322 



77/ A' GARDENER'S MONTH I. V 



[November y 



new eartli is dniwii up, success with such Mowers 

 will not be jjfieat. The best plan is to take up 

 and replant every few years, or cover tiie run- 

 ning parts above ground with earth, so that they 

 maj' have a chance to get new roots from the 

 advancing stocks. This is noticed here at this 

 season to show that earth is the natural covering 

 for herbaceous plants, an<l therefore one of the 

 surest ways of preserviuL; tliem safe through 

 "Winter is to draw earth over them. In the 

 Spring they can be unearthed and then divided 

 and set a trifle deeper than before, which is all 

 they want. We are often asked how to preserve 

 Carnations, Chrysanthemums, Pansies, Phloxes, 

 Hollyhocks and so forth, safe till Spring. The 

 principles here laid down will explain the prac- 

 tice. 



The planting of trees will still continue to 

 engage our attention at every favorable oppor- 

 tunity. Many j^refer at this season to remove 

 trees in the Winter by the " frozen ball " .system. 

 There is nothing gained by this practice. To 

 those unacquainted with this mode of planting 

 we may as well describe it. Just before frost is 

 expected, a trench is dug around a tree a few feet 

 from its base, leaving the tree, so that with a 

 rope at the top, it can be easily drawn over. A 

 hole is then dug for it in the situation desired. 

 When the "ball " has become frozen through 

 around the tree, it is removed to the prepared 

 hole ; and when a thaw comes the soil is filled 

 in around it. We have said there is nothing 

 irained by it, and there are many disadvantages. 

 If the tree has been removed a " time or two " 

 before, as most nursery trees have, it will have 

 an abundance of fibres near the stem, and can 

 be successfully removed without much regard to 

 the "ball of earth," either in Fall or Spring. If 

 it has never been removed before, that is a tree 

 growing naturally, it will have no fibres at its 

 base, and so no "ball of earth "can preserve 

 them; so that a tree which can be moved suc- 

 cessfullj' on this freezing sy.stem, can be as suc- 

 cessfully done without it. The disadvantages of 

 it are that it exposes the injured roots for a long 

 time to the injurious action of the frost and the 

 elements, besides the frequency of the operation 

 being improperly done by several attempts 

 being made at its completion. We have given 

 the system a fair trial, and have done with it. 

 The main object should be to preserve all the 

 roots possible with the tree, keep them moist 

 and preserve from injury, then go ahead and 

 don't wait for frost. 



COM M UN It A J IONS. 



"HOLYWOOD, " AT LONG BRANCH, N.J. 



nv ririKU jikndkuson. 



j This is the residence of John Iloey, Esq.; 

 nearly 200 acres is embraced in the domain, 

 \ which is located about half a mile from the 

 beach, on a -gently rising grade, having a front- 

 age of some 4000 feet. The mansion is located 

 ! some 1200 feet from the entrance, and from that 

 [ distance looks as if framed in the foliage of a 

 ' clump of trees, which, however, is some distance 

 beliiiid it. On both sides of the main drive is a 

 broad expanse of lawn, unbroken by tree or 

 fiower-bed, and of a verdure unexcelled ; on each 

 side of the same drive is a mammoth ribbon 

 line bed, running a length of 800 feet — the effect 

 of these beds, when I saw them in the light of 

 an August afternoon, in contrast with the velvet- 

 like lawn, is something never to be forgotten, 

 and it is doubtful if in all the experienced art of 

 Europe they have ever been surpassed. The 

 materials to form the combination of color was 

 nothing new, but it was the harmonious blend- 

 ing and the healthy vigor and keeping of the 

 plants that rendered the effect of the whole so 

 fine. The first line was composed of Alternan- 

 thera latifolia, then followed "Mountain of 

 Snow" Geranium, Achyranthus Lindeni,Coleus 

 "Golden Model," Achyranthus Gilsonii, Coleus 

 Yerschafelti, Stevia serrata variegata (a plant 

 new for this purpose), Genl. Grant Geranium, 

 Centaui'ea gymnocarpa, Coleus Verschafelti, 

 Coleus " Negro," Pyrethrum "Golden Feather," 

 and Altei'nanthera magnifica. These formed 

 beds about twelve feet in width rounded from 

 each side so that the red line of Geraniums 

 formed the centre. On the plateau immediately 

 in front of the residence were some verj' fine 

 beds massed in colored foliage, and a large tri- 

 angular bed of succulents, embracing a most 

 interesting collection of Agaves, containing 

 nearly every known species in cultivation here. 

 At this point also w^as a crescent-shaped bed, the 

 ground work of Alternanthera, bordered with 

 Golden Feather, in which was written in very 

 fine lettering, — the letters formed of Echeveria 

 secunda glauca, — the words " The Charm of Life 

 is Love," and " Nature here shows Art." Tlie 

 number of plants necessary to make this bed 

 was 50,000. The whole number of plants used 

 for bedding purposes, Mr. James Mackaj% the 

 able gardener in charge, estimates at not less 



