1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



291 



though many of my plants suffered from the 

 severe winter and summer droughts of 1872-73, 

 yet I am not aware they have ever suffered 'from 

 cold many degrees below zero. 



Among the varieties I have grown here with 

 success are the following, imported from Mr. 

 Waterer many years ago : 



Evei-estianum, Charles Bagley, 



Mrs. Milner, Purpureura elegans, 



Mrs. McClutton, Lady Armstrong, 



Blaiidyanum, Atrosangxdneum, 



Album Grandiflormn, Onsloivanum, 

 Album elegans, Delicatissium,, 



Roseum Grandiflorum, John Waterer, 

 Old Port, Titian, 



Andersonii, Minnie, 



Towardii, Purity, 



Scipio, Stella, 



Caractacus, Mrs. Halford, 



Catawbiense Album, 

 Mr. Hunnewell, certainly the best grower of 

 Rhododendrons in this country, writes me to-day 

 on the subject : 



" I do not think the difficulty arises from the 

 cold, but from the drought, which is undoubtedly 

 the case with most evergreen failures. If you 

 will give Rhododendrons a good depth of soil in 

 the first place, say at least eighteen inches of 

 one-third peat or leaf soil, one-third sand and 

 one-third the top soil of an old pasture well-rot- 

 ted and in a place where they do not get the 

 mid-day sun, and mulch yerj'- thoroughly — 

 twelve to twenty inches — of well-rotted leaves. 

 The earth under them is always moist and cool 

 in our hottest weather." 



Of course, if one had great facilities for water- 

 ing Rhododendrons there would be less necessity 

 for heavy mulching. This, however, has another 

 advantage, — the annual decay of the lower 

 leaves of the mulch forms an admirable pabu- 

 lum or food for the plants. 



Mr. Nelson's idea in your September number, 

 that the roots of overhanging trees do no harm 

 to Rhododendrons is a great mistake, for if noth- 

 ing else they absorb the moisture and food, 

 which, did they not exist, would go into the Rho- 

 dodendrons. A wood or mass of trees on the 

 south side of Rhododendrons is very well, but 

 the roots of this wood should be always kept out 

 of the Rhododendron bed by annual cutting 

 back. 



I presume Mr. Nelson is praising our native 

 Rhododendrons having but one color, and could 

 he but see the collection at Wellesley of perhaps 



fifty or more colors from " Old Port," almost black, 

 to " Purity," nearly white, and every intervening 

 shade, he would be astonished. There are many 

 better evergreens than the American Yew. 



KILLS AND CURES IN THE GARDEN. 



BY GEN. W. H. NOBLE, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 



After each new pest and ail, follow lots of sure 

 cures therefor. But much of their value is lost 

 by not telling plainly the method of their use, 

 and their exact make-up. These are just the 

 things wanted. For that which in one way and 

 proportion will cure an ail, in another will kill 

 us and the ail too. Our friends therefore who 

 would help us in the garden, should not leave 

 anything at the mercy of a guess ; but give us 

 "measure for measure" of each thing which 

 makes up the remedy, and should tell us, too, 

 just how to apply. 



Now, almost everybody knows that kerosene 

 and carbolic acid are grand helps against many 

 petty foes and ails ; but just how much of either 

 and how much of water make up a proper " solu- 

 tion," "that is the question." At page 168 of 

 your June number we face this trouble, in " a 

 weak solution of carbolic acid " " for house 

 plants." " About as large as a piece of chalk " 

 is quite as definite, on size, as is a "weak solu- 

 tion," regarding the quantities therein. Now 

 if you know how much carbolic acid of certain 

 proof, and how much water, make a safe solu- 

 tion, tell us, please. 



HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS FOR AUGUST 



BY WILLIAM FALCONER, BOTANIC GARDEN, CAM- 

 BRIDGE, MASS. 



The following comprises the cream of the 

 hardy herbaceous plants in bloom here at the 

 Botanic Gardens on August 19th, "botanical" 

 plants being strictly omitted. Some of our best 

 reckoned-to-be hardy plants that were wintered 

 in frames raised from seeds last spring or other- 

 wise obtained and transplanted out-of-doors here 

 this year, and that are now in " season," I have 

 not mentioned, having only referred to those un- 

 questionably hardy, in so far, that they survived 

 unscathed our last winter. Many plants, too, 

 that have bloomed earlier, are owing to timely 

 cutting over and the late rains, coming quite 

 prettily into flower again, such as Delphiniums, 

 Coreopsis lanceolata and many Labiates. Antir- 



