«w 



THE GAKDEM'.R'S MOMIILY 



\.]fun/i. 



ous spt'cios of nsofnl and onmmontiil horbs and 

 troos from cvcrv climo in Uic univorsc, all fit for 

 sale. Many of the sood and iniplcnu-nt ware- 

 houses are to\veriii<» temples of <;reatness, and 

 stored with seeds of the most improved species 

 and varieties suitable for eiilture in all parts of 

 our extensive domain. The hand-tools and ma- 

 (•hines for man and horse are of the latest inven- 

 tions and iniprovenuM)ts to lighten, cheapen and 

 facilitate the laboi-s of field and garden. The 

 inceniously constructed and handsomely linislied 

 rustic designs, to ornament and diversify the 

 garden, the parlor, and the park, are as curious 

 as they arc bt-auliful. In herbs and trees, seeds 

 and imi)lenients, curious ornamental designs, 

 dried llowers and gnisses, cut flowers and floral 

 decorations; flowers for Winter, flowers for 

 Summer, and fruit.s for all time ! The reading 

 columns of TnE Monthly afford a profitable 

 study, but scarcely less so are the advertising 

 pages. It is gratifying to those who know how 

 highly floral taste is estimated by intelligent 

 Europeans, to note how much we are advancing 

 iu the same directions ; and nothing shows how 

 this is going on more than the numerous adver- 

 tisements in the Gardener's Monthly. 



RHODODENDRON OCCDIENTALIS AND 

 PICKERINCIA MONTANA. 



liY Mil. .J. l^. HICKMAX. 



These are two of the most beautiful flowering 

 shrubs of California, and are found on the sum- 

 mits of the low hills to the north of the bay of 

 Monterey, gencrall}' among other shrubber}', 

 but in the shade. 



The former is d^duous, the latter evergreen • 

 the former bearing large ma.sses of sweet-scented 

 white flowers which are often shaded with yel- 

 low and rarely with pink, growing in rather dr}' 

 ground it .sends down large deep roots, which 

 supply it with abundant moisture, though 

 blooming iu a rainless Summer. It sends up 

 numerous shoots from a knotty root crown, and 

 from its appearance would seem to be hard to 

 transplant. My experience, however, is to the 

 contrary ; for, after hacking a plant to pieces 

 with an axe, I managed to get a few stems, each 

 with a chunk of the crown and a stray rootlet, 

 and after being carried two days on horseback, 

 they were potted in old cans ; now, a year after- 

 ward, they have filled their cans with a mass of 

 fine roots, and having just shed their leaves, 

 show a tine lot of buds for next year. 



The Pickeringia blooms similarlv to Swain- 



sonia, but the flowers an- nuich brighter and the 

 racenu's longer. I believe it blooms six months 

 in the year, and where it does well is very hand- 

 some, often growing eight feet high; its leaflets 

 are about the size of those of the Clianthus and 

 are glaucous green, the steni is beset with 

 thorns, and if the plant would submit to trim- 

 ming, would make a fine hedge. I have ])een 

 able to find but three seeds in several years 

 experience with the plant, though as its immense 

 truncate roots seem to sprout freely wherever 

 they are exposed, I presume it might be prop- 

 agated by the root. 



ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE AILAN- 

 THUS. 



BY B. F. L., PHILADELl'IIIA. 



Your Bridgeport correspondent who, I notice, 

 still writes to j^ou regarding the merits of the 

 much abused Ailanthus, has, I believe, not men- 

 tioned as yet the fact observed by several 

 naturalists, that the rosebug is stupefied, sickened 

 and probably destroj'ed by either eating the 

 leaves, or getting within the atmosphere sur- 

 rounding the male or staminate plant of this 

 species. 



Great numbers of this pest of the garden have 

 been seen on several occasions in a crippled or 

 dying condition beneath the tree, one instance 

 being given where the ground was literally 

 covered with them. 



This being the case, would it not be politic for 

 those who cultivate the rose either for pleasure 

 or profit, to try the experiment of introducing 

 the male Ailanthus into their grounds as a means 

 of reducing the numbers of this destructive 

 insect. 



I would suggest its use as a shrub, and indi- 

 vidual specimens of it could be placed wherever 

 they would appear to the best advantage, or they 

 could be set in an uneven row as a background 

 to the protected plant. 



Like Genl. Noble, I am an admirer of both the 

 staminate . and pistillate Ailanthus, and think 

 that the former is one of the best adapted of all 

 trees for shading our city streets, owing to its 

 very open habit. 



BROWALLIA ROEZLI. 



BY' EDWIN LONSDALE, GERMANTOWN, PHIL'A. 



This plant was noticed in the Monthly some 

 time last year, and recommended for the deco- 

 ration of our gardens in Summer, and the seed 

 catalogues for the present year are also recom- 



