state; pomological society. 115 



the A)nierican elm, the birches, the hawthorns, our common 

 thorn apples, — why they are catalogued at high prices by the 

 nurserymen, but we can go right out in the fields and dig them 

 up and get them for only the cost of bringing them in. 



I have not spoken of the high bush blueberry. There is not a 

 more attractive wild shrub in the State of Maine than the high 

 bush blueberry, and it is readily cultivated in certain moist local- 

 ities or in good loam soil. It won't do well on heavy clay. 

 There is nothing in October which gives a richer foliage unless 

 it be the sumach. Bittersweet, and clematis, among climbing 

 vines, will screen the outbuildings. The common woodbine has 

 relieved the bareness of these brick walls more than I can tell 

 you. 



I think if I had been a student rooming in Oak Hall I should 

 have wanted to put up over the door, "Abandon hope ye who 

 enter here." It was a desolate looking place. But it is the 

 planting of shrubs, and the use of the woodbine upon the walls 

 of the building, which has relieved that bareness, and which will 

 relieve it in any of our homes. Break up, then, the hard line 

 between the building and the walk. Irregularities in the outline 

 of the building may often be relieved by putting in a few shrubs 

 of the kinds that I have named. 



Now there are just two or three of the nursery-grown shrubs 

 that I want to call to your attention. They are not expensive 

 and they are of the greatest value. These are the Japanese 

 barberry, the spiraea Van Houttii — you can tell them you want 

 that Dutchman's spiraea — the hydrangea, with which you are 

 familiar, and the Tartarian honeysuckle. Now there are four 

 shrubs among the very best we have, not expensive, and they 

 are of great value for ornamental purposes. The Tartarian 

 honeysuckle gives its rich pink bloom in June, and the fruit, as 

 you saw it, all through the month of August and into Septem- 

 ber, — the rich red berries adding to the attractiveness by reason 

 of the contrast with the strong green foliage. Another plant I 

 didn't mention is the Japanese rose, Rosa rugosa, which is the 

 best of the roses for general planting. 



Now, friends, I just want to add to what Mr. Knowlton has 

 said, in regard to the importance of every member of this society, 

 every one who is interested in rural improvement, emphasizing 

 the decoration of our school grounds, our churchyards and our 



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