1877.] 



AND HOBTIGULTURIST. 



^31 



trees is very agreeable. When one goes into 

 a forest of Pine Fir, he perceives a sweet 

 smell, and a feeling of gladness comes over him. 

 It was the aim of the all-wise Creator, in making 

 the herb and tree, to spring out of the ground, 

 to purify the atmosi^here for man, by the ab- 

 sorption of carbon and emission of ozone. 



All garden plants with sweet-scented blossoms 

 are health-giving ; so are highly flavored pot- 

 herbs. Celery grows naturally on marshy sea- 

 coasts, and keeps off fevers from the inhabitants 

 living there. A well stocked garden is a panacea 

 for many human maladies. 



English gardeners in the cool, moist climate of 

 England, any have been induced to make a peat- 

 bed in a light friable soil, their only remedy is 

 mulching. Nothing else will save them from 

 the inevitable result of their error. Our opinions 

 are based upon an experience of thirty years, 

 during which we have grrwn many acres of 

 Rhododendrons without a particle of peat and 

 in the open sun. We have always considered 

 the peat and shade fallacies a great bar to suc- 

 cessful Rhododendron culture. For his own soil 

 Mr. Beecher's treatment is right ; for many others 

 it may be very wrong. 



PEAT AND RHODODENDRONS. 



BY MR. S. B. PARSONS, FLUSHING, N. Y. 



The experience of Mr. Beecher as related in 

 your March issue, is entirely consistent with my 

 assertion that the Rhododendron will succeed 

 best in good garden soil. That which we con- 

 sider a good garden soil on Long Island is a 

 light, rich, alluvial loam. The soil of Mr. 

 Beecher's country place we understand to be 

 heavy clay. 



The Rhododendron has a large number of 

 small fibrous roots which eagerly enter into open 

 and friable soil and are repelled by a stiff hard 

 clay. To make the latter resemble the foi'mer, 

 there must be a mixture with it of some light 

 material. For this j^urpose peat is good because 

 it contains some vegetable matter. It is not 

 surprising that plants taken from the friable 

 soil of Long Island, or the peat-beds of England, 

 should languish in clay. Rhododendrons im- 

 ported from England and sent out with balls of 

 peat, will not grow even in our Long Island soil 

 until they have had time to sen 3 out roots into 

 the good garden ' soil around them. The treat- 

 ment which Mr. Beecher gave his plants, was the 

 best under his circumstances. The mulching 

 was, however, an important element in his suc- 

 cess. The drought of last Summer would have 

 told severely upon the peat-bed, except for the 

 mulching, the benefit of which is well-known. 



The sum of the Avhole matter is that for a stiff" 

 clay soil any lightening material is good, but for 

 a light friable soil any lightening material is in- 

 jurious. The sun will pierce and burn it, will 

 excite the roots as fever excites a sick man, and 

 will leave the plant to the rigors of a cold Win- 

 ter in a half sick state, in which it may either 

 languish or die. If misled by the experience of 



RHODODENDRONS. 



BY DR. G. CHESTON, BALTIMORE, MD. 



I have just read an article in your March num- 

 ber on the cultivation of Rhododendrons. The 

 experience of its writer would seem to be con- 

 clusive, and he evidently so regards it, oi peat 

 soil being an essential requisite of success. My 

 experience is not confirmatory of this position, 

 and lest any of your readers, who desire to grow 

 Rhododendrons, and cannot command peat, 

 should be discouraged by this adverse testimony 

 from so intelligent a source, I venture to send 

 you this communication. About ten years ago, 

 I consulted some professional gardeners, whose 

 answers were : " however beautiful Rhododen- 

 drons may be, it is a vain effort to attempt their 

 cultivation here, as they will neither stand our 

 Winters nor Summers." I then consulted with 

 Messrs. Parsons, and accepting their views as 

 my guide, I at once ordered plants of them. I 

 had no peat, and following Parsons' assurance 

 that they could be grown without it, I put them 

 in beds of good garden soil. They not only 

 lived, but have grown vigorously, bloomed pro- 

 fusely, and are of course now large plants. I 

 have since made repeated additional plantings 

 with like good success, sometimes obtaining my 

 plants from Parsons, and sometimes importing 

 them from Anthony Waterer, England. 



The first bed that I prepared was dug out two 

 feet deep, and filled in with light loam. Since, it 

 has been my practice to dig them three feet, but 

 botli have succeeded well. The soil used has 

 been varied more than once, showing that suc- 

 cess was not attributable to any peculiarity of 

 the soil. My observation has led to this conclu- 

 sion, that pf«< is not at all necessary, but that 

 good drainage and location are essential condi- 



