294 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[October y 



tion of a Thorn hush, whitli hjis savod it from \ 

 cattle. Takiiiii a hint from Xaturo, I desired my 

 woodman hist Autumn to plant in my park, by 

 way of experiment, a dozen trees, about six feet 

 liigh, in such a manner that thc}-^ would be pro- 

 tected each by a Thorn. He performed his task 

 with prcat judiiment. and I am happy to say that 

 hitherto the expi riment appears to be so success- 

 ful that I shall repeat it on a larger scale this 

 next November. Planters, of course, will see 

 that my object is to plant single or grouijcd trees, 

 without having to incur the expense and trouble 

 of fencing them ; and having been thus far suc- 

 cessful, I am desirous of imparting this 'dodge' 

 to others, who, haviuix rough grounds, may thus 

 make nse of their Thorns as nurses for more 

 valuable trees." 



In America we cannot wait for the Thorn trees 

 to grow, but cut the Thorn's branches and work 

 them round the trunks to be protected. Around 

 Philadelphia it is not uncommon to see Honey 

 Locust, Yellow Locust, Osage Orange and even 

 Blackberry branches used as protectors in this 

 way. 



Asphalting Walks.— The value of asphalte 

 ought to be more thoroughly understood, consid- 

 ering the benefit it is to amateur and gardener 

 alike, but a great many object to it on account 

 of the color and unpleasant odor in hot weather ; 

 but whoever will follow my instructions will 

 have a walk like ^n ordinary gravel walk with 

 the dm-ability of the asphalte. In the first place, 

 it is indispensable to edge the Avalk with edging 

 stones, as the w^ear and tear generally begins 

 from the sides of the walk, from the soil parting 

 from the asphalte in dry weather, causing the 

 latter to crack ; hence the necessity for edging 

 stones. Then fill up the walk as recommended 

 by James Firth, with the addition of a little pitch 

 boiled with the tar, and when well rolled, leave 

 it witliin an inch of the top of the edge-stones ; 

 then with the mixture of pitch and tar, wliile hot, 

 "paint" the walk a few yards at a time with an 

 old sweeping brush, some one to follow with some 

 fine sifted Buxton limestone (not spar), and scat- 

 ter it over the "paint," so that there is not a 

 particle of the "paint" to be seen; then roll well 

 before it sets, after which sweep off all the lime- 

 stone you possibly can, and it will leave the walk, 

 as I have said, a dry and solid gravel Avalk with- 

 out the objectionable tar being visible, the pitch 

 preventing its working through. The cost will 

 be Is 4d. or Is. 6d. per yard, depending in a great 

 measure upon the locality for <retting the edging 



.stones. I omitted to say tlie edging stones will 

 be covered by the grass-turf, so that they will 

 not be objectionable on the grass lawn, but will 

 give a very neat appearance, besides being bet- 

 ter to edge and keep clean. I need hardly say, 

 fine di-y weather is indispensal)le during the opera- 

 tion. — The Gardens, Jfornc/iff'c Umise, liawten- 

 sfdll. John Fletehcr. 



Aponogeton distaciiyox not necessari- 

 ly AN Aquatic. — It may be good news for 

 many of your readers who are not possessed of 

 ponds or tanks suitable for growing this delicious- 

 ly sweet-scented plant, recently described and 

 ligured in The Garden, that water is by no means 

 necessary in which to grow and fiower it success- 

 fully. When visiting the experimental depart- 

 ment of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris recently, 

 I was shown, in one of the greenhouses, by M. 

 Carriere, a pot containing a plant of the Apono- 

 geton covered with its curious pure white distich- 

 ous flowers, but destitute of foliage, and showing a 

 large number of flower buds protruding from 

 the crown of the plant, which promised a long 

 succession of bloom. The house was quite flUed 

 with the delicate perfume exhaled from the 

 numerous blooms — a perfume which much re- 

 sembles that of the Winter Heliotrope (Tussilago 

 fragrans). M. Carriere informed me that ho 

 grew the plant in r"bugh lumps of peat mould, 

 mingled with potsherds, which were also scat- 

 tered thickly on the surface of the pot. I may 

 add that I have never seen half so man}' blooms 

 open at one and the same time on any plant 

 growing in the water as were in full perfection 

 on this potted plant. A more charming or sweel- 

 scented plant for window or room culture could 

 not well be discovered than the Aponogeton 

 distachyon thus grown in a pot. — W. E. G.,in 

 Garden. 



AsTiLBE BARBATA. — Generally, but errone- 

 ously, known as Iloteia Japonica, and Spiraea 

 barbata, cannot be too highly appreciated a.s a 

 decorative plant for early forcing; its pretty, 

 erect, shining green foliage, surmounted by nu- 

 merous beautiful and graceful panicles of white 

 infloresence, giving the whole plant an elegant 

 appearance, and rendering it at once mostple.'is- 

 ing and useful for decorative purposes. — W. Btdf. 



What Ails the Trees. — A couple of years 

 ago the city of Philadelphia concluded that 

 the dirtily disgraceful Independence Square 

 should be made decent. Among other things it 

 was re-sodded. Those who do such work are sel- 



