular lot of buildings is apt to mar an otherwise beautiful landscape. Especially at intersections of streets, buildings are too often erected close to the street line and serious automo- bile accidents are likely to be of common occurrence be- cause of the view being obstructed. The park man must also remember this in planting. I have seen some of our most able landsape gardeners make the mistake of plant- ing high growing varieties of shrubs at street corners, and, while beautiful to look upon, invariably they had to be rearranged after a few mishaps. Proper attention should also be given to selecting and spacing of trees : crowding should be avoided and the imaginative genius of the planter be brought into play. Lasting rather than quick results should be aimed at. As to the composition of roadways, the question of material is largely a local one as costs are likely to have a bearing and the material near at hand is often the cheapest, but with our modern method of travel, that is the greatly increased use of the automobile, it is only a question of time when all will concede the necessity of a hard wearing surface. In Detroit the old macadam pavements have been mostly resurfaced with asphalt. All engineers agree that the prime requisite in road building is drainage ; especially is this true with the water bonded macadam, and a plentiful supply of pool or gutter grates should be installed. Whether following the con- tour of the land or otherwise we might occasionally find the necessity of crossing a creek, ravine or other im- pediment, and the construction of a bridge is decided upon, and here the architect should be consulted, as an ugly design will contrast most unpleasantly with the sur- roundings. My personal tastes run to the simple style. A bridge of this nature should not be erected as a monu- ment to commemorate the memory of some official, neither should it stand as an advertisement for some architect. The advantages to a city of having a boulevard prop- erly laid out are many. The pleasure derived by the people residing thereon, the pleasure and convenience to the general public desiring to traverse it. the educational and recreational features afforded the young, especially in the larger cities, and last but not least, the advertising value to such a city. One can hardly think of Paris with- out Bois de Boulogne or Berlin and forgetting Unter den Linden, and we are not likely to visit New York without going over Riverside Drive, and this is true of many other cities. Let us have more boulevards by all means. Why should not a boulevard be in charge of the street department of a city? Because this is a day of specialists. The work is dissimilar in many respects. ^lost park men are advocates of city beautification. Thev love nature, their aim is to please the masses, to educate, and to culti- vate a higher form of citizenship. Indifference, wanton destruction and vandalism disappear with proper super- vision and education. Now a word as to how we care for boulevards in De- troit: The Boulevard was authorized in 1879 and while some land was dedicated others had to be condemned and there was expended for this purpose the sum of $326,233. In addition, the improvements added from time to time, principal of which was the paving and planting, there has been expended $1,257,638. The value of property facing the Boulevard, not including build- ings, is conservatively estimated at $7,000,000, which is easily one-third more than it would have been if left as an ordinary street. Because of the advantages afforded, buildings of greater value were erected, so looking at the proposition in a cold financial way, the city is deriving in taxes an additional amount annually which in the course of 25 or 30 years is reimbursing it for the original expenditure. And the experience of Detroit is no differ- ent than other cities in this regard. Kansas City reports that the actual land gain in twelve years. 1898 to 1910, in the North and South park districts has been 69.82 per cent, and on Benton Boulevard 183.6 per cent. The Grand Boulevard of Detroit is twelve miles long and at one time encircled the city, commencing at the river on the western part of the city and terminating at the Belle Isle bridge approach on the east side. It con- tains something over 400,000 square yards of pavement and o\er 220 acres of land. The trees are principally elms, although other varieties are sometimes used. The shrubs consist principally of spirea, deutzia lonicera. vi- burnum. Philadelphus, cornus, lilacs, hydrangeas, ber- beris and privet, although no plants which are adapted to the soil conditions are overlooked. Of late we have used many roses, hybrid tea and ramblers, of which the Gruss an Teplitz is the most popular. We also plant an- nually a number of flower beds to add color to the general scheme. We care for these, cut the grass and look after the general maintenance of the boulevard. We also do the policing but the lighting is taken care of by the Public Lighting Commission. TIeavy traffic is forbidden though light delivery vehicles are permitted to make calls but are compelled to enter and leave at the nearest cross street in the direction in which they are moving. No advertising or anything tending to congregate people is permitted. Funeral and other processions are barred. The importance of building restrictions of which I have already spoken, is strongly exemplified in our city and our (Conthiucd on page 175.") THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 169 Jiiiiiiinioniiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiminiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ I American Association of Park Superintendents | John F. Walsh, Jr., President, New York. K. W. CoTTERiLL, Sec.-Treas., Seattle, Washington. | Vice-Presiden ts I HENRY W. BUSCH, Detroit, Mich. 1 HERMAN W. MERKEL, New York, N. Y. CLARENCE L. BROCK, Houston, Texas ERNST STREHLE, St. Louis, Mo. ALEX. STUART, Ottawa, Canada CHARLES W. DAVIS, Memphis, Tenn. SiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiuiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiii! i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iniiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiwiiniiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiimniiu^ PERSONAL AND OTHERWISE. John Berry of Denver, charter member of the A. & K. 0. Y. D., the "June Bride" of the New Orleans convention and good fel- low generally, has yielded to the call to get back into the harness again in spite of his resolve to retire from active park work. He has accepted a position with the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., which owns immense properties and industries in Colorado, to supervise the beautification of the grounds of their various plants. No better man could have been selected for such a task, and we con- gratulate all concerned. Jacob Yl. Prost, for many years City Forester of Chicago and superintendent for the Special Park Commission, has severed his connection with the municipality and has engaged in business in Chicago on a pretentious scale as consulting landscape designer, forester, etc. Mr. Prost owns a well-established nursery, and will be in a position to handle both designing and execution. He has an ambition to take a place with such names as Olmsted, Kessler, Hare, etc., and the best wishes of our members will go to him as Mr. Prost has been one of our active members for many years, and has made a brilliant record at Chicago. Ralph R. Benedict, assistant superintendent at Kansas City, is slowly recovering from a serious illness which extended over a period of several weeks. Following an operation for tonsilitis, septic fever came on, followed by typhoid fever, and his life was in danger for a short time. Superintendent Dunn writes, however, that Mr. Benedict is slowly improving, and he has hopes that he will be on the job again by the time this is read. Adam Kohankie, the "Duke of Washington Park," at Denver, has been re-elected as president of the Denver Society of Orna- mental Horticulture, and S. R. DeBoer, another of our members, was elected as secretary-treasurer. The society is arranging to hold the second Annual Flower Show of the Colorado florists at Denver in October, and our old friend, John Berry, is chairman of the schedule committee. Wm. R. Hancock, formerly park superintendent at Fergus Falls, ilinn., and Bozeman, Mont., has located at Billings, Mont., where he has engaged in business as landscape engineer and designer. Wm. J. Zartmann, one of our old-timers who inadvertently permitted his membership to lapse, has reinstated himself :ind regrets very much that it appeared as if he intended to drop the association of which he was one of the pioneers. Mr. Zart- mann is now engaged in business for himself at New York City as a landscape designer. Robert R. Moss, one of our new members who for several years was in charge of a Long Island estate, has secured the posi- tion of superintendent of grounds for the Metropolitan Water District of Omaha, Neb. The work in hand covers the laying out and beautification of large areas surrounding reservoirs. The parties were brought together through the instrumentality of the secretary's office. The secretary has no further light on the rumored retirement of Wm. S. Manning as superintendent at Baltimore. An ex- change news item sets forth that the Baltimore Park Board is trying out a plan of having district foremen or superintendents, working under direct orders from the board. Another innova- tion is the substitution of flowering plants for shrubbery in the parkings. A legacy of $40,000 was willed recently by the late George J. Austin of'Batavia, N. Y., to his city for the purpose of establish- ing a much needed city park. The bequest has resulted in the municipality sitting up" and taking notice in the way of securing a tract of land in the central section of the city on which the legacy will be expended. There is a double lesson in instances of this kind. First, there is no b(tter way for a man of means to perpetuate his name and memory than to leave a legacy in the form of a park, play- ground or recreational building. Second, such legacies invariably tend to arouse the city authorities to the importance of such features and leads to the prompt development and operation of such things. Henry H. Elbers, director of the South Park Botanic Gardens at Buffalo, was recently elected as president of the Buffalo Florists' Club and is taking hold of that work enthusiastically. John W. Duncan, superintendent at Spokane, Wash., has for- warded to the secretary an interesting collection of data regard- ing municipal golf which he has secured from members and others and has added to it his own observations and conclusions, the whole forming valuable material for an association bulletin which will be published and sent to members in due course of time. Wm. R. Reader, superintendent at Calgary, Canada, is collect- ing data regarding water charges made to park departments by various cities, and the result of his inquiry will be placed in the hand of the secretary for publication for the benefit of our mem- bership. Are you on one of the association committees ? Look in the Year Book and see if you are in doubt about it. Did you note what the president had to say about committee work in the March number? He said: "I will expect a report from each com- mittee on the subject allotted to them at the St. Louis conven- tion which the association will be proud of." Past history has shown that it is hard to get many of our members to take an interest in the work of the association be- tween conventions, but it is to be hoped that this year will be an exception. Our president has laid out a constructive pro- gramme and has asked about fifty of our members to put their shoulders to the wheel. We shall see. Remember the slogan for the St. Louis convention — One hun- dred new members. AVe need them in more ways than one; in fact, we must have them; so don't get peeved if the secretary keeps dinning this into your mind in various ways from now until September. IF YOU ARE ENGAGED IN THE PURSUIT OF HORTICULTURE WHETHER FOR PLEASURE OR FOR PROFIT you cannot fall to be interested In the Garden- ers' Chronicle of America, for, as you will ob- serve by studying Its columns. It Is devoted exclusively to the science of floriculture and horticulture. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY A REGULAR SUB- SCRIBER, in order to induce you to become one, we make you this special offer, to send the Gardeners' Chronicle to you for the balance of the year 1917 for $1.00. Send your subscription to The Chronicle Press, Inc., 286 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y., now, while it is on your mind to do so. 170 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA ^iiiiiiiJiiiiiiiiiiJiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiii iiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiii i iiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniitiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiniiiir iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuii iiiiiiiiiiiijuiiiiiii National Association of Gardeners William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. James Stuart^ Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. Martin C. Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J.; Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. Theo. WiRTH, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Trustees for igiy Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. Directors (To serve until 1918)— William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; .John F. Johnson, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Carl N. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Eraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C; (To serve until 1920)— William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal.; William Gray, Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. ^iiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiuiiiniiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiniii """' "" «»«'««« I »«ni> iiiiiiiiiiiiiiim r mil i iiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiinmiiiiim iiiiiiiimitiijiiiininmiiiimiinimiti i iiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiinniiiimiii THE SPRING EXECUTIVE MEETING. The e.xecutive meeting of the trustees and board of directors of the association was held at the Murray Hill Hotel, New York City, on Friday, March 16. In the absence of President Thomas VV. Head, who at the last moment was prevented from attending the meeting, owing to labor conditions necessitating his presence at home, and Vice-president Theodore Wirth, who was pre- vented from coming East, due to official duties demanding his attention, the chair was occupied by ex-President John W. Everitt. After disposing of the general routine business that came before the meeting a general discussion followed as to what waj's and means might be adopted to stir a greater co- operative activitj' among the members at large. It was generally urged that the assistance of local societies be enlisted, for this purpose, one of the directors present proposing a meeting of the co-operative committees of the local societies in the vicinity of New York, to be held at an early date to devise some plan of action that may be submitted to the co-operative committees of all societies interested in the co-operative movement. The general development of the Service Bureau also received attention. That its possibilities are unlimited was the consen- sus of opinion of those present, but it was also realized that as soon as the financial condition of the association will warrant it, the bureau must be more thoroughly organized. The Committee on Meritorious Exhibits reported that quite a number of local societies have availed themselves of the offer of the association's silver medal to be competed for at their local meetings or shows during 1917. The secretary reported that the receipts of 1917 dues to date have been in advance of previous years, while the treasurer's re- port showed a balance in the bank of over $3,000. The directors voted to hold the 1917 convention during the first week in December. This action was in accordance with the instructions from the convention held in Washington in Decem- ber wlien Chicago was voted on as the next meeting place, the date of which was to be fixed at the spring meeting of the executive committee. The secretary was instructed to write to .James Blair, Staats- burg, N. Y., conveying to him the sympathy of the members on his sad bereavement in the demise of his wife ; and to write to Mrs. Samuel J. Batchelor, Locust Valley, N. Y., conveying to her the sympathies of the members on the loss of her husband and our fellow member. The meeting was adjourned subject to the call of the chair. WINNERS OF THE ESSAY CONTEST. The judges have reported their decision as follows on the Essay Contest for Assistant Gardeners, for which ex-President Oaig ofTered three prizes of $2.5. $1.5 and $10 in gold for the best three essays on any subject pertaining to horticulture. FIRST — "Rock Gardens," b.v Marcel M. Twinney, second assist- ant greenhouse gardener to J. Ogden Armour, Lake Forest, 111. (Thomas W. Head, Supt.) SECOND — "Hardy Fruits." by Frederick W. Bateman, assistant in charge of greenhouses, Mrs. P. Boettger Estate, Riverdale-on- Hudson, N. Y. THIRD — "G.nrden Chemistry in Soil Cultivation," by William S. Gillies, assistant gardener to R. H. Boggs, Sewickley. Pa. THE LEWIS & VALENTINE ESSAY CONTEST. The winner of the prize offered by the Lewis & Valentine Company of $25 in gold, which contest closed on Jlarch 31, for the best article on tree transplanting will be announced in the May number of The C;ardenk1!S' Ciiuoxiixe. THE MEMBERSHIP ROSTER. The membership list to be distributed among the members of the association in book form, will be ready for distribution in the course of the next few weeks. There has been considerable more delay than was at first anticipated in getting out this list, due to the many changes of addresses, that have been received continuously since the beginning of the year, which have necessitated several revisions of the list. AMONG THE GARDENERS Robert Masson, formerly of White Plains, N. Y., has secured the position of gardener on the estate of W. B. Kinney, Red Bank, N. J. In the March issue George B. Wilson was reported having accepted a position with Mrs. Blair, Lake Forest, 111. This was incorrect. Mr. Wilson is now superintendent to Mrs. C. H. McCormick, Sr., Lake Forest, 111. George Critchley has accepted a position as gardener to iliss G. Islin, Davenport Neck, New Rochelle, N. Y. E. B. Palmer, for many years past superintendent of Schoon- hoven Farm, the estate of J. B. Thorne, Black Rock, Bridgeport, Conn., has resigned. George W. Foulsham, superintendent of Highlawn Farm, Lenox, Mass., since 1907, has resigned to engage Ji the florist business in Bethlehem, Pa. William Hyland, formerly superintendent of the Stewart Harts- horn Estate, Short Hills, N. J., is now superintendent to Joseph Day, Morristown, N. J. T. Harvey resigned his position as gardener to Percy Ballen- tine. Louden Hills. South Montrose, Pa., to join the Canadian Field Artillery. Robert Creighton succeeds him in his position. Murdo MacPherson has secured the position of gardener on the Stephen Birch Estate. Mahwah. N. J., formerly the Havemeyer Estate, recently purchased by Mr. Birch. Joseph Briggs is now gardener to Joseph Fahy, Sag Harbor, N. Y. A. Founiar has secured the position of superintendent on the estate of E. H. Price, Portchester, N. Y. Thomas Richardson has secured the position of gardener to Mrs. C. JI. Bliss, Jr., Westbury, N. Y. Gordon Murrav has secured the position of head gardener to J. R. Merron, Hill Acres, Littleton, N. H. A. H. Lane, for the past four years at Georgian Court, Lake- wood, N. J., has secured the position of manager of Rolling Rock Farm, Laughlintown, Pa. Charles Dumper, reported in the last issue as at Nor%vich, Conn., has accepted tlie position of gardener on the McKinney Estate, Butler, N. J. THE GARDEISIERS- CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 171 LOCAL SOCIETIES MAINE STATE FLORISTS' SOCIETY. JIaine State Florists' Society liekl its third annual meeting and Flower Sliow here during Fanners' Week (March ij-10). The sliow lasted two days (March '8-9) and was attended liy many out-of-town visitors. Prof. A. H. Xehrling of the Ueiiartnu'Ut ■of Floriculture, Massachusetts Agricultural College, gave an illustrated lecture on the "Development of Floriculture" and also •conducted a round table in the afternoon. The rest of the special Horists' jirogram held JIarcli 8 was as follows: "Sweet Peas," J. H. Stalford. l!ar Harbor, Me. "New and Desirable Herbaceous Peren- nials," A. E. Thatcher, Mt. Desert Nurse- ries, Bar Harbor, Me. Among the exhibitors the following de- serve special mention : J. H. Stalford, Bar Harbor. Jle.: Tulips, freesias, narcissus. E. Saunders, Lewiston, Me.: Carnations, narcissus, hyacinths. M. A. Clark, Ellsworth. Mc: Freesias. narcissus, tulips, h_yacinths. Willis E. Hamilton, Belfast, Me.: Chry- santhemums, narcissus, tulips, hyacinths. Wm. Butler. Brunswick, Me.: Violets. RICHARD T. MULLER, Secretary. i iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^^^^^^^^^ iiui Ill iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH^^^^^^^ UEW YORK FEDERATION OF HORTI- CULTURAL SOCIETIES AND FLORAL CLUBS. A meeting of the New York Federation ■of Horticultural Societies and Floral Clubs was held at 101 Park avenue. New York •City, Monday, March 19, at 4 o'clock. President F. R. Pierson presided at this meeting. The following clul)s were repre- sented by delegates: New York Florists' ■Chill. New York Horticultural Society, New York and New Jersey Plant C4rowers' Asso- ciation, Albany Horticultural Society. Roch- ester Florists' Club, Bufialo Florists' Club, Tarryto«n Horticultural Society, Syracuse Florists' Association. A report of the last meeting was read and approved. President F. R. Pierson re- ported regarding a joint meeting of dele- gates fi-om tlu' Federation and from the New York Vegetable Growers' Association, which was held in Albany on February 22. This joint committee had a conference with the Lieutenant Governor, the chairman of the Finance Committee and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee regard- ing an appropriation for a horticultural building iit the New York State Fair (irounds. President Pierson reported that the Governor was keenly interested in the building, and that the committee was anx- ious to do everything possible to obtain it. but changing the race track and the neces- sity for new buildings for horses and swine, together with the financial situation in the State this year, seemed to make it im- possible that an appropriation be made for the whoh^ amount. Tt was hoped that a sufficient appropriation at least might be made to have the ]dans drawn and the construct ion on jiart of the buildings be- gun. Tlie committee discussed ]ilans with the State Architect, and these plans pro- vided for a builaing large enough to ac- commodate the exhibits of fruits, vege- tables, flowers and farm crops. President Pierson also reported that his committee had decided that because of tlie financial situation in the State this year the nioiiev for ti.e investigational range of Ruffled I Gladiolus I -KLNDERDI" TYPE I The only race of Gladiolus ever produced in the United States and the most beautiful of all. Each petal is exquisitely ruffled or fluted, giving the flower a refined appearance, equaled only by the finest orchids. "Kunderdi" Types New Class — New Types — New Colors- "They arc immensely more beaidifiil than the /'lain." Matthew Craicford. "The Ruffled Gladiolus like the rutHed Sweet Peas have a refined appear- ance ivhich the flat petalcd o)ies do not possess." Luther Burbank. Our New Primulinus types of this strain are exceedingly fine, and as different from other strains of Primulinus Hybrids as are our ruffled from other and older types of gladiolus. Send postal card request for our handsome free catalog of 40 pages and cover, describing 231 varieties, illustrating ?iO, and all of our own pro- duction. You ought to have a copy, as it contains the most complete cul- tural information, How to Grow Giant Gladiolus, etc., etc. As a special introductory oft'er to the readers of The Gardeners' Chronicle we will send 100 first-class bulbs of our "Ideal Mixed" and include 1 bulb each of Roanoke and Alice Tiplady (2 of our finest Primulinus Hybrids), total value, $5.00, for $4.00, prepaid. Address the originator of the Ruffled Gladiolus I A.E.KUNDERD, (Bo.v 4.) Goshen, Ind., U.S.A. | liiiininuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiy^ greenhouses at Cornell University should not be asked for. Charles Viek of Rochester, Anton Schul- (heis of College Point and Fred Danker of Albany were appointed on a committi^e to confer with the Commissioner of Agricul- ture and the superintendent of the flower exhibit at the New York State Fair re- garding the adjustment of a more satis- factory ])re!nium list for flowers and plants. SEATTLE LANDSCAPE GARDENERS' AND HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The Seattle Landscape Gardeners' and Horticultural Association was organized in the early part of January with fifteen char- ter members. The membership is growing rapidly, and it now has thirty-five active members who represent the various horti- cultiu'al interests of the city. Anyone who visits Seattle is deeply im- pressed with its natural beauty. Nature has contributed much toward making it the "City Beautiful." Co-operation on the part of landscape gardener, nurseryman, archi- tect and home-maker are necessary to make Seattle beautiful as it should be. This or- ganization hopes to bring about this co- operation. Public demonstrations and lec- tures are given each month for the benefit of those who desire to- obtain horticultural knowledge. On Saturday, February 17, a jiruning demonstration was given " at one of the parks. The proper way to prune the various roses were illustrated by ex- pert men in the profession. About four lumdred jieople were present. Preparations are now being made for a "Plant Disease and Spraying" demonstration the latter jiart of Jlareh. Mr. Frank of the experi- ment station will assist in the work. The owners of the small home as well as the large home owners are encouraged to jdant shrubbery and improve their grounds. At the same time the organization is en- 172 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 'yHERE'Sgood reason for planting useful things, with veg- etables soaring in price. And there's not merely money but also pleasure in raising products that you can be sure are just right. Thorburn's seeds will give you satisfaction. You can be certain that the vege- tables or plants grown from them will be delicious, of fine size and flavor. This is due to the care taken by Thorburns in the selection of their seeds. Use Thorburns this year without fail. With these seeds you take no chances ; they are a guarantee of success and have been so for over a century. Today write for our latest catalog; it's free and contains much in- formation of timely in- terest "nd of value. J. M. Thorburn & Co. Established 1S02 ,- —^ 53-U Barclay Street 54 Park Place Neiv York endj& f'^BooR Use This Unusual Catalog SUGGESTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE PLANTING A CATALOG which tails what plants and trees and shrubs are best adapted by Nature for each garden and landscape — and how to group them most effectively. "Suggestions for Effective Planting" is not the usual mechanical deadly dull nurs- ery catalog. Its arrangement of departments brings together the material best suited for each purpose. Send for yonr cof'x as soon as possible. Andorra Nurseries William Warner Harper. Proprietor Box 110, Chestnut Hi Phiia.. Pa. ileavoring to show the value of professional knowledge in the work. Tlie gardeners themselves are striving for greater ef- ticieney. As soon as there is sufficient business a central office will be established. The following officers were elected to serve one year: W. C. Shawen. president; Louis Holland, vice-president; P. H. \Yil- liams. seeretarv; .T. .T. Bonncll. treasurer; H. :\I. Lindley'. E. W. Smith, E. Sandahl. executive board. NEW LONDOrj HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. New London ffortieiiltnral Society held its regular monthly meeting Thursday, March 8. President J. D. Rough in the chair. After the usual business session and election of new members, Mr. J. Van Baarda, representative of Joseph Breck & Sons. Boston, Mass., addressed the society (in spring flowering bull)s. tlieir culture, (chiefly in Holland) and suitable varieties for planting in pots and out-doors, were all exjdained by the speaker. A good discus- sion followed his remarks. A rising vote iif thanks was extended to Mr. Van Haarda. A very fine display of primula mala- cnides Cineraria stillata and winter lldwering stocks v.ere exhibited by John Malonej', gardener to Mrs. Guthrie, "Meadow Court." President Rough arranged two exquisite vases of Ophelia roses and Lilium Formo- sum. The next meeting will be addressed by Thos. Hutton of the Landers Estate. New London. STAXLEY JORDAN, Secretary. TUXEDO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. I The regular monthly meeting of the Tuxedo Horticultural Society was held in I the Parish House March 7, President P. Cassidy in the chair. There was a large .Ttfcndance of members present. Mr. Tan- si'y gave a report as delegate to the con- vention of the Federation of Horticultural Societies which was held at Ithaca, N. Y. He reports a very educative and pleasant time. This being our annual rose and car- ^ BURPEE'S SEEDS are grown not onlv to sell but to grow again. The fact that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to be our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseof Burpee continues to grow just as surely as Burpee's Seeds Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A post card will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Burpee Buildings Philadelphia GRAND PRIZE GLADIOLI The highest possible honor con- ferred on our original strain of Gladioli at California World's Fair. Many varieties from 5 to 7 inches in diameter, tall upright spikes, rare and delicate colors. To introduce this new strain we offer either of two special sets. 3 large select bulbs, or 10 blooming size select bulbs. Price, $1.00 per set. To a-zoid iiiisiinilcrstavdins mention Gardiners' Chronicle Set METZNER FLORAL CO. MOUNTAIN VIEW, CAL. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 173 nation nigiit it was tlie finest display of cut flowers and pot plants ever staged at a monthl_y meeting of tlu- society, and all of good quality. The judges appuinted for the evening were Messrs. D. Mcintosh. Geo. Shaw and Jos. Tansey. Mr. \Vm. Hastings staged some fine carnations and cinerarias ; Mrs. Machan staged carnations, mignon- ette, sweet peas, wallflower and amaryllis; !Mr. C. Davidson, roses, carnations and vio- lets; Mr. McGregor, antirrhinums, carna- tions and roses; Mr, Thos. Lyons, carna- tions and antirrhinums: Mr. E. Wilson, tulips and narcissus; Thos. Wilson, carna- tions, liliums and narcissus. Mr. Joseph Tansey ofTered a pipe and tobacco pouch for the best vase of flowers in the hall, which was won by Thos. Wilson with car- nations. Cards were given for the firsts and seconds in all classes. At tlie April meeting we are starting a competition for those who win the highest number of points during the year. Competition is open for anj' garden or greenhouse produce which will be judged and awarded points according to its merits. The society will hold its ladies' evening on April 11, when we intend to have a fine time. THOMAS WILSON, Secretary. STAMFORD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the Stamford Horticultural Society was held Friday evening in their new quarters, the Moose Hall, Luther street. President H. Weilds was in the chair, with about 75 members present. A very pleasing exhibit was shown by the members. Mr. Alins won the first price of $2, of- fered by G. Cannon for two vases of ear- nations, consisting of twelve white and twelve pink. Mr. Wynn was a very close competitor, taking the second prize of $1. Mr. Geddes received a cultural certifi- cate for one vase Enchantress Supreme and one vase of Harlowarden Sport. Mr. P. H. Donovan's two vases of car- nations, one plate of mushrooms and one vase freesias were highly commended. One vase Gerbera Jameson! and Lepto- syne Maritima, one vase seedling carna- tions and one vase stocks, Beauty of Nice, exhibited by A. Wynn. were highly com- mended. He also received a vote of thanks for three plants primula malacoides. One specimen plant of Cattleya Tuianae, exhibited by Mr. J. Foster, was highly com- mended. Vase of Mrs. Shawyer roses, also shown by Mr. Foster, received a vote of thanks. This same exhibit was made at a previous meeting, and received a cultural certificate. One box mushrooms by 0. F. Wagner re- ceived a vote of thanks. One vase tulips Keizerkrovn, one vase tulips. Pride of Harlem ; one vase tulips, Pride of Austria, were awarded a cultural certificate. One vase sweet peas, Yarrowa, and one vase sweet peas, Lavender Queen, were highly commended. One seedling be- gonia received a vote of thanks, all of the above being shown by A. Pederson. Mr. Wynn received a vote of thanks for one vase antirrhinum. Queen Victoria. Two vases new seedling antirrhinum were shown by Olaf Johnson and awarded a vote of thanks. An exhibit of lawn seed by G. Cannon re- ceived a vote of thanks. A group of miscellaneous plants, consist- ing of Lilium Formosum and stocks of various types, also a vase miscellaneous flowers, namely tulips, lilies of the valley and narcissus, shown by Adolph Alins, were highly commended. One vase of Mareehal Neil roses, by A. Alins, received a vote of thanks. Inside and Outside LUTTON GREENHOUSES Show the Mark of Quality THE view above shoves the general attractiveness of LUTTON design, the wide glass employed (24 inches) and the iceless eaves, which are free from heavy shadow -casting members. The lower view shows the unusual amount of headroom found in LUTTON ranges so that tall plants are handled as easily as low ones. It also demonstrates the abundance of light flowing into the house. But neither of these views illustrates some of the mosj important advan- tages of LUTTON construction, such as the rust -proof protection of .the metal parts; the compactness of the V-Bar supporting members; the ab- sence of glass- to -metal contact which diminishes, gVass breakage; the e.ver: lasting slate benches, and a score of other features of equal importance. We will gladly send you full particulars, covering either our "rust -proof" V-Bar type or Standard Iron Frame curved eave type of greenhouse. Write today. WM. H. LUTTON CO. Main OfBce and Factory, 265-271 Kearney Avenue Jersey City, N. J. Sliow Room, Srd Floor. Grand Central Terminal, Xew York City Western Office, 710 .Sykes Block, Minneapolis, Minn. GREENHOUSES CONSERVATORIES COLD FRAMES One vase of carnations Bed Wings, bj' Avon .S. Hnnwick, were highly commended. A very interesting paper on the culture (if herbaceous perennials was given by H. Weilds, president of the society. Eight new members were taken into the society with application for numerous others. The next monthlv meeting will be held April 6. F.'S. HAUTWRIGHT, Correspiiuding Secretary. NASSAU COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the above society was held in the Pembroke Hall, Glen Cove, on Wednesday, March 14. Quite a number of members were present, considering the inclement weather. Presi- dent James McCarthy occupied the chair. James HoUoway gave us a very interesting report of his recent \isit to the Davy Tree convention. W. J. Collins. Boston, Mass., and Rich- ard French, New York, were elected active members. The exhibition tables were well filled with very strong competition in all the carnation classes. The president appointed Messrs. James Dntliie, Thomas Twigg and William Noonan to act as judges, and their awards were as follows: 1st, Frank Watson for 12 pinks; 1st, James McCartliy for 12 white, and 1st, Peter McDonald for 12 mixed carnations The special prize given by P. W. Popp for the most meritorious exhibit was won by John F. Johnson with a very fine display of polyanthus, well flowered, in 6 pots. Certificate of culture to John W. Everitt for .3 heads of lettuce. Golden Ball, and spe- 174 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA cial meiitiun to Peter McDonald for a pot of antirrhinum, Silver Pink. It was decided, if the trustees could procure the Exhibition Hall, to hold our annual Dahlia Sliow on Tuesday, October 9, and the Clirysanthe- mum 81io\v on November 1 and 2. Exliiliits for the next meeting to l)e held on April 11 at 7 p. ni. are: 1 jian of bulbs, 1 plant of Easter Lily and 1 [>lant of hydrangea in pot not to exceed 8 Indies. HARRY GOODBAND HOTBED SASH at 80c. each Made of liest grade (lulf Cypress Glazed Hotbed Sash from $1.65 up DOUBLE LIGHT HOT BED SASH 2" thick, painted two coats, glazed two layers 10 X 12 glass, $3.75 ea. up. We claim that our double light sash are better than any other made. We have in stock thousands of all kinds for immediate shipment. Hotbed and Greenhouse Glass and Putty 1305-1317 Hushing Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. i -► 1 CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MANUFACTURERS PHILADELPHIA. PA. i ->. ;,'#r mn^ Gwenhcwes Distinctive Productive Beautiful A rare combination of practical and ornamental construction wliich lifts every King, from the simplest house to the most sump- tuous range, out of the class of the usual and ordinary. Write for descriptive literature and tell us what vou have in mind Our experts will prepare special sketches or we will send a representative II you prefer, without charge or obligation. We will show you that you can own a King Greenhouse or Conserva- ^«( tory that will add grace and charm to your garden. "^^^ KING CONSTRUCTION COMPANY 302 King's Road North Tonawanda, N. Y. ALL THE SUNLIGHT ALL DAY HOUSES A Branch Offices: •New York, 1476 Broadway Boston. 113 State .St. Scranton. 307 Ining Ave. Phi Y. Y. III. ilarielphia Harrison /^ ''■ \ — i' — \~ C Bldg.. l.ith i Market ^^f] i_'_- 1 ill r. „^.. Glen Cove, N. V. John Wananiaker, Wyncote, Pa. James B. Duke, Somerville, N. J. Alfred I. Dupont, Wilmington, Del. .\ithur Brisbane, Allaire, N. T. T. A. Havemever, Brookville, L. I. Samuel Untermeyer, Yonkers, N. C. Oliver Iselin, Glen Cove, N. Herbert Pratt, Glen Cove, N. J. D. Forgan, Chicago, Carroll L. Post, Battle Creek, Mich. [ homas F. Rvan, Oak Ridge, Va. < )iie of the Skinner System sprinkling lines ill Harden of Alfred I. Dupont. Wilminston, Del. The Skinner System Will Ban- ish Your Watering Worries WITH one tui'ii of tlif liaiul. you i:nu bring tiowii nii your garden crop a finely broken -up -spray like tlie gentk' rains of beavcn Will not pack or puddle the soil. Will not injure the finest foli.iiH'. Not only waters abundantly, but waters correctly and uni- formly. Not only protects your crop against the toll of drought, but adds surprisingly to your garden returns. By a simple attachment fitted to the standard sprinkling line you can make it automatic. Vnn have only to turn it on. Sprays turn s'owly across the garfien. It turns itself off when the garden is com- pletfiy watered. Send for our Bookl-'t. It lilazes the way to holherless. worrile'js watering. It is possible that bulb supplies from Holland and France will be much restricted this year. Place your orders now for retarded Lilies and retarded Spireas, to have something that will take the place of bulbous flowers late this Fall. We have these goods in our usual select quality. SCHEEPERS & CO., INC., Flowerbulb Specialists, No. 2 Stone St., New York City. IIIIIIIIHI THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 175 CITY PLANTING AND BEAUTIFYING. {Continued from page 168.) mistakes should prove valuable to other cities. While the boulevard was originally intended for a pleasure drive and was to be used for residence purposes it has de- generated. In advocating the establishment its promoters met nuich opposition and while it would have been de- sirable to have had all property restricted it is quite likely the opposition would have been increased in that case. The result was that only in parts was it restricted, and with the coming of the automobile and the enormous growth of the city some soon took advantage of the new situation created and the establishment of commercial enterprises resulted. For many years we opposed tliem with the only means at hand. We informed them that under no circumstances would we permit driveways to be built on boulevard lawn leading into their property. This had a deterring efifect, as it would interfere with the conduct of business, but it was only short lived. One, more aggressive than the rest, started legal action with the result that the Supreme Court of this state held that we had no right to deny ingress and egress to any man's property when not otherwise restricted. This opened the v> ay for many others and now we grant permits for drive- wa3's and foot walks, although we try to have them as inconspicuous as is possible. GREENHOUSE SHADING Write for particulars. E. A. LIPPMAN, Manufacturer 6 HIGH STREET, MORRISTOWN, N. J. |niiiiiiiiiiiiNiiNiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiii[!iiiiiiu{iiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiMiu:iiii:iiii:iiiii«i{iiiiiiii!iiiMiiii iii.iiiMiiii:iiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiy I Founded J8,59 | I WEATHERED'S | I Gold Medal Greenhouses | = Tlie only winners o! a Gold Metlal. = ^ The only w'nncrs of a Silver Medal. U 1 The only winners of a (iold, Silver and TJronze Medal. = I FOR GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION I ^ The practicability of the house illustrated was decided = I by Mr. Charles H. Totty, Madison, N. J., the expert plants- m I man, and the ornateness by Mrs, Totty when they decided h i to annex this structure to their residence. p g We build them of any size, with or without curved eaves, ^ I iron frame, semi -iron, or all wood construction. p I WEATHERED COMPANY I I 242 Lafayette St., NEW YORK | ?tbury, L. I., for experimental purposes. The results ob- tained therein were so surprising that a second one of our patented construction was erected, and now their third green- house (the one in the background) has just been completed. , Notice that provision has been made to extend this house to »2 larger proportions when desired. "These reorders from so prominent a concern should be ample ' proof nf this organization's satisfactory service. I Put your greenhouse problems up to us, i"- We go anywhere in the U, S. I ' to submit plans and prices. MetropDlitanMatcrialCd 1305-1317 Flushing Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. :'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllltillillilllliliiilii:iiiiiiiiiNiNiiiii!iiuiiiiiiiiiNiiqiiiii:iiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiii:iiiiitiniiin;iiii:iniiiiN M mm^ mk _ J^ p" ^'"VJI ^^^flH ^MMM i ^jH ^ ^i3 M r^H gljHfl^^^^^BJK."'^ ^^ 1^1 ANCHOR POST I Garden Gates | I Arbors and Arches | I Trellises and Espaliers | I Lawn Fences — Tree Guards | I Unclimbable Fences | I Entrance Gates | 1 CATALOC ^^'^ Ii.'t\ e catalogs desc rilling these various prod = g ucts. Tell us what you are interested in and we = § will send catalog. s I ANCHOR POST IRON WORKS I I 17 Cortlandt Street, South (13th Floor) New York | H Pliiladelphirt Boston Cleveland Hartford Newark = I 2156- G I ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiuiiim 1 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 179 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiittiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iniii>iiiiiiiiiniiiii»iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!^^ Hammond's Insecticides and other Products are used throughout the United States and Canada Slug Shot — Thrip Juice — Solution of Copper — Grape Dust — Bordeaux Mixture — Cat- tle Comfort — Tobacco Extract — American Sheep Wash — Horicum Lime Sulphur — Scrofularia for Carpet Beetles — and the strongest Weed Killer for destroying Poison Ivy, Sumach and all weeds — Paint and Putty. Sold by Dealers and Merchants Send for Pamphlet to HAMMOND'S PAINT AND SLUG SHOT WORKS BEACON NEW YORK Do you spray your trees? WILLIAM F. LEARY Scientific Care of Trees Spraying — Pruning — Cementing 182 NORTH AVE., NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. Dealer in Spraying Machines Agents for Aphine, Fungine & Vermine High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN FOR GARDEN HUMUS^ A |iiii'i' |i!;int IVhhI. uiilrju-hnl ;iiul iiiiliunit; |>r"Vfn liy nnalysis to con- taiu putasU. plmsiilmric ni-iil uxn\ iiilrnj;" ii. Absorbs Nature's moisture act! spreads its fertilizing; elemonts tlirough tlie soil. Reijuires moutlis of prepariitioii. Try a bagl One 100-lb. ba& - $1,35 I Four 100-Ib. bags $4,00 Two 100-lb. bags 2,50 Five 100-lb. bags 4.50 Three 100-lb. bags 3,50 I Six 100-lb. bags 5.00 Send cbeck or money order with order. F. 0. B. N^w York or Jersey City on any Railroad or Steainhnat I-ine. MAGIC HUMUS COMF»A.MY G. W. CHANDLER. Sales Agent, 264 West 34th St., New York, or 40 Peters PI., Red Bank, N, J, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiim PIANOS Grands, Uprights, Players and Electric Players 180 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA I""""""""" """" "' "' ii""'"ii """ iiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiii I iNiiii iiiimii I iiNiiiiiiiij |iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiimi iiiiiiiiii 11,1111 iiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiminiiiiiiii g I Bon Arbor Chemical Co. | I PATERSON, N. J. | I Manufacturers or j I BON ARBOR No. 1. Soluble Plant Life. A I I most wonderful and invigorating food for all | I plants, indoor and outdoor. | j BON ARBOR No. 2. Best dressing for your | I lawns. I I RADIX WORM ERADICATOR. Instant- | I ly removes worms from your Tennis Courts, | I Putting greens, etc. ■ | I ANT DESTROYER. Will remove all ants | I outside or indoors in a week's time. Be sure | I and try it. | I NATURAL HUMUS. Is the best for mak- | I ing new lawns, gardens, etc. | j Write for descripive catalogue | I and prices | fS^ Strictly fine, up- to-date in str u- ments, introduced a n d highly r e- garded in all parts of the Civi- lized If o r I d — PRICES MOD- ERATE. g This "ad." is not a mistake; we regard Gardeners as refined, 8 g educated, music-loving people, who buy pianos. ' s g If the TONK Instruments are not represented in j-our town, 1 ^ apply to us for catalogs and details. ' i I WILLIAM TONK & BRO., INC. I I Tenth Ave., Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Sts., NEW YORK 1 iiiiillllllllllillllllllllilllilillllllllllilllllllllllllinilllllllimiilllllllllllllillilililliilliilil iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii: niiiiiiiiiiii.^ ;:iiiiiiiiiillliiiiilllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllliiililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GAKDEN For the Greenhouse — Applied at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent as a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most efifective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efificient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. Sold by dealers in various sizes /PHINE MANUFACURING CO. MANUFACTURERS OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON. N. J. FUNGINE For mildew, rust and other blights affecting flowers, fruita and vegetables. VERMINE For worms and insects infesting the soil. Fdiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Two Points on Greenhouse Possessing That You May Have Overlooked FIRST, that attaching it to your garage is both a practical and economical arrangement. SECOND, that it does not require either an extensive or an expensive hotise to grow potted fruit. It may even be somewhat of a surprise to learn that it takes less heat to grow such fruit than almost any flowers, excepting per- haps violets. Likewise, it may have escaped your notice that with a three- compartment grapery, you can have big, luscious, meaty grapes from May Day to Christmas Day.* Our new greenhouse booklet No. 116 tells the interesting par- ticulars about all these things. You are welcome to a copy. Or why not ask one of us to come and talk greenhouse possi- bilities over with you ? NEW YORK 42nd St. Bldg BUILDERS OF GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES SALES OFFICES BOSTON PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO ROCHESTER CLEVELAND Tremont Bldg. Widcner Bldg. Rookery Bldg. Granite Bldg. Svvetland Bldg. TORONTO Royal Bank Bldg. MONTREAL Transportation Bldg. FACTORIES: Irvington. N. Y. ; Des Plaints, III.; St. Catharines, Canada GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 50 The Year MAY, 1917 15c. The Copy Are you fooling yourself about your trees? ARE you making the dangerous mis- take about tree surgery that was made by the owner of the tree shown herewith? (Small photograph No. 1 below.) Read the following facts — they may prove a revelation. The owner of the tree shown here tliought that Tree Surgery was merely a matter of patchint; cavities witli cement — some- thing which almost any clever fellov could do. The result to his trees was costly and disappointing. Davey Tree Surgeons found that ihis tree (Photo. 1), which the owner thought had been saved, was in a really critical condition, disease and decay continuing unchecked behind the fillings. The entire work had to he torn out and done again— f/o«(; right. Photo- graphs Xos. 1. 2, i and 4 — a typical tree — tell the story. cSee descriptive matter under photographs.) Tree Surgery a Specialized Science Tree owners sometimes contuse Tree Surgery with Forestry. These two pro- fessions are as widely separated as den- tistry and medicine. The Forester is trained to deal with trees in the mass, culturing them pri- marily for lumber supply. As Bernard E. Fernow, Deati of Faculty of Forestry, L'niversity of Toronto, puts it: "The forester grows trees iiot to be preserved, but to be harvested,'' The Tree Surgeon, on the contrary, is interested in the individual tree; to pro- long its life is his sole aim. He know;s little or nothing about forestry and is entirely unequipped in training and ex- perience to cope w'ith its problems. Forestry is a worthy profession doing a great economic work. But to entrust the saving of your priceless specimen trees to a Forester is certain to result in disaster. For real Tree Surgery, there is only one safe place to go — to Davey Tree Surgeons. Davey Tree Surgery Is Safe Safe- — 'because it is tiTiie-proved, its iccord of succe;-sful performance for thousands of estate owners spanning a generation. Safe — because no Davey' Tree Surgeon is allowed any responsibility until he has Conclusively demonstrated his fitness. He must have served his full course of thor- ough, practical training and scientific study in the Davey Institute of Tree Surgerv — a school, the only one of its kind in the world, which we conduct for I he specific purpose of drilling our men according to Davey methods and Davey i. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgery has been endorsed as best by the United States Government, after e.xhaustive offi- cial investigation. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgeons are flicked men, thoroughly trained, conscien- tious, intelligent, courteous, in love with their work. Safe — because the Davey Company is a successful and responsible house, amply able to make good in every instance and not needing, for the sake of temporary existence, to sacrifice in the slightest de- gree its high standards. Four tj'pical letters from hun- dreds by satisfied Davej^ users. Archibald H. Bull, Pres.. A. H. Bull Steawslnf^ Co., .\'e%v Vork City: "1 am very nrni-h pka-seri and satisfi?(i Hith your work." A. P. Lovejoy. Janesx'ilic, ll'is. : "Your work is tfficienl and scientific, your men capable and business-like." Mrs. Susan Wheeler, Bryn Mawr. Pa. : * 'The work you have done lor me has been entirely satisfactory. I fully Iwlieve thai it has added to the lifi* of my Ire.s. for which I am verj- thankful." F. E. .-1tteau.r. F. F. .4tteau.v & Co.. Inc.. Boston. Mass.: ■ 'I am pleased to «ay that your work is perfectly satisfactory in pver>' way." Write today for Free Examination of your Trees — and hooklci. 'When Vcnr Trees Need the Tiv Sui^eon." What is the rial condilion of yom trees? Are insidious diseases and hidden d^rrin slowly undoroiining th ir strength? Will tin next severe storm claim one or more as ir victims? Only the experienced Tree Surgeon i an tell you fully and defi nilely. Wit hout rost - 1 obligation tj) you. a Davey Tree Sui^eon "ill visit yonr plare. and render an honest venli' i regarding their condilion and needs. Write to(l;t\ The Davev Tree Export Co., Inc. 307 Elm Street. Kent. Ohio. iOtcyatifi^ the Davey Institute of T't.. Surgery, Kent. Ohio ) Branch offices, with telephone connection: 223 Fifth Ave., New York: 2017 Land Title BIdg., Philadelphia; 430 McCormick BIdg.. Chicago Permanent represent ali vis liPi;ih-ecome a mere shell, liable to crash to pieees in any severe .storm. No. 3. Davey Tree Surgeons removed every partieie of decay, dis- infected the entire cavity to destroy the existing disease, thoroughly water- proofed the inside, cut water sheds to exctud' moisture and carefully braced the shell me- chanieally. -Nil. 4. Here is the finished re- sult of science plus skill. The strength of the tree, destroyed by decay, has been restored by me- chanirally perfect Davey methods. The filling was put in by sections to permit the normal sway of the tree without cracking the filling, "he new bark is growing over the fdges of the filling and in time will cover it entirely. This tree is now in perfect b-alth — perma- nently saved — responding gloriously to the marvelous skill of Davey Tree Sui^ons who know how and ^vhy. Davey Tree Surgeons FOR SAFE TREE SURGERY Every real Davey Tree Surgeon is in the emf'ldy of the Davey Tree L'.vtcrt Company ami the public is cautioned against those folselv rcprcicnting themseh>es. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 185 ^imniiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiuiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiii I iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimniiiiuiiiiiiiiij iiiiii iiuiminiiiiii i H n « J DELPHINIUMS CROMWELL GARDENS HYBRIDS.— A strain of choice hyljrids grown from seed, carefully selected fruni the liest varieties and types. Dark l)lue and hght l)lue shades. 20c. each. $2.00 per dozen, S12.00 per 100. Choice Named Varieties BELLADONNA.— Dark bine. 25c. each, $2.50 per dozen, $15.00 per 100. BELLADONNA.— .Miss Fanny Stormoth, a lovely shade of azure blue. 25c. each, $2..^0 per dozen, $15.00 per 100. LILACINA. — Mauve pink ; very good for mass effect. 50c. each.. $5.00 per dozen. MOERHEIMI.— The liest pure white Del- phinium yet introduced. 30c. each, $3.00 per dozen. PERSIMMON.— Pure light blue with a very pretty bluish-white eye. 30c. each., $3.00 per dozen. ANPlEI^SON mc Cromwell Carpens Ci^Mv/ELL Conn ^iiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuii'iiiiiiiii miiiiiiiiiuniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiuiiiuiiiwiiiiiiiiiiNiiMiiii^^ iiiiniiinuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuini: immiii imiiimimi iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii- Some Particularly Choice Poppies and Larkspur Grown From Imported Stock THERE is absolutely no reason why your Poppies and Larkspur and any other hardy plants should not grow vigorously the first year; flower freely for the most part; and be absolutely true to color and habit. The only sure way, however, to insure this result is to plant plants grown from cuttings rooted from choice, vigorous stock. Every hardy flower we sell is so rooted. Being pot grown, we can ship the soil with them, so tliey can be transplanted without their knowing anything has happened. Such plants are absolutely dependable. They have strong constitutions, and flower true to color. The Poppies and Larkspur listed below are all imported and they are the very cream of England's most highly prized productions. But few of them can be bought anywhere else. The quantity of both is necessarily somewhat limited. So it will be best to order early. Oriental Poppies The range of colors in this collection defies descript Autumn in all her brilliance and color gradation can vie with them. Poppy enthusiasts who have seen the collection has few equals outside of England. 12, 2 of each, $3.50. 6 for $1.90. Rosy Pink $0. Bright salmon Salmon Pink Orange scarlet Rosy salmon Blush pink Delicata Iris Perry Mrs. Ferry Oriflamme Perry's Favorite Perry's Blush ion. scarce laim it 35 each 35 This charming booklet contains 18 different collections for nine different planting pur- Helpful Help Hint Bookletf°,'"p'i;„',',?;;^ Wntf" f°"'"'="'°" ""^"tments to shade trees. It is teeming with help- We want you to have as many copies as you wish for yourself and friends. Larkspur or Delphiniums This list represents the latest, as well as the choicest things of England's expert hybridizers. Those marked with a star have obtained an award of merit from the Royal Horticul- tural Society of London. 12, 2 of each $7.50. $4 for 6. tS^,",' ?■ Lascelles Deep blue, white centre 5-6 ft. $1.00 each Belladonna semi-plena ... Sky blue, rosy mauve center 2^ ft. .35 "Moerheimi Pure white 5-6 ft. .50 Salland Dark blue, branching 4 ft! 75 Capri Sky-blue, much branched 5-6 ft. .75 Lize Van Veen Cambridge blue, white eye 6 ft. .75 ,^ Ak Thg Sifn of Thg Trgg Box 20 RutK»>^ord N.J. 186 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iLUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIinHlllHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIInillllllllllllmilllllllllllllllN I A Water Garden may be sinall, but | I it will give its share of pleasure. | I ^\'ater Lilies can be grown by anyone, without | I difficulty. A small pool, with Water Lilies and | j aquatic plants, will be the center of attraction in | I your garden. If you do not have a pool, a half-, | I barrel, sunk in the ground, will give ample room | I and water. | I Three Splendid Varieties i._ IT rite for it. TUB WM. H. MOON COMPANY Nurserymen PEINNSVLVAMA ORRISVILLE BODDINGTON'S MIDSUMMER CATALOGUE Ready This Month Lists all that is best in Strawberry Plants, In- secticides, Fertilizers and Seasonable Seeds and Bulbs. Send for your copy. lincarpotateii 128 Chambers Street NEW YORK CITY THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 187 piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiii iNiiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii IBobbink&Atkins I W orlcTs Choicest Nursery and Greenhouse Products | 1 Grotvn in America. ■ Evergreens Rhododendrons Homegrown Roses Herbaceous Perennials Trees and Shrubs I The quality of our product for ground and green- | I house will reflect credit wherever grown. | I Over 400 acres. Half million feet glass, j I Our illustrated General Catalog is mailed free | I on request. | Inurserymen and florists 1 Rutherford New Jersey sriiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ CARNATIONS POT GROWN NOW READY FROM 4" POTS COTTAGE MAID •I'he Novelty for 1917 $3.00 dozen $20.00 hundred BELLE WASHBURN The finest of all the reds $1.50 dozen $12.00 hundred Alice, Enchantress Supreme, Good Cheer, Benora, Matchless, Mrs. C. W. Ward, Gorgeous. Perfectly clean stock in splendid condition for immediate planting. Speak Quick If You Want Any! CHARLES H. TOTTY MADISON NEW jersp:y I Dreer's Water Lilies | j Hardv and Tropical | i Largest collection in America, embracing many wonderful i 1 hybrids especially suited for growing in fountains, i 1 pools and ponds. | I Dreer's Garden Book for 1917 | =i contains the largest list of Aquatic plants offered, also beauti- 1 ;| ful illustrations of many varieties and cultural notes written § J by experts. Sent free if you mention this publication. We also s s offer the advice of our expert concerning plans for ponds and % g selection of varieties. = I HENRY A. DREER | I 714-716 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, Pa. j giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiliiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiNiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[iiiii^ I Unusual Pot-Grown | I Stock I I For Low Planting and Borders | I We are fortunate in having a sujierh lot of extra strong 1 I Climbing Roses | I Lusty two and three year old plants that should all flower | I this season. Among them are the following superior sorts : | I American Pillar Alberic Barbier | I Dorothy Perkins Silver Moon | j Evergreen Gem Excelsa | j White Lady Gay | I Other specially good things in pots include a full line of | I Hardy Vines — Ampelopsis, Wistaria, etc., and a particu- | I lariy fine lot of Abelia grandiflora. j j Write Today for Our 1917 Handbook | 1 It describes all the above and hundreds of other extra- f I choice Hardy Plants. g I THOMAS MEEHAN & SONS | = Complete Gardening Service 1 I 6765 CHEW ST., GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA, PA. | eniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiin ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiii iiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie 188 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA ainiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimi iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiililllilliilliilllliuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiliiliiiliiiiiiiiiiiliiiliiii^^ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilililiiiiiiiiililiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig ®h^ Contents— iHau, 19XT Our Flag Things and Thoughts of the Garden Page 190 191 Vegetables from the Home Garden W. N. Craig 193 The Vegetable Possibilities of Our Common Weeds 195 The Process of Canning Vegetables Success in Seed Sowing 197 198 Grafting, Budding and Inarching as Practiced Today .... IVm. Mottotv 199 How to Enrich the Soil Work for June in the Garden 200 201 Water Lilies and Acquatic Plants for Every Garden . . . Chas. L. TTic}(er 202 Why Not American Gardens 204 Page The Cedar of Lebanon 204 The Greenhouse Month to Month W. R. Fowkes 205 Aster Culture 206 Desirable Plants for Hedges .... 206 Growing Hardy Fruits . F. W. Bateman 207 The Crimson Fruited Mountain Ash . . 208 Greenhouse Potato Growing .... 208 English Yew Planted at Tomb of Washington 209 The Value of Paeonies 210 Those Who Work in Gardens . . . .210 Open-Air Peach and Nectarine Culture . 211 American Association of Park Superintendents 2 1 3 National Association of Gardeners . . . 215 Local Society Notes 216 uwilwiiiinuiMiiiiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiimiiiiiinitiimuimiiniiinniiiiiiiifiiiniiiniitiiiiiHiiimmimiiiiiiiiiiinfliniiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiii^ ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNttNiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiN I GLADIOLUS— TUBEROSES \ I TO PLANT NOW I A f'frar'I'irkn Deep, dark, rich crimson with a very conspic- '*'''''^**^*'*^*** uous, large, pure white center and throat, A most beautiful and attractive sort. 5 Cts. Each, 50 Cts. Per Doz., $3.50 Per 100 IJ_11___ A variety of excellent merit on account of its earli- riallcy* „pss. Bulbs planted in our trials late in April have yielded splendid spikes of bloom in June. The flowers are large and of a beautiful salmon- pink, with a creamy white blotch in the throat which greatlj* enhances their beauty. For massing in the garden we know of no variety in our list that will give more general satisfaction. 5 Cts. Each, SO Cts. Per Doz., $3.50 Per 100 I |1.-^ I AVirnan ''^ very prettily formed white varietj', *-'"y '-•"l*"*on. While we do not consider this as good as Europe, we unhesitatingly reconiniend it as a good white. The general eftect of the tlower is a pure glistening white with just a tinting of pink at the tips of the petals. 15 Cts. Each, $1.50 Per Doz., $10 Per 100 f nv^lin^CQ "^ finely formed, smooth- petaled tlower on a strong bold spike carrying as many as eight blooms open and in good condition at the same time. The color is a pale primrose with a faint suffusion of buff or apricot. It has a primrose inner petal and purplish throat with blue anthers which contrast beautifully with the purity of this noble flower. 20 Cts. Each, $1.50 Per Doz.. $15 Per 100 IV^arir Fp^nriAl "^ color not usually seen in Gladiolus, and iTiary Fcnnei- ^^^^ ,.j^^^ contrasts well with the pale pink and primrose varieties. A beautiful shade of deep lavender, lower petals penciled primrose. 30 Cts. Each, $3 Per Doz., $20 Per 100 A strong grower, vigorous and healthy. Has long, strong foliage and effective flower-spikes, with a goodly number of reserve buds continually opening. The magnificent flowers measure 4J.< inches across, and there are five or six flowers well spread out on the spike at the same time. The color, brilliant rtamingo-pink, blazed with vermillion-red, is most effective both in daylight and under artificial light. 5 Cts. Each, 50 Cts. Per Doz., $3.50 Per 100 Without the least doubt, the finest yellow of recent introduction. A robust, rather dwarf grower; pure canary -yellow with a carmine blotch deep in the throat, \\hich does not detract from its beautiful, uniform color. The flowers are large, borne on strong stems, well placed, fre- quently six to eight open at one time. 20 Cts. Each, $2 Per Doz.. $15 Per 100 Excelsior Double Pearl Tuberoses. '^ JlTe n'^t bulbous plant for the hardy border. This is a very good time to plant. Why not order a few while you tliink of it. Extra Choice Bulbs, 75 Cts. Per Doz., $5.00 Per 100 Mrs. Francis King. Schwaben. &tmiw^Wli^^f^ 30-32 Barclay Street NEW YORK CITY fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiin iiii:iii!:s;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiqiin iiiiiiiiii iiiiiniiimniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniiniiiiniii iiiniihiiii i:iiii liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir- THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 189 S iiiiiiiiiiiliniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillli liililiiili II niiiiiiii nil iiiiiiii iiiiiiinii iiiiuuiiiig ^iliiililiiiiiiu iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii luiiiiiii iiiiiiuiuiiimiiiii.il i 1111:111 iniiniiiuii :iiiiiiui:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :iiiu(iiuiiiii«iiii| Kills Weeds in Lawns without injuring Grass {ffmsaxeK KILLS WEEDS -NOT GRASS I renders iiivalua1)le service to every home, estate | I and club. Lawns can l>e kept free from weeds | I without injury to the grass. | I Just sprinkle Lawn Silicate over the weeds. | I Being a powder, it sifts past the perpendicular- | I growing grass and is caught only by the flat-lying | I weeds. The chemical burns into the weed and is J I drawn down to the very root — killing the weed j I permanently. ] I 25 lbs. covers 2.000 to 4.000 sq. ft $1.50 | I 100 lbs. covers S.ooo to 16,000 sq. ft 5.50 | I / ton covers about S acres 100.00 | I Descriptive circular mailed on request. 1 I CHIPMAN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CO., INC. | I 95 Liberty St., New York. | I Makei-s of ATLAS WEED KILLER~for maintaining weed-free | = roads, paths, gutters, etc. Comes in concentrated liquid form. = I One apt'licatipn does for entire seuson. 1 liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iniiniiiiiiiiiHii'iiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiimiiiiiiiil eiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ ANCHOR POST I Garden Gates I Arbors and Arches I Trellises and Espaliers I Lawn Fences — Tree Guards I Unclimbable Fences I Entrance Gates I PATAT Ofi ^^'^ hav.|.. Ill tr. I LUTTON GREENHOUSES | I Best Demonstrate Their Worth During | I Winter Storms | 1 XTERE is an actual photograph taken last winter immediately § § §T^ after a heavy fall of snow. The ground is blanketed to a E ^ depth of several inches-, but there is scarcely enough snow p i remaining on the LUTTON Greenhouse Range to make a good p g snowball. g 1 There is no place for the snow to lodge and cast shadows. It = g simply has to slide off. That is one of the great advantages of % H our Curved Iceless Eaves. Another advantage is that there are ^ § absolutely no shadow-casting members at the eave line. In fact, p p if you will study this picture, you can readily see that one of the = E great aims of LUTTON design has been to permit the maximum M ^ amount of sunlight to reach the plants. h s Another point, that appeals strongly to the man in charge, is = H the extra space between benches and eaves, which gives plenty = H of room for the taller plants. = 1 LUTTON Greenhouses have always been noted for their pleas- % p ing appearance. This is largely due to the graceful curved eaves = = and compact metal framework, ^ I WM. H. LUTTON CO. | M ' Mcun Office and Factory = I 265-271 Kearney Ave. Jersey City, N. J. | = Show Room, 3rd Floor, Grand Central Terminal, N. Y. City § M Western Office, 710 Sykes Block, Minneapolis, Jlinn. p I MODERN GREENHOUSES i H Conservatories Sun Parlors Glass Gardens Cold Frames = illlllllllilllllllllllllNIIII Illllllllllllllllillll||[|[|l|lllll|l||l|lll|lllllllll INIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIitlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllNllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM^ A snug little Semi-Curvilinear greenhouse. Roof's sweep is l.iroadened, increasing head room above side benches. Our Semi-Curvilinear Construction Will Solve Your Ventilating Problem THE gutter is raised to the eave line. A continuous ro\\ of ventilating sash is hinged to the under part ot the gutter. Gives an abundance of air and a nicety of control. (hir catplop points out iiertincnt points about our Semi Curvilinear Construction and our other constructions. Pro- fuspjy illustrated througliout its 60 jiages. Full of layout suggestions. Beautifully printed. In short — an attractive, inteiestJng Helt Book on the greenhouse ques- rion. Send for it. i HitcKittgs ^ Contpany^ [•ft iJf/iilgliq^ ■ <^*^ ' Sffl ■ I I "1.- .^reciated by Americans, though they are of considerable importance in the tropics. The unopened buds of the marsh mari- gold, or cowslip, add much to the flavor of the dish if cooked with the leaves, while elder blossoms are used in Italy for making fritters. The roots of the wild golden thistle are now being used as a valuable vegetable. The flavor is somewhat like salsify, and it is cooked in the same manner. This is an all-the-year-round vegetable, like carrots, turnips, and other "tubers." the roots being dug in September or early Ocober and kept throughout the winter. Wild thistles may be dug in any pasture or meadow, but those cultivated in gardens are much larger and somewhat better flavored. The tuberous roots of the broad-leaved arrowhead — which is common on muddy shores and shallow waters — are quite wholesome. They are cooked with meat usually, but may be boiled alone. In either case the tubers remain over the fire until the bitter flavor entirely disappears. The yellow pond lily, or spatter dock, has long roots growing under the water whose food value few people seem to know about. They may be cooked in the same manner as the arrowhead. The field of possibilities which the cultvation of weeds opens up to the gardener is almost limitless if he will but remember that our present vegetables were but weeds at one time, and to think what a few years ago it was that tomatoes, now a staple market food, were looked upon as ''love apples" and grown only as ornaments, and mush- rooms were considered nothing but the most poisonous growth. The Process of Canning Vegetables IN America particularly we have become so accus- tomed to the preservation of all kinds of foods in f^lass or tin that it is difficult to realize how compara- tively modern is this process. Yet it is less than a hun- dred years since the establishment of the industry, Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett being credited with pack- ing oysters, lobsters and salmon in New York, and Will- iam LInderwood and Charles JMitchel preserving fruits in Boston, about 1820. Nicholas xAppert, a French confec- tioner and chef, is usually regarded as the discoverer of the art of canning. The French government having of- fered a prize of 12,000 francs for a method of preserving foods which would be practicable for army and naval use, Appert set to work about 1795, but it was not until 1804 that he hit upon the essentials of the method, namely, heating the jjroduct and hermetically sealing the contain- er. Ijy 1810, after innumerable experiments, Appert was satisfied with the results and published his method, where- upon he was awarded the jirize. Although primarily a war measure, the great advantage of being able to pre- serve food for indefinite periods was obviously of such value that the process was almost immediately applied commercially, and to-da}' the annual value of goods can- ned in the United States alone exceeds a quarter of a bil- lion dollars. Appert, of course, worked long before anything was definitely known concerning the causes of the spoiling of foods, and ascribed his results to the exclusion of the outside air. Indeed, Guy Lussac, one of the foremost chemists of his time, came to the same conclusion, re- porting that decay was due to a series of oxidations and that Appert's method, by preventing contact witPi outside air, stopped the process. Similar explanations were made by other scientists, bitt not until the epoch-making inves- tigations of I.ouis Pasteur was the fundamental principle discovered that all decay was due primarily to the activity of certain microscopic plants — the bacteria. However, the original means devised to exclude the air likewise excluded or destroyed the bacteria : consequentU', the re- sults were satisfactory, regardless of the specific cause of the trouble. It may be pointed out, however, that had Appert known the real source of the spoiling of foods it would not have required fifteen years for him to discover the remedy, and that the perfection of the canning indus- try has onlv been possible through the knowledge obtained from the science of bacteriology. Successful canning depends, therefore, upon two things : first, the killing of all micro-organisms within the can or jar of food, and, second, the sealing of the con- tainer so that no bacteria can enter from the outside. With the exception of a few fruits and vegetables which, upon standing, deteriorate in flavor and consequently are not worth preserving, the spoiling of canned foods is en- tirelv due to the presence of bacteria. Either the method of killing the bacteria, commonly called sterilization, is in- adequate, or, this being accomplished, bacteria from the outside are ]>ermitted to enter the can during or after sealing. Carelessness in closing the jar or can, whereby bacteria on the hands or a cloth or some utensil are com- municated to the inside of the lid or jar, may result in the loss of the contents, even though the container be tightly closed afterwards. Of course, any hole or leak around the top of a jar, permitting the entrance of the decav-producing organisms, will likewise be disastrous — hence the use of the rubber ring on glass jars and of seal- ing wax, etc., for hermeticall'>- closing cans. Mere clean- liness, as the term is jrdinarih' tised in tlie kitchen, is not sufficient for the preservation of food in containers. Absolute bacteriological cleanliness, the same that is nec- essary in the laboratory in the preparation of pure cul- tures of beneficial or disease-producing germs, must be maintained. Fortimately, this is a comparatively simple matter, when one thoroughly understands the problem involved. While commercial canneries, because of the necessitv of accomplishing the process on a large scale in a short space of time, are provided with elaborate and expensive ap- paratus, just as satisfactory results mav be obtained by any householder with ordinary kitchen lUensils. For sterilizing a number of jars at a time a wash boiler or certain types of ham boilers are admirably adapted. The wash boiler should be provided with a simple wire basket which will stand up from the bottom of the boiler about an inch. The basket should be strong enough to hold the weight of a dozen filled jars or cans, and it is usuallv nec- essary to strengthen the bottom with wooden strips or heavy wire or metal bands. Handles which will permit the full basket being lowered and lifted from the boiler are also a great convenience. If a wash boiler is not available, any sort of a vessel with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to contain one or more jars, may be used. Recipes for the preparation of the various vegetables are easily obtained from any good cook book, and there is no need of going into much detail here. Salt is usually added, and for some things, like asparagus, soaking in water containing lemon juice or vinegar is recommended. In general, all that is necessary is to clean and cut the raw vegetable into requisite size and pack into the jar, covering with cold water. ( )f course, the cleaner the jars and lids the better. If glass jars are used, the rub- ber ring should invariably be placed at this time and the lid put on loosely. About two or three inches of water is sufificient to put in the bottom of the boiler. More water takes more time and gas, and it is not the water which sterilizes, but the steam. .After lowering the basket containing the jars into the boiler, and fitting on the lid of the boiler tightly, the water is brought to the boiling point and the contents subjected to the action of steam for one hour. If more jars are to be sterilized, remove the basket at the end of the hour, tighten the lids of the jars and set aside for 24 hours ; or the boiler with its contents may be removed from the stove, and if the lid is tight the individual lids of the jars need not be tightened at this time. On the second day, repeat the process, being sure to loosen the lids previous to steriliza- tion and tightening them afterwards, and set aside as before. After a second 24-hour period, sterilize again for the third and last time. The reason for this so-called discontinuous sterilization or repetition of the steann'ng three times, after a consid- erable interval of cooling, is based upon a knowled,ge acquired from long bacteriological experimentation. While a single exposure to steam, with a temperature of approximately 212° F., will kill most of the bacteria ordinarily found on vegetables, certain germs are pro- vided with cells or spores which will resist the action of even a greater heat. By setting aside for 24 hours, these spores grow into a stage which is more easilv attacked bv the heat and after the second cooling period and the third steaming, the last of these more resistant forms are killed. Once all the bacteria within the jar are destroyed, it but remains to prevent the access of outside eerms. This is accomplished by tightly closing or sealing the jar by the method provided. It is obvious that no matter 197 198 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA how thoroughly the contents of the jar may be sterihzed, if the rubber rings and tops are not appHed until the end of the operation, germs from the air may be intro- duced which will render all the work done useless. By the method above described, practically all veget- ables grown in the garden may be preserved indefinitely. Peas, beans, beets, okra, squash, tomatoes, asparagus and corn will all retain their chacteristic flavor, and if the jars are kept in the dark there will be but little loss of color. If failure results, it will be due to a disregard of the directions given relative to the time of exposure to steam, or the number of sterilizations, or carelessness in finally sealing the jars. The term "jar" has been used throughout this article because glass containers are more easily cleaned and sealed, but with proper precautions the ordinary tin can may be used as well. Of course, the tin top should be on the can from the first. The type of jar with spring attachment instead of screw top has the ad- vantage that after the final sterilization and cooling, be- fore the jar is put away for the winter, the results of the treatment may be tested. After standing for two or three days, if the spring be released and the jar carefully picked up by the lid. the top will come off if sterilization has been incomplete. Bacteria within will have produced sufficient gas and consequent pressure to overcome the partial vacuum produced by the heating. In such cases it will probably be sufficient to sterilize once more, al- though in some cases if the directions given have been seriously neglected, so that the contents have obviously fermented, time will be saved by throwing away the con- tents and trying again. The length of time for each steaming, namely, one hour, is designed for pint or cjuart jars only. Jars of larger capacity, because of the greater time necessary for the steam to thoroughly penetrate its contents, will re- quire more time — approximately double the time for a two-quart jar and four times as long for a gallon jar. It is hoped that this brief statement as to the funda- mental principles involved in the preservation of vege- tables, together with the simple means of accomplishing the desired result, will enable those having surplus prod- ucts from their gardens to make the best possible use of them. While the three sterilizations may seem a needless repetition, wide experience has demonstrated that it is the only method of insuring perfect keeping vmless an expen- sive api^aratus for applying steam under pressure can be resorted to. The extra time and labor involved will more than offset the loss which is almost certain to occur if less thorough methods are used. — From Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin. Success in Seed Sowing T HE amateur who possesses only a cold frame, or possibly an unheated greenhouse, for the raising of seedlings is often discouraged. It may be that in former years failure has courted all his efforts, and instead of having a good supply of vegetable seedlings for planting out, the majority of his plants have never got beyond the seedling stage. That a little artificial heat is a great aid in the raising of such kitchen garden crops as tomatoes, no one will deny. Yet it is by no means in- dispensable. Indeed, seedlings raised in a cold frame or greenhouse by amateurs are usually more sturdy and better in every respect than those raised by inexperienced cultivators in artificially heated structures. The receptacles in which the seed is to be sown need to be selected with some care. Boxes or pans three inches or rather more in depth are preferred by many ; but wheie only a little seed of a kind is needed, an ordinary flower pot, five or six inches in diameter at the top, answers well, and does not take up a lot of room. \Miatever is used nuist be scrupulously clean and have ample outlet at the bottom for waste water ; stagnant moisture in the soil kills more seedlings under cool conditions than anything else. The boxes ought to have holes three-quarters of an inch or one inch in diameter in their bottoms, five holes not being too much for a box measuring 15 inches by 12 inches. Over these holes a layer of broken pots, or crocks as they are termed, must be placed, then some rough fibrous material, and, finally, the fine, sifted soil. For the majority of the seedlings that the average be- ginner is likely to want to raise, the following mixture will answer well : Good turfy loam, well chopped and passed through a one-inch meshed sieve, two parts ; leaf- soil, well decayed and sifted through the same sieve, half a part : and coarse sand, half a part. Retain the coarse material that is left in the sieve for placing over the drainage. In some localities it is difficult to procure turfy loam, but every endeavor to do so should be made, as there is no good substitute. With leaf-soil it is dift'erciu. Cocoanut fibre refuse or Hop Manure may well take its place. Having placed the drainage and soil in position, press the whole down gently. If there is one thing more than any other that the be- ginner needs warning against, it is thick sowing. No matter how often this warning is given, it is seldom fully accepted, and thousands of seedlings are wasted every spring by too thick sowing. Seeds differ very considci- ably in size, and it is not difficult to place the large ones separately. Very small seeds are difficult for the begin- ner, who may be excused for sowing them too thickly. As an aid to the thin sowing of these small seeds, mix them with some dry silver sand. This will make a great- er bulk and, if the mixing is well done, will ensure a thin and even distribution. After the seed is sown it must be covered. Here, again, there is a great deal of difference to be observed. Thus, very small seed will only need pressing into the soil, while larger seed will need a quarter of an inch thick covering of fine soil. The larger the seed the greater the depth of soil for covering is a good general rule to follow. Do not press down the covering soil except justt to make it level, and it is well to have rather more sand in it than is used for the mixture previously advised for sowing. It is no uncommon occurrence to find choice seed that has been carefully sown washed out of the seed-pans or boxes during the process of watering, or, if not actually washed out, carried all to one side, owing to the recepta- cle not standing level. Therefore, stand all seed-pans, boxes or pots as level as possible and use a fine rose on the watering can. Pots and small pans can be immersed nearly to their rims in a bucket of water, allowing the liquid to saturate the soil from below upwards. After the sowing and watering are completed, keep the frame or house fairly close until germination has taken place, after which ventilation must be afforded as freely as outside conditions will admit. Give water whenever the soil is at all dry, but avoid overdoing it. Remember, seedlings in an early stage do not want large quantities of water ; but, on the other hand, thev must not be al- lowed to become dry. — TJie Garden (English). Grafting^ Budding and Inarching as Practiced Today By William Morrow, Connecticut.* GRAFTING is an operation in which two cut sur- faces of the same plant, or of different plants, are so placed so as to unite and grow together. The cutting", or portion cut off, is termed the scion, or graft, and the rooted plant, on which it is placed or worked, is called the stock. The art of grafting is of great antiquity, but it is not known by whom it was invented. It is spoken of by Theophrastus, Aristotle, \ irgil, and other ancient authors. It would appear, however, from their writings, that the principles were very imperfectly understood. Otherwise they would not have entertained the belief that the vine could be grafted on walnut or cherry, and the peach on the willow ; or that black roses would be the result of grafting on black currants ; for these plants, having no natural affinity, can never form a vital union, however accurately they may be mechanically joined. The modes of grafting are numerous, but they all de- pend upon one principle which should be well understood. But, previous to explaining this, it must be remarked that wood does not unite with wood so as to form a vital union ; for, after trees have been grafted for many years, it is found that between the portions of the wood of the scion and the stock, which had been placed together, at the time of grafting, no union has ever taken place. Organic mucus or cambium is a viscid secretion present in all living parts of plants, and from it all their organs are formed. It is most readily observed between the bark and the wood of exogenous trees in spring. From this substance a cell is formed, and the earliest condition of a plant is a single cell. This cambium or organizable matter is what forms the union in all modes of grafting and budding. It also forms the callous on cuttings be- fore roots are emitted. Some years ago, the editor of the Journal of Horti- culture, Dr. Hogg, of London, gave several instructive articles on this subject. He claimed that the cambium had to go through several changes after grafting, and become cellular, or vascular tissue according to the genera of plant worked upon, and that no union would take place until most of these changes had been gone through. Grafting and budding are done for various reasons, but the most common one is to put a choice variety of fruit or flowering plant on roots that are hardier than its own : many of our finest varieties of fruit trees do but poorlv on their own roots, where conditions are not for tlieir best advantage. The art of grafting is used to change fruit trees, already established, into other or more desirable sorts, and also to strengthen or retard growth, as the case may be. Thus, peaches are worked on plum stock, for forcing purposes, as they do not make so rank a growth as would be the case on their own roots. Pears are worked on quince for low, heavy or ill-drained lo- calities, and for higher land, on pear or apple seedlings. Thorn and mountain ash have also been used for pear stock, for very dry or gravelly subsoil. So there is al- ways a reason for the work, apart from the pleasure of doing it. Cleft grafting is most commonly practised on estab- lished apple or pear trees. Small branches, or side shoots, are better than on wood six inches or more in thickness. The grafts will take on either, but those on the small wood are in less danger of being blown off after the first year's growth. Grafting is most successful if done when the sap has started, but before tlie buds show the green. \\ hip and tongue grafting forms the best union on seedlings, or two-year-old stock. The stock to be grafted on should be gone over a week or two before the sap starts to move, and cut back to about where they are to be grafted. Young stock one inch or so in thickness can be left at this cutting, about nine inches from the ground; larger stock, if straight, can be left any desired height, for standards, up to five or six feet, but the low grafted stock will in most cases come out ahead. Plums, apples and pears can be worked the same, so far as the operation is concerned, but plums should have damson or plum stock. Budding is an operation by which a bud, together with a portion of bark, is removed from a plant, and inserted beneath the inner bark of another plant, or beneath that of the same plant ; this operation is sometimes performed where the natural buds do not push to form shoots, at places where these are necessary. As in grafting, only nearly allied species or genera will succeed when budded on each otiier. The main principle of budding is the same as in grafting. The union is effected by means of the organizable matter, or cambium, which exists between the alburnum and inner bark ; atid the success of the operation depends upon the abundance of that matter be- ing such as to permit of the bark being easily raised from the wood. When both the stock and the tree from which the bud is taken are in that condition the union is most readily effected. Buds are generally inserted in July or August, in which case they remain dormant, or at least do not push into shoots until the ensuing spring. The modes of performing the operation are many ; the principal ones are shield, or T-budding, inverted T-budding, square shield, flute, ring budding, etc. Shield or T-budding is the best and quickest made for most purposes. In operating, take a shoot from the tree from which buds are to be worked, and immediately cut off' the leaves at half the length of the petioles ; make a transverse incision in the stock, and from the middle of this make a longitudinal one. A bud should next be removed from the shoot, by entering the knife about half an inch below the bud, more or less, according to the size of the stock and of the shoot : with a clean sloping cut, pass the knife upwards and inwards till under the bud, and then slope outwards so that the eye may be nearly in the middle of the piece or shield thus detached, or rather nearer its upper end. In doing this, the knife will necessarily cut oft" a portion of wood along with the bud, which is usually removed by the point of the kuife and the edge of the thumb nail ; see that in doing so the base of the bud is not also removed. If this came along with the wood, leaving a hole, the bud would probably be unsuccessful, and another should be taken oft" more shallow, so that the portion of wood to be removed may be very thin. If the wood comes out clean with the exception of a few slight woody fibers con- nected with the lower part of the base of the bud, these fibers need not be removed, for, in doing so, the tissue on the inner bark is very likely to be bruised. With the ivory handle of the budding-knife, raise the bark of the stock at each side of the incision, commencing at the corners immediately below the cross cuts. In raising the bark, the handle of the knife should never touch the portion of cambium lying on the alburnum, but, to avoid doing so, should be slipped along, pressing against the inner bark. In placing the bud, see that it is set directly where it is to grow ; if it rubs up or down, the 199 200 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA tissue will get bruised, and this will spoil the chance for success. Inverted T-building is the mode used in working a bud on a grape vine, as it is the returning sap that sup- plies the bud in this case, and this sap will not pass the cross cut. The writer has budded grapes successfully without making any cross cut, just open far enough lengthwise, spring the vine a little and the bud can be put in place, and the sap will continue to flow all around it without interruption. Inarching : This mode of propagation, which is also called grafting by approach, depends on the same prin- ciple as grafting, except in this case both stock and scion are nourished by their own roots, while the union is taking place. Inarching was formerly employed for uniting two or more trees for picturesque effect, more than for the purpose of propagation. But inarching is now chiefly employed in propagating such exotic plants as cannot be readily propagated by other means. The writer has found it to be the best way of changing grape vines from one variety to another and also the quickest way. It can be done in a case of this kind without losing one year's crop from the plant operated upon. Inarching is most successful when both plants are in full vigor of growth. In operating, place the plants in some con- venient position so that the parts to be joined will come nicely together, tie them together just below the point where the union is to be, cut a strip of bark from two to six inches in length, — according to the thickness of the stock. Then the inner bark of both should be brought straight together and tied quite firmly ; in about three weeks the top of the stock may be slightly headed back, — to encourage the sap to flow to the scion. This heading back ought to be done a little at a time, and cleared off at j)runing time when the plant is dormant. — Paper read before Stamford Horticultural Society. HOW TO ENRICH THE SOIL 'Tp \\'( ) things are essential for the successful tillage ■*■ of the soil and the feeding of the crops grown therein. The first is to see that the soil is rendered as perfect a rooting medium as possible. By this is meant making the texture porous, getting rid of stagnant moisture, and keeping it well supplied with humus. Soil in clods or lumps is in an unsuitable condition for good culture. Manures judiciously applied, in conjunction with de- cayed vegetable matter and gritty substances, help to achieve this desirable object. Thus, in the case of heavy soils horse manure, vegetable refuse, and grit help to break up the plastic clay, create openings in the solid mass through which surface water can readily pass into the subsoil, the sunshine and rains gain easy access to the interior to sweeten and purify, and at the same time chemically change certain latent foods existing in the soil into a soluble form for the sustenance of the crops. Cow manures benefit the lighter soils, bind the particles closer together, and maintain a cool condition in hot weather. Moreover, all supply humus, vegetable mould which, owing to its dark color, absorbs the sun and warms the soil, and also provides a home for the essential bacteria organ- isms which are increasingly working at (ransforming certain substances in the soil into valuable plant food. The office of manures, then, is to primarily maintain the texture in good condition, provide a healthy pab- ulrm for the roots, and yield a little food for the crops. The reader must, therefore, clearly understand that he cannot continue to grow good crops without the addition of animal manure or vegetable substances of some kind. We emphasize this point because some amateurs imagine that they can dispense with manure and rely upon artificial fertilizers alone. If manures are difiicult to get, collect all the leaves, weeds, lawn mowings, and refuse, put this into a heap till winter, then dig them in. Fertilizers or plant foods, as their name correctly implies, supply food for crops only ; they do not assist in any way to improve or maintain the texture of the soil in a proper condition. They are either absorbed by the plants or crops, or dissolved, and pass away into the drainage. This fact should be carefully noted. Be it known that three main elements are essential foods for crops. These are nitrogen, phosphates, and potash. Some crops require a little magnesia, but well-tilled soils, as a rule, have sufficient of this ele- ment to meet all requirements. Clay soils, too, con- tain potash in a latent state, but if lime be added occasionally the former will be liberated in sufficient quantity to supply the needs of crops. Light soils are deficient in potash, and so it must be supplied in the form of wood ashes, since kainit and sulphate of pot- ash are practically unobtainable. Some cultivators believe in the theory of supplying each plant with a special formula, but there is no real necessity to do this unless certain crops, like sweet peas or roses, are made a specialty. The various com- pound fertilizers advertised are far more efficacious and far more handy to use on allotments and in aver- age gardens than home-made mixtures. The dift'er- ent elements have been prepared and blended in accu- rate and due proportion by means of special machin- ery, and hence are capable of being utilized more promptly and effectively by the roots than rough and r^dy mixtures prepared by- the grower. The science and skill of the chemist, based on the accurate knowl- edge of the jn^oportions of food required by crops, has enabled him to exactly determine the ideal combina- tion of food that will yield the best results. So, then, the reader will be well advised to take advantage of scientific knowledge, and use any of the prepared fer- tilizers advertised. A word of caution to novitiates. Remember that fertilizers are plant foods for immediate use, and hence these, to be used to the greatest advantage, must not be applied to the soil in autumn or winter, like animal manures, but during the growing seasons, when roots are in active growth, and can at once commence their absorption through the medium of the fine hair-like root fibres. To apply otherwise means loss of the food, as it would be dissolved b}- the moisture and filtered away into the subsoil. A little fertilizer sprinkled along the drills before sowing the seeds is always a helpful encouragement to successful ger- mination and robust growth of the resultant seedlings. Another point, avoid ajiplying fertilizers in excess of the quantities stated in the accompanying directions for use. In a general wav apply fertilizers to vegetalile crops when thinned, and again a month later. Crops like celery, marrows, leeks, lettuce, etc., are benefited by frequent applications. Hardy flowers are also bene- fited by applications once a week until the plants are in flower. Roses, too. may be treated similarly. Greenhouse plants may be given doses frequently, once the jilants are well rooted, discontinuing the suppl}- when in flower. If given when plants are in flower, their flowering period is often ' shortened. Tomatoes feed frequently after the first bunch of fruit has formed. — Gardciiiiin^ (English). ^uiiiiimiaimiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiuiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiitiiM Work for June in the Garden I By John Johnson, Massachusetts filiiiiiuiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiii»iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:i»iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:mmm'r iiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii iiniimiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii hiiiiiiiimiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiii!iiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiimiiii iiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin WAR on bugs ! At no time of year is this advice more appropriate. During the month of June the ravages of various garden pests begin in real earnest and must be dealt with by the available means — Prevention and Remedy. In some cases in the larvje or caterpillar stage insects are most destructive to plant life as in the case of cut-worm, wire-worm and the sur- face caterpillars. The rose bug or rose chafer, potato beetle and squasli bug are examples of insects which in mature form do injury to crops. Preventive measures may be sometimes adopted by making the surroundings of the plant repulsive to the insect. Spray the ground about rose bushes, for instance, with a solution of kero- sene and it will be found that the kerosene odor is suf- ficient to ward off the rose chafer. The first application should be made before the insect makes its appearance and should be continued at weekly intervals during the month. I have even known onions planted in rose beds as a deterrent to this pest. Begin early and spray con- tinuously with Bordeaux and arsenate lead mixture for potato bug. Against tent caterpillars and the elm-leaf beetle take similar measures. The second or third week of June is a good time to sjjrav elm trees. Dust in good time with slugshot, squash, pumpkins and allied subjects, to keep down the squash ijug : and above all, try to keej) all growing crops clear of weeds and in a vigorous condition so that insect pests •can indict but little permanent injury. Spray plum trees with Bordeaux arsenate against brown rot and curculio, and repeat the operation until danger is past. ( irnamental water basins and ponds are often covered with an unsightly scum growth, a nuisance which gar- deners have sometimes to contend with. Small ponds inav be cleared of floating algae or similar growth by spraying the surface of the water with a very weak solu- tion of copper sulphate (poison), 2i/. ozs. of dilute sul- phate for everv 10,000 gallons of water will be sufficient. Thus applied no harm will result to lilies or fish. It is Avell, however, to underestimate rather than overestimate the quantity of water when treating lily ponds. For larg- er areas place about one pound of finely broken copper sul[)hate in a muslin or cheesecloth sack and drag through the water in parallel lines at intervals of 4 or 5 yards. There is yet time to plant hardy water lilies while to- ward the middle of the month will be early enough to plant the more tender species. Nymphaeas for small ponds, fountains or tubs are: N. Arethusa, N. Aurora, X. Laydekeri \'ars and Pygmae Alba. Varieties of strong- er habit and suited for planting in larger ponds and lakes include: X. Gladstoniana, XT. Alba and varieties of X. Marliacea. Some of the choicer varieties of X^mphaeas are not hard\" in our climate but can be grown with suc- cess outdoors if the tubers are wintered in a temperature ■of 50 degrees and stored in sand. \^arieties as X^ Gigan- tea, X'. Stellata, X. Gracilis and X. Pulcherrima are very beautiful and worthy of a place where the most select varieties are looked for. When ])lanting in lakes or ponds use shallow baskets filled with rich fibrous loam, insert tubers and tie down, then sink the receptacle where re- quired. Do not cut asparagus too late, discontinue as soon as the first-crop peas come in. When cutting ceases give the plantation a stimulant. Liquid manure or a dressing •of nitrate of soda will work wonders at this season. As growth advances give some support. A good plan is to fix stout stakes in the ground at intervals along the row and run string on either side. Plant out celery with extreme care, and if possible choose a dull day for the work. If planted in hot dry weather shade the plants and give abundance of water. Pea brush laid across the trenches will give sufficient shade with minimum trouble. Make further sowings of string beans, sweet corn, rad- ish, lettuce, onion for salad, cucumber for pickling and chicory for winter use. Their previous sowings of vegetables that need it as onions, corn, carrot, turnips, parsnip, kohlrabi, lettuce and parsley. Sow okra in drills three feet asunder and thin the plants to 18 inches or two feet apart in the row^ Plant tomato, eggplant and the more tender kinds raised on the hot-bed earlier in the season. Leeks intended for show purposes should be planted in single rows in shallow trenches not more than a foot wide. In the process of earthing the sides of the trench should be partially chopped away and the soil drawn to the stems of the plants. By this method a furrow is made on either side of the row. Artificial feeding and watering can be, therefore, continued throughout the growing season without injury to the bleaching stem. There is some discrepancy as to what constitutes a "show" leek. It is not uncommon to see on the exhibition table ungainly specimens, having bulbous bottom and with partly blanched lower ends of the leaves, carrying off the prize in preference to leeks less large perhaps, but of true type and excellent finish. Yes — methinks size is not everything ! The principal aim in blanching should be to secure a perfect division between the white stem and the green part. Prevent soil falling between the bases of the leaf blades as this is not readily removed and when left clearly shows through the white skins. Rain and artificial watering tend to pack the ground, therefore, keep the cultivator at work. It is almost im- possible to stir the surface soil too frequently. This is a month of hustle in the flower garden. Plant out at the earliest possible moment all bedding stock ex- cepting the very tropical subjects which may be left till last. Support gladioli, dahlia and perennials that need it, cultivate and water in dry weather. Phlox, delphinium, peony, iris and kindred plants require moisture at the root to give best results. Protect strawberries against the ravages of birds and pick ripe fruit early in the day. Prepare the earliest run- ners for forcing purposes or for future planting in the open. Disbud grapevines and tie in new wood, stop rampant shoots to ensure stocky growth and ripening of the cane. If tent caterpillar is troublesome spray with arsenate of lead, three pounds to 50 gallons of water. For black aphis use a nicotine solution, or a combination of lead ar- senate and nicotine when both insects are prevalent. Water young and newly planted fruit trees. Disbud and thin out the fruit. It is a mistake to allow any fruit tree to carry a too heavy crop. Toward the end of the month mulch sweet peas, roses and newly planted trees and shrubs. Under the extreme pressure of seasonable work rubbish is apt to accumulate. Thin out weedy growths of perennial plants and en- courage the stronger ones by exposure to light and air. 201 Water Lilies and Aquatic Plants for Every Garden By Charles L. Tricker, New Jersey. IN this age when every man specializes in some branch of labor or industry, when men spend all their tir.ie and energy to perfect one thing, it is interesting to note the progress made along certain lines of horticul- ture. To-day we have great ranges of glass and large acreages devoted to the production of one man's special- ity. So it is with satisfaction that we trace the work of illustrious men in the development of the water lily, that flower immortalized in ancient history, and which has been the inspiration for many a poetic mind. These hybridists have gathered together the native varieties from all parts of the world and from them have developed the wonderful varieties that we have to-day ii all colors and many shades. They have not taken away mr' struction of an artificial pool. It may be of any area that your fancy or pocketbook dictates, but a desirable depth is two feet. The best method of culture in an artificial pool is to employ boxes each two and one-half or three feet scjuare and one foot deep. In each box may be grown two of the hardy lilies or one of the tender varie- ties. .\llow for each box at least twelve scjuare feet of surface space. Avoid planting varieties of a spreading nature, for they would soon overrun the pool and crowd out the more desirable ones. The natural pond with its surrounding ground is of course ideal. Here may be established,' the hardy varieties and in the summer time Can be planted the tender varie- ties. Even the victorias and lotus can "be grown thcie with success. In the shallow water, at the edges, may be /grown the semi- aquatic plants and c>li the banks mois- ture loving perennials.' Here indeed may be perfected one's ideal. Even in conjunction with tli* tubs or around the pool many of tlfese plants can be grown with surprising success. A list of varietiesi-suitable for vari- ous conditions are : - Andreaiia, Aurora, Gloriosa. Graziella, Lay. Lilacoa, Lay. Rosea. Lay. Purpurata, Marli- acea varieties, Pygmaea and Pygmaea Helvola, A barrel may be utilized for an aquatic garden. By planting Iris and o'iher moisture loving plants around it a pretty effect may be secured. Cement construction makes a nn.re substa)itial pool for aquatics, and adds greatly to the at- traction of a garden. the beauty and charm of the native lilies, but have simply added color, size and more beauty. The culture of water lilies is ex- tiemely simple, for only three things are necessary — SUN, WATER and GOOD SOIL. There are no plants that will give as much pleasure per square foot with so little care as will a water lily. A water garden may have a very humble beginning in a half bar- rel, but in it can be grown one plant that will be a joj' to the owner. An excellent soil is prepared by mixing three parts of rotted sod or top- soil with one part of thoroughly rotted cow manure. All ingredients must be thoroughly rotted to prevent fermentation. If cow manure cannot be obtained, use one quart of bone meal to one bushel of soil. For tub culture fill the tub two-thirds full of soil, cover with one-half inch of clean sand and fill carefully with water, pouring it in gently to avoid disturbing the soil. A hardwood barrel sawed in two will provide good tubs. Or a wash tub will be eqtially satisfactory. In the tub may be planted one plant of a moderate growing variety. When you realize that some varieties require as much a'-^ 50 sq. ft. for their proper development >ou can under- stand that care must be exercised in selecting the variety. The next advance step in water gardening is the con- Doubenyana, Zanzibariensis varieties, alsoj varieties of lotus. For the artificial pool any of the \'^ater lilies, except the odorata and tuberosa types. Perennials suited for growing in moist places : Callamns. A. stilbe (the new arendsi hybrids are mngnificent), Caltha. Enpatorium. Fiiukiaj Helenium. Ilemeroeallis. Hibiscus, Iris, iu mauy varieties, Lob^is^ Lythrum, Jl.vosotis, Spiraea, etc. A word as to the expdhse of these plants. The stand- ard varieties range in ^rice from 50 cents to $2 each. Many of the novelties arie still high in price, but they are worth it, all for their wonderful size and marvelous colors are an unending charm. Compared with the amount of pleasure and their charm the lilies are all m- expensive. There are two classes of water lilies — hard>- and ten- der. The former will survive our winters if protected iu 202 I THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 203 such a manner as to prevent the frost from reaching the roots. A sufficient depth of water or a covering of boards and leaves will suffice. The tender lilies must either Le replaced each season or wintered over in a warm light place. Lotus are supplied as tubers in May and June. Warm weather must be assured before transplanting so that there will be no check to their growth. The}' need a rich soil and the roots should l)e confined to avoid their spreading over the whole ])ond. The flowers and leaves Choose varieties suitable for your conditions or aik the specialist to advise you. L'se the best soil obtainable. And see that all ingredients are thorougjily rotted. If possible have an artificial pool of generous size. A few semi-aquatic plants or perennials increase the beauty and charm to a great degree. AN OPEN SECRET. Pussy willow had a secret That the snow-drops whispered her, And she poured it to the South Wind While it stroked her velvet fur. And the South \\'ind hummed it softly To the busy honey bees : And they buzzed it to the blossoms On the scarlet maple trees. And they dropped it to the wood brooks, Lirimming full of melted snow ; And the brooks told Robin Red Breast, As they babbled to and fro. Little Robin could not keep it, So he sang it loud and clear ; To the sleeping fields and meadows He sang it loud and clear ; Awake! Rejoice! Be glad! Spring is here ! Selected. Nothin,i; tends to beautify a garden more than the addition of a)i aqualie pond. are borne on stout stems three to five feel above the water. In the last few years there has been given to the lily lovers several varieties that can be depended upon to produce flowers in the winter months when the days are short and sunshine is often rare. At these times the tropical varieties will go to rest, but the above mentioned ones have been known to flower continuously for two years during which time they were never without flowers or buds. The parent of the original variety ( Daubeny- ana ) conies from the west coast of Africa. Daubenyana is light blue in color and quite desirable. From it was raised a darker blue and a purple. The dark blue was named after Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and the purple was named Panama Pa- cific. The flowers are very fragrant and are produced very freely. The culture of these requires a pool in a sunny location in a green-house or conservatory. They can be grow-n outdoors in the summer and removed to the green-house in the fall. A very interesting thing about these varieties is that thev are vivaparous (reproducing on the leaf.) Sun, water and good soil are the three essentials. A half barrel makes a good beginning. One plant is sufficient for a half barrel. A pool built in the conservatory adds a charm to the indoor i^arden not obtainable otherzi'ise. "The man who wins is the man who stays In the unsought paths and the rocky ways : .^nd, perhaps, who lingers now and then. To help some failure to rise again. .\h ! he is the man who wins." 204 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS^ CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New- York, N. Y., under the Act of March i, 1S79. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, K. J. Vol XXI May, 1917 No. WHY NOT AMERICAN GARDENS? A S ';he spring comes up the land and the time of plaai- in,s:: is upon us, we would say a word for the wild flowers and the native shrubs, not as blossoms of the woods, but as integral parts of our gardens. To some of us it is a little depressing to see so much of Italy and England, of Holland and France, in the American domestic scene, and so little of America, ^^'e all have irises about our garden pools ( German, Japanese, Spanish, English, even Siberian ) . but how many of us have planted that aris- tocrat of American brook banks, the cardinal flower, which responds superbl}- to cultivation? \\'e make a great show of tulips (which are often gaudy splotches on the lawn, as nearly ugly as a flower ever can be), and forget the lovely dog-tooth violet, that sunlit lily which follows the melting snow up the slopes of the Rocky JMountains. making the high meadows a cloth of gold, and nods equally at home where the salt Atlantic fogs enwrap it. How many Americans have backed a border with goldenrod and New England asters, shooting uj) prodigiously in enriched soil, or brightened a shady spot with crimson bimch berries? The list is endless of our native plants, the flora of any particular region, New England, say, or the prairie States, or the southern high- lands, or the Rocky JMountains furnishing without alien additions a plenitude of bloom and color with which to develop a native garden. A true garden style, we affirm, must be based on the native flora and the native land- scape. To copy Italy, England, Japan, is to have no style of otir own. We know a man in Iowa who, on his •eleven acres, has neither tree nor shrub nor flower not in- digenous to his State, yet his garden is a lovesome spot just the same. We do not ask for this exclusiveness — who would banish the pansies, for example, or the Can- terbury bells? — but we do urge all our readers who plant a garden to save some corner, or some section of the bor- ders, for the native blooms, to weave them into the gar- den scheme, to study the native landscape and try to base a garden style on that. You will perhaps be surprised to learn how much nature knows about the creation of beautv ! — Colliers. THE CEDAR OF LEBANON T 1 is always pleasing to those interested in trees to be able to grow Cedrus Libani, the Cedar of Lebanon, because of its historic connections, writes Joseph Meehan in Florists' Excha)igc. To say that this tree is not hardy, as some insist, is a great mistake. Cedrus atlantica glauca may be hardier, as some aver, but when C. Libani is per- fecly hardy in Pennsylvania, one can see that in a general sense it can be saiiJ to be quite hardy. There are trees of it in Philadelphia planted upward of 50 years ago, which have been bearing cones for years, trees 40 feet and over in height. The specimen photographed is quite a }"0ung tree, not over 12 feet high, and has endured zero weather many a ^^'inter since planted. It represents a bushy specimen, because of having been deprived of its leaders when }-oung, and consequently is becoming many branched. The usual growth, in its uncontrolled condition, pro- duces a conical outline until the tree has attained many years' growtli. It then takes on a wide-spreading top. The Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Lebani). each large limb supporting a mass of smaller ones, with foliage of flat appearance, the tree then being quite unlike what one would suppose it to be from the appearance of the young specimen of our illustration. The seed cones of the Cedar of Lebanon are about three inches to four inches long, conical, but so very broad at the base that the_\- are not far removed from a round shape. These cones practically never open naturally, but have to be opened artificially. The writer has had one in his possession for some 20 years, grown on a tree in Eng- land, and it is closed as tightly to-day as it ever was. The catkins appear on the trees in Autumn, and it is claimed that it requires two years for the cones to attain maturity. Our specimen is quite unlike the usual trees of this cedar when grown to a single leader ; in fact it is the most bushy the writer has ever seen. The type is a tree with a single stem, the branches starting out at regular intervals but rather far apart, and this open character is natural, as well, to the other species named, Cedrus atlan- tica glauca. F>oth are among the most interesting and valuable of our hardv evergreens. ^Hiiiitiiaiiiii]|[|iiiniii(iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMjiinniiiuiiiuii^ The Greenhouse, Month to Month By W. R. Fowkes, New York. | -niiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii"" iiiiiiiiciiiiimiiiii iiiiiNiiiiiimmiii i iiiiiNttiiimuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiinm^ iiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuI THE season known as the off season regarding glass houses is with us, but this theory may be at once dismissed, for with the better knowledge at our disposal we can have the houses looking as cheery as the outdoor gardens. The scare some few folks have regarding food has brought out some ideas that all greenhouses should be neglected, or used only for vegetables, but with the broad acres at hand crying out for the farmer's plough and judicious use of fertilizer should dispel all the g'loom and scare from our minds and surely if we ever needed the heavenly flowers to cheer and inspire us it is at present when the air seems charged with pow- der. Many happy hours can be enjoyed in the abode of nature's handiwork and the real lover of flowers will exert his or her utmost power to add a ray of sun- shine to the seemingly clotids on the horizon. The palms, etc., will be used to adorn the house and the cool and more shady atmosphere will help to tone them up. Remember, the best kinds to withstand draughts are the Kentias and Arecas. Cocos Wadde- liana will not stand harsh treatment but will do nicely in the hall or center tables. All they need during Sum- mer is plent}- of water and occasional sponging to ■clean off the dust. The vacancy caused by taking these plants out will Le replaced by the Celosias and the Gloxinias, etc. Ce- losias shijuld be repotted until the eight-inch size is reached, always in light soil. The final shift should be a compost with a fair amount of horn shavings in- corporated, a good lasting food. In the fruit house the peach and nectarines should be well watered. It is almost impossible to overwater when the fruit has stoned and is rapidly swelling. Look to the disbudding of the later ones and fumigate each week until the color begins to show the fruit is ripen- ing. Every fine afternoon syringe the trees well and keep a moist atmosphere daily. Top dress the plants Avith a mixture of wood ashes and soot and a little tankage and the surface roots will feed on it and you will perceive the benefit daily. It is a good plan to move the forward fruits that are ripening into a drier atmosphere and give more air at night to improve the flavor. If these fruit trees are handled sensibly the fruit will be of the highest quality and superior to any outdoor grown with the additional pleasure of hav- ing one's own to use and display to friends. When a plant has all its fruit ripe, take to the dining room and surprise the guests with home grown fruit and the pleasure derived from picking them off to eat, will add to the enjoyment of all. Chrysanthemums, the big fellows, should all be in their final pots — eight inches being the last size — and pay dail}- attention to the watering and keep as cool as possible. Support and tie as they grow. Keep a sharp lookout for insect pests, and to avoid fungus diseases spray with Fungine ; and spray the plants once weekly with a weak solution of soot water. It will help the foliage marvelously. Azaleas and their kind should be outdoors by the first week in June in a partially shaded place. Plunge the pots in ashes to keep the roots cool. The rose house will need attention. Do not dispense 205 with fire heat if the nights are chilly or you will reap disease in spite of daily care to the primary require- ments. If the roses are planted as mentioned in last month's article, go over the beds and pound down around each plant, and, in fact, all over the bench with a heavy piece of wood just firm enough to level all nicely and then place the wire stakes and tie each plant carefully. Take off any lower leaves that have a little red spider on and spray well underneath with Aphine. Make a clean start with roses if you want success. Remember, they will respond to good care and will soon show the results of neglect. Sprinkle air slaked lime under the benches and keep the air sweet. There is a little scare among some rose men regarding the disease "crown gall." I received a few plants that were touched a year ago but I sprayed well with Fungine and they have not caused a moment's worry. It is a clean remedy the private grower needs ; sulphur, etc., look badly on 'the foliage and detract from its appearance. Carnations should be well looked after. If in the field cultivate each week and if in the house, observe the same caution regarding disease as the roses. The atmosphere of all departments will have to be kept moist now and the temperatures cannot be regu- lated as in Winter or cool weather. Ferns will need plenty of water and when well rooted feed with cow manure. Top dress cucumbers lightly each week with a little leaf soil and rotten manure ; as the fruits grow fast feed with Clay's Fer- tilizer. Cyclamen in frames must be shaded and sprayed several times daily. Cinerarias and Calceolorias shoukl be potted off as thej- are ready and be grown in a frame with a northern aspect. Primilas should be sown. The Malacoides and the William Sim special varieties are what every gardener with a large or small place should gTow\ They are wonderful examples of skill and of easy culture. Leaf soil and sand is the best compost to sow the seed in, a little heavier as they grow, and a cool temperature at all times is their chief requirement. I3uddelia Asiatica should be potted on and given good rich soil and they will be at their best when Fall arrives again. Now is the time to prepare for next Winter and procrastination is one of the growers' ^\•orst enemies. ASTER CULTURE. A STERS do well on any kind of soil from light sand -'*■ to heavy clay, but the ideal soil is a good loam. They do much better on land that has been heavily fertilized the year before. This means that the fertilizing element in the soil must be thoroughly decayed and easil\' assim- ilated. It is a good plan to spread over the ground the fall previous a good coat of well rotted manure. Dig it as early as possible so that the fertilizing element will have time to decay before the cold weather starts in. In the spring, as early as the ground can be worked properly, dig it over again with a fork, thoroughly incorporating every particle of manure with the soil, and making it fine and mellow to a depth of ten to twelve inches. 206 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA In addition to creating air cells through which the air may enter and circulate, thereby sweetening and increas- ing the fertility of the soil, this early and thorough tilling destroys many weed seeds that have just germinated. We believe that by keeping the aster bed entirely free from the least vestige of vegetation from the time the snow leaves until planting out time, many of its enemies will have died before the plants are out. When the time comes for setting out the plants, dig the ground over again, raking the top fine and smooth. Make a hole with a spit or garden trowel deep enough to thor- oughlv cover all the roots, ^^'hen this has been done to all the plants, finish filling the hole with dry, fine earth. Part of his fine earth will absorb any surplus water from around the roots, leaving the ground just moist enough for new root formation. The balance will form a mulch on top and prevent the rapid evaporation of the moisture. It will not be necessary to give any more water for the next day or two. Select, if possible, a dull or cloudy day for planting out, or one in which the sun is not very strong. Some people recommend planting out asters in the blazing sun. Plants root more readily in darkness than in light. While asters like sunlight and sunshine, there is a time when they have not sufficient strength to endure it. That time is when first set out. In all walks of life a slight disturbance of the organic system renders indulgence, or use of even the common necessities of life to the usual extent inadvisable. This rule is especially applicable to young plant life. To grow asters successfully there are, in addition to rich soil, two things absolutely necessary : thorough till- ing of the soil during the early stages of the aster's growth, and frequent waterings during dry, hot weather, especially during the blooming period. As soon as pos- sible after each rain, or watering with the hose or water- ing pot, the surface soil should be loosened with a hoe or small rake to a depth of one and one-half to two inches. Care should be taken not to hoe too closely to the plant at this depth, as the aster throws out roots quite close to the surface of the soil. This constant loosening of the sur- face soil not only prevents the formation of a crust which would exclude the air and smother the roots, but it en- ables the plant to draw up moisture from below. It also enables the roots to strike down deeper, reducing the dan- ger of uprooting by wind. Cut-worms, wire-worms and other like enemies can find no abiding place in the ground that is constantly stirred. Asters should never be allowed to suffer from want of water. Water in the evening unless the nights are very cool, in which case, if the hose is used, the watering had better be done in the morning. Water any time, morning, noon or night, in any kind of weather, rather than have them suffer from thirst. The plants, when watered, should not be merely sprinkled. The ground should al- ways be thoroughly soaked. During the blooming period, the aster consumes a lot of water. It is safe to advise watering them everv dav. — TJic Canadian Florist. DESIRABLE PLANTS FOR HEDGES. tJ EDGES may be formed out of almost any plant that has a free bushy growth and is amenable to prun- ing. One occasionally sees a good hedge formed out of beech, hornbean, spruce, pine, hemlock and other unlikely plants, and when properly planted and looked after, are extremely ornamental and effective. Such plants, however, are too expensive and uncertain, requiring too much care and attention to ever come in<^o very general tise. To the privets must be given the credit for being the best all round deciduous hedge, in fact they are ideal, easily propagated, free from disease, grow readily, will stand any amount of pruning, and may be kept low with- out tleterioration. In fact, the California Privet has be- come so popular in localities where it is hardy that it has become tiresome, and many people want something dif- ferent. The Ibota, Amoor River, common Privet and RegeFs are all a welcome change from the California Privet and their more extensive use should be en- couraged. Next to the privets the Japanese Barberry is daily growing in favor, and deservedly so. It will not grow very high, about 4 feet being a very fair maximum, but apart from this it has all the qualities necessary for a good hedge plant and is much hardier than the privets. Rosa rugosa is sometimes planted as a hedge, but is rarely a success. Its habit of growth, suckering up from the ground, and lack of twiggy growth is against it. The one rose that suggests itself as worthy of more con- sideration as a hedge plant is the sweet briar, Rosa riib- iginosa. Flowering hedges always make a pretty feature where they can be used in suitable positions, such as party lines between small properties or to separate one portion of the grounds from another. Pyrits Japonica, Japanese Quince. Philaddphus Leinoinei. Althaea, Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus Syri-acus). Dciitcia gracilis, variety rosea and Lemoinei. Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora. Spiraea I'an Houttei, Billardi and Anthony ll'aterer are among the best for this purpose. The principles of pruning must be perfectly under- stood, if a good flowering hedge is to be maintained. However, the above mentioned for hedge purposes are the most satisfactory and least likely to lead to mistakes. Althaeas and Hydrangeas may be pruned to any extent after flowering and up to about the first of May. Deutzias and Spiraeas should be pruned immediately after flowering, according to well-known rules of sum- mer pruning. Pyriis Japonica flowering on the old wood as it does may be pruned or sheared at will, but it is best not treated in too formal a manner. None of these flowering hedges should be trimmed in strictly formal outlines ; they are naturally neat if care- fully pruned — not sheared. The Althaea is very valuable as a tall, upright-growing hedge, though a right start and regular pruning will make a hedge as bushy as may be desired. A double row hedge insures breadth. Deutzias of the crcnata type are also rather tall and of upright habit. Perhaps the hedge that is most greatly desired }et sel- dom attained is a good evergreen hedge. The hemlock, spruce, arbor vitae, pine and Retinis- poras are all used more or less, but too often too large plants are used to begin with, and an expert is required to keep them in perfect condition. — National Nursery- man. Sir: A neighbor told me — and I don't quite like to be- lieve him — that I can overcome the arid condition of my back yard, and grow onions and potatoes, by planting them side by each so that the onions will draw tears from the eyes of the potatoes. Is this true? Moran. It seems to us possible that it may be true, since it has been repeated for so many years. — S\tn. Growing Hardy Fruits 1 By F. W. Bateman/'^ New York. T has often struck me what a pity it is that so iiiauy gardeners conduct their fruit gardens in such a half- hearted manner — no method — no science — no en- thusiasm. More often one hears, "We have no time to attend to that branch of the garden." Yet fruit should be grown, and grown well, in ever\- garden, no matter how small. Everyone having a garden will grow flowers or vegetables, or possibly both, but it is not everyone that grows and partakes of his own fruit. It certainly does provide a great deal of interest and pleasure to watch the wonderful development and progress from blossom to maturity, and is it possible to picture a more beautiful and pleasing sight than a fruit garden in blossom ? Fur- thermore, what is most desirable of all, the fruit is an article of food. Of course, fruits are distinguished according to their mode of production from seed. For instance. Apples and Pears and all fruit whose seeds consist of what are known as pi])s form one class. On the other hand. Peaches, Cherries, Plums, Nectarines, etc., are stone fruits con- taining" hard stones which are the actual seed of the tree. Again, there are the bush^ruits, principally the Goose- berries, Raspberries and Currants, whose small hard seeds are enclosed within the fleshy capsules of the fruit, and the Strawberries which are a ground fruit, bearing, as they do, their small hard seeds on the exterior of the berry. It seems hardly possible to bring all fruits under the same classification, for, take the Mulberry, the fruit of this resembles the Raspberry, yet what a contrast be- tween an erect cane of the Raspberry and the umbrageous Mulberry tree. So does it not show how vastly interest- ing and wonderful are the peculiarities of fruit trees and bushes generally ? In coming to the practical culture, the first step is the situation, or proper position, for planting. There are, of course, varied opinions on this point, yet there is fruit grown in some measure or another in nearly all sectioi's throughout the country, particularly the apple. Perhaps in the north a southern aspect is really es- sential, but not so in the south, ^^'hen referring to north and south it almost makes one pause in wonder when realizing what a vast area there is between Canada and Florida, but to inspect a finished product of fruit from either territory would hardly reveal any difference. Af- ter the location is selected for planting, one must bear in mind that varieties play a very important part, some do- ing remarkably well in one district while in another dis- trict altogether different results are obtained. As to the most suitable soil, in all cases a good sound loam is to be preferred, but for stone fruit a certain amount of lime is absolutely essential to assist them in their stoning period. It is now an established fact that grass growing over the roots of fruit trees is detrimental to their well being; this being very marked in the re- duction of crops. Most growers plant fruit trees to get returns at once, generally apples or pears on the quince stock, at four or five years, and on the paradise stock fruiting at three years old. The natural form of the apple tree is the standard on the crab, or free stock, which is usually used in orchards with Gooseberries in between and Damsons as a wind break. Pears as standards on the free stock are very long lived, although there is such a long time of •Extract from the second prize es'iay in the assistant gardeners' contest for ex-President Craig's gold prizes. 207 waiting for results, that the adage, "He who plants Pears plants for his heirs," is well applied. The most useful forms for Apples and Pears are the bush and pyramid; also for Peaches, Plums, Cherries and Apricots. The next question is. When is the best period to plant ? We often hear and read that planting may be carried on from October to the end of March whenever weather permits, although the fall and spring in most cases pre- sent the most favorable opportunities, as winter brings so much frost and snow. The wise grower would un- doubtedly make an effort to finish operations in the fall, and the earlier done the better, as by November the soil diminishes the warmth gained by the summer and autumn sun. Even to a novice it must sound simple enough that to plant while the soil retains the warmth is a material advantage, for it encourages root action at once whereby the trees will stand the winter so much better. How often does one see fruit trees and bushes heeled in the groimd when climatic conditions are unfavorable, which is a bad plan, although it cannot always be avoided. Therefore an early fall planting is beneficial to the tree itself. In dealing with the method of planting, I may safely state this is one of the most important points within the culture, for it is known that a great many mistakes and failures are attributed to the way planting is done. For most fruits drainage is most essential. Many growers prepare their land a season or so previous to planting by growing special crops to get the soil rich and in heart. When considering cover crops one should un- derstand what condition the soil is in. If already planted and the trees be poor in growth, nitrogenous foods are necessary. All the leguminous crops would greatly help the land, although on hard and dry land great difficulty would be found in growing these. The practice is gen- eral to sow these crops in July, depending, of course, on the locality to be plowed under the following spring. L. H. Bailey in the "Principles of Fruit Growing" gives twelve reasons relating to the importance of cover crops. Perusal of the same will show one in doubt their practical value. In planting on a small scale, make a hole si.x feet in diameter or even more if the soil is at all heavy; make sure drainage is alright by using bricks and clinkers to a good thickness. Most gardeners do not add manure, preferring to deeply work the soil and get it in as good a cultivated condition as possible, which will help the young trees to build up strong, healthy growths ; once estab- lished, surface dressings of manure will tend to keep the roots at the surface, the desired point. Very much care must be exercised not to plant too deep ; spread the roots out to their fullest extent, tread- ing the soil firmly as possible as the ojieration proceeds. This, of course, applies to most tree fruits, while for P)lack Currants, Gooseberries, etc., a stronger soil would be necessary. In dealing with planting on a large scale it depends to what extent the planting is carried. Rectangular is the usual form and this system is well adapted to fillers. Of course, on hillv ground it is much more difficult, espe- cially in arranging trees to avoid washing out from heavy rains. In any and every case to get the row accurate would involve much preparation and care ; furrowing greatly facilitates planting. In the treatment after planting, the first step should be staking. In sheltered positions this is not alwaj's nee- 208 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA essary, but where unprotected it must be done and in light loose soil it is still more important. The stake should be in the same proportion as the stem of the tree. Stakes with rough edges are objectionable, for very often they are the cause of stem abrasion. The next step is pruning and this is when the most intelligent operation is about to commence. The systematic way, with a good deal of science attached to pruning to-day. calls for a thorough understanding as to aim and princii^le. The three main essential points to be considered are when to prune, how to prune, and why. for success greatly de- pends on this. Of course, the object is to increase fer- tility, highest standard in quality of fruit and lasting results. With young trees naturally one prunes for wood in or- der to lay a proper foundation first, for once the form to be adopted is there, the future work is comparatively easy. Early spring' is generally the best time to finish all cutting, although local conditions play an important part. To cut during frosty weather is to insure trouble right away ; the frost may, or probably will, get into the heart of the shoot causing the part cut to die back some considerable way. The point to have in mind when pruning is to keep the tree or bush open as well as the outside growths. To do this, cut back always to an outer wood and generally shoots are about eighteen inches asvmder in most practically grown trees. If too crowded cut clean out from the point of origination. Of course, fruit is carried on the spurs of the old wood, so cutting back hard to these should be done in the winter pruning. The summer pruning, or pinching, is to cut back two thirds of the season's growth. For yotmg trees after planting, opinions on cutting differ a great deal. It is said by good authority that cutting back in young trees helps them to recover from the shift: the roots, the claim is put forth, are not taxed so heavily. In pruning red and white Currants the practice is to form a tmiform bush, a greater part of the young shoots being taken off annually. \Miat remains shorten back to four or six inches with a clean cut to a bud. With Gooseberries, keep the bush thin of branches. These bear fruit on the young as well as the two-year-old wood, so it is well to encourage young wood to supply the place of the old. With Black Ctirrants. cut away the old wood and aim to have a uniform and a well balanced bush. With Raspberries, simply cut down after planting to about six or eight inches from the ground. Sttbsequent pruning is to keep the votmg canes in and cut awav the old. Although space will not jiermit one to touch upon everv fruit known, in fact, the subject is such a vast one that a beginning on a few is only attempted, before coming to a conclusion that important item spraying must be touched upon, for recent years have proved it is gaining more and more in importance every season. Fruit trees like everything under the sun are subject to blight and blessings and with the insectivorous birds diminishing and the caterpillars and aphides of all description ever on the increase gives alarm and constant care to the grower of fruits. Of course, the various kinds of b]i"hts to con- tend with make the work a great deal more difficult. For parasitic funcus diseases such as 1)lack-rot. niildew. etc., spravins: with lime and sulnhur or Bordeaux mixture, w^hile various insecticides for sale and other plant in- sects render certain death when thoroughlv annlied. Spraying to be eff'ectual should be done early and one should know exactly what to use. Recular systematic sprayins' in the different seasons is sound advice to ac- cept. .\bout the worst pests tn contend with .nre the winter mottled umber and 'March moths. Shoulcl these gain a foothold they would quickly destroy foliage and blossom of any tree, no matter whether Apple, Pear, stone fruit. Gooseberries, Currants, etc. I think I may safely state hardy fruit growing is one of the most interesting subjects within the gardening profession of to-day, though my feeble attempts in try- ing to set forth some idea as to the principles and meth- ods necessary to success falls into insignificance when com- pared to the great works on hardy fruits that are now- in reach of the public. Much as one might try to gather information from practical sources, no definite idea can be formed, for when success comes in one locality, alto- gether dift'erent methods in another probably would be necessary. Nevertheless it is as an old saying, utterecT years ago, "' 'Tis the varied opinions, failures and mis- takes that largely make gardening delightful and inter- esting." THE CRIMSON FRUITED MOUNTAIN ASH. pVRUS OCCIDENTALIS, T.-//?.— High in the Sierra ■*■ Nevada Mountains, California, in eastern California,, there occurs a type or variety of the mountain ash that is worthy of extensive cultivation. This tree attains a height of about 30 feet, with ir- regular spreading branches ; the leaves resemble those of a gigantic rose bush : dark green in color in the summer and a beautiful orange red in autumn, btit the crowning: glory of this tree is its myriads of large fire red berries, which remain on the tree all winter. No other berried tree that we know of has such bright attractive winter fruits. The berries look as if made of fire red glass. The size "of these fruits is about one- half inch in diameter. Well do I remember my first meeting with this won- der of the forest. I was on a seed collecting trip in the high Sierras, on the North Fork of the Consumnes River, California, and rounding a bend in the river, there arose from a tangled thicket of vaccinium at the water's edge, a drooping flame colored mass of leaves and berries, perhaps 2^ feet in height. The bright early morning sun, streaking through the dark fir forests, lit up this magnificent tree with its thousands of sparkling dew drops, its gorgeous orange red foliage and fire red ber- ries : the gray towering cliffs of granite on either side of the river, the low rushing roar of the waters, the music of the winds through the dark forests, rendered this tree a fitting companion to its wild stirroundings. — -S'. /,. U'afkiiis ill Xatioiial Xurscrvinau. GREENHOUSE POTATO GROWING. TN relating his experience of starting potaiti jjlants un- der glass some }'ears ago, J. llebbington writes to The Canadian Florist : "The seed tubers were jilanted in rows in the greenhouses (in IMassachusettsi in March. In a few weeks they sprouted. They furnished three- inch cuttings in a short time. These were taken oft' by myself as propagater, inserted in a propagating bed of fiO X 3 feet, in sand. They were given a bottom heat of about 65 to 70, top heat 60. In about one week these cut- tings were well rooted and potted oft in 2' ..-inch pots. After the pots were filled with roots another shift was made into three-inch pots. By the time the first lot was rooted another lot was ready. "These cuttings are as easy to root as weeds. Keep moderately warm and moist. The plants when hardened off' in cool frames and planted out in good, open, welt prepared ground, were a great success. In the last lot planted the tubers were not so large as those planted frouT larger tubers, but it proved the best way to produce quan- tity in a short time. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 209 ENGLISH YEW PLANTED AT TOMB OF WASHINGTON. {Washington Star, April 23, 1917.) O EPRESENTATIVES of the National Association of Gardeners to-day planted an English Yew tree at the tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon. By a strange coincidence, the plant immigrant from England arrived in the national capital a short time be- fore the representatives of Great Britain arrived here to take up with ofificials the best methods of co-operation between this country and Great Britain as allies against a common enemy. Had it been possible, the tree would have been planted at a time the English representatives thorized to name a committee to carry out the plan. To-day, therefore, Theodore Wirth, of ^Minneapolis, vice-president of the National Association of Gardeners ; Martin C. Ebel, of IMadison, N. J., secretary of the organ- ization : George \\'. Hess, superintendent of the national botanical gardens in this city and a director in the asso- ciation, and A\'illiam F. Gude, also of this city, who had charge of local arrangements for the convention of the organization and an honorary member of it, planted the tree. Thomas W. Head, superintendent of the J- C),gden Armour estate at Lake I-'orest, 111., is now president of the gardeners' organization. The Yew tree is about six feet high. The planters ex- pect it will thrive and continue to decorate Mount Vernon for many years, but if by any chance it should not do well it will be replaced. 1 III L "iiiiitiiui I'l iiic ^\iiiunial Assniialiiin c/ Gardeners gathered to t^laiit an Eni;Iisli )'c',c Tree at ]]'ashiniit'iii's Tomb. Mount Vernon, Va. In tlie group, zchieh is facini; the tomb, from left to right, are Martin C. Ebel, Madison, X. J., secretary National Association of Gardeners: A. M. Covedcry, Minneapolis, Minn.; Col. H. H. Dodge, superintendent of Mount Vernon; Edzi'in Ebel, Madison, N. J.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C. superintendent United States Botanic Garden, director of Na- tional Association of Gardeners; Theodore H'irth, Minneapolis, Minn., vice-president National Association of Gardeners; A. C. Goodzuard, Minneapolis, Minn., William P. Gude, Washington, D. C., honorary Edward S. Schmid, Washington, D. C., deputy grand monarch, M. O. V. P. E. R.; Vernon, member National Association of Gardeners. were paying trilnite at the tomb of the man through f" whose efforts this country broke with England because of I principle, Imt which to-day is standing as an ally of that country, likewise because of principle. The idea of planting a Yew tree at Alount \"ernon was conceived when representatives of the National Associa- tion of Gardeners were at the liome of the first President last December, at which time their convention was in progress at Washington. H. H. Dodge, superintendent of Mount Vernon, expressed the belief that such a tree would be a valuable addition to the estate. The garden- ers immediateley took favorable action on the plan, and W. N. Craig, then president of the organization, was au- inember National Associalio): of Gardeners; Pranklin A. Whelan, head gardener. Mount IF YOU ARE ENGAGED IN THE PURSUIT OF HORTICULTURE WHETHER FOR PLEASURE OR FOR PROFIT you cannot fail to be interested in the Garden- ers' Chronicle of America, for, as you will ob- serve by studying its columns, it is devoted exclusively to the science of floriculture and horticulture. ;io THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE VALUE OF PEONIES. 'X'HESE, the most gorgeous of all hardy herbaceous flowers, are also the most neglected by modern gardeners. It may be that their robtistness and bril- liancy are their undoing, for nobody would grudge them the space they require while in their full glory of gorgeous blossoming, but when the flowers have fallen, and the foliage begins to ripen, past favors are soon for- gotten in the presence of a large break in the floral scheme. This objection can easily be overcome by intel- ligent anticipation in preparing summer and autumn- flowering plants to place around the pxony clumps, to furnish the positions for the remainder of the season. For this purpose no plants are more suitable than An- tirrhinums, which, as they thrive in dry and poor soils, will not necessitate mtich root disturbance of the pseonies. These remarks apply to the herbaceous pjeonies, chiefly to the wonderful h^^brids raised bv crossing the European and Chinese species. As the season of the former is May and the latter ustially throughout June and well into July, the union has in- creased the season of the pseony to a great extent. But although the natural place of the herbaceous paeony would seem to be in the flower border, this is by no means the only^ part of the garden which may be brightened by their use. No one can be a greater ad- mirer than myself of the glorious masses of color given by the double red varieties which have much of Paeonia ofHcinalis in them, nor of the more delicate charm of many of P. albiflora parentage, but all of these can be even more effective elsewhere. During the sea- son of flower, herbaceous paeonies planted either as a mass of one variety, or in tasteful mixture in a large lawn bed, make a splendid attraction, but this method makes difficulties for the rest of the year. For the most part this may be overcome by associating them with standard Pyruses or peaches, and carpeting and bordering them with Violas. On the margin of the lawn, or where garden and woodland meet, bold groups, though they should not be too large, of the brightest-colored varieties, are exceedingly attractive, and in such positions need cause no anxiety when not in flower. The ample foliage, bold habit, and showy blossoms of man}- varieties, make herbaceous preonies eminently suitable for planting in the shrubbery bor- ders or near the carriage drive. The herbaceous pasony is deserving of much more attention in wild gardening than it at present re- ceives. Pjeonia ofificinalis is particularly valuable, as at the first approach of spring the ground is brightened by the beautiful red shoots, which retain their welcome coloring until the flower buds become prominent. P. lobata, said to be merely a variety of P. officinalis, of lovely satiny-pink color; P. tenuifolia, which has the charm of graceful fennel-like leaves in addition to dark crimson flowers ; or P. albiflora, the (Oriental species from which many hybrids get their erect habit, are a few of the most useful sorts. Unlike the herbaceous paeonies, which may be planted in shady places, in full expectation that they will flourish there, Psconia Moutan must have a place in the sun if it is expected to thrive, though both types are alike in loving the good things of the soil, and should have liberal treatment. While they are some- what impatient of root disturbance, the herbaceous sorts may be relied upon to soon make a good show, but the tree Paeony is of slower growth, and requires several years before much efifect is produced. In the garden Paeonia Moutan and its many splendid varieties are seen at their best as lawn plants where they receive plenty of sunshine, but shelter from easterly winds is necessary. If young plants are being used, an efifect is obtained soonest when three or five are planted mod- erately near together in the same bed. Although it is a shrub, the Moutan paeony is not suitable for culture in the shrubbery ; it requires isolation. — Gardener's Mag- aciiw. ( English I . THOSE WHO WORK IN GARDENS. ILJ OW strong they become who work in gardens, for the sheer love of it ! They are always learning, loving, seeking to under- stand and to utilize. They foster the beloved weak and fight the inimical strong. s 'W^ , r They root out the fulness which is a fault and fill the emptiness that cries for more. They are able to beget and breed beauty. Those who work in gardens plant other things than seeds and bulbs, tubers and cuttings. They plant hope and faith and love. . They gather in more than crisp vegetables, lucent fruits and flushed flowers, for they gather hardihood and health and a rich fulfillment. Having planted according to the law, they expect ger- mination according to the law, and the flower and the perfect fruit. They do not worry lest what ought to be will not be. They have the confidence of seers, where- fore they are seldom disappointed. Those who work in gardens work in the laboratory of life. They know as much as any one of its coming and its going; and far more do they know, than most of us, of its growing and striving, fighting, winning, blossom- ing, becoming and being. They see many meanings un- intelligible to others. God has given into their hands a book of secrets. As they press the earth with kindly hands they smile inscrutably, and the earth yields up her smiling strength as their reward. In a garden there is as much chance for self-expression as in any art, if only the soul of the gardener be free of a money bond. For a garden may be compact enough to reveal the careful soul, whimsical enough to show the dreamer, stately for the proud, homelike for the hearth-lover, fra- grant for the serenely religious. The variety is endless. The combinations cannot be counted. But always, those who work in gardens, make them, in something, like themselves. And there is in a garden as great a chance for altruism as in any philanthropy. The sick of soul will lag beside a sloping lawn, or un- der the generous, shade-bestowing tree. The weary of heart can find a bit of peace in benevolent arbors, or in bowers of friendly shrubbery. The poor can forget their debts for a space while they watch bewitching poppies nodding to each other. And are there not a few con- victs who would be gentler with their arms full of roses? How natural it is that those who work in gardens should be strong. They are very close to the heart of life. Perhaps, also, the}' are close to God ! M. O. B. Wilkinson. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 211 OPEN-AIR PEACH AND NECTARINE CULTURE. pE ACHES and nectarines are grown to perfection in many of the warmer and more favored parts of the country, open air culture on south, south- east, and south-west walls proving highly successful where the management is good. Tlie best varieties of peaches for this purpose are Waterloo, Hale's Early, Libra, Violette Hative, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke of York, Grosse Mignonne, and Princess of Wales. Of nectarines the best outdoor varieties are Lord Napier, Elruge, Humboldt, Early Rivers, Precoce de Croncels, and Hardwicke Seedling. As a rule, open air peach culture will prove quite successful in any reasonably deep and well-drained garden soil ; but, of course, as is the invariable rule with all stone fruits, a good loamy soil is generally the best, and preferably one which is inclined to be heavy and somewhat retentive, although it is at the same time an advantage if the soil is rich in lime. In peach culture nearly every grower of note is agreed that perfectly ripe wood is desirable, and it may be said at once in this connection that the wood will never ripen properly if the roots are lying in contact with a wet, sodden subsoil. In planting in the open, therefore, the underlying soil should be carefully ex- amined, and, if need be, artificial draining must be in- troduced to cope with this excessive moisture. A depth of two feet of good soil is necessary in order that fine, healthy trees and well-flavored fruits may be produced. A good plan is to give twn nr three barrow-loads of good loam to each tree when planting, and at the same time a liberal sprinkling of lime may be forked in, to- gether with a small quantity of well-rotted manure, if the soil is rather poor. 'Planting may be perfurmed at any time during the autumn or winter, providing the soil is not too wet The majorit}' of people plant fan-shaped trees fifteen feet apart, but, of course, the distance depends largely on the height of the wall, and its length, and also the number of varieties that the grower wishes to culti- vate ; on a low wall peaches may be planted much closer than fifteen feet apart. In any case, however, it is extremely important to avoid planting them too deeply ; the topmost roots should, in fact, be able to form just two or three inches below the surface of the soil. The roots must be carefully spread out, without cramping, as far as they will go, in a horizontal direc- tion, with a little fine soil placed over them, afterwards filling with soil or any special compost that may be thought advisable. Always make the trees firm by treading. The pruning of peaches and nectarines growing in the open is somewhat difficult, and the work is best left in the hands of someone who thoroughly under- stands it, otherwise the trees may be ruined. When first received from the nm-sery, for example, there will usually be a great deal of surplus wood to remove, and this must be thinned out directly after planting, so that the main shoots will be from twelve to sixteen inches apart, and the side shoots or laterals frotn four to six inches apart. The main shoots may subsequently be spread as the tree extends, and in this manner the grower will secure plenty of space for the develop- ment of the young fruiting wood. All basal wood and fruiting wood should always be kept on the main branches, and care should be taken to shorten any rank-growing slioots. Needless to say, it is impossible to secure a good crop of peaches or nectarines unless some efficient means of protection against frost is supplied, for the blossoms appear very early in the season, and so may be very quickly damaged. Whatever means of protec- tion is adopted, it should not be placed over the trees until a few of the blossoms are bursting, otherwise it will hasten the flowering and render them more liable to frost. Neither should the protection be left on at day time unless the winds are very cold. Attention must be given to. disbudding, for, if well protected, the trees will generally set their fruits very thickly, and the aim of the grower should always be to produce just as many shoots as are required to fur- nish next season's crop of fruit, and no more. Under good management, peaches and nectarines may be trained to develop an exact number of fruits for every square foot of wall space that is occupied, and the grower must decide what this number ought to be. Disbudding consists in removing a few of the shoots at a time, say, all but three or four on each fruit-bear- ing shoot, and as many on the leaders, or longer shoots, as will leave several intermediate shoots on each side where there is wall space to fill. The fruits must also be thinned judiciously, and the trees kept well supplied with plenty of water, and some frequent, but small, applications of liquid manure ; a little artificial fertilizer should also be given as soon as the fruits commence to swell. — Gardeners' Magazine (English). N' ATTRACTIVE BIRD POOL. OTHING gets a stronger attraction uyjon birds in hot weather than an abundant supply of fresh water. During the dry months of August and Sep- tember the birds practically desert the dry uplands for the borders of streams or s])rings, where the}- can be sure of finding water for drinking and bathing. For this reason the home that has no natural pool or spring nearby inust expect to have but few birds dur- ing this dry season unless some efi'ort is made to sup- ply the necessity. Perhaps the most attractive bird pool, or fountain, is that constructed in the form of a rockery in the garden with ferns and wild flowers planted about it. The concrete basin can either be sunk in the ground or raised on a pedestal. If the former, one should make sure that there are no lurking places in the proximity where cats. or other enemies can lie in wait to spring upon the birds while they are helpless with soaking feathers. Other kinds of bird fountains are those made in the form of large pottery saucers raised above the reach of marauding cats, or a still simpler arrangement, which, although less attractive, serves the purpose just as well, is a shallow pan or tray sunk in the ground or placed in any convenient place frequented by the birds. Whatever type of fountain is selected, a few points shijuld be adhered to. The bottom and sides should be rough so that the birds will not slip upon entering the water, for if they slip once they will never return. Secondly, the water should not be more than a half- inch in depth where the birds are expected to enter. Thev will often wade in deeper, but the bottom should slope or flat stones should be so arranged that the birds can enter at this depth. And thirdly, the water should be refreshed as often as it evaporates or be- comes stale. The Young Gardener By John Johnson, Massachusetts* OL'R profession is characterized by unliounded pos- sil:)ilities, and something of mutual interest at our society's meetings ought never be wanting. The literary committee needs the co-operation of all members, and if when called upon, each member would pledge himself, "Yes," instead of answering or feeling negative in this matter, then much of interest and benefit would accrue. Of the rising generation myself, I am naturally in- terested in the welfare of those of my own class, and have chosen accordingly these few remarks. Young men — the enviable and universal reputation established by some of the older members of this Lenox Horticultural Society is of more than passing interest. Just after lo- cating in Pittsfield last fall I wrote an old boss in Eng- land to the effect that I had now settled in Berkshire county, Mass. He replied to my letter as follows : "The names Berkshire and Lenox are familiar to me as being associated with horticultural giants. Is this the same Berkshire you wrote of? It must be." He thus put the question and himself answered in the affirmative. Here then is it exemplified that Lenox is no strange name to gardeners across the brin\-, and here, too, will the young man find an opportunity for develop- ment such as few other districts present. I would not, however, lead anyone to assume that the fact of his having worked in any one or more of these gardens guaranteed efficiency. Such influence, in British gardens, possesses material advantages. There a young fellow's capabilities are estimated by the amount of in- fluential power at his command, rather than by his knowl- edge of the craft. In democratic America men in our profession rest on their merit, and right here, I repeat, is an environment of unbounded opportunity for any voung man. to learn advanced gardening and the rudi- nncnts of estate management. Men of the rising generation, in my opinion, are son^e- times prone to await the magic impulse of what might bi; called "luck." Having become specialists in one branch perhaps, and this usually under glass, wc patiently and with complacency rest our oars on the precedent that a "knowledge of 'mums, or roses, or carnations, is the nec- essary and absolute qualification of an u|i-to-date gar- dener. Unfortunately the head rnen in their endeavor to procure efficient helj) encourage this attitude to some •exteiTt. Almost invariably in filling a berth they give pref- erence to the young man who previously held a similar position. Thus instead of helping the rising generation to become proficient, all-round gardeners, they do in some measure promote an undesirable state of affairs. Nevertheless, there are few head men who would deny an ambitious and conscientious young man an oppor- tunity for development. So, that reducing the question to a normal basis it must be admitted that the whole sit- uation is in the hands of the individual most concerned — the young gardener. Let me then, young friends, ■emphasize the fact that just as the strength of a chain lies in its weakest link, so a man's character, his general knowledge, and initiative power are judged by the weak- est points. If then, we choose to hibernate in the greenhouse as floriculturists alone, becoming oblivious to the three co- ordinate branches of horticulture, pomology, vegetable culture, and landscape gardening, we naturally fail as ] ractical gardeners. By landscape gardening I mean more particularly the planning and planting of herba- ceous borders, shrubberies and the like, as to perspective * Extracts I'rom a paper read before Lenox, Mass., Horticultviral Societ.v. and the employment of suitable varieties. These are suijjccts worthy of our attention and if circumstances for the time being prevent our gaining practical knowledge, nothing hinders us from taking a lively interest in out- door gardening and of at least becoming fairly conver- sant on matters pertaining to this department. However, one ounce of practice is worth a pound of theory and I therefore advocate practical treatment of the subject. Forget the greenhouse for a year or two during your career as an assistant. We put millstones about our necks when we confine our energies to one branch of gardening. The chip of conceit will sometimes lodge on the shoulder of the young grower whose 'mums, roses, or carnations win honor for his chief at the local show. Young fellows often overlook the fact that previously, maybe for years and years, this same head gardener has won for himself similar honors and is, therefore, justi- fiably entitled to his enviable reputation'. We know of some old so-and-so happily situated and who, in ouv estmiation, knoweth not the first thing about potting a 'mum ! Thus, unbridled our ideas flaunt. How easy to overlook the fact that this same old so-and-so has years ago outgrown, so to speak, elementary gardening, and is now responsible for results of an order practically un- known to us of less ripe experience. That which is often upi)crmost in a young gardener's mind might be less in- teresting to the head man, and probably remote in the mirid of an employer. Satisfied that we must now get out of the rut, our l:est intentions will stagger if they do not entirely suc- cumb to an illusory dread of ridicule. We seem to be endowed with a natural timidity when confronted by an edifying proposition and quite heedless of the old saying. "He who fears ridicule is at the mercy of every fool." Nothing would give one greater joy than to hav; at these meetings each young member voluntarily give of his experience something to stimulate enthusiasm and evoke criticism. There is nothing derogatory in being criticised. Take notice, those who expose themselves to, and can merit criticism, are generally doing something of the worth wdiile order. Let us then revolutionize our standard of prepared- ness. Apathy on our part cannot be too strongly con- demned, and while the rut is hard to steer clear of, well- directed energy will pull us through. Dont forget that some of the old school hail from ^Missouri and my advice just now is, ''When you feel in earnest, sieze the very minute, if there's anything you can do, or think you can, begin it." Not all young men lack the inventive, but Oh ! — so manv hate to get busv." Of Interest to Estate Owners The National Association of Gardeners maintains a Service Bureau whicli is at the disposal of all who may require the services of efficient gardeners in their various capacities. The association seeks the co-operatinn of estate owners In its efforts to secure opportunities for tliose eu^a.ired in the profession of jrarden- ing who are seeking to advance themselves. It makes no charge for services rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to assume the responsibilities tlie position may call for. Through this service the National Association of Gardeners aims to bring the Country Estate Owner and the truly efficient men engaged in the profession in closer relation to each other, that the interest in ornamental horticulture and its greater development in this country may thereby be elevated. Make your requirements known to M. C. EBEL, Sec'y, National Association of Gardeners, Madison. N. J. 212 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 213 gniiiiiiiiimiiiinin iiiiiiniiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnni iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiii iiNiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu^^^^^ iiiiiiiiiiniiiliiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiii.iiiiiim iiiiiiiiiiiiig I American Association of Park Superintendents | -m John F. Walsh, Jr., President, Nezv York. R. W. CoTTERiLL, Sec.-Treas., Seattle, Washington, i Vice-Presidents HENRY W. BUSCH, Detroit, Mich. HERMAN W. MERKEL, New York, N. Y. CLARENCE L. BROCK, Houston, Texas ERNST STREHLE, St. Louis, Mo. ALEX. STUART, Ottawa, Canada CHARLES W. DAVIS, Memphis, Tenn. .Bllllll!llimulNII!llinilllllllllllUltlllllllllllllllllllllllllNIIUIIIIIIII!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNI[lllltlllnillllllllim ONE HUNDRED NEW MEMBERS. This article is intended as a personal appeal from the secretary to every member of the Association, in lien of two hnndred per- •sonal letters, so I ask yonr iiidnlgence with the hope that you Avill carefully read and consider every word of this article. The subject is of vital importance, as it involves the future Avelfare and usefulness of the Association, for, as I hare men- i;ioned heretofore, we must eitlier increase our income sufficiently to cover the cost of such work as we are now doing, or we must ■eliminate some tilings y\& have been doing, for at in-esent we are not financially a going concern. I woxild not like to see us abandon anything we have been ■doing; in fact, I would rather have us increase our work, but I am sure we are getting the best of results for the amount of money expended and to discontinue existing features would be a step backward, and we ought to be going forward, which unfor- "tunately we are not doing. Our convention proceedings and bulletins are eagerly sought by numicipal reference libraries, public libraries and the libraries •of all of the principal universities and colleges and to discontinue their publication would be a certain loss of prestige already attained. Our otHdal oraan is the connecting link between members, be- tween conventions, carrying interesting articles and items and -such articles as the members may contribute. To eliminate this feature would be a loss. The secretary receives a salary of $150 per year, with trans- portation to the convention. This is not an extravagant ex- ^lenditure. and my personal experience has been that the -$1.50 just about covers the other expenses he has in connection with at- tendance at the convention. However, perhaps we can secure •some philanthropic or wealthy member for secretary who will serve gratis and this item can be eliminated. The above features, with the expense of stationery and postage, ■constitutes our annual operating budget, the whole aggregating :at the present time about $1,000 per year. With a membership of less than 200, the Association annual income with dues at .$3 per year ($10 for a few sustaining mem- bers) fails to meet this budget, and. with rare exceptions, each year finds a number of 'iiold-over" bills awaiting convention receipts to pay them off and, except for a brief period each year, the Association is in debt, and the secretary has the most \\n- plcasant task of being an apologist and standina: of printers and publishers until the money comes in. After three vears of this sort of thing. I am frank to say that I am discouraccd with -the outlook ami want to plead most seriously with tlic niember- •ship to remedy this condition. Tliere are three ways of doing it: First — The eur.tailment or abandonment of work we are doing, as before mentioned. This T do not advise, as it would, in my judgment, threaten the future •of the Association. Second — Increase the annual dues. This. I am s\ire, would meet with opposition, and I fear would result in loss of members. Third — Increase our membership to at least 300, which M'ould insure an adequate annual income. This is the logical and sensilile way out of the diflnculty as well as being the means of placing the organization on a firmer basis from every stand- point. Hence, the slogan "100 Xew Members for the St. Louis Con- -vention," and I am going to keep dinging this into the member- shi|i from now until September. A membership of 300 will mean -an income of $1,.500 per year, which will meet our budget and leave a working margin for increasing our propagand.a work or accumulating a surplus for contingencies. Our onerating budget would not be increased materially be- cause a larce part of our expense is for printed matter, the prin- -cipal cost of which is for the typographical work and an increased -quantity would not add materially to the cost. One hundred new members is not at all unreasonable if our ■members will just apply themselves to the task. A study of census statistics, reveals the fact that there are sixtv-five cities in the United States and Canada with a population of over 50,000 in which we liave no memliers, while twenty-four of these cities have over 100,000 population, and surely have well-organized municipal park departments. It is almost unbelievable that at this time we have no memljers in such metropolitan cities as Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Columbus, etc. Then there are many cities in Avhich we are represented where there are other eligible members; there are many small cities where there is a jiark organization, and thei-e are many semi- public estates whose sviperintendents are eligible. There is no question but what there are at least five hundred eligible men in executive positions in park work who could be secured for memijers if we could just get at them properly. It has been customary in past years to send broadcast, ad- dressed to the "Superintendent of Parks" or "Park Commission" of every city in the country where we were not represented, a circular letter and application blank. This is alright in a Avay, but experience has proven that it nets but few members, costs considerable for wasted stationery, printing and postage and, to my mind, it cheapens the organization. Personal effort on the part of our members is the thing that will count most, for it is the personal a])peal of a friend or acquaintance that secures most of tlie new members of any or- ganization these days, so I submit herewith a plan of procedure which I ^\■ould like every memlier who hasn't a better one to try out. Get out your Association membership roster and study it care- fully as to cities in which we are not rejiresented, particularly in your own State or district. You probably know the name and title of a number of eligible men in nearby cities, and in many cases know them iiersonally or through' correspondence. Then take the time and trouble to write each of them a per- sonal letter something along the lines of the followine: My Dear Mr. ^ I am writing you at this time in an endeavor to interest you in tlu' matter of membership in the American Association' of Park Superintendents, an organization Avhich has been in exist- ence for 19 years, conqiosed of park executives and designers located in cities of the United States and Canada, its object being "the acquirement and dissemination of knowledge, theoreti- cal and practical, relating to the development and maintenance of parks by means of social intercourse and friendly interchange of knoAiledge between its members."' An annual convention is held in a city where ]>ark woik is being carried forward in a manner which has educational value to the convention attendants, pajiers and addresses are presented by eminent men of the craft, followed by valuable discussions, and best of all are the nnmeroiis man to man conferences regard- ing nuilual problems betv\een practical men from all sections of the country. Convention proceedings, etc., are printed and supplied to mem- bers also from time to time, pamphlets or bulletins relating to park problems, compiled from contributions by members, also a monthly official organ containing articles of value to every park man. :\tembers naturally pav particular attention to correspondence from fellow-members seeking information or ideas and see to it that other members are on their mailing lists to rceive annual reports of their de|)artu,ent. etc. Personal calls from fellow- members means special courlesies and opportunity to investigate and inspect. These ti'ings count. The admission fee is $10, which includes tlu> first year's dues, which are $."i per year thereafter. You are mi doubt eligible for nnunbership in our Association, and I should be very glid to have yon affiliate with us and if possible attend our next annual con- vention, which will be at St. Louis in September. If you are interested, I shall be pleased to recommend you for admission, and will have our secretary forward you application blank and printed matter pertaining to' the Association. Hoping to hear from you on the subject at an early date, I remain, Yery truly yours, etc. 214 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA When responses have been received, send the names, addresses, etc., of the live prospects to the secretary for a follow-up letter, application blank, etc., and he will work on them from then on, and if he gets their application you will be given full credit. Now, if every member will just try out this plan, or a better one, the results will be astonishing, and we will have an Associa- tion of greater strength and usefulness. It is going to take per- sonal work, and it remains to be seen whether we are going to go ahead, stand still or go back. Commencing with the June number, we will have a roll of honor in tliis section, showing the names of members who have lined up new members, etc.. and tlie number of each. Here's hoping that this list will be so long that tlie editor will grumble about tlie space taken. R. W. C. PERSONAL AND OTHERWISE. Daniel II. Ellis, superintendent at Saginaw, ilich., who, with the exception of the last one. has been one of the convention regulars, sends in an interesting letter regarding his work. A reorganization of the city government of Saginaw has resulted in the appointment of a Commissioner of Parks, a ilr. Wm. F. Jahnke. but Mr. Ellis is still retained as superintendent, which was a very wise course in view of his long and creditable record in that position. ]\Ir. Ellis is on the trail of new members, and is canvassing all the eligible prospects in other cities of his State of whom he knows. This is fine business, and we hope his system will be used 1)V others. L. yi. De Saussure of Jlempliis, remembered as Illustrious Cur of the Ancient and Effervescent Order of Yellow Dogs, writes a breezy letter, and states that he is making his summer plans fit into the convention trip at St. Louis in September, and has se- cured a special dispensation irom the Supreme ilongrel to confer the degree work again at St. Louis. A press notice intimates that our vice-president, Clarence L. Brock, now superintendent at Houston, Tex., is to be Commis- sioner of Police under the new city administration. If this hap- pens we know that tliere will be one park system in the coinitry which will be adequately policed by the regular police force, something most cities have difricultv in having done. J. H. Pdackwood. secretary of the Winnipeg Park Board, has reinstated himself in the Association, ami all will be glad to see his name in Ihe roster again. He has -been threatening for many years to attend a convention, but has failed to materialize so far, but this j'ear we believe he is going to yield to the lure of St. Louis. Clias. E. Putnam, engineer for the Boston Park Department, has sent in for some application blanks, which is good news for Boston has been conspicuous bv its absence from recent conven- tions, in spite of the fact that we have a bunch of members in that city. Perhaps the little roast we lianded oiit on that line recently has borne fruit. Well, anyway, here's hoping that Bos- ton packs the next convention and maybe she has designs on the 1918 session which will mark the twentieth anniversary of the organization in Boston in 1008. Arthur V. Parker, for several years superintendent at Worce- ster, JIass., has resigned under date of April 1, and has taken up professional work at Hackeusack, X. .T. He is succeeded at Worcester by Harold J. Kealc, another of our members, wlio has for some years Ijeen City Forester and mIio will now be Super- intendent of Parks and Forester. •T. J. Levison, our former secretary, for years forester of Pros- pect Park in Brooklyn, and nmre recently City Forester of XeAv York, announces his retirement from public service, and has en- gaged in business for himself as consulting landscape forester and arboriculturist, with offices at Sea Cliff, X. Y. In this re- spect he is following in the footsteps of Prost of Chicago, and thus two of our most eminent foresters of metropolitan cities have abandoned public work for private practice, which would indicate that public work is not lucrative enough or else private practice is exceptionally attractive. Mr. Levison has a national reputation in his profession, and is deserving of success, which we all hope will be his lot. George Champion, superintendent at Winnipeg, and one of the "wheel horses" of the Association in days gone by, is taking liis committee assignment seriously, and as the Canadian repre- sentative on the Committee on National, State and Provincial Parks he is on the trail of ten superintendents of provincial parks for membersliiji in the Association, to whom he has sent personal letters, and whose names he has sent in to the secretary for "follow up" correspondence. This is the kind of work that coiuits, and we hope tliat many members will adojit the Champion plan. Leon D. Tilton, who has for some time been connected with the Division of Landscape Gardening of the University of Illi- nois, has secured tlie appointment of Superintendent of Parks at St. Joseph, JIo. He is planning to take out a nieiiilievshi]i in the Association and to attend the St. Louis convention. A liulletin will be issued shortly and sent to all members cov- ering the subjects of "Municipal Golf." as compiled by J. W. Duncan of Spokane, and "Water Charges," compiled by W. R. Reader of Calgarv. A taste of the benefit we are to receive from affiliation with the American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature. was evidenced by the pamphlet, "Oflicial Code of Stanilardized Plant Xames." which has been sent to all our members. This committee is doing a great work, and it is to the credit of our Association tliat we are represented on the committee by such al>le men as Messrs. Merkel, Dunbar and Wirth. ('has. M, Liirina:, "Father of the Minneapolis System." who lives at ^Minneapolis part of the time and acts as superintendent of the sre;it Iliintincton Park at Riverside, Cal., at other times, was recently honored by the Universit.v of Minnesota by being pre- sented with one of their much prized "Certificates of Distinction," awarded to men who have been of signal .service to the common- \xe:ilth. Mr. Loring has been a leading spirit in ornamental hor- ticulture for nearly fifty years and still continues to give liberally of his energy and means in the promotion of civic beautification. He was honored by our association many years ago by being se- lected as an honorarv member. STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, M.\NAGEMENT, CIRCULA- TION, ETC., required by the Act of Congress of Aueusi 24, 1912, of I'.ARDENERs' Chronicle of America, published monthly at New York, N. Y., for April 1, 1917. State of New Jersey ? County of Morris J * Before me. a notary public in and for the State and county aforesaid, personally appeared Geo. A. Burniston, who having been duly sworn ac- cording to law, deposes and says that he is the business manager of the Gardeners' Ciironici-e of America, and that the following is, to the best of his krowledge and belief, a true statement of the ownership, management (and if a daily paper, ihe circulation), etc.. of the aforesaid publication for the date shown in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912, embodied in section 443, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse nf this form, to wit: 1. That ;he names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing editor, and business manager are: Name of — Post office address — Publisher. The Chronicle Press, Inc., 286 Fifth .\ve.. New York, N. Y. Fditor. M. C. Ebel, Madi«on, N. T. Managing Editor, M. C. Ebel, Madison, N. J. Ptusiness Mnnager, Geo. .A. Burniston, Madison, N. J. 2. That the owners are: fOive names and addresses of individual owners, or, if a corporation, give its name and the names and addresses of stock- holders owning or Iiolding 1 per cent, or more of the total amount of stock.) The Chronicle Press, Inc., 286 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. M. C. Ebel, Madison. N. T. Geo. A. Burniston. Madison. N. ,T. M. E. Burniston and .7. A. Burniston, both of Jersey City, N. J. 3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per cent, or more of total amount of bonds, mort- gages, or other securities are: (If there are none, so state) There are no bondholdeis, mortgagees or other security holders. 4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the list of stock- holders rnd security holders as they appear upon the hooks of the company, but also, in cases where the stockholders or security holder appears upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is given: also th.'t the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other than that of a bona fide owner: and this affiant has no reason to believe that any other person, association, or corporation has any interest direct or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated by him. Geo. A. Burniston, Business Manager. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 2nd day of April. 1917, [seal] F. I. Morrow. (My commission expires .-Xugust 5lh. 1920.) THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 215 IIIIIIK IIIIIIIIIIIUIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIimillllllllllllllllllHIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJIIIIIII Ilnitllll m National Association of Gardeners Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. James Stuart, Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. Theo. Wirth, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Martin C. Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. Trustees for iqi/ William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; Jolin F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic N T • William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. Directors (To serve until 1918) — William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove N Y- Carl N Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox. Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y.; Robert Weeks, Cleveland Ohio (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, (Cambridge Mass •' John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y.; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Fraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington D C • (To serve until 1920)— William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal.- William Grar Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis ' niiiiiiiiimiiini uiKiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiniitiiiiiiiiiii ii jiuiiiniiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifliiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiinniiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnniiiiinwniiraiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiii^ PLANNING FOR THE 1917 CONVENTION. President Thomas \^^ Head aes tliat lie is organizing his Committee on Pnblieity and Committee on .Arrangements for the 1917 convention to be held in Chicago in December next, and that the list of members constitutina these committees will be annonneed in the next issue of the Chronicle.. President Head reflects the optimisni of bis employer, J. Ogden Armour, who believes that the entry of our country in the war will not bring about a general depression, but increased business activity and a continuance of llie present prosperity. Mr. Head, accordingly, looks forward to carrying out the plans already announced for the holding of the first convention of the association in a western citv. »iiiiii!iiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiniiiiiiif for frying for the a«ard of the medals. I believe these awards should be made through local committees, where they would get in touch with members who have plants or plantations of great merit on the home grounds or in their greenhouses. Capable members could be appointed to visit such places, and judge upon tlie merits of anything that shows special skill, as the rules of our association would allow. I do not pose as an authority on such matters, but it does seem to me that it would be more just to all the members, than simply giving the authority for such things to local exhibitions. Trusting that these matters may be diseusesd through the Chronicle by other members of the association, CEORGE F. STEWART, The COMMUNICATIONS TO SECRETARY'S OFFICE. following communications should receive the careful con- sideration of the members at large and should provoke some interesting discusison, both in the columns of the Chronicle and in gardening circles wherever members of the profession congregate. The establisluncnt of a benevolent fund, and greater co-operative activity are subjects of vital interest to all gardeners. Mr. Reader, what have you to say in the matter? The secretary will comment on the issues in the next number of the Chronicle. SECRETARY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS: The starting of a benevolent fund in connection with our asso- ciation, referred to in the .March association notes, having been on my mind for some time I was glad to see it brought forward by "The Onlooker," and venture to think that the idea will re- ceive general approval from the members. "The Onlooker'' mentioned some kindred societies in the old country having something of the kind attached to them, and there is another connected with agriculture I would like to men- tion, as it is run upon principles which entirely eliminate the possibility of any favoritism by the managing committee, for the recipients of bounty from it, which in this case takes the form of pensions, are elected each year by the subscribers to its funds. The subscribers to it arc, amongst others, estate owners, manufacturers, tradesmen and others making and selling goods used, and from whom subscriptions could be reasonably asked in connection with horticulture here, and the class from which ap- plicants for help come. Should any of the latter become eligible then the votes represented by the money they have subscribed are credited to them. In all cases the number of votes each sub- scriber is entitled to is based upon the amount subscribed in that year. The method of voting is very simple, and by mail or at the office. At this stage it does not appear necessary to discuss details, but it is to be hoped that if the idea meets with members' ap- proval thev will make their opinions known. ARTHUR SMITH. SECRETARY, NATIONAL ASSOaATION OF GARDENERS: I read with interest the doings of the Spring Executive Meet- ing of the association, especially the desire for greater co-opera- tive activity among the members. I think that could be brought about by ha\ ing local meetings of the nu'mbers of the association in the many gardening centers throughout the country. The trustees could decide how many members it would require to have such a local meeting. Various subjects could be diseusesd and reported to the executive to guide them in their delibera- tions. I do not think that the awarding of our medals should be done through horticultural societies. !Many of the members are not allowed to exhibit at these shows, and are thereby barred AMONG THE GARDENERS The announcement of the retirement of William H. Duckham from the professional gardening to enter the commercial field will. no doubt, be a gieat surprise to his many acquaintances in the gardening professioiL Mr. Duckham, who for the past twenty years has been superintendent of the D. Willis James Estate, of Madison, New Jersey, a place which has always proved of unusual interest to visiting gardeners to this section, is one of the principals of a company wliich is entering into the cut flower industry on an extensive scale. Five greenhouses, 61 x 500 feet, are already under course of construction on the outskirts of Madison, which, it is understood, are to be devoted exclusively to the growing of roses for the cut flower market. * * * Robert Whan has secured a position as gardener on the estate of ilrs. W. V. King, Convent, N. J. * * * Charles Thomas, formerly of tlie A. E. Voric estate, Cliester, N. J., has accepted a position as gardener on the Mrs. G. H. Lan- cashire estate. Jlanchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. * * * John Alcock, recently of "Burklyn Hall," East Burke, Vt., is now superintendent on the A. E. Davis estate, "Greystone Farm," Dover, jNIass. * * * M. A. Reipcr, formerly gardener to A. P. Warner, Boliet, Wis., has resigned his position to accept a similar one at Burlingame, Cal. * * * Frank L. Johnson, for several years in charge of the H. A. Kirby estate. Providence, R. I., has resigned to accept a similar position with C. C. Reynolds, Slocum, R. I. * # ♦ Frederick Bateman, recently in charge of the greenhouses on the II. W. Boettger estate. Riverdale, N. Y., is now gardener under Arthur Stratford, on the E. D. Hopkins estate, Beechfield, Baltimore, Md. * * * The scarcity of assistant gardeners offers no promise of relief in this country in the near future as many of the young men engaged on judvate estates in the capacity of assistants arc returning to their home country to join the colors. On Tuesday last Harry Cortwright and Cyril Hayman. of "Bellefontaine," Lenox. JIass.. and Alfred Woodger. 'of "The Gardens," East Island. Glen Cove, N. Y., sailed for England. They expect to return to the States immediately after the cessation of hos- tilities abroad, although on leaving were anxious to reach the firing line. 216 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA The President's Appeal "T ET nic sugiicst also that c V i- r y 0 >i c who creates or cultivates a gar- den helps and helps greatly to solve the problem of the feeding of nations. . . The importance of an adequate food supply, es- pecially for the present year, is superlative. . The world's food re- serves are low. Upon the farmers of this country, therefore, in large meas- ure rests the fate of the war and the fate of the nations." THORBURN'S Seeds are chosen with the greatest of care from high quahty stock, and because the growth of large and success- ful crops is more vital today than at perhaps any time in the world's history, it is im- portant that you select seeds upon which you can rely. Thorburn's Seeds have been famous for over a cen- tury. Send today for our latest catalog. It contains valu- able information which you should have. J. M. Thorburn & Co. Established 1802 iy-t<'- -J^'iV y 53-U Barclay Street through to \ 54 Park Place , \ New York tthisi 'Book MENLO PARK, CAL., HORT. SOCIETY. T)ie regular monthly meeting of the Menlo Park Horticultural Society was held in Duff & Doyle Hall, Menlo Park, Cal., on Tuesday evening, April 10, President Daly in the chair. Mr. Leonard Coates, nursery- man of Morganhill, was unanimously elect- ed a member of the society. Mr. Ellings, Mr. Lam]iard and Mr. Ehrlich were ap- pointed judges for the evening, and tlie fol- lowing are the awards: John W. Aitken, 95 points for a fine vase of Pride of Har- lem Tulips; Rudolph Slama, 87 points for Hyacinths; Walter Eglington, 87 points for a good specimen of Vanda Sauvis; Sam Lockerbie, 85 points for a well grown plant of Schisanthus; John Scott, 8.") points for Primla Obconica; and George Xunn, 80 points for a mixed vase of Tulips. For an extra fine bundle of Asparagus, cut from plants gi'own from seed sown .June, 1915, the judges recommended a cultural com- mendation to John D. Aitken. Mr. Leon- ard Coates was called on for a few remarks on his exhibit of native shrubs. He spoke highly of Ceanothus spinosus, thryseiiorus and Arboreus, and also Deudromecore rigi- dum (the t'alifornia Tree Poppy), and rec- ommended them for very dry localities. It was moved and carried by a unanimous vote that the entire proceeds from the Spring Flower Show, to be held at Red- wood Cit}', June 9 and 10, be given to the American Red Cross. PERCY F. COPP, Secretary. NEW LONDON, CONN., HORT. SOCIETY. The monthly meeting of the above so- ciety was held in the Council Chamber of the Municipal building. State street. Thurs- day, April 12, President Rough in the chair. After reading of minutes of previous meet- ing. Treasurer Ewald spoke of the proposed movement to encourage all men and boys who can and will take up plots and grow vegetables this summer. TTie members present heartily approved the scheme and offered their advice to any who needed guidance in their operations. It is hoped that numbers of men will take up a plot of ground and so help forward the food supply of our country. Rev. Hulburt and jlrs. Alonzo Phelps, of Groton. were elected to membership. Thos. Halton then gave an account of his trip to tlie Davey Tree Surgery Company, Kent, Oliio. The speaker said he went with ratlier a sceptical mind, but had come back a convert to the Davey methods of tree treatment; he felt convinced the company was doing a very scientific and honorable work in the country. The speaker was ac- corded a hearty vote of thanks for his in- teresting report. Nelrose Snap-dragon and Sweet Pea Yar- rawa and Mrs. Schatch were exhibited from Harkness" estate greenhouses; Span- ish Iris from the president'.s floral store. STANLEY JORDAN, Secretary. NASSAU COUNTY, N. Y., HORT. SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the above society was held in Pembroke Hall, Glen Cove, on Wednesday, April 11, Presi- dent James McCarthy occupying the chair. One petition for active membership was received. Tlie president appointed Henry Gaut, Robt. Jones and Geo. Piatt to act as judges for the monthly exhibits, and their awards were as follows: Pan of Bulbs, first, John W. Everitt, with a well grown pan of Tulips, Couleur Carnival. Pot of Easter Lily, first. John W. Everitt, with a beautiful pot of Lilium Formosum. Vase of Lady Hillington and Oplielie Roses, ex- hiliitcd by John W. Everitt, awarded spe- cial mention. BURPEE'S SEEDS are grown not only to sell but to grow again. The fact that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to be our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseof Burpee continues to grovp just as surely as Burpee'* Seed* Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A post card will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co, I Burpee Buildings Philadelphia Warm, Bright, Sunny I USES Hiive a special type of construe- tinn. which permits of great strength without the need of heavy shndow-cistinj: supports. This gives the plants nil the sunlight all flay long. Send for bulletin No. 47, KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 303 King Rd. North Tonawanda. N. Y. 113 State St,, Boston, Mass. Harrison BIdg,, 16th & Market Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. -^-m-^ THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 217 Robt. Jones, chairman of the Executive ', Committee, read the schedule for tlie An- j nual Tulip Show, to be held in the Glen I Cove Neighborhood House, some time in May, date to be announced later. The schedule for the Annual Rose Show, to be held in June, and the Annual Sweet Pea Show, to be held in July, was also read and adopted. An essay by Arno H. Nehr- ling, Mass., entitled "Herbaceous Perennials We Should Grow" was read by Harr\ Goodband, which proved to be very inter- esting and instructive. A lettiM- of thanks was ordered sent to the author. Exhibits for our next mectinj.'. to be lield on Wednesda.v, May 9. are: 12 (.ladioli, 3 | heads of lettuce, and a vase of out-door flowers. HARRY GOODBAND, Cor. Secretary. NORTH SHORE, MASS., HORT. SOCIETY. At this society's regular niecting. hidil March 16, Herman Sanford and \Vm. Till- the two delegates who attended the Davcv convention at Kent, Ohio, were present and made a report of their trip and their opinion of the Davey Institute as tliey saw it; promising to add to their report at the next meeting and also to procure samples of the students' work, to be ex- amined by the members. In rejdy to a re- quest for the same. Professor Schcrer. of the Scientific Research Department of the institute, wrote that he would attend the meeting to be held on April ti, and would bring samples of the students" work and give an informal talk on "Tree Diseases." The professor gave a very instructive lecture on the "White Pine Blister Rust.'' going into the subject in a ver.y able and thorough manner. On request he also spoke brietly on the chestnut blight and the fungus that atTects the horse chestnut. A good discussion followed the lecture, after which Professor Scherer set up a powerful compound microscope and showed samples of wood and other plant life, also some fine specimens of the Snap Dragon Rust. At the clo.se of the lecture a rising vote of thanks was extended to Professor Scherer for his courtesy, and to the delegates for their report. The Building Committee reported splen- did ]n-ogress on the new building, and also announced that the Lord & Burnham Co. had presented the societ.v with twn lioilers to heat the building. On motion of Mr. Paul ilaillard it was voted that "The North Shore Horticultural Society offer at once to the national gov- ernment the new building of our society for whatever use it can make "f it during the period of the war." Also voted, on reipiest of the ladies of Hamilton, Wenham and Ipswich that a committee be appointed from the societ.v to take care of the matter of honu- gardens for that district. The Show Committee had copies of the 1017 schedule. Tliere will be one general exhibition on Augiist S and 9, and probably other special exhibitions later in the fall. The following are on the Exhibition Com- mittee: Martin H. Warner, chairman; William Canning, Murdo Jlackay, !Martyn Eybcrse, and Gustave Ericson. Present indications are that the new hall will be opened early in July. WILLIAM TILL. U-BAR GREENHOUSES ARE A SERIES OF ARCHES MADE OF THE ARCHED U-BARS THE arch combines great strength with surprising lightness. In grace of lines, it has no equal. I' -Bar greenhouses are a series of steel arches. The U-Bar itself, is an inverted arch. The frame work is a span of arches made of U-Bars. I'-Bar greenhouses combine in an ex- ceptional way—strength, lig-htness and beauty of lines. No other greenhouse is like them; be- cause no other can be built with the arch of U-Bar arches. Send for catalog. Or send for us. Or both. %.^-BAR GREENHOUSES ^^ SOUTHAMPTON, N. Y., HORT. SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the above societ.v was held on the ."ith inst., President Chas. F. Guilloy in the chair. In the competition for an exhibit of forced liardy flowering shrubs, honors went to Martin ilcLaughlin. AVm. McLeod showed a \ery fine vase of Darwin Tulips, SaluKui King, and Pride of Haarlem. On motion it was resolved to send a let- ter of condolence to Mr. James L. Breese on the recent death of Mrs. Breese, who was a life member of this society; also a letter to our member in Easthampton. Mr. Louis Vetault, expressing s.vmpathv in his severe illness, and hopes for his speedy re- covery. .\ppointed as a Cottage Garden Advisory t'onnnittee were Messrs. Chas. S. Guilloz itnd Wm. McLeod for Southampton. Messrs. Jose])h Cassidy and .John Easer for Bridge- liampton, Easthamptotn and Wain.scott. who will willingly give any information res|)ecting the cultivation of fruit, flowers and vegetables to the many village peo])le who, this year, are anxious to make their little gardens a sticcess. Our worthy secretary, IT. H. Wells, gave an interesting account of liis trip to the Davey convention at Kent, Ohio, which was enjoyed by all. ' J. DICKSON, Cor. See'y. HOLYOKE AND NORTHAMPTON, MASS., FLORISTS' AND GARDENERS' CLUB. The regular meeting was held on April ."?. with E. J. Canning. Northampton, in the chair, a goodly number of members b*ing present. .\ letter N\as read from a preparedness committee of Holyoke, inviting the co-ope- ration of the club, and President Stingwcll was appointed to represent the chib on that committee. (It looks like working over- time with the hoe this summer.) Alex. Haeseler. of the Smith College gi-eenhouses, read a paper on Cinerarias and Prunilas, which brought out a good discus- sion. We were pleased to welcome an idd mem- ber in the person of Clark Tliayer, of the Department of Floriculture of Cornell, who has the iL A. C. Mr. Thaver gave an in- teresting account of the trials of hardy Phlox, which have been conducted at Cor- nell for the last three .years. Some very fine spikes of Buxton's Silver Pink Snap- dragon were exhibited by G. H. Sinclair. H. E. Downer showed pots of Narcissus Kins Alfred and Tulip Wm. Copeland. H. E. D. THE WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD HORT. SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the above society was held in Hubbard's Hall, Greenwich, Conn., on Friday evening. April IS', President Wm. Whitton in the chair. There was an exceptionally good attend- 218 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Use This Catalog SUGGESTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE PLANTING A CATALOG which tells what plants and trees and shrubs are best adapted by Nature for each garden and landscape — and how to group them most effect- ively. "Suggestions for Effective Planting" is not the usual me- chanical, deadly dull nursery catalog. Its arrangement of de- partments brings together the material best suited for each pur- pose. Send for your copy as soon as possible. ANDORRA NURSERIES William Warner Harper, Proprietor Box 110, Chestnut Hill, Phila., Pa. ance and a very fine display of e-xhibits, for whicli the judges made the following awards : Cultural certificates to A. Biesch- ke for four very fine plants of Hydrangeas and to Wm. Graham for a nice display of Schizanthus; high commendation to Robt. Gruenert for vase of Carnations and three vases of Tulips; to Fred Sfetzler for vase of Chrysanthemum "Seven Oaks," and to Jas. Lanaine for plant of Calceolaria. The thanks of the society was accorded to C. Hahanson for vase of Sweet Peas, to John Andrews, for plant of Begonia, to Kobt. Gruenert for vase of Chrysanthemums, to Wm. \\1iitton for plant of Sehizanthus and vase of Carnations, and to P. W. Popp for standard Rhododendron. The first prize for the most meritorious exhibit was awarded to A. Biesehke for Hydrangeas; second to Wm. Graham for Sehizanthus; third to Robt. Gruenert for vase of Carnations. Mr. H. B. Read, Conyer's Farm, Green- which, gave a very interesting and instruc- tive talk on "Fniit Farming." ALEX. CLARIvSON, Cor. Secy. CLEVELAND FLOWER SHOW. The question has Ijeen asked several times recently legarding the possible change in plans for conducting the annual exhibition of the Chrysanthemum Society Star Brand Roses * THE CONARD S JONES CO., |-^ARDY field grown climb- ng roses. Excelsa (Red Dorothy Per- kins) and all other popular varieties. Send for price-list. Box C. Wcsl Grove. Pa. THE CARE OF VOUR TREES Let U3 take it ^^l;ht off your shouldei^. "Tlie Baillett Way" of Tree Surgery is safe and sure. None but real exports employed. Endorsed by forestry schools. lEepn'sentativos eveo'where. Send for ■'Tree Talk," It's alive wllh ti^e h"lps. THE F. A. BARTLETT CO. 543 Main St., Stamford, Conn. of America, in connection witli the Cleve- I land Flower Show this fall. : We see no reason at this time to alter our plans, in fact, there is all the more reason for developing flower shows and other activities. In event war conditions develop and are intense in November, at the time of tlie Cleveland Flower Show, the committee will make arrangements with the Red Cross Society and hold the show for their benefit. OYSTER BAY (N. Y.) HORT. SOCIETY. The regular meeting was held in Fire- men's Hall, April •2.i, A. I. Walker in the chair, with a good attendanc. There was a large exhibit of first-class plants, cut flowers and vegetables, and the society's prizes were well contested. Messrs. Humphries, Sheppard and Robert- son were appointed to .judge the exhibits, and their decisions were as follows: First, rhniean Beaton for a pot of Hydrangea; first, .John llnller for a pot of Sehizanthus; first, Frank Petrocci for three heads of Lettuce. John Devine was awarded hon- orable mention for a vase of White Won- der Carnatiton and for a vase of Antirrhi- mim. Percy XicJiols received the thanks of the society for a vase of Tulips anil for a vase of seedling Pansies. To .John Muller a cultural certificate was awarded for a pot of Calceolaria. One new member was elected and one application for membership ri'ceived. GFflRGE H. HAT_.E, Sec'y. STAMFORD, CONN., HORT. SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting was held l'"riday evening, April 13, in the club's rooms (111 i^utlier street. President H. Wilds pre- sided, with an excellent attendance. Eiglit new members were elected and several proposed. Alexander Geddes read an interesting pa- per on "The Culture of Vegetables." 'T'he information gained therefrom by the ama- teur gardeners present will doubtless lead to better crops this season. A fine collection of French Hydrangeas was e.xhibited by Mr. Bisckc, which the judges awarded a cultural certificate. A. Geddes received a vote of thanks for his Carnation exhibit, one vase each of seed- lings. Enchantress Supreme, Enchantress, and a vase of Gerbera Jamesoni. Two vases of Antirrhinums, shown by A. Wynn, re- ceived a cultural certificate. One vase of Sweet Peas Yarrawa, exhibited by A. Pie- deison. won a vote of thanks. Spiraea Ru- bciit, exhibited by J. D. Foster, was higlily commended. F. S. HARTWRIGHT, Corr. See'y. MT. KISCO, N. Y., HORT. SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting was held (111 Tuesday, April 10, President Connolly in the chair. Two were admitted as active incmbers and five 'were proposed. Mr. Con- nolly and Mr. Gordon had fine exhibits. .Mr. Connolly received SO points for Sweet Peas, 75 for Carnation, 60 for Stocks, and for ^Mushrooms, SO. Jlr. Gordon was award- ed 90 points for Valley and SO for Schizan- ( bus. Mr. Connolly then introduced the lec- turer, James T. Scott who, however, needed no introduction. Mr. Scott talked on Roses and his talk was much enjoyed. Tliere was a full attendance of members and a .^ratifying attendance of the public. Mr. Scott was tendered a standing vote of thanks. All flower exhibits were sent to the local hospital. Miss Miller, of Samuel Parsons Co., will give us a lecture in May, to be held in the afternoon. A. G. RO.SS, Secretary. "Send Me a Sprinkler Like the One I Saw at—" NKARLV every mail brings a letter like that. Generally they lefer to the Peacock Siiriiikler shown above. Maybe the writer saw it on a Florida lawn; perhaps on a big es- tate on Long Island, or possibly on a !^olf course in California. But wherever he saw it, he saw it doing its work so faithfully and efficiently that he wanted one for himself! A single section waters uniformly an area 15 feet by 60 feet in a way that makes grass gyow. The length of vour line is limited only by your water supply. We make sprinklers for everything that grows. Lawns. Small garden plots. Large acreage. So you can tell us your watering problem with the assurance that we can solve it. Ask about our money back guarantee. The Skinner Irri^aiion Co. 229 I Water St. CKINNER Oystem OP* IRRIGATION. A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleached and unburnt; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months of preparation. Try a Bag $1.00 6 Bags $5.00 F. O. B. New York or Jersey City on Hiiy Railroatl or Steamboat Line MAGIC HUMUS CO. G. W. Ck,-\ndler, S.iles -Acjent 264 WEST 34th STREET. NEW YORK or 40 PETERS PLACE, RED BANK, N. J. i / \ f CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MANUFACTURERS PHILADELPHIA, PA. A \ / k THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 219 The practicability of the house illustrated was decided by Mr. Charles H. Totty, Madison, N. J., the expert plants- man, and the ornateness by Mrs. Totty when they decided to annex this structure to their residence. We build them of any size, with or without curved eaves, iron frame, semi-iron, or all wood construction. WEATHERED COMPANY Established 1859 242 Lafayette St., NEW YORK Tree Owners and Tree Lovers | I Will find much to interest and instruct ^ I in the E I NEW ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE I I "TREE TALK" | 3 Devoted to Arboriculture and Forestry. g I All about the planting, care and treatment of trees and shrubs, 1 E Accurate information about pruning-, spraying and tree surgery. E i Send 1 dollar for a full year's subscription to "Tree Talk." m I Sample copies free on receipt of 2 cent stamp to cover postage. 1 I Published quarterly by E I THE F. A. BARTLETT COMPANY | j STAMFORD, CONN. | iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ I JOHN SCHEEPERS & CO., Inc. | Flower Bulb Specialists I 2 Stone Street - New York 1 ORCHIDS We are Specialists In Orchids, we collect, grow. Import, export and sell orchids exclusively. If you are in the mnrket for OroMds we Bolieit your inquiries and orders. Catalogues and special lists od application. Lager & Hunrelly Orchid Growers and Importers, SUMMIT. N. J. IMPORTED ORCHIDS If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. JOSEPH MANDA.Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist WEST ORANGE, N. J. HILL'S EVERGREENS Send for Price-list. Mention this magazine. D. HILL NURSERY CO. Evergreen Specialists, _ Largest Growers in America. "ox 305 lilinttiiMlllllllic Dundee, 111; I THE SKINNER IRRIGATION CO. i OF TROY, OHIO f Announces the establishment of a New York Office at I 131 Hudson Street in charge of Mr. C. H. Allender. I It is our intention to serve through this I office those interested in the Skinner Sys- I tern of Irrigation, in all districts suburban I to the City of New York. I All fittings for the Skinner System, in- I eluding Lawn SprinkJers and Complete I Garden Sprinkling Lines, will be carried ifi I stock at this office. I Our service and advice is immediately I available without .any obligation to you. £iitilHitiutMlil|iiriiMiiiiiiiHiM|iiiiii ou our liook describing these excep- tional Bird Homes. REIBER BIRD HOMES, West Webster, N Y. H/\RR>^ B/\LD\A/IN Manufacturer of GREEN-HOUSE SHADING LATH ROLLER BLINDS MAMARONECK, N. Y. Competent Gardeners 1 The comlorls and products of a counlry home are increased by employing a competent gardener ; if you want to engage one, write to us. •1 Please give particulars regarding place and say whether married or single man is wanted. We have been supplying them lor years to the best people everywhere. No lee asked. PETER HENDERSON & CO. Seedsmen and Florists 33 and 37 Cortlandt St NEW YORK CITY Do you spray your trees? WILLIAM F. LEARY Scientific Care of Trees Spraying — Pruning — Cementing 182 NORTH AVE., NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. Dealer in Spraying Machines Agent for Aphine, Fuiigine & Vermine 220 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA ^iiwiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiii^ THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GARDEN For the Greenhouse — Applied at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent as a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most eflFective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efficient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. Sold by dealers in various sizes APHINE MANUFACTURING CO. MANUFACTUREP.S OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON, N. J. FUNGINE For mildew, ruat and other blight* affecting flower*, fruits and vegetable*. VERMINE For worms and insect* infe*ting the *oil. rvUIIIIIIIUIinillllllllllllllllllHIIIIIIIIWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIimillllllllllllllllUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII iiiiniiiiniiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ '4!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinin I iiiiiiiiiiiiiis sliiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinuiiiitiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiuiiiiii«jiuimffiiiiiiiiiiu< Wilson's Plant Spray For Evergreens, Shrubbery, Orchids, Crotons, and All Stove Plants Prom in ent Gardeners ivh o recom m end Plant Spray. Seabright. N. j., April 11, '17. "I have used > our Plant Spray for the past 10 years and it gives me great pleasure to recommend it for Orchids, Pahns and all otlier plants troubled with scale or other insects and I can safely say it is the best spray I have found to keep evergreens free from Red Spider and other insects."— W. H. Waite. The Riverlands, Oceanic, N. J.. April 11, 1917. '*This is to certify that Wilson's Plant Spray is one of the best remedies for all insect pests on plant life from the most tender orchid up to trees, shrubs, etc. After one application the effect is par excellent. I take great pleasure in recommending same." — Wm. Turner, Supt. Ogontz. Pa., September 16, 1909. "I have given your Plant Spray a good trial and must say it is A-1. Please send fifty gallons at once."— Wm. Kleinheinz. X. V. BOTANICAL GARDENS Bronx Park, N. Y. City, Sept. 5, 1906. "Having used your Insecticide here, I can testify to its effi- ciency in destroying scale and other insects infesting plants." — Geo. A. Skene. I 5 gallons, SIO; 10 gallons, S19; 20 gallons, S36; 25 gallons, | I $43; 50 gallons, S75. | j Wilson Plant Oil and Fertilizer Co. | I Springfield, New Jersey | liiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitNitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiitiiniiiiiiiiiiia Bon Arbor Chemical Co. PATERSON, N. J. Manufacturers or BON ARBOR No. 1 Soluble Plant Life. A most wonderful and invigorating food for all plants, indoor and outdoor. BON ARBOR No. 2. Best dressing for your lawns. RADIX WORM ERADICATOR. Instant- ly removes worms from your Tennis Courts, Putting greens, etc. ANT DESTROYER. Will remove all ants outside or indoors in a week's time. Be sure and try it. NATURAL HUMUS. Is the best for mak- ing new lawns, gardens, etc. Write for descripive catalogue and prices Coldwell Motor Mower MODEL J 4^ ^ :LL uL •T-HE COLDWELL "CLIPPERBUILT" Motor Mower, Model J, * comhiiics Coldwell sturdy c-oiistruct ion with I'.tlT niccli.-inical iiii|)i'o\eineii(s. Power. A 4-cylindcr ]!)17 iuitomobilc inolor. t'ontiin'iilul wuikv. oivc's .Model J power to clinih any u an abundance fur sliaring witli your friends or making daily shipments ti I your town house. Hack iif this house stands our half a century's experience as greeidiouse builders. Are you interested? Do you want our interesting gen- eral greenhouse information'' If so, send for bockiet No. 116, ...Mi. GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 'LTURAI- I PARKS 8c GARDENS ILLUSTRATED The Beautiful Transformation of an Ugly Skyline Effect The principal flaw in the top photo- graph is the unsightly effect produced by, dead branches. Edged against the sky is a ragged, monotonous outline in which theie is a minimum of grace, symmetry and beauty. Now note the lower photograph — observe what a wonderful transforma- tion has been effected by Davey Tree Surgeons! All ugly, dead branches have been removed, and artistic grouping has been achieved by the elimination of certain unimportant trees and bushes. What refreshing variety of outline is now presented, what charm lies in its perfect simplicity! Possibly your estate offers similar opportuni- ties for enhanced beauty — perhaps a little judi- cious artistry can bring out "hidden wonders" of which you are now unconscious. BUT — Be careful to whom you entrust this important work. Trimming and cutting, incor- rectly done, is dangerous. Thousands of trees are lost every year because their owners do not realize the degree of highly expert knowledge and experience this work requires. More than half the decay in trees is directly traceable to improper trimming. Take the safe course— — and put your trees in the hands of Davey Tree Surgeons. Tree Surgery, as they practice it. is scientifically accurate and mechanically perfect — the result of the life study of John Davey, "The Father of Tree Surgery," aug- mented and refined by the massed experience of the greatest body of expert tree men the world has ever known. Davey Tree Surgeons are the only Tree Surgeons officially endorsed by the United States Government. They have treated and saved the priceless trees at the National Capi- tol. White House. Naval Observatory, Fort Mver. Charleston. (S. C.) Navy Yard, An- napolis Naval Academy, West Point Military Academy, etc. They are the only Tree Surgeons endorsed by thousands of estate owners — prominent men and women whose recommendations you can accept with complete confidence. And they are the only Tree Surgeons who are backed by a successful and responsible house, amply able to make good in every instance, and not needing, for tne sake of temporary existence, to sacrifice in the slightest degree its high standards. Write today for free examination of your trees — and booklet. "When Your Trees Need the Tree Surgeon.*' What is the real condition of your trees? Only the experienced tree surgeon can tell you fully and definitely. Without cost or obligation to you, a Davey Tree Surgeon will visit your place, and render an honest verdict regarding their condition and needs. Write to- day. From Mr. Lisle R. Beardslee, Wilmington, Delaware "The work done by your com- pany upon an old tree in my yard IS very satisfactory and a re- markable demonstration of what can be accomplished by the scientific methods followed by your concern." From Mr. Arthur Heurttcy. The Northern Trust Company. Chicago, 1 1. "The work done on my trees by your foreman and his asso- ciates has been very satisfactory, so much so that we have been at considerable pains to canvas the neighborhood so as to give the boys some extra work while in the vicinity." From Mr. Wm. R. Kenan, Jr. Lockport. N. Y. "Some twelve or fourteen years ago while visiting at my sister's summer home at Mam- aroneck. N. Y.. I saw your father with a very large corps Hoirg tree surgery on that place. It i.Tipressed me so forcibly and, in later years the results were so convincing that, upon the pur- cnase of this place, I concluded to have your company do such work as was necessary here. The work has been entirely satisfac- tory." THE DAVEY TREE EXPERT CO., INC., 306 ELM ST., KENT, OHIO {Operating Ihc P,K-e\ Iiistiuitc of Tive a Natural Erreet ii hile Consideration for the Pockets Has Not Been Overlooked. plants and shrubs with which to make the best showing, and which are best suited to the environment and fea- tures of a rock garden, also considering how handy and to what degree of heat and cold the location is subject to. Taking the shrubs first, it would be as well to desig- nate the most appropriate and effective places for plant- ing them. To prepare the approach to a good rock garden, care must be taken to plant suitable shrubs 240 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA and have the general work in accordance with the rock garden itself, so that there will be no direct clash of scheme, such as would occur were a formal garden to project itself right up to the rock garden. The Spanish Goose is a fine subject for this, its semi-wild appear- ance, when planted in bold groups has a pleasing effect. Coniferous shrubs such as juni])erus, thuga's and picea's too, have a harmonious blending for the approach work. The hardy alpine rhododendrons, can also be used ex- tensively, and in the rock garden proper, they are in- dispensable, to crown the higher parts of the rock work. The tall Ericas are appropriate and useful, and should be planted in the cooler spots of the garden, as also could andromedas, pernettyas, and ledums and will grow very nicely. The warmer sites can be planted with cistus, skimmia. and daphne pontica, the latter a very useful subject, though the cistus should be protected in the severest part of the winter. . The foregoing are all evergreens, and by judicious planting in the places designated, and in bold groups, they will create a unity with the smaller alpines, which will almost grow to their feet, as the selection of shrubs have a compact growing habit, and do not possess ex- tensive root running drawbacks, so that there is no impoverishing of the soil for the smaller subjects. Sub-shrubs too must be included and will fit in nicely at a lower elevation than the shrubs, and, occasionally intermingled w'ith the rock plants. They give artistic touches to the whole, and when reaching the age of four or more years, they develop a half wild appearance, which fits in ideally with the general plan. Such sub- shrubs as cassinia fulvida, veronica, traversii, rosemary and the lavendulas assume these growths and find a suitable situation among the rocky boulders. Trailing shrubs such as the low growing cotoneasters, muhlenbeckias, the early pink flowering erica carnca, and the white menziesia, planted close to the shrubs and leading from them to the lower subjects are very useful, especially the menziesia, as this gives a beautiful effect, with its green tufty growth in winter, and an ex- tended period of flowering through the summer, and sometimes late into the fall of the year. A farther effect may be given to the whole, by speci- men shrubs of bold aspect, planted with forethought to throw into relief lines and drifts of other plants, such shrubs as eryngiums and euphorbias, answer to this purpose very well. To come to the rock plants and alpines, there one must be very careful in selecting only such plants that are perfectly hardy in the location, and are able to with- stand the severity or mildness of the winter as the case may be. Further, the individual tastes of the plants must be considered as some prefer a sunny situation, others a shady and cool position. The burning sun of summer often proves a handicap to a lot of alpine plants, and these should always be planted on the slopes and inclines, which have a distinct northern aspect. If care has been taken in the construction of the rock garden, cool spots can be found readily, and in these mav be planted the various species of .Kelonis, Auchusa myosotiflora, which has blue flowers through most of the summer, anemone sylvestris, Aguilegia sylvestris. Acoerulea and Aglandulosa, Arenarias, Saxifraga, of which there are quite a number of varieties and species, the best among them being, S. virginica, S. geum, S. iimbrosa, S. coesia, S. cotyledon, S. aizoon, S. aizoides, S. appostifolea, S. erysantha, and S. longifolia. There are many other species of Saxifragas which are adaptable to rock work, and these can be added to the list above. Scdums can be planted in the higher ledges, and they cover crevices and rocks very prettily. S. ellumacre, S. stoloniferum and S. sieboldii are among the best. An indispensable alpine is the gentian. This plant may be also included in the stmny positions, as it does well in either locality, sunny or shady. Gentiana acaulis, and G. verna give marvellous results. Draba alpina and Daizoides, Greums, Primula sieboldii and other species, the various Epimediums, Ginguiculas, Palemonium replans and Phumile, Omphalodes verna, also the cam- panulas, of which there are numberless species, including Campanula carpatica, C. Pulla, C. garganica, and C. fra- gilis, the Cerastiums, Phlox amoena, P. subulata and Preptans. Dianthus and species in plenty are a great rock family. Eriiuis, the Edelweiss, Leontopodium alpinum, lychnis, Arabis, Lyachys, Senecio's which have a very pleasing effect when planted in bold groups, and blend well, when near to the shrub plantings, artemesias and armericas. The foregoing is by no means a complete list of the shade and hardier alpines and some of them will do equally as well on the sunny slopes. A short list of alpines that will be found to be success- ful on the sunny slopes should include, nepeta mussinii, Erigeron, Papaver alpinum and other species. Aster alpinus, the various types of Androsace, Achilleas, Iberis, the dwarf varieties of Iris, Tunica, Saxifraga, \'eronicas, Gypsophila, Galax aphylla, Asperula odorata, and Crepis hieracia. When a rock garden has such a collection of flowering subjects planted in it, and growing" well, there will be a succession of bloom from early in the spring until late in the fall. Given a few years growth with constant and careful attention the primary effect will be obliterated, and as the plants grow and spread over the surfaces of the rocks, while others will cling and festoon between the cracks, the shadier rocks will be overgrown with mosses and lichens, and the shrubs will crown the whole, a more pleasing phase of horticulture than rock gardening will not be found. There are other plant subjects that can be introduced too, more especially ferns, and if available, should the original construction have allowed for it, a tiny stream of water could be worked in, if not having been done so at the start of the building. The ferns which are most suitable are the Aspleniums, A. selovi, and A. \'iride, and A. germanicum. Some species of the Aspi- diums, .\llosorus crispus, and W'oodsia hyperborea and W. elvinsis planted along the banks of the stream an- other additional spot of beauty will be added. Bulbous plants also have great adaptability in rocky positions and apart from the actual rock garden, they can be utilized in the approach work, as when naturalized in long drifts, they prepare the way for the purely naturalistic effect, which would otherwise clash, coming, for instance, from a purely conventional style of garden- ing, to the rugged grandeur and beauty of a fine rock garden. Bulbs which readily find a foothold and improve the beauty of the garden, and which are hardy, are Chiono- dosea's Scillais, Muscari's, Galanthus. Crocus, and Nar- cissi. Planted in little colonies, they give a pleasing touch in the earlier part of the spring before many of the alpines begin to flower, and the atitumn crocus Colchicum autumnale, with its bright lavender flowers is ver}' hardy for fall work. In speaking of general work on the rock garden, at all times keep weeds suppressed, and all dead and de- cayed matter cleaned off" ; and it is most important that there be a regular supply of water given during the summer months especially, if the rainfall is inadequate to supply the needed amount of moisture. Should gaps occur, fill in with other plants, first THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 241 determining if there is anything detrimental to tlie growth of the plants in that particular spot where plants have died. The majority of the alpines are easily propagated, either by seed, division or cuttings. The seed is best sown in the late fall or in February, in pots in a warm frame, division in the fall, and cuttings in the early spring. Divisions and seedlings should be wintered over in cold frames, and be thoroughly hardened off before attempting to plant them in their permanent positions, generally by the end of April. It may be found necessary to renew the soil in some of the pockets, or even replace entirely, as it will drift and wash away after heavy deluges of rain, and the weathering of frost and snow. I may say that the best soil for rock gardens should consist of peat or leaf mould plentifully mixed with any loose gravelly soil, though there will be some of the ])lants that will require something richer than this, and to satisfy their needs, the ordinary rock garden mixture could be improved with the addition of well-rotted barn- yard manure, which must be thoroughly decayed before use, and also turfy loam. In conclusion it may be said that rock garden always repays the interest the possessor may lavish on it, care- ful attention to the individual needs of the plants, to see which are improving or deteriorating, keeping down the stronger growers from overcrowding the more delicate subjects, observing if any of the shrubs are excluding the sunshine from their neighbors that are dependent on it ; careful watering during the torrid heat of summer, and should extreme lowness of temperature be prevalent in the winter, protection with pine boughs or clean straw, this protection being mostly needed on the southern aspects, as here, it will be found, a constant thawing and freezing will soon play havoc with the alpines. Care and Companionship of Trees FOR those who are interested in the culture and care of trees and shrubs, there is always something to be done, biit the springtime is the busiest season of all. In this northern clime spring may be three months long according to the calendar, but actual spring, the period of nature's awakening, is frequently little more than half as long. Its advent is generally delayed by cold winds and frost for several weeks and then comes suddenly, bringing with it an amount of pressing work out of all proportion to the time allowed for its completion. Such important duties as planting, spraying, fertilizing, and cultivation, are all crowded into the few busy weeks, of our abbreviated springtime, and the ownei- or caretaker of trees who attends to them all in the right way at the right time, finds few spare moments. But nature seldom fails to offer ample compensation. If the spring's imperative work has been well done, the advent of summer ushers in a period of comparative leis- ure, a time for the enjoyment of the objects for which we have so rigorously toiled. These rare June days invite us to draw near to nature's heart, to live out in the open under the trees and amid the flowers. Surely there is no greater enjoyment than that which comes from close com- panionship with these common things of the out-door world. How richly do they repay us for all the care be- stowed upon them. Through these long summer days trees contribute in a thousand ways to our comfort and health. So that no matter how much we may do for them we shall always find ourselves in their debt if we attempt to strike a balance. But no one who ardently loves trees ever counts the cost of their care, or estimates their value on a dollar and cents basis. His view-point is entirely different from that of the lumberman. And fortunate it is for this country that the number of those who value trees for their shade, ornament, and health-giving qualities, is constantly in- creasing. To such public-spirited tree lovers are we in- debted for our beautiful city parks and shady streets, and the attractions of the many charming country homes and suburban estates, where trees and shrubs are generously planted and properly cared for. The beneficial influence upon human life of these public and private tree planta- tions cannot be estimated. Shade trees on the lawn and all about the farm home are also very essential for the adornment of the home. Hardly a home, whether in town or country, but has its trees. . . . Who would care to spend any time at all in treeless valleys, hills, or mountains? A seat in the shade of the maple and elm, a walk in the "cool, quiet aisles of the woodland," the "sleep-song of the whisper- ing leaves" at night; these are among the sweetest and most pleasurable experiences of any vacation. In fact they are the very things that bring rest and recreation, that make "going away" worth while. Those who are born and reared in the country where trees are plentiful quite often seem to lack a proper ap- preciation, do not seem to fully realize their worth, prob- ably because of their very commonness. But if necessity or the prospect of broader opportunity takes them away to the city, how soon do they realize their loss and begin to long for a home where they may again enjoy the com- panionship of the trees. This longing born of a remem- brance of the old, shady nooks and the beauties of wood- land and the tree studded landscape surrounding the old country home leads many a city dweller back to nature. And so, all about our large cities are springing up thou- sands of comfortable homes and large estates where the owners find recreation and pleasure in beautifying their grounds with trees and shrubs, in transforming a bit of bare land into a veritable Eden where life is really worth living. Trees are indispensable as home companions. "We need the sight of them for our eyes, and the comfort of them for our hearts." To one who knows them intimately they are like old friends, invested with a never-fading charm, unaft'ected by changing seasons, inspiring and beautiful alike in winter or summer. Whoever has had a tree-shaded home, no matter how humble, can appre- ciate this fact, and though he may not readily perceive it, the trees thus intimately associated with his dailv life. have had a powerful influence upon his thoughts and actions. From a sentimental and aesthetic standpoint alone, to say nothing of their commercial importance, it pays to plant and tend trees. No home is complete without them, and something vital is lacking in the life of any individual who has not known the inspiration and comfort of their companionship. How richly do the trees compensate us for all the labor expended in their care, and these long summer days afford abundant opportunity for their grateful enjoyment. — From Tree Talk. 242 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates appl.v to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol XXI June, 1917 No. 6 THE MODERN GLADIOLUS. 'T^HE gladiolus is the most beautiful, adaptable and use- ful flower in the whole range of modern floriculture, writes H. H. Grof¥ in The Canadian Florist. It is the most beautiful because it embraces every known color in unexcelled fjurity and intensity, and also tens of thou- sands of combinations of these in every possible shade, variation and modification, not only of the primary colors, but in many thousands of examples peculiar to itself. It is adaptable for the reason that it will thrive under a greater variation in condition in soil, climate and loca- tion, than any other flower of such desirable qualities. Local conditions can be overcome by methods that are to-day the basic principles of modern and scientific agri- culture. In other words, be sufficiently interested in the success of your effort to conform to its simple demands, and the prize is yours. It will be valued more highly by you because you have achieved, which, after all, is the highest and best incentive in human endeavor. The spikes of bloom when properly prepared for a few days in water, give an effect and a result in decorative beauty that is impossible to fitly portray in this brief recital, of that which has earned itself the title of the people's flower. The period of bloom as a cut flower is largely under the control of the user. Its use in this respect can be extended infinitely beyond that of any other flower, while in table decoration for eft'ect and usefulness it has no equal. The gladiolus is not exacting in its demands upon the soil. I have grown it on one block of land yearly for over fifteen years, the only fertilizer used being well-rotted stable manure and hardwood ashes applied before plough- ing in the autumn. No fertilizers are needed on strong new soils as a rule. Profuse watering at intervals is desirable where local peculiarities of soil and limited rainfall prevail during the season of active plant growth and blooming. A brief period of ripening hardens the plant tissues and assures flowers and spikes of increased durability and quality. Excessively succulent growth is not beneficial to plant, flower or corn. For best results, plant in full exposure to the sun, in locations having free circulation of air, avoid crowding by other plants or overshadowing by trees, buildings or hedges. Plant from two to four inches deep according to the size of the corms — matured corms never less than four inches — two to four inches apart in double rows, which may be made as close as twelve inches in beeds or borders. Cut the spike when the first flower opens and place in water without overcrowding. Remove the terminal buds soon, as this checks stalk development and throws the strength into the larger and earlier maturing flowers. The end of the stalk should be shortened and the water removed daily with frequent cleansing of the vases. In shortening the stalk, cut diagonally to insure free absorp- tion of water by the spike without the contamination and obstruction, caused by sediment, if cut at a right angle. The fact that blooming the spikes in the shade of room or piazza modifies the field colors, from bright shades and tints to delicate flushes and shadings, also reducing the latter types to the faintest tinge of color or white, is well known to experienced growers. To ensure this desirable result, place the vases of the highly colored types in the early morning sun for an hour or two daily, preferably after renovation and renewal of the water. This practice will also enable the retention and normal presentation of the original delicate tints and shadings referred to, if so desired. As it takes about three days after cutting to bring the spikes into strong blooming condition, this should be allowed for in advance of the date of intended use. The spikes can be shipped a thousand miles by standing them on end in suitable baskets or boxes. On arrival, cut otT the end of the stalk, and remove the terminal buds before placing in water. They will then revive quickly and with proper care give pleasure for a week or more. SEEDTIME AND HARVEST. Through winter frost and summer dew. By garnered wealth and famine blight ; The ancient pledge of God stands true, Sealed on His sevenfold of light. ^^'hat though the golden year's increase Be blasted once or twice again? Seedtime and harvest shall not cease ; The soil shall feed the sons of men. O, ye who stay your hearts in trust Upon that primal pledge of earth, The rhythms of sun and star and dust. The blessing of the harvest's birth — Can ye not trust a little more The patience of His slow-wrought plan \\'ho built the carven coral shore. And fashioned earth a home for man? Shall not His love supply the need Of heart and mind and soul for bread? Shall the great God who stoops to feed The ravens leave His child unfed? Our souls have known their famine years; Our hearts have thirsted for His rain; Yet ever answering our fears His hour of reaping came again. O, trust Him in the days of dearth, O, praise Him in the frost and dew. The Lord who gives the fruits of earth. Shall bring the heart's full harvest too. M. Earle. Some Old English Gardens By James Dickson, New York THE partial constancy of character found existing in garden-making from ancient times to the pres- ent— and the instances might have been many times multipHed — leads us to enquire what are the fea- tures and characteristics which have been found m well- designed gardens ? One notable point to be observed is that the garden must not only be appropriate to the house but to the situation in which it lies. What is sensible to the steep hillside will not befit the plain. What is right in the vicinity of a classic mansion would be out of place near one built in a more picturesque style. But, in truth, the garden world is inexhaustible in character and variety, for here the florist and the architect have had their com- mon ground, and here the craftsman in metal has found high opportunities of displaying his skill. But whatever be its individual character, the garden of our choice should look both orderly and rich and it should be well fenced from the outside world. There is abimdant room for individuality in garden work. The house is no dumb thing to the laborer in this field. It suggests to him a character and inspires him with the ideas of design. From its features he learns how to call the craftsmen in stone or metal to his aid. But the true lover of a garden will make a way for himself. He will reject nothing of floral beauty, which is, after all, the chiefest of the gardener's means and there will be no time of the year in which his garden is devoid of radiance. I can hardly begin with a better illustration of Old English gardens than that of Qevedon Court, Somerset, the seat of Sir Edmund H. Elton, Bart., which it was my privilege to visit on more than one occasion during the summer of 1906. The terraced character of the garden springs naturally from the soil lying as it does on the steep slope of a hill, the formality is such as appeals to the eye. The design at Clevedon embodies at least two of the main distinctions of old gardens. The place has subdivision and change of level ! there are walls and hedges, umbrageous masses and fine individual trees, but the beauty of the place consists largely in the purely domestic nature of the garden. Its successive terraces belong, as we might say, to cul- tured leisure and afford scope to all that fancy may sug- gest in distribution of flower beds or the character of the borders. Clevedon Court is a standing and visible proof of the merit of an old garden. This beautiful land of Somerset by the Severn river has many a noble home and radiant garden within its bounds. Hill and hollow, wood and meadow, the tangled brake and heathery moor, the orchard richly fruited and the green corn yellowing for the sickle all summer long, villages nestling in the hollows with thatched roofs, the lanes where the roses hang overhead from the hedges, tall elms and beeches, full in their leafage or bare but beautiful when October has blown. This is the Somerset land. The house is a wonderful architectural pile in this green and glorious setting. Here are parts of the man- sion that stood in Edwardian days, when the warder kept watch at heavily buttressed and portcullised door. There exists still the winding stairways by which the watchmen ascended to the outlook towers, the chapel in which the olden worshippers knelt. Fire dealt unkindly with the west front in 1882, but tasteful hands have made all good again, and nature has lent her aid, so that now •Read before Southampton, N, Y., Horticultural Society. the fine old place is vested with luxuriant creepers, myrtles climbing almost to the gables and thickly blossoming mag- nolias and fragrant roses adorning the walls. Just as such places should be, beautiful but not concealed. The configuration of the land dictated the special form, and we may go far indeed before we find terraces so beautiful as these which are the chief charm of Cleve- don Court. There are terraces above and below, for the house stands in the midst of the steep slope and the effect is doubly charming. The artistic merits of a terrace have been disputed by some gardeners, but they cannot be gainsaid when they are displayed in such a situation and manner as we dis- cover here. Mossy and picturesque walls support these fine terraces. Clevedon is a leafy place with masses of foliage garland- ing everything with richness, and flowers are always abundant and contrast their splendor with the dark hues of conifers and evergreens. Arches of roses perfume the air as we walk along, vases of fragrant flowers flank the pathway, and tall yews cast their shadows over the greenest of turf. Clevedon Court, in the general character of its gardens, is scarcely excelled in England and few places are more beautiful than this delightful Somerset home. Longford Castle, Wiltshire, the seat of the Earl of Radnor, built about the year 1600, possesses one of the most interesting gardens in England. Lying in a very fine country and overlooking a noble English park, in which beech, oak and many other trees are seen, relieved by the sombre green of conifers and pines. The charms of the gardens are principally due to the zeal, taste and knowledge of the Earl and Countess of Radnor. To create such a garden, knowledge and love of nature must combine. During recent years the gardens of Longford have been greatly beautified and the floral wealth of the garden has been vastly increased. There is, for example, a feature of interest to lovers of hardy flowers in the two mixed borders, each 100 yards long and presenting their pleasing aspect almost throughout the year. The design of the flower garden is statelv and formal, composed of geometrical beds, in which are pansies and many other of the old-fashioned flowers. Here again we have the terraced walks of the true old English character and many places of quiet sequestered charm. There are hardy ferneries at Longford, to remind us how beautiful is the fern when rightly used. Longford is also rich in greenhouses filled with decorative and other choice plants, and it worthly maintains its position among the finest fruit gardens in England. Lilleshall, Shropshire, the seat of Duke of Suther- land, is situated in the glorious district of middle Eng- land, which is rich in country homes and monastic re- mains, is not to be compared with Trentham, the Duke of Sutherland's other and still more stately abode not so far away, but there is this distinction, however, to be observed between them, that Trentham lies low in the valley while Lilleshall is raised aloft on the hill, and surveys from its terrace garden the lovely country through many a fading mile, imtil, far off, the mountains of W'ales are lifted into view. That is something, indeed, to add to the delight of a garden foreground. The spacious pleasure grounds, with which we are con- cerned, were laid out when the house was built about 1839. Including the comparatively small vegetable gar- den, they cover about 28 acres and are the foreground and gem of a great panorama. 243 244 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA We experience certainly a reminiscence of Trentiiam as we survey from tlie terrace tlie ricli maze of tire great flower garden, and the leafy pleasure ground with the vista of more distant charms. The arrangement of the great bedded garden is circular and unusual, and the blaze of color is attained by boldy contrasting the vari- ous hues to secure rich etifect. Dark colors are opposed to light, and zonal pelar- goniums and tuberous begonias are amongst the most important plants employed. The circular garden itself is a contrast, for it derives part of its effect from the presence of the rich groups of trees behind. The begonias thrive wonderfully and it may be remarked that the begonia is now used in most of the great gardens of England for bedding, and few plants are so well adapted for creating fine colour efifects. The hybridiser has much improved the begonia's habit of growth. It is now dwarf and compact and the flowers are thrown well above the leaves, pure white, orange, scarlet, buff, crimson and lovely shades of uncommon tints, all characteristic of the plant, and all produced faithfully from seed. On the southwest side of the house are noble trees and sloping grass terraces, very green and beautiful, leading down to the lovely setting of sward and wood- land. These charms are common to many gardens in England, but Lilleshall has a very distinctive feature in the glorious apple walk, which is 570 feet in length, and I believe the longest such walk in England. The names of the varieties of apple which form the screen unfor- tunately have been lost, but their sturdy branches be- speak their age and they bear plenteous crops of well flavored fruit. Trained on a trellised pergola, while pro- viding shelter from the fierce rays of the sun, this ar- rangement furnishes also its Autumn harvest. It is beau- tiful in Spring, when thousands of blossoms color the bare branches, not less so in leafy June, and, most of all, perhaps, when the fruit changes color and ripens. From this walk we pass to the rose garden, which is not only large but filled with choice varieties in the bush form, while the standard, more especially the tea-scented kinds, is often killed in severe winters. Upwards of 19 large beds are filled with such varieties as Alfred Colomb, Baroness Rothschild, Beauty of VVal- tham, Captain Christy, Margaret Dickson, Mrs. John Laing, Mereville de Lyon, La France, Lady Helen Stew- art and Lord j\Iacanly. Some of the more hardy tea roses, such as Reos d'Or, are very successful. Climbing roses of many kinds clothe the walls, includ- ing such old favorites as the Garland, Felicite, Perpetule and Crimson Rambler. Here is one of those gardens which charm Ijy their very simplicity. The one bold feature of the bedded parterre is the foil to the green surroundings and adds its effect to the landscape features beyond, with their far vistas and the umbrageous depths of their woodland. Washington's tomb, made explicit mention of the fact that Geo. Washington, although father of American inde- pendence, was a British citizen. — Florists' Exchange. A 'WELL PLANNED EVENT '"p HE full significance of the planting of the English ■■■ Yew tree by the National Association of Gardeners at the tomb of Geo. Washington, Mount \^ernon, on April 23, was not brought out in the paragraphs that appeared in the trade papers. April 23 is not only Shakes- peare's birthday, but is also St. George's Day, St. George being the patron saint of England. It was therefore with studied intent that this day was chosen, as well as the English Yew. Althoush the planting had been arranged for before any British commission was thought about, the ceremonies were fixed to accord with the recent visit of the British representatives to Washington. It may be recalled also that Mr. Balfour, in placing a card on TO PROPAGATE SWEET VIOLETS ppXITiRT cultivators pay much attention to the pro- pagation of new stock, as they know quite well that the finest crops of flowers will result if the young plants are carefully reared. A violet plant will grow in almost any kind of soil, but it will not bear many fine flowers if badly treated. Runners and Suckers grow from the old or parent plant ; but the former are borne on long stems, which spread out over the surface of the soil, and the latter grow up through the soil, in some instances close to the old plant, and many of them grow from the base of the latter. Now, the best of the two kinds is the sucker, because it bears larger flowers and more continuously than the one on the runner. The latter persists in produc- ing more runners, and consequentl}' it does not attain to a large size itself and the flowers are small. The suck- ers are, therefore, the best, and though they may not be as plentiful as the runners, they should be secured in preference. The runners may be layered just the same as strawberries, by pegging them down, or by merely bury- ing the stem and base of the young plant in some prepared compost. The suckers must, however, be more care- fully treated. First clear away some of the old soil from around them and the base of the old plant gener- ally. Replace the soil with some sifted leaf-soil, sand and a small quantity of heavier loam, well mixed. Press the new compost fairly firmly round the suckers and keep it in a moist state. In a very short time new roots will have formed, and then the rooted suckers can be detached from the old plants. In cases where the suck- ers are found growing up through the soil, they must be examined, and if they posses a few roots, carefully lift and replant them in a prepared border, putting them in nine inches apart each way. They will soon form a mass of roots and be in good condition for planting in their summer quarters. Of course, it is absolutely necessary to cut off the late runners as soon as they are large enough to handle, or they will rob the young plant of much nourishment. The propagation of the plants is the same both in frames and in the open border. Old plants may be divided and the separate parts planted out, but it is not the best way to increase the stock, as much strength of plant is required, and this can only be ob- tained from the robust suckers. Plautiiif; l^iolets in Open Borders. — In the first place it is necessary to deeply dig the soil and to put in some rotted manure. If the soil is naturally light, it must be well enriched, less manure being required where a heav- ier loam obtains. The latter, well prepared, is the best for violets. Do not use fresh, strawy manure in any case, but that which is well rotted. The large-leaved varieties, such as Princess of Wales, require a space of 18 inches between the rows and 16 inches from plant to plant in the rows. The smaller-leaved varieties may be planted 4 inches closer each way. It is very important that the surface soil be kejit moistened at first to get the plants established, and afterwards it should be loos- ened with the hoe every week. Water when necessary and feed with nitrate of potash, 1 oz. dissolved in 3 gal- lons of water, once fortnightly from the middle of June to the end of July. The small runners must be pinched oflf while quite small. Plants treated in this way will be in excellent condition for lifting and planting in frames about September. It is useless putting weak, poorly- grown plants into frames as they can never give really satisfactorv results. — E.vchan<;c. Investigation of Diseases of the Rose THE investigations covered more or less briefly in this report were begun August 1, 1916. During the first four months much time was spent in visit- ing rose plantings in northeastern United States, makmg a survey of diseases. This seemed desirable m order to acquaint us with the various diseases, together with their range and the extent of injury caused by them in this country. With these facts in mind suitable plants and materials have been collected for experiments now under way which will prove of the greatest value to growers of roses. The gardens and greenhouses of about fifty rose grow- ers have been visited. The number and extent of the diseases present have been noted and specimens taken for further study. Probably an equal number of grow- ers have also materially aided the work by sending in specimens. These specimens have been examined and the grower advised as to the cause and control of the disease so far as our present knowledge and experience allow. If the trouble proved to be new, of unusual interest or of a serious nature, special work has been started to determine the unknown facts regarding the disease. The survey and correspondence with growers haj shown the most important rose diseases in order of im- portance to be (1) black spot, (2) mildew, (3) crown gall, (4) stem canker, (5) Phyllosticta leaf spot, (6) rust, (7) bud rot, (8) other leaf spots. Practically all of these diseases are always present and take yearly tolls from the growers of surprising magnitude. It is not uncommon to find gardens and houses with all the plants completely defoliated by ravages of the leaf spot diseases, especially black spot, thus making the plants unsightly and so reducing their vitality tliat they are susceptible to attacks of other fungi, from which roses are ordinarily immune, and to frost injury. It is unneces- sar\' to mention the damage done by mildew, while there is an ever-increasing demand for information relating to crown gall, stem canker, rust and bud rot. Unfortu- nately, very little is known regarding the control of most of these diseases ; and many points remain to be investi- gated concerning the control of such common and well- known diseases as black spot and mildew. A new, and what appears to be one of the most important diseases of the rose, has been observed by the writer in visits to rose houses. We are calling it the "crown canker." Specimens have been sent to the De- partment by growers from many parts of eastern United States and from as far west as Missouri. It was first observed by the writer in September, 1916, but talks with growers indicate that the disease has been present for possibly four or five years. All varieties seem ti be susceptible to the disease. The plant is attacked just below the surface of the soil and although the disease advances slowly, the death of the plant is sure with an ever-decreasing number and quality of flowers. This disease, which has never been described, is con- sidered of such importance that a large part of the writer's time is being devoted to a study of the life history of the causal fungus and the development of a method of control. Several large growers have stated that unless help is obtained they will be forced out of business. With the disease already known to be present in the houses of ten large growers, it is safe to assume that other growers have plants similarly afifected and that the disease will be widely distrilnited and increase rapidlv ni importance. Steps must be taken immediately to con- trol this disease. Not only is it important that' growers who already have the disease shall be furnished with control methods, but it is even of greater importance that the method of dissemination of the fungus be worked out in order that the further spread of the disease be checked. What appear to be other new diseases than the one mentioned above have been brought to the writer's attention, but too little progress has yet been made in this investigation to give definite statements at this time. A. Black spot. It is planned to conduct extensive experiments for the control of this disease during the coming season. Plants at the Cornell Test Garden and at Chase Brothers' Nursery, Honeoye Falls, New York, will be treated with various fungicides along the lines of recent developments in plant disease control. One of the most important fungicides to be tried is that of finely ground sulphur applied in the form of dust. Suitable plants have been obtained and are now grow- ing in the greenhouses at Cornell for similar experi- ments for the control of black spot under glass. P>. Mildew. Experiments for the control of mildew through the use of finely ground sulphur used as a dust on both indoor and outdoor roses. C. Phyllosticta leaf-spot. A study of the life history of the causal organism is now being made. This is one of the most important leaf-spot diseases of Ramblers, and methods of control will be tried during the coming season. D. Crown gall. Some 200 healthy plants have been obtained to be inoculated with bacteria causing this disease. These plants will be grown to determine the efl^ect of the disease upon the plant, there being a diverg- ence of opinion as to just how much damage is done. E. The nezv root or crown disease, crown canker. Extensive experiments for the control of this disease are now under way. It is probable that the fungus lives in the soil and that successful treatments will be along the line of soil sterilization and the practice of sanitation in the houses. However, the effects of chemicals — lime, acid-phosphate, sulphur, etc. — upon the fungus, when applied to the soil, will be tried. Some 300 rose plants have been obtained and are now growing in the green- houses at Cornell for these experiments. Much time is being spent in working out the life history of the causal organism, as such information is essential for a com- prehensive study of control methods. F. Fungi and bacteria causing other diseases of roses are being studied in culture. These organisms have been isolated from diseased material obtained from growers. Their pathogenicity will be tested and control experiments conducted where the organisms prove para^ sitic and the importance of the disease warrants such action. It will be seen from the above statements that while there is but little yet to report in the line of results in control, still considerable progress has been made and the foundation laid for experiments for the control of diseases which are of extreme importance to the growers of roses. There is every reason to expect that another year's work will bring results upon which proved and definite advice may be furnished the growers for the solution of their rose-disease problems. It is hardly necessary to add that it is very essential that the work be continued, for should it be dropped at this point, the work already done will amount to but little. 245 Relation of Plant to Soil WHENEVER subsoil is left exposed to the air it begins to cover itself with vegetation. The first plants that come up draw some of their food material from the soil, and they build up their leaf and stem tissues partly out of this and partly out of the car- bon-dioxide in the air. The process is in one important respect very much like rolling a ball up a hill — energy has to be put into it ; and in this case the energy comes from the sunshine. But neither energy nor matter is ever de- stroyed in Nature, and, in consequence, when the plants die and their leaves and stems become mingled with the soil, they add to its mineral matter both organic matter and energy. Direct experimentation shows that this addition of plant residues is beneficial to plant growth. Other evi- dence all tends the same way, and the general conclu- sion is that the difference between the surface and the subsoil lies largely in the presence of the residues left by the generations of plants that have lived and died there. The problem now is to find why the plant resi- dues are so beneficial. This is as far as observation will take us ; it is now necessary to bring the problem into the laboratory, in ■order to investigate it further. The ]ilant residues consist mainly of four elements : carbon and oxygen in large proportions ; hydrogen and nitrogen in smaller proportions. In addition, there are lesser quantities of phosphorus ; calcium, magnesium, po- tassium, and other substances. The chief reaction in the soil is soon found to be an oxidation : oxygen is absorbed in great quantities, and carbon-dio.xide is given out in approximate equal volume. The carbohydrates of the plant disappear very rapidly ; some of the cellulose takes longer and gives rise to the black humus familiar to all gardeners. The nitrogen appears as nitrate. This is not quite what one would expect. In the decomposition of protein as it has been studied in the laboratory — and a prodigious amount of work has been done on the sub- ject— the result is always a remarkable variety of acid, known as amino-acids. Under the action of putrefactive bacteria, the decomposition is carried a stage further, and ammonia and other bases are produced, which are largely responsible for the very strong odor of decaying sub- stances— but nitrates are not found by the processes of the chemist. At first sight, therefore, it looks as if the process of the chemist was quite distinct from that of the soil, but closer study shows that this is not so. All the substances isolated in the chemist's decomposition can he found represented in the soil, and, what is still more to the point, if a trace of chloroform or toluene is added to soil no nitrate is formed, but ammonia accumulates in- stead. When a trace of untreated soil is added, the jirocess starts again, and nitrate is found as usual. Thus, it appears that ammonia is the precursor of nitrates, and is itself preceded by the amino-acids of the chemist. The difference between the laboratory decomposition and the soil decomposition is simply that the latter is carried several stages further ; up to the point reached in the laboratory the two, processes appear to be substan- tially the same. Thus Nature operates in the same way, whether in the laboratory or the field: the dift'erences are onlv in the lengths to which things go. This decomposition is absolutely indispensable to the plant ; the initial products — the proteins — are useless for plant nutrition ; the intermediate products are not much good ; the ammonia is considerably better, while the final stage — the nitrate — is the best of all. During this decomposition energy stored up by the plant during its lifetime is run down, so that there is a a transformation, both of material and of energy. We are accustomed to think of Nature as somewhat prodigal, the vast number of seeds produced by certain plants, the hosts of spores produced by fungi to ensure survival, all indicate this. But in the soil Nature is in a far more economical mood. The energy and material are not wasted ; they go to support a vast population of the most varied kind, ranging from the microscopic bacteria to the earth worm. All these depend on plant residues for their food and their energy. But theirs is no case of taking all and giving nothing in return. Their work is nothing less than the production of food for the plant; preparing new plant food out of old plant residues. Thus we have a great cycle going on in the soil; dead plant residues mingle with it and give life to countless micro-organisms, which in turn convert them into food for a new generation of plants. It is necessary to set some limits to the enquiry, and so we restrict ourselves to the production of nitrates. This process is the work of a great number of organisms, some of which carry out the first stages, and others the later stages. It resembles the process of making munitions, in that the first stages can be brought about by a large variety of workers, while later stages are much more specialized and can be effected only by one or two special workers. Indeed, in the eighteenth century. Nature's process of manufacturing nitrates was actually under the Ministry of jMunitions of the time. Great wars were going on, which consumed vast quantities of nitrate ; there were no Chilean deposits available, and no artificial nitrates ; all that was wanted had to be made by this soil process. Nitrate beds were made up, much like cucumber borders ; they were kept moistened by liquid manure, etc., and in course of time great quantities of nitrates were formed, which were afterwards washed out. The process is not free from waste ; starting with 100 parts of nitrogen as protein, one never recovers 100 parts of nitrogen as nitrate ; there is always a loss. But the fault does not appear to be with the special organ- isms that carry out the last stages of the process, for at least 96 per cent of the ammoniacal nitrogen is recovered as nitrate. It is not clear that it lies with the organisms producing ammonia ; at any rate, they can work without loss. The probability is that the loss arises from some of the nitrate that has been actually formed. However it arises, this loss, as well as the leaching out of nitrate by rain, would in natural conditions bring the stock of soil nitrogen to a very low level, if there was no counter-balancing process, and for the last fifty years chemists and bacteriologists have been searching the soil very thoroughly to find out how these gains are brought about. Two sources are now known ; the organ- isms associated with clovers and other leguminosae, and the free living nitrogen-fixing organisms. They differ very much in appearance and mode of life, but for their work they both require a source of energy ; for the process of nitrogen fixation, like that of plant growth, is like roll- ing a stone up a hill. In place of sunlight, these organisms get their energy from the combustion of sugar. It must not be supposed, however, that the organisms bringing about these changes are the only ones in the soil, or that they lead their lives quite independently of the rest of the soil population. Indeed, they could hardlv do that in any case, for there is only a limited store of food and energy, and whatever is not helping them is hindering 246 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 247 them. Numerous experiments show that there is some factor, neither food, air, water, nor temperature, which is operating to keep down these numbers. As it is put out of action by heating to 55.6 degrees C, or by traces of volatile antiseptics, and can be re-introduced by adding a little untreated soil, it is presumably biological, and the evidence shows that it consists in part at least of certain soil amoebae ; it is quite possible, of course, that other forms are involved as well. But whatever the detrimental organisms are, they impede the work of the organisms producing plant food in the soil. Fortunately, they are put out of action more easily than the useful organisms, so that we get the apparent paradox that any process fatal to life (but not too fatal) proves ultimately bene- ficial to the soil life, while any process beneficial to life proves ultimately harmful. Long frost, drought and heat, therefore, benefit the useful makers of plant food, while prolonged warmth, moisture and treatment with organic manures lead to deterioration, or to "sickness" as the practical man puts it. — The Gardeners' Chronicle (Eng- lish). CLEMATISES AND THEIR CULTIVATION A LTHUUGH these plants provide us with someof the -^*- most beautiful climbers that are hardy in this coun- try, their cultivation does not seem to be well understood. It is true that in some gardens Clematises will, when once planted, romp away in a delightful, free-and-easy man- ner, and give but little trouble to their owners, but in others any amount of coaxing will not induce them to do more than eke out a miserable existence. Even when they are established, their management appears to be but little understood, and for this reason we propose to draw attention to a few of the more salient points in their cul- tivation. Naturally, the soil in which they are to grow must be the first consideration, and here a lesson may be taken from the wild Clematis, or Traveller's Joy of our hedge- rows, a plant that is largely used as a stock on which to graft the many beautiful garden varieties that are in existence. This wild Clematis is usually found growing in the banks of hedgerows where thorough drainage is assured, and where its roots are shaded during the hot davs of summer from the direct rays of the sun. The character of the soil in such positions may, and frequently does, vary considerably, but almost invariably it will be found to contain a fairly large percentage of lime. This, then, may reasonably lead us to suppose that the Clema- tises of our gardens require soil that is exceptionally well drained, and which also contains a fair proportion of lime, a supposition that is borne out in practice. It does not seem to matter much what the bulk of the soil is, providing it is not excessively poor or abnormal in some other way, so long as it is deeply worked, well drained and contains a sufficiency of lime. A good form in which to add this substance is as old mortar ; a peck or two well mixed with the soil for each plant will not be too much. Planting, again, is another serious cultural detail, as on its successful completion success will largely depend. We have no doubt that one of the chief reasons for these plants dying off suddenly after they have apparently become established and are growing away freely is too deep planting, and possibly grafting instead of layering being the method of propagation. The roots should be carefully spread out, and ought not to be covered with more tlian two inches of soil, even less being sufficient where that of a clayey texture exists. The season for planting may be autumn or spring, but we prefer the lat- ter, the end of February or early IMarch being a good time. Growth at that season is about to commence, and the plants soon make themselves at home in the new soil. The positions in which Clematises are planted will, of course, depend largely on individual tastes, but if against a south wall, some provision for shading the soil over the roots during very hot weather should be made. A low-growing annual, such as Mignonette or Alyssum maritimum, may be sown over the roots for this pur- pose without fear of injuring the climbers. But Clema- tises look far better when allowed to scramble naturally over rustic poles or fences, or even over old evergreens or deciduous trees. Probably the least understood phase in the cultivation of Clematises is their pruning. In the majority of gar- dens they are allowed to follow their own sweet will, and this certainly is preferable to cutting them in a haphazard way and without full knowledge of their flowering period. Roughly, our garden Clematises may be divided into five sections, and if we know to which section a plant belongs, its pruning will be a simple matter. In the flor- ida section, i. e., varieties that have originated from the Japanese Clematis florida, we get white, blue and rose- purple flowers that open in May and June, Belle of Wok- ing being a notable example. The flowers of this set are borne on wood that was formed the previous year ; hence it will be readily seen that to cut away growth in autumn or spring would mean the destruction of many embryo flowers. Any thinning out of old wood that is necessary may be done immediately after flowering with- out any danger of cutting away incipient buds. Similar treatment should be given to those which have originated from C. patens, a native of China and Japan. These also flower in June, Fair Rosamond being a well-known mem- ber of this set. When we come to the large-flowered varieties of C. lanuginosa, which flower from July on- wards well into the autumn, we find they are produced mostly on young shoots, and the proper method of prun- ing these is to cut back fairly close all side shoots in February. A few of the main stems may also be cut to within one foot or two feet of the soil if desired ; this will induce young shoots to spring up from the base and so hide the bare stems that are rather characteristic of these large-flowered Clematises, of which Lord Nevill and Louis van Houtte are examples. The Jackmannii varieties need similar treatment ; but such early flowering species as montana and its variety rubra only need an occasional thinning of the old wood after flowering. — The Garden. A' THE JAPANESE YEW S the years pass the hardiness and value of this yew are confirmed by longer trial. There are three or four quite distinct forms. The one prob- ably most often seen here grows as a large, vase-shaped shrub with several spreading stems. Plants of this sort have been raised in the Arnold Arboretum from the seeds of tall forest trees collected by Professor Sargent in Hokkaido. Among these plants there are some which are beginning to develop a single leader and promise to grow into trees. There is another form which is grown in some American nurseries under the unpublished name of variety capitata. This is merely a seminal form which begins to grow with a single leader with treelike habit as soon as the seeds germinate. For those who want the Japanese yew in the form of a tree rather than a bush this form will best produce the desired results. Another bushy form with wide-spreading, nearly horizontal branches, which on plants thirty or forty years old often turn up at the ends and darker green leaves, is often seen in American gardens in which specimens only four or five feet high, Imt sometimes twenty feet in diameter are 248 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA found. In this country this variety is generally called variety brevifolia, but the correct name for it is var. nana. A dwarf, round-topped plant (var. coin pacta) is the smallest and most compact of all the forms of the Japan- ese yew in this country. A good plant of this dwarf form can be seen in the Arboretum collection, where it has been growing for many years. I'lants intermediate between the varieties com'pacta and nana, differing in size and habit, are sometimes found in American gardens. What is probably the largest Japanese yew- in the United States is one of the bushy vase-shaped plants which was planted about 1870 by Dr. George R. Hall in his garden in Warren, on Bristol Neck, Rhode Island. In October, 1889, this plant was twelve feet high and covered a space on the ground of forty feet around. In October, 1916, twenty-seven years later, it is twenty-two feet tall and covers a space one hundred and thirty-two feet round. GROWING ORCHIDS FROM SEEDS. «t issue, «c will each nmiitli frmn iiuw until the St. Louis convention in September, carry in this department a Roll ot Honor, showing new members whose applications are on file and by whom secured. It has but a small beginning this month, but it is a Htth' early, and will no doubt assume larger proportions ne.xt month and by the September number should lill the page. The secretary has received a luunber of very cordial letters from some of our older members commenting on his appeal to the membership made in the last issue and bespeaking success. Fre i niiiiiiiiiiii mil iiiuiiiii ii n i iiiiiiimii ma. National Association of Gardeners Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. •■ James Stuart, Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. Theo. Wirth, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Martin C. Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. Trustees for 1917 William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J.; i William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. j Directors | 1 (To serve until 1918) William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Carl N. 1 1 Fohn Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. 1 1 (To s'erve until 1919) — John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; i 1 John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Eraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C. ; (To g i serve until 1920) William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal. ; William Gray, 1 I Newport, R. L; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. | i,,,,,^,g„„ iiiiiiutiiiiiiiiiiuiiainiiiiiiiiiiiiiii uiniiJiiiiuiiiiii i niiniiiiiiiiiliillllllllllllliliiiiiniiminiuiiiiiliiiiiniililliniliiillillliiiilliiiliiiiiiiliiniiiliiliiiiliiiiiiiiiillilllllllllllim THE 1917 CONVENTION COMMITTEES. President Head has appointed the following committees for the 1917 comention, to be held in Chicago the first week in December: The NAT10X.4.L Convention Committee. Robert W. Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; William McKay, New- port R. I.; Gustave Amrhyn, New Haven, Conn.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck. N. y.; Anton Baner, Deal Beach, N. J.; William Kleinheinz Ogontz, Pa.; Arthnr Jackson, Grosse Point, Mich.; L P .Jensen St. Lonis, Mo.: ■Arthur Griffin, Wilmington, Del.; Philip Bovington, Louisville, Ky.; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio; Carl U. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Theodore \'\ irth, Minne- apolis, Minn.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal. The Local Arrangement Committee. Axel Johnson, A. J. Smith, Fred Sparks, W. P. LonglancL R J. Sampson. Lake Geneva: William Fisher, George \^ ilson D -ilc- Naniliton Ralph Clausen, Lake Forest: J. H. Francis, Lake Blutt ; H. P^ Dorner: Urbana ; P. J. Foley and J. C. Vanghan, Chicago. MEMBERSHIP ROSTER READY. The Membership Roster, ordered issued by the 1916 convention, is now readv for distribution. It contains a complete record of the membership of the association, ilembers desiring to secure a copy can do so by addressing the secretary. THE LEWIS & VALENTINE COMPANY PRIZE. The Lewis & Valentine Company prize of twenty-five dollars gold has been awarded to Arthur Smith, of New Jersey, for the best article on transportation of large trees. It will be published in The Chronicle at an early date. for a gardeners' benefit fund, judging by the slight interest that is being manifested in the subject, the support that must be forthcoming to establish such a fund does not appear promising and unless wholeliearted support from the gardeners tliemselves can be assured it would be foolhardy to attempt to establish any beneficiary fund. Such support as comes to the Actors' Fund, to which Mr. Schnltz alludes, cannot be expected for the gardeners, for actors become favorites of the public whom they entertain and amuse, and their appeal for benefits is readily responded to. The gardener has not such opportunity, for while his productions bring comfort, they are appreciated by the few rather than by the many. The subject of a benefit fund should, however, not be summarily dismissed, but should be freely dis- cussed in these columns by those directly interested, wdth a view of having the matter brought before the next convention for con- sideration. SECRETARY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS. Having read article in Ma.v issue of the Chronicle, by Arthur Smith, in answer to Onlooker in March number, as one of the older members of the association. I favor a benevolent fund in connection with onr association. Once the fund is started and its objects made known. I feel sure it would receive patronage. If every member paid annual dues to the fund it would net a good income and I am sure a great many philanthropists would re- spond to this cause for humanity. A good many gardeners, under present conditions, can hardly "keep the wolf from the door," receiving the small salaries they do. What is to happen it the bread winner is laid up. and gar- deners are not immune from sickness and other common ills, con- sequently, as Onlooker mentioned, a fund would seem the only way to relieve needy cases. I, myself, advocate a home and a pension for old gardeners that have not been able to provide means for taking care of themselves when too old to work. I recently had the privilege of attending the Actors' Fair Fund, at the Grand Central Palace, and found many trades people from Canada and the United States interested in raising money for their home on Staten Island. I feel that ;;ardeners are likewise entitled to something of the kind as their compensation does not equal an actor's. Everyone will admit the gardener through his professional talent and ability is giving as much to the public as an actor and I hope the best method will be worked out through our able secretary and the directors of the association for some way to provide for gardeners in their la.st days which will have my hearty response. I have devoted my life to the profession and will support any way for the good of the cause. Frederick Schultz. New York. Referring to George F. Stewart's suggestion, in the Jlay num- ber of The Chronicle, there is no better locality than where he is located. Massachusetts, to begin the holding of local meetinga by members of the association, to thrash out the problems of the gardener and to submit the results to the executive committee of the national association; also to off'er suggestions to it for its guidance. No authority would be necessary for such a meeting, and no doubt, once started, they would be followed in other sec- tions by similar meetings and would become a source of much benefit to the profession as a whole. As for the medals, the Com- mittee on ileritorious Awards no doubt lias become discouraged by this time in its efi'ort, for it was organized for the specific purpose to which Mr. Stewart refers. For several years the committee endeavore;l to arouse the members' interest in its mission, but it has never been called on to pass on the merits of any plantations on home grounds or in greenhouses. The sec- retary- will attempt to have the chairman of the Committee on ileritorious Exhibits contribute something to these columns in tile July issue on what its scope and purposes are. NEW MEMBERS. The following have recently bei'ii added to mir luenibership list: ■John Patterson. Donald McXaughtoii, Lake Forest, 111.: (rierman Klorotz, Wayliata. Minn.; Joseph Bailer, Bedford. Mass.: Charles Steele. Cohasset. Mass.: Carl F. W. Lawin. .Jamesport, Jj. I.; Cliarles S. Plumb. Locust Valley. N. Y. ; Rudol|di Slania, Jlenlo Park. Cal.; H. .Sears. Port AVashington, N. Y.: John Nichol, Tarrytown, N. Y. : John Mc^leuamin. Wyncota. Pa.: A. M. Mitchell, Canton, Mass.: Abe Xewlaiid, Columbus, Ohio: M. W. Reid, Augusta, Ga.; Alexander Robertson, .Jericho. N. Y.: Charles F. Spellman, Winchendon. Mass.; Angus G. Ross. Bridgeport. Conn.; Frank Wallington. Cold Spring Harbor. N. Y.; E. J. Derry. Pittsburgh. Pa.; Charles H. Sullivan. Rockville. Md.; Artliur 'SI. Horn. New Bedford. Mass. GARDENERS' NOTES. The many friends in tlic gardening profession of William E. Mayiiard. former secretary of the National Association of GuT- deners, will he grieved to learn of his sad loss in the demise of his ninetccn-vear-old daughter on June S. Angus G. Ross, formerly of the Moses Taylor Estate, Mt. Kisco. N. Y.. has secured the position of superintendent of the Jonathan Thorne Estate. Schoonehaven, Bridgeport, Conn. Referring to the foregoing communication, which is in answer to Arthur Smith's appeal in the May number of The Chronicle .James Hamilton, formerly of Senator Aldrich's Estate. War- wick Xeck. R. I., is now superintendent of Nag-ir-mc Farm, Wicklifl'e, Ohio. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 251 fUE dread fig- ure of famine is seen by the warring nations of Europe and with millions of men abroad withdrawn from constructive work, it is necessary for the United States to become the store house of the world. Never before has the demand for seeds been so great. Never before has it been so vital tliat the crops be abundant and good. Thorburn's seeds are seeds that for over a century have been pre- ferred because of their unvarying excellence. They are selected by ex- perts who grow for profit, because T hor- burns Seeds can be re- lied on ! Send in your order for your Thorburn seeds at once. As we mentioned above the demand now is extraordinary — we shall however, do our best to sup- ply your require- ments. J. M. Thorburn & Co. 53 U Barclay St. Through to 54 Park Place New York Write for our lat- est catalog. Con- tains much valu- able informa- tion. Sent free on request. AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. The aunual inspeetiou of the American Rose Society at the Arlington Rose Test Gardens, Washington, D. C, June 4, proved a great success in every way. Tlie party gathered at the establishment of Gude Brothers early in the forenoon from whence automobiles conveyed it to Arlington, where the test gardens are located. The day was a most perfect one, finite contrary tu the in- clement weather experienced at the annual inspection of the past two years. After a tour of the gardens President S. S. Pennoek introduced the different speakers that had been selected to address the meet- ing. Prof. Corbett, of the United States Department of Agriculture, welcomed the visitors on behalf of the department he represented, saying that it was working in connection with the American Rose Society in the experiments that were being made in the trial gardens. J. Horace McFarlaud. of Harrisburg, Pa., was the next speaker and his subject was "The Significance of the National Test Gar- dens." He stated that many people ap- peared to think that being in the midst of a great war such sulijects as the cultivation of the rose should not he discussed, but that he differed with such views. To keep up the standard of right living, with such ideal surroundings as rose gardens gave us and to discu.ss the subject, was not only proper, but wise — and also necessary. He called attention to the fact that we all need renewed vigor to help us stand for the democracy of the world. Making home surroundings pleasant, the speaker added, was in the highest degree patriotic work. The thing that most of us must do is to keep up the land. We must live and do our best, but how is tearing up our rose garden and flower beds going to help? The government, in order that na- tional life shall not go backward, is calling attention to all the national parks and their recreational use this year. Why not tear up all the parks and plant corn ,nnd potatoe-'' Why not? Well, because we are not (if you will excuse the expression) a nation of fool- They are growing roses in Germany and carrying on activities other than the war, a- is evidenced by perusal of educational joui nals. The ro.se is international. We aie lirothers with England in glorifying the rose The name rose is the same in all language^, but perhaps two itniver.sal woi-ds for the world's flower. We want American roses to popularize them in this country. Guerni"\ Hill was working on the forcing rose, while r>r. Van Fleet was producing hardy varieties for the door yard. Nine million roses weie imported in one year from Europe, but that was only one for every five homes. Life will be sweeter and better when we can get one for each. Enough to satisfy that great need will require national and international rose growing. There is no quarrel in discussing rose growing or anything else that God has grown with the Germans. Can there be any better wa.v — a rose in our hands will prove more efficient than the dove of peace? Jlr. McFarland's remarks were loudly applauded. Hon. Carl Vrooman. assistant secretary of tlie department of agriculture, said the de- partment greatly appreciates the work the society was doing. The rose was the most beautiful emblem of the sanity of beauty. People at this stirring time must keep minds and emotions rational. The country was en- tering a crisis much more serious than most people realize. Every thought and aspira- tion is undergoing a change. Business must go on as rational and our life as beautiful as before. Some examples of vegetables taking the place of flowers were good for certain reasons, but there must be flowers. Wm. F. Gude. followed Mr. Vrooman and said he was glad to see so many lovers of BURPEE'S SEEDS are grown not only to sell but to grow again. The fact that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to be our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseof Burpee continues to grow just as surely as Burpee's Seeds Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A postcard will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. I a Burpee Buildings Philadelphia 'fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiij: riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiin 252 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA the rose, wl-.n must be luver.s. or they woukl not have been iu atteudance. He took a great interest in the garden and hoped much for it in the future. At the ei>n(lnsion of Jlr. Glide's remarks the automobiles were re-entered and, after a ride tlii-ough Arlington Cemetery, the party returned to Wasliingtou and out through Eock Creek Park to "Twin Oaks," the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Bell, where the beautiful rose gardens of this estate were visited. From there the ]>arty proceeded to the Ebl)itt House. Wash- ington, where lun -henn was served. Fol- lowing the luncj President Pennock called on the late president, Henjamin Hammond, for a few words, who said lie felt sure tliat his prediction that the garden would be- come a popular place for all the honeymoon i'ouples who would visit Washington in the years to come would come true. They would then go home and plant roses for a garden of their own. A rose bush iu a gar- den was sure to have an uplifting influence. Prof. E. A. White, secretary-elect, pre- dicted a bright future for the society and hoped to be able to secure a largely in- creased members! ip, as the rose is an em- blem of peace and should not be neglected and there was no reason why the society should not grow to be as large, if not the largest, in the world. Dr. Shoemaker, presi- dent of the Federated Societies of Wash- ington, assured the memliers tliat this body would do all possililc to co-operate with them in furthering the work of the national garden. E. G. Hill seconded what Mr. McFarlaml had said and was glad it had been said at this time and place. He said he felt that growers of roses were co-laborers with Him who creates things that are beautiful. Pointing to vases of Red Radiance, Mr. Hill asked: "Who was the painter who mixed the color, the scent and other attri- butes and well defined organs of the flower? The Greater, that we co-workers might benefit by working and producing beautiful roses for the garden and greenhouse." A man to grow roses successfully must first have them in his heart. I love the rose and have done Just a little bit in producing Avith them. In conclusion he praised the work of Dr. Van Fleet. M. H. Walsh and John Cook. He urged that new roses be grown scientifically, not in a shipshod man- ner. Let us all work and enter this great field of beauty. Mr. McFarland urged each of the L.'iOO members to bring in just one and the membership would at once jump to 3,000. We want those with roses in their hearts and then they will get in tlie garden. Dr. E. X. Mills, of Syracuse, spoke of the great work of their rose society which has an average attendance at the monthly meetings of 125. He hoped the national society would come to his city in two years. George Field told of the Bancroft rose garden, which concluded the meeting nf the society. THE WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD HORT. SOCIETY. There was a fine display of flowers on the exhibition tables and an exceptionally large attendance at the regular monthly meeting of the Westche.ster and Fairfield Horticul- tural Society, in Hubbard's Hall, Green- wich, Conn., Friday evening, June 8. President Wm. Whltton presiding. The exhibits were all of fine quality, and the judges made the following awards : Cultural Certificate to .Tames Stuart for a fine plant of Cyitopodum punictatum : Very High Commendation to .lames Lauaine for a very fine display of flowering shrubs ; High Commendation to Robt. Grunert for vase of This Oscillating Sprinkler Will Water Space 50 Ft. Wide In Lengths Up To 200 Ft. SPLENDIDLY adapted for use on large lawns, or in lormal gardens as shown alwve. It's absolutely automatic. The water driven motor, located in tlie truck, turns the spray line back and forth from side to side, at a speed wbicb you control. It not only waters a surprisingly large area at a minimum of bother and trouble, but at a maximum of resultfulness. The water is de- livered in a fine, uniform, rain-like spray that mal(es things grow. It is properly warmed in passing through the air. It falls so gently that it won't pack or puddle tue soil u. in- jure fine foliage. The line is portable. Pipe lengths are equipped with easy acting couplings; can be easily disconnected and put on the two-wheeled truck. Exceedingly simple in its construc- tion. It is sectional. Can be used in any desired length up to 200 feet. Our circular, giving complete description of this efficient rain-macbine. yon are indeed wel- come to. Thf Sninnor Irrigation C. 229 WATER ST. TROY, OHIO Sweet Peas arranged for effect and for dis- play of tomatoes. Sterling Castle ; to Paul Divenger for lettuce, "May King," and two cauliflower "Snowball" ; to J. B. Itoy for vase Pentstemon Hybrids, and to Alex. Clark- sou for display of Spanish Iris. The thanks of the society was awarded to Robt. Grunert for vase of Lupinus, vase of Acpiilcgia and pot of Sweet Peas "Ideal" ; to Wm. Graham for plant of Campanula and vase of antir- rhinum : to P. W. Popp for plant of Xerembergia Graciles; and to Alex. Clark- sou for vase of Darwin Tulips. For the most meritorious exhibit James Lanaine was awarded first for display of flowering shrubs, James Stuart secimd for plant of Cyito- podum, and Paul Direnger two cauliflower. James Stuart read a paper on Cyclamen, and anyone wlio same his display at tlie New York Show knows that he is qualified to talk on that subject. He gave a very in- teresting talk and was accorded a rising vote of thanks. The summer show is to be held in Rye this ,\'ear on .June 10 to 20. It is to be held under the auspices of the Red Cross Rye branch and it is to be hoped that the members will do their utmost to make it a success as it is for a good cause. The .society also showed its patriotism by deciding to buy $500 worth of Lilierty Bonds. HOLYOKE AND NORTHAMPTON FLOR- ISTS' AND GARDENERS' CLUB, The regular meeting was held June 5 at the Butler and Ullman Greenhouses, Xorthampton ; a goodl.v ntimber of members being present. Some discussion took place regarding the annual Fall Flower Show, and it was decided to co-operate with the Garden Committee of the Ilolyoke Chamber of Com- merce whieli is planning an exhibit of garden products. More than one thousand new home gardens and one thousand school gardens have been started iu Holyoke, and about .six hundred school garcHns iu Northampton. Several members of the club are assisting in this work. A committee was appointed to arrange a schedule of exhibits — no money premiums to be offered. G. H. Sinclair gave a talk on the culture of Il.vdrangeas as pot plants. Darwin and May flowering Tulips iu variety were shown by Sinclair and son and Gallinau Bros. Butler and Ullman arranged a miscel- laneous exhibit including Spanish Iris, Ixi-.i, Centarurea and Delphinium. H. E. W. MONMOUTH CO., N. J., HORT. SOCIETY. A meeting of this society was held at Red Bank on Jlay 17, with President .Tames Kennedy in the chair. A lai'ge membership was on hand. A large variet.v of food ques- tions were talked over as well as the flower end of it. The annual summer show will be held on Friday. June 29, at the Elks' Home, Red Bank, N. J. It was decided to have the show at this time a strictly pa- triotic show, for the benefit of the Red Cro.ss. and the members present were unanimous in their support to make it a banner show for the good it will do. The monthly ex- hibits were Sweet Peas and Darwin Tulips, staged by A, Bauer, and Seedling Dahlias and Asparagus staged by W. Waite. .Some THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 253 very intei'cstiug: remarks relative to tlie exhibits were made by various members. The judges were William Turner. Malachi Tieruey and William Metzdorf. Several new members were elected at this meeting and more promised for thi' next meeting, which will be held Thursday June 21, at 8 p. m. I'. B. SOUTHAMPTON, N. Y., HORT. SOCIETY. The regular meeting of the SouthamiJton \ Horticultural Society was held in the Odd Fellows" Hall with a large attendance. The president, Charles F. Guilloz, presiding. On motion it was unanimously agreed that all monies received at the gate at the flower show, July 25 and 20 of this year, be given to the Red Cross Chapter of Southampton, and that the nu>ans of making same piddic he left in the hands of the oBicers of the lied Cross. The schedule of the flower show is in the hands of the printer and has a large prize list including several silver cups, and embraces everything In horticulture and flori- culture in season at that date. The competition for the evening was three vegetables in season and was won by George Anderson, superintendent for Mrs. Charles B. Macdonald. with asparagus, lettuce and rhubarb. James T. Dickson, superintendent for Mrs. A. M. Hoyt. who has had a large and va- ried experience in England, read a very good essay on some old English gardens, which was very well received by the members. Mr. Dickson was awarded a vote of thanks for his es.say. OYSTER BAY HORT. SOCIETY. The regular meeting of the Oyster Bay Horticultural Society was held on Wednes- day, May 23, with a good number of mem- bers present. In the absence of the president, James Bell presided. It was decided to have a Rose night and smoker on the regular meeting night in .June instead of the usual June show. The monthly exhibits were numerous and Messrs. Alfred Lahodney, Jos. Robinson and Frank Kyle were appointed to act as judges. A communication was received from the supervising principal of the Oyster Bay schools stating he had about 4.5 children. Had entered the prize contest for "home garden" work asking the society co-opera- tion in appointing members as inspectors and judges to work for the sea.son. The presi- dent appointed the following : .John T. In- gram, .John Sorosick and Jos. Robinson for the west side and Alfred Walker. Jas. Duck- ham and Frank Kyle for the east side of the village. Mr. Disbrow made some very interesting remarks on horticulture and agriculture and was well received. J. T. Ingram ably read the essay of the National Association of Gardeners, entitled, "Distinctive American Plants," by Edwin H. Costich. It was much enjoyed and a let- ter of thanks was ordered sent to the author. Geo. H. Hale, Secretary. NEW JERSEY FLORICULTURAL SOC. The regular monthlv meeting of the society was held in the Jr. O. U. A. M. Hall, Or- ange, N. J., on Monday, May 21 at 8 p. m. It was quite a reunion of the society and all the older members that helped form the or- ganization in 1894 were present. Tlie following officers were elected : Jo- seph A. Manda, president ; Rev. Ij. H. I..ight- hipe, vice-president; Edw. A. Manda. treas- urer and Geo. W. Strange, secretary. The society will offer its special service toward the promotion of home gardening throughout the Oranges and a special meet- A U-BAR GREENHOUSE GROW-UP SUGGESTION WHY wait to build the larger house at the top, when you can now build the smaller one at the bottom, and enlarge it later? That's our suggestion. To which let us add, UBar greenhouses are distinctly different from others. Different in construction, different in results. We are the only ones who can build them. Uncle Sam's Patent Office so declare it. How U-Bar Greenhouses differ is told in the catalog. Send for it. Or send for us. Or both. U-BAR GREENHOUSES ing in conjunction with the chairmen of the various leagues, to formulate plans for this work will be held on June IS in the Jr. O. U. A. M. Hall. Various prizes will be offered for amateur gardeners at our Fall show, and the schedule will be read.v in a few weeks. Geo W. Stranoe, Secy. NORTH WESTCHESTER (N. Y,), HORT. SOCIETY. The Northern Westchester Horticultural and Agricultural Society held its regular monthly meeting in the Civic Hall, May 22. President Crissman was in the chair. Much interest was centered on the display of Pop- pies by Alex. Thomson, which received 100 points from a selected judge. Air. Thomson informed the society that his Poppy is a new vaiiety just placed on the market by Messrs. Weeber & Don. Chas. Ruthven presented a beautiful col- lection of Roses, Gladioli. Pentunias and Salpiglossis. It was decided by the .society to offer four prizes at our next annual flower show, which will be held on November 2 to 4, to all school children who are interested in agriculture, for the best single distinct variety of vege- tables. J. G. Curtis, manager of the Westchester Co. Farm Bureau, gave an instructive and interesting address on farming and farai products. He also spoke regarding the re- cent farm census which was taken through- out W'estchester County. His topic was the farming of today and that of twenty years ago : how, at the present time, with the country in such a great need of every- thing available, the farmer should put his shoulder to the wheel and use all his energy toward production. Mr. Curtis has been pretty well all over New York State, and he very readily explained the situation as he saw it. W. . E. Mattison. Secy. NASSAU COUNTY HORT. SOCIETY, The annual spring show of the above so- ciety was held in the Glen Cove, N, Y., Neighborhood house. May 23, and while the quality of the blooms on the exhibition tables did not equal that of last year the compe- tition was nevertheless keen in all classes, of which there were 27. Much credit is due Robert .Tones, the hard-working manager, for his tasteful arrangement of the show. The judges were James Duthie. E. Westlake and ■Tames McCarth.v, the principal prizes being awarded to the following : ,Tohn F. John- son, James McDonald, Joseph Adler, Will- iam Noonan, James McCarthy, John Dom- browsky and Robert Jones. Cultural cer- tificates were awarded to John F. Johnson for an exquisite vase of salpiglossis ; James 254 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 1 ^ American-Grown Trees and Evergreens Our ability to supply plants of the highest quality is not curtailed by the stoppage of foreign shipments. Buy nursery stock grown at | Andorra. 1 Andorra Nurseries Wm. irnrtwr Harp^^r. Prop. " Suggestions for Effective Planting" on request Box no, Chestnut Hill Phila., Penna. ORCHIDS We are Specialists in Orohiils, we collect, grow, import, ^'xport and sell orchids ex- clusively. If you are in the market for Orchids We solicit your inguiiies and orders. Cata- logues and sp< rial lisfs dh apiiliriitiun. IwA.ge:r & hurre:l.l. Orchid Growers and Importers SummSt, rv. U. IMPORTED ORCHIDS If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. «J0SE:IPFI IV1A.NDA Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist West Orange, N. «J» HILL'S EVERGREENS Send for Price-list. Mention tliis magazine. D. HILIL NURSERY CO. Evergreen Specialists, Largest Growers in America, Box 3G5 DUNDEE, ILL. Swas- t e e k a Brand Cannas y; VT/INTZER'S ** ColossaJ. Flag of Truce. Cily of Portland. All crea- tions of Antoine Wintzer; and othel varieties. Send for price-list THE C0N4RD & JONES CO.. Box C, West Grove. Pa McCarthy for vase of Sweet I'ea Yarrawa aud to Robert .Tones for a magiiificeut group of French h.vdraiigeas. H.\RRY GoonnAMi, Cor. Sec.v. MORRIS COUNTY SOCIETY. The executive committee of this society met at the Washington Hotel. Morristown, N. J., May 18, to arrange the Fall flower show schedule for this year. The entire committee of l.j was present. It was de- cided to hold the show in .Tames Hall, Madi- son, N. J., November 1-2 next. The main features of hist year's schedule are retained. In common with the patriotic spirit which fills the air in the East, the committee de- cided to turn over the entire proceeds of the show to the American Red Cross Society. Ribbons in Red, white and blue will be given in lieu of cash prizes. Every effort will be made to have the show bigger aud better than ever. Edward Reagan. Secy. RIVERDALE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The Eiverdale Horticultural Society cele- brated its first anniversary June 12, The liall in the Neighborhood House was very attractively decorated for the occasion, the members of the committee, Messrs. Carlson and Leveuson, deserving great credit for all the arrangements and decorations. Thirty members and a few guests toolc part in the dinner at 6 p. m. Menu cards, handsomely painted by a lady artist, sounded somewhat mysterious, but all the same the eats were of excellent quality. Mr. Carlson, known under -Oscar" all over the United States. Mexico and Europe as a mighty good fellow, distinguished himself as an excellent toastmaster. He called on several of the members for speeches, songs and other recitals. At S p. m. the invited members of tlie Tree Committee arrived — Edward Delalielil and Jlrs. F. Allien. Mr. F. Rovell sent best wishes and his regret at not being able to be present. The audience certainly listened w'ith pleasure and approval to all the good tilings said. They were all sorry that Mr. Ebel's chair was vacant. He liad tele- graphed that sickness provented his attend- ing. All expressed their hopes that he may recover soon. The latest arrival was H. Markel. the well-known horticulttn-ist and tree expert. He is responsible for the birth of the society, and delivered a speech looking forward and backward. A long table was decked witli many vases of iris and other i.erennials and llow- ering shrulis. One vase of Mad. Harriot (Daily Mail) from outdoors was greatly ad- mired: also a citllection of vegetaldes — flesh peas, cauliflower, lettuce and cucum- bers 22 inches long were shown, and it seemed no easy task for the judges (Mrs. F. Allien and Mr. Geo. Norris) to award the jrrizes. Messrs. Heidkamp (Mrs. P. Boettger), Clark (Mr. Edward Delafield) and Millard (Geo. W. Perkins Estate) car- ried the honors. A large bowl with grape juice ])niicli. donateil by one of our distinguished lady liatronesses. was an agreeable surprise. Tlie majority of the members stayed together until niiduigbt. many talents in music, sing- ing, etc., furnishing a great deal of amuse- lllCllt. ST. LOUIS ASS'N OF GARDENERS. Tlie regular meeting of the St. Louis Association of Gardeners was held at For- est Park Greenhouses, President L. P. Jen- sen occupying the chair, with twenty-five members present. The ]ia])er of the eve- ning was given by G. H. Pring on -'The de- velopment of Hybrid Xymphaeas." Vari- ous ])hotographs were demonstrated show- ing the work carried on at the Missouri Botoiiical Garden. On motion, regularly moved and seconded, the various papers given at the monthly meetings tvill be pub- lished in book form annually, to be given to the members at cost. G. H. Prixg, Secretary. TUXEDO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the Tux- edo Horticultural .Society was held in the Parish House on June li, Presiilent 1*. Cas- sidy in the chair. At our May meeting Mr. .John Scheepers, New York, gave a lantern lecture on tulips which was enjoyed by all present. It was one of the most practical lectures ever given before the .society. Tlie report from the Ball Committee was a very encouraging one. The society passed a resolution to give the proceeds of the ball to the Tuxedo Red Cross, and I am pleased to say we cleared over $200. The society has agreed to hold its fall show as usual. We will also run our show for the benefit of the Red Cross, the particulars of which will be reported later. Tiios. WiLSiON, Secretarv. Warm, Bright, Sunny ■Kin*? GliEENHODSES thivc a ??pecial type of constrnc tioii, wbicli permits of great streiigtli without tbe need of heavy sliadnw-cnsting supports. Thia gives the plants all the sunlight all day long. Send for bulletin No. 47. KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 303 King Rd. North Tonawanda, N. Y. 113 State St., Boston, Mass. Harrison Bldg., 15th & Market Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. ifiM A irTTlTt A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleached and unburnt; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months of preparation. Try a Bag $1.00 6 Bags $5.00 F. O. B. New York or Jersey City on any Railroad or Steamboat Line MAGIC HUMUS CO. G. W. Chandler, Sales Agent 264 WEST 34th STREET, NEW YQSK or 40 PETERS PLACE, RED BANK, N. J. HARRY BALD-WIM Manufacturer of Greenliouse Sliading Latn Roller Blinds MA.1V1AROPSIECK, N. V. We Can Save Your Trees I'on't, give up bope until one of oiir experts lias inspfcted them. "The Bartlett Way" of bracing and boltiiiy. cavity trt-ating. etc., has sav^'d thousands that were thought beyond repair. Tell us your tree troubles. Representatives everywhere. Senii for "Tree Talk." THE F. A. BARTLETT COMPANY 543 Main Street Stamford. Conn. ^/ * CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MANUFACTURERS 1 PHILADELPHIA. PA. ^- t> THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 25; mBmm m (si A Greenhouse Secret ON one of the greenlionse photORraiihs we showed a gardener friend, he was del. jilted witli tile workroom, but objected to the Standard " Curved Eave House att'iched to it. He wanted our Semi- Curvilinear construction, with side ventilation. So our artist replaced the ju-ved eave house on the ihoto with a Semi-Curvilinear thr- one, just as you see illustration above. We mention the fact just to show you what lengths we so in letting a customer see exactly what he is going to get. Vou know we go anywhere for business. Or to talk business. 1 i HiicKingrs^ G) nip any* Yf^ General Offices and Factory: Elizabeth, N. J. (iW) NEW YORK BOSTON PHILADELPHIA ii;0 Brnn.'u.-iv 4'> F.'dt-ral Street 40 Sn. 15th Street M p i i ANCHOR POST I Garden Gates | I Arbors and Arches | j Trellises and Espaliers | j Lawn Fences — Tree Guards | I Unclimbable Fences | I Entrance Gates | i CATAT Ofi ^^' have catalogs describing these various prod- i g ucts. Tell us what you are interested in and we s E will send catalog. s 1 ANCHOR POST IRON WORKS I j 17 Corllandt Street, South (13th Floor) New York | = Philadelphia Boston Cleveland Hartford Newark = I 2156- G I riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiuiiiiin How Do You Kill Weeds ? The old way has been by hand weeding — paying excefjive labor costs sev- eral times d\iring the year to do the work. But today, owners of es- tates and homes, as well as leading railroads, mu- nicipalities, country clubs, parks and cemeteries maintain beautiful weed- free paths, gutters, drives, roads, tennis courts and rights of way by the use of ATLAS WEED KILLER One gallon of Atlas clears 600 sq. ft. for the entire season. Apply in ordinary sprinkling can — diluted with 20 parts water. Weeds die a few days after first application — then, no more trouble for the entire year. Coinpare with costly hand-weeding, which must be done over and over again. (For kill- ing n'ccds in lawns with- out injurv to the gfass, use LAWN SILICATE. Write for particulars.) 4 arms w££d-kili£r I fcriJ^^U.*.l.l.aWJJ.B.4LIII.Ui^.lJ..».H» Saiiifle Offer lie ~^v'.U furnish you a trial 2 qt. can of Atlas li'eed Killer on receipt of $1 and this coupon — prepaid if yott mention your aealer's name. / 1. 95 Ibie ■hipman Chemical Engineering Co. , VVa^'I'^^.^'S'^oSS' 5 Liberty Street, New York. ^'■if^%W%f^^'^ REIBER BIRD HOMES The only Bird-Houses that actually attract the Birds because they supply the natural nesting conditions. The only Bird- Houses that really protect and conserve bird-life. Scientitically constructed. The inner nesting chamber, entirely independ- ent of the outer walls, maintains an even de- gree of temperature and moisture — an absolute necessity for successful hatching — whether the house is placed in the sun or shade. Prices from $1.50 to $36.00 Bird Homes, Feeding, Watering and Supply Stations are the result of the Hfe-Iong sttidy of E. H. "'Reiber. "The Bird Man," and are protected by United Patent. Designing and Executing of Bird Gardens a Spe- We will gladly send >'ou our book describing these excep- Bird Homes. REIBER BIRD HOMES, West Webster, N. Y. States cialty. tional Do you spray your trees? WILLIAM F. LEARY Scientific Care of Trees Spraying — Pruning — Cementing 182 NORTH AVE., NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. Dealer in Spraying Machines Agent for Aphine, Fungine & Vermine 256 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA = ItHirMiHHimiii THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GAKDEN For the Greenhouse — Applied at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent as a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most effective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efficient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. Sold by dealers in various sizes APHINE MANUFACTURING CO. MANUFACTUPvERS OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON, N. J. FUNGINE I For mildew, rust and other blights I affecting flowers, fruits and I vegetables. VERMINE I For worms and insects infesting the aoil. u mi II I n w n mnn im n II II n minimm H n « u HI n iiuu n iniuiiii unnuimm mk 1 1 1 16 i L <» >'-v>*.-^*i^ 1 tm m bI 1 OWNERS OF LUTTON GREENHOUSES Appreciate Worth in Gardens and Gardeners "Distance lends enchantment." That is wliy some green houses are built way out behind barns, walls and hedges. But it is different with Lutton Greenhouses — they are often built as near as possible to the owners' home, where both greenhouse and its contents can be enjoyed to the greatest extent. The great majority of the greenhouses which we have erected are within a convenient distance of their owners' homes. The above view shows one such structure which we recently erected for Mr. C. A. Du Charme, Pres. of the Michigan Stove Company, beside his residence at Grosse Point, Detroit, Mich. It is 18 feet wide by 58 feet long and is connected to a service building at the rear by a propagating house 11 by 16^ feet. WM. H. LUTTON CO. Main Office and Factory 265-271 Kearney Ave., Jersey City, N. J. Showroom, 3rd Floor, Grand Central Terminal, N. Y. City Western Office, 710 Sykes Block, Minneapolis, Minn. Horticultural Architects and Builders of Modern Greenhouses, Conservatories, Sun Parlors, Cold Frames Bon Arbor Chemical Co. PATERSON, N. J. Manufacturers of BON ARBOR No. 1 Soluble Plant Life. A most wonderful and invigorating food for all plants, indoor and outdoor. BON ARBOR No. 2. Best dressing for your lawns. RADIX WORM ERADICATOR. Instant- ly removes worms from your Tennis Courts, Putting greens, etc. ANT DESTROYER. Will remove all ants outside or indoors in a week's time. Be sure and try it. NATURAL HUMUS. Is the best for mak- ing new lawns, gardens, etc. Write for descripive catalogue and prices :iiiiiuiiiiffliniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiii iiiiiiiiii iniiHiiinniiniiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiJiniiiiiK;; liiiiiiiiiiiiiinHuiiiiiiiiJiuimiiiiiiaiuiiiuniiuininiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiHiiinHimiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiittniniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniimiii iiiiniiiiimi iiiniiiiiiniiiiiiiiis Coldwell Motor Mower MODEL J /^/M\^ «^ ■LL THE COLDWELL "CLIPPERBUILT" Motor Mower, Model J, ^ comhiiies Coldwell sturdy construction with 11)17 mechanical improvements. Power. A 4-cylinder 1017 automobile motor, Continental make, <(ives JNlodcl J ])ower to climb any grade up to 2.5%, at any speed up to l> miles an hour. Rolls as it mows. Lightness. Weighs llOO pounds on the rollers. Not too heavy — just heavy enougli. Economy. Does the work of three horses antl three men on half a gallon of gasolhie an hoar. The COLDWELL WALK TYPE Motor Mower runs itself. Operator guide'^— nnthiii^^ more. ^A strong little motor geared up to 4 miles an hour does the worU. Low upi It matters not whether you want just a small house, costing but a few hundred dollars, or one most pretentious"; we can give you a service and a value that we think careful investigation will prove t-« you cannot be equalled. We should be glad to talk with vou. Send for our booklet No. 116. .NEW YORK 4JjiH St. UMk BUILDERS OF GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES SALES OFFICES BOSTON PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO ROCHESTER Trcmont Bldg. Wi.l.tifr Bldg. K',i,.k.--^v Bldg. Granite Bid? TORONTO MONTREAL Uo.val Bank Blilg TranspoHation Bklg FACTORIES: Irvingiuii, .\. V.; Des Plaines, 111.; St. Catharines, Canada. CLEVELAND ^w.lland Ride GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA PARKS Sc GARDENS ILLUSTRATED ,50 The Year JULY, 1917 16c. The Copy Are you fooling yourself about your trees? ARE you making the dangerous mis- take about tree surgery that was made by the owner of the tree shown herewith? (Small photograph No. 1 betow.) Read the following facts — they may prove a revelation. The owner of the tree shown here thought that Tree Surgery was merely a matter of patching cavities with cement — some- thing which almost any clever fellov could do. The result to his trees was costly and disappointing. Davey Tree Surgeons found that this tree (Photo. 1), which the owner thought had been saved, was in a really critical condition, disease and decay continuing unchecked behind the fillings. The entire work had to be torn out and done again — done right. Photo- graphs Nos. 1 , 2, 3 and 4 — a typical tree — tell the story. (See descriptive matter under photographs.) Tree Surgery a Specialized Science Tree owners sometimes confuse Tree Surgery with Forestry. These two pro- fessions are as widely separated as den- tistry and medicine. The Forester is trained to deal with trees in the mass, culturjng them pri- marily for lumber suppl>-. As Bernard E. Fernow, Dean of Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, puts it: "The forester grows trees }iot to be preserved, but to be harvested." The Tree Surgeon, on the contrary, is interested in the individual tree; to pro- long its life is his sole aim. He knows little or nothing about forestry and is entirely unequipped in training and ex- perience to cope with its problems. Forestry is a worthy profession doing a great economic work. But to entrust the saving of your priceless specimen trees to a Forester is certain to result in disaster. For real Tree Surgery, there is only one safe place to go — to Davey Tree Surgeons. Davey Tree Surgery Is Safe Sdfc — because it is time-proved, its record of successful performance for thousands of estate owners spanning a generation. Safe — because no Davey Tree Surgeon i? allowed ai.y responsibility until he has conclusively demonstrated his fitness. He must have served his full course of thor- ough, practical training and scientific study in the Davey Institute of Tree Surgerv — a school, the only one of its kind in the world, which we conduct for the specific purpose of drilling our men according to Davey methods and Davey ideaU. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgery has been endorsed as best by the United States Government, after exhaustive offi- cial investigation. Safe — because Davey Tree Surgeons are picked men. thoroughly trained, conscien- tious, intelligent, courteous, in love with their work. Safe — because the Davey Company is a successful and responsible house, amply able to make good in every instance and not needing, for the sake of temporary existence, to sacrifice in the slightest de- cree its high standards. Four typical letters from hun- dreds by satisfied Davey users. Archibald H. Bull. Pres.. A. H. Bull Stcamshit" Co., Nc7v York City: "1 am very much pleased and satisfied with your work." A. P. Lovejoy, JanesiUle, Wis.: "Your work is efficient and sci.ntific, your men capable and business-like." Mrs. Susan II heeler. Bryn Mawr, Pa.: "The work you have done for me has been entirely satisfactor)'. I fully believe that it has added to the life of ray trees, for which I am very thankful." F. E. .■itteau.v. F. E. Atteau.v & Co.. Inc.. Boston. Mass.: "I am pleased to say that your work is perfectly salisfactorj' in every wav. " Write today for Free Examination of your Trees — and booklet. "When Your Trees Need the Tree Surgeon. ' ' What is the real condition of your trees? Are insidious diseases and hidden decay slowly undermining tbeir strength? Will the next severe storm claim one or more as its victims? Only the experienced Tree Surgeon can tell you fully and definitely. Without cost or obligation to you, a Davey Tree Surgeon will visit your place, and render an honest verdict regarding their condition and needs. Write today. The Davev Tree Export Co., Inc. 307 Elm Street. Kent. Ohio. (Operating: the Davey Institute of Tree Sutf^crv. Kott. Ohio> Branch offices, with telephone connection: 223 Fifth Ave., New York; 2017 Land Title BIdg., Philadelphia; 430 McCofmick BIdg., Chicago Permanent representatives located at Boston, Newport. Lenox. Hartford. Stamford, Albany. Poughkeepsie, White Plains. Jamaica. L. I.. Morristown. N. J.. Philadelphia. Harrisburc. Palti- more. Washington, Buffalo. Pittsburtrb rievein'id. Detroit . Cincinnati . Louisville . Chicago, ^lil- wauk"" Minnpanolis. St. I.oui^. Kan*!*'; Titv. Canadian Address;: 22 Victoria S(|nare. Montreal. No. 1. This tree had started to decay. The owner saw this, but did not realize that it re- quired scientific treat- ment. So he allowed an untrained man to "patch the holes" with cement. This "patch- ing" was worse than useless it was positively harmful. No. 2. The cement patch. s were removed by Davey Tref Surgeons, and there was revealed an appalling condition of disease and decay. The tree had become a mere shell, liable to crash to pieces in any severe storm. .No. 3. Davey Tree surgeons removed every particle of decay, dis- infected the entire cavity to destroy the existing disease, thoroughly wat r- proofed the inside, cut watfr sheds to exc'ud.' moisture and carefully braced the shell me- chanically. No. 4. Here is the finished re- sult of science plus skill. The strength of the tree, destroyed by decay, has been restored by me- chanically perfect Davey methods. The filling was put in by sections to permit the normal sway of the tree without cracking the filling. The new bark is growing over the ••dges of the filling and in time will cover it entirely. This tree is now in perfect health — perma- nently saved — responding gloriously '0 the marvelous skill of Davey Tree Surgeons who know how and why. Davey Tree Surgeons FOR SAFE TREE E'cry real Pofcy T'rr ,S"'i SURGERY and tl'c THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 261 ^nniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'';;!ooks, who are mostly Europeans. Conditions in Europe are different than in this coun- tr}'. The winters here are of longer duration and more severe than in Europe and the more we use fire heat the more we must water. Sometimes, on a sunny day, even in winter, it is a good idea to give the plants a spray with the hose, without fear of harm ; in fact, they will benefit thereby. Of course, in summer it is a good rule to give the plants a good spraying about noon in bright weather. One important thought must be kept in mind : Do not keep an orchid plant continuously saturated. Always let them be on the dry side before watering, as no plant will thrive in sour compost. With regard to potting orchids, use the smallest re- ceptacle into which the plant can be easily placed, as over-potting is as bad as over-watering, the plants suf- fering in the same manner. A good compost to use is one of two parts of Osmunda fiber, and one part of Sphagnum moss. Some growers use Osmunda fiber entirel}' ; but I prefer the above mixture for orchids generally. The main reason for my preference is that one can, with it, tell more easily when the plant needs water. It is easy to see when the moss is dry, but the Osmunda fiber has the same black look whether wet or dry and to be sure whether the plant needs water one has to examine it closely, by lifting the pot, or feeling the compost. Some orchids grow best in pots, and some in baskets. Cattleyas usually are more satisfactory in pots. Den- drobiums and some other kinds are best in baskets. If an orchid is in a basket, hang it up, especially if it is of an Oncidium varicosum type ; otherwise you will have to use extreme vigilance to keep the slugs from getting in, thus causing no end of trouble. Baskets are a rendezvous for all kinds of orchids pests, and once there, it sometimes takes months to get rid of them. One does not know that they are there until he sees flower spikes or leaves eaten oft'. So bear in mind, as soon as you put a plant in a perforated pot or basket, hang it up. 276 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 :: Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3. 1879. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol. XXI July, 1917 No. 7 ALPINES WITHOUT A ROCK GARDEN /^ I\'EN a fondness for Alpine plants I know of only two good reasons for not having a rock garden — lack of space, and the initial expense. But lack of space is not, after all, a very good reason, for it is possible to have a practical and a perfectly charming rock garden, exactly one foot square, and to grow upon it a surprising number of the loveliest and the best Alpine plants. I have done it. A garden of well-laid rocks and suitable soils is undoubtedly the best jiossible setting one can have for Alpine plants, but, if tliese are not available, that is no reason for not growing Alpine plants. The late Canon Ellacombe's rock garden proper was a comparatively small affair, yet he grew Alpine plants successfully, and always charmingly, in almost every part of his garden. They were grown as unconventional edgings to the bor- ders, and one came upon them in all sorts of unexpected, odd corners. An excellent e.xample of rock plants grown without a rock garden is to be seen at Aldenham House. Here, low, simple edgings of small pieces of rock, well sunk in the soil, have been laid as edgings to handsome herbaceous borders on either side of a central path in the kitchen garden. These rock edgings are little more than a couple of feet wide, and they are planted with many kinds of showy and low-growing rock plants. Saxifrages, both silver and mossy, Alpine Phloxes, .Aubrietias, sil- very Achilleas, Alyssums. Rock Roses, A'eronicas, Gen- tians, .\renarias. Thrift, and many others. Rock plants are too seldom used in this way, yet there is endless scope for ingenuity in grouping the jilants. The arrangement of the stone should be quite sim])le — the simpler the bet- ter; or one can do without it altogether. In grouping the plants it is a very good plan to run certain sorts into each other, so that they mix and |)ut up a good fight for exist- ence. A single plant of .-Xrenaria montana placed among several plants of Lithospermum prostratum, for instance, makes a lovely show of pure white and vivid blue. Dwarf Campanulas, like the varieties of C. pusilla, alba, Mis& W'illmott and pallida, are far prettier if planted in mixed colonies than when carefully shepherded, and the outliers of such a mixed colony might run into and mingle with some of the dwarf-habited Pinks such as Dianthus caesius (the Cheddar Pink) and varieties of D. plumarius. A splendid mi.xture which I came across as a self-arranged accident, and duly noted, was a special deep rich purple form of Campanula unifolia which I collected at Mt. Cenis, growing with the ruby-red Dianthus deltoides su- perbus. To avoid bare spaces in winter, the lighter grow- ing deciduous ]:)lants, such as the small Campanulas, may be planted among evergreen tufted plants like Saxifrages, Pinks, and Alpine Phlo.xes. Spangled patches of rose and lavender or lavender and white may be made by in- terplanting different varieties of Phlox subulata ; deep rose and violet with Phlox reptans and Viola gracilis, and for real barbaric daring mixture Aubrietia Dr. jMules and Aubrietias Fire King, Royal Purple and Magenta-Crimson. The scope for this sort of thing is endless, and experimenting is a great pleasure. Such an edging as that at Aldenham is surely a better fore- ground to a herbaceous border, and much more inter- esting, than either Box or a mown turf verge. The ef- fect of a well-kept grass edging is certainly pleasing, but from the practical point of view the difficulty is that di- rectly the foremost plants begin to stretch out and en- joy themselves they get mutilated by the mowing ma- chine. The labor of keeping grass verges in good con- dition is an item that must be taken into consideration. Then, of course, any old wall can be made a joyous home for Alpine plants. Seeds may be sown, and young plants tucked into crevices. Many good things will grow and thrive without any special attention. Ramondia py- renaica is a plant which is usually treated with a good deal of respect, and for which special, cool, perpendicular crevices are constructed in the rock garden. But some of the finest and healthiest plants I have seen in cultiva- tion are growing without any fuss at all on a ledge of a mossy terrace wall overhanging a pond. The aspect is north or north-east. It is pleasant to lean over from the terrace and see this thriving, increasing colony, especially in May, when it is covered with large violet, moon-faced flowers. I have said that it is not necessary to have a rock gar- den in order to grow Aljiine ]:)lants. I will go further, and assert that it is not even necessary to have a garden at all to grow them. You can grow them on other people's roadside garden walls. All you need do is to scatter the seeds of Alpine and rock plants in the rotten mortar and crevices on the top of the wall as you pass, though I warn you that someone is almost sure to come along the road just when you are going to throw the seed up. You will then shrink guiltily from the perfectly innocent deed — and sow another time. I enjoy several colonies of wall plants in this way, at other people's ex- pense. But, of course, there are failures. I had a lovely Cheddar Pink and several Wallflowers doing spendidly on a certain old lady's garden wall. She discovered them, had them destroyed, and the wall pointed. For- tunately, the man who did the work was a bad workman and used bad mortar. The Cheddar Pink had only been cut off" at the neck. Its roots had quested deep among the old bricks, and the stock actually sprouted and pushed aside the ill-set pointing mortar, with the result that it is alive and flourishing to this day. — Clarence Elliott, in Gardeners' Chronicle (English). L-J ti M The Surrouridings of a Small Country Home By Lawrence Irwell, New York ANY people who wish to have an attractive perfect gem of nature with every feature in harmony, country home, surrouniled by beautiful A great part of the charm of such a garden is in its grounds, are deterred from acquiring such a unexpectedness — the more the imagination is called place by the impression that to possess the surround- ings which they have in mind will involve a great amount of land as well as a large annual expenditure of either money or personal energy — or both. A great deal of land is not at all necessary ; a very pretty place can be made out of five acres — a place that will satisfy the desires of the average man who wants to see trees, shrubs and flowers all around his upon, the better will be the ei¥ect. Nature loves mys- tery, and it is by lending this effect that the charm of a garden can be enhanced. Part of the pleasure of a woodland walk is the unexpected opening up here and there of charming vistas and beautiful ])oints of view. So it should be in the home garden. When planning a small country home, consideration should first be given to the high and low points, and home. Of course, if one wants a perfectly appointed to massing of shadows. Large trees should be planted countr}- home, with woodland, formal garden, lawns, only on the outer edge of the property. Perhaps a tennis courts, a garage and similar appurtenances, at wiser plan would be not to plant large trees anywhere, least ten acres of ground are required. But the aver- Even this precaution is not sufficient. No trees should age man does not want and cannot afford so large a be planted which in time will grow so large that they place. will dwarf the surrounding landscape. If these pre- A country home with a frontage of one hundred and cautions are neglected, in a few years the grounds are fifty feet and about three hundred feet deep can be so likely to resemble a wilderness, and they may look laid out as to be perfectly satisfactory to most men worse than a wilderness, because nature seldom per- and women whose desires are limited to having at- ""** overplanting. By some form of survival of the tractive grounds and views around them. A home of ^^"7^' "'^^ destroys whatever is undesirable. ^, .,•,,,,.,, , , , . , . ihe most suitable trees for a small property are this kind should be looked at from the artists pent English elms, lindens and willows. When deciding: of view. Everything in the perspective must fit in „po„ trees and shrubs, the question of harmony must as to color, distance and other features, very much as they do in a picture of a landscape. A small piece of ground must have jilenty of open spaces or the beauty will be lost. There are a number of ways of laying out such a jjiece of ground so as to make it a never be overlooked. Deciduous trees and evergreens- do not always harmonize. If, therefore, both are used,, they should be grouped separately. Birches, maples,, and the Kentucky coffee tree are suitable for small estates. As the years to come must be considered,, trees should be planted fifty feet a])art. As has been A Secluded Garden Spot Tnuisfoniied From City Lots Through the Tasteful Grouping of Trees and Shrubhcrw 277 278 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA said, trees should be placed around the border of the grounds, and inside tliem should come the shrubbery. Care should be taken not to make the shrubbery too close to the trees. Beds ought to be made for the shrubs, and around them should be placed the flower- ing plants. Among the shrubs which are most suit- able for a small place are the following: Privets, not the ordinary, but the Japanese varieties ; forsythia ; bush honeysuckles ; mock oranges ; snowballs, and some of the small species of dogwood. Success in keeping a country place looking well lies in the attention and care bestowed upon it. A great deal of time need not be devoted to a garden of mod- erate proportions, but it must receive the right kind of care. An hour and a half six times every week should be suf¥icient for a place of the size mentioned at the beginning of this article — five acres. If pos- sible, a small hot-house should be erected in some out- of-the-way part of the grounds for the purpose of starting such jjlants as pansies and other flowers that need not be raised from seeds. Such a hot-house can be small and cjuite inexpensive. Most people like to grow a few vegetables, and a hot-house is a decided advantage in starting many vegetables. In Great Britain, France and Germany almost all people have an innate love of plants and gardening, without which it is impossible to obtain very good re- sults, for if attending to one's garden is not a pleasure, it becomes a task. Any one who contemplates hav- ing a garden, or cultivating a few acres of ground around his home should first make sure that his desire is not merely a passing fancy, but is a true wish pro- duced by a love for nature's vegetable world, the word "vegetable" being used in its widest sense. Further, it is well to remember that no matter what you want while — on this planet, you cannot get anything worth having for n(irt, R. ].; (histave Amrliyn, New Haven, Conn.; P. W. Popp, .Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Anton Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; William Kleinlieinz, Ogontz, Pa.; Artluir .Jackson, Grosse Point, Mich.; fj. P. .lensen, St. Louis. Mo.; Arthur Criffin, Wilmington, Del.; Pliili]) I'xiviiigton, T..ouisville, Ky.; Robert Weeks. Clevelanil, Ohio; Carl U. Folin, Cdlorado Sjninns, Colo.; Theodore Wirth, Minne- apoli.s, Minn.; \A'illiam lli'rtriik, San Gabriel, Cal. The Local Auka.xoement Committee. Axel .Johnson, A. J. .Smith, Fred Sparks, W. P. Jjongland. R. J. Sain[ison, Jjake Geneva; William Fislier, George Wilson, I). >lc- Naugliton, Ralph (Jausen, I^ake Ji'orest; J. H. Francis, Lake lUulf; 11. B. Dorner, Urbana; P. J. Foley and .T. C. Van.ghan, Chicago. MEMBERSHIP ROSTER READY. The Mcndicrship Roster, onb'red issued by the 1910 convention, is now ready for distribution. It contains a complete record of tlie nieuibership of the association. Members desiring to secure a copy can do so by addressing the secretary. THE WAY OF THE GARDENER. .\ subject of perennial interest to the gardeners is that of liiidiug a suitable and good situation. One of the most in- teresting things in the gardening papers is to read the advertise- ments of situations wanted and vocation. Recently I noticed, even in an .\iiu'ric;ni newspaper, those despicable words "without iuciiiubrances," meaning of course no family. Of all the un- warranted demands upon a married couple by any one wishing a gardener, this is surely the very worst. One can understand, of course, the desire not to have a large number of children romping wildly, as chihlrcu will, in and around a private residence, but gardeners' children are usually well enough brought up to make this an unlikely event. In any case, it is placing an unwarranted restriction upon the fundamental liberties of man. Passing from this, there is noticed in the home papers certain characteristics or traits that apply regularly to certain nationali- ties of gardeners, mainly to Scotch, Swedes and Germans, who in advertising for a situation lay stress on the fact of the country wdiere they received their early training. This speaks well for their belief in the merits of that training. Not a few Americans, English, and other nationalities mention the fact, too. In the (Jld Country it used to get down to naming the religious de- nimiination that one belonged to, especially if one was a member iif tlic State or Episcopal church. Sometimes the fact that one was a good singer, and could take a place in the village choir was regarded as an added testimonial, while to be a good bowler or batsman at cricket was still another strong point. The National Association of Gardeners ought to set its face as sternly as possible against all such advertiseuuMits as demand the "no incumbrances" and also against those where the person advertisin.ff for a gardener also would appear to wish the services of the gardener's wife as well, at a very little additional recom- jicnse. To ask the gardener's wife to do tlie washing, and some- times to serve in the house in smaller places, is to bring tlie gardening profession down to about as low as it can be brought. The whole tendency nowadaj's with us is upward, and since the degi'ee of Bachelor of Science in Horticulture has been adopted in that great seminary of learning — the London University — and since the diploma in horticulture has been adopted and established by tlie Royal Horticultural Society, it is surely time that we, in advanced .Anu'rica, should take a similar stand and aim. Manv situations are filled, as we know, bj' seed houses and nursery firms, who mean very well, I have no doubt, and who many a time help a lame dog over a stile, in other words, tide him over a ditt'cult period when funds are low, and he may be out of a situation. But in their desire to get a man a job when he is down, and to keep on the good side, as they believe, with the employer, is it not a fact that these agencies are oftentimes inclined to pass a man into a jiosition at a far less salary tlian his talents and the demand upon Iiim deserve? Only the other day someone remarked to me that briglit and beautiful as gar- dening is, it was a miserably paid profession, and, of course, he was right, speaking generally. It has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. We recognize the latter, but we keep the other too much in the background. There are a few, a very few, taken in the bulk, wdio have really good ]iositions, and only a mere handful who have first class positions where a salary of i(;2,,')00 to ifli.OtlO a year is paid. .And such men, mark you, have numcvous responsibilities, often entailing tlie care of valuable animals, live stock, farm and garden cnijis, buildings, and the welfare and direction of men, the handling of large sums of money and so on. One who, as the writer, has seen the results of this poor ])ay given to gardeners, can speak with some authority on this matter. I have seen the very ilower of gardeners pass out of the ranks into better paid allied professions and business. In the (!)ld Country mauj- of these men got posts under the British Colonial Government, where the remuneratinu was fairly temjitiiig, but even these very (juickly passed into the ranks of trading com- panies, either in the coffee growing, tea, rnliber or other busi- nesses, and were lost both to gardening and to the government that had first of all trained them. Others have left the profes- sional ranks entirely and taken up business occupations. — I'rdcticiil (lanlriirr. AMONG THE GARDENERS. George F. Stewart, for many years ]iast liead gardener on the Lawrence Kslate, Medford, Mass.. recently resigned that position to take charge of tlie Artliur T. Lyman Estate, Waltliam, Mass. The many friends of Sidney G. Conner, (ireystone, Vonkers, N. Y., will be sorry to learn of his bereavement in the death of his wife on .Tune 19. William Vert has resigned his position as head gardener at Castle (^ould, Port Washington. N. Y., and has accepted a similar position on the C. V. Brokaw Estate, The Elms, Glen Cove, N. Y. .Tames Bond, formerly superintendent of the Brooks Estate, Newport. R. I., succeeds William Vert at Castle Gould, Port Washington, N. Y. 284 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA It contains valuable information I ^end)&|| fJOW, when the fate of na- tions depends on food, it is vital that the yield of the earth be a maximum. Be sure that the seeds you use are the best possible. THE AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. An Kxociitivc Cniiiiiiiltcc iiu'cthin' of the Anicrifiin liosc Sut-iety was lifld at tlie L'ity Chill, Pliilaclelpliia, at 1 o'clock on Wnlnesilay, June 27. A revision of the constitution and by-laws, so as to allow for clianges in member.slii|) fees, was dis- cussed, and it was voted that the secretary slionld send ont notices of the contemplated changes to all active nienilicrs that a vote might he secured, as ])rovided for in the constitution and by-laws, before the meet- ing in Cleveland ne.xt fall. It was resolved "That the present rules for affiliated societies be revised to make aliiliation dues one dollar a year for each membei' of the society, provided that pa> • ment of such dues be made to the Ameri- can Rose Society before February 1 of eacli year, so tliat ju'ovision might be made for the required number of annuals." A report of the Washington Rose Test Garden was sulimitted for the committee by Mr. Robert Pyle. It was voted that a financial statement regarding the society's exhibition held in Ihiladclphia Marcli 20 to 24, inclusive, be jireparcd by President Hammond and sent to all guarantors, Mr. Farenwald [irescnted the jilans of the Xatioual Flower Show Committee and asked that the American Rose Society prepare a |ireliniinary schedule of premiums for the coming e.xliibition. Messrs. Farenwald. IVnnock and Fancourt were appointed on this committee. The National Rose Test Garden at Cor- nell University is now in the height of ]icr- tioii, being several weeks later than in previous years. An outdoor meeting of the Plant Industry Conference was held in the garden on Thursday afternoon, July 5. .■\b(uit forty members of the campus com- munity were present, and the outing was most enjoyable. Professor E. A. White welcomed the members of the Conference to the gardens and spoke of the aims and purposes of the American Rose Societj' in fostering the test garden work. He was followed by Pro- fessor A. C. Real, who spoke on the value of dill'erent species and varieties of roses and described tlieir location in the garden plan. After a bountiful ]ucnic supper the party inspected the rose lieds and made careful observations of varieties. TARRYTOWN (N. Y.) FLOWER SHCW. Tlie Tarrvtown Horticultural Society held its annual summer show on June 22 at the Y. M. C. A. The show was an at- tractive one, although ])erlia])s not quite up to the June exhibits of former years, owing to the backward spring. Coniiuenting on the fact that many so- cieties are abandoning their shows this year, E. W. Neubrand, secretary of the so- ciety, said that this questicui had been thoroughly discussed and the decision was linally made to liold the show. It was Mr. Nenbrand's opinion that this country never had more need of flowers than now, and that, as time goes on, wc will have more and more need for the things that encour- age and inspire. Stock will be grown any- way: therefore, why not exhibit it, is Mr. i Neubrand's point of view. The principal |nizewinncr was David Luke, of Tarrytown (John Elliott, gar- dener), who carried off seven firsts; next came Mrs, J, Trevor, of Yonkers (Howard Xichols, gardener), with five firsts, Henry Seidenlierg of Hastings (James Currie, gar- d<'ncr), won four first awards. It is always of interest to note prize winning varieties and among the line sweet peas were Jessie Cutberson, variegated Burpee's ' Seeds BURPEE'S SEEDS are grown not only to sell but to grow again. The (act that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to he our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseof Burpee continues to grow just as surely as Burpee's Seeds Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A postcard will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Burpee Buildings Philadelphia THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 285 crimson and wliiti'; Jlrs. Collier, crram white; Martlui Washington; Florenco Nightingale, a charming lavender; Doris Usher, salmon pink; Kosalndle, a deep rose; Mrs. Culberson, a rose pink; Caidain of the Blues, a deep purple-bliie; Searlot Emperor, a rolnist scarlet; Prince George, a pink; Moneymaker, white; American Spcneer, variegated cardinal and white; Clara Cui'tis, a soft cream; Agricola, a deli- cate pink; R. F. Felton, a light lavender:^ W'edgewood, a charming light blue; Chas. Foster, salmon heliotrope; Thos. Stevenson, a bold vermilion: ;\lrs. Routzalui. rich buil', suffused with delicate ])ink; l!i)l>ert Syden- ham, salmon, and King Jlanuel, maroon. Alice F. Neubrand won tVe prize for (lie best bouquet of wild llowers, npci ly t" school cliildren under 14. Stuyvesant Fish, (jarrison, X. \. (Ccorge \\'ood. gardener), was awararrl^n stagiMl a very line group of llowering plants. The ])rin- cipal prize winners in tlie cut Mower section were Jlrs. F. A. Constable, gardener .Tames Stuart; F. S. Wheeler, gardener .lohn Orr; Mrs. W. J. Nichols, gardener doseph Riley; Mrs. A. A. Anderson, gardener R(diert Wil- liamson; Mrs. Henry Darlingtcm, gardener P. W. Popp; Mrs. G. D. P.arroii, gardener .James Lenane; Robert Mallory, gardener Wm. Smith; J. H. Flagler, gardener Wm. Whitton; Mrs. L. C. Bruce, gardener .T'ohn Oak Brand Shrubs Berberris from ings. V\y- rangea, Spi rea, Otfier * shrubs. Allslrons rooted. Seod for Price List. THE CONARD & JONES CO.. West Grove. Box C. Pa A Dozen Prominent Skinner System Users J. P. Morgan, Glen Cove, N. Y. John Wciiiamaker, Wyncote, Pci. James B. Duke, Somerville, N. T. Alfred I. Du Pont. " Wilmington, Del. Arthur Brisbane, Allaire, N. T. T. A. Ilavemeyer, Brookville, L, I, Samuel Untermeytr. Vonkers, N. \ . C. Oliver Iselin, Glen Cove, N. V. Herbert Pratt, Glen Cove, N. Y, J. D, Forgan, Chicago, 111. Carroll L. Post. Battle Creek, Mich. Thomas F. Rvan, Oak Ridge, Va. One of the Skinner System sprinkling lines In garden of Alfred I. Du Pont, Wilmington, Del. The Skinner System of Irrigation for "Dry Years" and "Wet Years" IT liill.s tilt; ■■(iry-ycar" ImyaTi.Mt. Biit Uiat isn't all it do.'s. Evni ill Hk' "wet years"' it protects aiul radically increases iTDps No tii;'.tti'r liow "wet" ;i yi-ar in.iy ";t\rr;iy up," tliere an' t;tiieia)ly several periods of WMks at a time iJiirintj the groHlng sea son when Httle or no rain falls. Tlie raius that fell earlier in Wv year, or the rains that will fall later in the year, won't help your erops (luring those dry weeks. The Skinner System will help them It will enahk' you to give them "rain" systematically wheneM i they nted It. Send .$!.'>. 7.''» for a .'iO ft. line. Waters 2.500 square feet, is ft. liirlimis rail he adiK'd at %r,AQ each. The Irrigation Co. 229 WATER ST. Oystem OP- 1 RR lOATIOh TROY, OHIO. American-Grown Trees and Evergreens Our ability to supply plants of the highest quality is not curtailed by the stoppage of foreign shipments. Buy nursery stock grown at Andorra. Andorra Nurseries Wm. Warner Harper, Prop. " Suggestions Planting" on for Effective request Box 110. Chestnut Hill Phila.,Penna. ORCHIDS We are Specialists in Orchids, \vr collect, jiniw. import, t-xpurt and sell orciiiils ex- clusivoly. If you are in the market for Orchids We solicit your inquiries anil onlers. Cata- logues and sple carried oft' most of the blue ribbons. In the table decorations Mrs. F. A. Con- stable was first, Mrs. G. D. ISarron second. and Mrs. Jlallory third. The .judges were Wm. Scott, IClnisford ; Mr. Cook. Elnisford, and Mr. licckctt, I'ort- chester. John Orr, Rye, was mana,^er and I lie s\ic- cess of the sliow is due to him and liis committee. ALEX. CLAKKSON. GROSSE POINTE HORT. SOCIETY. At the meeting held by the Grosse Pointe and Eastern Michi,gan Horticultural So- ciety on Wcdnesda.v evening, dune li, the following oH'cers were elected fur the en- suing year: President, Thomas Connor. Vice-president, .lohn Bain. Treasurer. Artluir JacUson. Secretary, John .1'. de Carteret. Meetings are held at Neighborhood Club, Oak street, Grosse Pointe Farms, on lirst Wednesdav of each montli. JOHN J. DE CARTERET, Secretarv. OYSTER BAY HORT. SOCIETY. The regular meeting of the O.vster Bay Horticultural Society was held in Fire- men's Hall June 27. Vice-])resident Frank Gale occupied the chair. ^^'e heard, with regret, that our president was on the sick list, but expect he will be on deck again in a short tiuu'. It being Rose Night and a smoker held in- connection with it there was a large number of members present, and the fumi- gating was well done. The exhibits were excellent, especially the collection of IS varieties of sweet peas from Jas. Duckliam, superintendent to E. F. Whitne.v; also. Cedar Hill Nurseries showed some very fine Delphiniums, Campanulas and Philadelphus Virginale, the latter a new variety, by far the best of the Phila- delphus family' that I have seen, it being literally covered with full centered white flowers. The following gentlemen were selected to judge tlie cxhiliits: Messrs. J. Everett, Thos. Turgg and Cliarles Bigger. Their decisions were as follows: Best collection hybrid perpetual roses, 6 varieties, fi of each, A. Walker was awarded the blue ribbon. Best collection hybrid perpetual roses, 3 varieties, 6 of each, John Sorosick was first. Best collection hybrid perpetual roses, 6 white, James Duckham, lirst; Michael O'Neill, second. Best hybrid |)erpetual, 0 jiink, John Soro- sick, first; M. O'Neill, second. Best 6 hybrid perpetual roses, any other color, M. O'Neill, first; John Sorosick, second. Best 6 hybrid tea Pink, Jas. Duckham, first. Best 0 iiybrid tea Yiiii;[i!i[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMii[:ii i%pSWM^Jk,S»m,fMJ^^ mm>!mi>immmmssms. Plant Moon's Evergreens in August and September At Moon's you will find a big assortment and wide range of '■ fi sizes. Come and see them. The illustration shows plants supplied by us to an estate in Sewickley, Pa., Alexandjipii Davidson, Gardener. Our free catalogue^A-S listst^iem foryorf. (( rite for it THE H. MOON COMPANY Nurserymen lORRJSVILLE •ems^mmsBmsmmsmsmiasim PEHnSVLVASIA^ MARSHALL'S FALL BULB CATALOGUE If you contemplate buying semi-es- tablished, established or imported Orchids, consult us first. We carry in stock about 25,000 plants and from April to July we receive large consignments of im- ported Orchids. We specialize in supplying the pri- vate trade. Let us figure on your requirements — our quality is second to none. Orchid Peat, Live Sphagnum Moss, Baskets, Pot Hangers, always on hand. Send for our price list. j G. E. Baldwin ^ Company | I Orchid Collectors, Growers and Importers | I Mama-roneck Box 98 New York | fiiiiiiii]iiiiiiniiiiii[[>tNiiiiiiii!tiiiii[iuiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitfiiiiiiiNiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiitiiiiiiiiiiini^ Contains a full list of our Matchless Bulbs. Strawberry Plants and Fall Flower Seeds. If you have not received a copy a post- al will bring it by return mail. W. E. MARSHALL & CO., Inc. Seeds, Plants and Bulbs 166 West 23rd St. New York mjmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmimmmkx BODDINGTON'S MIDSUMMER CATALOGUE Ready Now Lists all that is best in Strawberry Plants, In- secticides, Fertilizers and Seasonable Seeds and Bulbs. Send for your copy. incorporatsii 128 Chambers Street NEW YORK CITY if/S\if/S\ff/i\f/t\?^if/i\if/i\if/t\if/i\if/i\if^if/i\if/S\if/i\ii/i\iF/i\if/i\f^ir;ife THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 295 Nllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ She CantentB— August, X9X7 | Page Page | Our Flag 296 The Culture of Mignonette .... 308 | Things and Thoughts of the Garden . . The Name 'Tormal Garden" ... | Onlooker 297 George DiUhtone 309 | Seed Sowing Suggestions . Wm. N. Craig 299 Delphiniums . . .. . . .310 | Alpines in Dry Weather . . S. Arnoil 301 Ants in Gardens 310 | Natural Winter Storage of Vegetables in the A Flower Show in India . . . .311 | Home 302 New Roses at Bagatelle 311 Notes on Mulching 311 Lombardy Poplars 312 Lily of the Valley 312 Park Superintendents' Convention Program . 313 The Greenhouse Month to Month . . American Association of Park Superintendents 3 1 4 TTie Makmg of a Tree Surgeon M. L. Davey 303 Fuchsias ^ . . 304 Norfolk Island Pine 304 Philippe de Vilmori 305 Wm. Fowkes 306 National Association of Gardeners . . . 316 I Work for the Month of September . . ^ I John Johnson 307 Local Society Notes 317 | I Old Seed and New 308 Duration of Leaves 319 | I "My Garden . . . Annie Simmons 308 Raising Winter-Flowering Begonias . .319 | f, iiiiiiiimniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiimiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiitrniNiiiiiiiiiiHiniiiniiimiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii^ STUMPP & WALTER CO/S MID-SUMMER CATALOG Complete list of Best Varieties of Strawberry Plants Celery, Cauliflower and Cabbage Also Complete list of Perennial Flower Seeds Selected Strains of Pansies Best Grades of Rubber Hose, Lawn Sprinklers and Requisites Insecticides, Sprayers and other seasonable needs // ive do not have the pleasure of having your name on our list, please write, askmg for catalog. 30-32 Barclay St. NEW YORK CITY e/M^ 0um^i£i> ^IIIIIIIIIIIIWUIIIIIIINIIIIIMIII Illlllllllll.l IIINIIIIIIIIIInillllUIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIII.IIIMIII.HIII IIIIH II 111111111 Illllll Illl Ill IIIUIIIII Illl Illllll II IttllllllllU nHIIIIIIU nil Illllllll. I II I IIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIliF iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Oh, flag of a resolute nation, Oh, flag of the strong and the free. The cherished of true-hearted millions, We hallow thy colors three. Three proud floating emblems of glory. Our guide for the coming time : The red, white, and blue in their beauty. Love gives them a meaning sublime. Thy red is the deep crimson life stream Which flowed on the battle plain. Redeeming our land from oppression, And leaving no servile stain. Thy white is a proud people's honor, Kept spotless and clear as light ; A pledge of unfaltering justice, A symbol of truth and right. Thy blue is our nation's endurance. And points to the blue above ; The limitless, measureless azur-e, A type of our Father's love. Thy stars are God's witness of blessing. And smile at the foeman's frown : They sparkle and gleam in their splendor. Bright gems in the great world's crown. — Montgomery. iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture ■ Vol. XXI. AUGUST, 1917 No. 8 ■ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^ Things and Thoughts of the Garden By the Onlooker ONE never gets tired of seeing that stately and graccly foliage plant, Canna gigantea, also known as Canna latifolia. It is easily the largest of the Canna family, hence its name. Some amateurs might even regard it as a Banana, which it resembles in the breadth and size of its foliage. As a Summer bedding plant for a border next to a dwell- ing, where it is most frequently seen, it is well adapted. One good feature about the Cannas, this one and the others, is that once we have them we al- ways have them — given reasonable care in the storing. * * * * In speaking of Cannas, it is permissible to dwell for a second on the marvellous advancement that has occured in these plants. Formerly they had compara- tively poor floral trusses compared with the amount of leaves they carry, and many of these glumaceous old-timers still hang around. They are what one too often sees in the garden of the conservative suburban- ite. "The modern race of dwarf and 'Crazy-flower- ing' Cannas," as Gray tells us, "is mostly sprung from Canna Eheinanni crossed with C. Warscewiczii or with Ehemanni and glauca. The latter cross gave the yellow varieties ; the other cross the red ones. Such varieties as Firebird, King Humbert, are superb and gorgeous, truly placed among the finest of all decora- tive plants, and so healthy and generous in their growth, they will repay whatever trouble is taken to get and keep them happy. * * * * In the last issue of The Chronicle T wrote in favor of a bit more study of our native wild flowers. Since then I appear, on taking stock of my outings, to have traveled considerably, and have botanized up the Delaware River in Pennsylvania ; well up the Hudson in New York State, down in Long Island ; around Princeton University in New Jersey and have viewed collections of wild flowers on exhibition at Boston. The most remarkable flower of the moment is the Swamp Lily, Lilium superbum. This wonderful wilding is still found in the big bustling city of Brooklyn, N. Y., and one Sunday morning lately, be- fore many of the church people were up, I went out to the nearby swamps and cut several spikes from a goodly colony there, one spike having upward of twenty flowers. In the same armful I brought home the bonnie blue chicory, whose flowers open in the morning and in cloudy weather only. The latter is a European plant that has made its home widely over our Eastern States. It is found on dry road sides and on open sunny slopes, often where the ground gets frequently trodden. It grows luxuriously on some of the islands in Boston harbor, just as it flourishes along the coast of Norfolk and Suffolk in England. Alas, it is no good as a cut-flov\'er. In two to two and a half hours the color of the blooms changes to a pinky grey and then brown. * * * * The Chicory, so beautiful as a wild flower or as a hardy border plant for the garden, is, of course, what is used with coffee, as an adulterant or substitute. The root is ground up. The young shoots too, are blanched and used as a salad. So are the le^ives of its brother, the Endive. Both are Chicoriums. Another wild plant that finds a place among culinary subjects is the Purslane, which however, is regarded merely as a weed with us. It has but little beauty of flower. It is mentioned here to associate it with a much more brilliant member of the same genus, Portulaca grandi flora of gardens. The Purslane is Portulaca oleracea. Two other "vegetables" that have run wild over thou- sands of acres, indeed everywhere in the East, are the Carrot and Parsnip. The yellow, strongly branching umbeds of the latter, on plants 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, is found on waste land, and the Carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) is found by roadside and meadows. * * * * Spiraea tomentosa is another of the most handsome of our native N. American plants. Its pink terminal spikes are beautiful in the dampish woods of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, rising 4 ft. high. It was at its finest in the early days of this month. Similarly, the long arching white spikes of Cimicifviga racemosa are very graceful, and this plant also is found in the half shady woods, and may grow 6 ft. or more high. In the marshes the Mallows convert their dismal swamps into glorious gardens of color throughout August. Truly, among our wildings of Summer are many unsurpassed gems. Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis) and Pleurisy Root (Asclepias tuberosa) are dwarf but still brilliant and charming. Two colonies of the former which I transferred from the road side to one of my flower borders have been as effective as anything else in the collection. Everv plant has come double — evidently the direct result of good soil and cultivation. * * * * Some remarks were made in this section of The Chronicle for July, on the general paucity of our knowledge of the medical uses of many of the plants 297 298 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA we grow. Lately, I came upon a helpful little book discussing this subject. It is "The Sick Man's Friend," by a Dr. Sanborn, and was published at Taunton, Mass., in 1836. In not a few instances the exact dosage to take and how to prepare the medicine is stated; but while this is of academic interest to those of us who study plants, Slippery Elm and Sarsaparilla with other patent medicines are more easily purchased than we'd prepare them even with the simple directions we find in "The Sick Man"s Friend." * * * What a superabundance of common or colloquial names of plants there are! Many are confusing as when we find Day Lily used both for the Hemerocallis (which well deserves the name) and the Funkia. Among more peculiar and lesser known unscientific names are the following, and I wonder how many Chronicli-: readers can verify the subjects botanically? For example : Adam and Eve, Air Potato, Beefsteak Geranium (which is a Begonia, to save your time) ; Featherfoil, Frostweed, Corpse Plant, Dancing Girls, Flower-of-an-hour, Day Flower, False Mermaid, Her- bia Impia, and Walking Leaf. What with knowing the correct botanical names of plants, their many com- mon names and the meaning of all these names ; what with the classification, cultivation, propagation, and uses of our floral friends, the intelligent gardener has a busy time. It would not be half so bad if we had only the species or natural plants to deal with, as the botanists themselves have, but we have to bother our heads with scores of hybrids and garden varieties and their individual needs, characters and peculiarities. It is just because of the demands upon his time that the study of varieties demand, whether of fruit, vegeta- bles, trees, shrubs, roses, orchids, ferns or any of the numerous popular indoor plants, that our best grow- ers are the ones generally least acquainted with these other aspects of the whole study, such as we have men- tioned. No man can be a slacker and keep in touch with all phases of gardening and plant lore. By no means. ^ T* 'n 'P How enjoyable it is to have fresh pulled Corn cobs, sweet and soft, in place of the tasteless and tough stufif one gets at restaurants or where bought, as a rule. For some time we have been enjoying Golden Bantam. Even a medium sized cob has, I find, 300 seeds. What must some of the very large ones have ? And what a problem we set in motion were we to ask how many seeds one cob would yield in three or five years if allowed to increase by the cultivating hand of man, each seed to be sown next year and produc- ing a plant. There should be upward of three hun- dred plants, each producing another 600 seeds each, or a total of 180,000 by midsummer, 1918. How many lbs. does that represent, and how many acres in plants would it cover? The Maize is one of the most prolific seeders, and one of the most remarkable of our culti- vated plants, growing anywhere, always a success, hardly ever known to have a disease, and but rarely and not badly, troubled with insects. On what one would consider the poorest of waste land crops of Corn are now being harvested, thanks, largely, to the magnificent growing weather of the early Summer. The stems of the Corn, when cut and dried, are good protective material. The woody portions are also usable as fuel. One point in connection with the grow- ing of Corn deserves notice ; namely, that the ])lants should be grown in double rows together, if possible, and not singly, as the silk tassels are wind pollenated. and unless the pollen falls equally on both or all sides the cobs may "set" and develop irregularly. From the point of view of poUenation and fertilization the Corn is also noteworthy. Each strand in the silk tassel leads to an ovule and through it the pollen tube must travel quite a long distance. The staminate inflores- cence, of course, terminates the growth of the plant. Altogether, King Corn is a wonderful and interesting fellow. There is a prejudice against yellow fleshed vegeta- bles. Take Tomatoes. Take Potatoes. Take Beets. Turnips and Carrots we must accept, and there are few sweeter vegetables, as a diet, than Swede Tur- nips (Rutabagas). I had the pleasure recently and it was a real pleasure, of tasting, for the first time in my life, a yellow-fleshed Beetroot. It was soft, melt- ing, richly flavored and altogether good and tempting. Henceforth I will have no further prejudice against yellow Beets. Why are long rooted Beets not grown? Talking of prejudice while we here like Lima Beans and use them so liberally, the French don't eat them. I have heard that there is a Government edict against them, as they are regarded there as poisonous ! The French are great eaters of salads. They favor yellow fleshed Potatoes. Previously in this department I have spoken in words of warmest praise of Black Currants. Again I must do so. The bushes are clean, thrifty, hardy, never miss a crop, bear heavily, take up little space, and the fruit, mixed with Rhubarb, makes a splendid jam or jelly which is just sharp and tasty enough to be highly desirable in this conserved state. This same conserve, with hot water, makes a capital drink in the Winter to ward off a cold or help remove one. A good feature about the crop is that the berries will remain fresh, even if fully ripe, on the bushes for a period of two or three weeks ; thus, even if one is away on a vacation the crop need not be lost. As the bushes love some shade, they can be planted close to the fence of suburban lots and gardens and in that way fill in space profitably that might otherwise be lost. * * * * The reference to the dwarf fruits in the preceding paragraph recalls the fact that one reason given by owners of very small gardens, such as many amateurs have, against the planting of fruit trees is that they shade the garden and take too much from the soil. When one looks around, however, and sees Viburnums and Lilacs, Catalpas and a host of other shrubs like these, one wonders whether the owners have ever thought that they could still have beauty of blossom in Spring with something to follow in the shape of a crop of fruit in the Fall, by planting Apples, Peaches, Pears, Cherries or Plums. Not that I am in favor of having these to the exclusion of ornamentals, there is space in most gardens for both, but I challenge any reader of The G.vrdener's Chronicle to prove that our suburban gardens have one-half of the quantity of fruit trees they might jirofitably and successfulh- have. Personally, I don't think they have a sixth part of the fruit, tall and dwarf, that they ought to have. Our nurserymen have a big field to cultivate here and a voluminous trade to win. A neighbor near me who has a big Peach tree wants to cut it down in order to get a few more Corn plants and Tomatoes from the space it at present occupies, as if all the Tomatoes and the Corn he might get would be compensation for the crop he gets every alternate year from his Peach, or the beauty and grateful shade it afi^ords for him and his family. His is a small gartlen, but he has (CiniliiiiirJ oil page 309.) Seed Sowing Suggestions By William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass. 1'" the various methods of propagation in common should remember these things, place their seed orders early and be patient pending deliveries. We now produce in America an immense quantity of both flower and vegetable seeds, and could no doubt profitably raise many more, but not all that we need. The countries of the world will continue to be more or less inter-dependent on each other for seeds as for many other necessary commodities. Certain favorable soil and climatic conditions are necessary for the successful production of all seeds, and even w-e with our big coun- try and much diversified climate cannot secure all of these vital requirements. The annual v^^astage in purchased seeds is tremendous ; particularly is this the case with the large and increasing army of amateur cultivators, who derive much pleasure while making their seed selections during the winter II usage, which include layering, grafting, bud ding, leaf cuttings, shoot cuttings, roots and seeds, the last named is many times more important horticulturally as well as agriculturall\ than all others combined. There may be less skill necessary in the pro- duction of plants from seeds than other methods named, which are in many cases necessary for the keeping of true stocks, and in some instances seed propagation would be undesirable, but broadly speaking both horti- culture and agriculture depend overwhelmingly for their existence on seeds. This be it noted is Nature's plan in forest and field the world over, in tropical, temperate and arctic climes. It is far the most natural method whereby the majority of plants reproduce themselves, not always absolutely true to type, as this depends on insect agencies and foreign pollen which affect their fertilization. If, however, all plants naturally repro- duced themselves true from seeds the wonderful varia- tions we have in plants, flowers and other forms of plant life could not have been obtained by cross breeding, and artificial fertilization and improvements made would necessarily have been very much slower. A seed is liotanically a ripened ovule; it contains what is called an embryo or miniature plant, with leaves, a bud, and a descending axis : it is in brief a little dormant plant. What are in a broad sense termed seeds are in many cases fruits ; some of these contain more than one seed or growing points, as in the case of such plants as beets, mangel wurzel, seakale and lettuce. Nuts in variety, acorns, etc., are really fruits: so are some of the cereals, and seeds of raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and other fruits. Many winged seeds flying from such trees as elms, maples and lindens are fruits containing a single seed. The wind carries many of these long distances, and thus disseminates them more w^idely ; birds and ani- mals assist in the wider distribution of nuts, acorns and numerous seeds. It would be easily possible to speak for an entire after- noon on the fascinating subjects of seed distribution throughout the world : sources of seed supplies, and quantities and values of seeds produced ; but it is my purpose rather to discuss the somewhat more limited, but more practical side of seeding sowing itself. This may seem to many to be a very simple task, but owing to the fact that many seeds require quite long periods for germination, that many are almost infinitesimal in size and need very carefuly sowing, and that there are peculiarities in not a few varieties which demand special treatment for them, the field of seed sowin':;- is less nar- row than manv might imagine. The great European war has seriously impaired the supply of manv seeds on which America has in the past depended ; particularly is this the case with flower seeds, but vegetables are likewise affected. Blockades prevent more than a fractional part of our average annual im- portations from arriving, embargoes by certain of the belligerent nations prevent the exportations of certain varieties, and as America is as yet unprepared to pro- duce seeds of as pure quality and moderate cost as many of those received from Europe, there are likelv to be acute shortages in certain varieties this season, while the seeds will probably be less rnire in qualitv and there will be more errors in nomenclature. Purchasers of seeds *A lecture delivered before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. months from the numerous attractive catalogues and who invariably start their gardening with considerable enthusiasm, which latter quality, alas, in too many cases becomes evanescent before the crops come to maturity. jMuch seed is annually lost by improper conditions of the soil at sowing time, by seeding far too thickly, and not infrequently sowing in drills in which chemical ferti- lizers have been scattered and not properly incorporated with the soil. Seedsmen are annually blamed for many "cro]) failures" which are traceable to seed sowing in drills too heavily fertilized, in which the chemicals have not been properly mixed with mother earth. Points of merit to be considered about good farm and garden seeds are : that they are able to produce vigorous or normal plants, that they are true to strain or name, and carry no impurities or adulterations. In the case of grass seeds adulterations are still too abundant, but conditions, thanks to government inspections, are steadily improving. Whether seeds have virility depends in great measure on the condition of the plants producing them, also on their age and the way they have been grown and stored. Certain seeds like melons, beets, carrots, rape, squash, turnip and cabbage have good germinating qualities for five or six years, in fact, 10-year-old seeds of some of these will grow, and I have in mind a case which came under my own personal notice 35 years ago, when I had occasion to sow seeds of a one-time favorite melon named Munro's Little Heath in a he it-bed; the seeds had been kept for over 18 years, yet they germi- nated well and the melons fruited satisfactorily. On the other hand sweet corn, millet, parsnip, wheat, onion, soy beans, peas and oats have lost their power of germina- tion in large measure in two or three years. Much of the success or failure in seed sowing depends on the proper preparation of the beds for all outdoor crops ; a really vigorous start is a long step towards a good crop. The correct preparation of the soil has for its main object a good seed bed, the increasing of root pasturage, and the amelioration of the soil chemically and physically. If seeds germinate freely it should be in close contact with a thoroughly pulverized and later firpily settled soil, lloth hand and horse tools are avail- able in plenty for pulverizing the soil. The drier it is at seeding time, the more necessary it is to firm well by rolling or some other method, in order to secure a good germination. There is an immense variety of seeds with widely vary- ing needs. I will speak briefly on the requirements of the various classes into which these are divided. There 299 300 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA is an old axiom which says that in order to have seeds germinate well they should be covered with twice their own diameter of soil. This is hardly correct. It is true that the majority of seeds might germinate well if treated thus, but in the case of outdoor crops much de- pends on the time of year seeds are sown. For instance ^taking vegetables first — garden peas when sown very early should not be covered more than I-Zyi inches, successional sowings should go an inch deeper, and late sowings, made from Alay 20 to June 15, from 4J/S to 5 inches deep. When the soil is very dry it materially hastens germination to run a watering can along the drills and dampen the seeds well; this is preferable to soaking the seeds over night. The latter plan, good in many ways, has some drawbacks. There is always danger of soaking rains rendering the soil unfit for seed sowing at the time the peas should go in. A point worth remembering about peas is, that they are the most nutritious of any vegetables; they extract a great deal of nourishment from the soil and for that reason they should, if possible, be given a piece of ground well manured for some crop like celery the year previously. If the fertilizing element is placed too near the seeds the plants do not root freely, hence the desirability of keep- ing it some distance away, incorporating it well with the soil, and thus make the roots more active. Peas are the most important pecuniarily of all garden vegetables, seed sales of them exceed that of the three next most important vegetables combined. Root crops such as carrots, beets, parsnips, salsify, turnips and scorzonera should be sown on land on which no fresh manure has been used, if clean roots are de- sired; ground well manured the previous year will suit them to a nicety. Carrots and turnips are easily sown too thickly ; this entails a lot of additional work at thin- ning time. For the later sowings be sure to firm the soil well if the ground is very dry. It is not unusual in a dry season for seeds of root crops to lie dormant for a number of weeks. If seeds of the various root crops are covered an average of one inch it will be found about right. Hot-beds or cold frames are invaluable for startmg many vegetable and flower seeds in; even a very small garden should contain one. It is best to excavate it to a depth of 12-18 inches, place warm manure mixed with leaves in this, watering it if at all dry, and then thor- oughly tramping it ; over this place 4 inches of soil con- sisting preferably of loam and very old, well-rotted and pulverized manure, use some leaf mold if soil is at all heavy, screen at least the upper half of the soil, draw shallow drills and in them sow seeds, very lightly cover, of earlv cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, tomato, egg plant, celery and pepper. It is well to remember that seeds sown in cold frames, or in flats or pans in a greenhouse, need much lighter covering than the same varieties of seeds sown outdoors. Do not sow vegetables or flower seeds broadcast in the frames, nor outdoors; if in drills it is possible to cultivate between them, also weed and thin thern ; for seeds of slow germination broadcasting is permissible, but it is a slovenly system for outdoor crops which make quick growth and will yield at best but half a crop. It is a system which can safely be commended to the lazy man who would be satisfied with a fraction of a crop. If birds or rodents trouble peas, beans, squash, sweet corn and other crops, roll the seeds in a mixture of coal tar and lime before sowing, one taste usually suffices for either feathered or furry foes. The coating of tar and lime will not afifect the germinating qualities of the seeds treated. Mice are sometimes very troublesome where lettuce, tomato, endive and other small vegetable seeds are started under glass ; traps and ceats are useful, but a little white arsenic mixed in toasted cornflakes which have been slightly moistened acts even more effectively. Success with onions is more certain if the same ground is used for them each year, and if it is thoroughly firmed before drills are drawn at all. In choosing a seed l;ed for cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and savoys be sure to select one which is free from club root, or better not sow at all ; this disease annually destroys many of the Brassicas and its presence shows an over acid condition of the soil, which a liberal dressing of lime in the fall will help to remedy. Always sow seeds of this class of vegetables thinly in the drills ; if not you must thin while small or plants will be pure weaklings. Re- member that leafy crops such an spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, endive and rhubarb should have a soil rich in nitrogen, the best form of which is good barnyard ma- nure, and that fruiting varieties such as tomatoes, egg plants and peppers like considerable potash in the soil. If you like sweet corn sow an early batch an inch deep about April 20. later sowings two inches deep, and as late as July 4 for an average season. No garden can be called complete without its patch of herbs ; sow any of these from May 1 to 15; cover such fine seeds as thyme and sweet marjoram very sparingly ; summer savory, dill, fennel, sweet basil, lavender, borage and other sorts can be covered one inch. I have only touched on some vegetables, but must now turn to flowers ; these on the whole need much more careful covering than vegetables. Of the better known and hardier annuals, quite a number are better started in a hot-bed or greenhouse ; this includes such popular subjects as asters, stocks, salpiglossis, salvias, zinnias, marigolds, nemesias, verbenas, petunias, vincas, lobelias, phlox drummondi, snapdragons and balsams. The ma- jority of these may also be started outdoors, but it is much more satisfactory to start under glass. Petunias and lobelias have very small seeds and should be sown in pans which should be well drained, some moss placed over the drainage, a little coarse soil over fhis, and the balance should consist of equal parts loam and leaf mold with a good dash of sand through it; this should be passed through a fine screen, then pressed firmly in the pans with a piece of board, watered with a watering pot with a fine rose, dusted with sand, and the fine seeds scattered over this. Take a pinch of seed between the forefinger and thumb and distribute it as evenly as pos- sible over the surface and do not cover the seed at all. To prevent seed washing to the side of the pans cut a piece of tissue paper and lay over the surface of the pans and water over this ; it helps to prevent drying of the soil and stops seed washing ; it decays and allows seed- lings to push through it readily. This plan is not neces- sary where experts are sowing and caring for seeds, but it will prove useful to amateurs sowing such small seeds as petunias, lobelias, begonias, gloxinias, mimulus, etc. Such well known annuals as bachelor's buttons, mig- nonette, candytuft, lupines, poppy, sweet alyssum and godetias can be sown as soon as frost has left the ground and it has dried sufficiently to be workable. Sweet peas cannot be sown too early after frost has gone ; the roots will go well down into the cool, moist earth before the growths appear : cover two inches deep, but never hill up, as too many catalogues and magazine writers recom- mend, or you will regret it. Sow that splendid aniutal hunnemannia or Mexican poppy about May 10, which is also a safe date to sow salpiglossis. one of our most beautiful annuals, and others which are more or less tender. Such annuals as scabious, brachycomes, gypsophila, sweet sultan, clarkia. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 301 portulacas, calendulas, coreopsis, statices, crysanthe- munis, larkspurs, dianthus, sunflowers, gaillardias, schiz- anthus, nemophila, love-in-a-mist, eschscholtzias and cosmos may be safely sown any time after April 15 in this latitude if the ground has become dry ; if not, it is safer to wait a couple of weeks. Such subjects as gyp- sophila elegans, larkspurs, shirley poppies, clarkias, schizanthus, candytuft and sweet alyssum should be sown two or three times to secure a succession of bloom, mak- ing the last sowing as near June 1 as possible. Hardy herbaceous perennials are wonderfully popular now. 1 well remember the fight waged by Mr. William Robinson through the columns of the English "Garden" to secure them suitable recognition in the early '80s of the last century. A great proportion of these hardy plants are easily and inexpensively raised from seed. Taking first those usually treated as biennials, but some of which are perennial, we have pansies, bedding violas, double daisies, rockets, forget-me-nots, Canterbury bells, foxgloves, hollyhocks and honesty ; of these, pansies, violas, forget-me-nots and daisies should be sown in a cold frame, or in a shaded position outdoors from July 25 to August 1. Foxgloves and Canterbury bells need sowing in May, and hollyhocks in early July. For any- one unable to succeed with the perennial hollyhocks I would commend the annual type ; these sown in April will flower well the same season, and rarely are aflfected by rust. Among the varieties of hardy perennials which come with ease from seeds are : delphiniums, aquilegias, cam- panulas, centaureas, shasta daisies, poppies, thalictrums, lupines, galegas, hibiscus, pentstemons, doronicums, eryngiums, asters and kniphofias ; any of these will start readily in cold frames in light soil in April and May or August, or if strong plants are wanted in the fall, sowing can be done in flats or pans in a greenhouse in January or February. Some perennials of slower germination are anemones, aconitums, dictamnus, trollius, some eupa- toriums, some primulas and liliums, which latter are bulbous, but are popular subjects in the hardy flower border. The varieties of slow germination are better sow'n in the fall when the seed is ripe and fresh ; it will do no harm to allow the soil to freeze over winter, but the flats or seed beds should be mulched with dry leaves, tight sashes being placed over these. Rock or alpine plants have become immensely popular the last two or three years and deservedly so ; this is one of the most fascinating types of gardening, and a large proportion of the plants adaptable for rock gardens can be raised from seed, while many germinate very readily. Others are quite slow, occasionally requiring one or even two years to start. Some of those which appear quickly above ground are alyssums, aubrietias, arabis, campan- ulas, dianthus, arenarias, violas, many sedums, many primulas, potentillas, tunicas, geums, leontopodiums, androsaces, myosotis, cheiranthus, linarias, veronicas and geraniums. Seed of rock plants can be sown in flats, or pans in a greenhouse, or in very shallow drills 6 inches apart in cold frames. I like to bake the soil for covering the seeds ; this kills out all weed seeds and fungoid growths ; it should be sifted over them through a fine screen. Seedlings if pricked out into other cold frames when of sufficient size and kept well watered can in the majority of cases be safely planted out in September, and if lightly mulched will winter perfectly, and bloom much better than the same stock placed out the following spring. {Concluded in the September issue.) Alpines in Dry Weather AAKJN'G the difficulties which puzzle the grower in the cultivation of alpine flowers is that of when and how to water his plants on his rockeries or walls. As Spring and Summer come round, and the soil becomes dry and parched, many flowers will show signs of distress, unless supplied with water. In Nature many of them are supported by the water which flows from the melting snows above, or have their roots snug between the rocks, where they are always moist and cool. On our rockeries the conditions are quite different, and the soil becomes parched and dry, with the result that the plants sufifer accordingly. Under such cir- cumstances, the grower has recourse to the hose or watering can, and in too many cases the last state of the plants is worse than the first. Not that one would forbid watering, which is often essential in prolonged periods of drought, but this watering must be applied with discretion, and not in the way so frequently done, which time after time leads to the remark: "My plants look far worse since I watered them than be- fore." If the alpines are planted so that the roots are shielded from strong sun by stones or gravel chips, they will suft'er much less than if there is bare earth about them. Such plants also will respond much more readily to a supply of water, as that is not licked up by the strong sunshine of the period. Mere driblets are harmful instead of helpful ; and an indiscriminate application by means of a hose pipe is very injurious to many subjects. A copious supply ought always to be given, and it is desirable to apply this to the roots without touching the foliage any more than can be helped. It must be obvious to anyone thinking over the matter that the blooms of many plants must be destroyed or reduced in beauty by watering over the whole plant. A shower of rain when alpines are in full beauty is detrimental to their ap- pearance if strong sun comes within a day or so. What must it not be with plants subjected to an artificial watering in brilliant and drying weather? With re- gard to this, however, one may add a qualification. This is that in continued dry periods a gentle spray- ing with a fine rose from a syringe, on a cool Summer evening after the sun has gone down, is often refresh- ing to the plants. It must, hovs'ever, be given in the form more of a dewing than a spraying — i.e., in such a way as almost to have the effect of a fine mist on the plants. Many subjects should have the watering applied to them individually, and in every case a thorough soak- ing, which will last for some days, ought to be applied. The maxim to water seldom and thoroughly is even more applicable to alpine flowers than to other plants. We cannot give them the precise conditions they en- joy at home in their native mountains, but we may, at all events, consider in the fullest way how best we can induce them to flourish under artificial conditions of climate and position. In nothing is this more neces- sary than in watering. — S. Arnott, Amateur Gardening (English). Natural Winter Storage of Vegetables in the Home IN order that householders may utilize spare time during the summer to put their cellars in shape for the winter storage of the surplus vegetables which will be grown on the home gardens that have been planted this year, or that they may make plans for other methods of natural storage, the United States Department of Agriculture has prepared the following discussion on the storing of vegetables. It is comparatively easy to keep such vegetables as potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, salsify, turnips, cab- bage, celery, onions, sweet potatoes, dry beans, and dry lima beans. Some of the crops may be stored in the cellar under the dwelling, in pits or banks, or in caves or outdoor cellars. Others can be kept in any dry place such as the pantry or attic. Many houses are heated by a furnace in the cellar. The pipes are as a rule carried under the joist, thus warming the cellar to some extent. For this reason it is best to partition of¥ a room in one corner of the cellar to serve as a storage room for potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, salsify, and turnips. If possible, this room should have at least one window for the purpose of regulating the temperature. The floor should not be concreted, as the natural earth makes better con- ditions for the keeping of vegetables. Bins may be constructed for the various products, or they may be stored in boxes, baskets, or barrels. The vegetables to be stored should be harvested when the ground is dry, allowed to lie on the surface long enough for the moisture to dry ofT before placing them in storage. The tops should be removed from beets, turnips, car- rots, and salsify before placing them in storage. Outdoor pits or banks are very generally used for keeping potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, cab- bage, and salsify. Select a well drained location and make a shallow excavation, some six or eight inches deep, and of suitable size. This is lined with straw, leaves, or similar material, and the vegetables placed in a conical pile on the material. The vegetables are then covered with straw or similar material, and final- ly with earth to a depth of several inches. The depth of the earth covering is determined by the severity of the winters in the particular locality. It is well to cover the pits with straw, corn fodder, or manure dur- ing severe weather. Such pits keep the above vege- tables very well, but have the objection that it is hard to get the material out in cold weather, and where the pit is once opened it is desirable to remove the en- tire contents. For this reason several small pits rather than one large one should be constructed so that the entire contents may be removed at one time. Instead of storing each crop in a pit by itself, it is bet- ter to place several vegetables of similar keeping qual- ity and requirements in the same pit, so that it will only be necessary to open one pit to get a supply of all of them. In storing several crops in the same pit it is a good plan to separate them with straw, leaves, or other material. The vegetables from the small pit may be placed in the basement storage room where they can be easily secured as needed for the table. Cabbage may be stored in a special kind of bank or pit. The excavation is made long and narrow and about the same depth as for the other vegetables. The cabbages are pulled and placed in rows in the pit with the heads down and roots up. The whole is covered with dirt, no straw or litter need be used. T-hese pits are made as long as desired, as it is possible to remove portions of the stored product without disturliing the remainder. Cabbage need not be covered as deeply as potatoes, as slight freezing does not injure the cab- bage. The heads of cabbage are sometimes stored in banks or pits in a manner similar to potatoes, turnips, etc. This method is open to the same objection as when it is used for potatoes ; it is hard to get at the material when it is needed. Another method of stor- ing cabbage consists in setting the whole plant in trenches side by side with the roots down and as close together as they can be placed. Dirt is thrown over the roots and against the stalks to the dejsth of sev- eral inches. A low fence is built around the storage place and rails, scantling, or other supports laid across the top. About two feet of straw or other material is then piled on top of the storage pit. Celery may be stored in a modified type of outside pit, or in the row where it is grown. When stored in a pit or trench the plants are taken up and set side by side in a shallow pit as close together as it is feasible to pack them, and wide boards set up along the out- side of the pit. Dirt is banked against these boards, and the top covered over with corn, fodder or similar material. When celery is kept in the row where it is grown the earth is banked up around the plants as the weather gets cold. When freezing weather occurs the dirt should be brought to the tops of the plants and the ridge covered with coarse manure, straw, or fod- der, held in place by means of stakes or boards. Outdoor caves or cellars are superior to banks or pits in many respects. They require no more labor to store the vegetables than an indol^r cellar, vet give a uniform and low temperature during the entire year. They possess practically all the advantages of the bank or pit, yet may be entered at any time during the win- ter for the removal of any portion of the stored prod- uct without endangering the keeping quality of the material that remains. These storage cellars are us- ually made partially under ground, although in the southern portion of the country they are usually en- tirely above ground. In sections where severe freez- ing occurs it is well to have the cellar partially under ground. In order to avoid steps down to the level of the floor, with the consequent extra labor in storing and removing the vegetables, a side hill location is de- sirable for the cellar. An excavation is made into the hill of the approximate size of the cellar. The dirt from this excavation may be used for covering the roof and for banking against the sides of the structure. A frame should be erected by setting posts in rows in the bottom of the' pit near the dirt walls, sawing these ofif at a uniform height, placing plates on top of the posts, and erecting rafters on these plates. The whole should be boarded up on the outside of the posts, with the exception of a space for a door in one end. The whole structure, except the door, is covered with dirt and sod. The thickness of the covering will be de- termined by the location. The colder the climate, the thicker the covering. The dirt covering mav be sup- plemented b)' a layer of manure, straw, corn fodder, etc., in winter time. Outdoor cellars are usually left with dirt floors as a certain amount of moisture is de- sirable. These cellars may also be made of concrete brick, stone, or other material. Such cellars are to be found in many sections of the countr}-, and provide almost ideal storage facilities for potatoes, beets, tur- nips, carrots, parsnips, salsify, and celerj-. 302 The Making of a Tree Surgeon IX Tree Surgery there is no half good mechanically perfect and scientifically accurate, or else it is a delusion and a snare. Can you imagine a half-good filling in your tooth? As the boy said, "There ain't no such thing." A few years ago not much was known of Tree Sur- gery or its requirements, and it was commonly sup- posed that "most anyone can fix a tree." And most anyone did fix them, with the result that tens of thou- sands of fine trees have become the victims of mal- practice and stand today (those that were not ruined or killed) as tragic examples of a great wrong. The tree business looked like a get-rich-quick op- portunity, and within a few years there developed a motley crowd — yes a veritable grotesque army of "Tree Doctors." "Tree Experts," and "Tree Cure- Everj'things." Unfortunately it takes only about a dollar and a half and plenty of nerve to start in the tree business. But it takes a vast amount more than that to make good. So it happens that many, many men, who were out of a job or who wanted some easy money, started to fix trees, without the slightest preparation or with only a dangerously small idea of the work and its require- ments. The only logical result of such gross ineffi- ciency and mercenary plundering was a multitude of failures. For this reason there are some good people who, even to this day, honestly think there is no good Tree Surgerv. They have not learned the dift'erence be- tween the good and the bad. Nor have they discov- ered whv some Tree Surgery is inherently good, while other tree work must inevitably be bad. There is good and there is bad, and the dift'erence is as great and as fvmdamental as the dift'erence between day and night. Let us reason this thing out and see what consti- tutes a real Tree Surgeon and then it will be clear what causes this wide gap between good and bad Tree Surgery. He must not be a rough-neck nor a ne'er-do-well nor a high-l:)row nor a conscienceless pretender. He must be a clean, manly fellow — not an angel, but a wholesome man. He must be intelligent and honest and sincere. He must have a natural love of the work. He must have some mechanical instinct and the ability and willingness to learn. But above all there must be in him an undying determination to do things well. So far, so good. But he must be thoroughly trained in the sciences and mechanics of the art. He must de- velop an almost intuitive skill and mature judgment. Where can he secure this training? There are any number of splendid schools where one may learn Botanv and Entomology and Pathology and all kin- dred subjects. Ikit where shall he learn Tree Surgery, the new science? There is Ud Agricultural school in the world that teaches real Tree Surgery. We have employed gradu- ates of most of them, and from a practical standjjoint these men are little better than ordinary acceptable beginners. They are as helpless as babes in the face of the everydav Tree Surgery problems. They make good men in time, as a rule, but they require the same train- ing as any other naturally capable fellows. By M. L. Davey,* Ohio. It must be There is no Forestry school in the world that teaches •Gener.il Mannger of The Davcj' Tree Expert Co. Tree Surgery. I have the highest respect for the pro- fession of Forestry, but this does not change the facts. -V forester is trained to deal with trees in the mass, primarily for lumber supply. The two subjects are as dift'erent as Medicine and Dentistry. Would you ex- pect a Physician to treat your teeth or trust the Den- tist to treat your body ? ,W'e looked in vain for a school of any kind, any- where, that could train real Tree Surgeons. There were none — none — so as a matter of absolute necessity we started one of our own. We as a private concern, without help from any out- side source, have carried the load. There have been times when it has taken all the courage and all the faith that we could summon to pay the price and keep it going. For, dear reader, the pathway has not al- ways been rosy, and faith many times had to supply the incenti\fe for the required sacrifices. It is necessary that the Tree Surgeon be scientifical- ly trained. He must learn to know a tree as a living thing. He must know its enemies and how to control them. He must know the things which contribute to its well-being. That is a good start. However, he inust know very, very much more, and much of it he can not learn from books. He must be guided skilfully day by day for many weary months until the art of it is trained into his very being. Just as the painter or the violinist becomes an artist under the patient and skilful hand of the master who trains him, so is the Tree Surgeon made. For, be it known, not all men have it in them to l)e- come successful Tree Stirgeons. Possibly one in fifty or not more than one in twenty-five has that peculiar combination of qualities that are absolutely required, for the responsibility of directing the work. There are many men who do excellent work under the su])er- vision of a really good man, btit who fail under the stress of responsibility. Proper training presupposes skilful and devoted in- structors. Ah ! there is the big problem. How long do you suppose it would take the most competent blacksmith to train a good dentist or a dentist to train a good blacksmith ? It has taken a long, long time to develop competent instructors, but gradually, very gradualh", it has been possible to build up a superior force that measures up to the requirements and the responsibilit}-. Proper training also presupposes proper methods. No one could become a capable automobile driver if his instructor taught him to put sand in the liearings and water in the gasoline tank. So correct methods are also necessarA', vitally necessary, in Tree Surgery as in everything else that is worth while. John Davey worked out the basic principles of the new science of Tree Surgery. He was working on it patiently and with dogged persistence when I was a barefoot boy in knee breeches. And John Davey paid the full price of privation and soul-3'earning for his contribution to humanity. Only now when he is near seventy-one has he come to see the real beginning of the fruits of his faith and his laborious creative genius. However, the science of Tree Surgery has gone forward by remarkable strides because of another great fact. The annual gathering of all the responsible 303 304 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA men of the Davey organization in convention makes possible the concentration of many minds on the prob- lems of the art. It is this massed intelligence and massed skill that has done such wonderful things in the way of refinement and the elimination of all weak- nesses and errors. Everything is put to the test of this massed experience and the results have been truly wonderful. So you see, it takes good men, correct methods, skilled and capable instructors and then long thorough training to the point of finished skill to make a real Tree Surgeon. So, also, you see why so many embry- onic tree men have failed and brought temporary dis- grace and more or less condemnation upon a really great and noble work. The road to success is hard. It requires heavy toll of all who pass. He who will not pay can not travel. But he who has faith and courage and inspired determination, and who is will- ing to pay the price, may sometime wear the crown. Time exposes the false and lays prostrate the un- worthy. Time also rewards that which is meritorious and points the way very clearly to that which is in- herently good and worth while. So this has been my everlasting inspiration that if zve will be all that we ought to be and can be by devoted efifort, we have naught to fear from the spurious and the mercenary despoilers of a great work that is highly beneficial to humanity. Many, many have fallen by the wayside as unworthy or incapable or out of tune with the spirit of the in- stitution ; but those who have endured all of the ex- acting requirements of the up-building process are rare gems, upon whose sterling quality it is possible ■ to build a national institution, whose basis is quality and whose moving spirit is service. FUCHSIAS I N gardens where there are partially shaded positions, especially in town and suburban gardens, the fuchsia is one of the most useful of all summer-flower- ing plants to grow. It continues to bloom through- out the Summer and early Autumn months, possesses charming and various colored flowers, and has a naturally graceful habit, does not require any atten- tion beyond that paid to watering, tying-in of some of the shoots, and occasional stopping of others. The plants, when grown in pots, may be arranged to form a floral display equal to that of many elabor- ately-planned flower beds. Then there are the greenhouses in which few kinds of flowering plants will give satisfaction owing to their shaded position. The fuchsia will do very well indeed in such structures, and, after doing their duty so well for so many months, the plants are easily stored during the Winter by cultivators who do not possess sufficient artificial heat for the safe wintering of more tender subjects. Perhaps a few hints on the present treatment of the plants will be useful. The ideal compost should be plain but good old turves, full of fibre, one-half ; sweet leaf soil, halfrotted and rubbed through a coarse-mesh sieve, one quarter ; washed grit or silver sand and some well-rotted manure, one- quarter part. To the above combined parts and to each bushel a 7-in. potful of old mortar rubble, a 6-in. pot- ful of well-pounded bricks, and a 5-in. potful of good ashes. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, use broken bricks for drainage material and a few of last Autumn tree leaves before putting in any soil. Pot moderately firm, and water always carefully, and in the course of a few weeks the pots will be full of new roots, and another shift into larger pots will be neces- sary or regular feeding. Fuchsias may be left to grow naturally, or the shoots stopped so as to form a bush, a pyramid, half or full standard. In every case at least one central, neat stake will be needed, but there should never be any stifif tying-in of shoots or training of that kind. — E.\-chaiii;i\ NORFOLK ISLAND PINE T^ ■"HE Norfolk Island pine is one of the prettiest plants that can be used for conservatory, house, or table decoration. It does well in quite small pots, with com- paratively little attention : and another advantage is that it is not liable to become infested with insects. It is usually propagated from seed, but this is somewhat difficult to obtain. Very pretty plants, of almost any size and price, can be purchased from any good nurseryman, and as it takes considerable time to raise them from seed or cut- tings, it is better and cheaper to buy the former. Norfolk Island Pine (Arancaria Excelsa) When the plants require shifting to larger pots^ a good soil to use in three parts light loam and one part leaf- mould, with the addition of about one-sixth of good sand. The pots used should be clean and well drained, and the plants should be potted firmly. The soil, however, should be in the right condition as to moisture, and neither too wet nor too dry. When it is desirable to keep them in small pots, the plants should be kept nourished with an occasional application of weak liquid manure, and a light sprinkling over the soil, about twice a year, of some fer- tilizer. Repottings should not be frequent, and small shifts only should be given. This tends to keep the plants within bounds. Arancaria e.xcelsa is not quite hardy, but does well with a minimum of warmth, short of frost. Dry heat in rooms in Winter is detrimental, parching the leaves, and caus- ing yellowness and browning. Dryness at the root should be avoided always. There are several varieties of this conifer. Glauca is a blue-green form that is pleasing. Silver Star is a beau- tiful thing, the tips of the branches being white, forming, with the symmetrical growth of the plant, a veritable silver star of conventional design. — Gardening (English). Philippe De Vilmorin PHILIPPE LE- VEQUE DE VILMORIN, one of the most conspicuous figures in European genetics, died on June 30 at the age of forty- five. A reserve officer in the French Army, he had been attached to the Anglo-Indian Army in France as an interpreter, but no particulars of his death are given. Although identified with plant-breeding, M. de Vil- morin also carried on dog-breeding experiments for many years. His closest scientific affiliations were with William Bateson of England, whom he regarded as his mentor, and J. P. Lotsy, the Dutch botanist. He was secretary of the last International Conference on Genetics, and a life member of the American Genetic Association. He had made numerous trips to Amer- ica, had many friends here, and published a report for the French Government on agrictulture at the St. Louis Exposition. His published work is considerable in size and value, but his greatest contribution to genetics was, perhaps, his personal influence, which can only be understood by the help of a knowledge of his fam- ily history. As early as 1727 there was in Paris a seed store "An coqitc de la bonne foy," kept by Pierre Geoffroy, whose daughter and heiress married Pierre d'Andrieux, a bo- tanist. Their daughter in turn married, in 1774, Philippe-^''ictorie-Leveque de Vilmorin, a young botanist belonging to a Lorraine family which was identified with war and agriculture. Thus was founded the business still known as Vilmorin-Andrieux and Company, one of the most celebrated seed-growing and seed-selling estab- lishments in the world. The business was handed on from father to son, and the family grew in size and importance as did the busi- ness, the two being identified in a remarkable wav. Many de \^ilmorins have, in every generation, been identified with the progress of scientific agriculture in France, but none is so well known as Louis de Vilmorin (1816-1860), the producer of the sugar-beet. Of the three great con- tributors to the theory of genetics, in nineteenth-century France, de Vilmorin alone did work of great practical importance. Jourdan's study of the nature of species and Naudin's hybridization experiments which so nearly revealed the laws of Mendel, have been of first-rate im- portance; but de \'ilmorin, the third of the trio, not only invented the centgener method of breeding, but revolu- tionized the sugar industry. His achievement is one of the stock examples in text-books of plant-breeding. Starting with a sweet yellow beet from Germany, he analyzed many roots, selected those which had the high- est sugar content (from 10 to 12 per cent.) and planted separately the seeds borne on each root. From the rows which produced the best yield, he again selected the roots with highest sugar content, and so continued until he had raised the average yield to about 18 per cent., a figure which has hardly been surpassed since his time. By growing this strain of beets, continental Europe was able to make sugar in competition with the cane-growing countries of the tropics. Louis de Vilmorin was succeeded as head of the fam- ily and of the business by his son, Henri, who made many contributions to the study of heredity, his work on wheat and potatoes being best known. He died in 1899, when Philippe de \'ilmorin, whose death has just been announced, succeeded him. By this time the large fam- ily had become one of the most important in France, scientifically, financially, and socially, and Philippe's po- sition as head of it carried a prestige which can hardly be understood in the United States. The business had also reached large proportions, seeds being grown in many parts of the world. A great farm at Verrieres-le- Buisson, near Paris, has been used since 1815 for seed- testing exi)eriments, and much experimental breeding has been done here in recent years by Hagedoorn, Meunissier, Mottet, and other geneticists in the employ of the firm. Adjoining it is the estate where Philippe spent most of his time engaged in his own genetic ex- periments, the active direction of the business having been taken over by his brother-in-law, Comte d'Etienne. Another very important figure in French agriculture is his uncle, Maurice, who, at Les Barres, has one of the greatest collections of shrubs and trees in Europe, and who has long been president of the Academic d'Agricul- ture. He published a book on "Horticulture in the United States" in 1894, and the monumental "Fruticetum \'ilmorinianum" in 1905. Henri, a younger brother of Philippe, has made several visits to the United States, the last just prior to the war, and has many friends here. The de X'ilmorin family has lived up to its military traditions in the war, Henri being an officer in the navy and the other four brothers having commissions in the army. Philippe's work as interpreter has been men- tioned. \'incent returned from China to join his com- pany and is understood now to be with the French ex- pedition at Salonika. Louis has commanded a section of automobile guns and won two medals and mention in dispatches for his gallant conduct. Jean was hit by four bullets at Peronne almost as soon as the war began, was captured by the Germans but exchanged, recovered, and is now believed to be in Macedonia with his regiment of cuirassiers. One of Philippe de A'ilmorin's great services to gen- etics was the organization of the Fourth International Conference on Genetics, held in Paris, September 18-23, 1911. This conference was made possible largely by the de Vilmorin family, which fvirnished most of the neces- sary funds. Philippe was secretary, and on him fell a large share of the expense as well as work connected with meetings, entertainments, and publications. He is- sued for distribution to the members a pamphlet giving a brief history and bibliography of genetics, had bronze medals made for the foreign delegates, and edited the large volume of proceedings, the cost of publishing of which was defrayed by him personally. The most important of his published work in genetics has dealt with wheat. The breadth of his interest and information is shown by a publication on the beet-sugar industry of the L^nited States, another on the culture of ginseng in Corea and Manchuria, and another on the tobaccos of commerce. He took a keen interest in flower gardening, and was responsible for three important pub- lications of the firm : "Les Fleurs de Pleine Terre," "Le Manuel de Floriculture," and the "Hortus Vihnorini- anus." The two first are standard works on flower gar- dening in Europe, while the third is a large and valuable report on the appearance and behavior of little known plants which the firm has tested at its various gardens. While the influence of French workers in genetics has been large, the number of men actually engaged in this science has always been relatively small. Science can ill afford the loss of a man like Philippe de Vilmorin, who combined great wealth, high social position, and leader- ship in an immense business organization, with a pro- found enthusiasm for genetics, and who used all his possessions so freely to advance the science to which he had devoted his life. — Journal of Heredity. 305 ^tniiiiniiuiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiuiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiintiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ The Greenhouse, Month to Month By W. R. Fowkes, New York | iiiimmnniiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiii luiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiniiiiiiniiiiiiuniiiiiinnn SEPTEMBER is the most interesting time of all sea- S( ms with the flower kiver, especially the greenhuuse hiililiy. Summer's sun begins to wane and the rich green foliage of many plants that will furnish the house for the Winter will be in great array for the Winter's work. The open air sanitarium has worked wonders with the Azaleas and kindred plants. The Amaryllis seedlings in the frames are strong and showing well for a little care. The Gloxinias and a few other bulbous plants have fin- ished blooming and are in the frames gradually ripening •off the foliage in order to mature the bulbs for future work. Inside, the roses have almost filled the benches with roots and need a little e.xtra attention in the ven- tilation and watering. If mildew is to be kept away from the roses be careful to maintain a steady temperature. A sudden fall in this direction in the evening will cause mildew quickly. The somewhat cooler nights together with heavier foliage holding much moisture need to be kept healthy. The night temperature should not be lower than 65 deg. Fahr. at this time, with air, of course, and see that all watering and syringing is finished by noon. Keep beds free of weeds, — a favorite nursery for red spider. Only syringe on bright days. Keep all bad leaves picked off and tie up the shoots. Grafted roses will need top dressing and the loam left over from filling the benches will do nicely, but mix a fair sprinkling of bone meal along with it. Orchids that have been "outside should be nicely sponged and taken indoors. Be careful, however, to keep bright sunshine from them and do not overwater. Or- chids thrive better on the dry side and see that they are very firm and secure in the receptacles containing them, as an orchid loosely potted will not thrive. Calanthes in the hot house will be benefited w'ith a watering of weak lie uid manure once weekly. Euphorbia Jacquiniaeflora will succeed finely in shal- low boxes in a night temperature of 60 deg. in a rose compost. Gardenias should lie kept dry in the afternoon or buds will be lost. Top dress the bed with cow manure partly decayed and cover with one inch of sandy loam. 'Alums should be gone over carefully. The vigor will now be going to the formation of the bloom and the jiots well filled with roots require extra feeding — a sprinkling of bone meal will assist foliage and bloom. Keep at- mosphere sweet bv sprinkling a little lime around. Keep all side and base shoots picked off, also the decaying leaves for they encourage fungus disease. Don't forget to use insecticides to kill the aphis, as recommended pre- viously. Pot fruit trees will lie making their ripened wood for next year's fruit and to those who have not yet begun this useful class of fruit trees now is the time to start, and any first-class nurseryman who is listed in the Chroniclk will supply them at very reasonable jirices. Cyclamen in frames should be well watered ; if allowed to suffer for lack of same valuable leaves will be lost and the cyclamen is very impatient to deal with. Cinerarias and Calceolarias are now enjoying their cooler nights. These two revel in a cool atmosphere and detest heat. .\ny that need to be grown for Easter should be potted on, using a rich compost. The Calceolaria likes soot and the Cineraria bone meal. These plants do not like fumigating so be careful to svringe with .\phine. Roman 1 lyacinths, Paper White Narcissus and the gen- eral line of bulbs should be potted in loam, two parts, leaf mold one, and a little rotted cow manure and sand with a s]irinkle of bone meal. This is ideal for them. These bulbs delight in light soil and do not succeed so well in heavy loam. Young Crotons should be given their final shift into five-inch pots and given a light position and their color will be intensified and make valuable plants for Winter house decoration. Any young ferns should receive their final shift to be of use for Winter work. Remember ferns delight in a cool place to stand on. TTiey dislike strong bottom heat, and as the pi]3es get very hot in severe weather the roots quickly dry and the young fronds wither quickly. Nerines should be placed on a shelf near the glass in a cool house and given less water. Cattleya Labiata will be finishing its growths and the double sheaths should be watched, for if water lodges in the sheath of this variety they occasionally become yellow and fail, but a little ex- tra care with these beautiful jilants w'ill repay. Dendrobium Phalaenopsis should- be grown warm and they will bloom from October on. Mignonette should be planted teninches apart and ke]it clear of weeds and this sweet-scented old favorite de- lights in a cool atmosphere. Oxalis that were Started in pots should be transferred to the wire baskets and suspended from the roof. They will do nicely in the carnation house. Freesias for early blooming should now be in the cool house close to the glass. Carnations will not require much attention, but see that the supports are given them and do not use any rusty wires. I use the Model support and steep the wires in Fungine before placing in the soil to be sure there is no fungus transferred thereby. Keep a little fine lime blown between the plants on dull days. PROLONGING THE STRAWBERRY SEASON 'T^HIS is a good time of the year for making new beds of this useful fruit. Strong runners planted then become well established before the Winter and will, if the elements prove normal, give a good crop of berries during June and July of next year. This, really, is the great advantage of early .Autumn plant- ing. If the work is deferred until the S])ring, very little fruit will be available next year, and a loss of practicallj- twelve months will result. Any reason- ably good soil will grow excellent strawberries, but it must be deeply dug and well manured, especially if the Iilants are to remain for two or three years. Tread- ing afterwards to consolidate the surface before jilant- ing also is essential, as the ])lants appreciate a firm rooting medium. On no accounts should the roots be cramped together at the time of planting, but the}' should be spread Gut evenly and ])lanted with care. The distance apart to set them will depend upon the time they are to rertiain. If the one year system is adopted, i.e., a new bed is made every August and destroyed the following year after the fruit has been gathered, 2 feet between the rows and 15 inches between the plants will suffice; but for more ]jermanent beds 2 feet 6 inches and 18 inches respectively must be allowed. — Exchaiiiic 306 ^Illliiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiuiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiii i i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiinimiiiiiiiiiiiiitmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiumiiiiiii iiini i inuiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiuii im mii iiii iiiriu iiii:iiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiniiiie Work for September in the Garden I By John Johnson, Massachusetts j IniiiiiiiiiiininiiliiliMiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniinnm LAWN making may be undertaken this month with every prospect of success. On dry sandy soils it is often difficult to obtain a good stand of grass from a spring sowing, and while the past rainy season may be regarded as having been generally favoralile to newly made lawns on all soils, where failure attended tlie efforts of those desirous of making Al lawns, now is the time to try again. A point to be regarded and one which cannot be too strongly emphasized, is thorough prepara- tion of the soil. A previously uncultivated barren waste land is too often considered good enough for a lawn, although it is generally understood that grass suft'ers starvation 'as readily as any other crop. Well-rotted manure applied at the rate of from twenty to twent}-five tons per acre is always beneficial. Fresh stable maiuire should be avoided on account of the vast number of fertile weed seeds it contains. Moreover, when well-rotted manure, dried cow or sheep manure or artificial fertilizers are used in the preparation, uneven- ness of surface is not likely to accrue from subsequent settling of the ground. It is, however, always advis- able to allow the ground to lie fallow for as long a time as circumstances permit. Plots plowed in the spring with a view to sow ing in the Fall offer advantages in the destruction of weeds by light hoeings in hot weather and a thorough consolidation of the soil which is favorable to all grasses. In hurried preparations this condition is difficult of attainment. Of course, it is vexatious to most people awaiting the germination of weed seeds and their subsequent destruction, yet this is really the cheap- est and quickest way of cleaning the soil. A fine frialile surface is an absolute necessity to insure a good seed bed and to this end diligent use of the rake and roller must be alternately given. Frequent raking assists in clearing the land of roots and stones ; and if after raking the roller follows, imperfections will be readily seen and may be rectified. These operations not only pulverize the soil but impart to it a firmness con- ducive to the best germination. Actual success in ger- mination depends on atmospheric conditions primarily, and sound treatment of the seed bed. It will then be conceded that generally during the month of September the soil is more congenial as to warmth and moisture than at any other season, and that the making of lawns at this season is, therefore, very practicable. For quick germination, sow on a calm dav when the ground is fairlv moist, or ji'st before rnin. Rake the surface liehtly and follow with a roller. A word on the selection of seed. The character of a lawn produced from seed is guaranteed by the varieties and proportions of erasses included in the mi.xture. Whether clovers should have a place mtist be determined by local conditions. In certain locations clovers are in- digenous and will in time appear whether sown or not. and on light land subject to burning in summer, clovers remain green when other grasses turn brown. This is probably the onlv point in their favor. The most reliable of all grasses and one which with- stands the heat of our smnmcrs thoroughly well is the Kentucky Blue Grass fPoa Pratensis), known to old countrymen as the smooth-stalked meadow grass. The first season after sowing this grass is somewhat dis- appointing- and for this reason we do not recommend its •employment exclusively, although it will eventuall\- make a very satisfactory turf. Included in the mixture we would advise for general purposes one part red-top (Agrostis alba) and the Rhode Island bent (.Agrostis canina), one part to two parts Blue Grass. The two first named take possession of the ground until the KeiUucky Blue Grass becomes thoroughly established, after which they gradually become weaker and weaker until choked out of existence by the dense growth of the favorite Kentucky Blue. To secure a good sound turf sow the mixture at the rate of eight bushels per acre. .A. grass similar in appearance to the Kentucky Blue is the Rough-Stalked Meadow Grass ( Poa trivialis) but instead of its being suited to dry soils it flourishes in shady and moist situations. We, therefore, recommend the employment of Poa trivialis for shady lawns, as it withstands the presence of trees almost with impunity. The mention of shady spots on the lawn reminds one of the sometimes hopeless task of making grass thrive in surh places. Where, after repeated trials, grass has failed, it may be advisable, or, indeed, necessary to plant low growing shrubs as Ivy, Periwinkle (\'inca minor), St. John's Wort (Hypericum), Rcrberis .\quifolium, or even Privet, Box, or Rhododendrons, where there are several trees together, L'nder isolated specimen trees, whose shade is too dense for grass to grow successfully, plant Lily of the Valley, Creeping Jenny ( Lysimachia numnuilaria), Funkia, Pachysandra or low-growing He- paticas. Any of the above named subjects may be planted at this time or in the spring. Orchard Fruit. \'arieties of the dift'erent kinds of fruit are influenced in the time of harvesting by local conditions, as climate, season and cultivation. A prac- ticed eye can, however, readily detect the changed appear- ance which such fruits as apples and pears assume at maturity. The color usually becomes brighter and the green parts turn yellow : but a safe way to determine the proper time for gathering is when separation at the junction of stalk and spur can be done without force. Avoid abrasions and subsequent loss from decay by care- ful handling at the time of gathering, and separate small and defective fruit from the finer and clean specimens. For sound preservation tlu'ee rules nmst be observed ; Low temperature (about 34 degrees F.), still atmosphere and darkness. Fruit keeps best in an atmosphere not too moist nor yet too dry ; and since it rapidlv acquires the taste of an\thing with which it comes in contact, avoid straw, heavy brown jiaper or similar materials in iiacking for storage. Still, the choicest samples may he wrajiped separately in tissue paper as a preservative. Shallow trays, deeper at the ends than the sides answer admir- ably well for the small grower. These may be placed one upon the other and moved without trouble. In this way fruit can be housed in a limited sjiace and be at tlie same time accessible to inspection. I'ci^ctahlc Garden. Harvest onions as soon as the tops turn yellow. In a general way this crop may be drawn and dried on the ground on which it is grown, although in showerv weather jt will be necessary to finish curing the liulbs in a dry shed open to the sun or else in other- wise unoccupied frames. Any cool, dry, airy place from which severe frosts can be excluded will answer as a iContiuitcd on /'rt.i^r 310.) 307 308 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published on the I5th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 2S6 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol. XXI August, 1917 No. 8 OLD SEED AND NEW TT it very desirable that experienced gardeners should do all in their power to assist the authorities in spread- ing knowledge among amateur cultivators on the subject of seeds. They know the vagaries of seeds, whereas the amateur is apt to regard a seed as the certain progenitor of a plant. The need for general instruction is a very real one, for the world is reverting to its first occupation of gardening. Nowhere is this reversion more marked than in England, although it looks as if America is go- ing to run us very close. Hence there is bound to be a strain on the world's supplies of vegetable seeds. Even during the present sowing season signs have not been wanting that the supplies of some kinds of seed are deficient, and that some samples contain a certain percent- age of old seed. A striking example recently came under our notice. Parsnip seed was sown a month or so ago, and generated so unevenly as to suggest the advisability of re-sowing. Fortunately, the gardener was wise, and. shaking his head, decided to wait and see. Immediately after he Tiad taken that decision a heavy rain fell, and within two or three days a second crop — no doubt of the older seed — had germinated, and the rows of seedlings were plainly visible and sufficiently thick. It is the habit of old seed to germinate slowly and ir- regularly. Such seed finds a difficulty in plumping up. Hence judgment must be e.xercised both this year and next as to how best to compromise between the need for economy by thin sowing and the need to sow thickly enough to produce sufficient seedlings. In this connec- tion the readiness with which different seedlings may be transplanted must be borne in mind. No doubt most vegetable seedlings may be transplanted if sufficient care be taken, but some survive transplantation better than others. For example, Beet transplants well. Peas are — at least, in our experience — fickle ; sometimes benefiting by a change of ground, but sometimes suffering severely. Depth of sowing and planting is also another subject on which professional gardeners can help their neighbors. Seed economy might well form the subject of lectures and discussions in local societies during the coming late Summer and Winter months. By keeping the import- ance of economv constantlv before the minds of users of seed much good can be done. It will encourage them, among other things, to place their seed orders early, and to order no more than they are likely to require, to make judicious use of seed left over from the previous year, and, in the case of such seeds as those of legumes, to save their own seed. — The Gardeners' Chronicle (English). THE CULTURE OF MIGNONETTE IV/flGNONETTE being a gross feeder, likes a good deep bench; one 10 in. in depth is none too deep. About the first or second week in August is a good time for sowing the seed. A good method is to put a good layer of rotten cow manure in the bottom of the bench and fill it up with good loam, making it moderately firm; then give a good soaking to settle the soil. Mark the bench off at 10 in. and put in some light soil that has been sifted. Sow a pinch of seed and cover to about its own depth with sifted soil and water with a fine rose. If the bench is not available in August sow the seeds in small pots and transplant into the bench later. I prefer to let the seed germinate in the full light. Wlien the seedlings get large enough thin out all the weak plants, leaving four of the strongest to each clump. As they grow stake them individually, using thin wire stakes, and keep them disbudded to single stems. Water carefully at all times. About once a week blow hellebore powder over the plants to prevent moths from laving their eggs. Look over the plants every morning and pick off any caterpillars that may have hatched. .■\bout the middle of November start to feed the plants once a week with dift'erent fertilizers, giving Clay's the preference. Mignonette likes a cool temperature, although it can be grown successfully in that of a Carnation house. I prefer a temperature around 42 deg. to 44 deg. at night, with a rise of 8 deg. on a bright day and a little lower on dull days. If good spikes are wanted for Easter a sowing should be made about the middle of September. Good varieties are Universal, Triumph, Majesty and Matchless. — R. J. in Florists' Exchange. MY GARDEN. A one with skillful touch and fairy hand Mayhaps it be Has placed a bit of sky within my yard For me to see. With tender care and gentle nurturing He's coaxed it down Till sunset cloud and wondrous sky My garden crown. And in each leaf and bud of rainbow hue I love to see The perfectness of Nature in the flowers That grow for me. — Annie Simmons. Of Interest to Estate Owners Tbe Notional Association of Gardeners maintains a Service Bureau whicli is at the disposal of all who may require the services of efficient gardeners in their various capacities. Tbe association seeks the co-operation of estate owners in its efforts to secure opportunities for those engaged in the profession of garden- ing who are seeking to advance themselves. It makes no charge for services rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to assume the responsihilities the position may call for. Throii;,'h this service the National Association of Gardeners aima to bring the Country Estate Owner and the truly efficient men engagred in tbe profession in closer relation to each other, that the interest In ornamental horticulture and its greater development In this country may thereby he elevated. Make your requirements known to M. C. EBEL. Sec'y. National Association of Gardeners, l£&diion, H. 7. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 309 THE NAME "FORMAL GARDEN" 'TPHE garden of this house has been called by that simple right name for 300 years, and to describe it as "formal" is needless and redundant. I anticipated and hoped that the opinion as to the use of the word "formal" would be challenged, but in this I have been disappointed, and leaves me no option but to take up the cudgels for the retention of a term which I believe not to be "useless," as Mr. Robinson describes it, but one that fills a vacuum in gardening vocabulary. First, let us examine its etymological significance. Taken at random from half a dozen dictionaries, new and old, I find that its definition is given variously as follows: On the authority of Holy Writ, "form" means splendor, pomp and dignity. Shakespeare uses "formality" to imply regularity, method, order. Wal- ler uses "formal" to signify regular, methodical. Again turning to Holy Writ, we find "form" used to express a sense of beauty, or elegance of appearance ; and, finally, Dryden uses the term "to form" to imply to modify, to scheme, to plan. I might say in passing that this opinion of Mr. Rob- inson's is not by any means a recently formed one ; but I, in common with many other admirers of him, have never been able to understand his reasoning, which seems to be lacking in logic. In his "English Flower Garden" — undeniably one of the best gardening books in the English language — he freely makes use of such phrases as these: "Formality is often essential to the plan of a garden," and "Design not formal only," which imply at least that he found the necessity of using the word to express something, whatever he had in his mind at the time. In the light of the context to the above quotations, there is very little doubt that he understood by it what most of us do, viz., those por- tions of the garden that have for one reason or an- other to conform to regular lines, methodical arrange- ment, and perhaps ordered severity of design. Now let us examine another term that we all use freely and with which Mr. Robinson has been particularly liberal — the "wild" garden. Again let us take the ety- mological significance of the word: d) "Not refined by culture." (2) "Growing without culture." (3) "A term prefixed to many plants to distinguish them from such as are grown in gardens." Yet a third definition, and this time of the word "garden" : "A piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs or plants, fruit or flowers," and "A rich, well cultivated spot." Obviously, if we adhere strictly to the dictionary definitions, a garden cannot be a garden and at the same time wild. But "wild garden" is nevertheless a correct term to employ, because by established usage it has come to convey to our minds gardening or cul- tivating with the freedom of line and arrangement dis- played by Nature. It means cultivating a garden in imitation of Nature's own haphazard and indis- criminate but, nevertheless, beautiful distribution of its component parts. In the true etymological sense we have no right to use the term and, curiously enough, the French possess none to correspond with it. The nearest they get to it is the jardin sauvage. But Mr. Robinson, if he did not create the term, has certainly been the most efl^ective instrument in popu- larizing it, and we are all grateful to him. Would any of us dare to say it is "needless," "redundant" or "use- less," or that to call the wild garden a garden is suffi- cient? No; and why? Because it separates in the mind the portions of the gardens that are not regular or methodical. It eradicates instantaneously all thought of terraced gardens, straight lines, herbaceous borders, architecture of all descriptions, but rather conjures up the picture of Goldsmith : "Near yonder copse where once a garden smiled. And still where many a garden flower grows wild." If, then, the term "wild garden" is justifiable be- cause it separates in the mind the necessary extension of the architectural lines of a house into the surround- ing land : if these lines must (and often it is inevitable) consist of direct paths to particular points ; if it is wise — and it often is — to create on the lines of such paths a garden arrangement, simple, more or less severe, al- ways to a very great extent regular and methodical, then the term "formal" is not only desirable but indis- pensable. Moreover, it is better used than the word "wild" ever can be, applied to any part of the garden. Splendor, dignity, beauty, elegance of appearance and method always have their place in the good garden. Often regularity and pomp may be — indeed, are — overdone, but that is no reason for discontinuing the use of a word that has come to mean so much. It is said that there are gardens called formal that are bad in every respect, then I must retort that there are so-called wild gardens that are mere ne- glected wildernesses, and others that are wild only in the sense that they are artificial dumps, such spots as Nature never produced in her wildest mood. The whole point is this: If a word conveys what it is meant to convey and is generally understood, it is right to use it. The fact that one may conceivably have an objection to what it does convey is no reason for suppressing its use. "Formal garden" means some- thing that we all understand, and whether that some- thing is good or bad matters not at all. It is a term we cannot dispense with. — George Dillistone, in The Garden (English.) THINGS AND THOUGHTS OF THE GARDEN {Continued from fage 298. ) room enough elsewhere for Corn and Tomatoes. We need to preach the gospel of fruit. In any case one can plant standards, so that the branches are up in the air, away from the ground, and only when the trees begin to get large do they cast a damaging shade. * * * * We are entering Autumn and are reaping the har- vest of beauty and utilitarian value for our labors of the earlier period. It seems so short a time since we were able to get out on the ground after the frosts — April is not far distant ; but our sowings have grown, our plantings matured, and both in the vegetable plots and the flower borders we have gleaned for food and for ornament. How lonely the garden is now in these beautiful Summer mornings. Under the awning of one of those excellent and most desirable swinging seats that are so inexpensive, one can take stock of the long borders, the Rose beds, the bedding, the lawns, the healthy growth of trees and shrubs this year, all the while the cicadas strum their pleasant vibrant crescendo, the butterflies, bees and gauze- winged flies flutter or glide, and the hum of life and of opulence of growth fill the heart with joy and satis- faction. To those who love flowers and gardens the reward will come. It is here now. Too many, how- ever, think they can enjoy these things by sitting on a piazza or by snatching an odd moment or two be- tween runs with the auto. 310 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA WORK FOR SEPTEMBER IN THE GARDEN (Coiili)iiicd from page 307.) permanent storehouse. Dig potatoes this month. It is not advisable to await the dying down of the straws. When the tubers are fully developed they will be better in storage, out of danger of destructive elements. Blandi celery as needed and assist growth of the latest plantations by an occasional watering. Make provision now against early ;autumn frosts. The season of such tender crops as Inna bean, tomato and egg plant cannot be made too long^and if given the necessary covering to ward otY the earliest frosts, they may be kept in a growing and productive condition for several weeks. Seed vacant plots to a cover crop of rye, rape, clover or vetch to improve the soil texture unless trenching is contemplated. Flozccr Garden. Hardy bulbous stock may be planted from now on until the ground freezes hard. Narcissus, tuberous varieties of Iris, Snowdrop, etc., will he all the better for earl\' planting. Keep Dahlias dislnulded and well staked. Lift tuber- ous begonias from the open ground and give greenhouse protection until growth is completed. Do not hurry the drying ofif process in autumn, neither suffer them to undue forcing when starting growth next spring. Ornamental evergreens may still be planted. Encour- age root action by copious watering and overhead spray- ing. Clip evergreen hedges for last time this year. As the season draws to a close and border flowers diminish, keep up a neat appearance by diligent care in mowing, weeding, raking of paths and the removal of dead flow- ers. Though commonplace, indeed, the above advice, we must give attention to detail if we would realize the truth of the immortalized — "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." DELPHINIUMS this, because to it more failures can be attributed than to any other source. The remedy — a very simple one — is to cover each plant with a 2-inch thick layer of coal ashes early in the autumn and see that it is well worked down between the stumps of the old flower- stems. Summer treatment consists of supidying c(_ipious quantities of water during dry weather, supplementing it once or twice a week with weak liquid manure, par- ticularl)' a few weeks before the flowers open. This makes a wonderful difference in the size, and often the color, of the blossoms. A 2-inch thick mulching of short stable or farmyard manure over the roots of the plants will also go a long way towards success, and is essential where the soil is at all sandy- It is not generally known that most Delphiniums will give a second display of flowers if properly treated. The modus operandi is to cut the flower-spikes dow-n close to the ground as soon as the blossoms have faded ; then thoroughly water the plants and, as soon as new growth is active, feed well with weak liquid manure and renew the mulching. If watering is persisted in during dry weather, secondary flower-spikes will soon lie formed, and, although iidt so large and stately as those that opened earlier, will nevertheless be very welcome in the autumn months. The simple operation of staking is, of course, neces- sary, and is only referred to here because it is so often badly done, the flower stems being trussed to a stake so that they form a passable caricature of a Birch broom. Miss Jekyll has adopted the most sensi- ble plan that I know, and one that preserves the natural contour of the plants. Her method is to use natural sticks, such as usually employed for support- ing Peas, three or more of these being thrust into each plant so that the shoots can push their way up between the branches. — Tlic Garden (English). T^OR creating bold effects in the outdoor garden, the ■^ statelv Delphiniums or perrenial Larkspurs are unsurpassed. Ranging as they do in height from 3 feet to more than twice that stature, according to the soil and variety, they can easily be accommodated in beds or borders', or any other positions that it may be neces- sary to fill. Good blue flowers are not too common ; in- deed, one might almost say that they are rather scarce ; hence we should make full use of these stately peren- nials, which embrace so many shades of blue. Fortu- nately, their cultivation does not call for any special skill. Good, generous diet, and attention to a few de- tails that I will mention, are all that is necessary. Like every other plant that we undertake to grow, the Del- phiniums well repay good cultivation, and for that rea- son the soil should be well and deeply dug, or, better still, trenched to a depth of 2 feet, and a liberal quan- tity of partially decayed manure thoroughly incorpo- rated with it. Planting is best done in autumn, or during March, or the first week in April. For preference one would select autumn, as the plants then have an oppor- tunity of becoming well established before flowering- time, which is usually June and July. As they are plants of goodly dimensions, overcrowding must not be tolerated, and from 2 feet to 3 feet apart is not too much space to allow. The greatest enemy to Delphiniums, especially those that have recently l)cen planted, is the ubiquitous slug. This irjsidious pest will, during the winter, scoop out the dormant shoots, and so ruin all prospects of flowers the folldwing summer. It is important t(i rememlier ANTS IN GARDENS o NE can hardly helj) ])lacing these insects among those that are injurious in gardens, though the amount of mischief they do is very small, and it is only when they make their nests at the roots of a plant that any harm is done, and that onh' indirectly, as they do not feed on the roots ; but these are injured by not being in such close contact with the soil as they should be. It will nearly always be found that if an ants' nest be made among the roots of any plant, the roots are attacked by one of the root-feeding aphides. This position has been selected in order that the ants may the more easily feed on the sweet secretions of the a]ihides. When this is the case the plant should be taken up, its roots carefully washed atid freed from the aphides, and then be replanted elsewhere. The ants' nest inay then be destroyed by pouring boiling water, diluted carbolic acid, or paraffin into it. If it is undesirable to remove the plant, take a good-sized garden pot, stop up the hole at the bottom, half fill it with leaves, and place it bottom upw^ards on the ground close to the plant ; then water the plant copi- ously every day, so as to keep the soil thoroughly satu- rated. The ants will soon begin to move their nest to the shelter of the pot, which in about a fort-night's time may be carefully taken away, when it will be found to contain the nest. Ants are often of service by showing when a plant is attacked by aphides or scale insects, for if several ants are found on a plant it is almost certain that it is infested by one of the other in- sects.— E.rclians;e. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 311 o A FLOWER SHOW IN INDIA N I'^ebruary 24, 1917, the annual flower show of flowers, fruits and vegetables was held in the beau- tiful grounds of Government House, Allahabad, and it proved a great success. Until I arrived in India 1 had no idea such luscious vegetables could be produced here ; I have rarely seen such fine specimens of lettuces, car- rots, cabbages, onions, potatoes, celery, beetroots, and artichokes. Tomatoes were also shown, some first-class fruits being staged. The flowering annuals were ar- ranged on the lawns, and these comprised a most attract- ive series. The first prize, group of 24 pots of annuals, contained Clarkia, Schizanthus, Candytuft, Hracycome (which makes an ideal pot plant), Dianthus, and Lobelia. Other annuals staged in their various classes embraced Mignonette, Mimulus, Asters, Stocks, Nemesia, Nastur- tium, Phlox Drummondii, Larkspur, Nemophila, Lepto- syne, and Antirrhinums. In the tents were staged the foliage and flowering- plants, including good Cinerarias. The Ferns made an e.xcellent display, while the Crotons, Coleuses, Palms, and Aralias were worthy of special mention. .\mong the flowering plants I noted some finely grown Freesias, Be- Coinlcsv Gi:rji-ncis' Clnon'ulc <.1.viiJ,'h ' . Sivcct Peas at Kliusru Bagli. Allahabad gonias, Eucharis grandiflora, and Ivy-leafed Pelargoni- ums, while the humble Molet was also seen, although the perfume was not so pronounced as at home. Roses were a feature, but the outstanding exhibits were the lovely specimens of Marechal Xiel ; never before have I seen them in such quantity or quality. They made an impress- ion on my mind which will remain long after my sojourn in India is vanished. ( )ranges, Limes, Cape ( iooseberries, and Papayas w'ere also shown, Another notable feature of the show was the various exhibits staged by Mr. Head (an old Kewite), the hon. secretary and superintendent of the Clovernment Parks and Gardens of Allahabad. They included Roses, a mis- cellaneous group of foliage and flowering plants, an ef- fectively arranged exhibit of Sweet Peas, including many of the latest varieties : a fine collection of Cannas, show- ing a wild range of color ; and a large group of Freesias remarkable for their different tints and shades of red and pink. — T. VV. Briscoe. NEW ROSES AT BAGATELLE T^HE report of the annual trial of new Roses at Baga- telle, near Paris, has just come to hand. The gold medals have been awarded to two yellow Roses, one from Messrs. Pernet-Ducher, named Mine. Ca- ristie Martel: the other from Messrs. Alexander Dickson, of Xewtownards, viz., Margaret Dickson Hamill. The judges report that both 'these Roses have shown, during the period of their cultn-ation at Bagatelle, all the points of good Roses, including con- tinuous flowering from spring to autumn. Certificates were awarded to the followino': Mrs. Mackellar ( ca- nary-yellow), Red Star (brilliant red, from a Dutch grower named N'erschuren), Henriette (hybrid Tea, orange-colored, from Messrs. H. Merryweather and Sons). In spite of difliculties of transit, se\ent_\-si.x Roses have been received at Bagatelle this year to be judged in 191S. Two were from America, one of which has not vet flowered. The other, Los Angelos, was raised froin Mme. Segond Weber crossed with Lyon Rose. It ap- pears to be a valuable Rose, with the good points of both parents combined. Imogen, sent by Messrs. W. Paul and Sons, Waltham Cross, has maintained its pale yellow color very well, even during the hot sun- shine of the past few weeks. — Gardeners' Chronielc (English). NOTES ON MULCHING rVEN when applied, late in the summer, surface mulching is beneficial t(_) practically all growing crops. If really good materials are used, such as half- rotted manure, leaf-soil, etc., a valuable addition is made to the £oil in which the roots are growing, and the latter very quickly take possession of it. Thus the roots receive a double benefit, the other being the con- servation of moisture. Material which will conserve the moisture will do a lot of good. Grass, well dried, ittay be suital)le as a mulch for strawberries to conserve moisture and keep the fruits clean, but when used near rows of peas, runner beans, dwarf beans, and fruit trees, it should be put on green, as then it adheres better to the surface of the soil, and does not dry up rapidly. (7irass from (C oiitiiiued on ta.'^e 312.) Coitrlcsy CarJt Outdoor Floii'er Shozv in India. 312 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA LOMBARDY POPLARS. '"pHERE is something about the Lombardy Poplar that makes it a general favorite, and extremely useful in semi-formal landscape effects. It is a tree that seems to blend well with its surroundings, and yet to be quite a contrast to most of our native trees, especially in outline. On almost every place, however small, there is a po- sition that will be improved by one or more, either to improve the skyline, soften the sharp corners of a building, or screen out some objectionable view. In closely built up sections it is a general favorite for the latter purpose. It is occasionally used as a street tree. Cotiitcsy Katioual Kurseiynian. Lombardy Poplar {Paptilus fasli^iata.) and on a narrow street it really produces a wonderful effect, .\fter the everpresent monotony of the streets lined with Norway Maples, to come across one planted with Lombardies is quite a relief and looks almost like a visit to a foreign country. On large estates it is not at all uncommon to find very beautiful eft'ects where they are planted to line walks and create vistas, such as is shown in the picture. Every tree has its good and bad points. The worst that can be said about the Lombardv is that it is short lived, usually reaching its maturity within twenty years and in many localities dying out within that time. but against this it is very rapid growing, rapidly re- sponding to good treatment. It is a tree that does not seem to rob the ground, it being possible to grow other plants right up to the base of the trunk. Note the Iris in the picture. With what other tree would it be possible to have such a dis- play of bloom right at the base ? The same result may be noted when growing very close or even in a hedge. The detrimental effect on the hedge is very slight as compared \\ ith most other kinds of trees. Professor J. G. Sanders, Harrisburg, Pa., reports a newly introduced poplar canker whicli, threatens to be a serious menace. It is to be hoped sincerely that the fears will be unfounded as it would be difficult to dis- pense with such an ornamental tree in landscape ef- fects. The tree that would make a good substitute, having the same general outline, is a form of the Ginkgo, Salisburia adiantifolia. Many of the older trees to be seen growing in the different parts of the country have a spreading habit and this is the form usually ascribed to the Ginkgo. There is some doubt if there is a fastigiate form or if it is merely variable in habit, according to conditions and treatment. — Xationa! A'lirservman. LILY OF THE VALLEY. 'T"HE plants of Lily of the Valley are perfectly hardy, and will grow well in either a shady or sunny situation. They do especially well in a rather deep, moist soil, but will thrive also in a sandy, rather dry loam. The plants may be obtained either in the fall or spring, and planted out where you wish them to grow. A sin- gle plant will soon stool out and become a clump, and one dozen pips set a foot apart in a bed, will quickly become a mass of plants that will bloom freely every season. In setting the pips allow the tip to be at the surface of the soil. The plants root freely, and are not readily troubled by drouth. About almost every home there are shady nooks where scarcely anything else will grow. In such places the Lily of the Valley can be planted advantageously, as the plants will make a bed of green throughout the season, and during the spring the racemes of fragrant, bell-shaped flowers will be freely produced. The bed should be reset once in three or four years, or as soon as they crowd each other to such an extent as to interfere with the devel- opment of the flowers. — Park's Floral Magazine. NOTES ON MULCHING {Continued from page 311.) lawns, wdiich is short and lies close, is better than long, coarse grass. But, even the latter, and trimmings from hedge banks, should be used. When all such ma- terial is cleared away, it must be burned, and the ashes returned, in a dry state to the soil, to those plants most benefited by applications of potash. Tree leaves, gathered up last autumn, are splendid for mulches, but as the top ones soon get dry and are blown about, a small quantity of ordinary soil should be sprinkled on them. Eventuall}', burn these leaves with the haulm of peas, beans, or potatoes. Of course, the best mulch for fruit trees and flower- ing plants, too, is one of half-rotted manure from the stables or cow sheds. For flowers and choice plants generally, sifted leaf-soil, with a little ordinary soil or well-rotted manure, are the best materials. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 313 |««i»iiii>ii INI iiiinittii iiiiiiiiii iiiiN inn nun iiiiii nniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiinniiiiiiiiiinuinnniiiiiiiiiiiiinnnniiiiuiiiiiiiiii iii iiiiiniiiniiiiiiiii nnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiniiiniiiiiii iii iiiiinii iiiiiuniinuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniinnniiiiiii iiiinniiif I Nineteenth Annual Convention | American Association of Park Superintendents | I St. Louis, Missouri, September 11, 12, 13, 1917 j Greetings The object of the American Association of Park Superintendents is "The acquirement and dissemination of knowledge, theoretical and practical, relating to the development and main- tenance of parks and recreation facilities, by means of social intercourse and friendly inter- change of knowledge between its members. This object is most fully attained at the annual convention which is held in a city where park work is being carried forward in a manner which has educational value to those attending; papers and addresses are presented by eminent men of the profession, followed by valuable discussions; practical demonstrations are given and both con- struction and finished work are inspected. Best of all are the numerous man-to-man con- ferences regarding mutual problems, between practical, experienced men from every section and clime. No park executive, who has a desire to advise himself as to modern thought and expe- rience in park administration, can find a better means of doing so than by attending these con- ventions. No municipality, board or commission can adopt a better method of having their executive heads up to date in the matter of methods and of greater value to their departments, than by send- ing them to these conventions. An expenditure for such a purpose is in reality an investment which brings unlimited returns. The City of St. Louis, where the 1917 conven- tion will be held, is one of the leading cities in the country in the matter of recreational develop- ment and offers an exceptional opportunity for study. A cordial invitation is extended to all park executives, commissioners or other officials to at- tend the 1917 convention at St. Louis, Septem- ber 1 1th, 12th and 13th. Program First Day — Tuesday, Sept. 11th 9:00 A.M. — -Executive Committee meeting. Cre- dentials, etc. I 0 :00 to 12 A.M. — Opening ceremonies; busi- ness session. 1:00 P.M. — Tour of East St. Louis (111.) Park System. 4:00 P.M. — Trip to Indian Mounds (proposed State park). 6:00 P.M.- — Luncheon at East St. Louis. 8:00 P.M. — Evening business session, Conven- tion Hall. Second Day^ffednesday, Sept. 12th 10:00 to 12:00 A.M. — Business session. Conven- tion Hall. I :00 P.M. — Inspection Tour; City Nurseries; Chain of Rocks; refreshments at Riverside Club; through North St. Louis Parks and Forest Park to Missouri Botanical Garden. 7 :00 P.M. — Annual Shaw Banquet, for members only. Luncheon and theatre party for the ladies. Third Day—Thursday, Sept. 13th meeting; election 10:00 A.M.— Business officers, etc. 12:30 P.M. — Luncheon at Anheuser-Busch Co., "Busch Place." 1 :30 P.M. Tour of South Side Parks, thence to Grant's Farm, where closing business session will be held. 6:30 P.M. — Luncheon at the Sunset Inn. 9:30 P.M. — Reception and Ball given by the St. Louis Park Department Association. Special entertainment w^ill be provided for the ladies during the hours of business session. St. Louis Convention Committee Ernst Strehle. . . .Gen. Supt. St. Louis Park Dept. L. P. Jensen. . .Supt. of Grounds, "Busch Place" Emmett P. Griffin, Supt. E. St. Louis Park Dept. Julius Koenig City Forester of St. Louis W. W. Ohlweiler. .Mgr. Missouri Bot. Gardens ^inimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKii [MaimiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiinmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiK t i miiii iiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiimtiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 314 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iiHiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiitmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ John F. Walsh, New York Officers 1916-17 Ame r i can Association of Park Superintendents R. W. Cottrill, Seattle Sccrctury-Treasiircr H. W. Busch, Detroit I'ice-Ptcsiiicnt H. W. Merkel, New York ricc-Prcsiiiciit Ernst Strehle, St. Loui Vicc-PrcsiJcnt Alex. Stuart, Ottawa I'ii'c-Pi'csidcilt C. L. Brock, Houston ricc-Prc'sidcnt Chas. W. Davis, Memphis I'ice-PrcsidL-iit -^iiiiiii niiHin > "> i»iiiiii:ii;i;»ii: ;iiii;iiii :iiiiiiiiniiii:ii niiiinii m i nil iiiiii pujuniiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuniiiin I American Association of Park Superintendents \ John F. Walsh, Jr., President, New York. I HENRY W. BUSCH, Detroit, Mich. 1 HERMAN W. MERKEL, New York, N. Y. R. W. CoTTERiLL, Sec.-Trcas.. Seattle, Washington. = Vice-Presidents CLARENCE L. BROCK, Houston, Texas ERNST STREHLE, St. Louis, Mo. .\LEX. STUART, Ottawa, Canada j CHARLES W. DAVIS, Memphis, Tenn. | «iiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiiiJmniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[iiii[iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiinuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Proi'o.sed Constitutional Amendments. Official notice is hereby given to the membership of the American Association of Park Superintendents, that the following proposed amendments to the constitution and by-laws of the organization have been duly filed with the secretary as provided by our laws and will be up for ac- tion at the annual convention at St. Louis, Mo., Septem- ber 11, 12 and 13, 1917. Roi..\ND W. CoTTEiRiLL, Secretary. Proposed Amendment to Chapter Three (3) — "Duties of Officers." Section relating to president, to be amended, by strik- ing out "be the directing head of the association in the matter of publications and policies during his term of office." Section relating to secretary-treasurer, to be amended by striking out paragraph beginning "he shall conduct, etc." and ending "members of the association" and add- ing as a substitute, "he shall be business manager and editor of the association publications." Section relating to Executive Committee, to be amended by adding the following: "The Executive Com- mittee shall conduct a printed periodical devoted to in- vestigation, ])romotion, canvassing and reporting, to the end that education in, and advancement of, all matters pertaining to parks shall be secured. Members of the Executive Committee, other than the secretary-treasurer, shall be associate editors of the association publications." "The Executive Committee shall at the first session of each convention, submit any recommendations it may choose to offer and the association is at each convention to voice its approval or disapproval of current policies or give instructions to the committee concerning any affairs It desires discontinued, altered or instituted as an associa- tion program for the ensuing year." The substance of these proposed amendments is to authorize the publication by the association of its own official organ under the management of the secretary- treasurer and to have plans and policies for the coming )ear determined each year by the convention itself, rather than by leaving it to a committee which immediately disperses to all' sections of the country These amend- ments are offered by Past President E. T. Mische. Proposed Amendment Article Three {3) of the Constitution. Section 2 of Article 3 of the Constitution relating to terms of office, to be stricken and the following sub- stituted: "Sec. 2 ; Terms. — The terms of office of the president and secretary-treasurer, shall be for one year and the vice-presidents shall be for three years, to be elected as ]jrovided for in the by-laws." Proposed Amendment Section Tivo (2) of the By-Laws. Section 2 of the by-laws to be amended by adding the following: "\'ice-presidents sliall be elected as follows: At the election held at the annual session of 1917. there shall be elected six vice-presidents, the two receiving the highest number of votes to serve for three years, the two next highest for two vears and the two next highest for one year. Thereafter, two vice-presidents shall be elected each year for a term of three years and any vacancy which may occur by reason of resignation, death or otherwise shall also be filled by the election of someone to fill the unexpired term." The object of the above amendments is to make it so that a majority of the Executive Committee will con- tinue over each year, avoiding possible change of policies, etc., and retaining competent officials for one year, as- suming that careful selection is made. These amend- ments have been suggested by several members and have been compiled by the secretary. Proposed Amendment Article Three (3) Section One and Tiuo. That Sections 1 and 2 of Article 3 of the Constitution be struck out and the following submitted in lieu thereof : Section 1. The officers of this association shall con- sist of a Board of Directors of six members which shall be known as the Executive Committee who shall pass upon all matters in regard to the general management and affairs of the association. Also a President, who would submit to the Board of Directors all matters of importance to the association and a Secretary-Treasurer both of whom would be members of the Executive Com- mittee. Section 2. At the Convention of 1917 six directors shall be elected. Each member to serve for a period of three years in such a way that every year two new mem- bers to the Board of Directors will be elected as follows, two members for a period of one year, two for a period of two years and two for a period of three years. That By-Law 2 be struck out and the following sub- stituted in lieu thereof: At the annual convention 1917 there shall be elected six directors, two for a period of one year, two for a period of two years and two for a period of three years. The nomination should be duly moved and seconded by at least two members in attendance at the convention and the votes shall be by ballot. Those having the high- est number of votes shall be declared elected provided, however, no one shall be declared elected as a director who has not received a majority of the votes cast. Convention Headquarters. The St. Louis Convention Committee announces that the Planters Hotel has been selected as the official hotel and all sessions of the convention will be held in the con- vention hall of that hotel. Rates will be as follows : Room without bath. One person. .$1.50 and $2.00 per day Two persons 2.00 to 4.00 " " Room with bath One person.. 2.50 to 4.00 ' Two persons 3.00 to 6.00 " " The Secretary will have a registration office at the hotel and will be on hand there on the early morning of the opening day to receive applications, etc. Applica- tions or communications should not be sent to him at Seattle unless they are mailed in time to reach him there not later than Se[)t. 6, otherwise they should be mailed to him at the Planters Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., or pre- :;eiiled in jierson. 315 National Association of Gardeners J J. ; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J. Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. James Stuart, Treasurer, Maniaroneck, N. Y. Theo. Wirth, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Martin C Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. Trustees for igiy William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F, Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, N. William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. Directors (To serve until 1918)— William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Ktrk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Carl N. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y.; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y.; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Fraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C; (To serve until 1920)— William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hcrtrick, San Gabriel, Cal.; William Gray, Newport, R. I. ; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J. ; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. ^HiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiimiNiiiiiiiiniitiiiniiiiiiiiiixi ; iiii:iiJiNii{iuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiimi;m)iiiiiii;iiiniiiiiiii{iiiiiiii;iiiiiiiii;imiimmitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ SUMMER MEETING EXECUTIVE BOARD The summer meeting of the Executive Board, compos- ing the officers, trustees and directors of the association, was held at the Murray Hill Hotel, New York City, on Thursday the 23d inst. The following members of the board were present : William N. Craig, LSrookline, Mass. ; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass. ; William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa. ; John W. Everett, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; John F. Johnston, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Peter Duff, Orange, N. J.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; Anton Bauer, Deal, N. J. ; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y. ; Martin C. Ebel, Madison, N. J.; William F. Gude, Washington, D. 'C, an honorary member of the association was also pres- ent. Ex-President Craig occupied the chair in the absence of President Thomas W. Head. Communications were received from President Head, who wrote that owing to the general conditions existing at the present time it was impossible for him to come east. He advised that his local entertainment committee on the 1917 convention is actively engaged in planning the program and providing for the comforts and enter- tainment of the visitors to the convention, the details of which will be completed and announced within the next few weeks. Vice-President Theodore Wirth, of IMinneapolis, wrote that the unusual conditions also demanded his presence at home. He regretted very much that he could not attend the summer meeting and submitted a number of recommendations for the consideration of the board. The secretary's and treasurer's financial reports showed the association to be in a flourishing condition. One hundred and sixteen new members have been added to the association's roll since the Washington convention in December, 1916, and forty-five delinquent members have been dropped from the membership roll for non- payment of 1916 dues. Mr. Gude, who was chairman of the committee that planted the Yew tree at Washington's tomb, Mt. Ver- non, Va., last April, made a report of the event and ad- vised that it had been fully recorded in the records of Washington's home that this tree had been presented by the National Association of Gardeners. Mr. Gude also announced that any time he could be of service to the as- sociation at the national capitol he was readv and that he can be counted on to help the cause of the gardeners whenever occasions arise. A hearty vote of thanks was given Mr. Gude by the members present. The operations of the Service Bureau were again brought to the attention of the Executive Board for con- sideration and after a long discussion it was decided that the association was not yet in a strong enough financial position to extend the activities of this department beyond its present scope. It was recommended that the Bureau be maintained along the lines it was being con- ducted upon at the present time. The subject was finally laid on the table for further consideration at the next meeting which will occur in Chicago at the time of the annual convention. It was decided that the members of the association who have already enlisted and who may enlist in their country's cause should be carried on the books of the association, without payment of dues, until the termina- tion of the war. Revision of the By-Laws was recommended and on a motion it was carried and the following committee was appointed to revise the By-Laws: — Messrs. William N. Craig. Robert Cameron, John W. Everett, and John F. Johnston, with instructions to present the revised By- Laws at the Chicago convention for adoption by the as- sociation. Un a motion made by Mr. Johnston, who is the chair- man of the Local Co-operative Committee of the Nassau County (N. Y.) Horticultural Society, the secretary was instructed to communicate with the different local hor- ticultural societies within reasonable distance of New York to plan for a suitable date to call a meeting in New York City to which the local societies are to send a rep- resentative of their local co-operative committee to for- mulate plans for closer co-operation between the local so- cieties and the national organization. The plans are to be submitted to the National Co-operative Committee and referred by that committee to the local societies throughout the country for approval. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, December 4-5-6th were voted as the convention dates for the Chicago con- vention. The general program for the convention rests with the local committee appointed by President Head. It was the sense of the meeting that every effort should be made to send a strong delegation from the eastern cities to the Chicago convention. The meeting adjourned subject to the call of the chair. NEW MEMBERS The following new members have been added to our roll : Alexander Sives, Warwick Neck, R. I. ; John Peschier, Jr., Centre Moriches, N. Y. ; E. R. Cross, ]\Iadison, N. J. : Gust. Malmquist, Wayzata, Minn. ; Henry V. McGall, Orange, N. J. ; Christian J. A. Madsen, Robert Chalmers, Lake Forest, 111. ; William Woessner, Deal Beach, N. J. ; Andrew Tolp- troi). Long Branch, N. J.; William J. Smart, Chicago, 111.; John W. Richards, Concord, Mass.; Claude J. Sponenbergh, Cooperstown, N. Y. ; Frank Shaw, Chest- nut Hill, 'Philadelphia, Pa.; ^^'illiam Griffin, Lenox, Mass. ; Frank M. Ryan, South Bend, Ind. 316 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 317 Seeds and JN August comes vegetable planting time. Way back over a century ago, careful hand written orders came by post and messenger for Thorburn seeds— for string beans, for beets, for carrots, for turnips. Today the mail brings similar orders for Thorburn seeds which have maintained their reputation for superior- ity through five genera- tions. They are today of the same high quality, of the same richness and fertility, and produce products of the same delicacy and excellence of taste as they have for these many years past Order Tlior burn's Seeds and yon get seeds -rr^ you knoic S^&oRS>\J^^"^'\ ''"■'" extra '^end for this book today ! J. M. Thorburn & Co. Established 1802 53-U Barclay Street through to 54 Park PI., NEW YORK SOUTHAMPTON (N. Y.) SHOW. Tlu' eleveiitli anmial flower show of Siiuthiiiiipton Hortiiniltural Society was lii'ld on July 2.> and 26 under most favor- aide weather conditions, and was the most successful exhibition this society has ever held. There were over 750 entries in the classes for competition, and though two large tents were erected for the accommo- dation of the exhibits, the show eomnuttee had enough to do to get them all in. Floral exhibits were more -beautiful than ever, and the quality of the vegetables far sur- passed anything ever shown liere. The gate receipts this year were for the benefit of the Red &oss, and the attendance on both days was better than on previous years. Commercial men were well represented, among whom were the following: (.;. E. 51. Stiimpp, floral exhibits. \Vm. Tricker & Son, water lilies. Cedar Hill Nnrser^-, alpines and peren nials. Hicks & .Son. trees and shrubs. James Cuilfoyle, plants. C. Frankeidiack & Son, plants. Lord & Burnham, greenhouse. The big classes for competition ivere won as follows: 18 varieties of vegetables— 1 . Wm. Mc- Leod; 2, .J. Cassidy; 3, S. Chelenski. 1.5 varieties of vegetables — 1, Wm. Mc- Lcod; 2, S. R. Candler; 3, V. Sabinski. 12 varieties vegetables — 1, J. Dickson; 2, •J. Easer; 3, Vernon Pierce. 6 varieties of vegetables — 1, C. F. Guil- loz; 2, U. G. Ager; 3, ,J. Dickson. 20 vases annuals— 1, Wm. McLeod; 2, J. Cassidy; 3, S. R. Candler. 15 vases annuals — 1, J. Cassidy; 2, Wm. McLeod; 3, S. R. Candler. 10 vases annuals — 1, ,J. Easer; 2, A. Ze- Icnski; 3, . 12 varieties perennials — 1, Owen G. Owen; 2. J. Easer; 3, J. Cassidy. 10 varieties perennials — 1, S. Sobel; 2 C. F. Guilloz; 3, U. G. Ager. 10 varieties of potatoes, 12 of each- 1, Wm. McLeod; 2, A. Zelenski; 3, J. Dickson. The National Gardeners' Association medal for display of sweet peas was won by S. R. Candler. A most beautiful exhibit of achimenis. begonias, gloxinias, hydrangeas and stand- ard fuschias was staged opposite the main entrance by Mr. R. Melrose, superintendent to Col. H. H. Rogers, and well deserved tlie gold medal which was awarded it. J. DIC1\;S0X, Corr. Sec. NEW LONDON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The New Lonilon Horticultural Society held its .June meeting in the Council Cham- ber, Municipal Hall, State street, Thursday, the 12th. President Rough in the chair. After the usual business routine, Mr. Warren Mason, iif the Pope Estate, Hartford, gave a short talk on perennials. Mr. Robert Cato, of the M. F. Plant Estate, staged a fine collec- tion of out-door roses. The society voted to hold no meetings during August and September. ^'otes of thanks to the speaker C(mcluded the meeting. STANLEY JORDAN. S.'cretary. REPORT OF THE PUBLICITY COMMIT- TEE OF THE PITTSBURGH FLOR- ISTS' AND GARDENERS' CLUB. On the morning of July IS about 100 members of the three florists' and garden- <'rs' clubs (if Alb'glieny County "foregath- eri'd" in flic Phijip's conservatories, N. S. BURPEE'S SEEDS are grovpn not only to sell but to grow again. The fact that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to be our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseol Burpee continues to grow just as surely as Burpee's Seeds Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A postcard will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Burpee Buildings Philadelphia iii:ilii;iiii:llli:i{iiillll^ 318 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Pittsburgh, and in twenty aiitos spent a most enjoyable day visiting the parlvs, cemeteries, country club, and the East End places of Messrs. \V. L. Mellon, A. W. Mel- lon, R. B. Mellon, C. D. Armstrong, T. M. Armstrong, H. C. Frick, W. H. K. Milliard, H. D. Heiiman, H. J. Heinz, D. M. Clemson, M. L. Benedum, T. D. Barnsdall and Ber- thold Frosch. Pittsburgh's vegetation never looked so fresh, clear and hixuriant within the mem- ory of our eldest. "War gardens"' in evi- dence everywhere and flourishing, too. Cu- cumbers, melons, grapes, ligs and nectarines where used to grow palms, ferns and other tropical ])lants; potatoes, cabliage, beans and other edibles in place of velvety green sward, showing the H. C. L. is ell'ecting all members of our community. But the high s]iots of our trip were: Fancy leaved caladiums; water lilies, both tender and hardy; "Bride's Tears," clero- dendron Balfouri; a bridle path right in the metropolis, reminding one of a road in the Laurentians; strawberries, stanhopes, cvpriiiedium-catacctum. Miltonie vcxil- larium, medinella, begonias, Lafayette in a bed, fuchsias, bald cypress, paulownia, spirea I/indleyana. A splendid specimen of the salix family brought forth comments in an article in the last issue of the "Bulle- tin of Popular Information" aneut the money made out of willow wood for cricket l>ats in England before the war: "A piece of land bought for .$230 on which in six teen years willows of this variety — salix iilba coerulea — were grown which sold for $10,000." A garden in the old formal English style, the Alpine-like garden of Mr. Frosch and its delightful little tea house with win- dows of vari-cidored glasses. The noonday meal served on the C. D. Armstrong place was a success in every way, showing the skilled touch of some of our best halves, for which they were duly complimented and thanked l)y the partakers also in neat little spi eclies by the president of the entertaining club, also the president of the Sewickley Club. The last place visited was one of the best kept cemeteries on this continent, on which we descended like the Assyrian of old, and, like him, too, we melted awaj'. STAMFORD (CONN.) HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The August meeting was held in Moose Hall, Stamford, Conn., on Friday evening, August 3. President H. Wild in' tlie chair. The interest of the members was well shown by a large attendance, and exhibits of high quality were on the tables. The president elected Mr. Morrow, Mr. Paterson and Mr. Osterbey as judges for the meet- ing, and the following is a list of their awards. Cultural certificates to Adolph Alius for caladiums, Michael Smith for liliuni tigrinum, A. Bieschke for collection of sladicdi. and .1. Foster for melons, va- riety King of Strawberry Hill. The follow- ing exhibits were highly commended: Al- bert Fettet for collection of gloxinias, and Adol])h Alius for a mixed collection of flow- ers and vegetables. A vote of thanks was given to the following: A. (ieddes for Budtl)lms, Ittr. C. O. GIESSLER, Mgr. Seed Department 22 West 59th Street New York iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiimin^ for the show. At tlie next meetins, Sep- tenilier 7, JIi'. A. Wynne will read a ijapcr (in "Snapdraj^ons." A. \V. KING, Cor. Sec. NASSAU COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Cilen Cove, N. Y., August 17. 1017.— The regnlar monthly meeting of the ahove so- ciety was held in Pembroke Hall, Glen Cove, on Wednesday, Angiist 8, at 7 p. m. Vice-president .Tames Gladstone ocenpied the chair. Angelo Jlorra was elected an active niemlier and one petition was re- ceived. The following were a]i|)ointed to act as judges for the monthly exhibits: Messrs. Sam J. Tripers, Geo. Ford and .Toseph Ad- ler and their awards were as follows: 1st, Wm. Noonan for a lieantifiil vase of mixed gladiolia; 1st, Joe Mastroaini for three ears of corn; honorable mention to Wm. Noonan for a collection of filobe artichoke. 'J'his society agreed to donate $25 to the relief of the French Fruit Growers as a slight token of our aid and sympathy for the hardships they are undergoing at the present time. The preliminary schedules of the Dahlia and 'Mum Shows wire adopted. Mr. Sper- ling of the Stumpf & Walter Co., oti'ered a prize of .$1."), and Mr. Wilson, of WiLson I'lant Oil Co., Springfield, N. .T., donated the same amount for the fall shows. A letter of symjiathy was ordered sent to the widow of ovir late menili; r. Mr. Henry Thompson. Exhibits for our next meeting, to be held on Wednesilay, September 12. are: Three heads of celery, twelve mixed asters and one musk nudoii. HARRY GOODRAND. Cor. Sec'v. HOLYOKE AND NORTHAMPTON FLOR- ISTS' AND GARDENERS' CLUB. The regular meeting was held August 7 with F. D. Kcyes & Son, Florence. Arrange- ments were iJiade for the annual pieuir: THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 319 AMERICAN-GROWN Trees and Evergreens You are invited to visit our Nurseries during July and August, when the trees and plants are at their best, and malie your selection tor Fall delivery. Andorra Nurseries Wm. Warner Harper, Prop. "Suggeations for Effective P'^X lll> Planting" on request Chestnut Hill Phila.,Penna. ORCHIDS We are Specialists in Orchids, we collect, grow, import, export and sell orchids ex- clusively. If you are in the market for Orchids We solicit your inquiries and orders. Cata- logues and spi cial lists on application. L.A.GE:R & HURRELL. Orchid Growers and Importers Summit, IV. j. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIINIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIICIIIIIIt IMPORTED ORCHIDS If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. JOSEIPH MAIMDA Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist West Orange, N. J, mil Miiiiiiitiiii iiiiiiiiiiii HILL'S EVERGREENS Send for Price-list. Mention this mag^azine. D. HILL ISJLJRSERY CO. Evergreen Specialists, Largest Growers in America. Box 3C5 DUNDEE, ILL StVr Brand Roses * THE COMRO & JONES CO., |_JARDY field grown climb- ing roses. Excelsa (Red Doiolhy Per- kins) and all other popular varieties. Send for price-list. Box C. West Grove, Pa. which is planned for Angust 2!1 at liallinan Brcs.' farm, Smith's Ferr.y. E. .]. Canninij gave a most instructive talk on "Hardy Herbaceous Perennials," dealing with the subject chiefly from the commercial standpoint. In his nursery business Mr. Canning re- ports a steadily increasing demand for all the popular kinds. Harry Sinclair read a naper on "The Lily Fields of -Tapan," anil the meeting ad- journed at a late hour. H. E. D. THE WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Greenwich, Conn., August 20, 1917. — The abovi- society held its regular montlily meeting in Hubbard's Hall, Greenwich, Conn,, on Friday, Aug. 10. President \Vm. Whetton in tlie chair. It was decided to hohl the fall show in Greenwich under the auspices of the Red Cross, (ireenwich branch. It never happens that tliere are no ex- hibits at our meetings, and Friday's meet- ing was no exception, as there were some excellent exhibits on the tables for which the judges made the following awards: Hon- orable mention to Robert Allan and P. W. Popp for gladiolias, and to .Tames Stuart for Tliaactrum Hvlveda. Tlianks of the society to Wni. (Jraham for [ilant of Cclosia. Tlie monthly prizes were awarded as fol- lows: 1st, Robert Allan; 2nd. P. W. Popp; 3rd, .Jane Stuart, Tlie annual games were held at Rye Beach on Wednesday, August 15. There was a fair attendance of members and friends, and the weather being fine everybody appeared to liave a g 1 time. In the football match Westi'liester lieat Kairlield by two goals to nil, wliilc Fair- lield beat Westchester at quoits. ALEX CLARKSOX, Cor, Sec'v. THE LAKE GENEVA GARDENERS' AND FOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION. .Mr. M. C. Ebel. ' Dear Sir: Could you find space in your next issue of the Ctironicle to publish tlie following account of the Lake (Jeneva Mid- summer Show, and oblige yours truly ? F.' «'. SPARKS. Favored by real summer weather tlie j sweet pea and midsummer held at Horti- j cultural Hall was a pronounced success. I Owing to the cool and moist climatic conditions prevalent this season, sweet peas w'ere of sujierior quality and cpiantity. Of this fact full advantage was taken, the entire center of the Hoor in the main hall being covered with tallies filled with choice specimens of the dainty and fra- gant flower. The principal prize was the liodilington Silver Cup for 12 vases, 12 varieties, 2.3 of each variety, and here the judges had a hard task, there being five entries. Mr. F. D. Conntiss, gardener A. JIartini, secured the coveted award. Jlr. A. C. Bart- lett, gardener F. Brady, running him a close second, Mr. S. B. Chapin, gardener C. Acker- son, being third. In a class calling for a collection of named varieties (no restrictions) Mr. E. F. Swift, gardener R. .J. Sampson, was first with a very striking exhibit of over thirty varieties, Jlr, .1. .L Mitchell, gardener A. .J. Smith, being second; C. Ackerson, third. For six named varieties, 25 of each, Mrs. X. W. Harris, gardener, A. Montgomery led: A. Martini, second; Mr. W. Wrigley, gar- dener .1. Brydon, third. Most of the single classes had these same exhibitors in varying order as the winners. In strong competition for .3(5 vases of cut flowers. A. .J. Smith took first place. A, Martini being second, A. .lolmson third. In the class of 1,S varieties of perennials A. Jlortini won the silver medal ofl'cred by Vauglian's Seed .Store. The same exhibitor was first in a class calling for l.S varieties of annuals, Mr. L. A. Busby, gardener Wni. JlcKinnoii, taking second jilace. The various classes of single exhibits of annuals and perennials produced some good contests with entries of sterling quality. Noteworthy exhibits were a huge collec- tinn of Lilium candidum from Mrs. A. C. Allerton, gardener Robt. Blackwood: an interesting display of native ferns from Mr. C. L. Hutcliinson, and the splendid hanging baskets of Achimenes, shown by A. .1. Smith, wliich were awarded a well- deserveil certificate of merit. In the vegetable section a big contest was waged in Class 13 calling for 25 varie- ties of vegetables, A. .J. Smith, A. Martini and Wni. ^IcKinnon winning in the order nanicil. Many evidences of good cultural skill were to be seen in the various single classes devoted to vegetables, wliile fruit, though not numerous, was of first-rate quality. The judging was efficiently carried out by Messrs. Livingston. Krupa and Boulter. Warm, Bright, Sunny Have a special type of construc- tion, which permits of great strength without the need of heavy shadow-casting supports. This gives the plants all the sunlight all day long. Send for bulletin No. 47. KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 303 King Rd. NdiIIi Tonawanda, N. Y. 113 State St.. Boston. Mass. Harrison Bldg., 15tli & Market Sts.. Philadelphia. Pa. hi « j ^ ra^ — ''j^J^i A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleached and unburnt; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months of preparation. Try a Bag $i.o(i 6 Bags $5.00 F. O. B. New York or Jersey City on any Railroad or Steamboat Line MAGIC HUMUS CO. G. W. Chandler, Sales Agent 264 WEST 34th STREET, NEW YORK or 40 PETERS PLACE. RED BANK, N. J. HARRY BA.LD'WIM Manufacturer of Greenhouse SShadlng Lath Roller Blinds lUAIUARONECK. ISI. Y. Don't Take Chances With Your Trees t us tiike fare of them now. We Mill Ivnow Hiiut 10 do and do it right. Kxperts in ravity filling, blocking, iitaciiit:. etc. Representatives available cvi'iTwhere. .Senii for ■■Tree Talk. "■ THE F. A. BARTLETT CO. 543 Main St., Stamford, Conn. i^ > CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MANUFACTURERS PHILADELPHIA. PA. ^- iJ 320 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA i iliiiiiiniiiininiiiiiiiinmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinmiiMiiiiimmmii iiimnn'niKiiimm'iiirii iiiniiiiiwiiiiim iiiininiii iiniiiimiiiii ii^ gi iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiii iii iiiiikiii iiiii iimii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iMiiiuiiiiiiiiiiuniuiiiiiiiiiii'^ I MR. GARDENER ! | M 1 "Vt'tES your employer show enough personal interest in | m IJ ycur work? And do you realize that it is to your per- | = sonal advantage to make him take more interest in | H your work ? I M In the matter of greenhouses, there is one very simple way = M to encourage his interest — advise him to build his greenhouses | s near where he lives or near where he plays. Vou are safe in | ^ advising the construction of a LUTTON Greenhouse in such i = a prominent location, for LUTTON Greenhouses give perma- | ^ nent satisfaction. | p The above picture shows three LUTTON Greenhouses i § erected beside the owner's favorite playground — his tennis i = court. The two greenhouses to the right were erected a year s M after the left one and as a result of the satisfactory per- § H formance of the initial structure. = W We would be glad to explain the various unique advantages i i of LUTTON Greenhouses at any time. = I WM. H. LUTTON CO. | = Main Office and Factory = I 265-271 Kearney Ave. Jersey City, N. J. i ^ Show Room, 3rd Floor, Grand Central Terminal, N. Y. City E = Western OflFice, 710 Svkes Block, Minneapolis, Minn. E I MODERN GREENHOUSES | = Conservatories Sun Parlors Garden Frames ^ ^miitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Competent Gardeners •I The cotnlorO and products ol a country home are increased by employing a competent gardener ; if you want to engage one, write to us. H Please give particulars regarding place and say whether married or single man is wanted. We have been supplying (hem lor years to the best people everywhere. No (ee asked. PETER HENDERSON & CO. Seedsmen and Florists 33 and 37 Cortlandt St NEW YORK CITY giiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinMiii| I Scientific Care of Trees | I SPRAYING— PRUNING | I CEMENTING | j Contracts taken in anj) part of tKe United States | I TREES MOVED I I WILLIAM F. LEART, 212 Main Str; I I ' NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. | liiiiaiiiniimiimiiimiuiiiniiniiiimHRiim n nin DiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiiiitiiiiiliiiliiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiniiiiT Bon Arbor Chemical Co. PATERSON, N. J. Manufacturers of BON ARBOR No. 1 Soluble Plant Life. A must wonderful and invigorating food for ail plants, indoor and outdoor. BON ARBOR No. 2. Best dressing for your lawns. RADIX WORM ERADICATOR. Instant- ly removes worms from your Tennis Courts. Putting greens, etc. ANT DESTROYER. Will remove all ants outside or indoors in a week's time. Be sure and try it. NATURAL HUMUS. Is the best for mak- ing new lawns, gardens, etc. Write for descripive catalogue and prices iiiiiilillNtiniiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiMii I Foley Greenhouses m 1 i i i I i are structures which any owner may ')e justly proud of. In addition to their durahilitv and attractiveness, they embody many desirable "construction - features" found in no other house. Our new cataloji'ue will be ready scxiii. Shall we send you a copy? The Foley Greenhouse Mfg. Co. 3200 W. 31st St.. Chicaiio. 111. liM€«^»M€gli^i^€i^ii wiiuiiiiiiinuiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilliiiiiiu iiii>iiiiiiiiriiiiii»iiiiiii.iiii>iiiiiiiiiiiiinniniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii{iwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"j| THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GAKDEN For the Greenhouse — Apphed at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent a=; a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most eflfective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efficient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. i""> I iiiiiiiii Sold by dealers in various sizes \ APHINE MANUFACTURING CO. MANUFACTUP.ERS OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON, N. J. FUNGINE For mildew, rust and other blight* affecting flowers, fruits and vegetables. VERMINE For worma and insects infesting the soil. iniiiiiiiiniiniiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiuimiiiiiMMiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiij uMiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiililililiiiiililiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ : '^^■' ■ ■ ■ ^^^™^ ANCHOR POST FENCES Fiilv tutiii\ ii\c \ cars Anchor Post Fences have been selected by discriminating purchasers because of their excellence in all mechanical details. We build fences for lawn and garden in a large variety of designs. Also arbors, trel- lises, espaliers, garden arches, tree- guards flower-bed guards, etc. Tennis enclosures and back stops, chicken -run and dog- kennel enclosures, aviaries, farm and pasture fences, stock paddock. We have separate catalogues describing our various products. Write for the one you need. ANCHOR POST IRON WORKS Builders of Wrought Iron Railings and Entrance Gates 17 Cortlandt Street South (13th floor) New York (('Hi i i ^ THE R. S. BRADLEY HOUSES AT PRIDES CROSSING, MASS. WILLIAM CANNING is the Superintendent. He is the man so largely responsible for the quick conversion of a hopeless tangle into a regu- lar joy spot, beautiful in flowers and charming in choice planting. This view of the greenhouses was taken from the top of the garden wall over which you catch this glimpse as you pass in your auto. Like the layout ? Want facts as to size, cost, etc. ? HitcKitisrs^ Company* General Offices and Factory: Elizabeth, N. J. NEW YORK BOSTON PHILADELPHIA 1170 Broadway 49 Federal Street -10 So. 15th Street w m m w iv^'-e ^^Vi^'n^^. mM w ILOKD S-BURNHAM CO. (2£e: iti^ fair: About The Greenhouses We Build FOR over half a century, we have been building greenhouses. Logically, then, we ought to know how greenhouses should be built. In that fifty and more years, we have built practically all kinds of glass en- closures, from garden cold frames at a few dollars each, to conservatories, glass enclosed swimming pools, orchard houses and even orange grove glass-ins, costing up into the thousands. It matters not whether you want just a small house, costing but a few hund -ed dollars, or one most pretentious ; we can give you a service and a value that we think careful investigation will prove to you cannot be equalled. \\'e should be glad to talk with vou. Send for our catalog No. 316. NEW YORK 42ad St. Bldg. BUILDERS OF GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES SALES OFFICES BOSTON PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO ROCHESTER Tremont Bldg. Widencr Bldg. Rookery Bldg. Granite Bldg. TORONTO MONTREAL Royal Bank Bldg. Transportation Bldg. FACTORIES: Irvington. X. V.; Des Plaines, 111.; St. Catharines. Canada. '■LEVELAND Swrtland Bldg. M m ml m GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA LTURAt PARKS 8c GARDENS ILLUSTRATED $1.50 The Year SEPTEMBER, 1917 15c. The Copy giiiiioiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiUHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ iBobbink& Atkins I I World*s Choicest [ I Roses I I Our lldine (irnwn Roses have proved | I beyond doubt their Standard and if you | I will plant now, you will see next year | I the advantage of Autumn riantiiii:;-. and | I also c.f usino- only HOMEGROWN | I BUSHES. " I I The perfection of our Roses shows the | I standard we have set for all our prod- | I ucts, TREES, SHRUBS, HERBA- | I CEOUS PLANTS. GREENHOUSE | I STOCK and all that we grow will re- | I fleet the care with which they are | I grown. I I FOR Your AUTUMN PLANTING | I needs write us now and we will give | I vou service and satisfaction. Have | I you a CATALOG? | I NURSERYMEN AND FLORISTS I I Rutherford New Jersey | ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin I MICHELUS GRASS SEEDS I I FOR ALL PURPOSES | i Special formulas for Shaded Lawns, Southern Lr. ns, Sea Shore 1 ^ Lawns, Golf Courses, Terraces, Permanent Past res, Hayfields, 1 = etc. Also for all Climatic and Soil Conditions. = ';riiiiiiiiiiiiiii:i!iiiiiii[[ii[iiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii]iiiiiiiii^ iiiiiiiiiiliilitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKii^ Send for wholesale Catalog— Seeds, Bulbs, Plants, Grasses and ^ everything for Farm, Lawn and Garden. e HENRY F. MICHELL CO. | 518 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA y PLANT NOW irises aeonies PKl oxes Our collection of perennial plants, suitable for the Herbaceous Border or the Hardy Garden, is one of the most complete in the country and in- cludes many new varieties. Write for a copy of our Autumn Catalogue containing descriptions. FARQUHAR 6 SOUTH MARKET STREET BOSTON, MASS. For the Private Grower THE NEW ROSE MRS. HENRY WINNETT approaches the ideal in a Red Rose. A splendid producer — freer than Hoosier Beauty; vigorous in growth and more easily handled than Hadley; color brighter than either. These are attributes which will commend it to the gardener. To Be Disseminated in 1918! Watch for it at the Fall Shows. Or, better still, see it growing and you will want to include it in your next season's planting. A.N?IEI^ON INC. CppMWELL CAI^ENS CipMWELL Conn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiNiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ FHE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 325 iiiiiiiiii'niiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii niiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiininiiimiiniiiniiiiniiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiini iiiiiniiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiin iiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiimiiiiiiiiiiini!; DREER'S CHOICE HARDY PERENNIAL PLANTS and SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS We handle the choicest and most complete line of the above in this country. Stocks of many varieties are not overly plentiful and it is suggested that you secure your supplies as early as possible. Let us send you a copy of our Autumn Catalogue which contains a complete list of the above as well as other seasonable Seeds, Plants, etc. Free on appli- cation. HENRY A. DREER, viiiiiiiiiiiiuii)ii«iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii{iiii:i .^ Ornamentals *~ Every Known Variety Over 800 acres of good hardy stock ready for immediate shipment. I'rict's alw a\s reasonaldc. AMERICAN NURSERY Cr\ ^' Successful for over a century** X.^* Singer Building ... New York 714-716 CHESTNUT ST. PHILADELPHIA, PA. iiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimi iiniinii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiir iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiliiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiinniniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiN I MARSHALL'S | I FALL BULB CATALOGUE | I Contains a full list of our Matchless Bulbs. j 1 Strawberry Plants and Fall Flower Seeds. i I If you have not received a copy a post- | I al will bring it by return mail. | I W. E. MARSHALL & CO., Inc. | I Seeds, Plants and Bulbs | I 166 West 23rd St. New York | ~i'iNiiiiiii{iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii!iiiiiiiiii[!mni{'iiiiiiiii!iiiiiNiiiii{i{iiiiiiiii[[[iiiiiii iiiiiniiii I1I11II1IIIII1IIIII1IIIII1IIIIIIIIII1III11III iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii [iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Orchids If you contemplate buying semi-es- tablished, established or imported Orchids, consult us first. We carry in stock about 25,000 plants and from April to July we receive large consignments of im- ported Orchids. We specialize in supplying the pri- vate trade. Let us figure on your requirements — our quality is second to none. Orchid Peat, Live Sphagnum Moss, Baskets, Pot Hangers, always on hand. Send for our price list. I G. E. Baldwin 6- Company | I Orchid Collectors, Growers and Importers | I MamAroneck Box 98 New York | liiiniiii iiiiii[iMiiii:i:iiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii mil iiiiiiiiin iiiliiiniiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i iiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii iniiiiiiiiiiii JflUMil ■Mtt Plant Moon's Evergreens in August and September At Moon's you will find a big assortment and wide range of sizes. Come and see them. The illustration show.s pTai supplied W us to an estate in Sewickley, Pa., Alexam Davidson, Gardeyier. Our free cats ' ^^mm^m<^m.&^^m<^m^^^^pf?::;^^^::^g^^0 BODDINGTON'S COLD STORAGE Lilium longiflorum giganteum I I EASTER LILY Uoz. 7 to 9-in., 300 bulbs in case $2.00 8 to 10-in., 225 bulbs in case 2.50 '>tolO-in., 200 bulbs in case .J.OO 100 $15.00 19.00 22.50 Case $42.50 38.00 42..S0 Artljur ®. ^o!t!ttn0ion Co. Inrorporatrb 128 Chambers Street NEW YORK CITY iii?a\if/i\if/i\ii?i\i[/i\if/t\if/S\it^if/S\)f^if/i\if/i\ff/i\if/S\ff/i\ff/i\iF^^^ Z26 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iiiiiinniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiii^ 1 I ©1)0 CTontcnts, ^^ptpmher, 1917 Things and Thoughts of the Garden . The Onlooker Forestry Upon the Private Estate and Its Land- scape Possibilities . . Aiihur Sriih Forcing Darwin Tulips Raising Winter-Flowering Begonias Box Barberry Drying Fruits and Vegetables in the Home . Garden Chemistry in Soil Cultivation . JVilliam B. Cillies October's Work in the Garden John Johnson Seed Sowing Suggestions . Wrr. B. Craig Greenhouse, Month to Month W. B. Fowkes Our Flag Europe's Ravaged Gardens to Be Reconstructed Duration of Leaves Hedges Hardy Ornamental Fruiting Trees and Shrubs John Dunbar North Shore Horticultural Hall . . . . American Association of Park Superintendents National Association of Gardeners Lccal Society Notes Page 327 329 331 33! 332 332 333 334 335 337 338 339 340 340 341 343 344 345 345 m Oak Brand Shrubs 1 he Kind You Can Depend On Depending Upon \7 0U can depend on depending upon them Y liecausc every one of them has a fibrous niaf-3 (if strong, vigorous rootlets that insures its hardiness and shapely top growth. Grown with care. Dug with care. Graded with care. Packed with care. llclow we list some of the choicest ones. We can promptly supply you with as many of each as you want. Send for prices, stating quantity desired. HYDRANGEA PANICULATA GRANDIFLORA 111 liciKlits a,s follows: 1'- 1'/ ; 1,' . .'-."; 2'-j' ; 3'-4' ; 4'-5'. VIBURNUM PLICATUM (lidwii tHini cuttings rierht here in America. Abso- lutch lualtli\. Don't t.ikc cliances on foreign deliveries this > ivir. Ill htiglits .IS follows: W-iV; 2'-3'; 3'-4'; 4'-5'. BERBERRIS THUNBERGII (Jrown front cuttings. In heights as follows: 8"-12"; 12"-18"; 18"-24"; 24"-,»". SPIRAEA \'an Houttci. In heights as follows: 2' -"3'; 3'-4'; 4'-5'. Send for complete price list of Oak Brand Shrltbs. WEIGELEAS Eva Rathke— li4'-2'. liana. Variegatal— 1;4'-2'; 2'-3'; 3'-4'. Rosea ( Flanda)— 3'-4'; 4' 5'. The Gonard & Jones Go. Robert Pyle, Pres. Antoine Wintzer, Vice-Pres. West Grove, Pa. :. I :ijiiiiiiiNiiiiiuii«iioiiiiiiiiiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiii!ii|iiiiiiniiiNiiiiii:iiii:iiii;iii!iii:iiii:iiii:i^^ m ^IIIIIIIIIilHtlllllllltl Iliiilllllill illlllllliiiiillMlilllilllllllilllliillllllllillllliiillllllllllll' IIIIIIDIIIIIIJIIIIIillllll Illllllllllllllllll liliililllllllllllll I Itlllllll mitlllll Nllll]ll!llllltlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllNII!IIIIIIIININIIIIIItllH^ IllimillllllUiH^ iiiiNNiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiitiiinii Stumpp & Walter Co.'s FALL Catalog A roiiiJ->lcfc list of (ill NEW and RARE BULBS For Fall Planting and Exhibition The Best Novelties in DARWIN— BREEDER and COTTAGE TULIPS, DAFFODILS— DUTCH HYACINTHS. S. & W. CO.'S NEW COLORED FREESIAS — NEW EARLY FLOWERING DUTCH IRIS NOVELTY WINTER FLOWERING SPENCER SWEET PEAS Best Australian and Californian Varieties // we drj not have your name on our catalog register, please write for one. §uMer& 30-32 Barclay Street NEW YORK GITY fiiii I iii::iiiiiii iiiii»iii:iiii:»iinii:iii i i hinih iniinii ii ii :: illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll^ I GARDENERS' CHRONICLE | I OF AMERICA | I Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture I \'(,1, XXI iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii SEPTEMBER, 1917 MlllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllH^^^^ No. 9 1 Things and Thoughts of the Garden By the Onlooker SO.ME one said to me that it made the study of flowers much more interesting when one knew the meaning of the names. The statement needs no arguing. And in looking over the list of words with their mean- ings, that is given at the end of Johnson's Gardeners' Dictionary, it is seen that there is only one way to get at the meaning of the names, and that is, to learn them, memorize tliem. We who have gradually accumulated a knowledge of the Latin and Greek names, roots, derivatives, are apt to forget that the uninitiated can hardly be expected offhand, unless he or she has been well grounded in the classical languages at school, to asso- ciate the name l^ratensis with meadow, in allusion to the natural habitat of the plant ; or the name rk'tilaris attached to a plant betokening that it hails from the banks of a stream or river; or alpcstris referring to a mountain plant, and so on. The nouns alba, rubra, nigra, flava, meaning respectively white, red, black, yellow, or their masuline form, album, rubrum, nigrum, are soon learned. Likewise we understand (juickly that geographical names are an index of at least the country from which the plant comes, as chinensis, japonica, europaeus, americana. Then again a lot of names, generic names, have been given in honor of botanists, plant collectors or famous gardeners and herbatists. Among these are Cattleya, after Mr. Cattley, an amateur of this genus of orchids; I'uchsia, after the old-time botanist Fuchs ; Robinia, after Robin, a French botanist ; Rivinia, the pretty berry-bear- ing plant of Christmas, after a tierman botanist named Rivinus. A large percentage of generic names that end in a are men's names Latinized * :'; ^. Of course, many names have come down from ancient times, and just why Pliny and the others gave them these names is not apparent. The meaning is obscure. In- stances are these : liallota, Lantana, \'eronica. Solanum, \'accinium, Emilia, A'alariana, Ruta, Hypericum and many more. The combination of Greek or Latin words, or the translation of a name from Arabic, gives us an- other long series. Here are a few: Chrysanthemum, meaning "golden flower"; Helianthus, meaning Sun- llower; Heliotropium (Heliotrope), meaning "turning 10 the sun" : Phlox, Greek for "flame," the first named i;])ecies doubtless having brilliant flowers ; Primula, from "primus," spring, the flowering time of the true Primrose. It should be noted that anthiis always means "flower." It occurs in Polyanthus, Chionanthus, Osmanthus. Phyllanthus, Dianthus, Bryanthus. Poly signifies "many" ; cliion, snow ; phyll from phyllton, a leaf. The di in Dimthus is from dios, God, so that the meaning is the ( lod-flower or Divine Flower. And so one might pro- ceed. Some of the names are pretty or interesting from their mythological foundation or their historical allusion. Thus, take the names Narcissus and Hyacinthus, boy myths who were converted into these flowers ; Teucrium ( Teucer, a Trojan prince); Romulea (from Romulus, founder of Rome); Protea (Proteus, a sea-god); I'hoenix (a character in Homer's Iliad). Many names, indeed the majority, originated, however, like some of those already given, e. g., Helianthus. as an expression of their character, the Suit flower, the sun-loving flower; or Odontoglossum, from odoiis, a tooth, and glossa. a tongue, alluding to the tooth-like processes on the lip of some of the flowers. At one time the wdiole character of the plant was given in Latin, and this formed the name. We still get fearfully long names in some of the ferns, such as Polystichum angulare divisilobum proli- ferum, and others still longer. But Linnaeus revolution- ized nomenclature when he caused the adoption of a binomial system, that is, two names only, the generic and specific. This has been discussed previously in this department. At the present day the florists and nursery- men are anxious to get down to a binomial system for varietal names, and to a great extent have succeeded. The whole subject of names and naming is so interesting and valuable for discussion that we may well return to it again and again. * * * The Scarlet Sage is the cynosure of the garden in September. Without it we would be distinctly poorer. The Sages are a well-marked family and comprise some excellent garden plants. Fifty-five dififerent kinds have been described or grown, but only eight or ten are well known, among them being the one we have mentioned, which is Salvia splendens, others comprising Greggii, with carmine flowers, a plant that came to the front a coujile of years ago when some firm advertised it well ; ])ratensis (also called virgata). a notablv fine violet colored border jjlant ; azurea, a pretty bright clear blue, good as a pot subject ; farinacea, sometimes employed for bedding and of which John Canning, of Ardsley, N. Y., has, I think, a white form. Salvia uliginosa is one of the later introductions, and is 5 ft. to 6 ft. tall. S. Horminum. with violet bracts, is also hahndsome. It makes a good border plant for summer. In English gardens, but not here, to any extent, we find S. patens grown, one of the finest of blue flowers. .Vs most of the Salvias are from warm countries or regions, they are not hardy in our northern gardens, but can be carried over in the green- house or in pits. A fine old outdoor plant of old country gardens is the Clary (S. Sclarea), with big greyish 327 328 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA leaves and handsome upriglit branching inflorescences. It is also used for seasoning. The Sages belong to the mint or Labiate family. One of the general characteristics of this order is the posses- sion of aromatic properties. This is well exemplified in Lavender, Thyme, Rosemary, Marjoram, Hyssop and Mint, all of which are included here. Other sweet- smelling herbs of this same family are I'lalm, Savory, Sweet Basil, Dittany. These are ver}' generally grown in kitchen gardens, and at this season or a little earlier, are cut, hung up and dried in the sun and then stored away in a dry loft or room. The Mint family also embraces the Coleuses, Stachys lanata or Lamb's Ear. Lamium maculatum, the spotted leaved Dead Xettle, and the rather handsome and free-flowering hard border plant, Ketonica grandiflora. The last of the wild flowers will soon be gone. For weeks the fields and vacant lots have been ablaze with Goldenrod. Now the Asters are with us. Early in Sep- tember, near Oyster Bay, Long Island, N. Y., the writer saw colonies of the wild Phlox, I', paniculata, which also grows abundantly in northern New Jersey. Ragweed (Ambrosia sp., green Amaranthus, Jewelweed, Joe Pve Weed ( Eupatorium purpureum ) , and its white flowered brother, E. perforatum ; Epilobium coloratum, magenta blue, very showy ; Verbena hastata, X'ernonia or Iron- weed ; Partridge Pea (Cassia chamaecrista), Gerardias ptirpurea and grandiflora ; Pluchea camphorata, a pretty pink composite of the marshes, were each and all found blooming abundantly in my part of the country, the New York region. The Gerardias are particularly beautiful and showy in their pink and yellow, respectively. The former is found in damp or wet places near the sea. While it may not make us any better gardeners to be acquainted with the wildings, it adds much to the interest of one's surroundings and the countryside in which we live, to have at least their names and a few facts about them. ,,, ., ,,. Never have the Zinnias been finer with me than this year. Those who only know the small and medium flowered varieties in a mixture of odd and often dingy colors can have no notion of the rich and varied colors of the newer selected giants. The colors that appeal most are the scarlet and the brilliant orange. Some of these at Burpee's trial grounds at Philadelphia, seen in July, were gorgeous as to color, remarkably prolific as to blooming qualities, and had flowers measuring from 3 in. to 4 in. across. They are easy to raise and largely take care of themselves after they are planted out. A good rich soil is advisable, and if the plants are given perfect freedom they will branch out 1 ft. on either side of the main stem. They bloom from July until frost kills them. ^ ^, Entering the season of long evenings, we turn once in a while to books of the garden, some of them simply story books, others reference works and necessary prac- tical helpers. My earlier experience was all with the British authors — Thomson, on "Fruits LTnder Glass," and on "Hardy Plants"; Mcintosh's "Practical Garden- ing," Glenny's works on florists' flowers (that term has a particular meaning in England) ; Sutton's "Vegetables and Flowers from Roots, Seeds and Bulbs" ; Robinson's "English Flower Garden," John Wright's several notable works on fruits, flowers, vegetables ; Watson's "Orchids," Schneider's "Ferns," Nicholson's "Dictionary of Garden- ing," Johnson's "Gardeners' Dictionary," Paul's "The Pose Garden," Foster Melliar's "Roses," with a famous chapter on "Their Manners and Customs," Loudon's "Encyclopedia of Gardening" and his "Trees and Shrubs of (ireat Britain": latterly Cook's "( )rnamental Trees and Shrubs," Robinson's "Alpine Flowers," Veitch's "Manual of Coniferne." These were some of the stand- bys. At one time there were few of the English hor- ticultural books I did not see or review, although actually scores and even hundreds appeared annually. It was this writer's good fortune to be able to utilize the remark- alile library in the herbarium at Kew (hardens, London, with its 20,000 volumes. What could one not find here. Likewise the richness of the Lindley Library of the Royal Horticultural Society in London, with several thousand volumes, was open to me ; and a private library, where I worked, threw open more books than I could readily digest. The contents of most of them were sufficiently known, however, and so, with these privileges, it was perhaps not surprising that every once in a while "The ( )nlooker" was invited before local gardening societies, especially those in medium sized towns or cities, where the public libraries had a goodly selection of books on gardening, and there gave a talk on these and their authors. The local librarian was always glad to bring out the books and furnish suitable seating accommodation. * * * For seventy or eighty years, writers in gardening ])eri- odicals have advocated the establishment of libraries for the use of assistants employed on the large private estates, and both here and in England such libraries have been formed. If gardeners are to assume their true and ]iroper position as a highly respected body of professional men, men of an honorable, erudite calling, they must get rid of any disposition to neglect or look with prejudice upon books. No one would dream, at least not I, born to the hoe, rake and spade, to assume that successful ])ractitioners come out of libraries. But there's a lot we ought to know more than we do know: lots of facts we cannot remember; miles of history, garden and plant history, personal history, the history of practical garden- ing, to mention but one vein or channel of book learning, that it would do us all good to be acquainted with. If we were acquainted with all past experiments, it might save some vain quests today ; it would fortify us at any rate. Yet, after all, the progress of the present day is so notable that to comprehensivey survey it keeps one busy. A glance over the pages of the Journal of Ai^ri- niltiiral Research will bear home the truth of this state- ment. The war has largely stopped the outflow from the presses of books of flowers and gardens. There were whole series of them — Lane's series. Jacks' series, Cas- sell & Co.'s books, John Murray's, Macmillans, Headley liros., T. N. Foulis, Hudson and Kearns, Routledge, Longmans, LTpcott Gill and several others in England ke|)t their machines and organization busy on this class of books. Cntil but recently American houses made no special effort to supply horticultural works ; albeit there are some standard American books, but look at any cata- logue of gardening works or at the shelves of any large pifl)lic or private library to-day. and pick out the English and the American books — half are of r)ritish production, .^re there any works published here on orchids, ferns. cacti, for the gardener's use ? And although every day sees a vacuum filled or a gap supplied, it has been diflicult in many instances to recommend a reliable, sound, four- sided, complete work on several of the important phases of ornamental gardening. Fruits, vegetables, lawns and certain popular indoor flowers were well taken care of, and doubtless the numbers who wanted special treatises on other subjects were far too limited to make it a ])aying (Continued on page 336.) Forestry Upon the Private Estate and Its Landscape Possibilities By Arthur Smith, New Jersey. AS about eighty per cent, of the forests in this coun- try is in the hands of private owners, the bulk of it being held by lumbermen for purely commercial purposes, it would be perhaps more exact to use the term "pleasure estate" ; an estate acquired by its owner for his health ; to create a country home and place for enjo3'ment and recreation. It is to estates of the latter kind having forest land connected with them that this article is intended to apply. While the proportion of pleasure estates having forest land included in their area may not he large, they are in the aggregate somewhat numerous, but it is quite the exception to find one upon which much real attempt has been made to solve the forestry problems awaiting so- lution. Upon many of these estates there is more or less land which could be devoted to forestry from a commercial standiioint, that is, trees could be planted with regard to their potential value as lumber, and at the same time the questions involved under landscape forestry need not be lost sight of. While it is possible to combine in the forests upon the one estate the utilitarian and the aesthetic, it is impossible to combine the two ideas with respect to one individual tree. When planting a tree we must make up our mind at the onset whether we wish that tree to produce the greatest quantity of lumber of the highest quality, and quality is of more importance than quantity, or to. de- velop all the beatity qf form it is capable of. In growing a tree for lumber it should be so placed with regard to others that its branches will be pruned off by nature at the earliest possible date and that it will grow with a tall, straight trunk, practically free from knots, and with its living Ijranches forming a crown at the top. A tree grown tor its beauty must have all the room it requires for the spread of its branches so that they can persist at their fullest length from the ground upwards. It is unfortunately extremely rare to find gardens which have been so planted that the trees and shrubs have anything approaching sufficient space to develop properly. In this connection the ideal which should be striven for is that every tree and shrub should be a per- fect specimen of its kind. One is afraid, however, that this ideal is not likely to be reached as long as there is so much landscape work carried out by those interested in making the bills for nursery stock as large as possible, and while so many landscape architects, so called, do not appear capable of visualizing in their mind's eye the pos- sibilities to which a tree or shrub can reach in a few years. Much of the necessity for reforestation in the eastern states at the present time has been brought about by the spread of a fungus causing what is known as the Chest- nut Blight. To every one with merely an elementary knowledge of fungous diseases it is a foregone conclu- sion that there is no cure for it, as no fungous disease can be cured : the most which can be done is by way of prevention. Theoretically, by keeping a healthy chestnut tree covered with a fungicide, it is easy to prevent it be- coming diseased as the result of an attack by this fungus. When there is a healthy ' spreading chestnut of such character and growing in such a position that its value cannot be computed in dollars and cents, it is for its owner to consider whether it is worth his while to ex- pend sixty or more dollars a year to preserve it. The writer has done a little in this way in connection with a medium sized chestnut which had been allowed to de- velop its full ornamental character and, having been in the habit of keeping cost accounts in matters relating to country estates, found that it cost five dollars every time the tree was sprayed. The spores of this fungus will germinate more or less at all seasons of the year, except when there is severe frost and also probably in times of extreme drought. A dozen times a year is not too fre- quent to spray a tree, therefore the above estimate is not a mere figure of speech or guess but based upon facts. Obviously spraying an ordinary chestnut growing in a forest would cost more for one spraying than its lumber value, apart from the impracticability of carrying out the operation under forest conditions. The best method in dealing with woods containing chestnuts is to clear them all away, diseased or not, and replant with something else. To lay the foundation of a future crop of lumber of the best quality the young trees must be started close together and the poorer the ground the closer should be the initial planting. This is based upon one of the scien- tific principles of forestry, that success is only assured by obtaining a perfect crown at the earliest possible date, so that in looking down at a forest from an aeroplane no ground should be visible between the tops of the trees. But whatever the soil conditions, the margin of distance is very small, for however suitable and good a piece of ground may be for growing a particular species it is impossible to obtain trees of so great an individual value or of so great an aggregate value per acre, if they are planted at eight feet as if that particular spot were planted at four feet apart ; in fact the value under the latter condition would be double both individually and collectively. The extra cost of the initial planting may be looked upon as negligible. While four feet is a very good distance to plant and at which the crop may be al- lowed to coiue to maturity, a better plan still is to start at three feet and use what are termed nurse trees of some other species, or the same species may be used en- tirely. Whatever the species used at this latter distance, some thinning will have to be done in about fifteen years, but if the thinnings are practically worthless the extra cost will be more than repaid by the greater quality of ihe resulting lumber. The writer has during recent years adopted a modification of the idea by planting the species intended for the lumber crop at six feet and fill- ing up to three feet with Norway spruce to cut out as Christmas trees. Hitherto the species principally used for reforestation in the eastern states has been the white pine, but at the present time it would appear wise to use more of the red pine (Pinus resinosa). The latter will make more growth in a given time upon a dry slope than the for- mer : it is iiumune from two things which cause trouble in connection with the white pine, the weevil and the blister rust. The weevil is not much trouble to combat, but today we scarcely know where we are with the rust, except that it is liable to produce serious consequences. The lumber value of the red pine is equal to the white, and no doubt the reason it has not hitherto been more planted is because it has not been obtainable in quantity for forest planting, a difficulty which no longer exists. 329 330 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA While there are oreat possibihties for harm resuUing from the existence of this white pine rust in the country, we must remember tliat it cannot spread from one pine to another as it must pass one period of its existence upon an intermediary' host in the form of some species of ribes. It is considered that the destruction of every member of the ribes genus within a quarter of a mile of a white pine plantation will secure the latter from attack, or if already [iresent will jirevent its further spread. It appears of far greater importance, and it would prove more effective to destroy root and branch of all ribes in the vicinity of these pines than to rest content with mere- ly the removal of the latter, which show signs of the disease. /VUhough in recent years planting red pine principally for lumber purposes. I have not entirely discontinued the use of the white, as the latter will probably do better in some situations. For instance, in clearing away chest- nuts all other species have been left, thus forming patches of bare ground which are more or less shaded, in these white pine has been planted ; the latter will also not object to a moist, not swampy, situation, which the red appears to object to. For districts south of New York the yellow pine ( Pinus echinata) should prove a A'aluable tree, but young trees cannot at present be ob- tained in quantity. For constructional lumber there are practically only three species obtainable which are worth planting in quantity for constructional lumber : red and white pine, and Norway spruce, their comparative value being in the order named. In localities north of New York the white spruce (Picea canadensis) may have a place, but it does not do well south of that latitude. It may be mentioned that these spruce are more used for pulp purposes. While the bulk of reforestation planting may, as re- gards conifers, consist of the above, we should endeavor to make the pleasure estate a kind of arboretum by plant- ing small irregular shaped groups of all native species likely to do more or less well in the locality. This proce- dure will not only be of great interest to the owner and add to his pleasure, if he takes a direct interest in sylvi- culture, but will greatly increase its landscape beauties and also afford a valuable object lesson as to the be- havior of the various species under forestry conditions. While it is unnecessary to mention the many species which may be used in carrying out this idea, there are a few about which we would like to say a word or two. In some districts the Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) has been rather extensively planted in reforestation work, but I would strongly advise that plantings of this species be limited to a few for the sake of having it growing upon the estate, even if the trees have been grown from seed obtained from the north of Russia, which do better than those grown from seed obtained in other localities. This pine grows fairly fast for a few years and in its early life is not an unattractive tree, but it does not last, and for lumber purposes is practically a failure in this coun- try, more especially when it is taking up room which could be better filled with a more valuable species. There are many western species which have been sparingly used for garden planting that can be effectively introduced into our eastern forestry conditions ; but one must be careful not to use those grown from seed obtained from trees growing in the Pacific coast region. Notably the Douglas spruce (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), which is one of the most ornamental of conifers, it has many varieties, some of which are distinctly glaucus. It is one of the most valuable of the western lumber trees, but has not been greatly planted for that pur[)ose in the east. It should not be planted in a position subject to the full force of winds in winter. It is being very successfully grown for lumber in western Europe and there appears no reason against it being more extensively planted here. The Colorado spruce (Picea pungens) should be scat- tered about our eastern forests for its glaucus shades, but it is not advisable to use any of the variety koste- riana. the latter is very frequently overdone in connec- tion with lawn planting, the contrast of its intense color being too great to harmonize and in natural forest con- ditions produces discord. Perhaps the most beautiful of our native conifers is the white fir (Abies concolar), which strangely enough is frequently overlooked by landscape designers. It harmonizes well with others and the distinct form of its needles renders it extremely in- teresting. -Among the exotics the Japanese red pine (Pinus densi- tlora ) appears likely to be a valuable addition to our for- est trees. My experience after planting a few under forestry conditions is that it grows somewhat quicker than the native red pine and so far has not been attacked by any fungus or insect pests. The larches, both Eu- ropean and Japanese, should not be omitted as they create a pleasing variety to the landscape by their fresh green in spring and yellow needles in the autumn : they also lighten up jjlantings of the evergreen conifers. For some reason their usefulness as lumber has not been as yet much appreciated in this country, but in some parts of Europe they are looked upon as being among the most profitable for this purpose, where they are used for min- ing props and fencing, the larger sizes cutting into good constructional lumber. In their smaller sizes they are useful upon estates for bean poles, stakes, etc., for which purposes they may be started two or three feet apart, and as they are thinned those which remain will have opportunity to grow into larger material. The European species appears to withstand drought better than the other. I have seen the Japanese species growing very rapidly in quite wet places, Ijut in sifch positions they are not likely to be very long lived and the timber will be spongy. It must be remembered that the behavior of a tree growing as an individual in a garden where it is given more or less attention in the way of feeding, watering, etc., is little criterion as to what it will do under natural forest conditions. While we should seek to make a pleas- ure estate forest the home of as many species as possible that are native to that part of the country, by adding from time to time those indigenous to other districts and to other countries, valuable information will be presented in the future as to the desirability or otherwise of using any of them in quantity for lumber purposes. Up to this point we have been considering conifers only, but it must not be understood that the writer deems it desirable to confine reforestation planting entirely to this famih' ; on the contrary, he believes that doing so would be, for more reasons than one, a mistake. In Eu- rope, where forestry as a profession existed many years before it was thought of in this country, there have been two schools of foresters, one who advocated and prac- ticed the mixed stand system, and the other who not only planted absolutely pure stands, but who kept them free from all undergrowth in the form of shrubs. During the past few years the latter have been modifying their practice and have now generally adopted the mixed planting system, that is, not mixed conifers only, but liardwouds and conifers together. It is now realized that such a mixture will produce a greater quantity of lumber of a higher quality per acre than if each species were planted in pure blocks separately. From a land- scape point of view the dift'erence is inestimable. The THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 331 artist will find no beauty in block planting, in fact the reverse as the latter system creates artificiality and in- troduces discord. Those who have lived for any length of time in dis- tricts where nothing but coniferous forest exists will have been impressed with the monotony of seeing noth- ing else, and they will no doubt have missed greatly the succeeding forms of beauty that unveil themselves from spring to fall in forests where hardwoods are growing. Certainly as the autumn season conies round they will long for a glimpse of our Eastern woods arrayed in all their thousand beauties which cause residence in the country at that season to be so desirable and enjoyable. In conenction with the use of decidtious species we should from a landscape point of view endeavor to se- cure a continuous and everchanging scene of beauty throughout the \ear. {Continued in Uclobcr issue.) FORCING DARWIN TULIPS nPHE lack of early appreciation of the Darwin tulips ■'■ is partly explained by the fact that they were not classified as a distinct race tuitil comparatively recent times. Their present name was given to them only a little more than a quarter of a century ago, in honor of the great evolutionist, Charles Darwin. In view of their relatively modern origin, it is not surprising, perhaps, that their popularity as bedding plants does not date back more than about fifteen years. The reason for astonishment is that as forcing stock they were prac- tically an unknown quantity until two or three years ago. Not until the last two winters have the greenhouse Darwins appeared in the markets and been prominent on exhibition tables. There was a tremendous increase in the importation and forciiig of Darwins last season, but even now only a limited number of florists who specialize in bulb forcing have tried them. However, these few pioneers in the work have been so well rewarded that their example will surely be followed by many other growers. As outdoor bedding plants, the Darwins are so much superior to the ordinary early tulips that there is little room for comparison between the two classes. The Darwins, while a little more expensive, have the ad- vantage of wearing better than the early section, and. when left undisturbed in beds, they flower far better the second and third year than the first. The same statement holds true, also, if they are planted in clumps in the hardy herbaceous border. The Darwins are a stately race, with long, strong stems. The outdoor flowers have stems varying from twenty-four to forty inches in height, according to the variety of the plants and the nature of the soil. Under glass the -stems average eighteen to twenty-four inches high in February and are somewhat taller in March. The flowers have a wide range of colors, comprising rose, maroon, claret, heliotrope, red, crimson, purple and other deep, rich shades. However, there is no really pttre white in the group and there is no good yellow, unless the cottage tulip, Tnglescombe Yellow, sometimes called the "Yellow Darwin." is included in the list. Most of the colors are improved by the protection of glass. Being naturally May-flowering sorts, of course they cannot be forced into bloom successfully as early as such tulips as La Reine, Yellow Prince, White Hawk or Thomas Moore. (~)ne or two varieties, however, can be flowered in fine condition by the middle of February, while all can be had in crop during ]\Iarch. In the last two seasons pans or beds of them have been attractive features at the large spring exhibitions in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. For forcing purposes the bulbs should be placed in flats containing five inches of soil, or in pans. If pans are used, fairly large ones are preferable. As a compost a mixture of fibrous loam and old, well-decayed manure will be found suitable. If the loam is heavy, add some leaf-mold and sand. I store the bulbs, after they are placed in pans and flats, on the floor of a roomy cellar and give them several soakings of water before covering them with sand or coal ashes. Many beginners in bulb culture imagine that, if their bulbs receive a watering after they are placed in the soil, they can be covered and left to care for themselves until they are wanted for forcing. Where this is done there is certain to be a large proportion of blind bulbs, owing to an insufirciency of moisture in the early stages of growth. While nearly, all varieties of Darwins may be forced, some come in season much earlier than others. William Copeland, lavender, and Pride of Haarlem, bright rose, are generally considered the best two for blooming in h'ebruary. Directly following these we get Bartigon, car- mine red ; Rev. H. Ewbank, heliotrope hlac, and William Pitt, deep scarlet. To come along a little later a splendid lialf dozen are Glow, vermilion red; Loveliness, carmine rose ; Gretchen, pale rose : Farncombe Sanders, rose scar- let; Massachusetts, vivid pink, and Baronne de la Ton- naye,- bright rose. As already stated, there is no pure white Darwin, but White Queen comes the nearest to that color. La Tulipe Noire, the black tuli]), is somewhat high-priced, but is a giant among its fellows, carrying larger blooms than any other Darwin. It cannot be forced quite so early as other varieties named, but has great substance and won- derful vigor, and is, in general estimation, the most noble of all the Darwins. — The Florists' Re-z'iezv. The Late Herbert B. Bueli. nerhert B Buck, -.vho AkA recently in New York City, was born in Ipswich, hngland. and came to this countrv some vears ago. For the past four years he represerted the firm of \V. t. Marshall & Co., of New York, on the road Mr Buck acquired many friends through the territory he visited, all of whom mourn his early demise. RAISING WINTER-FLOWERING BEGONIAS N order to obtain plants of the tuberous section of Begonia for crossing with B. socotrana, which flowers during autumn and winter, it is necessary to make preparation betimes. Good strong growing kinds I 332 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA shuiild be selected and kept in as cool a situation as possible in a cold frame, throutihout the summer. The plants should be potted up late and grown in moder- ately small pots. The colors most wanted are a good pure white, yellow, and crimson. The other parent, B. socotrana, must be started early in moderate heat, and encouraged to grow on quickly. When the plants are coming Ynto flower they should be brought into a dry, airy house, with a night temperature of about 55 de- grees. The plants should be so placed that they receive all the sunlight possible, for in such circumstances the male tiowers produce pollen more freely, and fertiliza- tion is effected more easily. It should be noted that, as a rule, the anthers of B. socotrana do not burst, and to this fact many failures are to be attributed. To get over this difficulty the stamens should be gathered when fully developed, and placed in a dry part of the house. \Vhen the anthers seem to be ripe, their tips should be cut in order to allow the pollen to escape. It is sometimes necessary to shake them well, to lib- erate the pollen. Generally, however, enough pollen is produced by one male flower to pollinate two or three female flowers. After the flower has been fertilized it should be staked, and supported with raffia or other tj-ing material in order to keep it from drooping, as it is apt to do so late in the season. The seed ripens fairly quicklv, and as soon as the seed pods begin to turn brown they should be watched attentively in order that the seed may be gathered be- fore the pods burst. The seeds should be sown at once, in small pots or pans, and they should produce plants which will flower in the following autumn. — John Heal, \'. AI. H., in Gardners' Chronicle (English). DRYING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN THE HOME npHE advantages of drying vegetables are more appar- -*• ent perhaps for the town or city household which has no cellar or place in which to store fresh vegetables. For the farmer's wife the new method of canning will probably be better than sun-drying, which requires a longer time. Shorter methods of drying are available, however, according to the United States Department of Agricul- ture, and the dried product holds an advantage in that usually it requires fewer jars, cans or other containers than do canned fruits or vegetables ; also dried material can be stored in receptacles which cannot be used for canning. Furthermore, canned fruit and vegetables freeze and can not be shipped as conveniently in winter. Dried vegetables can be compacted and shipped with a minimum of risk. There are three principal ways of drying, namely, sun- drving, drying by artificial heat and drying by air blast. When artificial heat is used the fruits and vegetables should be exposed first to gentle heat and later to the higher temperatures. It is not desirable that the air tem- perature should go above 140 deg. to 150 deg. F., and it is better to keep it well below this ])oint. Drying may be accomplished with little or no expense for outfits or containers, and the simplest form is sun- drying. Sliced vegetables and fruits may be exposed to the sun on warm, dry days on sheets of tuiprinted paper or lengths of muslin. A somewhat simpler method is to place vegetables and fruits in the kitchen oven or just above the stove. Drying operations on an even larger scale may be con- ducted with outfits made at home, says American For- estry. A tray, consisting of strips of wood with gal- vanized wire bottom, may be used over the stove or in the sun. In a still simpler form this tray may be made of a piece of galvanized wire netting with the edges turned up for an inch or two on sides and ends. More coini)lete driers for cook-stove use may be made at home or they may be bought with slight outlay. The ability to judge accurately as to when fruit has reached the proper condition to be removed from the drier can be gained only by experience. It should be so dry that it is impossible to press water out of the freshly cut ends of the pieces and the natural grain of the fruit should not show when broken. It should, however, not be so dry that it will snap or crackle. In large factories the vegetables are shredded and sliced by means of machinery not adaptable for home use, but there are simple devices which any housewife can use. Even a large, sharp kitchen knife may be used for the cutting when a handier device is not available. A good home-made drier should have the following features, according to Farmers' Bulletin 841, published by the United States Department of Agriculture : ( 1 ) It should be light, easy to operate, of simple construction, inexpensive, and, as nearly as possible, non- inflammable. ( 2 ) It should permit a free circulation of air, to allow the rapid removal of the air after it has passed over the vegetables and absorbed the moisture. (3) It should provide for protection of the food product against dust, insects, etc. ( 4 ) It should protect the materials from being moist- ened by steam, smoke, rain, or dew while drying. I'ailure to prepare vegetables and fruits for winter use by drying is one of the worst examples of American extravagance, says the National Emergency Food Garden Commission in its manual on drying. To save vegetables and fruits by canning this year is a patriotic dutv. — ■ Aj^riciiltiira! Digest. BOX-BARBERRY npHE great need of a hardy, dwarf hedge plant, one which will thrive where border-box is not suc- cessful, has been keenly felt for a long time, and es- pecially so now when the formal garden border and the low hedge effects are so popular with many garden schemes. Attempts to keep down to the required size for low, formal effects various privets, euonymus, bar- berry, etc., have been only partially satisfactory, owing largely to the peculiar limitations of the plants them- selves. This new plant is a very dwarf, compact, erect form of the popular Japan barberry, and will thrive wherever that barberry is at home, which is over an extended ter- ritory. It can be kept but a few inches high indefinitely by pruning. It makes an ideal dwarf hedge and can be trimmed into formal specimens. The original plant, now 15 years old, is about 2^ feet tall, very compact, assum- ing the general outlines so characteristic of an old border- box specimen, which it resembles to a remarkable degree, other than the evergreen nature of the box. This new dwarf barberry, which is to be known as Bo.x-Barberrv, has its own peculiar charms. The delightful, soft sum- mer-green foliage, turning in the fall to intensely brilliant reds and yellows, with an abundance of red fruits which remain on all winter, really places it conspicuously in a class by itself. The original plant made its appearance among a quantity of Japan barberry seedlings. It was not, how- ever, until after several years of careful watching that its merits were appreciated and its broad usefulness realized. Box-barberry, this new candidate for popular favor, is certain of a hearty welcome. It is of easiest propagation, coming freely from either hard or soft wood cuttings. — American Florist. Garden Chemistry in Soil Cultivation By William S. Gill TO the lover of gardening any science which has a direct bearing on his craft mnst be interesting and worthy of study, and none more so than the science of chemistry. Chemical action, as we may term it, permeates the whole system of garden life and goes on without interruption and without rest. This is espe- cially true of soil, and the reason for soil cultivation is to promote that action in the way best calculated to assist the soil to the greatest degree of fertility. For the pur- poses of this paper I will class soil cultivation under three heads, i. e., Drainage, Working the Soil and Manuring. Where a soil is waterlogged or soggy draining be- comes a necessity. Air cannot permeate soil in that con- dition, and it takes so much longer for that soil to be- come warm. Warmth and air are absolutely necessary for the living organisms of the soil, and without these a high state of fertility cannot be attained. A cold, wet soil is for that reason a poor rooting medium, and drain- ing must be undertaken to correct that condition. Under the head, Working the Soil, is included plough- ing, digging, trenching, harrowing and hoeing. The first three are various forms of one operation, i. e., opening up the soil and exposing it to the air and securing a deeper rooting medium. Where large areas are to be cultivated ploughing is the only practicable way, and for farm crops this provides a satisfactory method. In the garden digging and occasional trenching are possible, and these give us a greater depth of mellow, aerated soil and make possible the production of high class garden produce. Harrowing serves to break up the coarse lumps and clods, thereby insuring better aeration and greater con- servation of moisture for the roots. The finer the grains of soil the better is moisture conserved and the sweeter the soil is kept. Hoeing and cultivating produce this required eflfect. It is in the practice of manuring that a knowledge of chemistry comes most useful. The old meaning of the word manure — to till by • hand — would not cover the present day use of the word, and it is now accepted to mean the application of dung or chemical fertilizers. It is very necessary to get the full benefit of manuring that lime or chalk be present in sufiicient quantities in the soil. E.xcept for growing a few subjects — such as Rho- dodendrons, Azaleas, etc., to which lime is a poison — all soils require the presence of lime to insure fertility. Lime counteracts sourness of the soil, and is absolutely neces- sary in the preparation of plant food. Dung in some form is probably the manure which is most largely used. It contains nitrogen, potash and phosjihate in varying quantities, according to its origin and storage. Pigeon and poultry dung are the richest, and for this reason require caution in application. Sheep manure is rich in nitrogen. Horse manure is richer than cow, but more liable to loss in keeping. Dung should not be ap- plied to the soil until it has been stored for a time. If kept in a heap it requires frequent turning to keep it in good condition and prevent loss of its valuable properties. Dung is also valuable as a means of providing organic matter or humus to the soil. Humus or decaying vege- table matter helps a light soil to retain moisture and makes a heavy soil lighter and more workable. In its decomposition" it gives ofif carbonic acid, which is useful as a potash solvent, and with lime it acts to retain am- * W'inner of Third Prize, prizes. Essay Contest, for Ex. Pres. Wm. N. Craig's ies,''- Pennsylvania monia in the soil. Mulching with dung is a common practice and, providing it is not done too early in the sprmg before the soil is properly warmed througlt, has much to recommend it. It should not be applied too heavily or be of such a close texture as to exclude all air from the soil. Many chemicals necessary to plant growth occur in sufficient quantity in most soils, and the three chief ex- ceptions are nitrogen, phosphate and potash, and of these the first two are the most easily exhausted.. ■ l^Jitrogenous manures have the efl:'ect of stimulating leaf and stem growth. Nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia are the two most widely used forms of this manure. Nitrate of soda is very soluble in water and is quickly available for plant food. Where quick results are de- sired the use of this manure has much to recommend it. It cannot be retained long in the soil and therefore small and frequent applications should be the rule. Sulphate of ammonia is, to my mind, much to be pre- ferred for genera! use. It can be applied in spring and, contrary to nitrate of soda, will be retained in the soil and liberated gradually as nitrate all the season. Nitrogen in the soil must be changed into nitrate be- fore it isavailable for plant food, and this is the work of niinute living organisms in the soil, sometimes called nitro-bacteria. This knowledge has been turned to ac- count in the preparation of bacteria cultures, which are put on the market under various names. For inoculating the seed or soil for legumes these cultures can be profit- ably used. Especially with alfalfa has this method been used with great success. Phosphatic manures have the property of stimulating and assisting flower and fruit production. Superphos- phate or acid-phosphate is the most popular form of this manure, and an application of this in the spring would be of great benefit to most gardens. In the use of this manure much may be accomplished in securing a well balanced growth in fruit trees and lessening the labor of pruning — both root and branch — which is the result of too much nitrogen. F)One meal is a phosphatic manure and is liest used where it is desired to provide phosphate for a long period. For applying to the soil previous to planting fruit trees or in making up vine borders it is to be recommended. Basic slag is a valuable form of applying phosphate to the soil. This is best applied in fall to reap the full bene- fit the following season. Unless the soil is chalky this is a splendid manure to use, as it contains a large per- centage of lime. Potassic manures increase cpiality and aid in the stor- ing of sugar in fruits. They tend to increase flavor and scent. At present the price of potash is prohibitive, and it is fortunate that of the chief soil fertilizers potash is probably the one that most garden soils are least in need of. This is es]iecially true of soils which have been pe- riodically treated with dung which contains a percentage of potash, as every bit of potash that goes into the soil is gradually available for plant food, providing there is a sufficiency of lime in the soil. Kainit and sulphate of potash are probabl}' the best forms of potassic manures for garden use. Sulphate of potash is a refined, concen- trated form of kainit. At present the best available substitute for the unpro- (Cniifiiiitcd on pati^e 34,x") 333 October's Work in the Garden John Johnson, Massachusetts Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiM^^ iiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllliniiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiliiiiiiilinw^^^^^^ TRENCHING.— I doulit not that my treatment of this subject will meet with some discussion among readers since many gardeners have a strong aversion to deep cultivation. A pity indeed it is that in nine cases out of ten exception to this practice is taken because of the extra labor involved. To say that deep cultivation is of primary importance and the basis of successful gardening is bold, but we are truly staunch in our belief that no treatment of the soil will promote greater fertility than trenching judiciously practiced. The best British gardeners are persistent in their methods of trenching. In past years, exhibits staged in the vegetable tents at the great summer shows held in that region would bespeak the previous autumn's hard fought trench battle. This assertion is neither illusory nor imaginative, but tribute alone to deep digging and forethought. Vegetables of the quality to which we have reference, mark with emphasis the one great dif- ference between farming and gardening. Success in farming lies mainly in the discovery of the crop or crops for which the land and climate are adapted, and a ready market for all farm products. The gardener, too, must necessarily recognize what the soil and climate particu- larly favor among garden crops and, moreover, he must make the soil productive of more or less of all vegetables and fruits and flowers required by the household. This renders almost unlimited the aims of the gardener, and a study of the relations of plant to the soil is constant. No matter how exhaustive this study may be, failure in some particular will be inevitable. Our earliest relations with gardening teaches that a naturally deep, loamy soil is the most productive and best for ordinary garden purposes, although almost any soil will acquire the consistency of loam after long cul- tivation. The subject then is vast and withal debatable, and it might be well to here admit that the deep loam of an old pasture is the ideal. Such land could be plowed in autumn, and after suitable manuring excellent results be guaranteed for the following year. Seldom, however, does the gardener find himself so fortunate as to have at his command a change of ground suitable for garden purposes, and it therefore behooves him to make amenable by intelligent cultivation the soil at hand. The scarcity of labor will this autumn doubtless im- pede otherwise good intentions, but wherever possible an efifort should be made to "tame" at least a small portion of the unwieldy subsoil, and for the benefit of the in- experienced we outline briefly the methods of procedure. Where the subsoil is of very poor quality it would be folly to begin trenching in the ordinary way. The cul- tivator would be well advised to first resort to the method known as "bastard" trenching. By this method open a trench 30 inches or more wide and a good spade deep. Haul the soil thus removed to the farther end of the plot for filling in when the work is finished. Put a good layer of manure into the trench and work this in with the subsoil. Another layer of manure should be placed over this and the top spit from the adjoining undug por- tion used for filling tip to the ground level, and so on. The deported soil, of course, being used for filling in the last trench at the end of the plot. Ordinary trenching is practiced by digging a trench three feet wide and two or three spits deep. Remove the soil to the opposite end of the plot as before. Measure out another trench of the same width and fill the bottom of the first trench with soil from the top of the second, and so on. Green refuse or coarse manure may be buried at the bottom of the trench, and a layer of good rotten manure should be worked in with every spit nearer the surface. Leave the ground rough and ex- posed to the ameliorating influence of the weather. By affording the natural activity of rain, frost and sun full sway, the latent constituents of the staple are made available to plants. In this way and by the addition of such fertilizing elements as are suited to supply natural deficiencies of the soil, any ground may be rendered highly productive of almost any garden crop. War Gardens and Exhibitions. — ^Vast corporations, the industrial workers of our cities, and individuals of variable standing, each and all inspired by a keen sense of patriotism, entered with enthusiasm the war garden project earlier in the year. With the end of the growing season at hand and the keenest interest in conservation of food sustained, we anticipate greater public support at our horticultural shows. Indeed, this "new crop" of gardeners of themselves are planning, and in some cases have already held, fairs and competitive exhibitions for the produce of their own gardens. Surely this universal activity and upheaval of vegetable gardening marks an epoch which gardeners may view with pride. Unan- imous we are in our acceptance of the expression of the poet : "A man is a man if he's willing to toil. And the humblest may gather the fruits of the soil." In view of the display of greater public interest it might be fitting to review the definition of terms as rec- ognized by gardeners in connection with horticultural shows. The distinguishing terms as sometimes used in schedules — genus, species, kind, variety, sort, and so on, are very abstruse to the novice; for general purposes two of these terms amply sufifice, viz. : kind and variety. Rigid adiierence and use of these terms would obviate the confusion often caused by the employment of others. In the horticultural sense, "kind" would imply for ex- ample, carrots, turnips, cauliflower, string beans and lima beans. Stringless Green Pod, Black Valentine and Bountiful are distinct varieties of string beans. It is generally customary to regard all natural genera as kinds, and varieties within a genus as varieties.- Notable exceptions to this rule would be the Brassica family, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, etc., also string and lima beans. Another source of misapprehension to the exhibitor of vegetables seems to be the employment of the term ar- rangement. When points are awarded for the arrange- ment of a collective exhibit, it would seem to the writer what is sought is an articulate display of each specimen or dish of vegetables, efl:"ectively arranged. Not a wild conglomeration of greenery, sometimes employed as dec- orations of some vegetable or other. This fantistic ar- rangement of vegetables, even though carried out with honest intentions, befits a Grange fair rather than the exhibition tent. The principal aim of the exhibitor will he to win, naturally: but why not adopt rational methods ? Size, uniformity, smoothness of quality and freshness are (Continued on page 342.) 334 Seed Sowing Suggestions By Wm. N. Craig {Continued from August issue.) COMING to seeds of tender greenhouse plants, such varieties as gloxinias, tuberous begonias, gesnerias, tydaeas and others with very fine seeds should be sown in pans of prepared compost as recommended for petunias and other garden annuals. The greatest care is necessary in sowing each of these ; pans must be watered before and not immediately after seed is sown, sheets of glass should cover all pans, and paper or cloth be placed over this to exclude sunlight and prevent drying out ; gradually remove the coverings as germination starts. Calceolarias have fine seeds and a fine dusting of sand is all the covering they need ; over cinerarias should be placed a little fine earth ; the same is true of primulas. Cyclamens like a very light covering of fine sandy soil. The proper time to sow gloxinias, begonias and gesnerias is January ; primulas sinensis, obconica and kewensis should be started in January or February, but the beautiful and decorative P. malacoides not until July ; calceolarias and cinerarias can also be started in July and cyclamens in August. Schizanthus, nemesias, calendulas, mignonette, statices and other annuals for flowering under glass should be sown in August and September, and snapdragons for early winter flowering not later than May 15. All greenhouse seeds sown in winter need a warm, moist house in which to germinate. Seeds of such palms as cocos, phoenix, kentia and latania, if fresh, usually germinate readily if sown in pans and plunged in a brisk bottom heat in a warm house. Anthuriums want similar treatment, but like to be sown in a mixture of chopped fern root and sphag- num moss. Seeds of crotons, dracaenas, marantas and various tropical plants all need a brisk moist heat. Cannas have very hard seeds and start better if some of the shell is cut with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut the growing point ; seeds should be soaked in tepid water for 24 hours before sowing; moonflowers need similar treatment. Sweet peas, especially light shelled varieties, if trimmed with a knife, also start better, and this plan is suggested for the more valuable varieties to be started under glass. Cobaca scandens, a popular climber, germinates better if the seeds are stood edgewise in the pots or pans. Orchid seeds require radically dififerent treatment from those of all other plants. Seed pods of cattleyas usually ripen about a year after fertilization : a pod will contain anywhere from 200,000 to 500.000 seeds which are remarkably fine and light. All orchid seeds germi- nate best if sown in spring ; they are less certain if started in summer or winter. I have had the best suc- cess with cattleyas, laelio-cattleyas, and other bi-generic hybrids, also cypripediums, by sowing the seeds on coarse bath towel or burlap stretched inside a glass case, the same being damped before seeds are sown, or in filling 4 inch pots with chopped fern fibre and over the tops laying pieces of bath towel and tucking them closely down the inside edges of the pots with a poirited stick, having the surface raised and well rounded. Seed can be sown at the rate of 20,000 or more per square inch : sometimes none will germinate, the seed being barren, at other times one or two may start, but some- times the surfaces will be covered with tiny seedlings : these not infrequently start from the sides of the pots. Sometimes seedlings will appear within a month, at other times not for si» or more months ; great care is neces- sary in spraying, ventilating and shading the cases, and insect pests and fungoid growths must be fought. Un- der the most favorable conditions seedlings may flower in three to five years, but many of the best crosses re- quire double that length of time. The orchid seedling raiser must be a pure specialist ; he needs lots of patience nad must never be of a nervous temperament. Aquatic plants such as Nymphaeas and Nelumbiums germinate well if seeds are sown in small pots singly and submerged in tanks or trays of warm water in a warm house ; if started in early spring the majority will attain sufficient size to flower the first season. Ferns are raised from spores which when ripe should be cut off, placed in small bags, kept for a few days and then sown in square pans of a compost consisting of equal parts loam and peat with a good dash of sand mixed with it, and sterilized in advance ; pans must be watered before spores are sown and pans must be kept in a close moist case to ensure good germination. The propagation of trees and shrubs from seeds would use up an entire afternoon in itself if gone into at all thoroughly; I can only refer to a few of each. The propagation of both trees and shrubs is left almost en- tirely in the hands of nurserymen, with the exception of a limited number of private estates and such institu- tions as the Arnold Arboretum. There is no good rea- son why many more small growers should not do a little of this propagating as many varieties come very easily from seed ; in many cases starting almost as quickly as our common annuals. The various pines, spruces, firs and thujas can be sown in early May in open frames in well pulverized soil which should be levelled and then well watered ; sow the seed broadcast rather than in drills, as the plants must remain at least one year in the seed beds ; after seeding, sift a light covering of fine loam over the beds, cover this with a mulch of leaves slightly decayed. A safe plan is to enclose the ground or grounds with fine mesh wire netting to prevent birds or animals entering and scratch- ing, and later cover the top with burlap. In about 30 days seedlings (under normal conditions) of pines and spruces will be germinated sufficiently so that the mold can be removed. Seeds of evergreens are light. A pound of white pine will average 15,000 to 20,000 seeds and one of red pine 28,000 to 30,000, and if the seed is fresh the larger proportion should grow. In small batches evergreen tree seeds can be sown in pans or shallow flats in an ordinary greenhouse. All evergreens do not start so readily as those named, however, and in the cases of most of the junipers and yews, germination is slow, seeds frequently not starting until the second year. As between sowing seeds of the slow germinating ones in fall or spring the former season is best if a greenliouse is at command, the seeds being then fresher. Rhododendrons, kalmias, andromedas, callunas, ericas and azaleas start best in pans of sandy peat, over which, a thin layer of fine dry sphagnum moss is screened ; the seed can be sown over this, and water then applied through a fine rose ; seed will germinate much better sown on moss than direct on the soil ; a temperature of 55° will suit those seeds in the early stages of growth. Nuts of various inds, also acorns, are better sown soon after harvesting and exposed to frost which loosens the shells and makes germination more easy. If not sown in late fall, it is better to carry them over winter in moist sand. Fruits of many plants including cotoneasters, 335 336 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA hawthorns, hollies, loniceras, pyrus and other fruiting varieties, should be stratified in dry sand if not sown in late fall outdoors or in the greenhouse ; if outdoors they must be mulched. Freezing undoubtedly advances the time of germination of many seeds, but seed beds and pans will in many cases requn-e to be kept a second sea- son, as a large number will not start the first year. The longer seeds of this kind are kept in a dry state, the slower they will be in starting. On the other hand, many deciduous shrubs like bud- dleias, lilacs, deutzias, spiraeas and viburnums come very readily from seeds. Shallow flats or pans containing sandy loam seem adaptable to about all tree and shrub seeds except the members of the ericaceae family, which prefer a peaty soil. Elms, maples and lindens all come easily from seeds which can be sown either in fall or spring. There are some slow and fussy subjects amongst trees and shrubs just as there are amongst other plants. It would take too long to mention each specifically; as a general rule trees and shrubs- are not much more difficult to raise from seeds than are annuals and perennials. Clematis paniculata is better sown as soon as ripe, the seeds will then appear in abundance the following summer; if not sown until spring a large pro- portion will not appear until the second season. Lawn seeding is too often improperly done; it should be preceded, in the case of new lawns by very careful preparation of the soil, frequent raking being necessary to make a perfect seed bed. The seed being very light, a calm day should be selected for seeding. A common mistake made is in sowing too thickly. Heavily seeded lawns may look well at first and give a good immediate effect, but the individual plants being so terribly crowded lack vigor, and it is not by any means unusual during spells of hot, moist and dark weather to find rot setting in, this will not occur when seed is sown more thinly. As a general rule 40-50 pounds of lawn seed should suffice for an acre, but as quality is very variable this may sometimes prove insufficient. The best all-around grass for our New England lawns is Kentucky blue grass, to which should be added some red top and Rhode Island bent, and where clover is liked add a little white clover. The best time to do seeding is from mid-August to mid- September ; the next best period is from April 10 to May 15. To seed a lawn properly seed should be sown both lengthwise and crosswise ; there are then unlikely to be any bare patches. A thorough raking and rolling must follow seedings and this rolling can be advantage- ously be done several times through the season. In seeding bare patches on well established lawns, first scratch the spaces to be seeded and next mix some fine loam with grass seed and scatter over said bare spots. This is better than scattering the seed over the vacant patches and giving these a scratch with an iron rake. For permanent pastures August is far the best month to do seeding ; spring seeding is usually more or less of a failure. A point worth emphasizing is that seedlings of many garden plants possess much greater vigor and are more disease proof than the same varieties raised from cut- tings. Hollyhocks and verbenas were some years ago decimated by disease and their very extinction even was threatened owing to their persistent propagation from cuttings over a long term of years. Since seedlings were raised nearly all this debility has passed ; the same is true of cinerarias. Of late years antirrhinums have advanced tremendously in popularity both as an indoor and outdoor plant. Under glass it has been clearly proven that seedlings are more vigorous, more florif- erous, and vastly more disease resistant than plants raised from cuttings. Amongst vegetables there is simply no comparison in the vigor of tomatoes and cu- cumbers propagated from cuttings as compared with seedlings. Cuttings we know will always be necessary to secure fixed types of many plants, but seeds are and will be the principal means whereby plants of the ma- jority of garden plants are to be propagated and per- petuated. I must admit that I have omitted mention of a whole host of plants which can be raised from seeds, but this lecture has its limitations and I would not like to try the patience of my audience too much. To those about to purchase seeds I would say, secure the best, as they prove to be the cheapest in the end. Do not trust too much to free seeds from Washington ; a large percentage of these are old and inferior varieties. Free seed dis- t.':ibution would be a decided benefit if small sample packets of ne"w, choice, and really desirable varieties were sent out to be'tested; but as at present carried out, free seed distribution has little to recotnmend it, apart from benefits which may accrue to centain congressmen and their coiistituents, and the practice has for years been condemned by practically all horticultural and agricul- tural i)eriodicals and bodies in America. For past improvements in garden plants we owe debts of gratitude to many untiring specialists, and their con- tinued efforts will still further benefit us. Finality is unattainable in the plant world and this adds a wondrous charm to horticulture. Novelties we are getting year by year are ever welcome and should always be given a fair trial. Do not condemn novelties after one sea- son's test ; frequently a second year may greatly improve them. We nuist continue to depend for our supplies on tried and tested varieties which experience has taught us will succeed best in our special soils and gardens. By growing good varieties, growing them as well as we can, and adding novelties as they appear, we will have not only good produce in abtmdance but our gardens will year bv year furnish new points to attract and enthuse us. THINGS AND THOUGHTS OF THE GARDEN {Continued from page 328.) proposition to supply them. The hint may be thrown out that publishers are always willing to talk over or discuss book propositions, and if any reader of the G.xrdenres' Chkon'icle feels he can supply a want now existing in the world of horticultural books, he had better get busy and make his ideas known in the proper quarters. * * * Lately, at the estate of Mrs. McK. Twombley (Supt. R. Tyson), Madison, N. J., the new Japanese vegetable LMo ( .Vralia cordata), was seen growing luxuriantly in a prominent position in the flower garden, near one of the greenhouses. It struck the writer as being particu- larly handsome, and as its young shoots can also be blanched and used as a vegetable, it is a plant that cer- tainly deserves attention. The United States Department of .\griculture published an illustrated bulletin. No. 84 (1914). dealing with this plant, and if copies can still he had it should be consulted. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS ANNUAL CONVENTION Chicago, 111., December 4-5-6, 1917 3iiiiiiiNii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiHiJitiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirtiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiititiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiii[iiitiiiiiii^ iiiiiiitttittitiiMiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiMriiiii iniiiiiimiiiiI' The Greenhouse, Month to Month I By W. R. Fowkes, New York ^MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllll!llllllllll1lll1IIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllllitllllllllllllllllllllllll[lllltl[lllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN)'>N[llllllllllllN FROST will soon appear, therefore we should have all our [jlants in readiness to be placed indoors on the first approach of our old friend "Jack," who never fails to appear. Azaliaes and kindred plants should have the ])ots cleaned and drainage attended to. Clean off all dead leaves and weeds. Angle worms usually infest outdoor plants in pots, but if precaution has been carefully fol- lowed, this trouble will be avoided. Do not .apply lime water to Azalias because it will injure the fine roots. By October 1 all plants should be removed indoors, and in order to keep healthy without loss of foliage they should be kept cool and given plenty of air. Discontinue feeding 'mums as the flowers commence to burst forth. The bone and food contained in the soil will feed the bloom sufficiently. Place tobacco stems un- der the benches to help keep aphis away. All watering must be done before noon in the chrysanthemum house, and any water spilt sho.ukl be promptly mopped up, otherwise it will tend to' cause damping of the petals. Remove any 'mums, nicely open or partly developed to the conservatory where sufficient shade will save the sunlight from spoiling the year's work. Roman Hyacinths that are wanted for early work should receive attention and they can be forced provid- ing the pots are filled with roots. Plenty of water is es- sential, also li(|uid manure once a week will assist in the development of finer blooms. Hydrangeas that have finished their bloom should have all dead blooms removed and should be kept out- doors near a north wall or under trees and not taken indoors for several weeks. A little frost will not harm them. The north aspect will save the early morning sun from striking them after a night's frost, and in order that these decorative lawn plants will be in good condi- tion next year, they should be kept out until the leaves have fallen naturally. If any require larger pots they can be repotted now preferably to leaving until spring when the rush is on. Hydrangeas love a strong soil con- taining a goodly portion of iron. Soil cut in the neigh- borhood of a foundry district usually contains sufficient iron, liut lighter soils should have a four-inch pot full of sulphate of iron to two barrowloads of soil. Animal manure is not necessary, but the heap of soil which has been stored for some months will do nicely. Pot very nrmlv. Wooden tubs with iron bands are very useful for these plants and save their cost in the length of service they gi\'e. The soil for next year should now be cut from an old pasture. Not more turf should be taken off than three inches in depth and to three layers stacked up place one layer of good fresh manure, not old rain washed, worn out stuff, but fresh from the barn. Lime is sometimes used, but thi.s is a mistake because it will not kill wire worms who remain in their larva state three years. The pot fruit trees must be repotted annually and the early varieties should be first repotted from September 15 to October 1. The later varieties will be all right from October to November. It is not necessary to defer this operation until all leaves have fallen. The soil should first be prepared and the loam three parts decayed manure and old mortar rubble will be suitable for the remainder." If mortar rubble cannot be had, a six-inch jiot full of pure bone meal will do, but the first named is Ijreleral.vle for stone fruits. Take the soil into an open shed where it will be kept dry, as a wet soggy soil on no account must be used. All pots must be clean and crocks placed to a de]Jth of two inches. Take each tree out of the pot and shake oft' the greater bulk of the soil, place in the clean pot of the same size or as near to a slight shift as practicable. As fruit trees are very impatient of being over potted and to insure full crops the roots must be confined. Eleven-inch pots are usuallv large enough for the second forcing year. Place roots in care- fully and ram firmly with a stout lath, leaving two inches of space for watering. After repotting stand close to- gether in a cool shed, give one good watering and spray the tfees overhead a few times. Do not prune at this time. Peaches in borders should receive identical treatment, with this dift'erence — the trees should be taken out of the l)order each year and the large roots cut away and then the soil in the border should be dug over and lime added and then replanted firmly. This annual lifting is abso- lutely necessary if good crops of fruit are wanted. Cyclamen should be inside and will thrive better in a cool house running north and south rather than in the frames. Temperatures can be regulated better. Stand the pots on screened ashes and damp between each day^. Take shading oft' early and they will rapidlv develop their final growth. About ( )ctober 20 remove most of the whitewash from the Orchid house glass. The plants require as much light as possible during winter. Any Palms that need repotting should now be attended to. They require a fairly strong compost. Loam and a little sand to keep the compost open is sufficient. Re- move the old sour soil carefully. "These plants don't like too much root room, and the way very large specimens are grown in comparatively small pots is by removing all the old soil from the roots by carefully washing the roots with the gentle application of the hose. Good drainage is essential and the potting must be very firmly done. Ram the soil hard, but it must be in a fairly dry condition to be right. The firm potting is so very im- portant that the heavy syringing necessar_\- will be less liable to cause over-abundance of moisture at the roots. The rough compost over the cracks likewise must be firmly rammed or equal root vigor will result. Examine the Roses, Carnations, etc., in the benches. It is customary to -give less water in the fall and this is often times productive of much injury, for although the evaporation is less rapid the extra heat in pipes under the benches will cause drAuess of roots, so extra water will be necessai-y, but less play with the hose. Be care- ful to keep clean of all dead leaves and weeds and tie up the growths loosely. Do not allow the spot to g'et es- tablished. Poinsettias will need their final shift and an even tem- perature is necessary to keep the leaves healthy. Crotons shouM be given a light position. Sjionge as often as time ].)ermits. Do not feed these plants during dark weather or a (lull color will persist and the centre growths will be unduly forced and in this way will impair their use- fulness. (Cnnlimicci on pai^c 340.) 357 338 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^ All hail to the flag of our country, The glorious red, white and blue. Whose stripes and bright stars all remind us Of our struggle for liberty true ! The red is for courage 'mid danger, "Twas shown by the patriots of old, Who fought to redeem their loved nation, And not for the promise of gold. The blue stands for truth and for freedom, Which God grant may forever endure, When ages shall roll upon ages, And the havoc of war is no more. The white is for peace and for purity Emblems of contentment and love. May they live in the heart of our nation And rest on our homes like the dove. The stars in their blue field so brilliant. Are truly the gift of God's love, Like the "forget-me-nots of the angels" Injhe great firmament above. Your hues, stars and stripes, are all blended In beauty, proud flag of the free ; W^e hail thee, our glorious banner, Uright hope of our sweet liberty. — M. E. Rowe. '-^ii' iiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliilliiiiiiiiyiiiiliiillliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiw THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 339 THE GARDENERS^ CHRONICLE OF AMERICA, Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3. 1879. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave,, New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol. XXI September, 1917 No. 9 EUROPE'S RAVAGED GARDENS TO BE RECONSTRUCTED 'T'HE help of the English-speaking peoples of the world is asked to enable the ravaged gardens and orchards of Belgium, of France, of Serbia, of Poland and of Rumania to be raised from the destruction to which they have been subjected through the ravages of war. For this purpose a sum of £5,000,000 is required, and it is to the co-operation of the United States and the British Empire that the Royal Horticul- tural Society of London looks for the realization of this great constructive work. Its genesis, its aims and scope were described by Mrs. R. P. Bishop, the organizing sec- retary recently appointed by the Royal Horticultural Society, to a representative of The Christian Science Monitor. I feel that the really only needful thing to insure success is to make the English-speaking peoples realize what wonderful work it is which they are being asked to accomplish, was Mrs. Bishop's confident opening remark. What we are aiming at is literally to make "the desert to bloom and blossom as the rose,'" and we are asking the United States, the dominions, India and the colonies for a co-operation prompted by the gratitude which all owe to the martyr countries and particularly to Belgium. With the work which lies before us, I do not think that we should ask for a penny less than £5,000,000, and I •have not the least doubt that the response will be such that there will be no difficulty in collecting it. I think that it would be interesting for every one to know how the Allies' war horticultural fund was first started. Directly after the invasion of Belgium by the German armies, the society started to raise a fund to repair the gardens and horticultural industries which Germany had ruined. English horticulturists felt that, even apart from the strong debt of gratitude which England owed Bel- gium for the stand which she had made against the invad- ing armies, the fact that horticulture owes more to Bel- gium than to almost any other country constituted a claim in itself to all the help and assistance which the English society could give. From generation to genera- tion, the Belgians have made the experiments and carried on cultivation which have resulted in whole departments of the finest flowers and fruits known to the world to-day; and it is to the advantage of horticulture in the future that such expert skill should be re-established in the lands where especially it flourishes. The scheme, which was at first intended solely for Belgium, soon included the Northeastern provinces of France, and, as the war extended, Serbia, Poland, and finally Rumania. Thus the sum of £30,000 which was fixed at first has grown totally insufficient. After eight months, the Royal Horticultural Society found that with the work which it was called upon to do in connection with food production, it could not carry on the relief fund as well, and it appointed a ladies' committee to deal with it. About a year after the committee had been formed with Lady Northcote, C. I., as president, it was found necessary to introduce proper organization to enable the scheme to make further headway. And now the time has come to give the work its inter- national scope, to make this great opening for construc- tive, humanitarian and essentially patriotic work known in America, Australia, India and every part of the world. America is already interested through the splendid efiforts of Miss Ethel Mather Bagg and Mrs. Hoffman, and the work is being taken up by American gardening associa- tions. It will be satisfactory for all contributors to know that the Royal Horticultural Society are taking steps to insure that, when the money is raised, it will be put into the right hands, and for this purpose they have already got into touch with the governments of the countries con- cerned, so that there may be no waste, leakage or over- lapping. It will also be as well to make it quite clear that the scheme of the Horticultural Society is xjuite distinct from the work undertaken by the Royal Agri- cultural Society of Great Britain. We confine ourselves to market gardens and orchards, nurseries and peasants' gardens. The Royal Horticultural Society has not the least intention of obviating the necessity for whatever German financial reparation mav be arranged toward those peoples whose livelihood they have ruined, but it will be a practical necessity for the freed peasant popu- lations to be given immediate means of making their living, and German money might be some time in coming ! We have already had a request from the French Min- ister of Agriculture for help for the district which the Germans have just had to evacuate, said Mrs. Bishop, and the council have sent a small sum, more in the nature of a pledge that we really had begun to get money and were going to help. But the fact that we have already had an appeal of this kind is sufficient indication that we must hurry if we wish to be readv to do our great and splendid work as soon as the war ends, and, who knows, it mav end this vear! Of Interest to Estate Owners Tbe National Association of Garrieners maintains a Service Bureau wbicli .s at the fiisposal of all who may require the services of efficient ganleners in tlieir Tarioiis capacities. The association seeks the co-operation of estate owners in its efforts to secure opportunities for those en^rasert in the profession of .-larclen- ing who are seekinp to advance themselves. It makes no ciiarse for st'rvices rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to assume the responsibilities the position may call for. Through this service the National Association of Gardeners aims to hrinjr the Country Estate Owner and the truly efficient men en-aped in the profession in closer relation to each otiier. that the interest In ornamental horticulture and its greater development in this country may thereby be elevated. Make your requirements known to M. C. EBEL, Sec'y, National Association of Gardeners. Madison, N. J. 3-10 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA HEDGES Al/'HILI'^ it is ol'tin a maticr of taste as to whether a * ' hedge should be planted or not, it is best to con- sider the hedge as a utilitarian feature rather than an ornamental one. In other words, do not advise a hedge unless it has a purpose other than being ornamental. Hedges were originall\- planted as barriers, but their use has become largely a habit, or, like the mantles in steam-heated houses, become purely ornamental. There is something a little selfish about a hedge. I often recall as a boy in England the vain efforts to see the beautiful gardens either through or over them, but since grow ing up I have also felt the need of a wall or hedge to protect the garden treasures. If a hedge is needed either to mark a bormdary for a screen or lo separate one section of ground from an- other, select a suitable one and have it as handsome as possible. It is better to be without a hedge than have one thin at the base, gappy and uneven. The California Privet is perhaps the best hedge plant in existence, in its particular territory, and for this rea- son it has become so common as to be tiresome, and one longs for a little more variation, yet when it is well planted wonderful results can be obtained. The Jersey Coast is famous for its Privet hedges, as the salt air and sandy soil of the seashore seem to suit it. It rarely gets winter killed there, while a little further inland it is killed periodically even in the same latitude. With many hedges, killing back is often a blessing in disguise, if the roots are not injured it will come up thicker than ever and a new one is formed in one season. It is to be recommended when a Privet Hedge is old, or thin at the base, that it be cut down to about six inches of the ground. This should be done in early April. Too often when planting a new hedge, everything is sacrificed for immediate effect. The client is too anxious to get a full grown hedge right away. This is impossible. A hedge worth while must be grown from the bottom up. Hedge planters usually have their own ideas as to dis- tance between plants, double or single row, depth to which the plants should be set and cut after they are set, but whatever the opinion the hedge will be no better or more vigorous than the single plants composing it, and it will not be a success unless they all grow evenly and vigorously. To insure this the essentials are: A deep trench with good soil, no overhanging trees, young vig- orous plants that have not been dried out, sufficient room between the plants to allow each one to develop (about one to every twelve inches is about right), set the plants down to where they branch, and cut the plants off level, leaving not more than six inches above ground. If these are provided, a good thick hedge from the bottom up will be tlie result. — Xafioiial Xiirservmaii. GREENHOUSE, MONTH TO MONTH (Coiitiiuicd from page 337.) All bedding plants, such as Geraniums, will keeji in cold frames for a fairly long time if protected at night with mats and kept on the dry side. Alternantheras and Coleus require heat and less water, just sufficient to keep alive. Don't force any kind of bulbs until the pots are weW filled with healthy roots or failure will result. Sweet Peas for December and the succeeding months should be started. If a bench is ready, sow in rows, but if space is not at hand until the end of the 'Mums, they can be started in three-inch pots, three seeds in each. All will start well excepting the white varieties which will succeed better by being first sown on sand or fine ashes and left uncovered, and when sprouted they can be planted the same as the others. CHOICE BULBS FOR THE ROCK GARDEN V/f UCH of the charm of an alpine garden consists in the opportunities it possesses of showing to the best advantage the many dwarf plants with bulbous, cormoUs, or tuberous roots, a number of which display their charms much better when seen on the rockery than on the level ground. Then there are places in the rockery where the early bulbs can be carpeted with some of the dwarf plants, such, for example, as the mossy saxi- frages, arabises, arenarias. cerastiums, and other free- growing subjects, which, although free in their growth, are yet surface-rooters. These bulbs generally require no special cultivation, and, as a whole, do well in the ordinary soil provided for the alpine flowers. As a general rule, it may be said that they should be covered to at least twice their depth in earth, but from two to three inches is a suitable covering, except in the case of those specially mentioned in the notes which follow. Planting may begin as soon as bulbs can be procured. First must come the snowdrops, which from the earliest time give a welcome display in the ruck garden, and nowhere do their chaste flowers look better than against the stones of the rockery. Almost everybody knows the beautiful dwarf scillas, oi which probably the best-known is Scilla sibirica, with its flowers of intense blue. It is a gem, and so is its white ^■ariety, S. sibirica alba. There are other dwarf scillas suitable for our purpose, as S. italica, but the forms of S. campanulata, the Spanish scilla, with some of the prettiest varieties of our ordinary English Blue-Bell, are all very fine when iirojierly placed in the rock garden in nice clumps. Grape hyacinths, or Muscaris, are beautiful on rock- work, and we have none jjrettier than the varieties of the conimon grape hyacinth, which is sold as M. betryoides. Without some of the exquisite Chionodoxas, or Glories of the Snow, the rockery is deprived of some of its choicest ornaments. We need say little about the charm of the crocus for the rockery. It matters little whether we choose the golden-yellow crocus, the lovely colored Dutch varieties of C. vernus, ever pojuilar ; or the many species now at command — all are exquisite. For sunny, sheltered rockeries a clump or two of one of the Romuleas, summer-flowering bulbs, with crocus- like blooms, should not be forgotten, although they are not showy. Some of the Brodiseas, bulbs of much beauty, should be added, and perhaps the prettiest and best for ordinary use is B. ixioides, with neat yellow flowers, which have bestowed on the flower the name of "Yellow Pretty Face." The Dog's Tooth Violets are lovely flowers, and even the common Erythronium Denscanis deserves our heartiest admiration. But there are some lovely North .American Dog's Tooth Violets, and these are more beau- tiful still. Daffodils, of course, must be remembered, and among them the lovely little miniatures. Narcissus minimus, ■ nanus, minor, gracilis and juncifolius, with cyclaniineus, should be remembered. The Winter Aconite, albeit a common thing, is fine in a shady nook in winter. We have also anenibones in endless array, none being finer for the lower parts of the rock garden than A. nemorosa in variety, with A. blaiida and A. apennina. A few of the tulip species, such as Tulipa Greigi. Kaufmanniana, -Sprengeri, australis, and linifolia, may be added; while there are others of much bcaut\', with several out-of-the- way bulbs suitable for the rockery of the keen connois- seur. Hardy Ornamental Fruiting Trees and Shrubs By John Dunbar, New York Ir, perhaps, is common experience in the planting of ornamental grounds, whether it be the small city- yard, the large private estate, or public park areas, to think only of trees, shrubs and plants in their flow- ering and foliage aspects. Large numbers of people fail to observe the remarkable beauty of the fruits and berries of many trees and shrubs, unless their atten- tion is specifically directed toward it, when trees and shrubs are carrying their precious burdens. In this respect I am afraid our Japanese friends sur- pass us. They have a i)assionate love for the orna- mental berries and fruits of hardy trees and shrubs. They use them extensively in the decoration of their homes and ornament their dining tables with them. The fruiting sprays of many beautiful shrubs are largely collected and readily sold in the public streets and markets of their cities. It is surprising how long the fruiting sprays of many shrubs and trees will re- main without losing their lustre in living rooms, last- ing much longer than cut flowers. An imjiortant feature in ornamental fruiting trees and shrubs is the food that some of them supply to birds. Of course, as the saying goes, "you can't have your cake and eat it, too." If the birds eat the fruits we shall not have their beauty to enjoy. As a matter of fact, the most beautiful fruiting shrubs we have the birds will not touch. The lovely Winterberry, our native deciduous Holly, whose showy red fruits hang on all Winter, the birds do not seem to care for. I have never seen birds eat the fruits of any of the Eonymuses, or the American or Japanese Bitter- sweets. What surprises me is that birds will not eat the fruits of any of the Barberries. I have never ob- served birds touch them. Of course, they have a strongly acid taste, but considering that they make p good jelly and excellent sauce, and I believe are nu- tritious, it is strange that birds will not eat them, be- cause they hang on the bushes of many of the species throughout the Winter, when food is scarce. I am sure thev eat many fruits just as tarts. For example, the Japanese Oleaster, EL-eganus longipes ; robins and other birds devour the fruits greedily as soon as they are ripe, and they are just as strongly tart as the Bar- berries. The difTerent Oleasters, Elseagnus longipes, E. an- gustifolia. ]l. argentea, E. parvifolia, and E. umbellata have all showv. interesting fruits. E. longipes is the earliest to mature its fruits and they are usually ripe at the end of Tuly. The closely related Buft'alo-berry, Shepherdia Canadensis, ripens its red berries in July and is quite common on the steep banks of the Gene- see River. The Red-berried Elder, Sambucus pubens, with its handsfime clusters of red fruits, is most attractive in mid-summer. I do not think the birds eat its fruits, but of the Canadian Elderberry, Sambucus Canaden- sis, which ripens in August and September, and whose immense black fruit clusters are very showy, the birds devour the fruits greedily. Some of the bush Honeysuckles are remarkably showy at the end of July and first of August, with their red and yellowish red fruits. Lonicera Tatarica and L. Ruprechtiana have showy fruits. The most beautiful form in fruit is L. bella. This originated as •Extracts of an address by Florists' Association. John Dunbar, before the Rochester, N. Y. a hybrid a good many years ago in the botanic gardens m St. Petersburg, Russia. The branches bend under the burden of handsome currantlike red fruits in July. The showy fruits are so tempting that I have often been asked if they were fit to eat. A bush Honey- suckle, L. Maackii, introduced lately from China, has beautiful showy red fruits that ripen late in the Fall and hang on until the beginning of Winter. The Dogwoods are nearly all important features in their showy fruits. The common Red Osier Dogwood, Cornus stolonifera, produces its pretty wax white fruits from midsummer to Fall. Cornus mascula, sometimes known under the name of Cornelian Cherry, ripens its large showy dark red fruits in August and September. It has the largest fruit of any Dogwood. Cornus alternifolius has attractive bluish fruits, some- times with a yellowish tinge, in August. Cornus cir- cinata displays showy whitish fruits, often tinged with blue, in August and September, and the red stalks on which they are supported add to their beauty. Cor- nus Purpusi and C. amomum, with their lax, drooping clusters of handsome pruinose Ijlue fruits make a most beautiful display in August and September. The white- flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida, displays its dense clusters of handsome red fruits from September to November. The Japanese Cornus Kousa has connate scarlet fruits that ri])en in the Fall and are very at- tractive. The Viburnums are a most attractive genus of hand- some fruiting shrubs, and there are a large number of them that are perfectly hardy and thrive in this part of the world. In a general way their fruits are various shades of blue and red. The fruits are nearly all borne in terminal flat clusters. About the first to ripen its berries in the blue fruited species is Vibur- num Lantana. The fruit has a curious habit of assum- ing a red color before it turns to bluish black. In fact, a number of the species have the habit of assuming various tints before they are finally ripe. Viburnum dentatum, V. pubescens, V. Sieboldi, V. Canbyi, V. ve- nosum. \'. lantanoides, V. acerifolium, \'. cassinoides, V. prunifolium, V. lentago and V. rufidulum are all or- namental in various shades of bluish fruits. In the red fruiting species. Viburnum Wrighti, V. Opulus, V. Americanum, V. Sargenti and V. dilatatum (with the exception of V. Sargenti) are all remarkably hand- some in their showy red fruit clusters. Viburnum Opu- lus and V. Americanum hold their fruits the greater part of the Winter, The native Cherries are important in their fruitage. The Choke Cherry, Prunus Virginiana, with its hand- some clusters of red, dark red or yellowish red fruits, is very ornamental from July to September. Although very astringent, the birds devour the fruits greedily and they are often quickly stri]iped ofif as soon as they are ripe. A variety with bright yellow fruits, which is said to be common in the woods around Montreal, is verv sliowv. The Pin Cherry, Prunus Pennsylvanica. has interesting clusters of pear-shaped red fruits in August and September. The Black Cherry, Prunus Serotina, displays its clusters of black fruits in Sep- tember. Coriaria faponica is a rare Japanese shrub whose distinctively unique and show}"- fruits in July and Au- gust are first bright red and turn to violet black when fully ripe. The fruits of Coriarias are marked by a pe- 341 342 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA culiar feature. The}' are formed by the enlarged and colored petals surrounding the seeds, forming the berrylike fruits. Among the Roses are numerous species that have showy fruits. The Japanese Rosa rugosa has remark- able showy fruits from midsummer to Fall. Rosa blanda, R. lucida, R. canina, R. rubiginosa, R. Setigera, R. Caroliniana and R. multiflora are all showy in fruit. Rosa multiflora retains its fruits undimmed and plump throughout the Winter. The American Hawthorns have come to the front recently. During the past fourteen A-ears about nine hundred species have been described. Too much at- tention cannot be paid to them, for they are splendid decorative subjects in their beautiful showy fruits. The species in the different sections ripen their fruits at different periods, and the species vary greatly in the length of time they retain their fruits. A selection can be made of about sixteen species that will give a display of fruits from August until late winter. Crataegus matura ripens its oblong lustrous crimson fruits in August. C. Arnoldiana matures its lustrous red fruits about the same time. The following will give a good display: Cratregus pr?ecox. C. pedicellata. C. gloriosa, C. Ellwangeriana, C. spissflora, C. Cham- plainensis, C. .\rkansana, C. ferentaria, C. Barryana, C. compacta, C. Geneseensis, C. persimilis, C. Durobrivensis and C. cordata. The fruits of C. cordata hang on ail winter. The Buckthorns have inostly black fruits. In some of the species they are reddish before turning black. Rhamnus alpina, R. cathartica, R. Purshiana and R. Dahurica have all interesting fruit displaj^s. Rham- nus Dahurica is, perhaps, the showiest, with its numer- ous black clusters. The Barberries take a leading place in ornamental fruiting shrubs. The fruit is produced so abundantly, and in the various scarlet, red and orange-red tints the fruit of the different species assumes, remaining in good condition a long time, that they are indispensable in ornamental grounds. Berberis serrata is the first to ripen its red fruit, which is usually at the end of July and August, and it is the only species in which the fruit drops soon after ripening. Berberis Cliinen- sis, B. Canadensis, B. Poiretti, B. Sibirica, B. Regeliana, B. vulgaris in several varieties, B. Amurensis, B. aris- tata and B. Thunbergi are all highly deserving of cultivation for their fruits. Berberis Regeliana, B. vulgaris and B. Amurensis are the most conspicuous in their fruit displays. The Spindle Trees, or Burning Bushes (Euony- muses), are remarkably conspicuous in their fruits. The combination of color is most attractive, when the pink, white or red capsules open, disclosing the usually orange seeds inside ; the efifect is charming. Most of the species ripen their fruits from the first of Septem- ber to the end of October and are showy until late fall. The common Spindle Tree of Europe, Euonymus Euro- p?eus, is very variable in its tinting, the fruit var3nng from dark crimson to vermilion. The Japanese Euony- mus Bungeanus is very distinctive with whitish arils and orange seeds. Other important species are E. Sieboldianus, E. latifolius, E. Americana, E. atropur- pureus, E. Hamiltonianus, E. alatus and E. radicans. The Chokeberries are important fruiting shrubs. The Red Chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, is very showy with its red fruits when it is grown in dense, large clumps. The Black Chokeberry, A. melanocarpa, with dark lustrous fruits is attractive. They both ripen in August and retain their fruits for a long time. The White Fringe, Chionanthus Virginica, ripens its large handsome bluish-black fruits in September, and the}- are conspicuous for many weeks. 1 he Privets present an altogether different aspect from most hardy fruiting shrubs. The jet black shin- ing fruits of some of the forms look somewhat like bunches of grapes. The persistent hanging of the fruit renders them most important features in the winter months. Ligustrum Ibota, L. Amurensis and L. vulgare in different varieties are the best species in this part of the world. The different JVlountain Ashes are remarkably showy in their scarlet, red or orange-red fruit clusters. It is a ])ity that most of the foreign species are apt to be attacked by blight and are inclined to be short- lived. The many forms of the European Mountain Ash, Sorbus aucuparia, have all showy orange-red fruits. Sorbus Americana, S. sambucifolia, S. Mat- sumarana, S. alnifolia and S. Thianschanica have all handsome fruit displays throughout fall and early winter. The Snowberry, Symphoricarpos racemosus, is a most attractive shrub with its snow white fruits, the branches often bending down under them. Through- I >ut the fall and early winter they are very conspicuous. The Wolfberry, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, very much resembles the latter, but the fruit has not the same waxy whiteness. It fruits about the same time. The Indian Currant, Symphoricarpos vulgaris, ripens its red fruits late in the season. The under sides of the branchlets are loaded with the coral red berries, and they present a most cheerful appearance among the snows of winter. The different Crab Apples of Japan, China, Siberia, and Europe give interesting fruit displays in the fall and early winter. The fruits assume various colors, in yellow, yellowish red, red and crimson. Malus spectabilis is about the first to ripen its fruits and they are usually mature in September. The following are all interesting in their fruits: Malus floribunda, M. baccata, M. Toringo, M. Ringo, M. Zumi, M. Sargenti, M. Niedwetzkyana and M. prunifolia. The Virginia Persimmon, Diospyros Virginiana, pre- sents a unique appearance in its fruits. A tree loaded wth the yellowish j^lumlike fruits always attracts attention in November and December. It is perfectly hardy in the neighborhood of Rochester. We have enumerated one hundred and ten species of hardv ornamental fruiting trees and shrubs, all of them pi issessing ornamental value in fruitage. If they were all carefully and tastefully grouped in any private or public grounds, with sufficient space for their develop- ment, they would certainly furnish much enjoyment and pleasure to those interested. These are all grow- ing in the Rochester park system, and a great many others to which we have not alluded. OCTOBER WORK IN THE GARDEN {Coiiliniicd from page 334.) great factors in prize-winning. Never sacrifice iniifor- mity and good finish for size alone, and always try to dis- play each specimen clean and fresh. .Arrange the ex- hibit or exhibits that both judge and visitor may alike see at a glance the quality of the specimens staged with- out the necessity of handling. This is an era of vegetable culture and it is pleasant to reflect that gardeners not only contribute to the dinner table elements of staple utilitv, but the quality of refinement through the medium of flower gardens. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 343 A' GARDEN CHEMISTRY IN SOIL CULTIVATION ( Coiiliiuicd from page 535.) curable potassic manures is wood ashes. It is necessary that these be kept dry before using, as rain will cause them to deteriorate in value. There are several valuable forms of fertilizers I have omitted to mention, but their price puts them beyond the reach of most gardeners. Of these the most notable are phosphate, nitrate and muriate of potash and phosphate of ammonia. Cover cropping is a good practice and serves several purposes. A heavy cover crop is a poor place for weeds, it provides humus when turned under and, in the case of legumes, supplies nitrogen to the soil. As this is the most easily exhausted chemical fertilizer the value of legumes for this purpose is readily seen. The character and condition of soils varies so much according to locality that no hard and fast rule can be made to cover them all. Each gardener in this matter has his own problems to solve. A knowledge of the action of the chief fertilizers and the results to be looked for from the use of the same will be of great value in determining the treatment of soils. Intelligent experimenting will then enable us to know which fertilizers will be the best for us to use without waste and with best results in successful cropping of our gardens. NORTH SHORE HORTICULTURAL HALL N epoch in the history of the North Shore Horticul- tural Society, Manchester, Mass., long to be re- membered, was reached when Alfred E. Parsons, chair- man of the building committee, with a few brief, well chosen words tendered the key of the newly completed Horticultural Hall in. Manchester to the president of the society, Frank P. Knight. The beautiful main hall of the society's new home was filled with members of the society and their guests, a majority being summer residents whose generous support of the project from the start made possible the success of the energetic building com- mittee, whose completed work was dedicated by the ap- propriate exercises. The exercises began with a Grieg selection for the violin and piano. After this rare introduction the ex- ercises continued with the address of welcome by the president of the society, Frank P. Knight. Lieutenant-Governor Calvin Coolidge gave an official touch to the dedication of the new building by appearing at the exercises and making a brief address. "It seems strange at a time like this, when we are in the midst of war and the preparation for war, to be engaged in the dedication of a building for such a peaceful purpose as is embodied in the aims of this society. Btit is it not altogether fitting that we should recognize this ideal of peace? It is said that the strength of a nation rests on its ideals, and isn't that the pur- pose of the war we are engaged in — the preservation of an ideal? This war is not for a material gain, but for the pres- ervation of the ideal of hu- man rights. Ever since this nation began we have been working out that ideal the Pilgrims brought with them — the individual right of a man to develop himself inde- ])enflently of purposes of other men. We need the spirit of sacrifice, such as was necessary to create such a building as this for community service, in the furthering of our national aims. We shottld dedicate this building to the highest ideals of beauty and service and may we go into the future making more secure the rights and privileges of American citizenship." "I, too, find it hard to concentrate my mind on a peace- ful subject such as your society represents," said Wilfred Wheeler, state secretary of agriculture. "While we are engaged in raising an army and increasing the food pro- duction, it is hard to think of peaceful things. But while we are so engrossed in our task of urging the farmer to increase production it is not untimely to listen to a plea in behalf of the agriculturist and at the same time the horticulturist." Mr. Wheeler urged governmental recog- nition of the scientific achievements of the tmderpaid men in the government service and in private walks of life who accomplish new methods of increasing food production and of creating an American independence in the culttire of the flowers now imported from the old cotmtries abroad. "Agriculture must be recognized by the state and nation," he said, "for the life of the nation depends upon its agriculture." He urged the society to pledge itself to securing this recognition. At the conclusion of Mr. Wheeler's talk the audience sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." The guests of the society then inspected the new building. Every one marveled at the excellent planning of the new home and the splendid finish. The main floor is fitted with comfortable theatre seats and the stage is of plentiful size. The interior finish of the building is particularly striking, the walls being rough plastered and stained ; it is paneled with fumed oak stained a brighter hue than the walls. The framework of the doors and windows is of the same material. The building committee is composed of A. E. Parsons, chairman ; William Till, secretary ; Herbert Shaw, Axel Magnuson and Frank Foster. H. W. Purington, treas- urer of the Manchester Trust Company, handled the financial end of the business. F. J. jNIerrill, R. C. Allen and G. S. Simrick also gave valuable assistance to the committee. NniL' Horliculliiral Hall oj Xorth Shnrc ( Massailiusi.-tts) Horticullunil Smiily chcslrr, Mass. at Man- American Association of Park Superintendents 1917 Convention THE nineteenth annual convention of the American Association of Park Sni:)erintendents wliich was held in St. Louis, JMo., September 11, 12 and 13, proved to be one of the most successful conventions in the history of the organization. It had the largest and most representative attendance since the 1914 meet- ing in New York. About one hundred and twenty-five delegates were present, including about twenty ladies and representing forty-eight cities. Ideal convention weather prevailed throughout the session — bright sunny days, not too warm, with cool nights. At the first meeting of the convention all officers of the organization were present with the exception of Vice- Presidents Herman W. Alerkel, of New York, and Alexander Stuart, of Ottawa, Canada, whose presence was missed as they are prominent regulars at the con- ventions. The address of welcome was made by the Hon. John Schmoll, director of Public Welfare of St. Louis, repre- senting the Alayor of the city, and was responded to by President John F. Walsh of the association. After the preliminaries of the first business session were disposed of the visitors were taken in hand b_\' the local committee. An automobile trip to East St. Louis, a visit to Jones Park,! where refreshments were served, thence to Plonks Mount, the proposed state park, where the members were addressed by Prof. Henry Milton Whelpley, of the Missouri Historical Society, provided the first afternoon's entertainment. In the evening the visiting members were entertained at a banquet given by the East St. Louis Park Board at the St. Claire Country Club. The second day's business session opened at nine o'clock in the morning with an address by the Hon. Nelson Cun- liff. Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, of St. Louis. The following standing committees presented papers on the following subjects: Horticultural Nomenclature, Theodore Wirth, of Alinneapolis. "Bird Proection and Propagation," L. P. Jensen, St. Louis ; J. W. Thompson, Seattle ; Theodore Wirth, Minneapolis ; E. E. .V. Reinisch, Topeka, Kan. "Standard Course Records," Henry W. Busch, Detroit : Ernst Strehle, St. Louis. "State, Provincial and National Parks." John McLaren, San Erancisco ; L. P. Jenson, St. Louis. "Road Construction and Maintenance," Harry S. Richards, Chi- cago; William H. Dunn, Kansas City; J. W. Thompson, Seattle ; Theodore Wirth,_ Minneapolis. "Playgrounds and Recreational Activities," Ralph Benedict, Kansas Citv. In the afternoon the visitors enjoyed a tour of the North St. Louis Parks and in the evening became the guests at the annual Shaw banquet at the Mercantile Club. At the final business meeting held on the third day in tlte forenoon the election of officers occurred, which re- sulted as follows : President, J. E. Eoster, superintendent South Parks, Chicago, 111. ; vice-president, John Berry, Denver, Col. ; secretary-treasurer, Roland W. Cotterill, Seattle, W'ash. Three Years — Geo sen, St. Louis, Mo. Two Years — Geo. \V East St. Louis, 111. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. H. HoUister, Hartford, Conn Hess, Washington, D. C. . ; L. P. Jen- E. P. Griffin, One Year — Lionel Evans, Voungstown, Ohio ; C. .■\. Bossen, Minneapolis, Minn. Hartford, Conn., was selected as the city for the 1918 convention with Louisville, Ky., and Springfield, Mass., as contenders. Selection of Hartford is significant as being the home of Geo. A. Parker, the organizer of the association, and 1918 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the organization of the society. The following Constitutional Amendments were adopted at the convention : Providing for the puhlication by the organization of its own official organ in the form of a sixty-four page quarterly magazine with a limited amount of advertising. Secretarj'-treasurer to be managing editor, other officers associate-editors. Providing for new scheme of organization, officers to consist of president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, board of directors of six members, three-\ear terms, two expiring each year. Officers and directors to compose the executive committee which will be the governing body. Twenty-one new members were elected as follows : SENIOR MEMBERS. C. H. Meeds, executive officer, City Park Department, Cin- cinnati, Ohio, jas. M, Lowry, Superintendent of Parks, Indianapolis. Ind. A.. C. Godward, Engineer Park Department, Minneapolis, Minn. C. L. Mellcr, Superintendent of Parks, Fargo, X. D. W. A. Gardner, Superintendent of Parks, Evansville, Ind. Jas. A. Spurrier, Superintendent of Parks, Evelith, Minn. R. L, Power, Superintendent of Parks, HaHfax, \. S. James M. Craig, Superintendent of Parks, Port .Arthur, Ont. William Troutman, Superintendent of Parks, Bartelsville, Okla. Hugo M. Schatf, Superintendent of Scliool Gardens, St. Louis, i\lo. John Mority, Head Florist, Park Department, St. Louis, Mo. JUNIOR MEMBERS. L. D. Tilton, Superintendent of Parks, St. Joseph, Mo. C E. Brewer, .Superintendent of Parks. Uacine, Wis. M. B. Kannowski, SuperintenRY GOODP.AND, Cor. Sec. TUXEDO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of the Tux- edo Horticultural Society was held in the Parish House on September .5. President C. Cassidy in the chair. The preliminary schedule for the Fall show was under con- sideration, which promises to be a very elaborate. We are running our show en- tirely for the benefit of the Red Cross. When- ever tile judges have completed their work the show will be turned over to a com- mittee of the Red Cross, when the flowers and plants will be sold f(U' that benefit. This is the second benefit the Tuxedo Society has given to the Red Cross. In the Spring we held onr annual ball and cleared .$2"0 for th.-it very needful fund. TIIt)S. WILStl.X. Secy. ^TClrtra^ Warm, Bright, Sunny Have a special type of construe- tiim. which permits of great strength without the need of heavy shadow-easting supports. This gives the plants all the sunlight all day long. Send for bulletin No. 47. KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 303 King Rd. North Tonawanda, N. Y. 113 State St., Boston. Mass. Harrison Bldg., 16th & Market Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleached and unburnt; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months of preparation. Try a Bag $1.00 6 Bags $5.00 F. O. B. New York or Jersey City on .iny Railroad or Steamboat Line MAGIC HUMUS CO. ^''. W. Chandler. Sales Agent 264 WEST 34th STREET, NEW YORK or 4C PETERS PLACE, RED BANK, N. J. HARRY BALDWIIV Manufacturer of Greentiouse Stisding L^ath Roller Blinds MAIVtAROPsIECK, I\J. Y- Don't Take Chances With Your Trees I>ft IIS fake care of them now. We will know wliat to do and do it right. Experts in cavity filling, blocking, bracing, etc. Representatives available eren'where. Send for "Tree Talk." THE F. A. BARTLETT CO. 543 Main St., Stamford, Conn. ^ ^ \ !► CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MAMUrACTURCRS PHILADELPHIA, PA. A \ / k 348 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA r ^ THE Professional Horticulturist owes it to himself to keep posted on all phases of his subject. Are you "up" on the subject of greenhouses and do ^-ou know that LUTTON GREENHOUSES arc the most highly developed green- houses on the market today? We would be glad to explain our construction fully at any time. We want you to know what the name Ll'TTOX st^nnU for. WM. H. LUTTON CO. Main Office and Factory: 265-271 Kearney Ave., Jersey City, N. J. Showroom, 3rd Floor, Western Office, Grand Central 710 Sykes Block, Terminal N. Y. City Minneapolis, Minn. Horticultural Architects and Builders of Modern Greenhouses Conservatories — Sun Parlors— Garden Frames. .J Competent Gardeners •I The comtorls and products of a country home are increased by employing a competent gardener; if you want to engage one, write to us. •1 Please give particulars regarding place and say whether married or single man is wanted. We have been supplying them lor years to the best people everywhere. No (ee asked. PETER HENDERSON & CO. Seedsmen a.nd Florists 33 and 37 Corllandl St. NEW YORK CITY Do you spray your trees? WILLIAM F. LEARY Scientific Care of Trees Spraying — Pruning — Cementing 182 NORTH AVE., NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. Dealer in Spraying Machines Agent for Aphine, Fungine & Vermine Bon Arbor Chemical Co. PATERSON, N. J. Manufacturers of BON ARBOR No. 1 Soluble Plant Life. A most wonderful and invigorating food for all plants, indoor and outdoor. BON ARBOR No. 2. Best dressing for your lawns. RADIX WORM ERADICATOR. Instant- ly removes worms from your Tennis Courts, Putting greens, etc. ANT DESTROYER. Will remove all ants outside or indoors in a week's time. Be sure and try it. NATURAL HUMUS. Is the best for mak- ing new lawns, gardens, etc. Write for descripive catalogue and prices m^ Foley Greenhouses are structures which any owner may be justly proud of. In addition to their durability and attractiveness, they embody many desirable "construction - features" found in no other house. Our new catalogue will be ready soon. Shall we send you a copy." The Foley Greenhouse Mfg. Co. 3200 W. 31st St., Chicago, 111. i t4 m w lllllllltrilKIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIMIl ^^n^'ts; Mif^Slig^i^iiE#M« iiiiiimiiiiiiu iiiiinmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiuiiiiiiiiiiinimiRiiiiiim iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiii'L! THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GAKDEN For the Greenhouse — Applied at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent a'^ a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most effective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efficient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. Sold by dealers in various sizes APHINE MANUFACTURING CO. MANUFACTUREKS OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON, N. J. FUNGINE or mildew, rust and other blights affecting flowers, fruits and vegetables. VERMINE I For worms and insects infesting the soil. juiiiimniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiii iiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii iiiNiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiminniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiii^^ ,„ ^=11 i^iM^i^i^i^i-Mi^i^^Mi^!! ANCHOR PCST FENCES -fcj. F<")R twenty-five years Anchor Post Fences liave been selected by discriminating purchasers because of their excellence in all mechanical details. We build fences for lawn and garden in a large variety of designs. Also arbors, trel- lises, espaliers, garden arches, tree- guards flower-bed guards, etc. Tennis enclosures and back stops, chicken -run and dog- kennel enclosures, aviaries, farm and pasture fences, stock paddock. We have separate catalogues describing our various products. Write for the one you need. ANCHOR POST IRON WORKS BuUders of Wrought Iron Railings and Entrance Gates 17 Cortlandt Street South (13th Ooor) New York (Ail (^ m (vHi 1 (Sii rrii) (^ Mr. John H. Greatorex is the Superintendent, under \\'liose direction this photo was taken. THE MUCH TALKED OF PALM HOUSE AT A. C. JAMES' NEWPORT HOME T \ plan it is decidedly exceptional. '■ A circular bay it has on all four sides. If your employer is interested in something en- tirelj- different from the usual palm and show house, let us send him several views of this one taken from different puints of the grounds. P General Offices and Factory: Elizabeth, N. J. ,\E\V VOUK I'.OSTON PHILADELPHIA 1 170 Ilroailw.iy JQ Fcleral Street 40 So. 15th Street Si m How meclianical bracing restores strength to decayed trees THE intfrnal woody tissue of the tree has the same funetion as the bones in the human body— structural support. When this has been destroyed by decay, Nature is helpless to restore it and the tree, if neglected, will soon succumb to the force of the winds. And no treatment can permanently save it unless that treatment supplies scientifically the strength that has been lost. Merely to fill the cavity with cement will not answer. The violent swaying of trees by the winds makes correct mechan- ical bracing of decay-weakened cavities absolutely imperative. Correct mechanical bracing involves something more than just fixing bars and bolts in the cavity. Every tree is different, and therefore the bracing of each tree nui'^t differ from the bracing used in all other trees, at least to some extent. The tree in photograph No. 1, for ex- ample, required a combination of bolts and lock-nuts, reinforcing rods, and cross-bolts with lock-nuts above the crotch. The tree in photograph No. 2 needed a backbone and rib arrangement of iron straps, plus torsion rods and anchors. The tree in photograph No. 3 required a combination of bolts and criss-cross bolts with lock-nuts, torsion rods and chains. The tree in photograph No. 4 was so weak that it required a complicated and complete system of internal b-icing, in- chiding cross-bolts, criss-cross bolts, iron straps, anchors, torsion rods, iron backbone and ribs, lock-nuts, bolts above the crotch, plus chains and lag-hooks higher up. Davey Tree Surgeons are the only men in the world who are really trained for this work Every Davey Tree Surgeon is trained to the point of finished skill. He is al- lowed no responsibility until he has con- clusively demonstrated his fitness. Davey Tree Surgeons are the only Tree Surgeons officially endorsed by the United States Government, which engaged them to save the priceless trees on the Capitol grounds and elsewhere. They are the only Tree Surgeons en- dorsed by thousands of estate owners — ■ prominent men and women whose recom- mendations you can accept with complete confidence. And they are the only Tree Surgeons who are backed by asucccssful and respon- sible house, amply able to make good in every in.stanee, and not needing, for the sake of temporary existence, to sacrifice in the.slightest degree its high standard.s. Write today for FREE examination of your trees — and booklet. "When Your Trees Need the Tree Surgeon." What is the real condition of your trees? Only the experienced Tree .Surgeon can tell you fully and definitely. Without cost or obligation to you. a Da\-ey Tree Surgeon will ■\-isit vour place, and render an honest verdict regarding their conditionand needs. Writetoday. The Davey Tree Expert Co., Inc. 309 Elm Street Kent, Ohio (Oper.-iting tlie Davey Institute of Tree Surgery) Branch offices, with telephone connection: 225 Fifth Ave., New York; 2017 Land Title Buildinp. Philadelphia, 450 McCormiek Buildiner. Chicago Permanent representatives locateil ill r.ostnn, Newport. Lenox. Hartfnrd, Staniforit. Albany. Poughkeepsie.W lute Plains, Jamaica, L. 1.; Newark. N. J.- PhilaHel- phia, Harrisburir. Baltimore. Waaliinirton, Buffalo. Pitts- burch, (-Cleveland, Detroit. Cin. /O* cinnati. Louisville. Chicago. /V> l-ide. OhicaKO. Milwaukee. Minneapolis. St, Louis, Kansas City. Canadian Address: 22 Victoria Sauiire. Montreal. Davey Tree Surgeons FOR 5AFETREE SURGERY Every real Davey Tree Su and the public is cuuti, „. . . j: in the emphy of the Davey Tree ExpertCo., ed against those falsdy refrtse>itiug thrmselves GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA PARKS 8c GARDENS ILLUSTRATED $1.50 The Year OCTOBER, 1917 15c. The Copy JjoxzJjarbi J)eroens 4 ^kieal 'Plait TO BE INTRODUCED TO THE TRADE IN 'MgALL 1917 TO the'general public FALL 1918 ORIGINATED a-Jli-OFFERED ONLY BY The Elm City Nursery Co. WooDMioNT Nurseries, inc. NEW HAVEN, CONN. —^natural OiX'S Oj Jjax TDarbernl ^fo, COPYRIGHT JULY 1917 Box-Barberry Dwarf Type of BERBERIS THUNBERGI NEW EDGE AND DWARF HEDGE PLANT ORIGINATED at our Nursery sixteen years ago among a batch of Japan Barlx'rry seedlings. It attracted atten- tion in tlic seedling bed and has been under tareful watcliing since. The original plant is now about 2'.. feet wide, and globe-like ii\ shape, its natural form. It is pronounced a most valuable find Ijv all who liave seen either the original plant or llie stock we have propagated from it. includ- ing experienced nurserymen, landscape archi- tects and gardeners, experiment station men and amateurs. The pulilic will take to it immediately. It's just what is wanted. .-Vs a forntal-garden edge Ijlant it is ideal; — this means thousands of it lor nianj- a single order. Equally desirable as a low and medium hedge plant, assuring a heavy demand. Trims into perfect normal •specimens. ['ropagates readily from either hard or soft wood cuttin.gs. Will not come true from seed. OFFERED TO THE TR.\DE F.\LL 1917 NO RESTRICTIONS (Jffered to the general pulilic and will be freely advertised in Fall 1918 and Spring 1919. (iet up a stock and be ready for the certain heavy demand. Prices to the Trade, November delivery — Strong two-year-oid Field Plants, no growth removed .$400.00 for 1000 $2,10.00 for 500 $150.00 for two hundred and fifty $75.00 for one hundred $50.00 for fiftv 537.50 for twenty-five $20.00 for ten $10.00 for three $5.00 for one Sti'ck at present exclusively owned by us. The Elm City Nursery Company New Nurseries at Woodmont, Conn. Woodmont Nurseries, Inc. New Haven, Conn. MARSHALL'S MATCHLESS BULBS Our l!ul1)s ha\e arrixed trmn l-'rancc- and llnllancl in ,e;ai:)d coiiditidn. The stuck mi hand arc all First Size Selected Bulbs. Catalogue mailed on request W. E. MARSHALL 6c CO., Inc. Biilh Iniportcn 166 AN'est 23rd St. Xew Yr.rk We have All Our Bulbs on Hand We fill orders promptly and with First Quality Our Catalog is mailed on request. A few items of which we carry large stocks: Per 100 Per 1000 Narcissi, Golden Spur, Mother Bulbs $4.50 $40.M Emperor. Mother Bulbs 4.00 36.00 \"an Sion Dhle.. Mother Bulbs 4.00 38.00 Hyacinths. Dutch Roman, L'Innocence, White ] Grand Maitre, Blue ; 2.75 25.00 Roi des Beiges, Red j Uarw in Tulips — Pride of Haarlem, Clara Butts, \Vm. Copeland. Cottage Tulips — Mrs. Moon, Inglescombe Yellow, Picotee. An invitation is extended to Gardeners to inspect our Seed Store while attending the Xew York Fall Flower Shows. max drilling, im. Seed and Bulbs and Plants 22 W. 59lh St.. N. Y. City THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 353 TRADE MARK TELEPHONE 6138 BARCLAY 98 CHAMBERS SEEDS. BU LBS, PLANTS. FERTILIZERS IMPLEMENTS. POULTRY SLI PPLI ES. '^i W T© m ¥i We are pleased to inform our customers that we have received our importation of Dutch Bulbs including Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, etc. The Bulbs are in excellent condition and fully up to our usual high grade standard. We are in a position to make shipments at orce of all orders en- trusted to us . Yours truly. / Cy/i^tnT^^.^^ /^^^ ;,iiliiiiliiiiilllliliiliiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiin»iiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiw^ iiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiunniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininil ii:iiii;iiiiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiE ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiw ROSE NOVELTIES FOR 1918 Two Wonderful New Roses Every Private Estate Should Have COLUMBIA Hill's Sensational Pink and OPHELIA SUPREME Beautiful sport of Ophelia . Look These Varieties Over at the Exhibitions CHARLES H. TOTTY Madison New Jersey For Late Garden Effects plant HARDY ASTERS but choose good varieties. They increase rapidly and the right kinds make splendid cut flower material. Try — Climax, the best lavender blue. Lorely, the most effective pure white. St. Egwiii, the finest dwarf pink. and Use — Glen Eyrie, a magnificent new pink va- riety, growing 5 or 6 feet, as a background or setting. Look these up in our Fall Catalog. POLYANTHUS PRIMROSES Something Different A giant exhibition strain for cool house forcing during the early spring months. Fine as pot plants or for cutting. Strong field clumps in light or deep yellow, scarlet and crimson shades. ANPlEI\SON INC. CkDMMLL CAIpNS QpMWELL Conn ^tiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiin ii iiiniiinnii iiiiNiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii: ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiii iiiiiiiiiii iiiiniiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioi 354 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA |iiiii:!i!''Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii: DREER'S CHOICE I HARDY PERENNIAL PLANTS and I SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS i We handle the choicest and most complete line of the above in this comitry. 1 Stocks of many varieties are not overly plentiful and it is suggested that you 1 secure your supplies as early as possihle. I Let us send you a copy of our Autumn Catalogue which contains a complete i list of the above as well as other seasonable Seeds, Plants, etc. Free on appli- i cation. HENRY A. DREER, 714-716 CHESTNUT ST. PHILADELPHIA, PA. ^Illilliliiiiiliiiiiiilliniinilllillllillii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiin iiiiin iijUiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimniiniiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiinii i,iLiii.iuiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii um iiiiiiiii,iiiiiiiii:im Bobbink & Atkins World's Choicest Roses Homesrown I As all our products are — our Home- | I grown Rose bushes are grown right | I here in our Nursery. We do not de- i I pend upon iiriportations ; we have the | I stock and it is Hardy and dependable. | I PLANT NOW j if you want a good season of flowers | I next year. | j Any information about Trees, Shrubs • | I and our other collections will be found | I in our ILLUSTRATED GENERAL | I CATALOG. I I Visit Our Nursery | I RUTHERFORD NEW JERSEY | liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiNNNmiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNinniiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii sofflfflif»a«e»»s^^ Moon's Nurseries SPRING along with your planting this FALL or you will FALL behind with your work next SPRING Experience has proved that most varieties of Shade Trees and Flowering Shrubs can be safely planted in the Fall — for they make better growth than when planting is postponed until Spring. Save all your time and energy for your vegetable garden during Spring. Arrange with Moon's now to supply any trees or shrubs needed this Fall. Let us send you our cat- alogue A-8 which illustrates our stock. THE WM. H. MOON COMPANY Nurserymen Morrisville : : : : Pa. Moon Nursery Corp. White PLiins, N. Y. Philadelphia Office 21 South 12th Street ^^J»«JW.J«J^5Wa^!f^^ 356 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA iiiiiininiiriiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiniiiiii iiiiiiiiijiiwiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiinriiiiniiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiinmnniifiiiiiis Eht (Eont^nta— (l^rtnb^r, X9X7 Page Our American Home Gardens . . . .357 Our Flag . 358 Things and Thoughts of the Garden The Onlooker 359 A Noteworthy Massachusetts Estate Wm.N.Cr^ig 361 The Autumn Fohage 365 Beautiful Surroundings an Antidote to War's Horrors 366 A Hint for the 1918 War Garden . . 366 The Development of the Dahlia . . 367 Work for November in the Garden John Johnson 368 The Greenhouse, Month to Month . W. R. Fowkes 369 Cultural Notes on Rhododendrons . . . 370 The Snapdragon . . Abrahan Wynne 371 Planting Bulbs for Next Spring Lilium Formosum . . Thomas Wilson Fall Sowing of Sweet Peas . . . . Eustoma Russellianum Skimmia Japonica Shirley Poppies Forestry Upon the Private Estate and Its Landscape Possibilities Arthur Smith Herbaceous Paeonies .... Strawberry Plants in Pots for Christmas Iris Rosenbachiana .... Our Cover Illustration A Hardy Dwarf Hedge Plant A Unique Flower Show Program Preserve the Beautiful An Appeal to Rosarians . National Association of Gardeners Local Society Notes Page 372 373 373 374 374 374 375 377 378 378 378 379 379 379 379 380 381 Stumpp & Walter Co.'s FALL Catalog A complete list of all NEW and RARE BULBS For Fall Planting and Exhibition The Best Novelties in DARWIN— BREEDER and COTTAGE TULIPS, DAFFODILS— DUTCH HYACINTHS. S. & W. CO.'S NEW COLORED FREESIAS — NEW EARLY FLOWERING DUTCH IRIS NOVELTY WINTER FLOWERING SPENCER SWEET PEAS Best Australian and Californian Varieties // ive do not have your name on our catalog register, please 'write for one. ^(mlkf& 30-32 Barclay Street NEW YORK CITY iiiixiiimiiii »iiii Ill iiK till iiiiiiiiiii ^miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii' mil iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii II iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiinHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim iiiiiiiiiii iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin ii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit; THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 357 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiw I Our American Home Gardens I — 1918 Preparedness — ANY of those that started out gaily to do gardening last May had enough of it by the middle of July. Others pegged away and were rewarded so much the more, but the vacation period intervening, they, too, got little further after their return than to mow the lawn or do some weeding. The true gardening spirit sees beauty, work and interest all the time. July is the second lap in the race. A sort of fresh start is made then for the fall and winter, and also in preparation of stock for next spring and summer. If you can just harvest a late crop and make it the third for that year against your neighbor's two, or possibly only one, you begin to feel justifiably proud; and rest assured that if all goes well the next year you will have a closer competitor to fight. The gardening spirit seems hard to rouse among the gen- erality of our people. Nevertheless, this country has more gardeners today than it ever had. Next year it will have still more, by a long way, than it has now. But how can we, who know the true lasting joys of gardening, direct the raw recruits and get them [permanently of us and among us? The seed and nursery trade would seem to have a fertile field here to cultivate, equally with the press. Simple rules and plain articles of a thoroughly practical character are wanted and will be forthcoming. The garden clubs should take themselves seriously. The Government needs their help. They can assist immensely, if they will, in directing the men and women of the land to make the most of the gardens they possess. These clubs are already organized in many cities and towns. Hitherto they have been mainly social centers, where talks on flowers were indulged in at fairly regular mtervals. We hope they will still have such addresses and talks. It will soon be lime to lay plans for winter work. It is only a few weeks to Christmas, then New Year, and after that we seem to be looking daily for the early seed catalogs again. They are, indeed, well on the way, many of them in preparation for the printer. What subjects have you noted recently among annuals, either flowers or vegetables? What roses, evergreens, flowering shrubs have you in mind? Why not write out your reminiscences and make your lists ready for your seedsman or nurseryman. Mail them now; the firms will supply you in due course. Too many of us are always just a month behind. We know well enough we should have ordered the Forsythias several weeks ago if we expect to plant them this fall and have them in flower among the earliest of all subjects next spring. It will be the same with hardy plants next year; and roses and evergreens and those fruit trees we had promised ourselves. Well, probably it is too late now. You can wire your nurseryman today or simply write him, remembering, for comfort, that the seasons "are not the same as they used to be." This appears to be true. We used to have snow nearly always around Thanksgiving, but snow and frost hardly come much before Christmas now. Our springs used to open up in the third week of March, around St. Patrick's Day; now it is the 1 5th of April before the ground is fit to dig. So we may take a chance, a pretty safe chance, and order supplies of trees, shrubs, roses, fruits and hardy plants even now. Remember, however, that these are days of delayed shipments and possess your soul in patience accordingly. And when January comes, remember to order your hot-bed frames ; better lay the order now for these, too. There are lots always going forward, always needing to be thought of — tools, trellises, stakes, seeds, bulbs, etc. Lastly, here the summer has gone and the little attached greenhouse that you wanted for the east or west side of your dwelling has not even been estimated for. Why not, at least, have an airy sun parlor or sunny room; one with an abundance of glass to give light overhead and at the front and sides. It would be the simplest thing in the world to make the addition of a greenhouse to the piazza of thousands of homes everywhere; or the addi- tion could be made even better against the side of the house, much to the improvement of this latter, and furnishing a much-prized, beautiful, pleasure-giving adjunct. The little attention that the plants would require would be just all that a lady or gentleman wanted or needed to give a refreshing form of mental stimulus and occupation at odd times during the severe cold of the winter and spring. Here, too, would be a comfortable smoking room or a tea room or lounge; although one could not expect to see all these attached greenhouses quite so big as to furnish space for chairs and tables. They could all, however, be places of the greatest interest and enjoyment. There has been far too much of the ill-judged despoiling of lawns, flower beds, hardy plant borders this year and other uncalled-for work of this kind from which the paltry returns in a few potatoes or corn or other vegetables will never begin to pay for the losses of the lawns or the collections of plants. This practice, much of which undoubtedly was indulged in as a passing fashion should be discouraged. There is plenty useful but quite idle land nearby. When there is not, then the plov^ang up of splendid lawns and flower beds might be justifiable. Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll I IlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUa Our country is calling upon all her people to do their share in the great world's struggle she is engaged in. The young manhood of our land has been enlisted to defend our flag; to make sacrifices that none who remain at home will have to share — giving up the best opportunities of their lives, maybe their very lives, though God grant they will be spared. Is it not actually obligatory on our part to do all in our power to provide the necessaries for our boys at the front? The call for the Second Liberty Loan has come, and it is possible to secure a Fifty Dollar Bond by paying out but one dollar of your weekly earnings for fifty weeks. Remember you give nothing, but you invest in U. S. Government bonds, paying 4% interest — the world's safest investment today. Who of our readers cannot afford to buy at least one bond? Nationality does not bar you or offer a reason for not subscribing, for you will invest your money and become a bond-holder in the Government of the country in which you derive your livelihood. Men, go to your bank, or to any bank, and invest in as many bonds as* you can afford to outright, or on monthly or weekly payments. Then ask your wives, daughters, sisters, sweethearts: Are you doing all you can to aid the Red Cross? Urge them they cannot give up too much of their time in working for our soldiers, who are preparing to fight in the trenches for world democracy and the liberty of mankind. Do It NOW! You must not delay ! ! This is no time to procrastinate! I niiiiii II iini iiiiinii iiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ iii i iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii iiiiiiii iiiiiii ■iiiiiiiiin iiiiuiiiiiiiiinii GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture Vol. XXI nniiiiiiiii IIIMIIIItlllllllllMIMIIIIIItllKIIII OCTOBER, 1917 illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllilllllilllllllllllllllUlllllllllllllllllllllll^^ No. 10 1 Things and Thoughts of the Garden By the Onlooker WE sometimes forget how rich we are in good native plants that are hardy and which can be grown in the borders out of doors, or at least in some part of the ornamental garden. Looking over a set of old lantern slides that I used to illustrate a talk on "Plant Geography," I came upon one that had the following list of showy and ornamental North American plants. The list is merely indicative of the type of vege- tation we have. Some trees and shrubs are among them : Aster (Michaelmes Daisy) Acer (Maple) Abies Amelanchier Carpentaria Calycanthus Clarkia Cornus floridus Darlingtonia Eschscholtzia Dodecatheon Erigeron Juniperus virginiana Helianthus Liatris Liliums (numerous) Liquidamber Liriodendron tulpifera Lupinus It is remarkable how notable Mexico is in plants that are well known among us. The list includes the follow- ing: Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa), Argemone, Cal- ceolaria Mexicana, Begonia Alanicata, Centradenia, Choisya temata (Mexican Orange Blossom), Cuphea ignea (Cigar Plant), Dasylirion, numerous cacti, Na- gelia. Dahlias, Sprekelia, Tigridia, Poinsettias and Euphorbia jacquiniae-flora. None of these, even where they come from higher altitudes, like the Dahlias, is hearty in the North. A very characteristic flora is found through the dry region of New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California, where cactaceous plants, Salt Bush occur. Chili, Australia and South Africa are in many respects similar ; indeed, wherever the climate of one part of the world approximates to the conditions found in another sphere, there you can get a type of vegetation that is similar in each case. Take Palestine, a hot, dry country, with a cooler, rainy winter season. Here we have Ranunculuses, Tulips, Crocuses, Poppies, Tamarisk, dwarf scrub or heat-like plants. In South Africa and Mertensia Monarda Nemophila CEnothera Phlox Penstemon Quercus (Oak) Gaillardia Heuchera Opuntia Physalis Sarracenia Solidago Sidalcea Sequoia Taxodium Zinnia Symphoricarpos Magnolia Australia, the same. We all know what is meant by New Holland (the old name for Australia) plants: Ericas, Chorizemas, Hardenbergias, Metrosideros, Aotus, etc. But who can distinguish between the Ericas of Australia and the Epacrises of Southern Africa? Like conditions develop like results. South Africa is richer in ornamental bulbs than the Island Continent, as the following list demonstrates : Agapanthus, ESrunsvigia, Crinum, Gladi- olus, Haemanthus, Imantophyllum (syn. Clivia), Ixia, Tritoma (syn. Kniphofia), Lachenalia, Ornithogallum, Richardia Africana (syn. Calla aethiopica), Schizostylis Sparaxis, Tritonia (not to be confused with Tritoma), Vallota purpurea and Watsonia. There they are all nicely arranged in alphabetical and apple-pie order. Here is the home of several of our most highly prized garden and greenhouse plants, the Gladioli, the Calla "Lily," the Lachenalia, Red Hot Poker, the Agapanthus — we would be poor indeed without our South African bulbs. South Africa is largely a dry, parched land, supporting a great variety of coarse grasses. As with other dry-land floras, there are succulent plants, among them the Stapelias, Rochea coccinea, Mesembryanthemum ; also vegetation like the Silver Leaf (Leucadendron argenteum), on which inscriptions are printed and the dried leaves sold as mementoes ; and the Proteas. The handsome Pelican Flower (Strelitzia reginae), hails from South African territory, and tliis is the home, likewise, of the blue Water Lily, Nymphae shellata, found wild nowhere else in the world ; and the gorgeous red orchid, Disa grandiflora, grows on Table Mountain at the Cape. * * * It might be thought that this goodly list of famous plants would serve for the fame of South Africa, but there are still more of our garden treasures found native. Chief are the so-called Geraniums, which are properly called Pelargoniums, as the real Geraniums find their home in North America and Europe, the latter mostly. Think of the little Herb Robert, however, of Europe, and compare it with some of the scented-leaved Pelargoniums and one can well understand how confusion as to names arose. Our bedding zonal Geraniums were bred up from Pelargonium zonale, P. inquinans and others. The great period of the bedding Geranium was in the sixties, sev- enties and early eighties of last century, when the "scarlet Geranium," the gold and silver tricolors and variegated varieties, and famed named nosegay forms were the craze. A Pelargonium Society existed for a short while in London. Columns of descriptions of new varieties filled the old Cottage Gardener and the other periodicals of 359 360 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA the time, aiul there were several. This, however, is taking us away from South Africa, to which we return to men- tion, in conclusion, the golden Gazania, the Transvaal Daisy (Gerbera Jamiesoni), the other and newer Daisy Dimorphotheca aurantiaca, which our seedsmen have succeeded in selecting in almost rainbow colors now, just as they have bred up the S. African annual Nemesia strumosa Suttoni. (In passing, compare Schizanthus from Chili, with Nemesia from S. Africa.) The beauti- ful Plumbago capensis furnishes a much-prized blue- flowered shrub, and in Sparmannia africana we have a white-flowered one, each from this southern land. As- paragus plumosus is also S. African. The Immortelles or Everlastings from that country further bear out the main fact of' the dry-land character of its vegetation. You don't, for instance, find ferns or hardy herbaceous plants there. * * * One of the richest countries, or two of the richest, are China and Japan. So many plants, indeed, bear the "surname" japonica, that gardeners are sometimes col- oquially called "Japonicas." Here are some of the better known Far Eastern plants : Acanthopanax Gaultheria Aeschynantlnis Ginkgo (Maidenhair Tree) Ailantus (Tree of Heaven) Halesia (Snowdrop Tree) Akebia Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) Aralia Ligustrum (Privet) Aspidistra Nandina domestica Aucuba NeUimbium Caesalpinia Ophiopogon Callistephus (China Aster) Paulownia iniperialis CamelHa Pittosporum Cephalotaxus Pseudolarix Chamaecvparissus (or Cypress) Rodgersia Chimonanthns Sciadopitys (Umbrella Tree) Chrysanthemums Symphoricarpos Clerodendron trichotomum Thuya (Arborvitae) Cryptomeria Skinimia Eurya latifolia Thujopsis Forsythia Wistaria, also various Ijamboos Funkia Tea plant * * * The study of plant geography soon becomes fascinat- ing, and at any rate, the fact of knowing what the local conditions of growths are in the natural state of the plants, and a knowledge of the region from which they come, must not only be a powerful aid to the correct and successful treatment of plants under domestication. In the matter of plant introduction the English have taken a leading part. They have been an exploring and col- onizing race. Yet other countries played their part. France, Spain, Germany and Russia maintained col- lectors in different countries at different times. In the early days, British naval and military officers and the governors of the colonies, as well as rich merchants, and occasionally the ecclestiastics stationed abroad, as well as other officials and stray travelers, added to the wealth of plants in European, and particularly British, gardens. Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh brought home many subjects; Gerarde, Parkinson, Tradescant, Plukenet, botanists and herbalists, swelled the list of those from Europe, northern Africa and North America. The East India Company, formed in the year 1600, introduced not a few ; then came South African, West Indian and Chinese selections, and later on, at the end of the eighteenth century, Australian plants, which were largely introduced by the efforts of Sir Joseph Banks. * * * Something was said last month about books. Tastes differ as to the choice of books. The man who has noth- ing else than Carnations or Roses under glass to look after will find most of his wants supplied in one good standard work on these like "Commercial Carnation Culture," or "Roses Under Glass." These, with notes and articles in the gardening papers and reports from the State experiment stations, are about all he will trouble to get. Likewise specialists in all lines look first to the particular works that concern their part of horticulture or floriculture, making a secondary matter of all else. There are thousands of readers of The G.xrdeneks' Chronicle of America, however, whose outlook on flowers and plants and their cultivation, employment and the enjoyment is of the broadest, and these seek a widely varied library. It is really fine amusement trying to make out lists of the books one would like. I often do this with reference to general literature, and have a notebook well-stocked with the titles and authors of novels, books of travels, historical works, and others treating of religion, biography and so on. It keeps one hopeful, if it does nothing more. Many gardeners are omnivorous readers. One gardner known to me appears to have the present war off by heart, knowing the history of the generals, their present and recent commands and their strategy in their battles. The late Mr. Marshall, of the Mt. Kisco region, was a learned man from con- stant reading, and the late Wm. Smith, curator of the Washington (D. C.) Botanic Garden, had the best col- lection of Burns books in America. "The best univers- ity," said Carlyle, "is a library of good books." ^ % ^ 1 suggest to the editor of The Chronicle, that before the National Gardeners' Association, he obtain by vote or letter, a selection of the titles of the best twelve or twenty books suitable for the use of young gardeners. Alost likely the lists will vary considerably. Half a dozen lists from as many men in New England, three or four from New York and so on over the country, the lists to be published monthly in the Winter issues of The Chronicle, would keep alive a spirit of interest and desire for study. The more I think of it the better 1 like the idea of letters from leading men on what a gardener should, could, or might read. A friend now gone, said, every time he looked into Webster's Interna- tional Dictionary, "If I was banished to an island alone, with only one book, this is the one I'd choose." His choice had many merits. There are much worse ways of spending an hour than in having a dictionar}' stretched across one's knees. To begin with, all who can afford Bailey's Cyclopedia of Gardening in six volumes, costing $6 each or $36 net, should purchase this. It is a library in itself. There is little that it misses. It is good mental pabulum to bring scattered brain cells into action after a day's digging, potting or pruning. Passing to the field of general garden literature, "The Onlooker" would want, firstly, some histories of gardening and plants ; their titles are manifold. Secondly, one or more works on plant geog- raphy, something dealing with the distribution of plants over the face of the globe. Physical geography would be included. Thirdly, a science series, to comprise some botanies, one or more on the uses of plants in general commerce and for drug purposes ; works on diseases, insects, the uses of manures and fertilizers. Fourthly, miscellaneous gossipy books on gardening and other works on plant lore and the mythological stories con- nected with them. Fifthly, general and special treatises on gardening, fruit cultivation, indoor and outdoor plants. Sixthly, landscape gardening, garden making, forestry, estate and farm management. Here would be something for all moods, for rainy days and sunny days, something to inspire and guide the mind whenever either was required. It is granted that a simpler librarv would do very well. In most cases it has to — and a lot simpler. A Noteworthy Massachusetts Estate By William N. Craig, Massachusetts A Specimen of Malus Floribunda in Bloom, a Magnificent Sight. AMONGST the numerous attractive and interesting estates to be found within the confines of the old Bay State, there are none with such a wealth of features, appealing to the horticulturists, as the Bayard Thayer estate, South Lancaster, Mass., where William Anderson is superintendent. The estate covers over a thousand acres, is well elevated, beautifully wooded, and from the mansion and formal gardens, magnificent views of mountain, lake, and forest, command one's admiration at everv turn. A Specimen of Taxus Cuspidata Ten Feet in iVidth and Twelve Feel in Height. The present mansion was built about sixteen years ago, and at that time large quantities of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs were bought in small sizesj large plantations 'were planted thickly and in groups, in order to give more character to the plantings, and as the estate was developed, these were thinned and the surplus planted elsewhere. Many of these trees, such as Hemlock, Spruce, Douglas Spruce, Pines in variety. Oak, Ileech, Hickory, and Walnut, are now 20-30 feet in height. Priming has been verv strictlv .ittended to, with A Panoramic I'iew of Lancaster and Its Snrrounding Country From the Terrace Garden of the Bayard Thayer l.ancaster. Mass. Taxus Citspidala Is Seen Planted in the Foreground. Eslale. South 361 362 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA ^> Forsyfhia. in Bloom Planted Along One of the result that on very few private estates or pubhc parks, are such well balanced and perfect trees to be found : particularly is this true of the Hemlocks and Oaks. Cornus Florida has been exten- sively planted in the woodlands and shrubberies of large size. Its flowers are almost incom- parable in their season, and when covered with fruit f^Uhododcndrons I'liiutc are very handsome. _ _ ig many charming grass paths, hundreds of thousands o'f spring bulbs have been planted. Under the Oaks, Ikeches, Hickories, and other deciduous trees, great numbers of such large trumpet narcissi as Emperor, Empress, and bicol- or Victoria have been used, which make a glorious showing in the spring. Amongst the Pines and Spruces such short trumpet varieties as poeticus, Leed- sii, and Leedsii Mrs. Langtry, and a strong mixture of the blue Scilla cam- panulata have been used. The effect in flowering time against the dark foliage of the trees is indescribably lovely. About eight years ago, a thirty acre tract of land was cleared, except that some groups of White Pines were left to act as wind breaks. On this tract of land, all varieties of evergreens, con- sidered hardy enough to stand the rigor- ous New England winters, w^re planted and given a space, 20-30 feet apart each Jl'alks in the Terrace Garden. Along One of the Many Interesting Walks of the Bayard Thayer Estate. way, according to their growth and habit. Each plant is labeled plainly, the differ- ent varieties are planted in groups of from three to si.x each, and the collection is added to, as new varieties are ob- tained. La'St spring the Chinese varieties,, which have been raised from seed in the home nursery were added to the col- lection, the following varieties being in- cluded ; Picea asperata and its varieties^ notabilis and ponderosa ; ascendens, re- troflexa, heterolepsis, purpurea, Mon- tigena, Balfouriana, and aurantiaca. Abies Faxoneana, — recurvata, Delavayi, squamata, Sutchuenensis and Larix Potanina. All are E. H. Wilson's in- troductions but the last two which are Purdom's. In addition to the foregoing novelties^ there are planted in the pinetum, eighteen varieties of Abies, twenty-two of Pinus, twenty of Picea, and eight of Larix; also Juniperus, Sciadopitys, et cetera in lesser variety. A note- worthy group of the little Picea Al- bertiana is doing finely here. This is native to the Ca- nadian Northwest and Air. Anderson is propagating it abundantly from cuttings. -A walled in gar- den, one acre in ex- tent, was made and planted about six years ago. It is planted principally for spring and early summer ef- fects, but was very interesting when I Amongst the trees and bordering the i^' Hemlock Hedge, Planted Around Vegetable Garden. Twelv Tivelve Feet Through at Base. Feet in Height and THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 363 visited it in mid-September with its aijundance of fruiting shrubs, while later fohage effects, promised to be fine., A well proportioned pergola runs through the center of the garden and is planted with some of the best hardy rambler roses, Polygonum Baldshuanicvnn, Akebia lobata, Celastrus flagellaris, \'itis Doaniana, \'. cordifolia, \'. heterophylla, \'. Thunbergii, all very handsome varieties. Lonicera Henry, L. Heckrotti, and Wistaria Venusta, the latter a new pure white Chinese species. Some of the best and most striking deciduous shrubs and low flowering trees in this garden are Prunus Tomen- tosa, Rexi, subhirtella, incisa, and triloba simplex: Ex- ochardas Wilsoni and Geraldi ; Symplocos crataegoides. Magnolias stellata, glauca and spectabilis ; A^irburnums theiferum and hupehense, two robust and handsome Chinese varieties of Wilson's introduction, Xanthoceras sorbifolia ; Potentillas \'eitchii and Dahurica from China, and fruticosa splendens. The following Chinese shrubs, all raised from seed by Yellow Trumpet Narcissus Naturali::cd in the Grass. irHliaiii .hiderson. Superintendent of Uayard Thayer Lslule in the Field of Scotch Heather. Mr. Anderson, were noted in the walled in garden : Lon- iceras Kochneana, Korolkowii. Maackii podocarpa, In- volucrata serotina, ramosissinia, Schroederiana and raciniflora microcarpe. Cotoneastcrs includes some striking forms, of which tenuiper, obscura, Dielsiana, divaricata, adpressa, bullata and horizontalis per- purilla were in handsome fruit. There are some splendid new Ilerberis, including circuin-serrata. dic- tophylla, Poiretti, Sargenti and verunniculos ; Hydran- gea Thunbergi ; Rhus trichocarpa : I'raxinns Paxinana ; Indigoferas Kirilowi, decora and amblyantha ; also the best new Lemoine hybrids of Philadelphus. Special mention must be made of a specimen of Lonicera syringantha Wolffi, raised from seed, collected by Purdom in China about six years ago. The plant is now twenty-eight feet in diameter, four feet high in the Narcissi Emperor and Empress Nalur(ili':ed Under the Oaks. 364 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA center, foliage is small, and in June the plant is smothered with beautiful lavender colored flowers. Of the many varieties of roses there is none more beautiful than Rugo- sa repens alba. Of the Syringa, (lilacs) were noted S. oblata ten feet high, this being the earliest species to bloom, pubescens, lutac'e, persica, and chinensis, each eight to ten feet high and of equal width. Large collections of Iris are grown, form of German- ica, notably pallida types, and I pumila principally; also single and double herbaceous and Moutan paeomes. Many rock plants are used along the sides of gravel walks and are allowed to ramble over the walks in some meas- ure. There are four large beds in the walled m garden, m each of which seven thousand cottage tulips are planted, in addition to which, eight thousand Darwins are planted in the borders, mostly in patches containing fifteen to twentv-five bulbs each; also many species of tulips such ' as Fosteriana, Galatea, Sprengeri, Greigi, Micheliana, et cetera. ( )ther bulbs such as Scillas, Chionodoxa, Muscari, Hyacinthus et cetera are grown in quantity, while the stately Eremuri are much at home ; also Camassias, many Narcissi and about every other hardy bulb growing, not forgetting numerous liliums. To the south of the mansion are the terrace gardens, and here are some beautiful Taxus cuspidata, ten feet high and as much across, and T. cuspidata brevitolia, five feet high and ten across. T. cuspidata is used as a hedge plant and is splendid for that purpose. As English Iv}- is not hardy, Euonynius vegetus is used to cover the walls, for temperatures of 20°-30° have no ill effect on it. In addition to the hlac garden proper, there is another and older collection on this part of the estate. The plants average ten to twelve feet high and, having had plenty of room, are all perfect specimens. Here as elsewhere on the estate, grass rather than gravel is used wherever possible. A new lilac garden, one and a half acres in extent has been recently planted. It contains three hun- dred plants in fifty of the very best varieties. Mr. Ander- son considering the following amongst the best varieties of S. Vulgaris: Philemon, Ludwig, Spiith, Marie Legraye, macrostachya, Mdlle. LePage, Ellen Wilmott, Mirabeau, Doctor Von Kegel, Lilla Rosa, Congo, Mnie. Lemoine, Danton, and Princess Alexandra. Borders on either side of the grass path leading into the lilac garden, are planted with S. persica, chinensis, and pubescens. A Malus garden, one acre in area, was planted ten years ago with one hundred and fifty ornamental Malus. This garden and the lilac garden are both circular in form with grass paths and a large open space in the center from which the trees can be viewed, when in flower or fruit. Here are to be found some of the best varieties of J\Ialus: — Arnoldiana, Sargenti, Floribunda, Scheideckeri, Cashmeriana, baccata, lonensis, Beckteli, Neidzwetzkiana, Ringo. Parkmanni and others. I must not omit mention of the nursery, which is of large area and in which many thousands of Kalmias, Azaleas, Bayberries, Vacciniums, Ericas et cetera are raised from seed. Kalmias and Scotch Heather have in particular been raised in immense numbers and are massed on the hillsides. As they attain planting out size, they are moved and smaller plants take their places. The Scotch Heather seems very much at home here. Mr. Anderson has planted out over fifty thousand and they seem to grow almost as well as in Scotland. A fine block of eight thousand Azalea Vaseyi is ready to be trans- planted in spring. In the nursery are large numbers of Taxus in variety. all the new Chinese and Japanese Spruces, Pines, Abies, and Larix, from seeds collected by Purdom and Wilson. Lilium regale is grown here in great numbers, thousands of seedlings being raised annually in frames. L. Henryi, the new L. Thayeroe, and other varieties are similarly propagated. The greenhouses do not contain any carnations, violets, snap-dragons, hybrid tea roses, and flowers ordinarily grown in private and commercial ranges. One house is devoted to Acacias, some planted oui, include large speci- mens of A. pubescens, others are in pots and tubs. The one time rose house now contains splendid Camellias in beds. Climbers in these houses include Streptosolen Jamesonii, white and red Cherokee and Banksian roses, Jasminum primulinum. Clematis indivisa and in a warm house Stephanotis covered the roof and was well well bloomed. I noticed fine batches of Bouvardia Humboldtii Daphne. Indica, Eucharis, Amaryllis, Clivias, Gardenias, also one division of orchids. Several houses are devoted to grapes, peaches, nectarines, and melons, and all carried fine crops. Space will not permit me to describe in detail the splen- did banks of rhododendrons, azaleas, and other shrubs in the pleasure grounds, all planted with excellent taste, but I must mention the magnificent lot of Campanula pyramidalis on the roomy piazza of the mansion, plants eight to nine feet high and showing splendid culture. Mr. Bayard Thayer, who developed this beautiful es- tate, died about a year ago, a great loss to horticulture, but Mrs. Thayer continues to keep up an unabated in- terest and with so able a captain at the helm as William Anderson, this estate will continue to grow in interest for many years to come. yi|iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[iiiiiini)ii!iiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiH^ I A Good Life Chart | I ""To respect my country, my profession and myself. J I * To be honest and fair with my fellow-nien, as I | I expect them to be honest and square with me. To be | I a loyal citizen of the United States of America. To 1 j speak of it with praise, and act always as a trustworthy 1 I custodian of its good name. To be a man whose name j I carries weight wherever it goes. i I To base my expectations of reward on a solid founda- | I tion of service rendered. To be willing to pay the 1 I price of success in honest effort. To look upon my 1 1 work as an opportunity to be seized with joy and | I made the most of, and not as painful drudgery to be | I reluctantly endured. i I To remember that success lies within myself — my | I own brain, my own ambition, my own courage and de- | I termination. To expect difficulties and force my way | I through them. To turn hard experience into capital | I for future use. 1 I To believe in my proposition, heart and soul. To | I carry an air of optimism in the presence of those I 1 I meet. To dispel ill temper with cheerfulness, kill | I doubts with a strong conviction, and reduce active fric- | I tion with an agreeable personality. 1 j To make a study of my business. To know my pro- 1 I fession in every detail. To mix brains with my efforts, | I and use system and method in my work. To find time | j to do every needful thing by never letting time find me | I doing nothing. To hoard days as a miser hoards dol- | I lars. To make every hour bring me dividends, increased 1 i knowledge, or healthful recreation. | I To keep my future unmortgaged by debts. To save | j as well as earn. To cut out expensive amusements | I until I can afford them. To steer clear of dissipation, | I and guard my health of body and peace of mind as a | I precious stock in trade. | I Finally, to take a good grip on the joys of life. To j I play the game like a man. To fight against nothing | i so hard as my own weaknesses, and endeavor to grow i J in strength, a gentleman, a Christian. | I So I may be courteous to men, faithful to friends, 1 jj true to God, a fragrance in the path I tread. | I Anonymous. | liiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin The Autumn Foliage THE prevailing color of the summer vegetation is green, and so closely do we associate this color with the foliage of vegetation as a whole, that we scarcely think of it as a color, but rather as the normal ef- fect. Throughout most temperate regions of the earth, and particularly in North America and Europe, the onset of the autumn season initiates a riot of color in foliage with which, in favorable sections, -there is nothing in nature to compare. Regarding these eiTects in central Europe it has been written : "What abundance of color is then unfolded ! The crowns of the pines bluish-green, the slender summits of the firs dark green, the foliage of hornbeams, maples, and white-stemmed birches pale yellow, the oaks brownish-yellow, the broad tracts of forests stocked with beeches in all gradations from yel- lowish to brownish-red, the mountain ashes, cherries and barberry bushes scarlet, the bird cherry and wild service trees purple, the cornel and spindle-tree violet, aspens orange, abeles and silver willows white and gray, and alders a dull brownish-green. And all these colors are distributed in a most varied and charming manner * * *." While the autumn coloring of trees and shrubs in the Mississippi Valley region is scarcely equal to that of New England and the Appalachians, except during the most favorable seasons, it is always attractive and worthy of an analysis which may serve to relate effect and cause. Contrary to the popular belief, the change of color in the autumn season is not an index of death, but rather an indication of gradual maturity which may lead toward death. In general, the autumn colors may be classed as yellows and reds, although orange, brown, bronze, and purple may be found in the varied effects. The yellow and orange tints are due primarily to a group of pig- ments called xanthophyll, in reality, xanthophylls and carotins, while the reds are almost invariably anthocyanin. These names mean little more than the colors themselves until one discovers that there are extensive groups of plant pigments which have merited careful chemical and physiological study and classification. Even the green leaves of the summer season exhibit sometimes a shade of yellow, and with a host of plants yellowing is associated with waning vigor and health. As a matter of fact, yellows are always present in the leaves, associated with the chlorophyll, or leaf green, so that when the conditions become unfavorable for the maintenance of health, the chlorophyll is broken down and the yellow pigments (in those plants which do not produce reds) become more conspicuous. These yellow pigments, like the chlorophyll, are not sap colors ; more- over, they are more stable than the green, and may persist until the living cells are killed by cold. One of these yellow pigments, carotin, is also characteristic of many fruits, of certain mushrooms, and it is even found in various animal tissues. In the vicinity of St. Louis yellow is the autumn color of the ginkgo among conifers, likewise of many species of willow, poplar, birch, and certain maples, also of box elder, mulberry, elm, hornbeam, chestnut, tupelo, and sycamore. It appears as an undertone where browns and reds are more prominent, as in the sassafras and horse-chestnut. The yellow in some foliage plants con- spicuous in the summer season, as in certain varieties of coleus, are simply indicative of a preponderance of yel- low pigment, veiling the leaf green but not excluding it. The red pigments of autumn leaves are cell-sap colors, and nearly all such anthocyanins are soluble in the aqueous solution constituting the plant juices. It is significant that those plants exhibiting conspicuous red coloration in the autumn are often those which give in- dication of reddening with the first shoots of the spring growth. In this region there is no plant more loyal to autumn scarlet than the sumac, and in the spring the young shoots are reddened until the vigorous growth of warmer weather disperses the tint. Instances of this sort might be multiplied many fold. In our own flora some species exhibiting pronounced reds are hard maple, sassafras, thorn-apples, sumac, dog- wood, poison oak, Virginia creeper, and many others. Brown and purplish tones are often exhibited by hickory, persimmon, and ash. The vegetation that is suddenly cut off by severe frost seldom exhibits the best reds. Climatic influences are important, and it is clear that regions with a fairly high humidity and cool night, as the autumn approaches, are those in which the highest coloration is attained. Nevertheless, similar pigmenta- tion may be developed (in those plants capable of it) almost any season. In the middle of the summer a branch of hard maple or an isolated shoot of sumac may show high coloration. The heightened color is usually to be associated with some injury whereby the food ma- terials manufactured in the leaves are not conducted away from the shoot or branch. The production of anthocyanin in plants has been made the subject of much experimental study and careful an- alysis. It appears that the abundance of color in plants capable of producing it at all is related to the sugar content, and it also appears to be dependent upon oxida- tion phenomena. During the growing season the sugar produced in the leaves is rapidly utilized, but in the fall it is not required to such an extent in respiration, nor is it conducted away so freely. At the same time, the con- ditions are most satisfactory for the oxidation of the mother substance, or chromogen. The pigment belongs to the group of substances chemically known as gluco- sides, containing glucose or fruit sugar as one constituent. It is interesting to note that twigs placed in a sugar solu- tion, and under conditions otherwise favorable, have been found to redden conspicuously. The red pigments of autumn coloring belong to the same group of substances as the pigments of red beets and purple grapes, of most red, purple and blue flowers, and the red colors of such summer foliage plants as many varieties of coleus, begonia, croton and the purple beeches and maples. In these last-mentioned foliage plants, however, the red color is distinctive of the variety or species practically throughout its period of growth, and it is developed so abundantly in the cell sap as to com- pletely veil the chlorophyll. The simple experiment of plunging a red coleus leaf into boiling water for a few minutes is sufficient to demonstrate that the soluble red pigment is removable, and this removal makes visible in striking manner the green chlorophyll which is insoluble in water. The landscape architect uses to advange shrubs and other perennials which offer the possibility of autumn fol- iage colors, and likewise those — like the osier dogwood — whose twigs are reddened in the fall and remain brilliant for a considerable part of the winter. In the vicinity of St. Louis, where fall and spring efl^ects are often those chiefly sought in the garden, the autumn coloration of leaves, fruits and stems is a matter of special interest in the planning of the home ground. — From Missouri Bo- tanical Garden Bulletin. 365 Beautiful Surroundings an Antidote to War's Horrors THE planting of shrubs, like the making of gardens generally beautifies property. They improve the ap]3earance of things and places. As an antidote to the war news, old John Burroughs, now over 80, goes put to his garden and to the woods and hedgegrows. Mr. Burroughs is not alone in his choice of an antidote. Plant such shrubs as the Atlantic and Japanese Cedars, Ccdrus Atlantica and Cryptomeria elegans, respectively; .also such larger evergreens as Abies Veitchii, Ysuga ■canadensis, and the white Pine, Pinus strobus. Anyone having screen plantings to make, or banks to plant, would do well to select on these among other things. For a boundary tree what better, either, than Pin Oak, or Red and Scarlet Oaks, and as a lawn specimen the Maiden- hair and Tulip trees are fine. Plantings for nearby tTie house may comprise our old friends, Retinospora pisifera and R. plumosa, as well as R. filifera, while Japanese Box, Japan Yew, and the neat, formal Biota orientalis, or the totally different Savin are also useful where dwarf evergreens are demanded. Those who have a call for flowering shrubs can always, with wisdom, turn to the hardy Rhododendrons, of which there are so many hand- some ones that naming a few is at the expense of others just as good, yet the beautiful Everestianum and Pur- pureum elegans ought not to be overlooked in the desire for more telling colors. Turning to other trees and shrubs, our attention has been riveted upon the double flowering Cherries from Japan the last year on two, which are among the most glorious of all hardy flowering small trees. A selection of others can only be named (for the space at command is but limited) and includes these: Pyrus floribunda Scheideckeri, also Bechtle's double-flowering Crab; Philadelphus grandiflorus, grandest of the Mock Or- anges ; Halesia or Snowdrop tree ; Cercis japonica or Red Bud ; Scotch Laburnum, too much overlooked ; Sym- phoricarpos racemosus, fine in all respects when well treated and kept pruned back ; some of the newer hybrid Ceanothuses; Scotch Broom (Genista scoparius), good for dry banks ; Deutzia gracilis, loved by all, with the Tamarisk, Spiraea A^an Houttei, the pendant Forsythia, whose shoots are so beautiful over walls, bridges or stones ; Vitex Agnus-Castus, blue, flowering in late sum- mer; pink Cornus florida, Wistaria, the improved Bud- dleia variabilis magnifica, and Berberis Thunbergii, of which we never see too much. Don't forget a clump or two of the choice Lilacs if these are at all within your reach. As this is the height of the planting season for hardy flowers, allow the naming of just these, in case they be otherwise overlooked, namely. Anemone japonica Lady Ardilatm, Poppy Mrs. Perry, Campanula persicifolia Moerheimi, Hemerocallis Golden Bell, Sedum spectabile purpureum, Trollius europaeus Orange Globe, Veronica longifolia subsessilis, Tritoma Pfitzeri, Helianthus multi- florus fl. pL, Pentstenion barbatus, Stokesia cyanea, Tiarella cordifolia, Saxifraga crassifolia (or S. cordata). Yucca filamentosa, Thalictrum flavum, T. dipterocarpum, and as many good Phloxes, Irises, Moon Daisies, Heucheras, Delphiniums, Eryngiums, Verbascums (there are some new ones in bronze and pinkish shades) as vou can afford and have room for. Also don't forget Aconitum Wilsoni (new), and Artemisia lactiflora. A Hint for the 1918 War Garden THE enthusiasm which entered into the making and keeping of our "War Gardens" may be fed by, as it were, grafting on to the "War Garden" idea a variety of "Grandmother's Garden." Scientists tell us of the gigantic club mosses and ferns which covered the earth during its earliest periods, and they also tell us that the highly colored and fragrant flowers came only with the advent of man on earth ; so we may be sure fragrance and color are just as necessary to man's well-being as cabbages and potatoes. Along the lines of the foregoing. Mar}' Howitt very aptly says ; "God might have made the earth bring forth Enough for great and small, The oak tree and the cedar tree Without a flower at all. Our outward life requires them not; Then wherefore liad they birth? To minister delight to man — To beautifuy the earth. To comfort man, to whisper hope When'er his faith is dim. For whoso careth for the flowers Will much more care for him !" Therefore to prove our great-grandmothers grew in their gardens plants pleasing to the senses of sight and smell as well as the sense of taste, Abercrombie (1728- 1806) in "Every Man His Own Gardener," writes ; "In a general garden, where by reason of a limited situation it may be required to have the kitchen garden and some ornamental compartments within the same boundary ; Allot some principal borders adjoining the main walks, for flowers and small ornamental flowering shrubs." One of the earliest names of Pansy was "Hearts-ease" ; in fact Pansy is a hybrid of the Hearts-ease or Viola tricolor, and a gardener-poet of the Hearts-ease writes : "There is a little flower that's found In almost every garden-ground. 'Tis lowly, but 'tis sweet ; And if its name express its power, A more invaluable flower You'll never, never meet. I said in every garden ground — Perhaps in Eden 'twas not found, For there it was not wanted ; But soon as sin and sorrow came The flower received its gladdening name, By mercy's angel planted." — From Hand Book, Scivickley Hor. Society. 366 The Development of the Dahlia THE remarkable development of the Dahlia was most distinctly featured at the recent show in New York of the American Dahlia Society. Many of the old-time varieties, those popular fifteen or more years ago, were conspicuous by their absence — gone into the dis- Neiv Dahlia Red Cross. card. The few still permitted to grace the exhibition table are worthy of the honor through color, form, or habit of growth, qualifications which determine the usefulness of any variety. Among such are Delice, dark rosy pink, in J ^^^^ J ,,^^ ■" y ^I^F^ff^^ , iSS^ i (2; ^^P^'** 1 r. 1 ^ 1, IP -m^' Nnu Dahlia Mrs. Frederick Griiuiell. color distinctly ditTerent from any other Dahlia, and a splendid variety for cut flowers ; Countess of Lonsdale, red, slightly shaded salmon, still one of the best Cactus varieties, and very desirable for cut flowers ; Mrs. H. J- Jones, Cactus, scarlet, edged cream, splendid for bou- ([uets and basket arrangements; Kriemhilde, another Cactus, light pink, curly petals, long stems ; Catherine Duer, decorative, vivid scarlet, very fine form ; A. D. Livoni, Show, delicate pink, one of the oldest, but hold- ing its place through sheer merit ; W. W. Rawson, Show, [Jure white, overlaid with amethyst blue, very handsome. .Vll mentioned are among the lowest in cost, yet highly T < wl^W Pf' mmg^ i 4 • 1 iVcic Dahlia Nncfort Wonder. desirable where a wealth of flowers for cutting is de- sired. I was much impressed with some of the new varieties shown. A fine pink single — Newport Wonder — was ex- hibited in a basket arrangement, with Euphorbia sprays and pink ribbon. This variety bids strongly for a good {Continued on page 369) \eti' Dahlia Fordhaok White. 367 giiimmiiitiiiijiiiiiiiiimMtiirt Kiiitiim miiiMiiiiiiiiniiimitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiminiiiiiiiiiifiiiimitiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiliiiiiiimimM mitiiiiiJiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiliilill Work for November in the Garden I John Johnson, Massachusetts j iriinii!iHiiiiniiiiiininiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiii;:iiiiiiiiiiiii:iiii;iiiiiitii{|iii'iiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiii!iiiiiiiii^ Dl RIXG tlie month of Xovember the season's work in the outdoor garden is often brought to a close. It is not uncommon to see all winter covering in position this month on account of the shortage of labor for doing the work at the proper time which would be in most districts a month later. By all means have at hand, if possible, the necessary material for protection, whether wind screens, salt hay, leaves, or litter but defer the actual covering of roses, herbaceous, perennials, the strawberry bed, etc., until the ground is frozen to a depth of two or three inches. In northerly districts where rambler roses suffer the rigor of winter these may be taken down, tied, and weighted with logs or stones preparatory to covering. Bush roses may too be pegged down with stout wires or laid in trenches in readiness for final protection. Too early covering not only encourages premature growth in early spring which later sometimes results in heavy loss of valuable stock, but at the same time provides a safe hilding for mice and other harmful ver- min. When the work is left until the ground is frozen, V£rmin will have then in all probability found protection elsewhere. Mention of mice reminds one that at no time of the year can these pests be better dealt with than now that they are seeking winter quarters. A poisoned bait, as powdered strychnine mixed with crushed wheat or crushed oats should be placed in the burrows or at the entrance of the runs. In limited areas trapping may be resorted to. Vegetable Garden. Celery, beets, carrots and turnips as well as cauliflower should be lifted and stored in a frost proof cellar. While parsnips,- leeks and salsify suflfer no harm from freezing it is well to have these vegetables dug before the ground freezes too hard. Cabbage may be drawn and buried heads down outdoors in a dry and convenient situation. If left in the ground celery will need protection from hard frosts. Corn stalks make a capital material for this purpose and are readily removed during mild periods. Blanch Endive as required, and give surplus plants frame protection from now on. If frame protection cannot be afforded this crop, any tmused corners of sheds or outhouses may be utilized. Clean the asparagus plot if not already done, and pre- pare raspberries and blackberries for winter. Use every opportunity for digging or plowing and manuring vacant plots, and try to have the vegetable garden in good order before severe weather sets in. Forcing I'egefables. The time has arrived when the earliest batches of asparagus, rhubarb, seakale and chicory may be prepared for forcing. .Asparagus that was allowed to develop growth without cutting last spring will now be in condition for forcing. Prepare a lasting hotbed and cover with three or four inches of soil containing considerable leaf-mould. Select the strongest crowns and plant them closely together on this bed, then cover with^fine soil to the depth of six inches. The frame may b'e.kept closed, until the heads begin to show, when air shcaild be admitted to give color and flavor. A temperature of fiO" to 65° will promote sturdy growth and give a finer product than would a greater heat. If a few roots of rhubarb are lifted and exposed to 368 the elements for a week or so they will force quite easily. Rhubarb can be forced in any place of moderate wormth and where light is excluded. Pack the roots in light soil, or even rough litter. In fact almost any material holding moisture will answer. Although amongst the most desirable of vegetables for winter use, seakale is little grown in this country. The plants should be well matured before forcing and if there be any doubt in this regard lift a few' plants and expose them to the air for several days. The earliest crop of seakale is not always a success because the stock is immature, and exposure of the roots prior to forcing will partly rest them. A brisk bottom heat with top ventilation is necessary until growth commences, after- wards less air is needed. The plants must now be kept in absolute darkness to ensure perfect blanching. It is folly to regard any soil good enough for this crop. The formation of young roots is very rapid and unless the soil is of good quality, the first growth is not fine nor the aftergrowth prolonged. When the crowns have been planted a few days water them thoroughly and maintain moisture throughout the period of growth. Orchard. Pinish the planting of fruit trees as early in the month as possible. Dig the holes at least a foot wider than the roots cover. In planting yotmg stock, remove the top soil and then loosen the bottom to the depth of a spade. Replace in a slight mound in the center of the hcle, some of the finer soil, and set the tree upon it. Any jagged roots should be cut away with a sharp knife and always from the under side. Avoid the ex- tremes of shallow and deep planting. A good guide will be the soil mark on the stem of the tree as it was in the nursery. Lay out the roots evenly, plant firmly, water if the soil is at all dry and finish with a mulch. Stake the trees to lessen the strain on the roots and in so doing avoid the possibility of chafing the bark. Pro- tect the trees against cattle if necessary and later when snow flies, prevent rabbits girdling the trunks by wrap- ping them with tar paper or similar material. Apples, pears and plums should have their shoots shortened at planting time or soon after to about one-third. Cher- ries are best left unpruned the first season and the less they are cut in the future the better, as nothing encour- ages ''gumming'' more than injudicious use of the knife. Floivcr Garden. Planting in this department should be completed this month. Tulips, liliunis and other bulbs, as well as pansies, myosotis, etc., for spring and early summer effects should be in their permanent quarters. Cut down all hardy perennials blackened by frost and relegate rubbish to the burning heap. Prune deciduous shrubs that need it. Any which flower on wood made during the growing season may be cut hard back, while specimens that flower on growth made the previous season should be merely thinned. Avoid stift'ness at all times. Shrubs which are over- crowded in their present positions should be put in order by removing undesirable specimens. Apply a mulch of strawy litter to all choice shrubs which have been trans- Iilanted. Leaves collected in cleaning up the grounds should be piled for future use as leaf-mould. Take advantage of the open weather of the next few weeks for making new roads and pathways, as well as for cultivating any new ground which might be contemplated. jjiitiiiiiiiii iriNiiiiitirriiiiiHiiDiiiiiti i ttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimi tiiiiiimiiimiriniiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiimin iiiiiiiitiiimmiimii mrr itiiiiiii iiiituuiui juiiiiuiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiittitiiiiitiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiitiiniiiiitimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiMiiiiinii', The Greenhouse, Month to Month I By W. R. Fowkes, New York |i„„„iiii„,iiii ,„i,„i,iiii , I, im I mil iiiiiiimimimmi ramimi li iiiiini iim u iiiniiii uiiiiii i iiinmimii i immiii iiiiiinniimmiiii i iiini urn u i ii iH NOVEMBER indeed is a real time for the tiower lover. When utter desolation reigns without there is greater need for a good display of flow- ers within. The chrysanthenium, long acknowledgedas the Oueen of Autumn is now arranged in conservatories in glorious attire. To add to the pleasui-e the wonderful exhibitions all over our vast land keep the interest renewed. Many kinds and varieties are displayed in these exhibitions, also in the public parks, and the beautiful 'mums which origi- nally came to us from China and Japan have been greatly improved upon. They are classed, speaking broadly, as Japanese, Re- flexed, Incurved, Pompons, Anemones and Anemone Pompons. The distinction between each closs is readily discerned. The Japanese varieties arc marked by their ir- regularitv. Tlie flower forms a kind of semi-ball and its petals are tossed about wildly in charming disarray, which offers a remarkable contrast to the neatness and regularity of arrangement of the petals conspicuous in the other varieties. J^eflexed 'Mums are those whose petals lean back and turn downward towards the flower stalks. In the Incurved varieties the arrangement of the petals is just reverse — the petals turning upwards and away from the flower stalk and curving inwards so that the flower in many cases assumes the form of a ball composed of imbricated petals, or petals so disposed as to lap over one another like tiles on a roof. Pompons do not attain the height of tlie large flowering varieties and their blooms vary in size from that of a quarter to half a dollar, but their dwarfness and charm lend themselves to the useful work of furnishing a border to a group of the larger kinds. The Singles have a place of their own and are no longer looked upon as wild daisies : in fact, many people prefer them to their larger companions — but all the varieties of 'Mums have their'place, which they charmingly fill. A visit to the shows and careful notes taken of the varieties one wishes to grow next season will be made by the observant growers, and the leading chrysanthemum growers will gladly give interested patrons useful advice about the respective traits and of the most useful ones to grow, whether for a large or small establishment. The cool loving Cinerarias will now be in their flower- ing pots and need the coolest house, cooler than Cyclamen, although both are grown together with a degree of suc- cess. Fine plants can be had in five-inch pots. All they need is a little Clay's fertilizer every two weeks, and never allow them to get dry at the roots, or you had better throw them away. The companion of the above — Cal- ceolarias— will not be rec|uired to flower as early and can be given a larger pot with advantage, also light soil with a good share of leaf mold. Hvdrangeas and Bays can be placed in a cool cellar. The 'former need little water from now on, but the Bays must never be allowed to suffer or many -valuable leaves tvill be lost, making these useful plants very unsightly. Lilacs for forcing should be ordered early. Lily of the Valley can be flowered in the warm house plants, kept totally dark, in less than a month's time, watering well each day. Euphorbia Jacquiniaeflora is a useful decorative plant and mav be grown successfully in boxes or benches, but they are very impatient about careless watering, and un- less the grower is careful in this direction they will die of a kind of stem rot ; otherwise they are easy to grow. Ijuddleias will soon begin to develop their chaming scented sprays of decorative value ; feed these plants liberall)'. Antirrhinums will be useful subjects to grow and fol- low a space left by the ending of the 'mums. Plants in three- or four-inch pots previously grown are ideal for this purpose. Soil suitable for the 'mums or, in fact, if soil is scarce the old 'mum soil that has been fed with bone will answer finely. ]\Iignonette will now do nicely, but take a peep every night around with the lantern to discover and kill the green caterpillar that is so eager to devour the plants. Cattleya Labiata when in bloom should be removed to charm the drawing rooms of the dwelling house, and it will not harm the plants in the least. Dendrobium Phalaenopsis is a good companion at this time for the same purpose, but do not allow the blooms to remain too long on the plant or its vitality will be impaired somewhat and never regained. Calanthe Veitchii should be kept dry now and the flower spikes will develop freely. Sufficient luoisture will accrue from the atmosphere to keep the bulbs all right. These are charming for house decoration, but as they are deciduous they will have to be arrayed among the Maid- enhair ferns, where they will look fine. Do not allow a drop of moisture on the blooms. \'anda caerulea is with some a difficult plant to flower. The chief trouble is keeping the plants too hot. They do not require higher than 50° at night during winter. Another batch of cucumbers can be started. Carter's Ideal is ideal for winter forcing" when we have less sun- light to deal with. Sow one seed in a three-inch pot, soak the soil and pots first or they will take the moisture needed for the germination of the seeds. Cauliflower, lettuce, radishes, etc., can be easily raised where the 'mums were, and there is no need of a person to rack his brains to know how to profitably fill the houses in succession. In fact, on most well-managed places, be thev large or small, there is usually insufficient room for the number of crops the grower is trying his best to raise. DEVELOPMENT OF THE DAHLIA (Continued from page 367.) reception as a remarkably fine one for decorative use. Red Cross is a decorative variety, evidently possessing great merit, intended for dissemination next spring ; the color is amber-yellow with red shading to center, a very handsome effect. In the Peony-flowered section a new seedling, Mrs. Frederick Grinnell; showed its adaptabil- ity to basket arrangement, and its warm pink color made it very distinctive under artificial light. Another deserv- ing mention was Fordhook White, a good white flower with rich orange disc. In the section for small flowers, the little known "Star" varieties were conspicuous. Crawley Star, a deep pink, is perhaps the progenitor, but the family is growing, and I look for this race to become exceedingly popular as soon as their decorative possibilities become known. There were several newcomers in the Pompon section, with flowers of various sizes, the smallest less than an inch in diameter. — The Rounder. 369 370 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol. XXI October, 1917 No. 10 CULTURAL NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS pERSONS who desire to cultivate these plants must remember that Rhododendrons, including all Azaleas, cannot live in soil impregnated with lime. Rhododendrons are not hardy north of Massachusetts, and south of P'ennsylvania the summer sun is too hot for them. The range therefore in eastern North America where these plants can be successfully cultivated is com- paratively small, but probably the northwest coast of North America from southern British Columbia to northern California is as well suited for these plants as any part of the world, and there can be grown in addi- tion to all the varieties common in European gardens the Himalayan and Chinese species which here in the east can only be kept alive in glass houses, and in Europe thrive only in a few exceptionally favorable places like Cornwall or in the neighborhood of the Italian lakes. Rhododendrons, although they are moisture-loving plants, do not thrive in undrained positions ; they do best in soil in which loam and peat have been equally mixed, although peat is not always essential to the suc- cessful cultivation of these plants. They should be planted where the roots of trees cannot take away moist- ure from them, and the best position for these plants is on the north side but not too near coniferous trees, as they are planted in the Arboretum. In such positions they are protected from the direct rays of the sun in March and April, for in this climate where the roots are in frozen ground in winter and therefore cannot take up moisture, it is important to reduce as much as possible winter and early spring evaporation from the leaves. It is this evaporation from the leaves of evergreens grow- ing in frozen soil which makes it impossible to keep alive many of them in this country ; and this is the reason why it is desirable here to water thoroughly Rhododendrons just before the ground freezes in the autumn. Rhodo- dendrons imported from Europe suf¥er here from the stock on which they have been grafted. The almost universal custom among European nurserymen is to use Rhododendron poiiticuin as the stock for these plants because it is easily and quickly raised and readily grafted. R. ponticum is not at all hardy here, and there is little doubt that our want of success with Rhododendrons im- ported from Europe is due, in part at least, to the stock on which they have been grafted and that the gradual or sudden death here of large plants which have been uninjured by cold or drought for twenty or thirty years is due to this cause. The familiar Rhododendrons of New England gardens are so-called Catawbiense Hybrids and were raised in Europe many years ago by crossing R. catazvbiense, a native of the highest summits of the Appalachian Alount- ains, with Himalayan species, notably the scarlet-flowered R. arboremn. It might be expected that plants obtained from these crosses would be hardly in proportion to the predominance of the American plant but, judging by the color of the flowers, this is not always true. Varieties like Atrosanguineum, Charles Dickens and H. W. Sar- gent, which have flowers as bright red as those of R. arboreum, are among the hardiest of all garden Rhodo- dendrons ; but varieties with white or pale flowers are more tender than those with rose pink of purple flowers which most closely show the influence of the Cataw- biense parent; and unfortunately the varieties with light-colored flowers marked at the base with large brown or chocolate-colored blotches, like Sapho, are not at all hardy here. The hardiness of these hybrid Rhododendrons can only be determined by trial, although in selecting varieties for trial is is safe to assume that plants with broad leaves resembling those of R. catawbilnse, like Everestianum, Mrs. C. S. Sargent, Roseum elegans, Henrietta Sargent, Catawbiense album, and all the varieties with light or dark purple flowers are likely to prove hardier than the plants with narrow leaves like j\Irs. John Clutton. There are, of course, exceptions to such a rule. For example. Pink Pearl has broad leaves and is very tender ; and Comer Waterer, although it has leaves as broad as those of any of these hybrids, usually suft'ers in winter and almost invariably loses its flower-buds. Persons who want to plan Catawbiense Hybrid Rho- dodendrons should take advantage of the knowledge which has been laboriously and expensively obtained about these plants at Wellesley on Mr. Hunnewell's estate, where Rhododendrons have been tested on a large scale for sixty years, and here at the Arboretum where many of the hardiest kinds raised in England, Germany, and the United States will now soon be in flower. There are other evergreen Rhododendrons which are not as often cultivated here in INIassachusetts as they might be. R. catazvbiense itself is perfectly hardy and none of its hybrids have handsomer foliage. It grows slowly, however, and never to a very large size, and the flowers are of a disagreeable purple rose color. Rhododendron m.\ximum, which grows naturally as far north as southern New Hampshire, is a large plant sometimes treelike in habit, with handsome, long, narrow leaves and small clusters of beautiful pink and white fldwers. It is the last of the Rhododendrons to bloom here, and the flower-buds do not open until the new branchlets have nearly finished their growth, so that the flower-clusters are a good deal hidden by them. The varieties and hybrids of the dwarf Rhododendron caiicasiciiin bloom before the Catawbiense Hybrids, and the flowers have already faded. The latest of this race to flower, and perhaps the best of them all here, is a low, broad, compact plant with pure white flowers called Boule de Neige. This is a perfectly hardy, free-flower- ing plant which might to advantage be more generallv planted in Massachusetts. — Arnold Arboretum Bulletin. The Snapdragon: By Abraham Wynne, Connecticut AFTER many years of lack of appreciation the snapdragon (Antirrhinum) has at last come into its own. It has most always had a place in the garden of the amateurs but it is only of recent years that it has been found in the greenhouses. Unlike some of the more aristocratic flowers, it is for everyone and can be grown successfully in the window garden in an ordinary pot. The long spikes of flowers in pure white, light and dark reds, deep wines, yellow and wonderful pinks, are among our most beautiful riowers. One great point in its favor is that each spike stays in bloom a long time, the individual flowers open- ing out in succession, like the gladiolus. They seem to stand almost any kind of abuse. I have had old plants that had been aban- doned to their fate and thrown under a bench, come to life again in the spring and vie with the new plants in size and num- ber of blooms. Naturally considerable hvbridizing has been done by growers who have not been satisfied with the va- rieties at hand, and, as a result, several greatly im- proved species are now in cultivation, many of which are valued principally for their winter flowering qual- ities. \''irginia, Nelrose, Phelps' White, Silver Pink and Salmon Queen are among the best of the forcing varieties. The fa- vorite color, I think, is pink. Nearly all pink vari- eties have yellow throats, but Virginia is an excep- tion ; it is pure pink. It is quickly forced, and flowers in abundance may be cut in January. This variety is propagated wholly by cut- tings. Nelrose is an excellent pink variety, one of the best, in fact, that has yet been shown. Silver pink in preferred by manv, but it has one fault, that is, it often comes with a soft tip. Probably Phelp's \\'hite is the best of its color for winter forcing. All the Antirrhi- nums so far discussed may be grown by any one having a small greenhouse. They are better grown from cuttings. A variety must be very well established indeed to come even fairly true from seed. Many growers start with the seeds of well known varieties and then single out the best plants from which to make cuttings and so originate a variety, or at least a "strain" by selection. The best varieties that can be grown from seed and which will flower well in the garden are Black Prince, Salmon Queen, Double White, Orange, Scarlet \'ictoria and Pink Queen. Black Prince is an intermediate variety •Read before the Stanifoirl, Corn , Horticultural Society. Antirrhinum "Xctrosc' which is widely distributed and well suited for bedding ])urposes. The color is a very deep crimson and the leaves are exceptionally dark. Probably this variety comes more uniformally true than any other red. The quickest and most satisfactory way to grow Antirrhinums from seed is to sow the seed indoors during March or April. After transplanting into flats, then into four inch pots, and place the plants in cold frames to harden off preparatory to bedding out. Those who have no way of raising the seedlings indoors may sow the seed outside as soon as the weather and soil conditions will permit. These plants, of course, will flower some- what later than the others but will nevertheless afford a pleasing display. Pretty border effects may be created by planting the tall growing varieties to- ward the rear and the dwarf plants along the front of the border. For this pur- pose when buying the seed the heights of the plants should be carefully noted and indicated on the label bearing the variety. In planting, the distance apart must be governed by the height of the plant — over- crowding being deleterious. Fifteen to eighteen inches apart may be regarded as alDout right. Seeds should be sown very thinly in out- door patches and later thinned out as desired. When winter flowering plants are desired, cuttings should be made in April or May, or seed sown in July. Insert the cuttings in a bed of sand in a cold frame, water carefully and shade from sunlight. Keep the frame closed, ven- tilating only during the day when the temperature is high, or when moisture condenses excessively on on the inner surface of the frame, transfer the plants into two and one half inch pots, and, when they are well established in the pots, transfer them to the benches from ten to twelve inches apart. Any good garden soil will be sat- isfactory, but the finest flowers are grown when the soil is light and enriched with old manure. Nourishment should be given as needed in the form of bone meal, sheep manure or decayed cow manure. Of course, no flowers must be allowed to form during the summer and the young plants must be kept growing steadily. Snapdragons are excellent flowers for growing in the private greenhouses as they are easy to handle and give (|uick results. Few flowers are better for cutting as they last a long time and lend themselves admirably to all sorts of decorative schemes. The temperature required for carnations — from fifty to fifty-five degrees — at night is about right for snapdragons. the plant and When rooted, 371 Planting Bulbs for Next Spring OUR gardens in spring would be dismal indeed were it not for the many beautiful bulbous plants which are at our command, writes H. J. Aloore in Cana- dian Florist. Xo class of plants displays greater beauty or displays it more freely. Nor is there any class of plants that is more easily grown than the subjects of this article. It is quite possible to maintain a succession of bloom with bulbs from early spring until they are superseded in June by the summer flowers. Climate is usually the factor which governs the grower in the selection, as it determines the kinds which will do best in a particular locality. Where the spring is late, late flowering kinds will do better than the early ones. Dar- win tulips and late flowering daffodils, then, w-ould be among the kinds chosen. Where the spring is early the grower has the choice of a succession of early and late flowering bulbs which will flower and serve their purpose ere the summer planting season arrives, or the perennial subjects flower in the border. When buying the bulbs do not be deceived by their ex- ternal appearance. Size, neatness of shape and the bright- ness of the outer scales or skin are not always true cri- terions of their value. See that the bulbs are sound — that is. free from disease. They should be solid. Do not take them if they are soft or spongy. Compare their weight with their size. Large bulbs which are not solid are relatively light in weight. Reject these in favor of average-sized bulbs which are solid. The best indication of the flowering qualities of the so-called Dutch spring flowering bulbs is weight in proportion to size. A light sandy soil which contains a large amount of de- caying vegetable matter, such as stable manure and leaf soil, is excellent for the culture of nearly all hardy bul- bous plants. As a general rule the soil should not be manured at the time of planting. Enrich it well the pre- vious spring, and by planting time the beds or borders will be in a good condition. Bulbous plants require a well-drained position — not one, however, in which the soil is likely to dry very rapidly during the spring season. Bulbs may be planted informally in the herbaceous perennial border, shrubbery, wild garden, or in the rock garden, where they should be arranged in groups or masses. If the border, plant the dwarf kinds in groups along the front, and intersperse the tall growing ones among other subjects toward the rear. Tall lilies are magnificent in numbers of not less than six. Plant the bulbs twelve inches apart. Narcissus should be planted twelve or more to the group six inches apart : hyacinths, nine or so six inches apart ; tulips, twelve or more five inches apart. Plant the very small kinds, like snow-drops, chionodoxas, scillas and crocuses much closer together in their respective groups and in larger numbers than the kinds previously mentioned. If the object is to naturalize bulbous plants in the wild garden or on undulating lawns, considerable numbers should be utilized and the arrangement should be as nat- ural as possible. Throw bulbs by the handful over the surface. Plant them just where they lie. No scheming or planning can produce more beautiful natural effects. Do not mix the masses. Nature, if it be her will, will do this in her own inimitable way. In the wild garden or woodland we see bulbous plants at their best, for here their natural loveliness asserts itself to a degree impossi- ble under other circumstances. Do not try to make a gaudy display in the wild garden. Aim rather to keep the introductions subservient to that which is natural. The modestly colored species, and varieties are more generally adapted to such places. Here, as in the rock garden, informality is the key to success. The formal garden with its artificially arranged beds and borders is the proper place for formal arrangement and for the display of color. Every flower made by the Creator has a place. By a little care the primary and neutral colors may be so blended as to bring the whole into harmony. Beds of narcissi look exceedingly well when planted in individual colors, hyacinths and tulips in indi- vidual or in appropriate mixed colors. Remember that what is restful to the eye is also restful to the mind. In your garden carefully avoid the discord of artificially ar- ranged color. Formal lining" and definite spacing of the bulbs are proper in the formal garden. The depths at which bulbs should be planted is gov- erned by their size and hardiness. There is no hard and fast rule, but to ensure success certain limits must be de- fined. If you bury bulbs deeply they may decay, or if planted close to the surface they may be injured or killed by a severe winter. A good general rule is to plant so that a depth of soil equal to their vertical diameter covers them when the operation is completed. Thus hyacinths of three inches diameter should be planted in holes six inches deep, tulips two and one-half inches in diameter should he planted in a hole five inches deep. Large bulbs, such as lilies, which are four inches in diameter, should be planted eight inches deep. Small bulbs like snow- drops, chionodoxas, crocuses and scillas, which are not more than one and one-half inches in diameter should be planted not more than three inches deep. It is not necessary to protect hardy bulbs during win- ter in districts where only a few degrees of frost is usual. Where severe winters pertain, however, protection must be afforded. For this purpose strawy litter from the stable, or leaves which have been piled at least one year, are excellent. Do not use freshly-fallen leaves. They pack too closely and exclude the air. They are also diffi- cult to remove in spring without breaking the leaves of the bulbs which invariably start into growth before it is time to remove the protective mulch. A uniform cover- ing of three inches will amply protect most of the hardy bulbs. If your spring display is to be entirely of bulbous plants, and where you have only a few small beds at your disposal, choose varieties which flower together. If, however, you have a herbaceous border in which other spring flowers appear select those which flower at different times. In a garden where the few beds are entirely formal, the best effect is only possible when the bulbs flower simultaneously. Where a succession of flowers is desired, as for in- stance, in the perennial or bulb border, winter aconites, snowdrops, scillas and chionodoxas should be planted. They will flower first. They may be succeeded by early flowering tulips and hyacinths. Early flowering nar- cissi will succeed these. Late flowering tulips, hyacinths and narcissi will follow in the order given. The stately Darwin tulip is one of the last to remind us that the spring has gone. Have you had any unusual experience in gardening this summer? Why not submit it to the editor of The Gardeners' Chronicle? Our readers will be interested in It and may be benefited thereby. 372 THE GARDENERS- CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 373 FALL SOWING OF SWEET PEAS T AM a firm believer in Fall sowing in this, section, the results being immeasurably superior to Spring sow- ing, writes Geo. W. Karr, of Philadelphia, in American Sweet Pea Bulletin. Of course I refer to sowing the seed directly in the open ground. There are two methods of Fall sowing, one being a certainty, the other depend- ing much on the weather immediately following the sowing, and whether the Winter should be a severe one or fairly mild. The "perfect method," whereby success is practically assured, is to use what I term a "Sweet Pea frame." This consists of using boards six to nine inches wide, placing them on their edge, lengthways, eight or nine inches apart on either side of the row of Sweet Peas. Make the ends close with a piece of board to fit, and they may be braced with pegs driven into the ground. In this section I advocate sowing by this method early in October. In two or three weeks the seedlings will be well up, but as the weather as this season is comparatively cool, they grow very slowly. No cover is given them until severe weather sets in, when g'ass is laid along the top, this being fastened with ' broad-headed tacks or string attached to nails. Under these conditions the plants will stand zero weather. The glass should be removed during the first mild days of Spring, and in the course of a week or two the boards also. Mv other method of Fall sowing is to sow the seed about the middle of November, this sowing being made three inches deep, the idea being to sow just so late in the season that the seed will germinate in the soil but not make sufficient growth to come above the ground, for should the seedlings do so it is a certainty that unless covered with some framework they will perish. When the ground freezes hard the rows are given a heavy mulch of rough litter, removing it quite early in the Spring. I find that the white seeded, and many of the wrinkled varieties, are apt to go off during the Winter, but the pinks, reds, and in fact all dark, plump seeded varieties usually come through the Winter safely. The above dates refer, of course, to my section (Phila- delphia). South and north they would require to be altered according to local conditions. From seed sown in the Fall the plants will bloom two or three weeks earlier than from Spring sowings, and due to their deeper and stronger root growth, the plants are more vigorous, therefore better able to withstand the heat and drought of late Spring and early Summer, with the result that they will continue blooming for a much longer period than if sown in the Spring. In the extreme South the ideal time to sow is the last week in September, and if the new early flowering Spen- cer varieties are used they will begin to bloom about the middle of December and continue flowering until ex- treme heat sets in, say in INIay or early June. The regular Summer flowering varieties sown at the same time will not flower until April 1. LILIUM FORMOSUM By Thomas Wilson, New York. npHIS Lilv, to my idea, the best for early spring and Easter forcing. Coming, as it does, irregular in height and time of flowering makes it very useful for decorative purposes. Good lilies can always be used to advantage. Lilium Formosum generally arrives from Japan about the last week in August or early in Septem- ber, and should be potted as soon as bulbs arrive, as no lily improves by being allowed to lie around the potting shed or cellar. Pots should be used according to the size of the bulb ; nine to eleven should be put into seven- inch pots, larger sizes into eight-inch pots, which are Group of Lilium Formosum, Gro'wii by Thos. Ji'ilsoii, Jl'inning first Price of the New York 1917 Flower Show. quite large enough for any Lilium. Rather than re- potting from one size to the other I have found it is Ijetter to just half fill the pot with soil, keeping the top of the bulb level with the soil. After they have filled the soil with roots a top dressing can be given of a good strong comport of soil and cow manure, as they will root very readily from the base of the stem and will act as a good feeder till the buds are set. When the bulbs are first potted they ought to be stored in a deep frame and kept dark until they start to grow, when they should be given all the light they can get to keep them from getting drawn. The longer they can be kept in the cool frame with safety from frost the Ijetter, as this Lilium delights in a cool temperature. When taken from the frame they should be put into a house about 43° to 50° night temperature, never at any time giving them more than 52° at night till the buds are set, when they can be shifted into a house with a tem- perature of 60° at night, allowing about six weeks from the time the buds are set till they come into flower. As Formosums come irregular into flower they can be brought into the hotter house in batches as they set their buds. Light feeding can be given twice or three times a week with manure water, giving it weak and often. The feeding will develop the foliage which this va- riety is noted for as well as the flower. iM-om 13- to 14-inch bulbs I have had as many as 23 buds to a stem. No other variety will give you as good a percent- age of flowers and good clean plants as h'ormosum, and with careful manipula- tion of temperature the most of the flowers can be ready at a given date. 374 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA T EUSTOMA RUSSELLIANUM *HE exhibit of Eustonia Russellianum at the meeting of the Royal Horticuhural Society showed how ornamental is this decorative plant when well cultivated. The species is a native of Mexico, and was introduced into this country in 1804, but for some reason the plant never appears to have become very common in gardens, perhaps because it has the reputation of being a difficult subject to cultivate. With ordinary care and attention, however, it is not difficult to obtain good results. In former years the plant was grown under the name of Lisianthus Russellianus. The flowers of the type are mauve, but a distinct break, with pale pink flowers, has been obtained by Mr. C. J. Ellis in his nurseries at Wes- ton-super-Mare. The plants shown at the R. H. S. meet- ing were about 18 inches high, but specimens have been obtained with a height of more than three feet and a cir- cumference of seven or eight feet, carrying upwards of 400 flowers and buds. A valuable characteristic of the Frctn Gaydencrs' C /",;■;. ,, i i I'lnii^ii '. Etistoiiia Russ-cllianuin — /'/mi. ci s M.::ii'e. blooms is that they remain a long time on the plant with- out fading, some having been found to remain in perfect condition for three weeks. The plant may be successfully treated as a biennial by raising seedlings one season to flower the next. The seeds, which are very minute, are sown on the surface of the soil, which should be light in texture. They are cov- ered with a sprinkling of silver sand, and the pots placed in a propagating pit, or covered with a sheet of glass. The utmost care is needed in winter in the matter of watering. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, they should be potted up singly into thumb pots, the com- post for this and all subsequent pottings consisting of a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, peat and a sprinkling" of sharp sand. Later they should be transferred to fairly large pots, and grown on in a cool, airy greenhouse. The seedling require very little shade when once established, and should be wintered in the warm end of the green- house, but ventilation should be introduced on every pos- sible occasion, and fire-heat used very sparingly. The stove house, with its hot, close atmosphere, would be very detrimental to the well-being of the plants, a little bottom heat in the early spring to assist the cuttings to strike being usually all the artificial warmth required. The success attained in the production of this beautiful hybrid shoidd encourage raisers in the endeavor to pro- duce fresh and equally beautiful new colors in this most useful greenhouse plant, which gives a succession of flowers over two or three months. — From Gardeners' Chronicle (English). SHIRLEY POPPIES '"pO make the most of these beautiful flowers they^ -*■ should be grown only for the house, not for gardea decoration, and cut the moment they open. If left on the plants a wet day ruins their delicate petals, and a sunny one completes the term of their life. The bed soon be- comes a straggling, untidy mass of stalks and seed-pods,, and in less than a month the plants are exhausted. But if they are cut the moment they burst from the bud they will last fully three days in the house, and the plants will continue bearing throughout the whole of July and Au- gust, and even far into September. The chief reason for the complaint that poppies are so short-lived is that they are often cut indiscriminately from a bed on which they have been allowed to flower at will, and many when brought into the house are already past maturity and begin to shed their petals immediately. Advantage should be taken of the fact, of which not every grower is aware, that the buds burst only at sun- rise. Every morning between six and seven I go out to the bed I keep for them in the garden and find a num- ber already awake, and others in the act of throwing ofif their green nightcaps and shaking out their delicate petals like crumpled silk handkerchiefs, while the bees hum roimd them in swarms. I cut every flower that is open or preparing to burst, and for the rest of the day nothing is seen but a forest of green buds. Visitors remark that I shall soon have a fine bed of poppies, little suspecting what a harvest has already been reaped. From a bed eight yards long and tapering from four to two feet wide, I cut daily from one to two hundred fine flowers. When not allowed to seed the quantity of flowers produced is incredible. The beginning of my poppy bed was a packet of se- lected seed some years ago, and from what some may consider an insignificant beginning, I have since enjoyed for two or three months a daily feast of color. Blooms four to five inches in diameter, ranging from purest white through every shade of pink, and through salmon and apricot to brilliant scarlet. — /. A. B. in Gardening ( English). I SKIMMIA JAPONICA N not a few gardens the full beauty of Skimmia ja- ponica is missed betause either the male or the female form is grown, instead of both. The male and female flowers are borne on separate plants and just as the handsome Sea Buck thorn (Hipphophae rhamnoides) fails to fruit unless male plants are grown in association with female ones, so Skimmia japonica does not yield its bright red fruits unless about one male plant is planted with every half-dozen of those bearing female flowers. If the plants are thus associated insects will generally secure the fertilization of the blossoms, but artificial pol- lination is generally desirable to ensure a crop of showy fruits. S. japonica is a dwarf shrub, about a yard high, and generally much wider than high. The stif?, light green leaves are fragrant when crushed, and the dull white flowers, borne in short, terminal panicles, are also sweetly scented. The species hails from Japan ; a fairly moist and semi-shaded position suits it. — Exchange. Forestry Upon the Private Estate and Its Landscape Possibilities By Arthur Smith, New Jersey (Coiiliiinrd from the Scpteinbrr issue.) COMMENCING with the autumn tints the earliest effects are invariably supplied by the sour gum (Tupelo nyassa), followed by the sweet gum (Liquidamber styraciflua ), one of the finest of American trees. It has varying beautiful tints before finally chang- ing to its brilliant scarlet. Its star-shaped foliage renders it distinctive at all seasons while in leaf. Why it is not more used in general landscape planting has always seemed a mystery. The pin oak is doubtless the most beautiful at all seasons of this genus, although the red runs it very closely in the autumn. The latter is the fastest growing of the oaks and the easiest to transplant, although the chestnut or rock oak ( Ouercus prinus ) also loses no time when once started and in fact makes a quicker growth on dry soil than the former. As one of its common names implys it has foliage distinct from others of the family ; and in autumn puts on a bright yellow color. The White Oak produces the most valuable lumber, but it is the slowest in growth. The native Maples have all more or less beauty, with the exception of that known as the Silver (Acer dasycarpum), which is not worth planting anywhere. The Red Maple is valuable not only for its brilliant scarlet and yellow fall colors, but for its early scarlet flowers in spring, followed by the bright red fruit. The Sugar Maple carries its foliage later in the year than the others, but upon very dry, shallow soils its autumn color does not amount to much. An interesting feature can be created by using species with a variety of distinct forms of foliage. The star- shaped leaves of the Sweet Gum have been already men- tioned. The bi-pinnate foliage of the Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is very attractive. The large flat pods of this tree are ornamental, as is also its clear yel- low fall color. It produces very durable lumber, nearly equaling in this respect the Black Locust (Robina pseudacacia), which has a durability in the ground su- perior to iron. In addition to the latter's compound foliage, its long racomes of fragrant white and pink flowers render it a valuable addition to the woodlands in spite of the fact that sometimes it is troubled by borers. These may, however, be kept in check in the case of young trees by periodical spraying with kerosene emul- sion. As trees of this species get on in years they are apt by reason of this pest to become unsightly, and the best way to preserve the ornamental character of the planting is to cut them down from time to time and allow the root-sprouts to take the place of what is removed. The Western Catalpa (C. speciosa) produces a very dis- tinctive note by its large leaves and showy panicles of flowers. Its timber is useful for posts and railroad ties, as it lasts well in the ground. It is not reliably hard>- in the extreme northern states, in which district the Japanese (C. ovata) should be used instead. One of the grandest of our native species is the Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipfera), and one branched to the ground in full bloom is worth going miles to see. Its lumber is very valuable and for every reason it should be increased. Unfortu- nately its propagation in quantity is attended with some difficulties. The germination of its seeds is very poor, rarely more than three or four per cent. Seedlings re- quire to be grown under shade, and should be set out in 37 a partially shaded location. It prefers a soil rather moist than otherwise. 1 he beauty of woodlands, especially in the winter sea- son, is greatly enhanced by the variety of color and form presented by their bark. For which purpose the White Birches, Striped Maple (Acer pennsylvanicum) and the Beech, amongst others, should be freely used; the latter in the interior under the shade of other hardwoods. For increasing the ground cover under shade of deciduous trees, which is too dense in summer to permit the growth of ordinary woodland shrubs, both the Beech and Hem- lock may be planted. The latter especially will live if suppressed for some years, and then grow upward as soon as the crown is opened by the removal of trees for lumber. Except for this purpose both the Hemlock and the Beech are too slow in growth for reforestation pur- poses from the point of view of profit. As regards the age of trees used for reforesting, three year transplants (with the exception noted below) are the most satisfactory. Both two and three year seedlings are sometimes planted, and the tops of the latter will in- variably be larger than transplants of the same age. But when transplanting trees of any age the roots are of the greatest consequence. The effect of transplanting is to increase the amount of fibrous roots, and the plants do not feel the shock of removal to the same extent as if they had not been previously moved. In the case of hardwoods that produce a tap-root one year seedlings are the best to use. Trees like Oak, Walnut and Hickory can be successfully started by planting the acorns or nuts at the place where the trees are to remain, and this is really in these cases a more certain method, provided the squirrels do not get them. They should be planted as soon as ripe. Respecting the time of year when reforestation plant- ing can be done, this will depend upon a variety of cir- cumstances which include soil, local climate as a whole and the weather at any particular period. In respect of hardwoods and deciduous conifers, these may be planted any time weather and soil conditions are suitable after the leaf changes color in the autumn until just before they comhience to leaf out in the spring. In the case of evergreen conifers the almanac date is of little conse- quence, as the writer lias successfully planted them under forestry conditions in various years in every month excepting July. As above stated the time of year is of less importance than the state of the soil and weather. To be able to take advantage of suitable conditions at any time of the year a nursery should be established upon an estate where reforestation is going on that will likely to be spread over a more or less number of years : its size will depend upon the number that it is proposed to plant in a year. Two-year seedlings are the best to start with. These can be obtained from the one or two reliable nurs- eries making a specialty of growing young forest trees. They should be planted six inches apart in rows two feet six inches apart ; this latter distance is for the purpose of using a horse cultivator. If the work of keeping down weeds and cultivating is to be done by hand the rows can be only a foot away from each other. These two- year seedlings will then become three-year transplants the 5 376 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA following year, and will always make double the growth the season after planting, all other things being equal, than plants of the same character obtained and planted direct from a commercial nursery some distance away. There is practically nothing gained in any case by using trees above three years old. Of course, all kinds of trees can be grown upon the estate from seed, but unless a very large quantity is required or there is some special reason, this procedure is scarcely worth while so long as seedlings can be so inexpensively obtained from firms making a specialty of this kind of stock. Too great care cannot be exercised in protecting the roots and keeping them moist during the process of transplanting; those of conifers are especially liable to be killed by only a short exposure to sun and wind. The average loss in forest planting should not exceed one per cent in the case of plants from a nursery upon the. estate. Undergrowth in the form of shrubs should have every encouragement and increased by planting in suitable po- sitions where necessary. This not only helps the trees by keeping up a ground cover and preserving the forest floor, but increases the beauty and interest attached to the woodlands. To this latter end species should be planted in natural bold groups and selected for their ef- fectiveness as regards their foliage, flowers and fruit at various times throughout the year. The earliest floral eiifects are produced by the Spice Bush (Benzoin aestivale"), with its attractive mass of yellow flowers. Its leaves are aromatic and ttirn a beau- tiful clear yellow in the autumn, making a pleasing con- trast with the scarlet fruit. Each of the Dogwoods has some special trait to commend it, those with red and yellow bark being especially valuable for winter effect. All the native Viburnums should have a place, the maple- leaved species being very brilliant in the autumn. Neither the black nor red berried Elders should be omit- ted, if only for the sake of the birds, who should be thought of by increasing the number of berried shrubs as much as possible. These latter greatly multiply the woodland beauties after the fall of the leaf, and among them the deciduous Hollies are conspicuous, the one known as Ilex verticillata carrying its fruit well into spring. Both this and the Ilex monticola prefer a rather moist situation. Most of these shrubs require more or less sun, but the Rhododendrons. Kalmias, Azaleas, Andromedas, Dendriums, etc., afi'ord a wealth of ma- terial for our purpose in dealing with shaded situations. Considering the fact that Rhododendrons and their allies are among the easiest things to transplant success- fully it is to be regretted that so many hundreds have, all over the country, failed, owing to even moderately suit- able conditions not having been supplied them ; this with- out considering similar results which have happened in connection with gardens. If it is worth while paying a •dollar or more each by the carload for them, surely time and money should not be considered wasted if expended in supplying them with a little suitable soil, provided such be wanting in the position in which it is desired to place them. A reliable and comparatively inexpensive method of naturalizing these in quantity under forest conditions is to plant seedlings. These can, or could recently, be ob- tained at fifteen cents each by the thousand. By using plants of this nature they will invariably find sufficient suitable soil in positions that have been practically always in forest, and the annual fall of leaf will from year to year produce the necessary humus for their support as they grow in size. What in this connection is of equal importance is that a nursery grown seedling will have little trouble in fitting itself to a new environment, com- pared with that entailed upon a more or less large clump that has been literally torn from ideal surroundings. Of course, this method entails waiting a few years for re- sults in the form of flowers. An additional means of increasing the natural charms of the forest is by encouraging the growth of and adding to the numerous and beautiful native species of the class of plants known as perennials. Many of these, if of foreign origin and costing a considerable sum to obtain, would receive far more appreciation than they do even in our gardens. There is no position capable of supporting vegetation at all which cannot be beautified by their use : dry sandy banks and swamps, and full sun or dense shade. It does appear necessary to attempt mentioning their names, as they may be stated as being too numerous to mention. In using native plants for naturalizing, the main point to have in mind is to use those that fit the position rather than making the position fit the plant, although very often something can be done along the latter line for the sake of introducing on to the estate a rare plant not already growing there. For instance, that lovely Orchid, the Cypripedium spectabile, will only grow upon a bog. If there is a small spring upon the place it is easy to create an environment in which this plant will thrive, and cer- tainly no trouble is too great to cause it to do so. There are also many others of the most attractive and interest- ing members of our native flora that makes their home upon bogs. In this and in other ways there is unlimited scope for, what we may call, natural gardening, in con- nection with woodlands. In the case of manv species their introduction and increase may be carried out by means of seeds. The only way one can really see much of the thousand beauties of forests is by walking or riding about them. For this purpose trails may be made leading through or to some special beauty spot or objects of interest, either natural or created. Perhaps there is a grand monarch of the woods in the shape of an old White Oak, for in- stance, which has managed to escape the lumberman's axe, that can be opened up and surrounded with a minia- ture park planted with flowering subjects growing as nature intended they should ; a pile or cliff of picturesque rocks, still further beautified by planting among, may be lead to ; then there may be a position from which by opening a vista an extended panorama of the surround- ing country can be obtained ; a charming sylvan glade may exist capable of having its natural beauties intensi- fied, which will make a desirable spot through which to meander on a hot day ; and so on. In making a trail up the side of a hill and which, to obtain an easier grade, is laid out in a winding manner, care should be taken not, as is sometimes seen, to make it after the style of a fire escape down the side of a building, thereby producing an eyesore and discordant note. It should wind at a graceful curve and no two angles of the curves nor the length of the trail in the different directions should be the same, so as to avoid the appearance of artificiality as much as possible. Upon some estates there are possibilities for the laying out of hard, smooth roads for the use of carriages and automobiles. These, while giving limited opportunities for admiring the forest scener}' and means of access to various parts, may be overdone from the point of view of the game and other shy and rare birds which will be driven away if there is a more or less continual passage of automobiles through the woods. It is along these trails and drives that the purely orna- mental side of forestry should be carried out and intensi- fied, and the more or less commercial planting relegated THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 377 to the interior. While, as previously stated, little trees for reforestation are generally advisable, it is obvious that an owner may, if expense is no object, use nursery grown specimens of any size desirable, for the purpose of creating special and immediate effects at any point ; always bearing in mind in this connection the possibility that watering may be necessary to keep these kind of trees alive until such time as they become es- tablished. In addition to the details as seen close at hand the gen- eral aspect of the forest as viewed from a greater or less distance should be planned with regard to the landscape effects at all seasons. With regard to the cost of work along these lines the conditions and circumstances connected with pleasure estates differ very considerably, but the writer's experi- ence may be worth mentioning, which has been that a considerable amount of forestry work can be yearly car- ried out with little or no increase in the overhead charges (other than the cost of material) necessary for the up- keep of the gardens. The landscape possibilities in connection with forestry are practically inexhaustible, and we have only briefly sketched out some of the general lines of the work. But it is hoped that sufficient has been said to show that the woodlands mav be lifted out of the region of the common- place and that something beautiful and interesting may be seen and studied in them at any time of the year ; thereby adding in no small measure to the pleasures of a country estate. At the same time the foundation can be laid for a yearly increase in the intrinsic value of the demesne by producing valuable timber. Herbaceous Paeonies P^EONIES may be planted on a lavish scale, and few, comparatively, by reason of size or peculiar situa- tion, from which they need be excluded altogether. Hence in large measure they may be accounted indispens- able— good enough, indeed, for all whose gardening is chiefly, or entirely, confined to the open air. Hardiest of the hardy so far as the plant's roots are concerned, and suffering but rarely as the result of late spring frosts, the gardener is wont to regard them as the most reliable of his subjects, a never-failing source of flower beauty in June and July, once they have become well established. And not at flower-time only. With each recurring spring there is presented the rich eft'ect of crimson stems and leaves, as brilliant as the Scarlet Dogwood under a winter's sim, and just as good as the picture. Later they impress by fine leaf development and stately habit ; anon, at flower-time, by chaste or brilliant coloring or the un- equalled fragrance of not a few. For the reasons already given, the young Pseony growth in spring associates well with the stronger- growing Narcissi, and, while affording pleasing harmony or striking contrast when thus grown, also enhances the beauty or interest of some particular spot for a longer time than usual. Adjacent to groups of white-flowered shrubs, the more brilliant would be in striking contrast. Conversely, white or light-colored sorts would have a telling effect in the vicinity of dark-leaved shrubs, each in turn mirroring the other into fuller life and beauty. In this way many a shrub border may be illumined; and if sparkling with Snowdrop, Squill, Anemone, Cyclamen and the like at other seasons, so much the better. In dis- tricts where the ill-effects of frosts are more frequently felt, the greater danger from frost arises when the flower buds of the P?eony are about the size of Peas — the nascent or petal-forming period. In the main, how- ever, the plants are safe in any ojien position, and only rarelv indeed does a complete collection suffer. It is important here to recognize that the Pjeony is a deep-rooting subject, sending down its thong-like roots to a depth of three feet or more into well-cultivated soils ; hence to attain perfection the soil should be deeply trenched. Manv soils will not, it is true, allow of trench- ing three feet deep, though the most should be done in every case. Remembering, too, that when once well planted they made be left for a decade without showing any declining vigor, they merit being well done. Gross- feeding subjects, too, the ground should be heavily ma- nured. In these two directions no one is likely to err on the side of generosity. As to soil, Pseony is not fas- tidious, and while disliking the coldest and heaviest clay soils, may be well cultivated in the majority outside these. In loams of medium texture they establish themselves more quickly ; in heavier soils they longer endure. For very light, sandy soils, cow manure alone should be em- ployed, for its cooling nature rather than for its high manurial value. For the rest, good stable manure will suffice. In addition, established beds or groups are greatly benefited by copious applications of liquid ma- nure in autumn and winter, when root activity is con- siderable. The best period of the whole year is September and October. The weeks immediately succeeding, and while the plants' crowns remain dormant, may be regarded a good second best. The worst period for planting is the early spring months when growth has already begun, and the fact cannot too strongly be emphasized. Planting at that time has caused much disappointment in the past ; its weakening effects upon the plants directly responsible for their slow recovery. In this connection the correct test of all such work is the quick return of the subject to a good representative flowering. Conversely, incorrect work may be readily gauged by slow recovery and by the debilitated condition of the plants. The best type of plant to start with is a youthful one of three to five stout crowns. The planting of big clumps intact is a mistake ; indeed, nothing is more fatal to suc- cess. By periodical division of the subject the Pseony specialist is enabled to supply examples that generally give satisfaction. Rooting afresh from the base of the crown buds, it is important that the crowns be buried about two inches deep. In group planting, the indi- viduals should be rather thinly disposed — a yard apart each way or even more would not be too much — since leaf development is considerable and progressive v^-ith }'ears. In this way a couple of dozen plants of a variety would form a goodly colony. On a smaller scale in the border, groups of three or five answer well, and, of course, there are many instances where solitary examples only could be recommended. — Exchange. 378 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA STRAWBERRY PLANTS IN POTS FOR CHRISTMAS npHE plants should be very carefully selected. Choose only the very strongest ones, and be certain that you do not get old plants, but only the new ones with good strong white, or very light roots. Strong plants that have been grown in small thumb pots, sunk in the ground so they become established while on the plant, are the best. They should be especially encouraged to a thrifty, strong growth for only a short time longer, then they should be carefully brought to the dormant state, both by withholding water and given frost action, and I have found they do better if well rested and have a good hard freeze. Leave the soil on them in which they grew in the pots, and carefully pot them in an extra good strong friable soil that should be well firmed. Be careful not to injure the roots. At first, they should be plunged in a frame outside that will protect them, and they should be brought into an active growth very slowly. A very slight bottom heat to encourage root action without top growth is best. The better root system they get, the better they do when brought in to the forcing house. A location close to the glass with plenty of good ventilation is proper, and this is especially true as we near the ripe fruit stage. As a rule we find plenty of dark murky days about the time we should have them in bloom (about November 5-10 for most sorts), and there may be trouble to get them properly fertilized or pollenized, and to make a sure thing of it one can take a small feather or camel hair brush and touch them up by hand. Of course, we all know of the two kinds, perfect and imperfect blooms, and if we use the heavier fruiting va- rieties that are generally imperfect in flower, we must have the perfect flowered plants also in order to get the pollen to put on the imperfect blooms, but we only need a few nlants. Just after the bloom petals are ofif, the plants may be encouraged by giving them some liquid manure water, but be sure not to overdo this. It is a sure thing that any plant will "burn" if too much liquid fertilizer is given, yet it is a fine thing to encourage a plant by giving it plenty of the food it likes and will assimilate — and they do have a wonderful appetite some- times— the fruiting plants especially. Do not spray or syringe any fruit plant when it is in bloom or at the time when nature needs the ripe pollen to fertilize the coming fruit, else you will find that there will not be the fruit coming that you expect. I will suggest that you try the following sorts — they are all self-pollenizing or the perfect flowered: Mt. Vern- on, old but good : The Marshall, none better ; Gandy, old. Brandywine and Warfield are also both excellent if you have some Marshalls along with them. These sorts I have fruited in the above manner. They were good, but probably several of the later sorts will be as good or better. — 5". L. Harper, in The American Florist. IRIS ROSENBACHIANA TT is curious that a plant of the easiest culture — on my light, warm soil it grows as readily as Iris reticulata, and does not require frequent lifting — should be rather scarce and expensive after being in cultivation for at least thirty years, writes A. R. Goodwin in The Garden. It was discovered about 1885 on the mountains of East Bokhara, Turkestan. It is exceedingly variable in color, and in its wild state, we are told, two varieties are found growing together. the flowers of one form being blue, those of the other being a fine violet. It grows easy from seed, and seed- lings also vary much in color, being variegated in purple, yellow and white. Sir Michael Foster (see "Bulbous Irises") describes a rare form as nearly pure yellow with a few purple or violet markings ; another form is pure white, except for a large patch of deep violet on the blade of the fall and some few veins. A bed of these Irises with their endless combinations of blue, purple, red, yellow and white would be gorgeous in the extreme, especially if carpeted with a low-growing Thyme or similar rock plant to prevent the flowers from being splashed. At the time of flowering the three to five leaves are short, but develop quickly after the flowers are past, and are finally six inches to eight inches long by two inches in breadth and lanceolate in shape. For such a large flower the bulbs seem small ; they are ovoid in shape, three-quarters of an inch to an inch in diameter, with thick root fibres and brown tunics, never reticulated as in the Netted Iris (Iris recticulata). rT^fi li^«BL*jfe J «i\ Fron Garden. Sicmlcss Juno Iris Roscnbachiana. In 1916 this Iris was fully out in my garden on April 10, but this year it was not in flower until well into May. The flowers are four inches or more across on long tubes, the falls oval, almost strap-shaped, and the standards are an inch long. It belongs to the third section of the Juno Irises, known as Stemless Junos, all the members of which, with perhaps two exceptions, have their leaves absent or very short at flowering time in spring. OUR COVER ILLUSTRATION 'T^HE picture on the outside cover shows a splendid house of "Louisa Pockett" Chrysanthemum, grow- ing under conditions that to our expert American culti- vators would seem to be quite primitive. In a note ac- companying the picture, Mr. Pockett says that dozens of the blooms averaged 11 to 12 inches in diameter and the same in depth. It will be remembered that Australia be- ing the antipodes of the United States, their fall is our spring, so this picture was taken in April, 1917. Mr. Pockett further states that the flowers exhibited of this variety and Golden Champion created such a sen- sation that they were "screened" by the Amalgamated Picture Company, and shown in all the moving picture shows throughout Australia. We want everybody devoted to gardening to be acquainted with our Magazine, and will be glad to send a sample copy to any interested friends if you will furnish their address to The Gardeners' Chronicle, 286 Fifth Ave., New York. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 379 A HARDY DWARF HEDGE PLANT 'TpHIS new plant is a very dwarf, compact, erect form of the popular Japan Barberr}' and will thrive wher- ever that Barberry is at home, which is over an extended territory. It can be kept but a few inches high indefinitely by pruninsj. It makes an ideal dwarf hedge and can bt: trimmed into formal specimens. The original plant, now 15 years old, is about 2j^ feet tall, very compact, assuming the general outlines so characteristic of an old border-box specimen which it resembles to a remarkable degree, other than the evergreen nature of the box. This new dwarf Barberry, which is to be known as Box Bar- berry, has its own peculiar charms. The delightful, soft was well patronized b)- advertisers. It sold for 10 cents, and, no doubt, will be preserved by many as a future reference for the useful knowledge it contained. Box Barhemj — Dwarf Type of BerTxrix Thiinhrrgi summer-green foliage, turning in the fall to intensely brilliant reds and yellows, with an abundance of red fruits which remain on all winter, really places it con- spicuously in a class by itself. A UNIQUE FLOWER SHOW PROGRAM PLOWER show programs or schedules as a rule pre- sent little of interest to the general public, for they usually consist of a list of the classes to be competed for, run in among a lot of promiscuous advertising and con- taining nothing to hold the attention of anyone into whose possession they come, unless an exhibitor. Such was not the case at the show of the Sewickley (Pa.) Horticultural Society, held in September for the benefit of the American Red Cross Society. A "Program and Hand Book" was issued containi'ng a fund of valu- able notes and suggestions on the culture and care of flowers in all seasons — growing and storage of vegeta- bles— treatment of soils, fertilizers, insects and their rem- edies, and much practical information covering garden work the year round. This information was reproduced from the Gardeners' Chronicle and other horticultural papers, due credit be- ing given to each publication. The book in addition con- tained the program for the three days of the show and PRESERVE THE BEAUTIFUL At this time America holds much in trust for human- ity. Not the least, in our opinion, is the preserva- tion and perpetuation of the wonderful achievements of the Holland bulb specialists, writes A. T. Boddington in the New York Sun. For the past two years the Dutch bulb growers have lost enormously through being cut off from their prin- cipal markets in England, Germany and France, and were we in America also to abstain from planting it would mean that Holland bulb cultivation would have to cease altogether, and many of the marvelous introductions in tulips, narcissi, etc., which have added so much beauty to our parks and gardens would disappear from cultiva- tion and be lost forever. We deplore the underlying principle of much that has been advocated by speakers and writers against the pur- chase of certain so-called "luxuries," including flowers, bulbs and flower seeds. Must we abandon all the refin- ing and humanizing influences that go to make life worth living? We feel assured that horticulture will not be allowed to deteriorate in America during this critical period for the world, and future generations will admit a debt to this country, not only for its material aid in the cause of freedom, but because America kept aloft the torch of human achievement in the arts of civilization. AN APPEAL TO ROSARIANS T^ HE American Rose Society has accepted an invitation to come to Hartford in June, 1918. Hartford will welcome you ! The Hartford Park Department has in honor of your visit made plans to enlarge what is now the finest public rose garden in America. Beds have been laid out holding from forty to fifty plants each. They are ready for planting this fall. Choose your own varieties. The park garden is big. If duplicates of others are donated they will be used on opposite sides. If you haven't the plants, buy them — but give them. Your name as donor will appear on signs furnished bv the park department and will remain there for two years. That means good advertising for the individual and the new garden a big thing for the Rose. Are you with us and are you going to help us? May we count on your donation? How many beds will you fill? We expect 40,000 people to see the American Rose Society perform next summer. Are you going to be proud to be a member of the American Rose Society? We hope so. Alex. Gumming, Jr., Wallace R. Pierson, John F. Huss, Committee. Of Interest to Estate Owners The National Association of Gardeners maintains a Service Bureau which .s at the disposal of all who may require the servicea of efficient gardeners In their various capacities. The association seeks the co-operation of estate owners In its efforts to secure opportunities for those engaged in the profession of garden- ing who are seeking to advance themselves. It makes no charge for services rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to assume the responsibilities the position may call for. Through this service the National Association of Gardeners aims to liring the Country Estate Owner and the truly efficient men engaged in the profession in closer relation to each other, that the interest in ornamental horticulture and its greater development in this country may thereby be elevated. Make your requirements known to M, C. EBEL, Sec'y. National Association of Gardeners. Madison, N. J. ^iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiittiiiiiuiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiniuiiiiniii iiiiii ig National Association of Gardeners I Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, 111. James Stuart, Treasurer, Mamaroneck, N. Y. Theo. Wirth, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Martin C. Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. Trustees for igiy William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J.; William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. Directors (To serve until 1918)— William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Carl N. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor, Leno.x, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tu.xedo Park, N. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y.; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Fraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C; (To serve until 1920)— William N. Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal.; \Villiam Gray, Newport, R. L; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. ^llllllllllliHIiiii uiiiiiiiiiiiuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiillllill II u iimimiliiillilllllllllllllllllillilllllllllillliimiimiimiiiiiiniiiiiniiliiilllilllilililiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilmiillimilllllim^ niinir PRELIMINARY CONVENTION PROGRAM. TUESDAY MOItNING, Decembei- Jth :— Jleeting uf the Executive Board. Registration of member.? at headquarters. TUESDAY AFTERNOON, 2 o'clock:— Opening of couvenliou. Address of welcome. Response. President's address. Report of secretary. Report of treasurer. Reports of standing committees. Reports of special committees. Communications. Nomination of officers. Lecture. Annual dinner. WEDNESDAY MOrvNING, December .-jtli: Polls open for election of officers from 9 to 9 :30 a. m. Unfinished business. Lecture. THURSDAY JSIORNING, December 6th:— Unfinished business. Lecture. Final resolutions. The Local Arrangements Committee has several able speakers among members of the papers on sub.iects pertaining to the gardening profession, in addi- tion to several lectures bearing directly on the various phases of horticulture. While this will furnish much of educational interest the entertainment features of the convention have not been over- looked. Trips have been planned to some of the foremost private country estate.s in the vicinity of Chicago, also a tour of the boulevard.s and parks, for which the city of Chicago is famous. A visit to the Armour and Company's plant is also included. Complete details of the convention program will be published in the November issue of the Chronicle. The delegation to the Chicago convention from the east will leave New York on Sunday. December 2. arriving at Chicago late Monday afternoon. It is expected that most of the party will re- turn to New York on Sunday, the 9th, although some of the members contemplating the trip will extend the time and stop over at some of the points of interest en route home. Members from the east intending to attend the convention will please communicate with the secretary at as early a date as pos- sible. With the general congested condition of railroid travel, it is necessary to make arrangements well in advance that proper facilities will be secured for the traveling party. already secured craft to deliver THE NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. In pursuance to instrnctions of the Executive Committee given at its meeting held in New York City in August, a meeting of the National Co-operative Committee has been called to meet at the Murray Hill Hotel, Park avenue and Forty-flrst street. New York City. Friday afternoon, November 9, at 2 o'clock, for the purpose of a general discussion on co-operation between the Gardeners' Na- tional Association and their local societies to devise ways and means for such co-operation which is to be submitted to the different local organizations for approval. A notice has been sent to local socie- ties asking them to appoint one or more delegates to attend this meeting and there lias been very favorable response to this invitation. Many of the societies have already reported the ap- pointment of delegates. Etherington, Edgeworth. Pa. : Hans E. Rasmus.sen. Centerville, lid. : Lucien LeClere. Fort Steilacoon, Wash. : .John T'urnbull. W. J. Pettingell, William Raynient, Charles R. Waugh. Percival A. Vincent, Albert Beverley, Santa Barbara, Cal. A PERPLEXING QUESTION. The secretary has been called on liy one of the local societies to answer the question, "What is a gardener'?" And "What is there to distin.gui.sh him from a garden laborer'?" In his answer the secretary has defined a gardener as one who is actively engaged in the profession of gardening, either as a head or directing gardener (estate sujjerintendent) or as an assistant. (Jne who devotes his entire time to gardening. How to distinguish a garden laborer in the eyes of those who employ laborers as gardeners, is one of the many problems that confront the profession which must be worked out by those con- stituting it, and when one reads such advertisements as the follow- ing in our leading dailies the problem becomes a perplexing one : "Gardener wants position. Has life experience. English. Married, no family. Can tend cows and poultry, furnace, run auto and will clean them. No ob.iections to wife taking boarders or working in the house. Salary .$65." "Old English gardener seeks position where his work will be appreciated. (iood grower of flowers, fruits and vegetaiiles. Familiar with all kinds of plants, lawns and farming. Wages .$3.5." These advertisements are of very recent appearance among a list of eighteen seeking positions, some not much above the stand- ard of those quoted. When estate owners read such notices what can their opinion be as to "what constitutes a gardener?" The men who respect their profession must undertake to correct the false impression created by the.se so-called gardeners. Surely there are men within the national association who can offer a solution. Out of loyalty to your profession make it known. This is a burning question that might well be brought up as an issue for discussion at the coming convention. GARDENERS' NOTES. Anton Bauer, for the past nine years superintendent on the Henry Goldman Estate, Deal, N. .J., and eight years previous gardener to Daniel O'Day, of the same place, assumed his new po- sition on October 1, as superintendent on the estate of W. C. Du- rant, of Deal. This place has just changed hands and considerable new development work is to be undertaken at once. Ernest Westlake, formerly of Glen Head, Long Island, has ac- cepted the position of superintendent on the S. C. Millett Estate, Erookville, N. Y. .John Patterson, late superintendent of the A, B. Dick Estate, Lake Forest. 111., is now a member of Company D, 342nd Infantry, Camp Grant. Rockford. 111. .John T. Whittaker. formerly superintendent on the Elkins Es- tate. Elkius Park, Pa., has accepted a similar position on the es- tate of Mrs. William F. Sellers, Edge Moor, Del. Frank C. Luckenbacker has resigned his position as superintend- ent of the P. JI. Warburg Estate, Hartsdale. N. Y'.. and has ac- cepted a similar position on the estate of Emil Winter, "Lynd- hurst." Pittsburgh, Pa. Robert Pursliall, formerly of Lenox, Mass., has secured the po- sition of superintendent of "The Elms," Glen Cove. N. Y., succeed- ing William W. Vert, whose new address was reported in the last issue of The CnKONiCLE. Herbert Andrews, an assistant on the estate of Mrs. II. Darling- ton. P. W. Popp, superintendent, has joined the colors. NEW MEMBERS. The following new members have been added to our roll durin the past month : Samuel Rapaport, Wilkinsburgh, Pa. ; AlfredNew .Jersey Infantry. 3eo Two sons of George W. Burnett, of New Y'ork. have entered their country's service — W. .T. Burnett being a memVier of Company G, 7th Squad, 312th M. (i. Infantry. Camp Dix. Wrightstown. N. J. ; R. Mann Burnett, who has seen service on the Mexican border, is stationed at Anniston, Alabama, as a sergeant in Company A, 4th THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 381 NORTH SHORE (MASS.) SHOW. The annual flower and vegetable show of the North Shore Horticultural Society in the new liall in Manchester was an un- qualiticd success. The North Shore gardeners have again done themselves proud. The big main hall of the new building was a mass of bright blossoms and rich foliage artistically ar- ranged to the best effects. Each individual exhibit blended into the whole succession of blossoms to create the effect of one huge indoor garden. Below in the basement hall as tine an array of vegetables as ever graced an agricultural show was on exhi- bition. The first exhibit which struck the eye of the visitor to the main hall was massed on the stage, at the far end of the hall. It occupied the entire stage and was com- posed of a striking ari'angeraent of flowers and foliage ]dants. This grouping of plants was entered by Jlrs. Lester Leland and won first prize. The second prize for a group of flowering and foliage plants was awarded to Mrs. Frederick Ayer ot Pride's Ci'ossing. whose exhibit occupied the corner of tlie hall at the left of the entrance. At the right of the entrance were massed palms wliich towered above the head of the visitor. Included among these was the prize winning pair entered by Mrs. W. B. Walker. Among the exhibits specially noted were the aquatics which won first prize for Mrs. W. H. Moore, of Pride's Crossing. Among the principal exhibitors were Mrs. W. B. Walker (M. H. Warner, gar- dener) : Mrs. H. S. Grew, 2d (.James Mc- Elhinney, gardener) ; Mrs. W. H. Moore (A. E. T. Rogers, gardener) ; Mrs. Frederick Ayer (Murdo MacKay, gardener) : Mrs- Lester Leland (Eric Wettelow, gardener); F. B. Bemis (J. F. Davey, gardener) ; Miss Pauline Croll (Herman .J. Sanford, gar- dener) ; Miss M. F. Bartlett (.John Wynne, gardener) : H. C. Pierce (D. L. McLean, gar- dener); Mrs. T. J. Coolidge, Jr. (G. N. Erickson, gardener) ; Mrs. R. S. Bradley (William Canning, gardener) : Mrs. E. C. Fitch (E. J. Hyland. gardener); Mrs. Boyl- ston A. Beal (Frank Foster, gardener); Mrs. Gordon Abbott (Percival Veinot, gar- dener); Mrs. G. E. Cabot (Walter Skane, gardener) ; Mrs. W. Caleb Loring (John Sullivan, gardener) ; Mrs. E. S. Grew (Al- fred E. Parsons, gardener). The vegetable exhibit interested a larger number of persona this year than formerly, because of the interest which has been aroused through the food production and conservation campaigns. There were many excellent general exhibits of garden vege- tables besides the splendid individual en- tries. Among the general exhibits, aside from the prize winning entries of Mrs. W. H. Moore and F. B. Bemis, were Mrs. E. S. Grew's and Mrs. W. B. Walker's, the latter not entered for competition. Many table vegetables, not commonly raised, were among the exhibits which attracted attention. \\'ednesday, November 7, so that they may be in position before the other exhibits ar- rive greatly aiding the management there- Please send for your schedules without delay so that you may make your entries proini)tly. If the management can have the entries on hand before the show is ar- ranged, much better and more artistic re- sults mav be achieved. GEORGE V. NASH, Secretary. THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK. The Fall E.xhibition, as already an- nounced, will be held from November S to 11 at the American Museum of Natural History, 77th street and Columbus avenue. The schedule, offering prizes for over .$2,300, is now ready, and may be had by address- ing the secretary, George V. Nash, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. Y. City. All those exhibiting bush chrysanthemum plants are requested to bring them in on STAMFORD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The last meeting of the Stamford Horti- cultural Society before the big show to be held in the Armory November 2 and 3 was most interesting and largely attended. Every detail of the exhibit is arranged, the difl'erent committees are well appointed and are fully alive to the necessity of qiuck action in order to make this the greatest flower and vegetable show ever lield in Stamford. The entire proceeds of this exhibition, lasting two days, is to be devoted to the Red Cross worli. The fea- ture of the evening was a paper on mush- rooms, by James Foster. His hints on glowing and care, together Avith his won- derful success, made one wish that the price of fat steaks was not so much out of reach. A very large and attractive display i of dahlias was staged by A. V. Carver, superintendent for Miss 'Valentine of New Canaan. It received a cultural certificate. The blooms were numerous, and many new and desirable varieties were shown. A vase of Radiance and Hoosier Beauty roses, ex- liibited by M. J. Quirk, superintendent for Jlrs. Childs, New Canaan, were highly com- mended. Dahlias by P. H. Radford were given a vote of thanks. A vase of beauti- ful Alice Stanley roses, e.xhibited by Alex. Geddes, superintendent for Mrs. Albert Ci'ane, received a cultural certificate. A vase of charming Ophelia roses came in for its share of admiration, exhibited by that master hand, A. Patterson, superintendent for Miss Coekroft, Saugatuck. Corn grown by James Foster was highly commended, sir. A. Alius, superintendent for J. B. Cobb, showed a fine exhibit of grapes and apples. He received a vote of thanks for an ex- hibit of winter-flowering begonias and car- nations. Learning corn and new seedling dahlias, by A. Whitelaw, were highly com- nu'uded. Schedules and any information of the show can be procured from Mr. G. B. Cannon, 43 Atlantic street, Stamford. W. J. RICE, Cor. Sec'v. CLEVELAND FLOWER SHOW. Instead of holding the Cleveland Flower Show at Hotel Statler, as previously an- nounced, the committee has secured Gray's Arnuiry, and the show will be housed there November 8 to 11. The Premiinus Committee has mailed the final list to all members of the Chrysanthe- mum, Rose and Carnation Societies and National Association of Gardeners residing east of Denver, Col. The premium list car- ries a total of nearly $3,000 in cash prizes. All of the chrj'santhomuni classes are open to prix'ate and commercial growers. Mr. Robert Weeks, chairman of the Pre- miums Committee, non-commercial section, announces that there will be a s]pecial rep- resentative appointed in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Chicaj;o for the purpose of securing the best possible arrangements for the jjrompt shipment of all exhibits. The names of these men W'ill be announced to the .secretary of the Flor- ists' Clu1> in each of these cities and also WITH early fall come thoughts of bulbs and flowers that will bloom in the spring. SEEDS AND BULBS are famous for the beauty of the flowers and plants which de- velop from them. Hya- cinths and tulips, daf- fodils and iris and all others that will be ob- jects of delight early in 1918 must be thought of now. Buy Thorburns for quality and you get quality. J.M.Thorburn &Co. 53 U Barclay St. Through to 54 Park Place New York ft rite for our lat- est catalog. Con- lams much valu- able informa- ttion. Sent free on request. 382 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA announced through the florists' trade papers about October 15. If in the event there should be an em- bargo on express matter at the time of the show, arrangements will be made to place all exhibits in Pullman drawing rooms, thus assuring the exhibitor that his flowers will arrive at the same time that he does. Chrysanthemums will be staged on the first day, November 8, and roses and car- nations on the second day, November 9. Those who may not have received a copy of the premium list can receive same by Bending their address to M. A. Vinson, man- ager, Cleveland Flower Show, 402 Leader News Building, Cleveland, Ohio. THE WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of- the above society was held in Greenwich on Friday evening, September 14. President Wm. Whitton in the chair. There was a good attendance of members present and quite a few interesting ex- hibits were staged, for which the judges made the following awards: Very high commendation to P. W. Popp for basket of dahlias; high commendation to Wm. Gra- ham for melons, and to Robert Grunert for vase of hydrangea paniculata; honorable mention to .John Andrews for vase of can- panula pyramidalis, and to Alex Clarkson for vase of Ophelia roses. The monthlj' prize offered at this meeting for best vase of out-door flowers arranged for effect w^as won as follo.ws: first, James Tough; sec- ond, Alex. White; third, Wm. Frane. Robert Williamson was appointed man- ager of the Fall Show to be held in Green- wich Armory, under the auspices of the Greenwich Branch of the Red Ci-oss, on Oc- tober 31 and November 1. P. W. Popp gave a very instructive talk on dahlia culture, which was much enjoyed by all present. ALEX. CLARKSON. NEWPORT SHOW. The fall show of the Newport Horticul- tural Society was fully up to the standard, notwithstanding adverse conditions. The net proceeds will be divided equally be- tween the horticultural society in France and the Newport chapter of the American Red Cross. One of the features of the show was the unusually line collection of foliage plants, the winning group, by Victor May, gardener to E. B. Andrews, being as fine as anything ever seen here, the crotons being especially good. Mr. May also took premier honors in the group of ferns and variegated foliage plants. The prize for greenhouse plants, arranged for effect on round table, went to John B. Urquhart, who also took first for adiantums. besides other awards. The first prize for hybrid orchids was awarded to George Melviu, gardener at Framingham, Mass. The silver cup for the vase of twenty-five spikes of primulinus hybrids, was won by Daniel Hay. The prize for bulbous flowers was awarded to James Watts. WOMAN'S FARM AND GARDEN ASSO- CIATION. The fourth national conference of the Woman's National Farm and Garden Asso- ciation was held at the Morrison Hotel, Chicago, October 3-5, an excellent attend- ance enjoying the splendid programme and entertainment features. At the opening session the visitors were graciously wel- comed by Mrs. William Ilibbard, president of the Garden Clubs of Illinois, and Mrs. Edwin T. Johnson of the Chicago Woman's Club. Mrs. Francis King ])resided at all sessions assisted by honorary chairmen. The afternoon session of the last day was especially interesting, the topic lieing "(iar- den Conservation," the subject being very aldy handled by Mrs. Edward L. Glaser. president of the North Shore (iarden Club, whose paper on "The Wealth of the (iar- den" was followed by another interesting one, "The Community (Jarden," by Miss Margery Bradley of the Chicago City Gar- dens Association, the session closing with a very able essay on "The Well Considered Garden," by Mrs. Francis King. Other in- teresting papers were jiresented by Mrs. Fannie M. Klinck, Clarkesville. la.; Mrs. Anthony Rtockcr, Des Moines. la.; Mrs. \\'alter'L. Brewster. Lake Forest, 111.: Mrs. A. L. Messier, Chicago; Mrs. Jennie M. Conrad, Oak Dene Farms, Ind.: Miss Ger- trude Van Hoesen, Universitv of Cliicago: Mrs. N. H. Dunlap. Savoy, 111.; Prof. C. B. Holden. Chicago: Mrs. Chas. W. Deusner; Miss Charlotte W. Passmore, Flourtown, Pa.; Mrs. Scott Durand, Lake Forest. 111.; Mrs. Dora Stockman, Lansing, Mich.; Mrs. Clifford Ward, Mrs. 51. L. .Jennings, Mrs. Frederick Beach, Mrs. Jesse F. Edmundson, Kankakee, 111., and Mrs. C. W. Hubbard, Winnetka, 111. The entertainment features included round table luncheons, tea at the Art In- stitute, an informal dinner at the Morrison Hotel and a garden tour. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK. A Dahlia Show was held by this society, in co-operation with the New York Bo- tanical Garden, in the Museum building of that institution, on September 22 and 2H. It was a very successful exhibition. Following is the list of prize winners: Open to ."Ml. Largest and best collection: Alfred E. Doty, first: C. Louis Allinger, second: Mills & Co., third. Vase of 12 blooms, cactus: Mrs. H. Darling- ton, P. W. Popp, gardener, first: C. Louis Ailing, second: Alfred E. Doty, third. Vase 12 blooms, peony- flowered: Mrs. H. Darlington, first: C. Louis Ailing, second: Mills & Co.. third. Vase 12 blooms, decorative: C. Louis Ailing. first: Mills & Co., second: Alfred E. Doty. third. Vase 12 blooms, sliow or fancy: Alfred E. Doty, first: C. Louis AUing, second; Mills & Co., third. Vase 12 blooms, pompon: Mills & Co., first; Alfred E. Doty, second; C. Louis Ailing, third Vase 12 blooms,' single or collarette: C. Louis Ailing, first; -Alfred E. Doty, second; Mrs. H. Darlington, third. Vase arranged for effect: Mrs. H. Darlington, first: Mills & Co.. second; C. Louis Ailing. third. NON-COMMERCIAL GROWERS. Best collection: Wm. J. Matheson. James Kirby, gardener, first; Mrs. H. Darlington, second: Dr. M. A. Howe, third. Vase 8 blooms, cactus: Mrs. H. Darlington, first: Thos. Pierce, Hollingsworth, second; Dr. M. A. Howe, third. Vase 8 blooms, peony- flowered: Mrs. H. Dar- lington, first. Vase S blooms, decorative: Mrs. H. Darling- ton, first. Vase S blooms, show or fancy: Dr. M. A. Howe, second. Vase 8 blooms, pompon: Wm. Shillaber. J. P. Sorenson, gardener, first: Mrs. H. Darling- ton, second ; Thos. Pierce Hollingsworth, third. Vase S blooms, single or collarette: Mrs. H. Darlington, first: Dr. M. A. Howe, second; Tlios. Pierce Hollingsworth, tliird. SPECIAL PRIZE.S. Rev. W. O. Wyckoff, for seedling peony-flow- ered dahlia "Mrs. Pflster," certificate of merit. Cedar Hill Nursery, display of flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants, cash. GEORGE V. NASH, Secretary. BURPEE'S SEEDS are grown not only to sell but to grow again. Tlie fact that 1916, our fortieth anniversary, proved to be our banner year, shows that confidence in the Houseof Burpee continues to grow just as surely as Burpee's Seeds Grow. Each packet contains the result of our forty years of extensive operation and intensive investigation. Burpee's Annual for 1917 The Leading American Seed Catalog is brighter, better and bigger than ever before. We have added twenty- two pages, making in all 204 pages, and best of all, you will find thirty Burpee Specialties illustrated in color. Never before have we issued a catalog with so many accurate color illustra- tions. Burpee's Annual is mailed free upon request. A postcard will bring it. Write for your copy today and mention this publication. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Burpee Buildings Philadelphia s!l|lllllllll|iNlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllii:illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!£ ^^«'»« «9 STANDS yt FOR vniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiinnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinuiiiiiirH THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 383 Now Is The Time To Order Andorra Evergreens Our ability to supply plants and trees and shrubs of the highest quality is not curtailed by the stoppage of foreign shipments. Buy nursery stock grown at Andorra. Our catalog on request — "Suggestions for Effective Planting" Andorra Nurseries Wm. Warner Harper, Prop. Chestnut Hill, Phila., Pa. Box 110 IRIS Special Offer of Surplus Stock from Private Garden Gracchus, Kochii, Tinae, Mme. Chereau, Brionense and Cengialti, at $2.40 per 100. Pallida Dalmatica and Gerda, at $8.00 per 100. Lohengrin, Mithras, Rhein Nixe, Princess Victoria Louise and Nibe- lungen, at $16.00 per 100, or $2.50 per doz. 25 will be sold at 100 rate JOHN HATCH p. O. Box 222 Haverford, Pa. ORCHIDS We are Specialists in Or< gruw. import, export ami III1I1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII iiis. \ve eollcct, til orcliifis ex- clusively. If you are in the marliet for Orchids We solicit yonr Inquiries and orders. Cata- logues and s|i. cial lists on application. LAGER &. HURRELL Orchid Growers and Importers Su mmii t, N • «!• IMPORTED ORCHIDS If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. JOSEPH MAIMDA Orchid Expert. Seedsman and Florist West Orange. IM. J. SEWICKLEY (PA.) HORT. SOCIETY. The second annual fall exhibition of the SeM ickley Horticultural Society was staged in the public school pavilion on Friday and Saturd.ay, Sejitember 28 and 29. No pretense was made by the exhibitors to stage exjiibition quality, owiny to the shortage of labor, but in spite of this handi- cap there was a high standard of culture, especially in the vegetable classes. Ribbons were the only awards, as all proceeds were to be given to the local auxiliary of the Ked Cross Association, but the National Asso- ciation of Gardeners' Achievement Medal was to be awarded to the exhibitor gaining tile greatest number of points. Pres. Barnet, gardener to Mrs. .J. D. Lyon, n-as the winner, and he well deserved the honor, not only for the high quality of his exhibits but for his untiring efforts to make the exhibition a success. M. Gur ran, gardener to Mrs. E. M. Home, was a very close challenger, and, althotigh he had 16 firsts to his credit against the 14 firsts of Mr. Barnet, in total number of points the latter won by 8, the totals being "ft and OS respectively. The Canning School had a large display on view, and a prettv and eiTective group of orchids was staged by A. Leach, gardener to H. J. Heinz of Pittsburgh. Other successful exhibitors were A. E. Bonsey, Wm. Thomson, Jr., A. Etherington, R. Botel, T. Sturgis and .L Carman. The judges were Messrs. D. Frazer, E. Guter and J. Wiseman, of Pitts- burgh, who performed their arduous work with credit to themselves and satisfaction to the exhibitors. JOHN CARMAN, Secretary. SOUTHAMPTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of South- am]iton Horticultural Society was held in Oddfellows Hall, Southampton, N. ¥.. on the 4th inst. President Charles F. Guilloz in the chair. Wm. McLeod and Owen G. Owen were appointed delegates to attend the meetin'.; of National Gardeners' Association in New York on November 9. In the exhibits for competition the win- ners were as follows: Best 6 root vegetables, G. Anderson. Best vase of out-door gi-own flowers, G. Anderson. Best 12 tomatoes and 12 ears of corn, Wm. McLeod. J. DICKSON, Corresponding Secretary. NORTHERN WESTCHESTER HORTI- CULTURE AND AGRICULTURE SOCIETY. Tlie fifteenth annual chrysanthemum show of the Northern Westchester Horti- culture and Agricultm-e Society of Mt. Kiseo, N. Y., will be held in the Civic Hall on November 2. 3 and 4. W. E. MATTISON, Secretary. HILL'S EVERGREENS Send for Price-list. Mention this magazine. D. HILL NURSERY CO. Evergreen Specialists. Largest Growers in America. Box 3C5 DUNDEE, ILL. Star Brand Roses • HARDY grown ch ing roses. Exc (Red Dorothy I kins) and all c popular varie Send for price- LJARDY field grown climb- ing roses. Excelsa (Red Dorothy Per- kins) and all othe popular varieties list. THE CONARD & JONES CO.. Box C. WesI Grove, Pa. Warm, Bright, Sunny ^ •USES a sfjccial type of construe- tiMti. which permits of great strength without the need of heavy shniiow-castlnff supports. This gives I lie plants all the sunlight all day I'liLT. Send for bulletin No. 47. , KING CONSTRUCTION GO. •J 303 King Rd. Nortli lonawanda, N. Y. 113 State St,, Boston, Mass. K.irrison Bldg,, 15th & Market Sta.. Philadelphia, Pa, A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleached and unburn! ; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months of preparation. Try a Bag $1.50 6 Bags $5.00 Prices subject to advance without notice. F. O. B. New York or Jersey City on any Railroad or .Steaniijo.it Line MAGIC HUMUS CO. G. VV. Chandler, Sales Agent 264 WEST 34th STREET. NEW YORK or 40 PETERS PLACE, RED BANK, N. J. HARRY BALDWIN Manufacturer of Greentiouse Shading Latti Roller Blinds vi/\iua.rone:ck. m. y Tree Needs Filled Spraying, pruning, cavity tilling, etc. WliatL-ver your trees need, we will do and do rioht. "The Bartlett Way" will Insure their lasting health. Representatives go everywhere. Send for "Trif Talli." THE F. A. BARTLETT CO. S43 Main St. Stamford, Conn. t ^ . •■'., \ ► CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO MANUPACTURCnS PHILADELPHIA. PA. -► 384 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA GARDENERS' AND FLORISTS' CLUB OF BOSTON. The club held a special vegetable exhi- bition in Horticultural Hall, Boston, on October 9. The schedule embraced eight classes and competition was keen and qual- ity very high. For twelve varieties arranged for effect ■competition was very close. Finally Wil- liam McGillivroy, head gardener to Stuart Duncan, Newport, R. I., was adjudged win- ner of the silver cup. James Methven was a close second and Mrs. A. T. Cabot, James Donald, gardener, third. Several other fine collections were staged. For six varieties of vegetables, Faulkner Farm, Brookline. W. N. Craig, head gar- dener, was first, and James A. Neal, Thomas W. Little, head gardener, second. W. N. Craig had the best salad collection, and won the silver medal offered by the State Board of Agriculture for the exhibitor making the best exhibits in the show. .Some other leading prize winners were: E. B. Dana, Seal Harbor. Me. (Wm. Me- Kenzie. head gardener) ; Oliver Ames (Ed- ward Parker, head gardener) ; St. George's School, Newport, R. I. (George C. McDonald, head gardener) ; A. W. Preston (J. L. Smith, head gardener) ; Edward A. Clark (W. H. Golby, head gardener) ; Mrs. J. L. Gardner (Wm. Thatcher, head gardener) ; David L. Fiske; R. Craig (Wm. Tilton, head gardener) ; Mrs. Roger Wolcott (A. K. Rogers, head gardener) ; C. 0. Cliilds, Peace- dale, R. I.; Miss E. B. Thacher. Augustus Hemenway (W. R. Thornhill, head gar- dener) put up a grand collection of fruits and vegetables which leceived a report of merit. Another fine group came from .J. L. Smith. At a meeting of the club in the evening it was voted to continue co-operation with the National Association of Gardeners and to purchase an additional $2.50 worth of Liberty Bonds. There were short lectures by James Donald on "Peas and Beans"; A. K. Rogers on "Root Crops"; Frederick Cove on "Onions and Leeks"; James Meth- ven on "Celery," and W. N. Craig on "Mush- rooms," followed by animated discussions. The propagation of trees and shrubs will be discussed at the November meeting. NASSAU COUNTY HORT. SOCIETY. The Annual Dahlia Sliow was held in Pembroke Hall, Glen Cove on Tuesday. Oc- tober 9, and was notable for the number of exhibitors and quality of the flowers. The principal prize winners in the dahlia classes were W. J. Matheson (gardener, W. Ivirby), Mrs. C. F. Cartledge (W. Noonan), Mrs. H. Darlington (P. W. Popp), W. R. Coe (Jos. Robinson). Mr. Matheson won the Henry Dreer silver cup for the liest collection of 2.5 varieties of dahlias. The jirjnciple prize winners in the rose classes were: Mrs. J. T. Pratt (.John W. Everett)., Mrs. H. I. Pratt (F. 0. Johnson) and Mrs. C. F. Cartledge. Mrs. J. T. Pratt won per- manent possession of the Mrs. E. JI. Towns- end silver cup for the best collection of out-door roses, this being the third year lier exhibit was awarded premier honors. The winners in the classes for out-door flowers were: Mrs. G. D. Pratt (John F. Johnston), Mrs. C. F. Cartledge. Mrs. C. D. Smithers (Thos. Henderson), Mrs. H. Dar- lington, Mrs. J. E. Aldried (Thos. Twigg), and Mrs. Percy Chubb (Robert Jones). Mrs. G. D. Pratt came into permanent possession of the silver basket offered by the North Shore Garden Club, it being awarded for the third time for the best collection of out-door flowers. The silver cup ofl'ered by Mrs. F. S. Smithers for the best 10 varieties of gladiolas was \'\'on by Mrs. H. Darling- ton. In the vegetable classes the prize win- ners were: Mrs. Percy Chubb, A. G. K. Hodenpye (J. Mastroaini), Mr. W. E. Kim- ball (Jas. JlcCarthy), Mrs. J. E. Aldred, Mrs. J. H. Ottley (Thos. Flyn) and Myron C. Taylor (G. Piatt). In the fruit section the prize winners were Mrs. H. L. Pratt, A. G. Hodenpye, M. C. Taylor and Mrs. J. H. Ottley. Thos. Flyn was awarded first prize for the best table decoration; Robert Jones second and Thomas Henderson third. The judges were: Alex. Mackenzie, Ewen ilackenzie, William Waite, William Gray and Sam J. Trepess. James Gladstone, our efficient manager, deserves much credit for the excellent ar- raignment. The regular monthly meeting was held on Wednesday, October 10. There was a good attendance, with President James Mc- Carthy in the chair. Otto H. Caub was elected an active member. HARRY GOODBAND, Cor. Sec'y. MOUNT KISCO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The regular monthly meeting of our so- ciety Avas held September 11. President Connolly in the chair. A good show of members was in attendance and two new members proposed. Jlr. A. G. Ross, secre- tary, having moved to Bridgeport, tendered his resignation as secretary. The same was accepted. The name of F. W. Winckler was proposed to fill the vacancy. Vote being taken, he was declared elected. Mr. James Scott, being present, gave us a de- lightful talk on the educational side of gardening. Our society is rapidly growing, and we extend a general invitation to all gardeners and agriculturists in our vicinity to become members, for in unity there is strength, and with this combination our profession is sure to prosper. FRED W. WINCIO^ER, Secretary. ^iiimiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiii{iitniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiii:i[iiiiiiiiiiii;iiiiNi[iiitiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!i{iiiiiiiiiiii^^ I If you were to inspect j LUTTON GREENHOUSES H that have been through the test of time, you would appreciate = that they were built of superior materials and you would find that 1 even these older houses are more modern than many competing H greenhouses built today. i As a case in point, take the range of greenhouses built at = Froh-Heim Farms and illustrated here. When these were erected = several years ago they represented the very latest type of glass M structure, and even today they would appeal to many as being ^ particularly modern. = Since that time, however, in conformity with our consistent = policy, we have adopted numerous improvements, such as the = Rust-proof Metal V-Bar Frame; wide glass (24 inches); everlast- § ing slate benches: cast iron wall ventilating panels and improved H facilities for ventilating, draining and heating. M The Frame is exceptionally strong and compact, casting little § shadow. This feature, combined with the wide spacing and ab- = sence of shadow-casting members at the eave line, permits every M available sunbeam to reach the plants. Glass-to-metal contact is = avoided, thus eliminating a common source of glass breakage. = The heating plant is vital. It is especially necessary, when = erecting a greenhouse on sloping ground, to have the heating 1 system installed by experienced greenhouse engineers, in order to H be sure that the heat will be evenb" distributed and under perfect = control, ^ We would be pleased to mail you further information about = these and other practical greenhouse features. I WM. H. LUTTON CO. i Main Office and Factory, 265-271 Kearney Ave., Jersey City, N. J. i Show Room, .■^rd Floor. Western Ofliee. 710 Syki's Block, = Grand Central Terminal. N. Y. Cily. Minneapolis. Minn, i Modern Greenhouses — Conservatories — Sun Parlors — Garden Frames ^llllllllllllllllilllliiifiiiii iiiiiiuiiuiiniiiii!irinjitiii:Hiiiiiiiiii{iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit[iii{iiiii;ii:Miii;ii{i;iiii;iiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiN ANEx\T and practical arrangement. Gar- | ^ dener's Cottage, Palm House and- two | I connected Growing Houses. | I Erected for Mr. Albert C. Elser, on pic- | I turesque Pine Lake, Hartland, Wis. | I If you are interested in building, write | I for catalog. | j The Foley Greenhouse Mfg. Co. I I DESIGNERS— BUILDERS | — - = Q 0 OO WT" Q 1 * C * i~^\^ ' — I LUTTON Greenhouses at Froh-Helm Farms (C. P. Campbell, Sup't), the welMtnown = i " ' ' ^ = S estate of Grant B. Sehley. Esq., at Far Hills, N. J, g g 1 fniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii Ill iiiiniiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii iiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiii liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiNiiiiiiiiiiNiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiininii iiiiMiniii'iiiniii.iiiniiiiiiiniiS HiuuiiiiiiuiiiuiuttiuiimiiiuuiwiiuiiiMiniiiiiMmoiuiitNMiiiuniuuiuuuuumwHUMiiu^ ''''""'iMHnitiiiiiriiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiuniimiTnnifffTmiiiiiiii'niiiiinit niit""ii>MMiin^.LLiiiiii.i».i.i.iiNiiiiiimN | n LHLLiu»m«ii THE INSECTICIDE OF RECOGNIZED MERIT FOR THE GREENHOUSE AND THE GAKDEN For the Greenhouse — Applied at regular intervals (once each week, or ten days) APHINE will keep plants in the greenhouse and conservatory free of insect pests. It is excellent as a wash for decorative plants. For the Garden — As a remedy against all sap sucking insects infesting flowers, fruits and vegetables APHINE is most effective. APHINE is a concentrated material, which mixes readily in water — is efficient in its action — easily applied — and is free of the disagreeable features of most insecticides. Sold by dealers in various sizes APHINE MANUFACTURING CO. MANUFACTUKEF»>S OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS MADISON, N. J. FUNGINE For mildew, rust and other blight* affecting flowers, fruits and vegetables. VERMINE I For worms and insects infesting the soil. ?iiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiviiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiii>iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiini i rrr ninny's ^iiiiiiiiiliili iiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiilliilliililllllillliiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilillllllllllilllllllllllllllllllil mill Iiiicilliiillliiillliilil Iiiliillillllllli':, I Anchor Post Fences I of Iron and Wire, and Anchor Tost Ar- | I bor.s, Arches. Garden Gates and Trellises | 1 and pictures illustrating the many attract- j I ive ways in which they may be used for | I beautifying gardens — are shown in our j I new catalog, a copy of which will lie | j mailed promjitly on request. 1 I ANCHOR POST IRON WORKS j 17 Cortlandt St. South (13th floor) NEW YORK I Philadelphia Boston Cleveland Hartford Newark | RittniiiiiiiiiiNiiiMii iiiiiBH iiiniiiiiuniiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiin i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiniii^ Louis K. Liggett ^ The Head of the ^ Big Drug Store Company ^; Owns "a Hitchings" M ^^ On his all-\ far-armiiul place, it is locati-il My at Chestnut Hill, Mass. It is one of those 3^ charming ntoilerate sized greenhouses, 18 Pig^ I'.v ^0 feet, of our .Semi-Curvilinear Con- ^W struction. [tin riioni.is T. Miirphv is the Rardencr. g HHctiingsj^fintpany: lim General Offices and Factory: Elizabeth, N, J. Sgi \EW YORK llOSTON PHILADELPHIA 8^ 117(1 Broadway 49 Federal Street 40 So. 15th Street m 0 M Four typical examples of perfect healing Showing how Nature unfailingly responds to the scientific methods of Davey Tree Surgeons ]VrATL'RE responds -'•^ to the Tree Stir- geon"s art by healing- over the filling — // the ivork has been properly done. The rapidity of the healing depends on the size of the cavity and the vitality of the tree. Illustrated here are four typical exam- ples of perfect healing j following Davey Tree Surgery. They are mereh' repre- sentative of the many thousands of successful cases handled by the 1 )avey organization in the past gen- eration. Photograph Xo. 1 shows a tree at the Christian Herald Children's I fome, Xyack, X. Y. This tree had a splitting and badly decayed crotch, requiring a filling from the toj) of the crotch almost down tn the ground. Note how the bark has completely healed over the filling in about four years. Photograph No. 2 was taken on the estate of John D. Archbold. Tar- rytown, N. Y., and shows a tree with a filling in the side of the trunk, .\lmost healed over in about six years. Photograph X'^o. 3 illustrates a tree on the estate of the late Tubus French, \\ickliffe. ( )hio. Filling at the base of the trunk ivith about five _\ears" healing. Photograph Xo. -I — .\ tree at Kent. r)hio, treated liy the students (.)f the Davey Institute, class of l''I3. Showing about two years' healing : Countersunk boltheads completely healed over. Filling in the crotch and on one limb partly healed over. To be perfect. Tree Surgery must embody the three following princi- ples : All decay must be removed and further decay prevented. The ca\ity must be so prepared that the filling will remain permanently in place. All foreign matter must be excluded, especially water. It is difficult to say which is most impor- tant. They are inter-dependent. If the operator fails in one he fails entirely. these prin- ciples e m body both science and mechanics. A Tree Surgeon must be trained in mind and in hand. He must have both knowledge and skill. .\ man who has only theoretical knowl- edge fails miserably. .\n unscientific ope- rator works without understanding. Write today for FREE examination of your trees — and booklet, "When Your Trees Xeed the Tree Surgeon." The Davey Tree Expert Co. (Incorporated) 310 Elm Street Kent, Ohio (Operating- the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery, Kent, Ohio.) Branch Offices : 225 Fifth Ave., New York 2017 Land Title Bldg., Philadelphia. 450 McCormick Bldg., Chicago Permanent representatives located at Boston. Newport, Lenox, Hartford. .Mhany, Poushkeep- <.ie, W'liite Plains. Staniford, Jamaica, L, I.; Xe\\ark, N J.; Philadelphia. Ilarrisburg, Balti- more, Washington, Buff tlo, Pittsburgh. Cleve- land. Detroit. Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago, Milwaukee. Min- ^^ - neapolis. St. Louis. --^^ ^'^Iv Kansas City. Cana- 'JO ' ^ ^ dian address: 22 ' ^^ Victoria Sq.. Men- f y treal. Davey Tree Surgeons FOR SAFE TREE SURGERY Every teal Pa'cy Trre Surgeon is in the emf^loy of the Davey Tree P-xpcit Co.. and the /-.'f/'/iV is cautioneti against those falsely ref^ycsenliiis themselves. GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA «1.50 The Year DECEMBER, 1917 15c. The Copy mi 1 1^ 1^ ^ ^ ^ >i^i ^ ^ A War Time Saving Thought In Connection With Greenhouses 1^ ^ ^ 1^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ THIS is not a sermonette on meatless Tuesdays or wheatless Wednesdays. It's just a plain, common-sense appeal to the common sense side of both those who own greenhouses, and those who can own one, and don't. To you who own them, it is a suggestion to devote part of your house to vegetables. Which will certainly be domg your bit towards food conservation. If you do this bit, and your neighbors do theirs; the combined bits, will do a good bit towards helping Hoover. Most vegetables can be grown m lower temperatures than flowers, which means the burnmg of less coal. To ycu who ploughed up your lawn for potatoes; or dug up your flower garden for vegetables, to help Hoover last summer; isn't it equally consistent to build a vegetable greenhouse to help him this winter ? You cheerfully cast to the winds, hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars, in Hooverizing your lawn and garden. Then isn't it just as consistent to spend money for a plain. Practical Purpose Green- house for vegetables? Ever thought of it that way? Instead of roses clambering over this garden balustrade last summer, there were tomato vines. Instead of flowers in every compartment of the greenhouse this winter, there are vegetables in most of them. Let us talk with you at once about one of our Practical Purpose Vegetable Houses. One that, when you want to, will grow flowers equally well. BUILDERS OF GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES NEW YORK ^nd St. Bldg. CHICAGO Continental and Commercial Bank Bldg. TORONTO Royal Bank Bldg. FACTORIES: Irvington, N, SALES OFFICES BOSTON Tremont Bldg. ROCHESTER (iranite Bldg. Y. Des Plaines, III. PHILADELPHIA Widener Bldg. CLEVELAND Swetland Bldg. MONTREAL Transportation Bldg. -St. Catharines. Canada 1^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 1^) ^ THE GARDE^ERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 421 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim Burpee's Seeds Grow The Department of Agriculture estimates the value of back-yard gardens of 1917 at more than 350,000,000 of dollars. At least, 100,000,000 dollars have been added to the nation's wealth by increased planting of 1917. It is even more necessary to take care of the future. Demonstration gardens in many cities planted with Burpee's Seeds have done their share to instruct the amateur gardeners. Burpee's Seeds have a forty year reputation for the best that science can produce. Burpee's Annual for 1918 has been greatly enlarged and improved in order that it may be of the greatest help to every gardener. It has 216 pages, 24 of which are in color illustrating more than 100 varieties of choice vegetables and flowers. Always a safe guide to success in the garden. Mailed free upon request. A post card will bring it. Write for it today. I W. Atlee Burpee & Co. | I Seed Growers | I BURPEE BUILDINGS PHILADELPHIA | iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu 422 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA '"> " ' ' '>'">"">'<; giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiifliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiHnin French Endive Ready in three weeks in cellar or greenhouse Y> OOTS of this popular salad (Witloof) are grown by us especially for Winter forcing. The T:ible S ilad used in the most elegant ll o m e s and hotels. Plant some every week in cellar or under greenhouse benches for a continuous supply; after twenty-five days you will have constant cuttings. Large roots (1 to \yi in. di- ameter, per doz $0.40 I)er 100 3.00 Mammoth roots (V/i in. and up), per doz 0.85 per 100 6.00 [Free cultural leaflet with ez'ery order,) If you are not on our mail- ing list, send us your name for our 1918 catalogue. It is FREE. Vaughan's Seed Store 31-33 W. Randolph Street CHICAGO, ILL. 41-43 Barclay Street NEW YORK gl iiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiniiiiin Ill iiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii: iiiiiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I Our 1918 Catalogue I Will Be Readvi in Ten Dais I As usual we are on "TOP" with our I Chrysanthemum N o v e 1 1 i e s — with six I varieties. I We are also distributing three splendid new I Forcing Roses, I Columbia and Ophelia Supreme j as well as Dickson's Garden Roses — and a I comprehensive list of other stock. ■ If you are not on our mailing list write us j for a Catalogue — it will be worth your while. I IVe lake this opportunity to express I Our Best Wishes for a Happy j and Prosperous New Year j Charles H. Totty Company Madison New Jersey DREER'S GARDEN BOOK FOR 1918 EIGHTIETH ANNUAL EDITION READY IN JANUARY .\ dependable guide-book which tells when to plant, how to plant, and what to plant. It gives cultural articles, written by e.xperts, which will be valuable to every gardener. It contains 256 pages, four colored and four duo- tone plates, and lists all the dependable tested standard varieties of Vegetables and Flowers, besides many important Novelties. The newest Roses, the best Dahlias, and Dreer's Improved Hardy Perennials are given special prominence. It features a number of noteworthy special- ties in Vegetables, Nasturtiums, Roses and Chrysanthemums, Whatever is worth growing you will find in Dreer's Garden Book for 1918 with full instructions how to grow it. Ready in January, and will be mailed free if you mention this publication. HENRY A. DREER 714-716 Chestnut Street PHILADELPHIA 'iMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiimim a»»ji^MgJ»Mah««a^ Moon's Nurseries UERE you will find a large assortment of plant material in a wide range of sizes — trees that have been grown with unusual care and the kind of shrubbery that gives satis- factory landscape effects. The present season is the most favorable time of the year for planting most varieties of shade trees and flowering shrubbery. Send us your order now and do as much of your planting this Fall as possible. A post card will bring you a copy of our descriptive catalogue A-8. WM. H. MOON COMPANY Nurserymen MORRISVILLE, PENNA. Moon Nursery Corp., White Plains, N. Y. Phi!a. Office. 21 So. 12th Street «|MS»^^>^^ THE GARDE^ERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 423 giiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimtiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNi^^^^^^^ IN EXTENDING TO YOU THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON I we might add that our 1918 Handbook — a bigger and better catalogue — will | I be mailed during January. j j It includes, among other sterling Novelties, the New Red Rose j I "MRS. HENRY WINNETT" | |. which captured the Silver Medal, not to mention four Firsts, at Cleveland | I last month. | I We want to be sure that you get your copy. . | I Better send in your name now while we are checking up our mailing list. | I AN?IEI\50N INC. I I QpMWELL GAI^ENS I I C^MWELL Conn § SiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiHiiaiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiin iiiiniiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil ITk. I I I I A Garden Message To Our American Allies IN spite of the War you can have a surprising number of your Sutton Seeds again this year. Some varieties, of course, will be limited in quantities. Especially vege- tables. This means you must order early. Of last year's shipments to America, Winter, Son & Company 66-C Wall Street, New York. Sole Agents East of The Rocky Mountains. not a single one was lost because of the U-Boats. So do not hesitate to order, because of that contingent. But bear this important fact in mind; that if you want your seeds early, you must order early. Send 35c for Garden Catalog. With $5 purchase of seeds, the 35c will be promptly refunded. StrtF>orcf( CICo Royal Seeds Establishment READING, ESGLAND The Sherman T. Blake Co. 43 1-C Sacramento Street, San Francisco, Cal. Sole Agents West of The Rocky Mountains. 424 THE GARDENERS' CHROMCLE OF AMERICA Bobbink 8C Atkins Wish ^ou A iJIprry CI|ristmaa And A Pf^e offer for iivnediaie delivery; LIST OF FORCING SHRUBS RHODODENDRON, Pink Pearl, VA-2' $2.00-2.50 RHODODENDRON, Pink Pearl, 2' 3.00 3.50 RHODODENDRON, in variety 1.. 50-6.00 KALMIA latifolia, lK-2' 1.50-2.00 DOUBLE FLOWERING PEACH, white, 3-4' 2.50 DOUBLE FLOWERING PEACH, red and pink, 4-5' 3.50-4.00 JAPANESE CRABAPPLE, in variety, 3-5' 2.50-5.00 DRUTZIA gracilis, 6" pots 75 AZALEA mollis | 1.50-2.50 AZALEA pontica ( ' PRUNUS triboba, 14" tnbs, 3' stems, standards 3-8' tall 5.00 ROSES, in variety, 6" pots 50-1.50 WISTARIAS, bushy 3.50-7.50 IIVDRANGEAS 75-2.00 Come and see us and inspect this slock- NURSERYMEN AND FLORISTS RUTHERFORD NEW JERSEY jeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiuiumnimiiiiiiiiiii:;iNiiiii»iiuii::iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Orchids If you contemplate buying semi-es- | tablished, established or imported | Orchids, consult us first. | We carry in stock about 25,000 | plants and from April to July we j receive large consignments of im- | ported Orchids. l We specialize in supplying the pri- | vate trade. | Let us figure on your requirements | — our quality is second to none. j I Orchid Peat, Live Sphagnum Moss, | I Baskets, Pot Hangers, always on | I hand. | I Send for our price list. | I G. E. Baldwin &- Company | I Orchid Collectors, Growers and Importers | I Mamaroneck Box 98 New York I ^muMiiiiiillliilililiiiiilliniMiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiNiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiinniiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM MARSHALL'S MATCHLESS BULBS Our Bullis have arrived from France and Holland in good condition. The stock on hand are all First Size Selected Bulbs. Catalogue mailed on request W. E. MARSHALL & CO., Inc. Bulb Importers 166 West 23rd St. New York MICHELL'S SEEDS Bulbs, Plants, Etc. OUR CATALOG for 1918 is ready now. It is replete with offers of Vegetable and Flower Seeds, Farm Seeds, Hardy and Annual Plants, Shrubs, Bulbs, etc., while in implements for various uses on the Farm and Garden our stock is most complete. Send for a free copy today. Henry F. Michel! Co. 518 Market St., Phila. Ornamentals Every Known Variety Over 800 acres of good hardy stock ready for immediate shipment. Prices alwavs reasonable. AMERICAN NURSERY C 'Successful for over a century^' o. Singer Building New York Mmmmm&MUiMmmMmMmMMMMmmm:. m BEAN MASTERPIECE ONION AILSA CRAIG, LEEK PRIZETAKER, GLOBE ARTICHOKE, CELERY, PEPPERS, EGG PLANT, and all cither seeds tor earl)- sowing. I Artl|ur S^. ^loJi&mgton Co. ■S IitrorporatEji s 128 Chambers Street NEW YORK CITY THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 425 Hill iiiiiii I I I iiiiiimiiiii II iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I iiiiiiiiiiii iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii| SEh^ (Hont^nta— B^r^ntter, 1917 i Our Flag Things and Thoughts of the Garden The Onlooker A Realization of Our Patriotic Duly at Home Keene H. Aldington How the Farmer Can "Do His Bit" in Winning the War Winter Flowering Begonias Arthur Jackson January's Work in the Garden John Johnson Storage of Potatoes and Other Vegetables Page 426 427 429 430 431 432 Eugene H. Crubb 433 Edible Fruits of the Forests .... 434 Simplicity in Flower Arrangement The Rounder 435 Medicinal Plants and Herbs . . . 436 The Greenhouse Month to Month W. R. FoTvkes 437 Page Rose Novelties of 1917 . . . . 438 The Poinsettia (The Christmas Flower) . 439 The Art of Floriculture . . . . 439 Volunteer Plants 440 The Iris Borer (Macronoctua onusta) . 440 The Culture of Lilies 441 Watering Greenhouse Vegetables . . . 442 Some Cut Flower Suggestions . . . 442 The Fuel Value of Wood .... 442 The Future of Flower Gardening in America 442 David Burfee 443 National Association of Gardeners' Convention 445 The Planting of Ornamentals . . . 452 Local Society Notes 454 If Trees Could Talk 455 iiiiiuiiMiiiiiiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiMniiniinninmiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu Announcement NEW CROP VALLEY PIPS NEW CROP VALLEY PIPS The First LILY OF THE VALLEY To Arrive From Holland Via England. We are pleased to announce that we have been successful in procuring a shipment of Lily of the Valley Pips from Holland via England. Pips are in excellent condition. They are being repacked in cases of 100 — 250 — 500 and lOOO each and placed in Cold Storage for the con\enience of our customers. Cases of 100 Pips $5.00 " 250 Pips ■ n.OO " 500 Pips 20.00 " 1000 Pips 38.00 The cost uf these Pips in Holland is very high this }ear and with additional high freight cost, we are unable to ofifer at a lower price. 30-32 Barclay Street NEW YORK la II ^iMiiiiiiiiini iiiuiiiii iiiiiiiiiin Ill Ill iiiiiiiiiiiiimiiMiiini i iiiiiiumii in nil nil iini iiiiiiinniiiiininiiiiiiinn iiiiiinni iiiiiiiiiiiiininmiiiiiiiiiii nuHiininiii iiiiiiiniiiiiiiimiiiinnn iiiiiii uniitunniiiiiinnni iiimiiiwDne When Freedom from her mountain height, Unfurled her standard to the air, She tore the azure robe of night. And set the stars of glor}' there. She mingled with its glorious dyes, The milky baldric of the skies. And striped its pure celestial white With streakings of the morning light, Then, from its mansion in the sun, She called her eagle bearer down. And gave into his mighty hand. The symbol of her chosen land. Flag of the free -heart's hope and home, By angel hands to valor given, Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, And all thy hues were born in heaven. Forever float that standard sheet, Where breathes the foe but falls before us, With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us. — Selected. ^iiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiDiiniiiiniininiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiiiiH ■iimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiimiiiiiipiiiim^^ fliiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiilliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiii^ GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture 1 Vol. XXI iiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii DECEMBFR 1917 niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim No. 12 I iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^ ®ur 2i0st Misli^s for ti}t "Ntw ^^ar Ar^: tl|at it luiU ualjpr in ait parly rrsaatinn of tl^r luorlfi's t;ostilitiPS tl^at it uiiU sounli ttfp JJpatlj kntU of autorrary anJ» gtue birttj to uiorld-iuidr fiptnorracy tl^at it luill arouBP all mankinb to a greatrr realization of ita rloar relational^ip to ersonal interest to dn so. If the farmer neglects to order early, it will result in small carload shipments Ijeing ottered to the railroads, \vhich if accepted, will result in tying up traffic, delaying shipments, and increas- ing the possiliilities of the farmer not receiving his fer- tilizer at all or if it is received, delaying it to the point where it will be of little service when it does arrive. ^^'e therefore, appeal to you and through you to every farmer in the country to order his fertilizer now and thus hel|i thf country as a whole, Tni-: .\mi;itan(hird nicotine mixtures, or Aphine, which I have found (juite successful, may be used without fear or danger. In both cases, do it while the plants are small, for if kein clean then they will not require it in their more advanced stage of growth. I believe it is on this thrip or rust question that nianv growers fail, their plants turning sickly 1(11 iking and refusing to grow. Then the grower casts them aside with the idea that it re- quires some special knowledge or requirement. Flowering Period. When in flower I find that by reducing the temperature to about 55 to 60 de- grees, they develop into a stronger and hardier jjlant, therefore, making them easier to handle and better for hon.ie work or decora- tion. Resting Period. After the flowering season is over (which lasts from 4 to 5 months ) and the |)lants begin to look shabby, gradually reduce their supply of water, put tliem on a shelf or other convenient place, giving full light and a temperature of about 50. Give just enough water at this resting period to pre- \ent shrinkage, but not enough to excite growtli, for about six to uses of .1. B. Sehlotwan eight weeks. at (irosse Point, Mieh. ( Coiltiiliird on f^a^^C 4^4.) ^iiiMiitritiriiiiiiiiuiiMiiiiiiiitirriiiiNiiiniiJiiHiMiiirioiiiiiNiiNinillllllliitiilllliiriliiniinttiiiiiNiiJiinitllllliMiiMiriiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiliilllllllin January's Work in the Garden I By John Johnson, Massachusetts | niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ NONE but the half-hearted can allow this opportune season to pass without pledging himself to at least one good resolution for the coming year. Knergies anew must be constantly taxed. Our environ- ment demands it. Do what we may, we shall never exhaust the possibilities which gardening ofTers. That gardening and gardeners are on the improve is ap- ])roached with no denial, yet we cannot, nay — must not, atiord to let the long winter evenings slip away without an effort to solve one or more of the many problems incident to our calling. What shall be the curriculum? A profuund study of botany, broader and more practical views on landscape gardening, or merely a general survey of current garden work. Some readers might argue with "ifs" and "buts" as to the merit of botanical knowledge in connection with everyday gardening. Although plant nomenclature has always been more or less confusing, and that even practiced by botanists themselves is not quite unified, specific and varietal names as applied by the botanist have almost invariably a direct bearing on some existent characteristic of the plants to which they have reference. So that, if nothing else, a knowledge of botany will often render possible the identification of certain species and varieties of plants. Moreover, a knowledge of plant physiology ofifers to the gardener the advantage of apply- ing correct cultural treatment to plants previously un- known to him. That there still is room for learning something of yet another and co-ordinate branch of hor- titicultural science is instanced by the ever increasing number of professional landscape architects. What a great boon would establish were the private gardener to know more, or knowing, would accomplish more in this direction. The art of garden making is one of con- siderable scope, affording room for the development of artistic arrangement under the general principles of taste, judgment, and genius. Real landscape gardening is founded on the skilful manipulation of natural ad- vantages, so that as great a diversity of harmonious scenes may obtain within a limited area. The tendency toward direct ornamentation still persists, although a lasting appreciation of any layout is directly opposed to a scheme of much artificial and fantastic embellishment. This phase of gardening, a truly vital and limitless field, is left largely uncultivated by the private gardener — the professional gardener. Give the subject some thought during the long winter evenings. Make it a practice, henceforward, to suggest, to plan, and to carry out im- provements whenever possible. It is part of the garden- er's own work. A part of his work that when success- fully undertaken, cannot fail to improve gardening and gardener in the employer's esteem. y\s these notes open the calendar of another year, an obligation on our part is to remind patrons that advice on garden matters demand of the reader the exercise of judgment. Although the directions, which follow, may be regarded as an average for the latitude of New York, peculiarities of climate and of season are beyond our control. With such allowances duly made, it is hoped that our efforts may not be futile. It is a matter of ordinary jirudence to caution the less practiced hands against what may later prove a vain conflict with nature. Seeds sown at this season of the year require careful watching. Therefore, attempt little more in this direction than it is felt can be brought to a successful issue. Where space permits and occasion de- mands, make a sowing in the greenhouse of lettuce and cauliflower intended for frame culture. Crops of these vegetables growing freely should have abundance of water and ventilation whenever conditions warrant. Mustard and Cress are salads of easy culture and may be raised throughout the winter in any odd corner of the greenhouse. To be enjoyed, either or both must be cut in the seed leaf and, therefore, must be raised from small but frequent sowings. Cress requires about two days longer than mustard to develop. Sow the seed in flats without covering" with soil and put them under the green- house bench until germination takes place, after which a position in the light should be given until the crop is ready for use. Grown in this way, very little room is required to keep up a succession. Radishes are usually in demand at all seasons. To be of appreciable quality these must be grown quickly. Seeds scattered thinly in drills between newly planted lettuce or cauliflower will mature before the latter are ready for use. Onions and leeks required for the mid-summer and early autumn shows should be sown forthwith. A pinch of seed sown in flats of fine soil and given a temperature of 60 degrees will ensure good germination. With ex- treme care transplant the seedlings to other flats as soon as they can be nicely handled ; or pot off singly into 2j/^- inch pots in soil containing very little fertilizer. Spray the }oung plants overhead on all bright days, but be careful not to over-water. Keep them near the glass in a steady temperature and admit air when the plants have recovered from the effects of being moved. Orchard. The winter pruning of fruit trees is an essential operation, although just when and how to prune is largely a matter of individual opinion. Observation reveals that- in a general way, several years of orchard pruning by the same individuals resolves itself into an almost perfect system of thinning out by cutting away weak and dead wood, crossing branches and so on, with a view to preserving shapely, well-balanced, fruitful trees. In limited areas intensive treatment is possible. .An instance of which is to be found in that good old garden practice — summer pruning, or the pinching-in of superfluous growths in July. This summer pruning encourages the development of fruitful spurs and blos- som buds, and obviates the necessity of severe winter pruning. In the case of old neglected apple trees and pear trees, it is usually desirable to thin both the crowded spurs and branches. This not only promotes healthier growth, but induces a better "set" and finer quality fruit. Bush Fruits. Where birds are especially numerous, some gardeners delay the pruning of gooseberry bushes until late in the spring. It might be assumed that if left to themselves, the birds will serve all shoots alike, so there is little to be gained by leaving the work. Wood developed last season is capable of yielding most fruit. Cut off the points of such of these growths as will be retained at about eighteen inches from the point of origin. Cut hard back all surplus growths, and any that might touch the ground when laden with fruit. Keep the main shoots at least six inches ajjart to facilitate the work of gntherinc: the fruit. Storage of Potatoes and Other Vegetables By Eugene H. Grubb, Colorado In c-o-oiicrutiun- with scientists, (iiiil otlicis. alio liuic ctircjuJlij inicstigated the iirohlcni of conscriinff the food products that are unnuiilUj grown and wasted, owing to the lack of adequate storage facilities, we shall present to onr readers a scries of articles bearing on the construction and proper utilization of vegetable storage cellars that will meet the re(iiiircincnts, ranging from the extensive country estates to the sntallcr home gardens, and that will in a measure solve the waste problem. With the permission of the author, we publish herewith extracts from a bulletin, appearing in The lieclamation. Record of Sep- tember, 1917, which introduce som suggcitious. espcciallii on the subject of temperature and vcntiliation. raluable to large and small growers alike. Mr. Orubb, has long been recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the vulture of potatoes, both in this country and abroad and has carefully demonstrated all that he recommends. — Editor. IT is obvious that without adequate and proper stor- age there is al\va_\s waste. With storage this waste is hirgely preventable. The storage of potatoes is not a new science. It has been practiced for many years, and from the experience of those who have successfully practiced it, certain fundamental facts have been gath- ered and are given herewith : Potatoes cannot be stored successfully unless provision is made for the control of moisture and temperature, which can be accomplished only through good ventilation under control. To avoid loss only sound tubers should be stored. Potatoes skinned by rough handling, cut, frozen, or in a state of partial decay should not be put in storage. The various rots, decays and fungi diseases immediately attack such vegetables and quickly spread to the rest. Potatoes should not be poured or run down a chute through the roof or side of the walls into the bins below. Store only clean potatoes, as soil particles fill the spaces between the potatoes, preventing the free circu- lation of air and causing heat and moisture with result- ing rapid decay and deterioration. The potatoes kept for food should be protected from strong light, which causes them to turn green and be- come bitter in taste. Seed potatoes, however, are better if kept in the light, as the greening destroys the various skin and germ diseases. In constructing the storage plant the site should be selected with care. The location should be well drained, and if possible a knoll should be chosen. The plant should be placed so that advantage is taken of the pre- vailing currents of wind in the district, the opening being in line with them. By so doing these may be utilized in controlling moisture and regulating temperature over all parts of the storage cellar. In the Fall or Spring, when the temperature of the cellar tends to rise above 40° in the day times and the outside night temperatures are lower than this, the cellar and ventilators should be left open in the early morning, before daylight, to admit the air and cool the cellar to a temperature not lower than 32°. In the Winter, when the temperature falls to near freezing point, advantage should be taken of the first warm day, shortly afternoon, to o])en up the cellar anfl admit the warm air, increasing the temperature to not more than 40°. Thus in very cold weather try to hold the temperature to above 40° and in warm weather try to hold it at about 32°. The results will be somewhere between these ex- tremes. I'niformity of temperature is necessary for safe stor- age during the long period from harvest until the crop is marketed or consumed, as rapid and excessive varia- tions of temperature hasten decay. The temperature should be between 32° and 40° F., and as near 36° as it is possible to retain. Most vegetables are not injured b}- a temperature of 30" if not of long duration. Ob- servations of temperature from at least two thermome- ters should be taken re.'ularly and with special care and 433 frequency during the periods of extreme temperatures. The excavation should be from 3 to 5 feet in order that the cellar will be at least one-half underground. Such excavation will result in a saving in walls and cov- ering and render more easy the maintenance of an even temperature. The support of the roof should be made with a frame- work of posts set 10 feet apart, 6 to 7 feet high, with plates of sufficient strength to support the rafters. Where timber from the forest is available the rafters can be placed close together, and a covering of straw and earth will be sufficient for the roof. Where timber is high priced chicken wire or woven fence wire can be fixed on the rafters, which are placed from 8 to 24 inches apart, and the straw placed over the wire. Where ob- tainable, willow brush may be laid on the rafters to pre- vent the straw from filtering through. Both brush and straw form good insulators. The layer of straw is from 18 to 24 inches thick, and on top of this is placed a blanket of earth from 6 to 12 inches thick, depending upon the coarseness of the soil. When light sand soils only are available, boards, shingles, or roofing paper can be used to cover roofs to prevent leakage. The angle of the roof should be 25 per cent, pitch or more, as the air space in the cone serves a necessary and important function in conducting moisture and heat. Special consideration should be given to the matter of constructing the doors. These can be cheaply made of flooring five-eighths or three-fourths of an inch in thick- ness, with the inside covered with building or tar paper fastened on with strips of lath. The ends of the cellar should have bulkheads of from 2 to 5 or 8 feet apart to provide dead-air space. Ventilation can be secured for small cellars by an open- ing 3 by 4 feet at the end opposite the entrance. The dead-air space, if ample enough, can be used for, sorting and sacking the crop. In extremely cold weather coal-oil stoves can be set up in these spaces to prevent freezing of stock. N'entilators should be set in the roof like a chimney, with hinged lids. These are utilized in regulating the circulation of hot and cold air and in carrying ofif excess moisture and odors. The size of cellar constructed will, of course, denend upon the -^luantity to be stored. One and one-third cubic feet of space is required for a bushel of potatoes. Where there is perfect drainage, the earth is the best floor for the cellar, as it keeps the potatoes from shrink- ing and shriveling. These storage cellars are useful also for onions and fruits, except that these should be placed on raised floors to prevent contact with the moist earth. Potatoes are often harvested when the temperature in the field is high. It is important that the temperature of the potatoes should be reduced as quickly as possible after storing. To accomplish this the potatoes should not be placed more than 1 foot in depth each day, and tile cellar should be left open nights to admit cool air. {Continitcd on page 443.) 434 THE GARDENERS- CHRONICLE OF AMERICA EDIBLE FRUITS OF THE FORESTS TT is said that Daniel lloone and some of the other early pioneers could i^o into the wilderness with onl}' a rifle and a sack of salt and live in comfort on the game and other wild food which the woods afforded. While few people want to try that sort of thing nowadays, persons who know the food value of the fruits of our native trees and shrubs are, according to foresters, able to use them to good advantage in supplementing other foods. Aside from the numerous edible mushrooms, roots, fruits of shrubs and smaller plants, the trees of the forests afl^ord a large variety of edibles wdiich are highly prized by woods connoisseurs. First in im- portance, of course, are our native nuts — beech nuts, butternuts, walnuts, chestnuts and chinquapins, hazel nuts and several kind of hickory nuts, including pecans. The kernels of all of these are not onl}- toothsome but highly nutritious and are used by vegetarians to re- place meat. The oil of the beech nut is said to be little inferior to olive oil, while that of butternuts and walnuts was used by some of the Indians for various purposes. The Indians, it is said, also formerly mixed chestnuts with cornmeal and made a bread which was baked in corn husks, like tamales. In parts of Europe bread is made from chestnuts alone. Acorns are commonly thought to be tit only for feed- ing hogs, but many kinds of them can be made edible and nourishing for people as well. The Indian custom was to |iOinid or grind the acorns up and leach out the tannin which makes most of them imfit for eating when raw, by treating" the pulp with hot water. The resulting flnur, which contained considerable starch, was made either into a porridge or baked in small cakes of bread. As a rule, the acorns of the various white oaks having less tannin are the ones best suited for food, but Indians also used those of the black oaks, even though they contain much tannin. The acorns of the basket or cow oak, the chinquapin oak. shin or Rocky Mountain oak, live oak and of several other species, are sweet enough to be eaten raw. Several western pines have seeds which play an im- portant part in the diet of the local Indians. Perha])S the best known of these is the fruit of the nut pine or pinon, which forms the basis for a local industry of some size. Not only is it extensively eaten by local settlers and Indians, but large quantities are shipped to the cities where the seed is roasted and sold on the street. The similar seed of the Parry pine and the large Digger ])ine seeds are eagerly sought by the Indians. The latter tree is said to have gained its name from its use as a food by the Digger Indians. The seeds of the longleaf pine are edible and are im- proved by roasting. Indeed, it may be said that most nuts are more digestible when roasted than if eaten raw. One of the best known fruits, the foresters sa}-, is the persimmon, which is edible only after it is thor- oughly ripe. As this is usually not until late in the fall, it is commonly thought that the fruit must be frostbitten. If the persimmon is eaten before it is well ripened, the tannic acid which the fruit contains has a strongly astringent eft'ect, wdiich justifies the story of the soldier in the Civil War who said he had eaten green persimmons so as to shrink his stomach up to fit his rations. The papaw, or custard apple, is also best when thoroughly ripe. The fruit of some species of haws is eaten or preserved in different parts of the country, while those of several different kinds of wild cherries have a food value and are used for various purposes. Wild plums are alnrndant in cer- tain sections and occur in particularly plentiful (juanti- ties along the streams in the Eastern and Middle Western States. Several varieties of wild crab apples make delicious jellies. Some of the largest, which attain the size of small apples, are more or less abundant throughout eastern North Carolina. Elderberries are frequently used for pies and for sauce. Those found in the Wes't are_ sweeter and have a better flavor than the eastern varieties. The berries of the hackberry, or sugar berry, as it is called in the South, are dr_v but have an agreeable taste. Those of the mulberry are sweet and juicy when ripe. The mulberry is valued in some sections for feeding hogs and poultry and some species are occa- sionally cultivated. Many people like the fruit of the shad bush, "sarvice" berry, or June berry, as it is variously called. In parts of the cixmtry this fruit is used to make jelly. The French Canadians are said to use the acid flowers of the redbud, or Judas tree, in salads, while the buds and tender pods are pickled in vinegar. Honey locust pods, often locally called "honey-shucks," contain a sweetish, thick, cheeselike pulp, which is often eaten. Those of the mesquite furnish the Mexicans and In- dians with a nutritious food. The Creoles of Louisiana, famous for their cookery, are reported to use the young buds of the sassafras as a substitute for okra. in 'thick- ening soups. WINTER FLOWERING BEGONIAS (Continued from pai;e 431.) Propagation. After resting the plants, put them in a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees, giving them an increase of water, still using great care. Then you will soon see growths appearing from the axils of the leaves. When they are about three inches long, you will find the most suitable cuttings. Take oft', inserting around small pots in a mixture of clear sharp sand and clean leaves of ef|ual ])arts. • Put in a case of above tenijierature, water with care, giving lots of ventilation so as to keep vour foliage as dry as possible, otherwise rust : when rooted pot on in small pots, after which give same potting and mixtures as laid down for imports. As to your old plants, after you have taken all the cuttings, you mav need, or if you would like to grow on after they begin to make root and growth, shake them out from the most of their old soil, potting them up as prescribed. In all cases it will be found necessary to stop or pinch back the growth to make them bushy, otherwise they will be very disappointing. I would also sa}- do not firm or vou reap the same disappointing result. .\rtiiur J.\cksox, Grove Points. ^lichigan. Of Interest to Estate Owners Th.' National Associatii-ii .if (ianlt-iU'ts maintains a S.-rvJoe Biin-au which i^; at the disposal of all who may require the services of efficient yiardeners in their various capacities. The association seeks the co-operation of estate own«ns in its efTorts to secure opportunities for those ens:nsecl in the prof^-ssicn of ;:anlen- ing who are seeking: to advance themselves. It makes no charge for services rendered. It endeavors to supply men (pialifii-d t<« assume the responsibilities the position may call for. Through this service the National .Association of f;anlfners arms to Iiiiim the Cnuntry n>tate Owner and the truly etticicut men enjiagcd in till- jm. Cession in closer relation to each other, that the interest'" In ornanientnl hnrticulture and itf greater development in tliis country may thereby be elevated. Make your requirements known to M. C. EBEL, Sec'y. National AssociativR of Gardeners, Madison, N. J. THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 435 Simplicity in Flower Arrangement SLMl'LlClTYinthc arrangement u f Howers is higlil\ essential if decorative effect is the aim. A few flowers simply and naturally arranged in a well selected vase, dish or bowl is more pleas- ing to the eye than a mass of blooms stuck carelessly into any- thing conveniently at hand which will hold water. Pottery manufactur- ers have responded to the demand for flower vessels which will per- mit of diversified ar- rangements simple in character, and the bet- ter stores in all cities now carry a line of dishes, bowls, vases, bud tubes and other vessels, in neutral col- ors, and in glass, and without design decoration. These articles may be had in grades of quality to suit every purse. -Much of this pottery and glass is "made ih America." and is quite as artistic as the imported. In the selection of a receptacle, the shape adopted should be the one best suited to holding the flowers in the position in which they naturally grow, as nearly as possible. It should have some characteristic in common with the ]ilant. but not such as to compete with it in any way. .\ lover of flowers recently remarked that she had one hundred and flftv-three flower vessels of different A small dish of Pafcr H'hitc Nar- cissus. The habit of .t;riwf/i of the subject is preserved and each flower stem is 'iiidi'i'idiialiccd. shajjcs and forms, and was desirous of addmg to her collection, .^he preferred to have a number of light ar- rangements of flowers rather than one or two heavy bunches in large vessels. We read very much nowadays of a so-called "Oriental" flower arrangement, but, really, the term "common sense" would cover the departure from the general plan of vase stuffing. The crowding of a lot of flowers into a \'ase might be excusable where a solid mass of flowers might be need for effect, but it could not be said that the eft'ect produced was pleasingly artistic. When cut flowers are arranged in a manner similar to that in which nattire arranges them, they are much more pleasing. Three or four flowers arranged in a flat bowl in such a manner that all the foliage on the stalks is visible, or, in the case of bare stems, added foliage is included sufficient to relieve bareness, create a natural appearance, even though the flowers, perhaps, did not grow that way. Small dish coiitaininr; three blooms of the iic-w rose Columbia. The dish is only seven inches in diameter. A low bozvl of Calendulas (Marigolds) in natural formation. The orange colored flowers make a splendid contrast zvith the different tints of blue in the bozi'l. The flowers should show a little difference in the length of the stems, to prevent straight line arrangement. If the arrangement is such that, in a case, say, where three flowers only are used, a triangular plan is visible, the eff'ect is much more artistic. Where many flowers are used, the same idea prevails ; in grouping, a triangular or pyramidal formation is tisually the best. Simplicity is very essential in making a centerpiece for a dinner table decoration. The best way to build a centerpiece is to make it in some kind of a low basket, using Bracken Ferns and Sphagnum moss, which are always obtainable at the florist's, for filling and lining. These are moistened, and provide a base for Roses or other flowers arranged in a natural way. In arranging the flowers it is often necessarj- to cut the stems, so that some flowers may be taller than others. Centerpieces may also be made with flowers all arranged in water, at very little expense, and the flowers will thus be as fresh 436 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA and pretty at the end of a function as at the beginning. Sweet Peas look well in a tall, straight tumbler. There is nothing better than a low bowl for Pansies and Violets. Lilies, Callas and the taller flowers require high vases to give them individuality. Color is the predominant feature in Pansies, Violets, Sweet Peas, Wallflowers, and the like, therefore, they may be massed. But Orchids, Lilies, Iris, and similar subjects should be arranged so that their form is accen- tuated ; massed arrangements do not suit them. Roses are adapted to almost any kind of treatment. They may be used singly in slender vases, in groups of three or more, each at a diflerent stage of opening, of course with foliage, and massed when at the fully open stage. A large vase of full-blown Roses presents a glory of color highly appropriate in the decorations at an im- portant function, such as a wedding, ball, or entertain- ment of large scope. Chrysanthemums are equally adaptable. Carnations are generally arranged with foliage other than their own, such as Asparagus and Ferns, and often with other light and small foliaged flowers, like Stevia and Gypsophila. Carnation foliage costs as much per stem as the flowers, for the reason that practically every stem cut means the loss of a flower to the grower. A well grown Carnation plant produces only sixteen to twenty flowers in its season of eight or nine months under glass. When there is a wide range of tone in flowers of one kind, a run, say, from white to red, and including pinks. the rh\ thm of color from light to dark should be apparent in the arrangement. Beauty of color, or beauty of form should be the dominant feature of all good flower arrangements. The Rounder. A /t);i' bowl i>! Kitlanu-y roses arranged for effect. Note the fezv roses required for an artistic display of this nature. Medicinal Plants and Herbs THE following report of a committee of the National Association of Gardeners, which has carefully in- vestigated the supply and demand for medicinal plants and herbs, furnishes some interesting information for those of our readers who have been misled by news- paper and magazine stories of a shortage and have been induced thereby to embark in the growing of these plants. The report follows : "You no doubt are aware of the reported shortage of medicinal plants and herbs and have read in the maga- zines and newspapers that these plants should be grown in large quantities by the farmer and amateur. "This need has been brought to our attention so often that we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for this association to assist in growing these plants on the private estates. "With this idea in view, we took the matter up with the American Red Cross, who thought so well of the same that they handed our letter to Major Victor C. Vaughan, of the Council of National Defense of the United States Government, and an appointment was ar- ranged for Mr. Struck, who went to Washington on November 19, and at a conference of representatives of the United States Government and Department of Agriculture, it was decided that it would be unwise to interest the estate owners and managers in the growing of medicinal plants at this time, as there were a number of commercial growers interested, who could supply the present demand of all plants for which seed was ob- tainable. "The matter has been ])laced in the hands of the com- mittee on Botanical Raw Products and this Committee is to find out the requirements of the War Department and then see if the commercial growers can produce this amount. "We think it would be a fine opportunity to bring our Association before the United States Government, and would suggest that our secretary write to Dr. W. W. Stockberger, of the Department of Agriculture, who is a member of the Committee on Botanical Raw Products, and oft'er the services of the members of the National Association of Gardeners in any way that they might be able to use same." Julius Roehr.s, Rutherford, N. J. J. Robertson, Oyster Bay, N. Y. George F. Struck, New York, N. Y. The following additional information was obtained from the Institute of Industrial Research, Washington, D. C. : "FIRST: Investigate very carefully the quoted figures relative to the money value of drugs, which can be grown at a given expense. The statements which I have heard are incorrect. "SECOND: Investigate carefully the price which may be obtained for finished product. The price which I have understood to be reported is incorrect. ]\Iost of the belladonna which has been sold this fall has brought about $1.25 per lb. "THIRD : In order to grow a sufficient quantity of marketable drug to make the operations commercially profitable it will be necessary to construct on each farm a drying house costing about $2,500. "FOLTRTH : The United States Governinent does not buy crude drugs. It only purchases finished medicines. "FIFTH : There are already a number of established growers of belladonna, henbane and digitalis. There is no famine in anv of these commodities and the growers already established can readily fiu'nished ony anticipated shortage but no anticipated shortage is likely." iiiiiiiititiiiiiiiiiiiiiii uiHiMuitiiNiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiMiiiiwiiiiiMWNUiimtitniiluiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKiimuiiiiiiuniiiiii uuiUUUUimuiuiiiuiiuiiiuiumiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[ttiiiiiiiMiiiiuuiittni[iH The Greenhouse, Month to Month By W. R. Fowkes, New York niiiiniiiiiinriiiiiiiiiiiittiMiiiiiiiinjiiiuiiiiiniiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiitiiiMNiiHiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiMiiiiiiii^^ THE New Year is at hand and the aroused garden ing spirit of last year has added pleasure to all who own or work in greenhouses, and many are much interested in the culture of the green vege- tables they now enjoy from their glass gardens. To- matoes are expanding their blossoms and should be jiollenized by shaking the wire at noon. The pollen is open and dry at this time, due care having been taken to keep moisture away from the blooms. Cucumbers should be fed each week with a light sprinkling of loam and Clay's fertilizer. There is nothing finer for these or any forced vegetables. The water for the plants should not be cold and although our college friends and enthusiasts maintain that using warm water is an old worn out remedy it is only for the grower himself to find out the fact's. Bitterness in cucumbers can usually be traced to the use of cold water, although the plants look as healthy as ever — but try the warmer water and it will repay. Quality in all things is what is required and it is worth a little extra pains to secure the best. Temperature should be now kept as low as possible with safety. Too high is productive of a weak growth which causes disease. Air slacked lime should be sprinkled under the benches. Azaleas and kindred plants should be watered with soot water each week and not syringed until after blooming. 'Mums will have to be started for large blooms, particularly late varieties. The sand should receive attention. If the sand is old and green, change it, but if it has only been used one season it will do all right, but first soak it with Fungine. This will destroy fungus germs and sweeten the sand for reception of the cuttings. Easter lilies that are fast making root should be top- dressed, using a little old cow manure, sand loam and warm water. The deciduous Calanthes should be placed in flats containing peat dust shaken from the osmunda fibre when repotting. Keep in a dry atmos- phere not lower than 60 degrees and they will be safe until starting time, which will show itself. Cattleya Labiator that flowered last fall and has had a rest should be shaken out and repotted. Cut dead roots awa\- and old bulbs. Place in clean, well-drained pots or pans, the latter preferably. Pot firmly, just leave space for a second growth at the side of the pot, other- wise as small a pot as possible should be used. Dendrobium Phalaenopsis will demand attention The new base growths are appearing; if potted last year they will need top-dressing with moss and char- coal and tie up the shoots and keep in a night tempera- ture not lower than 60 degrees. Do not overwater or allow drips to fall or you will lose them-; otherwise these autumn blooming plants so beautiful and useful are of easy culture. Cattleya Percivaliana is nicely in bloom and if any fail with this variety it is on account of growing it in too shady a position. It needs all the sun it can get and if the foliage is a little pale in color by fall, that is a sign of bloom to come ; if they are very deep green, they usually fail. Cattleya Speciossisima is a magnificent variety but unpopular because it does not adapt itself readily to a miscellaneous collection. This variety should be grown in shallow baskets and shaded by blinds and not white wash, and must only be shaded from direct burn- ing stmlight ; as soon as the sun is of? roll up the blinds and do not fail to keep up on dull days. This beautiful orchid will respond to this special treatment. I know from experience. Oncidium Varicosum Rog- ersii is a beautiful, easily grown plant and likes more bone meal. Spray for the aphis or valuable buds will shade than Cattleyas and succeeds on blocks of apple be lost; neglect of this is the direct cause of blind growths, sometimes attributed to unripened bulbs. Fumigating cannot reach them. The aphis is always to be found nestling away in the heart of the growth. It is said they will not live in healthy foliage, but be this as it may, they should never be allowed to for foliage will soon be rendered unhealthy if occupied by these common trespassers. Carnation cuttings should be started using part of a bench in the house they are growing in. Shade from bright sunlight and water each day and they will root nicely in three weeks. Then place in two-inch pots. Do not allow to ramble in the sand or their best roots will be destroyed and a valuable start lost. Sow lettuce, the variety called Mignonette ; it is compact and invaluable for early work and can be grown in flats three inches deep, if no bench room is available, in a temperature of 40 degrees at night. Don't neglect Fuchsias and Heliotrope that are wanted in quantity for bedding purposes. They do not root readily from hard wood, so cut back a few hard growths on old plants and place in the warmest house and the voung shoots which break forth will make mag- nificent cuttings and root successfully. The Helio- trope should never be allowed to get pot bound in the early stage or fungus will arrest its growth. Orchids of all descriptions should receive attention and be sponged frequently with a little Ivory soap and wood to which a little compost should be secured by fine wire. Use abundance of water. Be careful to keep slugs away for they are very partial to the young spikes that emerge from the base of the bulbs. Odontoglossums make roots during winter to flower in Ma_v and should be encouraged to grow in a cool, moist house. Night temperature during zero weather will be all right at 45 degrees, rising during the day with sun to 65 degrees. Now is a good time to purchase pot vines and three year old plants will do nicely. They should be started at 45 degrees, gently at first, and require little attention. Figs can also be added to the greenhouse list, for they are easily raised and should be potted in 12 inch pots in not too rich soil or an overaliundance of foliage will result. Cleanse the shoots of these, and vines, and I^eaches with Gishurst Compound : it will destroy the many enemies that harl)or on them at this season. Peaches in borders will start better if the shoots are subjected to an occasional freeze, but do not allow the roots to get frozen. Keep a little heat in the pipes and a good layer of straw on the borders and open the top ventilators a few inches. This will give rest and impart strength and renewed energy to the whole plant. Figure out the time to have Easter flowers in at the right season. Liliums Formosa and kindred plants will take ten weeks from the time the buds first appear in the stalk and they can be forced or retarded accordingly. 437 438 THE GARDENERS' CHROMCLE OF AMERICA THE POINSETTIA (THE CHRISTMAS FLOWER) 'TPilK comparatively simple culture ui the poiusettia adds to its popularity. The plants require a long- period of rest, being dried off for a period of 10-12 weeks. The old plants after flowering in January are placed on their sides in a temperature of 45-.^0^ 1^. and kept in a dormant condition until April or May. At this time they are shaken out of their old pots and re- potted into new rich soil. The plants are then cut back to sound wood and placed upon a sunny bench at a tem- perature of 60° ¥. Aided by frequent syringing the buds soon start at the top, and in 4 or .5 weeks the first crop of cuttings may be taken. W'hen this has been ac- complished the stock plants should be plunged outdoors, as the cuttings made from outdoor growth make better plants. The last cuttings should not be taken later than August, these forming satisfactory plants in small pans for table decoration at Christmas. The most common way of taking cuttings is to cut oft' a shoot 4-5 inches in length, with a heel of the older wood, care being taken to leave at least one bud at the base which will break and produce other cuttings. Some growers think that the cuttings root more readily and the milky juice is not wasted to such a large extent if at first the shoots are cut only half-way through and a day or two later severed from the parent plant. .\s the cuttings go into sand after the bottom heat is reduced, they must be well shaded and kept moist, especially upon hot days. By this method they will root in about 3 weeks. Sometimes the cuttings are potted singly in 23^-inch pots of sand with a little sphagnum moss at the bottom for the roots to grip. These pots should be placed in a tight case, shaded, and kept at a temperature of 65° F. As soon as rooted the cuttings are potted into 33/2-inch pots, using a mixture of equal parts of loam, leaf mold, and sand. For the first few daxs until the plants become established they should be shaded and kept moist by frequent syringing, .\fter that, full sun- light and plenty of fresh air are required. In general, the temperature should never go below 50° F. at night, and as soon as plants begin to show color it should be raised to 60-70° F. When the bracts and flowers have developed properly the temperature should be decreased gradually to harden the plants oft' and thus increase their lasting qualities. For the final potting the plants are shifted from SjS-inch to 6-inch pots, using a mixture of 3 parts good loam and 1 part cow- manure or % sheep manure. The young plants should be fed with liquid manure once a week until the flowers appear. In the event of their becoming too tall during the summer months the stems are ringed within 6-7 inches of the top about the end of August. They should be cut half- way through at first and left for a couple of weeks until a callus is formed. The shoots may then be severed, potted into 3-inch pots in a mixture of sand and loam, and kept in a close case until well rooted. The subse- quent treatment is the same as that previously described for cuttings. Often much of the beauty of the poinsettia is lost bv allowing the handsome green foliage to become vellow and droo]5ing. This state may be caused by too low a temperature, drought, starvation at the roots — either because of poor soi' or lack of root room, — or disturb- ance of the roots by late ]50tting. This last is one of the commonest troubles, as the plants cannot endure to have their roots disturbed when near the flowering period. Due to the acrid milky juice contained in the plants, insect pests are comparatively few. The mealy bug and the green fly may be eradicated by syringing and tobacco fumigation. The white fly use of hvdrocvanic gas,' may be exterminated by the THE ART 6f FLORICULTURE By W. A. Monard, Texas. 'TpHK cultivation of plants for the sake of their beautiful flowers, and other attractions, has from the earliest ages received attention wherever civilization has made some jirogress. Floriculture as an art, however, is so su.sceptible to irifluence of climate, soil, heat, cold, and other conditions, that notwithstanding what it may claim, anything like general progress in all lands has been im- peded by this very fact. Whatever knowledge might have been gained in the art tluring one age in one country, when a])]5lied to another, is found to be jiractically useful only to the extent in which it finds a state of adaptability in the other. Hence it may be said that in each nation the practice of floriculture is peculiar and different from that of every other nation. The cultivation of plants and flowers has only of late years received any great degree of attention, and since a general manifestation of interest in floriculture by the masses of people has been apjjarent. but from a per- ceptible awakening about that time has been a continual and ra])id increase tuitil now, when we find nearly every- body devoting more or less attention to the culture of flowers. Gardeners, it is our duty to encourage floriculture and teach the obstacles which tend to cause failure and discouragement and to jirove an interest in every plant that is ctiltivated. The gardeners, like the new beginners, must expect to meet some little diiifictilties atid drawbacks, by impropitious weather, or other causes, always attending floriculture operations. In these the young gardeners, who have a love for the work and its fruits, should find no cause to be discouraged. The most skillful gardener has always something to learn, and mistakes will be made, but you will be wiser for them and the better ijrepared for future emergerjcies. .Success, gained at the expense of slight failures and inconveniences, will be enjoyed the more for them afterwards. After each succeeding season's experi- ence you will see the safety of striking out more boldly in purchases and plans, and each year will place you higlier up that scale of |)erfection to which every culti- vator of flowers aspires. -COLUMBIA." A beau- tiful light pink rose, welt ivorthy of its name, and ill form equal to that of the best varieties pro- duced. It is a seedling resulting from a cross betiveeyi the roses Mrs. George S hawy e r and Ophelia. Both of these varieties are well known as leaders among our all- the-ycar round roses and it is not surprising that their offspring should have quality. It is a vig- orous grower, throwing long, stout-stemmed iloiv- ers, which bring it into the "big rose" class. Its color is a clear pink, it.'ith center flushed deeper. llllllllllllllllllllllllllllHIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIttllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllliy^ Rose Novelties of 1917 -EVELYN." An Ophelia sport with the Ophelia characteristics of gro'Mth. but zvith better color — a more pronounced shade of salmon with soft pink shadings toward the center and zi'ith increased petalage, the flowers az'craging 50 petals of good substance. In grozi'th it is somewhat stronger than Ophelia and carries more foliage. It produces better iion'crs at all seasons than Ophelia does. -MRS. HE.XRY UIXXETT." A seedling from Mrs. Geo. .Shawyer and Mrs. Charles Russell. Its color is a bright shade of crimson, not so dark as Hadley nor so light as Richmond. The habit of the plant is e.rcel- lent, not unlike that of Mrs. Shawyer, but harder in foliage and not inclined to mildezc or to produce blind Hood. It is an easy rose to handle and a fine producer. "MRS. BELMONT TIFFANY." Best described as a glorified Sunburst with longer and more pointed buds. The color is a delicate shade of pink, suffused ztnth deep oraniie, a more striking color than Sunburst. -OI'lUiLlA SCl'REME." A sport from Ophelia, possessing all the fine characteristics of its parent. Its petalagc is heavier and its habit of groztih somewhat more vigorous. Its color is a beautiful blush pink, con- trasting icell with the color of Ophelia, wliicli has never appeared to have a settled color, passing us piuk. yellow, or zohitc in its different stages. llllHllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllttllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllU^ 439 iiiiiiiliiiiiMliiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii:iiihiii»iii:iiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiili 440 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. Published by THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. Office of Publication 286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor. EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS Subscription Price, 12 Months, $L50 Foreign, $2.00 Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published on the 15th of each month. Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All editorial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. Vol. XXI December, 1917 No. 12 VOLUNTEER PLANTS O EGARDLESS of riparian rights, volunteer plants, from self-sown seeds, have taken possession of the Gulf coast, "some in rags, some in tags, and some in velvet gowns," writes Mrs. G. T. Drennan in Tlie American BotiDiist. They have virtually established an experiment station. One lesson they teach is that many flowers considered delicate and requiring special care are hardy. Some of them do as well, others much better, than when grown from fresh, selected seeds and given the most approved modes of culture under the best environment. The Shasta Daisy is a shining example. This is simply Burbank's greatly improved form of the iron-clad type, Chrysanthcvium Leitcanthemnin, the common ox-eye daisy, one of the farmer's pests. It self-sows its seeds which the Gulf breezes blow hither and yon. Seedling plants follow. The Transvaal or African daisy, introduced here since the Boer war, has established itself in blazing orange- yellow with the profusion it exhibits on its native veldt. It has spread beyond the confines of culture everywhere, from the gardens of its first occupancy. For brilliant dis- play it exceeds any flower of equal delicacy I have ever known and is fine for parks. The Gaillardia or blanket flower, conspicuous for its broad rays of brownish-crimson and bright yellow, and its velvety-purple cushion-like disk, has spread from self- sown seed, naturalized itself and makes the coast gay with its blossoms from spring till winter. The Coreopsis or Calliopsis in bright yellow, copper, bronze, and brown, blooms incessantly, a free lance among grasses, reeds, ferns, and weeds. Its charming peculiarity is that its stems are tall, strong and wiry. The foliage is close to the ground, so the flowers seem to be floating upon the air. Its type is the despised "tick- weed" of the woods, a weed with nothing in its favor except that it is the progenitor of the six varieties of coreopsis, beautiful garden flowers. No matter where your garden stands, north or south, from one paper of seed, sown fall or spring, these plants bloom the first season, self-sow and spread in volunteer ranks, year after year, perpetually. No need to sow fresh seed every year ; they do that themselves. Under self propagation, however, some of our most beautiful flowers rapidly degenerate. They demand in- tensive culture. Pansies are prolific seed bearers and vol- unteer plants are numerous, but left to nature, without cultivation, they invariably revert to the type Viola tricolor, with both plant and flower diminutive. Portu^ laca, of most gorgeous oriental colors, will degenerate to the semblance of its type, the common purslane, with flowers no larger than a little pearl button and stems, bare of leaves, that look like earth worms ; the flowers pale pink and yellow exactly like those of the "pigweed" purslane. Phlox Driiminondi, a native of the Texas prairies, answers the call of the wild in prodigious num- bers of volunteer plants. From highly improved strains of all the colors of pink, rose, crimson, lavender, and pure white, the self-sown seedlings produce perfect flowers the first year. After that, every year shows degeneracy. The blooms get small, the foliage shabby, and the colors are confined to the pink and red of the type. The Mexican poppy self-sows its seeds, volunteers in hosts, and, unlike all other poppies, blooms from June to the close of November. Silvery white, with golden anthers and sinuate-lobed glaucus foliage, the flowers are enchanting. This Alexican species grows in pure sand on the beach where the sun is unobstructed. Also it volunteers, higher up, on land more fertile and solid; al- ways in the sun ; never in the shade. THE IRIS BORER— (MACRONOCTUA ONUSTA) Editor G.vRDENERs' Chronicle: rOR fear nobody else sends you informating regarding the iris pest mentioned in your November number, I add the following notes concerning it. The insect re- ferred to is the iris borer {Macronoctua onusta). It appears to have originally lived on wild species of iris in the Eastern States, but it is now found as far west as Chicago. The mature insect appears late in the season and flies at dusk. It lays its eggs at the base of the iris leaves and winters over in this stage. When Spring comes the eggs hatch and the larvae bore down through the young leaves to the rootstock, where the rest of their larval life is passed. Your correspondent is correct in assuming that some arsenate sprayed on the plants early in Spring is likely to get the insects, but the great diffi- culty in this is in getting the poison to stick to the wax- covered foliage. It usually rolls off like water from a duck's back. Entomologists who specialize in the borers have discovered that a region that has recently been burned over seldom harbors borers of any kind, and these gentlemen suggest that burning over the iris beds early in Spring may put an end to all the pests. Possibly a light covering of weeds and grass-stems over the iris might be fired without injuring the plants, but I have not tried it. The same species of borer has been found inhabiting the blackberry lily and since it appears to be a rather recent introduction, it is quite likely that it may find still other host plants. There is a suspicion that it finds a home in the tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke, also. Yours truly, WiLLARD N. ClUTE, Editor American Botanist. Joliet, III, November 24, 1917. Lilies and Their Culture I.\ a jiartially shady aspect among shrubs, whether I>eaty or loamy, lilies find a congenial soil, and what is most important, shade from a scorching sun. If planted on a slope, and well supplied at the roots with moisture, they will, when the shrubbery blooms are over, astonish and delight their owner with stout, vigorous stems, fine large, well colored flowers, and glossy foliage, writes B. C. Tillett in Canadian Florist. There is another point in their favor, from a decorr.tive point 01 view. 1 h...., is nothing more beau- tiful than a pot of well-grown lilies, whether it be Aura- tum with its massive fragrant flowers, Longiforum with its long trumpet-like blooms, or Speciosum, one of the loveliest of all. It is not neces- sary that these be grown from the be- ginning in pots ; trou- ble and labor may be spared by carefully lifting the plants from the border just when coming into flower, dropping them into a good-sized pot. Care must be taken that no injury be done to the upper roots, that they be well watered and placed in the shade for a ' day or two. Their blooms will open a little later on, without detriment to the bulb, and all their charms may be displayed when and where re- quired. Speciosum, longiflorum and Candidum do well in light soils. Auratum and the Tiger fam- ilies will not do so well in light soils and hot [ burning sunshine, because they require more moisture. They will do well in heavy loam, where they will develop large roots and make good new growth. Giganteum and Lestaceum [_ also require heavy soils. A lily bulb ought never to be dry, except, per- haps, when it has just flowered and the stems are dyin ; down. The roots are then inactive. Even in midwinter, if a lily bulb were dug up, its roots will be found to be full of vigor. If a lily is doing well it ought never to be disturbed. Never let it be out of the ground longer than necessary, and never let it be dry. All our experi- ence goes to show that lilies thrive best in pure fresh air, with a moderate share of sunlight, and with a moist, cool border for their roots. If the special advantage of forcing lilies into bloom before their season is excepted, the great advantage of pot culture is that the plants may be shifted from one jjlace to another, either into winter gardens, halls, draw- ing rooms or wherever they may be wanted for decora- tion. If taken up when just coming into bloom and carefully potted into a large pot already crocked and with some rough cocoa-fibre at the bottom, your lily is ready to be shifted when you like. Stand it for 24 hours in a shady place. It may then be placed in simshine Liliiiiu Sl^cciosKin, Album without being harmed. Lilies treated in this way must be freely watered. In planting lilies, the btdbs should be placed at least four mches deep — in light soils six inches is not too much. Let the bulbs be twelve inches apart so that the plants have plent\- of room to display their beauty, especiullN the larger kinds. In mnist soils, lilies will grow well under trees or in shrubberies, but if roots of uther plants rob the ground of its moisture the lilies wdl lie stunted in growth and disappointing. Do not plant in wet or frosty weather. In wet soils, plant the bulbs on their sides. This will prevent the moisture from rotting them. L'nder and over the bulbs a little sharp sand may le placed. This will aid drainage, which is most important. After covering with about three inches of soil, mulch the bed with an inch or two of half decayed manure. It is not advisable that any manure be dug into the soil when planting, and some growers do not advocate the use of manure at any season. Liquid manure may, however, be freely applied during the growing season and until the flowers appear. It should then be discontinued. ■] It is a good plan I to cover all lilv beds - with a good layer of leaves from the woods. These may be put over the bulbs in the fall to the depth of a foot to keep the frost out and allowed to remain on the soil through the summer to keep it in a cool and humid state. This plan of shading the soil will be f o u n d most successful in ])reserving the bulbs, both against the in- tense heat of the summer months and the severe frosts of winter. Liliiiiii Speciosum, magnificum LILIES T ILILS have always been looked upon as amongst the nobles of garden plants. Their conspicuous flowers, striking colors, and their stately forms appeal strongly to the eye and to the imagination as well. They are among the good old-fashioned plants which frequently and justly come newly into vogue. Lilies arc less understood and less discriminately appreciated than almost any other plant of prominence. The Tiger lily is a favorite and old fashioned flower, to be found in many of the most homely and unpretentious gjflrdens. Now and then one finds a good group of the Madonna lily, very rarely a cluster of the beautiful little Cora! lily, and sometimes the land- scape gardeners furnish free-handed clients with masses of the Gold Banded lily in the shrubbery borders. But aside from these, no lilies can at present, be classed as real favorites of the American people, while dozens of magnificent kinds are practically unknown. Here is the chp.nce to make the garden most artistic and charming. 442 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA WATERING GREENHOUSE VEGETABLES TpHE proper use of water on vegetables under glass is one of the most important factors which the grower has to consider, writes E. F. Stoddard in Flo- rists' Excliaiiij^c. Water is a plant food and also acts as a carrier of plant food in the soil and plant. Plant food m the soil must be in solution before it is available. Most vegetables contain from 85 to 95 per cent, water. This does not mean that the soil should be kept wet all the time to encourage the best growth. Too much water causes as much damage as not enough water. It also makes the plants grow too fast and they grow weak and spindling and are more susceptible to attacks from insects and diseases. There is no definite rule as to the amount of water to apply. A great deal depends upon the kind of soil, crop temperatures, season of the year, and whether the weather is clear or cloudj'. The soil on raised benches dries out quite rapidly and the crop may need watering from one to three times a day oh warm, sunsniny days. Ground beds are more satisfactory, because they do not dry out as rapidly as raised benches, and the growth of the plants is more uniform, since the moisture supply is more con- stant. The color of the plant will often show whether or not the plants need more water. Plants that receive too much water will be light green in color, while plants do not evaporate all the water which they color. The crop should make a steady growth. The soil should be distinctly moist but not wet. Heavy soils are injured easily by turning a heavy forceful stream down on the soil. When such soils are watered with a hose, it is best to use a gentle stream and to hold the hose down rather close to the soil. It is best to water lightly at first, going from one end of the bed to the other, and wait a few mm- utes until it has gone down into the soil. Watering should be done thoroughly so that water goes down beyond the depth of the roots. It is the water that comes up, or the capillary water which does the most good to the plants. The best time to do the watering is in the morning, while the temperatures are rising. The leaves of the plants that need water become quite dark green in provides favorable conditions for diseases. Some burning of the leaves may result when a crop is watered in the middle of a hot day, unless the water- ing is done between the rows. Very little or no water should be applied during cloudy weather. The plants should not go into the night, wet, because this take up during cloudy weather, and there is a danger of injuring the leaves when the sun comes out again if too much water has been applied. Every grower must stud)' his conditions and use his best judgment about waterinsf. flowers like carnations, but they have one fault^the water in them becomes warm very (juickly, and this warmth is transmitted to the flowers, causing them to wilt. The water in vases of this kind should be changed twice a day. ]\Iost flowers last longer if half an inch is cut from the stems every day. This cutting should always be done with a sharp knife. It is well enough to use clippers in the garden for convenience, but they have a tendency to squeeze the stems together, thus reducing the amount of water which can be taken up. A diagonal cut with a knife has just the opposite effect. It is especially im- portant to have a slanting cut if the stems are to rest on the bottom of the holder, for otherwise they will be sealed by this contact. Pa?onies should be cut when the buds are only half open, for then they will last longer. It is not uncommon for florists to keep them in cold storage for a month. The irises keep their color better when allowed to un- fold in the house. If morning glory buds are cut very early and placed in a bowl on the breakfast table, their their unfolding can be witnessed while the meal is in progress, making a pleasant day's beginning. Although poppies are not usually considered available for cutting, they will last fairly well if the stems are singed until black in a candle flame. Roses received in a wilted condition can be revived by placing the stems in very hot water. The best way to rob violets of their perfume is to place them in an open vase of water. The fragrance will be retained if the vase is covered with a piece of tissue paper, but the violets will keep equally well if simply wrapped in damp paper and laid in a cool place. As a matter of fact, they take their moisture through their petals and nothing is gained by inserting the stems in water. This applies also to orchids. Dahlias will usually keep fresh several days if the stems are thrust into water as hot as the hand can bear and left there until the water cools, then being placed in their regular holders. Of course, the leaves must be stripjied from the stem before this is done. The foliage shotild always be removed from the lower part of all flower stems or it will foul the water in the vases. — ExcJiavgc. SOME CUT FLOWER SUGGESTIONS T F cut flowers are squeezed into a vase so tightly that the air is excluded they will be smothered to death. That is the reason why many bouquets do not last as long as they should. A wide-mouthed vase is the best kind to use because it admits oxygen in plenty. Tall, slender vases are very attractive for long-stemmed THE FUEL VALUE OF WOOD TT is pointed out, however, that heat value is not the only test of usefulness in fuel wood and since 95 per cent of all wood used for fuel is consumed for domestic purposes, largely in farm houses, such fac- tors as rapidity of burning and ease of lighting are important. Each section of the country has its favored woods and these are said to be. in general, the right ones to use. Hickory, of the non-resinous woods, has the highest fuel value per unit volume of wood, and has other advantages. It burns evenly, and, as housewives say, holds the heat. The oaks come next, followed by beech, birch, and maple. The white pines have relativelj' low heat value per unit volume, but have other advantages. They ignite readily and give out a quick hot flame, but one that soon dies down. This makes them favorites with rural housekeepers as a stimmer wood, because they are particularly adapted for hot days in the kitchen. The same is true of gray birch, or "white birch," as it is often called, in the regions in which it abounds. With the resinous pines a drawback is their oilv black smoke. The Future of Flower Gardening in America By David Burpee, •■• Pennsylvania WITH us nil it i> the same — Our "hindsight" is better than 'jur foresight — we can read the past more clearlv than the future. Xeverthless, by the study of the past and the present tendencies of prog- ress, we can to some extent predict what those tendencies will bring forth in the years to come. There are two imi)ortant phases to the development of spect seed crops with my father. We traveled through England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, France and Ger- many and got out into the Rural Districts of each country. I was greatly impressed that in every little town the homes were surrounded, not by the lawns that one finds in .\merica, but wherever space permitted there was a flower garden. Rambler Roses, \\^istaria, or other :limbers were to be found over the doorways, and on the flower gardening which I want to emphasize. We might ^mall plots of ground either side of the little path leading to the house were old familiar flowers. It is needless to call them the Practical and the Popular. By the practical side of flower gardening I mean the development of ac- tual gardening itself — the science and the art of garden- ing, not only the improvement in methods of culture, but also the development of new and improved types of flow-ers and ornamental plants. The development of the art of flower gardening through the ages past has fol- lowed closely the development of the human race itself. As mankind has become more civilized and more refined, as we have gotten away more and more from the cave- man stage, the aesthetic side of our nature has developed and our spirit has cried out more and more for that which is beautiful. It is this ever increasing desire for the delicate beauty expressed only by flowers that has justified and has even compelled the development of flower gardening to its present stage. I believe, therefore, that the popular side of flower gardening is more important than the practical — the de.-^ire for the beautiful is more fundamental than the means by which we may obtain it. It would be ridiculous to suppose that [)rogress could be made in any line of endeavor without first having kindled the fire of desire. In years past great mystery surrounded the work of the [jrofessional gardener. He had gotten his experience through long years of hard knocks and he was loath to tell the amateur the whys and wherefores of his art. The |)ractical side of flower gardening was left almost entirely in the hands of the professional. But as the desire on the part of the amateur became greater and greater, he began to delve more and more into the mysteries of flower gardening. Some professionals seemed to think that this would work hardships on them, but in reality it has broadened the field for their pro- fession. This general tendency towards the growing of flowers should be encouraged by all. It is merely the expression of a great desire on the part of the human race which must be met and it grows stronger year by year. It is like a snowball that starts to roll at the top of a hill and grows greater the further it rolls. There is a cumulative effect. The more we grow flowers the more demand there will be for flowers and the more demand there will be for the service of the professional flower gardener. And as this desire for the beautiful grows greater, the niunber of flower gardens throughout the country will increase until the supi)ly meets the demand. But that will be a long distance in the future, and I even question if the supply will ever equal the demand, for there must always be more ]ieople who would like to have flower gardens around their homes than there are those who actually have them, ^^'ho was it that said, "Every Garden Mean.s a Home"? I might go further and say, "Surelv every Flower Garden mean a happy home." Nine or ten vears ago I first went to Europe to in- *Extracts from a paper presented at the convi-ntion of tlie Xatioiial sociation of Gardeners, Chicago. say that this warmth and beauty about the homes has added much to the happiness and contentment of the national life. In .America, and all new countries, we have been so busy developing our national resources and material wealth that we have neglected some of these finer things that we are now learning more to appreciate. Flower Gardening in America has not yet reached its normal level. The people of America are just beginning to awaken to the advantages and charm of the flower garden. So in the future we can e.xpect to see far greater prog- ress made in flower gardening in America than in any European country. Because of the abnormal conditions existing today flower gardening has received a severe shock. But the desire for flowers persists perhaps eveii more strongly than ever before. It is actual necessity that prevents many people today from surroimding their homes with the uplifting and refining influence of flowers. Never was there such need in the world for the influence of the delicate beauty which is produced only in the flower garden! We who have made gardening our life work should now do all we can to gladden the hearts of the sick. Yes, because of the waste of war actual flower gardening has suffered — but when peace comes and the pendulum again swings the other way, flower gardening will find that it has even a greater place in the sun — Flower Gardening in America has indeed a glorious future. STORAGE OF POTATOES AND OTHER VEGETABLES (Continued from page 43J.) Additional layers can be built up each day until the bins are filled to a depth of from 5 to 7 feet. Where entire bins are filled at one time it is difficult and often impos- sible to reduce the temperature to the proper point soon enough. While thousands of bushels of potatoes are annually stored in pits, experience has demonstrated that the prac- tice should be avoided wherever it is possible. Pits are not desirable, economical, nor permanent. Moisture and temperature cannot be controlled in them. The nits are not accessible for supplies for the home table or for the market in severe weather. The air space over the vege- tables is not sufficient to permit the escape of foul air, heat, or moisture. Perfect ventilation is always lacking. The pits have to be constructed annually, and cannot be utilized to sort or sack potatoes for shipment. Seed potatoes cannot be stored in pits. Owing to ina- bility to control ventilation, moisture, and tenijierature. disease is developed and vitalit}' and germination weakened. Do not store vegetables under living rooms in the homes. It is unhealthful and insanitary and the wastage is usualK ureat. 443 444 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 2IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII iiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiuiiiiiiniiiiuiniiiiiin iiminiiiiiiiu iiiiiiiiiiig National Association of Gardeners I Thomas W. Head, President, Lake Forest, III. James Stuart, Treasurer, Mamaronetk, N. Y. | I Theo. Wirth, Vice-President, Minneapolis, Minn. Martin C. Ebel, Secretary, Madison, N. J. | I Trustees for igiy \ I William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. Huss, Hartford, Conn.; Peter Duff, Orange, N. J.; William Turner, Oceanic, N. J.; | i William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J. | I Directors | I (To serve until 1918)— William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; Edward Kirl;, Bar Harbor, Me.; John F. Johnson, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Carl .M. | I Fohn Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas Proctor. Lenox, Mass.; Joseph Tansey, Tuxedo Park, N. Y. ; Robert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio. | i (To serve until 1919)— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y.; Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; | I John Canning, Ardsley, N. Y.; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Fraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C. : (To | i serve until 1920)— William N Craig, Brookline, Mass.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.; William Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal.; William Gray, g I Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, West End, N. J.; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Albin Martini, Lake Geneva, Wis. | 1,^1 Hiiiiiiiniiuinn ttiiuiiiiii iiiiii m u ninni m n>""> < "' "> i"i"'"ii><"> iiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiim iiiiii miniiii iiiiiii Miiiinii iiiiniimii itiiiiiini'iiiiiiiii..iiiiiii 1^ A SUMMARY OF THE CONVENTION EVENTS. Officers elected for 1918: President, liuliert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio; vice-president, P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck, N. Y.; treasurer, Ernest Guter, Pittsbnrgh, Pa.; secretary, Martin C. Ebel, Madi- son, X. J. Next meeting place,— Cleveland, Ohio. First week in October. Tuesday forenoon — Registration of members. Executive meet- ins of Trustees and Board of Directors. Tuesday afternoon — Opening of Convention. Philip J. Foley, temporary chairman.— Address of Welcome by President Henry R. Rathb'one. Association of Commerce of Chicago.— Response by President Thomas W. Head, National Association of Gardeners. — President's address. Reports of secretary, treasurer, standing and special eommittces.- -Motion enthusiastically carried to in- vest part of treasury funds in the next T^iberty Loan Bond call. — Recommendations of National Co-operative Committee adojitcd. — Special committee a|>pniiited to consider Service P.ureau rejidrt, — Recommendation of Committee on Revision of By-Laws adopted with additional amendments.— Annual dues increased to three dol- lars—A class of sustaining members, consisting of country eslate owners, created, dues ten dollars annually. Tuesday evening — Banquet. Glass Palace, Sherman Hotel. Wednesday forenoon — Flection of officers. — Visit to Union Stock Yards and Hiternatiimal Live Stock Show.— Guests of .T_. Ogden Armour at luncheon, en route to Lake Forest, HI. — Visit to .J. (I^den Armour's, Cyrus H. McCormick's and other estates. — Patriotic meeting. North Shore Horticultural Society, Lake Forest, 111. Wednesday evening — Illustrated lectures. Hotel Sherman, in co-operation with the Chicago Tritiunc. to which the general public was invited.— Lectures by Dr. R. J. H. De Loach, "Birds and the Orchards''; George H. Pring, "The Botanic Gardens of Kew, Eng- land." Thursday forenoon — General discussions.^Recommcndations of special committee on Service Bureau, to increase its scope, adopted. — Lecture by Prof. II. B. Dorner, of the University of Illinois, on "What the Universities Are Doing for Floriculture.'' — Address by M. L. Davey, on "Organized Co-operation." — Report of Committee on Final Resolutions.— Guests of Philip .1. Foley, luncheon at the College Inn. — Adjournment. Before adjourning President Head called on the attendants at the convention to join in a few moments of silent communion with God, for the ])reservation of our flag, the Stars and Strijies, for the proteetiun nf tlie President of our country and his aids, who are guiding t)ic activities of our nation in this world-wide war, and. last but not least, for our y^oung men who have gone and arc going forth ready to sacrifice their lives for our cause. OPENING OF THE CONVENTION. The seventh annual convention of the National Association of Gardeners was called to order by Mr. Philip Foley, acting as temporary chairman, who introduced Mr. Henry R. Rathbone of Association of Commerce of Cliicago. Mr. Rathbone, in his address of welcome, said in part: It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome you here to Chicago. We appreciate fully the sjdendid work you are doing. We appreciate the strength and usefulness of your organization. . . . We as a people are enmiug more and more to realize the great truth that utility is not everything. You must add to utility a touch of real beauty. A thing of beauty is a joy fcircver. You appreciate that. -And yo\ir work is just as much dealing with the beautiful and the ideal in life as the work of the painter, or the sculptor, or the artist, or the nmsician, and you are sujiplying a much-needed want in the lives of the great -American people today. But after all there is something else, and even more important, that you can do. and that I hope you are impressed with (he desire to do. This world is passing through one of the greatest crises of its history. Humanity is suffering, laboring, struggling on- Avard to something that we hope will be yet better in the great future. Today the food products are needed as they scarcely ever liave been before. Whole nations are on the verge of starvation; the cry is for conservation of our food. The world is looking more and more to our Western Hemisphere to supply it with the sustenance of hunninity everywhere. Bearing this in mind, I know there is a very useful and necessary work that those who are interested in gardening can carry on. I know that you have tliat in mind. We have found the situation and we have learned the lesson that the old haphazard methods of cultivation will hardly do. Agriculture must be largely reformed. Heretofore we have been ilealing with extensive cultivation. Scratch the soil in a large sort of way and go on has been our policy. Now-, we have got to (leal with scientific, careful, painstaking intensive cultivation.' That is a work you can help us in and a work in which yon can be the leaders. The time may come when the cultivators of the small kitchen gardens of America will be looked upon as the salvation of this world. (Ine more thought. You meet here today, as I understand it, from the four corners of our great country. What a wonderful country it is! -And yet we are all one great people. The men of the East and the men of the West and the men of the North and the men of the South, they all join here as fellow citizens. That is a great feeling: we must always bear that in mind. It is well to bear in mini', at such a time as this. Our flag stands for all of our country: and we meet liere. not as enemies, but as friends, as brothers, as men who are interested in a great cause, ami working together for the betterment of liumanity. Chicago is ready to welcome you with true hospitalit.v, with a spirit of kindness and good will. We are glad to see you here; we hope you will enjoy your visit. We hope you will be delighted with otn" liospitalit.v, and we wish to encourage you in every possible way in your splendid work, and hope that it will be crowned \\-ith success. Mr. Fidey, after res])onding to ;\rr. Ratlibune's address of wel- come, in substance said: ft becomes my pleasure to introduce a man who needs no introduction; a man whom you all know. He is at the head of the list. Head by name and head liy election. With great ]ileasnre T introduce to any one of you who have never met him before. Thomas W. Head, the iiresident of our association -After welcoming the members to the cojivention ilr. Head read ills address, which follows; PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL MESSAGE. .Inst a year ago we met in Washington, where I was elected your president, but since that time I have been unable to attend any of the committee meetings owing to local conditions, al- thougli I have been in toucli with our able secretary, Mr. Ebel, and kept posted on what was being done by my fellow-members towards the betterment of our profession. I cannot lielj) but first refer to the assemblage here which have come such a great distance to the leading city of the West, evidently all loyal Americans, all looking to that one thought of this great struggle, and that is to win— also standing by our President in all we can do to help this country bring about the satisfactory termination of this world-wiib' struggle, and knowing as we do that all conventions are handicapped to a cer- tain extent by these circumstances, especially when you realize the number of men who are now called to the colors from our ranks. It is, indeed, very encouraging to see so many loyal and true men here at this meeting, and I can assure you I know your time while here will be well sjient. and you will go from this great city of ours with tlie feebng t"ia* tli • West is the place 44.^ 446 THE GARDE^ERS^ CHRONICLE OF AMERICA to j;o lo meet with hospitality so typii-al of tlie Westeniei-, and. fiiithcniiore, while it is one of the greatest cities lor agrieulture and horticiiltiire, yet we are not content with knowing tliis, but we are all tlie time trying to devise ways and means to improve the gardener's jiosition and standing in the comnumity. The organization ha> not increased in membership as fast as I -woukl like to see it, and I think it is partly due to the fact of its olliiers and members in not emphasizing the objects of this national body. Our local societies are doing good work, ami with their co-operation we are bound to improve the gardener's stand- ing in tlie community. We have a lot of work to do. and shoulil always be on the alert to co-opeiate in all movements where we can expect to help our fellow men. The gardener of today is a dill'erent man from the type that was considered a gardener fifteen or twenty years ago, and every year his duties are be- coming more inanitold and he himself is the man to educate his employer, and we as a society to educate him and help him in all his problems, so that by co-operation we can and are now doing it — that is, improving his position. At this tinie it miglit be just as well to mention that, owing to the large number of young men having joined the colors, and who are now in various camps, it was only natural to suppose that our annual gathering would not be as well attended as it would have lieen, but you can rest assured that while we arc doing our good work here, our boys are doing equally as good work, and better, by showing their loyalty in the manner they have, and we wish them (Godspeed, and hope to see them all back in our ranks again at the termination of our great struggle. "Three cheers for the boys at the front." The growth of the association in member--.liip has been g(jod considering tiie adverse conditions we are now facing. The financial strength will he disclosed in the reports to follow at this meeting, which also must be weighed against the adverse conditions. I wish to urge a greater unity among the gardening profession, especially amongst the local organizations, so that we can by this unity gain for the profession a greater and better recogni- tion of the same which is justly entitled to this hard working class of men. There has been some advance made toward a co-operative move- ment, and [ trust favorable action will be taken on the report of the National Co-operative Committee. 1 wouUl suggest at this time that our secretary keep in close touch with all local societies, and where invited to appear before them in an advisory capacity. This should be one of his duties. As the National Association of Oardcners is not sufficiently strong financially to stand the traveling expense if frefpient, I think the expense should be borne by the local society inviting. The secretary could write to the nearest director, and. if possible, get him to go and do his best, and all this will add towards cenu'uting a greater co-operative spirit. T also wish to recommend to you a matter of great importance, ami that is, the use of our Service Bureau. I would like con- sideration ami action be given at this nu'eting to the needs of this bureau so as to establish it on a moie solid foundation. This matter will be explaiiu'd to you in a report by yoiu' secretary, and I sincerely hope you will see the importance of immediate action to get best ri'sults. At otir last convention in Washington it was jiroposed to raise the dues from $2 to .^;! to enable the association to -pread its field of activity, which the present dues will not iiermit. I think this matter should lie g(MU' into at this meeting, as this matter was left over from oiu' last convention to be taken up at some future date. There is a great Held for us to rover yet. and I wouM urge all of > ou to do all >'ou ran to increase our mem!ie!>hip and impress u])on them the importance of this association to the gardener, as he is partly a traveling man and goes wherever the best induce- ments are given him. and therefore the National Association of Oardeners ought to be uppermost in tlieir minds, knowing that they are to be beiiertted wherever they go, as our association is national and follows them everywhere, and is always helping to improve the ganiener's position in this country. We also need co-operation among our members in regard to articles of horticultural interest: work that has proved of great value; new plants tried out: articles written on onc'^, travels and notes of what is ^een. All these will be eagerly devoured by the gardeners of today. Right here you may perhaps feel as some other young men feel, and one in |iarticular of Aviiom I will now speak — that is, when asked to talk or write something, he said "I have never done it. 1 cannot do it. I don't know- how to begin and what to say.'' Yet, when I talked to this young man and asked him to concentrate his thoughts and make up his mind he was going to do something, he got busy and selected the sid)ject of "Kock Cardening." and coni postal a very valuable ]iaper and received the prize from the comi)etition which netted him $2.'> for (he pleastwe he luid had of tinding out he cotdd do this if he put his mind to it. and -ince then he has enlisted in the 4!sth Highlanders, and after a few months of training was made a Cor[iural. and j-iuce tlicn luis lieen taken and placed in training for a commission, and is now in Ottawa studying liaiil to be able to train and lead others that are to join later. This is only one instance where the young man wanted a chance to get started on his own, so to speak. Once given a little responsibility he felt he was called upon to do something greater, and how many there are of the men today who do not try and help themselves, so I .say to you all it is up to you and us. oiu' and all, to pull together and bring about a better imderstanding with our employers of the value of our services. Show them that the responsibility entrusted to us is worthy of the confidence placed in us. and that our services are indispensable to their comfort, for, after all, it is up to us to make the places over of which we have the supervision, not only a plcasiue to ourselves but a pleasure to all who may come and see them, taking the large and small matters together and straightening them out so as to relieve our emjiloyers of that worry and anxiety, that they do not want to be bothered with after returning from a hard day or week of business troubles. It is tiien that your services are appreciated liy all right thiid^ing men, and if after giving the best that is in you and knowing that you are right, then if your services are not appreciated, why go somewhere else where they will be. for there are lots of men in this world looking for such men and will be writing to our secretary in the near future to supply the same. So again I say, "It's lip to you." In concdusion. I want to thank you all for your support during the year of my office, and I also promise my full support to my successor in otfice. and let us all work together to make this association one to be recognized as the ]iroper channel for our employers to look for informaticm regarding employees and also make the association a credit to the name that it now bears. 'J'he minutes of the 1010 animal conveiiti tn tn a^urer Xos. 131-14.') .$1,814.00 Deposit vouchers to treasurer ( Keserve Fund) Xos. &-11. 7r).00 Cash on hand 40.00 Total Expenditures of tin been as follo\\>: Seerelar\ s .$1,929.00 for the past year have .stamps fiil-S-l Telef^ranis ' 14. 3S l)ut of town telephone tolls 24.72 Sundries S.51 Madison, N. .J., Deei'uiher 1, 1917. Cliicago. 111.. December 4. 1917. We have conipleti-d oui- audit of the accounts of your seeretary up to Deeenilier 1, 1917. and aie pleased to report that we lind tlie Btatemeuta as rendered above t(j lie correct. ROBEirr CAMERON. L. r. .lENSEN. ROBERT WEEKS. Auditing Committee. TREASURER'S REPORT. RE( EIPTS. 1916. Dec. 1 — Balance in bank (lieneral Fundi .$1.89.i..il •• I— Balance in bank ( Reservi' Fund i 19S.4S Deposits vouchers (liencral Fundi Xos. ISl-M.! . 1.S14.0<1 Deposits vouchers i Reserve Fnmji Xos. 9-11 7.').l"l Interest {(leneral Fund) December. 1910. and June, 1917 62.11 Interest (Reserve Fund) .lanuarv. Ajiril and Octo- ber, 1917 9.83 Total receipl s .$4,0.")4.93 l)]SBrRSEJll';XTS. Dec. 1— Madison Kagie. printing $ 23.00 1 — Chronicle I'ress. Inc.. printing essa.vs 3.00 " 8 — D. .\. Iiiiiwn. reporting .\. M ses.sion ISlfi eonventitm .' - !.'>.( n '• S — A. M. Tiavers, reporting P. M. session liilti conventi(>n 12.25 " 8 — M. C. Ebel, sec'.v. postage 4.24 8 — Gude Bros., wreath for Washington's Tomb lu.OO 26 — John Wanamaker. Arm chair — lAsso.s gift to sec'y) 53.25 Jan. 2 — Chronicle I'res.s. Inc.. subscription to Januar.v 1.. 1S2.75 2— M. C. Ebel. sec'y postage 20.00 2 — J. C. Chester, appropi-iation for secretary's asst. 25.00 " 2 — M. C. Ebel. sec'y. postage, telephone calls, telegrams 10.90 " 2 — M. C. Ebel. sec'v. incidental expenses Washing- ton Convention 20.00 24 — Edgecomb. Sheenan & Whitehill. reporting Boston IliHB) convention — compiomise 40.00 Mch. 1 — Madison Eagle, iirinting 0.5" 1 — Chronicle Press. Inc., printing essays 0.25 1 — M. C. Ebel. sec'y, postage, 'phone calls, tele- gl'ams, etc 36.26 Apl. 2 — J. C. Chester, a propriation for sec'y asst. 2d quarter 25.00 2 — Chronicle Tress. Inc., printing essays 5.00 2 — Murray Hill Hotel, room for Executive Meeting,. 5.00 June 1 — M. C. Ebel. sec'.v. postage, 'phone calls, tele- gl'ams. etc 17.37 " 1 — Chronicle Press. Inc., printing essays 5.00 1 — M. C. Ebel. sec'\'. expenses incidental to planting English Yew, Washington's Tomb 34.00 1 — Madison Eagle, printing 8.00 1 — P.obbink & .\tkins. English Yew for Washington's Tomb 11.00 Jiil>' 2 — J. C. Chester, appropriatiim for sec'>' asst. 3d quarter 25.00 2 — Madison Eagle, printing 1.50 " 2 — Chronicle i'l-ess. Inc.. subscriptions to ,Iul,\' 1.,.. 767.75 -■^ug. 24 — Madison Eagle, printing membership roslei'S 75.85 Sept. 1 — M. C. Ebel, sec'y, postage, 'phone calls, tele- grams, etc 26.90 1 — Murray Hill Hotel, room for Executive Meeting.. 5.00 Oct. 1 — Madison Eagle, printing 2.00 1 — Dieges & Clust. 4 silver medals 14.00 " 1 — J. C. Chester, appropriation for sec'y, asst. 4th quarter 25.00 Nov. 20 — Madison Eagle, printing 9,25 20 — Dieges & Clust. three silver medals 10,70 " 20 — Elizabeth Scarry, typewriting convention matter. 9.80 20 — Murray Hill Hotel, room tor Cooperative Meeting 10.00 " 20 — M. C. Ebel. sec'v, postage, "phone calls, tele- grams, etc 43,78 Total disbursements $1,621.30 Dec, 1— Balance in bank (General Fund) $2,150.32 •• I— Balance in hank (Reserve Fund) 283.31 2,433.63 JAMES $4,054.93 nUART , Treasurer. JIamaroneck. X. Y.. December 1. 1917. Chicago. 111.. December 4, 1917. We have completed oui- audit of the accounts of your treasurer ujj to December 1. 1910. and arc pleased to report that we find the statements as ri'udered above to he correct. ROBERT CAMERON. L. P. JENSEN, ROBERT WEEKS, Auditing Committee. It \\a.- nio\ed and sccnnchd lliat all tli^ read. .Motion carried. ri'|iorts 111' ailopted as RECOMMENDS INVESTING IN LIBERTY LOAN BONDS. JIR. WEFvKS; As (Uie of the Atiditing Committee this morning we found this very happy circumstance. We found that our .\ssociation is in a \er>' Ihnirishing conditinn. and that we have on hanil at the present time, as tlie re]iort has shown, .$2,453.63. Now. it occurred to us. as the .\n(liting Committee, woidd it not lie ■vvcll to instruct, or to recouinu'iid to our Board of Directors, tiiat. at the next issue of the Liberty Loan, our Association invest the sum of .$l,(l(Mi in Liberty Bonds, and. tlierefore, as an asso- cialiiui show our jiatriotism and our love for our country. Mr. Weeks' suggestion was put in the form of a motion, sec- onded, anil enthusiastically carried. Reiiort^ ol standing ctnninittees were received in following order: REPORT OF THE NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE COMMITTEE. Ihc .\ati"iial ( o -opi'rative Committee was handicapped in many waxs in performing its functions during the past year, due to lack ot necessary support, owing, largidy, to war conditions. The committee found itself tniabh early in the .year to con- tinue the diatribi;tioii of essays previously provided for the nuinthly meetings of local societies, as it foimd it impossible to SI cure suitable contributions of articles for this purpose. Ret|uests have come to hand from dill'erent sections of the country for a renewal of this service, but it cannot he supplied without assistance. To renew this service, whieli is a valuable a ill to a co-operative movement, in bringitig the National Asso- ciation and the local societies in monthly contact, the commit- tee may find some of the papers to be ]iresented at the con- \ention available for the first few months of the coming year, but it must appeal to the members having the literary ability to do so to assist in continuing this work by providing papers on timely stibjects that will offer material fin interesting dis- cussions at the monthly meetings. On the recommendation of the chairman of a local co-operative commiltce. tlie Xational Committee inxited the local societies to send delegates to a nu'eting to discus- the gardeners' co-operatiA'e problem, and in response thereto sixteen local societies appointed delegates. Otliers reported that while they wmild not be repre- sented at the meeting, they would be interested ill its outcoriie. .\ meeting was held in the Murray Hill Hotel, New York City, .Xovember 9, which was well attended. .\n interesting tliscus- ~inii on co-operation ensued and a number of recommendations were made which resulted in a inotion that the National Co- operative Committee prepare a ]dau of action to be submitted at the convention in (liicago for ailo|ition. This plan has been prepared hy the committee and will be luesented apart from this report. X'ational Co-operative Committee. M, C. EBEL, Secretary. COMMITTEE ON MERITORIOUS EXHIBITS. Dtu'ing the year 1917 tlic Committee on .Meritorious Exhibits diinated fifteen nu'dais in accordance with the action taken by I lie Board of Directors in .September. 1916. when it voted to con- Iribule till' association's siher medal to Imal societies desiring 448 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA to avail tluinselvcs of the offer antl to be competed for diirinji the >ear 1!I17. the only stipulation being that the medal was to be won Ijy a member of the association. Seven medals have been awarded so far as follows: Stanley R. Candler, Southampton (N. T.) Horticultural Society, Boston. July. 1917. David F. Roy, New Bedford ("Mass.) Horticultural Society Show. September. 1H17. John Barnet, Sewicklev (Pa.) Horticultural Society Show, Octo- ber. 1917. Robert Tyson. Morris County (N. J.) Gardeners' and Florists' Show. November, 1917. Thomas Wilson. Tuxedo Park (N. J.) Horticultural Society Show. November. 1917. William Rayment. Santa Barbara County (Cal.) Horticultural Society Show. November, 1917. The following societies accepted the offer of the medal but have not yet reported the successful contestants; Chrysanthemum Society of .America. Riverdale iN. Y.) Horticultural Society. Grosse Point (Mich.) Horticultural Society. Dutchess County (N. Y.) Horticultural Society. Monmouth County (N. J.) Horticultural Societ.v. St. Louis (Mo.) Association of Gardeners. Menlo Park (Cal.) Horticultural Society. Nassau County (N. Y.) Horticultural Society. A commnnic-ation was sent to the local societies annonncinii the decision of the Board of Directors to offer the silver medal. and notices were printed in several issues of our official orjian, but, notwithstanding, complaints have come to hand from mem- bers of some of the local societies that they knew nothing of the offer and intimating that their societies have been discriminated against. The committee feels that it did its full duty in addressing a communication to the local societies and having the offer of th- medal published in se\eral notices in the monthly association notes, and that it should not be held responsible for the laxity on the part of officials of some of the local societies. The association's gold medal offered for the production of am meritorious novelty in flowers or new or rare plants by a gar- dener has never been competed for. Your committee would like to see some interest manifested in this direction. WILLIAJI KLEIXHEINZ. Chairman. ()j;ontz, Pa., De-ember 1, IfllT. COMMITTEE ON ESSAYS AND HORTICULTURAL INSTRUC- TION. This commiltee. 1 am afraid, has l>een somewhat remiss in its duties during the present year. We have been faced with very umisual conilitions, however, including an acute labor shortage, a call for a big increase in food production, and more recently still greater drains which have crippled us. The present war conditions have not seemed the best in which to make progress in horticultural instruction, and more especially as a large jjer- cenlage of our younger members are now in military training or on the European firing line. The winners for the essay contest for assistant gardeners which was decided last April were as follows: First Prize — "Rock Gardens" by Marcel M. Twinney, second as- sistant greenhouse gai'dener to J. Ogden Ai'mour, Lake Forest, 111. (Thomas W. Head. Supt.) Second Prize — "Hardy Fruits" by Frederick W. Bateman. assis- tant in charge of greenhouses, Mrs. P. Boettger Estate, Riverdale- on-Hudson. N. Y. Third Prize — "Garden Chemistry in Soil Cultivation" by William S. Gillies, assistant gardener to R. H. Boggs. Sewicklev. Pa. Your committee is not unmindful of its duties, and if con- tinued will endeavor to do something in the near future to justify its title. It will endeavor, and will be glad to act on any helpful suggestions v^•hich members can offer on how best to continue this important line of work. \V. X. CRAin, Chairman. Brookline, JIass., December 1. I'.UT. COMMITTEE ON BIRD PROTECTION AND PROPAGATION. This committee consists of five members of the National .-\sso- cia,tion of GardiMiers and four members of the American Associa- tion of Park Superintendents with myself as cliairman. represent- ing both associations. The following letter was sent to each one of the members earh' in the year: '"As chairman of a joint committee on bird protection and ]irop- agation of the National Association of Gaideners and the Ameri- can Association of Park Sujierintendents, I am writing you, as a member of this committee, to kindly submit to me any sug- gestions which you miglit have in regard to the work which our committee is presumed to perform. Y'on no doid)t realize tlie importance of this joint committci^ and the valuable M'ork whicli we might be able to do if each of the members of this committee could be induced to help. Could you send me a short arti de of what is being done in this direction in your part of the cmmtry. or give some personal experience or observation in this line of work? 1 would like to have this for our official organ. 1 am very anxious to havi> our committee make a good showing at the St. Louis and Chicago conventions, and trust you will make every possii)le elfiirt to assist in this good \\'ork, etc." To this letter I received but one reply, none from the members representing this association. Several other letters of a similar nature were sent to the members of this committee, to which the park superintendents responded, but only one reply from the gardeners. This was from Mr. Carl U. Fohn, of Colorado Springs, Col., as follows: ■"In regard to bird protection, we are doing all we can to help the little fellows. Quite a number of residents of Colorado Springs have taken u]) this work, and there is a bird hospital established here inider the direction of Dr. Arnold. School chil- dren have been instructed to take disabled birds of him. Dr. Arnold has suitable quarters for their care, and also writes arti- cles in regard to his work and has them published in the daily papers so as to get the public interested." L. P. JENSEN, Cliairman. Moved and seconded that all the reports be adopted as read. Carried. Reports of special committees were presented as follows: REPORT OF THE SERVICE BUREAU. The Service Bureau engaged in a year of profitable experi- mentation during 1917, which demonstrated its worth and in- tlrence as an adjunct of the association, that could be so de- veloped as to become a material aid to those in the profession seeking opportunities to better themselves. Having up to this time been conducted more in the nature of an experiment, the Service Biu'cau has been operated at practi- cally no expense to the association, excepting for postage and occasional telephone and telegraph charges, the last two named having been more than offset by voluntary contributions made by members to the bureau for services rendered. To thoroughly establish the bureau, a proper system of filing, classification, etc., must be installed; more complete methods of operation inaugurated than have been in force: provision made for maintenance expense; also for proper exploitation to bring the bureau and the services it renders more prominently before the attention of coinitry estate owners. I am firndy of the opinion, judging by the experience gained in conducting the Service Bureau the last two years, that the association is warranted in taking some favorable action to more jiroperly provide for the operation of this department. To continue the bureau on its present basis is not justifiable, for with the constantly increasing inquiries and apjilications that are being received, satisfactory services cannot be given under the existing conditions. Respectfully submitted, M. C. EBEL. ill!. HEAD: I think the report of the Service Bureau should be referred to a special committee. The Service Bureau of the Asso- ciation is a very important thing, and it is going to be more important than ever, especially when you realize that the society is now increasing .so fast, and the inquiries arc coming in very fast. They are not only coming in, but the inquirers are inquir- ing more minutely into the ability of the men they are looking for. The Service Bureau itself ought to be supported, and we should devise some ways and means to keep the Service Bureau in front of the people, and make it more of a bureau which will be used by the employees and ourselves, and tinder those circum- stances I think there is no easier or quicker way to get it to a head than to jdace it in the hands of a committee together, and I appoint on such a committee Messrs. Wirth, Cameron and Weeks to rejiort back to the convention before we adjourn. RECOMMENDATIONS NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE COM- MITTEE. Com]dying with the recommendations made by the representa- tives of a number of gardeners' local societies at a meeting re- cently held in New \"ork for the purpose of creating closer co- operation between the tiardeners' National Association and their local organizations, the National Co-operative Committee has carefully considered the different suggestions that were presented at the meeting, and submits its findings as follows: The suggestion that local societies elect delegates each year to represent them at the annual convention of the national as- sociation should, in the opinion of your committee, be brought about as soon as the local societies can be sufficiently interested to adopt such a plan. Through such action the affairs concern- ing the gardening ]n-ofession and its government as a whole can be more effectively administered than through any other course. But imtil local societies sliow a willingness to enter earnestly into such a movement no definite action, on it should be taken for it will require a united concurrence to make it successtid in its operation. The suggestion that the presidents of local societies auto- THE GAIIDE^ERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 449 iiiatically Iji I'oiiie vico-prcsiileiits of tlie Natiuiial Association on tlioir eUciioM to tho local otlico is not legarilcd [iractical by your coniniittct', for a man may prove a most poinilar president of his local society and yet J^o^sess no (jnalitications to tit him foi' the dntics that may !»■ imposed on liim in an active co-operative movement as an executive of the National Association. It was proposed that the Service Bureau of tlie association should be placed under the direct control of the ditl'erent local gardeners' societies. Though this may be practical, as was elainud, in European countries, where the territory is confined, in this country it would not prove so, for in such an expansive territory there must be a central operating source in control ol sucli a service. There are, however, many ways that the local societies can advantaiieously co-ojierate with a national service bureau which could be properly worked out under the acts of the co-operative movement. The establishment of a benetit fund for widows and orphans, deserving members in distress, and for other similar purposes was proposed. In your committee's opinion such an undertaUing would be inadvisable, for an association operating an insurance benefit order must secure a charter for that purpo.se, maintain a substantial reserve, and come luider the jurisdiction of drastic life insurance laws. The numagenu'nt of such a department would entail nuich detail and expense and would jdace great responsi- bility on the association. On the other haiul, tlie regularly or- ganized insurance companies today ofl'er policies which cover nearly every phase of disability and provide other benefits at premiums that cannot be competed with by outside organizations for any length of tinu'. The proposal that the country be divided into districts in which quarterly meetings may be held by delegates representing the ditlcrcnt local socii'tii's within those districts for tlie purpose of co-operating with the National Association should have favor- able consideration at this time, as it appears to offer the best solution so far submitted to bring a national co-operative move- ment between the Gardeners' National Association and the local societies into actual being. At these quarterly meetings op- portunities v.ill be provided to thrash out the problems confront- ing the jirofession whether of national or local import. Heports of the proceedings of these meetings, forwarded to the secretary of the National A.-ro- posed, and that the National Co-operative Committee be em- powered, if a sufficient number of favorable responses are re- ceived, to place this plan in operation as the first step towards secviring a more united affiliation between the different gar- deners' associations. The National Co-operative Committee. THOMAS W. HEAD. THEODORE WIRTH, JAMES STUART, MARTIN C. EBEL. MR. HEAD: The committee recommends that tlic secretary be instructed to commnnicate with dilVerent local societies through- out the country, to enlist tlieir interest in ilistrict meetings; has proposed tlurt National Co-operative Committee be empowered to place the co-operative movement in force if responses warrant it. A motion made that report be received and that recommenda- tions be adopted was carried. COiVIMITTEE ON REVISION OF BY-LAWS. Your ciimniittee, after very carefully considering the existing By-Laws of the National Association of Gardeners, are unalile to recommend more than trilling changes. Our recommendations are as follows: ARTia^E I— The committee, after very carefully considering this article, was uiuilile to suggest anything which would broaden it or strengthen it. ARTICLE 2, Section 2— Amend to read as follows: Active members shall be composed of those actually engage;! in the jirofession of gardening, viz.: head and assistant ganleners, and shall include superintendents of private estates, parks and cemeteries. ARTICLE .3, Section 1 — As amended at annual convention LU.'i reading as fidhiws: "The annual dues for active and associate nn'mlier^ shall be two dollars a j'ear. Due and payable on rjaiuu\ry 1 of each year. Members in arrears of dues for more than one year shall be sus- pended and cannot be reinstated to good standing in the asso- ciation luitil their indebtedness to it is paid." ARTICLE 4, Section I — The question of reducing the nvnnber of ilirectors was consid- ered, but it was deemed best to leave the number as at present in order to give wider representation and insure a better number at the quarterly meetings. ARTICI.E 5, Section I, Section 3, Section 4— We would suggest that the word monej's would be better used than monies. WILLIAM N. CRAIG, ROBERT CAMERON, JOHN W. EVERITT, JOHN F. JOHNSTON. MR. HEAD: You have heard the recommendations. What action would you care to take on these? MR. JENSEN: I would like jiermission of the convention that each section be voted on separately. MR. HEAD: Article 2, Section 2, will be amended to read as follows : ''Active members shall be composed of those actually engaged in the profession of gardening, namely, head and assistant gar- deners, and shall also include superintendents of private estates, parks and cemeteries. Active members shall have exclusive con- trol of the management of the affairs of the Association, and shall alone have voting power." ilR. HI'^AD: Article 3, Section 1, to read as amended: "The annual dues for active members and associate members shall be $2 a year, due and payable on January 1 of each year. Members in arrears of dues for more than one year shall be suspended and cannot be reinstated to good standing in the association until their indebtedness to it is paid." MR. JENSEN: I would like to make an amendment to this amendment, that the $2 be made $3. MR. HEAD: The amendment is to change it to ,$3. I have read this as amended in 101.5, just as it is in the By-Laws. Now, 1 will read to you as it is. and there has been an amendment to raise it to $3. And there is an amendment to that amendment to keep it as it is, $2. After nuich discussion pro and con, and a strong argument by Mr. Head in favor of raising dues, he asked a vote on the amend- ment to the amendment, which provided for dues to be left at $2. O)iposition unanimous. Vote on amendment providing for raising dues to .$3 was then carried uiuinimously. Mr. Jensen suggested an amendment covering sustaining mem- bers, saying many employers would like to aid the organization; proposed the establishment of a sustaining membership with dues of $\0 per year, which members should have no voting power. Mr. .Jensen then moved sustaining memliers shall consist of estate owners and others interested in ornamental horticulture, who shall hove no voting power, dues to be ,$10 a year. A motion to adopt the above as ])art of By-Laws carried. MR. CAilERON; I should like to nuike another amendment to -Article 6, which reads: "The annual convention shall be held each year during the first week of December, if practical." I have found for several years that the meeting of this Association has come too late in the year. We come a thousand miles here, and nothing to see outdoors. Two months ahead, a gardener would enjoy it more, and we could get more members. I suggest we make it the first week in October instead of first week in Decem- ber, and that this be made an amendment. Article 6, as amended, reads: "The annual convention shall be held each year during the first week of October, if practical. The exact date of the convention and the meeting place shall be decided by ballot at the summer meeting of the Executive Board. Twenty-five members shall constitute a meeting at the annual convention." Jlotion made and seconded that the above amendment be passed. Motion carried. Next Meeting Place. MR. EBEL: The Association was invited to hold the 1018 con- vention in Pittsburgh, and voted in favor of it. I have just received this telegram: "Gardeners in this section not in favor of convention in Pittsburgh this year. May not be represented at Chicago. Barnet Sewickley." This gives us due notice that the convention is iuit desired in Pittsburgh next year. ^IR. AVEEKS: Those of you who read the Good Book know that the Almighty on one occasion wanted to speak to one of His men; that first there came an earthquake, but the man did not hear. He said he did not hear, and then there was a mighty throbbing wind, and still the man did not hear the voice of his Maker; and then there came a still small voice, and then the man heard. Yesterday morning, l>efore it was yet light, there was a still small delegation at one of the stations at Cleveland 450 THE GARDENERS' CHROMCLE OF AMERICA who had niaile up tlieir niiiuls to come to Chicago to the con- vention. They got on the train, and by slow means came to Chicago. As I say, it was a very small delegation: it was a very small voice and a very small voice that is speaking to yon now. We left at home the earthquake, the thnnder. and the loud rush- ing wind, lint the still small voice is extending to this Association a most hearty invitation to come to Cleveland for their next annual convention. Cleveland has a good many interesting things and a good many interesting sights. We have a very line organiza- tion of its citizens that are very highly interested in horticulture. . . . The still small voice of the gardener speaks to you this afternoon, and bids you come to Cleveland for \-our next annual convention. MR. COOK: With the thunder we know we always have, maybe showers, maybe sunshine. I try to nuike sunshine. ... I bid ,vou, also, in behalf of the Cleveland Florists' Club, to come to Cleveland. As chairman of the Entertainment Committee, I think I can take the authority to liid yon to come to Cleveland, and I know we will give yon a rattling good time. . . . MP,. rOPl': If you will listen to a still small voice from the East, we have heard the still small voice from Cleveland, and I think if the thunder they left at home is anything like that we will be justified in holding our next convention in Cleveland. Cleveland was voted tlie choice of the convention for the 1918 meeting place. Mr. (ieorge Asnnis. chairman of the Xational Flower Show Committee, addressed the convention on the Xational Flower Show to be hehl in St. Louis next spring, urging the support of the gardener-^. Nomination of Officers. Mr. Williamson nominated Mr. L. P. -Jensen of St. Louis for president. Mr. Wirth seconded the nomination of Mr. lensen. Mr. Outer nominated Mr. Robert Weeks of Cleveland. Seconded by Mr. Grifliths. Mr. Francis nominated Mr. Griffitlis for president. ilr. (iriflRths declined nomination. Motion to close nominations seconded and carried. Mr. .Jackson nominated Jlr. William I'ojip of New York fur vice-president. Mr. OrifHths moved luiniinalicms be closed. Seconded and carried. Mr. Ebel nominated Mr. Ernest (inter of Pittsburgh for treas- urer. Nomination seconded. Nominations for treasurer closed. Mr. Wirth nominaled ilr. M. C. l\liel tor srcrctary. ;\Ioved and seconded nomination^ be closed. Jlr. Popp nominated Peter Ontf, Robert Tyson and A. Bauer the three trustees from New .Jersey as jn'ovided by the charter. Mr. Outer noniiiuited Jlr. Arthur .Jackson from lietroit. Mr. Mackintosh nominated -Mr. Theodore Wirth of Minneapolis. Nominations closed. Ml?. HEAD: 'J he ballot box will l)e open tomorrow morning between !) and 9:30. I will appoint as tellers Mr. Francis and Mr. Fisher. The order of business will be continued tomorrow so the adjovirnment is only pro teni. On motion duly seconded, nu'cting a due to elTorts of secretary; that he will not spend a cent more ihan is necessary to accomplish wliat the association is after. Mr. JIackiutosh moved the adoption of rejiort as read, saying, "if you buy cheap seeds you expect a poor crop, etc." Motion seconded and carried unanimously. New Business. MR. CCKIK: It seems quite a slogan to estabtisli at this meeting — What is a Oardener? So much elasticity to it that it stretches around the globe and back again. In consideration of that slogan, I think at the next meeting in Cleveland we should have some good answers. I oti'<'r a small prize for the best answer as to what is a gardener, and have the judges at that meeting have the answer thrashed out, a $10 prize. Mov<'il anil seconded that Mr. Cook's oll'er of $10 prize for the best answer to tlie question "What is a (jardener?" be accepted. Carried. MR. M.VRTINI: An additional prize of $10 to settle the ques- tion "What is a (iardener expected to do?" Professor Dorner suggested the wording of this question be im- proved to read "What should a Gardener be expected to do?" Mr. i1artini"s offer was duly seconded and carried. MR. WEEKS: Would like to ask for a point of information at this time as to what is the recompense of the secretary of this association. JIR. EBEL: His love for the work. ilR. WF^EKS: We are glad when a man gels up and says that he loves liis work and we are glad to assure him of our satisfac- tion that he has done it well, but we are human beings, and we find that we need something more tangible than that, and it seems to me this would be a good time to look into the matter of recompense of our secretary, at least we could pay his travel- ing expenses when he attends a convention. I am unfamiliar with what has been done in the past, but as ,your newly elected chief ofl'cer. I think the time is ripe when we should give this more consideration and that he is entitled to more than he has received in the past, if that has been only the satisfaction of knowing that we think his work is done well Mr. .Jensen, after remarks in favor of ]iaying exjienses of secre- tary while traveling in interests of the association, moves that such eN)j(nses be paid. MR. II1''A1): Before we ]int the motion, it might lie in order to read to you Section .5 of the Duties of Officers. Now that the matter is brought up. I think he ought to put in traveling ex- Jienst'S. MR. .JENSEN: I withdraw my motion and put it in the form of a recommendation from the members present that the Execu- tive Board pass upon that. Communications. Professor Dorner volnnteered to read the ditTerent communiea- tions on account of Secretary Ebel's disability. A communication was read from Charles T. Totty. president-elect of the Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists, expressing re- grets at his inability to attend the convention and soliciting the co-operation of the private gardeners in making the National Flower Show, to be held in St. Louis next spring, a rousing success. A eomniunication from George V. Nnsh. secretary of the Hortl- THE GARDEISERS- CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 451 oiiltural Suciel.v of NVw York, was read advisiu;; tUat a I'uud is being distributed through the American Ued Cross, and the Societe d'Horticulture de Frauce. for the purpose of re-planting the or- chards of France that have b''eu wantonly destro.ved by the Ger- man enemy. U was moved, seconded and unanimously carried that the couimuuication be received and the secretary instructed to write Mr. Nash statin;; that the National Association is in sympathy with the movement, and that all its energies will be given towards furthering the interests of the same. A communication from Mr. Lillie, of Detroit, urged that the National Association of Gardeners appoint from its membership roll a list of competent gardeners to act as flower show judges in those localities where important e.xhibitious are held. As the asso- ciation has no power in the selection of judges of shows in which it is not directly concerned, a motion was made to file the com- munication. The communication of Edwin Jenkins, of Leno.'c, Mass.. pledging his support to the as.sociation. and from Herbert B. Rapley. of Clexeland, on the standing of the landscape gardener were order- ed placed on file. A communication t'roui Ernest Carman, of Lake Forest. 111., recommending voting l)y proxy and suggesting an advance ballot sheet, was referred to the Board of Directors for consideration and to report at the next meeting. A communication sisned by Julius Roehrs. Rutherford. N. J., George Struck. New York (_'ity. and Joseph Robinson, of Oyster Bay. N. Y.. containing information on the situation respecting medicinal plants :uid herbs was ordered to be printed in full in the Chronicle. A communication from Willinui J. Devery, Dedham, Mass., seeking the opinion of the couventiou on organizing local assistant gardeners' societies, brought forth the following discussion : Mr. Ebel : "The question of the assistant gardener is reach- ing a point where we must show him that we will do something for him. Some say we are not looking after the interests of the assistant gardeners. I will say that I have the interest of the assistant gardeners at heart more than the superintendents. I have thought the uiatter over, and have decided to offer .$50 in gold to the one who will suggest the best way in which the National Asso- ciation of Gardeners can serve best, the welfare of the assistant gardener. The otfer is not restricted to gardeners or to nursery- men, but to any one, in or out of the association : to anybody that will come forward and offer a suggestion or recommendation that the association will aciept, which will further the interests and welfare of the assistant gnnleuer. I want the assistant gardener to know that I am really trying, serving his interests." Mr. Head : "'It would seem to me that we should accept this communication and give it due consideration. There is no doubt in my mind that the assistant is the man we must look to. but a good deal of dissatisfaction is due to the assistant himself. Quite a number are not here, that I know could have lieen here. W"e are willing to help, all we can, any good man, and are all working for that all the time." Motion by Mr. Alackintosh that the communication be received and that it be placed in hands of executive board for further con- sideration, to be brought up at next meeting, was carried. MR. HEAD: We have with us this morning Professor Corner from the University of Illinois, who will speak on what the \tni- versities are doing for tlorieultiire. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Mr. Dorner to our midst. (Profe.-isor iJorner's address will appear in a later issue of The (;hroiiicle. ) MK. WIRTH: I have three boys, and was in hopes that at least one of them would try to follow in my profession, but I believe, as the Professor does, that a boy ought to be, above all. given a chance to select his own calling. One of mine decided to go into the Navy and I believe tlic second one wants to go into the Army. It simply shows that there is a little bit of fighting stock in the young folks ; but I want to say this to the Professor, that if any of my boys ilecided to follow my calling, I certainh- should expect him to go to one of the universities and I will be only too happy to send him to Professor Dorner. I can say that I really have not before this been able to fully appreciate the value of a good college education. . . . (Suggested rising vote of thanks to Professor Dorner. which brought every man to his feet.) (Considerable time was consumed by arguments by one or two members, and questions put to Professor Dorner, which he an- swered very forcibly and at length, giving figures, etc.) Mr. Head introduced Mr. M. L. Davey of Kent, Ohio. (Mr. Davey's address will be fo\ind in the January issue of The Chronicle.) Mr. Wirth moved that a standing vote of thanks be tendered to Mr. Davey for his very able and patriotic address, which was unanimously carried. MR. HEAD: We have two other gentlemen who were going to talk to us, whose papers are in front of us. It would be in order for some one to move that these papers be printed in The Chron- icle, as our time is so short. It will be perfectly agreeable to the gentlemen presenting the papers. Moved and seconded that said papers be published in an early issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle. Motion carried. President-Elect Weeks' Remarks. MR. WEEK.S: As I have sat here and listened to those two splendid lectures, as those splendid men have talked, so has luy estimation of them grown. Mr. Davey t have known for several years; Mr. Dorner 1 had not met before. This has been the same with regard to my first visit to Chicago: it is my first visit to Chicago, and to the National Association of Gardeners' convention, and I am thankful that I came, for the very reason that I have met you individually, whom I have not known before. 1 think you one and all splendid men. Y'ou have placed your confidence in me by choosing me as your president for the coming year. As 1 see you, and as 1 listen to you, I recognize my own smallness. Now, during the coming year, pardon me for speaking now, I wish to speak to you face to face — during the coming year, I want that our association shall make great progress. It cannot make great progress unless you stand back of me, and I feel sure of each one of you. that you will support me to the very best of your ability. I intend to work to the best of my ability for the good of this association. Resolutions. Adjouriimciit. THE ANNUAL BANQUET. The annual bauquet of the association was held on Tuesday evening in the Crystal Room of the Hotel .Sherman. The National colors bedecked the walls of the dining room, while the tables were beautifully decorated with baskets of flowers donated by Pochlmann Brothers Company. The Banquet Committee pro- \idtd w'cU for the inner man, with fine entertainment in the nature of vocal and instrumental music, the diners lending their voices to the patriotic airs that were rendered during the evening. A number of ladies were present. Alexander Henderson, of Chicago, acted as toastmaster, while prominent among the speakers were President Thomas W. Head, Vice-president Theodore Wirth, Robert Weeks, P. W. Popp, Robert Cameron. Philip J. Foley. Prof. H. B. Dorner, Dr. R. J. H. De Loach. Carter H. Fitz-Hugh. E. J. Heide. Jl. Barker. L. P. Jensen. The afi'air ^^as a most enjoyable one throughout. Other Social Features of the Convention. Following the election of officers on \^'ednesday morning, the attendants at the convention left ou special cars over the elevated road for the Stock Yards and to attend the International Live Stock Exhibition. Later a special train was boarded at the Union Station b^- a party consisting of over one hundred. Two dining ears were attached for the visitors, who were the guests of Mr. J. Ogden Armour at luncheon, en route to Lake Forest, with a splendid menu served that was enjoyed by all. The train stopped at "Melody Farm," the estate of Mr. Armour, where Mr. Head presides as superintendent. After inspecting the grounds and greenhouses of this vast estate automobiles, which were pro- vided by the estate owners of Lake Forest, were entered and the estates of Cyrus 11. JlcCormick, Louis F. Swift and others were visited. At the McConuick estate the ladies were entertained by Mrs. Fisher, wife of Superintendent William E. Fisher, in their home, assisted by Mrs. George Wilson and Mrs. Frank Kuehne, while the men of the party were well looked after by ilr. Fisher. Following the inspection of the country estates, the visitors became the guests of the North Shore Horticultural Society at O'Neill Hall, Lake Forest, where they were treated to a stirring patriotic address by Ma^'or Kecne H. Addington. one of Chicago's foremost lawyers, who also paid a high tribute to the private gardeners, whose work has been so evident in Lake Forest and elsewhere in the West in the war garden activities. After par- taking of a repast at the hall, special cars attached to one of the regular trains were boarded for the return trip to Chicago. On Wednesday evening, through the courtesy of the Hotel Sher- man, a public lecture was given in the large lecture hall of the hotel, under the auspices of the association, with the co-operation of the Chicago Tribune. At this lecture Dr. R. J. H. De Loach gave an instructive and entertaining lecture, illustrated with lantern slides, on the "Birds and the Orchard." George H. Pring, of the Jlissouri Botanic Gardens. St. Louis, lectured on "The Botanic Gardens. Kcw. England." presenting some splendid slide illustrations. A. A. Lewis, of Eoslyn. N. Y., presented some inter- esting views on the screen of large tree moving, all of which were enjoyed by a large and appreciative audience. Following the adjournment of the convention on Thursday Mr. rliilip .J. Foley invited the entire delegation present at the meeting to join him at lunch in the College Inn. to celebrate one of his ''many birthdays." His hospitality was one of the pleasant features of the convention, and will be long remembered by all those who were of the party. Thursday afternoon was given up to a bowling contest at the Sensing Bowling Alleys, which produced much friendly rivalry 452 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA among llii' ganU'iier liowlcrs and some good scores were reported. Thursday cvniing many of the nienilers of the assoeiation at- tended tlie meeting of tlie Chicago Florists' Chib, wliere tliey participated in more of the Western hospitality. Friday was devoted to visiting some of tlie large conimereial places, and the Poelilmann Brothers Company entertained mem- bers at their e.xtensive greenhouse range at ilorton (Irove. where a Innch wa.; served to the visitors before they returned to the city. Owing to the severe weather and the reduction in the railroad service.the proposed trip to Lake Geneva, Wis., had to be aban- doned, much to tlie i egret of the Lake Geneva gardeners and visitors alike. Friday evening found many of the members returning to their homes, while others prolonged their stay in Chicago. COMMITTEE ON FINAL RESOLUTIONS. Whereas, The National Assuciation of tiardeners in annual i-on- vention assembled in the city of Chicago, has enjoyed the gener- ous and kind hospitality of the members of the various gar- deners" societies of the city of Cliicago and vicinity and the North Shore Horticultural Society, of I_jike Forest. Illinois, and have received the utmost courtesy and attention from all persons con- cerned : and Whereas, We have all been afforded an opportunity to observe and inspect the great International Stock Show and numerous private estates of Lake Forest. 111.: therefore, be it Resolved, That we extend our most hearty and sincere thanks and appreciation for these many courtesies and opportunities to all who have in any way participated in making this convention one of the most notable in the history of the association. Respectfully submitted, L. P. JENSEN, KOBFRT WLLLIAMSON, run. IP BOVINGTON. List of Members in Attendance. Thomas W. Head, Lake Forest. 111.; Theodore Wirth, Minne- apolis, Minn.: M. C. Ebel, Madison. N. J.; Peter Duff, Orange, N. .!.: Pvobert Weeks, Cleveland, Ohio; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo.: Robert Cameron. Cambridge. JIass. ; P. W. Popp, !Mania- roneek, N. Y.; Frank M. Ryan, South Bend. Ind.; E. A. Hart- land, ChicagOi J. Johnson. I'ittslicld. :Mass.: R. E. Tvson, Madison. N. J.; W. .L Collins, Boston, JIass.: L. Baruett, Wicklifl'e, 0.; G. H Instone, Minneapolis, Minn.; J. A. Weber. !Miunea]iolis, Minn.: F Murray, Boston. Mass.: L. A. Woodward. Chicago: Owen G. Owen, Southampton. N. Y.; Robert Williamson, Greenwich. Conn.: William H. Grifliths. Detroit, Miili.: Arthur Jackson. Detroit. THE PLANTING OF ORNAMENTALS TX recent years the American people have shown a ^ great improvement in their standards of good taste in architecture and the decoration of their homes. \\'e no longer think of an ornamental planting as some- thing intended only for the millionaire class with a large coutry estate. We now realize that the smallest lawn should be carefully planned and planted, as the planting of the home grounds is becoming an essential part in the development of the residential site, and the proper set- ting of the house is becoming as important as the plan of the building or the interior decorations. Ornamentals are the materials with which we make the landscape compositions. Ever having in mind that we are painting a picture which will show the house properly framed with a background and skyline harmon- izing with the general surroundings. An unlovel}- view will suggest the introduction of a clump of plants to screen that which is unsightly and produce a note of interest in the place. A barren uninteresting lawn will require trees that are large enough to produce a pleasant play of light and shadow on a scene that would otherwise be most mono- tonous, the trembling leaves and swaying branches are ever a source of delight and excite the emotions of the sublime. Trees are of slow growth and should be planted rather thickly at first and gradually thinned out as the occasion deinands leaving each stand out in its majesty showing a clear cut outline. The appearance of a man's home is of as much impor- tance as his personal appearance and from the fact that we enter his home at the entrance to the grounds it is Mich.: Carl Nienian, Winiielka. 111.: Walter E. Cook. Cleveland. Ohio: Ernest Guter. Pittsburgh. Pa.: I'hilip Hoving'ton. Louis- ville. Ky.: Wm. J'. Lullaby, Louisville. Ky.: G. W. Sykes, Chicago; Fred Lautenschlager, Chicago; L. W. C. Tuthill. New York; Alex. Matliers. Milford, Conn.; Frank C. Luckenbeckcr. Pittsburgh, Pa.; T. Hatton. New London. Conn.; Phil. .J. Foley. Chicago; Julius Herrleiii, liraintree, Mass.: Ralph Clausen. Lake Forest, 111.: Robert L. Chalmers, Lake Forest. 111.; Ernest Carmen. Lake For- est. 111.: James Fisher, Chicago, 111.; A. P. Montgomery, Lake Geneva, Wis.; A. J. Smith, Lake (iieiieva. Wis.; \V. J. Smart, Chicago: Francis J. Sullivan, Cliicago; R. I!. White. Troy, Ohio; Edward Boulter, Winnetka, 111.; George B. Wilson. Lake Forest, 111.: G. H. Print, St. Louis, Mo.; S. M. Beer, St. Louis, Mo.; I). McNaughton. Lake Forest, 111.: W. E. Fisher. Lake Forest, lU.; 'Ihonias H. .Sneddon, Lake Forest, 111.: .James Morton, Chicago; 1). D. P. liov. Lake Forest, 111.; H. E. Huminton. Chicago; E. Elliott. Park Ridge. HI.; J. H. Francis. Lake Forest. 111.; Michael Barker. Chicago; Wm. Ilaarlow. Chicago: P. 0. Lewis. Roslvn, N. Y.; B. P. Harms, Liliertyville, 111.: P. Back. Racine. Wis.; 0."G. Sclialler. Lake Forest. 111.; fleorge Asmus. Chicago: A. Anderson, Moline, 111.: John S. Hav, Philadelphia, Pa.; E. R. Kuehne. Lake Forest. 111.: Prof. H. B. Dorner, Crbana, 111.: D. L. Mcintosh. Stillwater. Minn.; Charles L. Jez, Chicago; F. A. Weber, Zumbra Heights. Wis.: J. R. Clarke, Lake Forest, 111.: Cieorge B. Wilson, Lake Forest. 111.; Cieorge Kopperhoefer, Lake Forest, 111.; William N. Clute. Joliet. 111.; J. C. Armstrong. Morton Grove. 111.; Tim Walters. Chicago; F. W. Sparke. Lake (ieneva. 111.: J. J. Kill- ackey. Cliicago: Robert J. Sampson, Lake (ieiieva. 111.: J. A. Young. Aurora. 111.: R. C. Lund. Ravinia. HI.: F. W. Von Oven. Naperville. 111.; Leonard Macombe, Boston. Mass.: Cierald Parker; A. Sorensen, Lake Cieneva, Wis.: A. Martini, Lake fJeneva, Wis.: A. Henderson, Chicago; R. J. H. DeLoach. Chicago; Carter H. Fitzhugh, Lake Forest, 111.; Earl Whitcombe, Chicago; Philip Foley, Jr., Chicago; James A. Wilson. Lake Forest. 111.; W. F. Stewart. Lake Forest, HI.; A. D. Mackay, Highland Park, HI. ; Thomas Blair. Lake Forest, 111. : James McNeil, Highland Park, 111.; Wm. \'. Loufland. Lake Cieneva. Wis.; Seymour G. Nelson. Cliicago; Carl Cro]ip, Chicago: Robert Preston, Lake Bluff, 111.; James Spence, Lake Forest, III.; Oscar Carlson. Lake Forest. 111.: Wm. Ciansbery, Lake Forest, 111.; Charles Foss. Lake Forest, III.; Herman Yates, Lake Forest, 111.: Axel Nielsen, Lake Forest, HI.: Otto Triebwasser. Lake Forest. 111.; Fred Hinks. Hubbard Woods. HI.: E. Bollinger, Lake Forest, 111.; Robert G. Towns, Lake Forest, 111.; Fred Jackson. Lake Forest. HI.: Knut Lofhing, Lake Forest. HI.; Robert E. Kuehne. Lake Forest. 111.; E. Boob- yer. Lake Forest, 111.; Chris Jensen. Lake Forest. 111.; G. Schaffer, Lake Forest, HI.; H. C. Peterson, Lake Forest. e-xpedient that the attractiveness begin at the gateway and that we should plant for the joy of others as well as our- selves. The beautifying of the surroundings is an influ- ence in the coiuniunity for that which is artistic and at- tractive. It is not given to all to observe in detail all the parts which make up the beautiful composition, but by an ar- rangement of planting that will lead the eye to the beau- tiful vista the composition as a whole becomes a decdied feature in the landscape. It is very important that the house be set snugly on the contour of the ground, so when a building is stilted or lias the aijpearance of being unstable, there is every rea- son for a mass planting at the base to sit the house to the ground and provide a harmonious blending from lawn to wall. In summing up correctly, the reasons for planting or- namentals may be advanced as follows : First. To create that which is delightful out of that which is ugly and commonplace. Second. To create an atmosphere of pleasure in sur- roundings which are crude and devoid of interest. Third. To provide a sequence of leaf, twig, flower and fruit in barren places. Fourth. To manifest an interest in Nature's gifts by assembling and caring for them. Fifth. To give a personal note to our habitation and to provide a source of recreation and a stimulus to mind, body and soul. Sixth. To re-create scenes which bring back memories of the past and awaken emotions of joy and inspiration. — Natio)ial Xiirscn'man. THE GARDEiSERS- CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 453 LOCAL SOCIETY NOTES THE LAKE GENEVA (WIS.) SHOW. Favored by glorious weather, the 13th j animal exhibition of tlic Lake Geneva (Wis.) tiardeuers' and Foremen's Associa- tion registered a suceess nnpreeedented in tlie annals of the assoeiation. In quality and quantity it surpassed any of its predecessors, and in the opinion of one of tlie judges it compared very favor- ably with many of the shows staged in larger cities. The class for 100-foot groups produced four entries, namely, Mr. F. D. Countiss (gardener A. Martini), first; Mr. J. J. Mitchell (gardener A. J. Smith), second; Mrs. F. T. A. Junkin (gardener A. John- son), third. Smaller groups were exhibited by Mrs. S. W. Allerton (gardener R. Blackwood), Mr. C. L. Hutchinson (gardener \V. P. Long- land), and Mr. H. M. BvUesbv (gardener F. W. Sparks). The splendid bush and trained specimen plants from tlie estates of Mr. J. .T. Mitchell and Mrs. S. W. Allerton evoked much ad- miration from all who saw them, the for- mer winning in four classes, and the latter in three classes. In the cut flower classes, blooms of superb quality were staged, the principal winners in the various classes calling for 12 blooms of each variety being Mr. Wm. Wrigley (gardener .J. Brvdon), Jlr. .J. J. Mitchell and Mrs. S. \V. Allerton. In single, anemone and pompon types Mr. F. D. Countiss and Mrs. F. T. A. Junkin were the principal winners. In the rose classes Mr. J. J. Mitchell, Mr. \^'m. Wrigley. Jlrs. S. \\'. Allerton and ilrs. F. T. A. Junkin were the principal winners. Vegcinbies Tiere of fine quality through- out. In the unlimited class Mr. .J. B. Gronimcs (gardener A. Sorenson) took first, Jlr, F. D. Countiss second. For 12 varieties, Mr. H. 51. Byllesby w'as awarded first, Mr. E. K. Boisot (gardener J. Balsdon) second. In the individual classes Mrs. N. W. Har- ris (gardener A. Montgomery) Avas the prin- cipal prize winner. Four vases, presented by Mr. J. Living- stone, were won as follows; Mr. J. Brydon. for sweepstakes jirize on cut flower classes; Mr. A. JIartini for 12 huge onions, the in- dividual bulbs of which weighed close to 3 pounds, adjudged to be the most meritorious e.xhibit in the show; Mr. A. .1'. Smith, for best specimen plant, showing a perfect Ur Enguehard; Mr. A. Montgomery, for sweep- stakes on vegetable classes. F. W. SPARKS, Secy. tificate of culture. A collection of Snow- ball cauliflower, shown by Frank I'elroccia, was awarded certificate of culture; three heads ipt' eaulillower shown by J. Mastro- aini received honorable mention. For the best table decoration, for assistant garden- ers only: I, Henrj- Michaelsoii; 2. Norman Bruce; 3, Carl Peterson; 4. George Ford. It was unanimously agreed not to hold our annual smoker. At this meeting, in- stead, each member present contributed to the Xmas kit fund of the Red Cross. Ex- hibits for o\u- annual meeting, to be held on Wednesda.v evening, December 19, are: three heads of lettuce, 1 pot or pan of Lor- raine t.vpe liegonia, and 1 pot or pan of Roman hvacinths. HARRY GOODBAXD. STAMFORD (CONN.) HORT. SOCIETY. A meeting of the society was held Friday evening. Xovendier !l. aliout ~o members attending. The exhibits staged included a beautiful vase of Gphelia roses by A. Peder- son, which received a cultural certificate; three vases of 'ilums by A. Wynne, highly commended; 18 varieties of seedling 'ilums by A. CJeddes. highly commended: two vases of earnation.s Enchantress and Enchantress Supreme, b.v W. Morrow, vote of thanks, S and seven varieties of carnations by A. " Allius. highly commended. This meeting followed the society's first Fall Show, and a general discussion of the show took jdace. It was tlu' finest ever held in Stamford and [iroved a great suc- cess, leaving a substantial sum to be do- nated to the Stamford Chapter of the Red Cross. The remainder of the evening was taken up by the nomination of officers, and a livarnet, gardener) led in all classes for best bush 'Mums in pots, and for 'Mum plants arranged for effect, using. some trained to arches and hampers, etc. Alsd taking the most firsts in the vegetal>le t'lasses. A. VV. M.ellon I. James .Stewart, gardener) showed fine blooms of \Vm. Turner, yellow Turner, Narissa, .lames Fraser, Mrs. G. Drabble, Wm. Rigby, winning first in fhe 12 blooms in one vase class, also in several other classes. R. B. Mellon i Ernest Outer, gardener) had excellent blooms of the Turner's, Mrs. G. Drabble, Mrs. R. C. Pulling, Wm. ilease and other standard varieties. Mrs, W. H. R. Hilliard I Walter James, gardener) had the best 'Mums, single stems in 6-ineh pots. Mrs. J. F. Byers (A, E, Boiisey, gardener) showed Well-grown vegetables and took several blue ribbons in those classes. Dixmont Hos[iital i gardener Carl Bech- erer) received an award of merit for a vase of line single seedling 'ilums. H. L, Mason, Jr. (gardener James Murphy) received a special prize for collec- tion of wen-.s;rown -Tap. Anemones. ' Messrs. Alex. Davidson. James Wiseman j and F. Luehenbacher acted as judges. A. A, LEACH, Sec'v. president: Jliomas Twigg, vicc-])resident : Ernst I. Brown, re-elected treasurer: Ernst Westlake, re-elected secretary; Harry Goodband re-elected corresponding secretar.\ : James McCarthy, trustee for three year-. Executive Committee: Jlessrs. Jos. Adler. Win. Xoonan, Thos. Henderson, Frank Watson, Chas. Biggers, John W, Everitt and Sam J. Trepess. President-elect Robert Jones thanked the society for the honor conferred on him and, with the mem- bers' co-operation, trusted tlie society would liave, a> in tlie past, a successful adminis- tration. IlARltY G(X)DBAND, Corr. Secv, NASSAU COUNTY HORT, SOCIETY. '1 he annual meeting of the above societ.v was held in Pembroke Hall, Glen Cove, on Wednesday, December 10. President Jas, JMcCarthy occupied the chair. Andrew Crombie, John Morrison, Jos. Mander and Thos, Scott were elected active members. Treasurer Ernst J. Brown presented a creditable annual report showing the so- ciety had passed a very successful season both in point of membership and finan- cially. He also reported that a substantial check, the proceeds of our two fall shows, would be sent to the Red Cross. Jas. Duthie was called on to conduct tlic election of officers. The following oflicers were elected for the ensuing year; Robert Jones, ORCHIDS HOLYOKE AND NORTHAMPTON (MASS.) FLORISTS' AND GARDENERS' CLUB. The regular meeting was held Decem- ber 4 at the greenhouse of R. S. Carey, South Hadlej- Falls, Mass. Reports on the recent show proved that it was a success. The secretary-treasurer read his annual re- port, which was well received, as it showed the club in a flourishing condition. The election of officers for the coming year then followed. H. E. Downer, in- structor at Smith College was elected president; John Lamont, vice-president; James Whiting, of Massachusetts Agricul- tural College, re-elected secretary-treasurer, and R. B. Carey corresponding secretar.y. A rising vote of thanks was given our re- tiring president, George Strugncll and our re-elected secretarv-treasurer James Whit- ing. " R. S. CAREY, Corr. Sec'.v. SOUTHAMPTON (N. Y.) HORT. SOCIETY. The regular meeting of Southampton Horticultiual Society was held in Oddfel- lows Hall, on the 6th inst. President Chas. F. Guillot was in the chair. Wm. IMcLeod interested all present with his able report of the meeting of National Association of Gardeners held at the JIurray Hill Hotel, Xe\\' York, on Xovember 9, when the sub- ject of co-operation was dealt with. In the three exhibits put up for competition, two were won by W, JIcLeod and one by J. Cassidy. It was decided not to have the annual banquet this year, so we are hoping for a good attendance of members at the annual meeting, to be held in the above hall on January 3. After the meeting re- freshments will be served. Subject for com- petition will be six varieties of vegetables, three of each: best flowering (dant; best foliage plant. J. DICKSOX, Corr. Sec'y. j HILL'S EVERGREENS [ I Send for Price-list. Mention this magazine. | D- HILl. rWURSERY CO. Evergreen Specialists, | Largest Growers in America. = Box 305 i DUNDEE. ILL. UV arp Sppoialists in Orchiils. we cHect grow, import, vxport ami sell orcbids ex- I clusively. If you are in the market for Orchids I We solicit your Inquiries and orders. Cata- I lf»t;ues and special lists on application. I LAGER & HURRELL. Orchid Growers and Importers | Summit, N. «J. IMPORTED ORCHIDS If you contemplate buying imported stock this year write to me. JOSEIPH IVfA.NDA Orchid Expert, Seedsman and Florist West OranQe, N. J« Star Brand Roses * J-]ARDY field grown climb- me toscs. Excelsa (Red Dorothy Per- kins) and all olhes popular varietier Send for price-list. THE CONARD & JONES CO.. Box C. West Grove. Pa. FLOWER POTS We are Selling Agents for tlie best made red burned pure Clay Pots and Pans, shipped direct from Pennsylvania Pottery to Con- sumers; for list and terms aildress AUGUST ROLKER & SONS. SI Barclay Street New York Have a special type of construc- tion, which permits of great strength without the need of heavy shadow-casting supports. This gives the plants all the sunlight all day long. Send for bulletin No. 47. KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 303 King Rd. Nottb lonawanda, N. Y. 113 State St.. Boston. Hui. Harrison Bldg.. 16th & Market St«., Philadelphia, Pa. A High Grade SHREDDED HUMUS FOR LAWN HUMUS FOR GARDEN A pure plant food, unleached and unburnt; proven by analysis to con- tain potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Absorbs Nature's mois- ture and spreads its fertilizing ele- ments through the soil. Requires months of preparation. Ozviiig to war conditioiis no prices adver- tised. IVe will gladly furnish quotatioits on receipt of apf-lication for same. F. O. B. New York or Jersey City on any Railroai! or Steamboat Line MAGIC HUMUS CO. G. W. Chandler, Sales Agent 264 WEST 34th STREET, NEW YQBK or 40 PETERS PLACE, RED BANK, N. J. HARRV BA.LDWIM Manufacturer of Greentiouse Stiading I^atti Roller Blinds IVl/VIVIARONECK, IM. Y. Tree Needs Filled Spraying, pruning, carity filling, etc Whatever your trees need, we will do and do right. "The Bartlett Way" will Insure their lasting health. Representatives go everywhere. Send for "Tree Talk." THE F. A. BARTLETT CO. 543 Main St. Stamford, Conn. CUT FLOWER BOXES EDWARDS FOLDING BOX CO M AMUrACTURCnS PhlLADELPHIA. PA. THE GARDEISERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 453 IF TREES COULD TALK. If trees could talk, the tales they'd tell ^^■ollld surely be worth listening to. The trees that form the shady dell, Where lovers their fond vows renew; The trees that guard the home, the street Where children play and elders rest ; What varied tales would they repeat Of hopes deferred or hearts oppressed. Of happy lives divinely blest. If trees could talk, how oft we'd hear Of gross mistreatment, lack of care, Borne patiently for many a year. While thoughtless uiortals unaw-are Of how trees suffer, why they fail. Put forth no efl'ort to repel The foes that constantly assail. Sad tales like this we know full well. A myriad suffering trees would tell. If trees could talk, metliinks their words Would sound a protest loud and stern For loss of their good friends, the birds. And make a plea for their return. Trees need the birds and so do we. In the incessant fight to stay The foes that so persistently On flowers and fruit and foliage pri'y. Our allies, vigilant, are tliey. Trees cannot talk, and yet. to him Who truly loves these friends of man. Their every leaf and flower and limb Is vocal. Since the world began The trees have lieen our steadfast friends. And our well l>eing constantly Upon their life and growth depends. How faithful, then, our care should be, How fondly should we love the tree. —Frank L. Bruer in Tree Talk. Nitraco Is A Fertilizer So g Compounded That You J Can Use It Safely For ^ Everything That Grows NITRACO has been evolved for the use of the professional gardener who knows what a complete "all around" fertilizer real- ly is, and knows liow and when to apply it. Nitraco can be used for all grow- ing plants. Flowering plants, foli- age plants, fruit or vegetables — it makes no difference which — you can apply Nitraco to them with an absolute assurance of safe and sure results and better crops. Can apply Nitraco to them no matter iiiiere they are — be it in pots, greenhouse benches or the open ground. The idea that you must have a special fertilizer for every special plant is proved a fallacy by Nitraco. For Nitraco is an efficient fertilizer for every plant. The fact that it is not called "Plant Fertilizer" or "Chrysanthemum Fertilizer" makes it Horticultural Dept., none the less effective for any crop. "A rjse by any other name smells just as sweet." The analysis is the thing to judge a fertilizer by — not its name. And when we say that Nitraco analyzes higher than the average foreign fer- tilizer, we are making a statement that we can back up with figures, fiere are the ligures : Analysis of Nitraco: Nitrogen. 3.3^c : Ammonia, 4'/r ; Available Phosphoric Acid. 8% ; Potash. 2%. Helj) yourself and ii.itriotically f.clp your country's industries, by buying a fertilizer that's "made in .\niertca." Nitiaco is scld as follows; '5 lh3 $2.50 50 lbs 4.50 luO Ids 6.00 Or in ton lots. Vour Seedsman can supply you. -\sk his traveling man about Nitraco when he comes aroinid. Or send direct to us for a trial one pound carton, mailed postpaid for 26c. Harry A. Bunyard, Mgr. NiTRAT 107 Pearl Street GENCIES ggagflZH^Hi^Ba^^m New York B HORTICULTURE Everything for the Grounds, Gardens and Greenhouses "Tell Me All About It" C. H. ATKINS, Inc. RUTHERFORD, N. J. ail! "// It's on the Earth I Can Get It." AGRICULTURE Everything for the Farm, Stable and Garage SERVICE SAVING RESULTS IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Competent Gardeners y The comlorls and products ol a country home are Increased by employing a competent gardener ; il you want to engage one, write to us.