;V2G 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



{November^ 



A Pretty City Gahden. — The city irardcn 

 of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lord, of New York , 

 City, is thus spoken of in a daily paper: 



"The extensive rear yard had been completely 

 transformed into a perfect haven of delight ; all ' 

 that wealth could command and art contrive had 

 been lavislied on that open space of fifty by one 

 hundred feet, and the whole most thoroutrhly ^ 

 concealed from the rude iraze of the nei<j;iiborsby 

 natural arbor vines of all kinds. The interior of 

 this enchanting retreat was prolific of exotics, 

 tropical fruit, plants and flowers in endless va- 

 riety, and here and there were fountains of the 

 richest perfumery in I'ull spray ; and tlittinj; about 

 the place were unnumbered feathered songsters 

 from every clime, that vied with each other in 

 sustaining an almost unbroken stream of melody. , 

 It was, indeed, a paradise of odors, music and j 

 flowers." 



Fruiting or the Akebia. — Those who have 

 not a plant of Akebia quinata, can have no idea I 

 what a handsome vine it is. It is so very hardy, j 

 has such beautiful foliage, is so free from dis- j 

 eases, grows so rapidly and yet is withal so 

 slender and graceful that it is hard to find 

 another climber to beat it. Besides it is the 

 earliest to leaf and flower, and the flowers are so 

 delightfully fragrant. This season it has added 

 to its points of interest by producing its singular 

 frnit in a few instances. Captain II. I). Landis, 

 of Chestnut Hill, near Philadelphia, sends aver}' 

 pretty specimen. But the most perfect we ever 

 saw came from Mr. W. M. Canby, of Wilming- 

 ton, Del. The female flower is composed of five 

 carpels. They rarely perfect and produce seed, 

 but when they do, only one or two matures. In 

 Mr. Canbj^'s sjiecimen all had reached this stage, 

 and as they opened on the upper side, formed one 

 of the most beautiful rosettes imaginable, and 

 offered a very beautiful model for a carver, or 

 for architectural ornamentation. It is surprising, 

 by the way, that those interested in the fine arts 

 do not insist more on those they employ pro- 

 ducing genuine representations from nature in- 

 stead of the extravagance so often seen. What 

 excuse can there be for making oak branches 

 with acorns, twine spiral!}' like climbing vines, 

 as they do in the new Public Buildings of Phila- 

 delphia ? 



Roses ix Round Baskets. — It will be unfor- 

 tunate if the admiration excited by the eftect of 

 the romid baskets of Marechal Niel Roses, shown 

 at the first Aquarium exhibition, leads to an at- 



tempt lieing made by any society to adopt this* 

 shape of stand for all th«' i-lasses of Rose show. 

 Mr. AVills and ourselves thought, when lookini: 

 at a box of Maredial Niels, shown by us at South 

 Kensington, how well a round ba.sket of this ])ar- 

 ticular Rose would lodk, and having some hund- 

 reds of fme flowers, we carried out the idea 

 somewhat carefully. The baskets used were two' 

 feet wide, ordinary nui-sery rounds, made without 

 handles, and of rather well selected unpeeled' 

 rods, and these we found looked even better 

 than baskets made of peeled rods. They were 

 filled with cocoanut fiber raised to a point in the 

 centre, and covered with moss. They held about 

 thirty-six flowers each. Seen from all parts of 

 the hall the eflect of the yellow masses was 

 striking. At the second show, where most of 

 the baskets were of flowers of mixed colors, we 

 personally thought the effect not nearly so re- 

 markable, and we drew the conclusion that tliese 

 baskets must be used only for the classes of 

 "so many flowers of one sort." A basket of 

 dark, with a ring of light colored Roses, as ex- 

 hibited, was a failure in effect. Tliis leads us to 

 say that for these classes it will be feasible to- 

 use ba.skets, if provided by the society. Twenty- 

 foiu- or tliirty-six blooms may be easily transfer- 

 red to a basket from a box liy exhibitors from a 

 distance, while in tlip short time allowed for ar- 

 rangement it would be almost impossible tO' 

 transfer the blooms of, say, the seventy-two va- 

 rieties, arranging them with the care exhibitors 

 have hitherto exercised. From what we have 

 heard expressed by amateurs and others, an}' 

 attempt to enforce such an arrangement would,, 

 we fear, lead to a thin show, from the absence- 

 of some of our leading exhibitors. We throw 

 out these remarks as a caution to societies not 

 hastily, nor without full consideration, to adopt 

 for all classes a novel plan well suited for one 

 or more. — Paul cV Son, The ^''Old'''' NurtserieSy. 

 Cheshu7it,in Gardener\s Chronicle. 



How' TO PkopactAte Mistletoe. — The seeds 

 being enveloped in a wet, slimy, or gummy-like 

 substance, it dries and fixes them firmly in a 

 short time, if put on when the bark and weather 

 are both dry ; whereas if the bark is wet, and 

 rain falls shortly afterwards, they are liable to 

 drop, or be washed off. In planting or rubbing on 

 the seeds, take a berry between the finger and 

 thumb, press it till the skin bursts and the seed 

 is protruded. Apply to the part of the bark se- 

 lected, throw awav the skin, as it is of no fm'th- 



