66 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



{March, 



It is well to again remind the reader of what 

 we said last month, not to lay out too much 

 work for the year, but to see that what is planned 

 is executed tastefully and well. The true art of 

 gardening does not consist so much of having 

 everything on one's ground as in the combina- 

 tions. One thing should be made to help the 

 other. The garden should not be merely a col- 

 lection of all sorts of things like a museum, but 

 the collections should form one delightful gar- 

 den. Even plants that are weeds in some situa- 

 tions can be made very effective in the make up 

 of a carden. 



COMMUNICA TIONS 



BEECH HEDGES. 



BY F. H., ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



Mr. Miller has done good service by calling 

 attention to the varieties of the Blood-leaved 

 Beech for hedges. He is undoubtedly correct as 

 to the seedling Blood Beeches reproducing them- 

 selves. When in the Hamburg nurseries, some 

 years ago, they had crops from seed every year, 

 and a very large proportion came blood-leaved 

 like the parent tree. By a judicious selection 

 these were in most respects as good as the 

 parent tree, and in some respects better. 



The only point I see to add a word to besides 

 what Mr. Miller says, is not that seedling trees 

 are any better than grafted trees in themselves 

 for hedges, but that seedlings may be better 

 than the particular kind that is usually grown 

 by grafting in our niBrseries. This is known as 

 the "Rivers' Purple Beech," being from a favo- 

 rite tree of Mr. Rivers' , and from which almost 

 the whole stock in the trade originally came. 

 This tree happens to be a very strong tree in its 

 leading shoots, and has not much tendency to 

 make side branches, and in this way it makes a 

 nice large tree sooner than the usual seedling 

 tree. Again, this tendency to growth in one 

 long shoot gives the tree a sort of weeping 

 character when old, as the branches hang over 

 by the weight of leaves. The leaves are larger 

 than the common English Beech, and they re- 

 tain the blood-leaved character much longer 

 through the Summer season. These advantages 

 make the Rivers, or common Blood-leaved 

 Beech, much more desirable for an ornamental 

 tree; but, as Mr. Miller observes, the lank 

 growth is just so much against it as a hedge 



plant, though perhaps this may not be objec- 

 tionable when pruned in a hedge, which would 

 have a tendency to make it thicken out. 



However tliis is but a theory, for I have never 

 seen a Blood Beech hedge, though I am sure it 

 must be a very pretty object and a desirable 

 thing to have. But what I want to say is that 

 as we cannot always get seed to sow, we can at 

 least graft from these bushy seedling plants. 

 And if there is to be any demand for Blood 

 Beech hedge plants, why not graft a lot from 

 these instead of the lean and lanky Rivers kind ? 



THE RETINOSPORAS. 



BY MR. JOHN JAY SMITH, GERMANTOWN, PA. 



Mr. S. C. Moon, of Morrisville, Pa., has given 

 valuable and accurate information regarding the 

 beautiful family of Retinosporas, and the readers 

 of the Monthly would no doubt desire more 

 from such an able pen. 



Will the editor permit the addition of a few 

 more words. The Retinosporas propagate readily 

 by laying the lower branches with the usual 

 cut half through. In this way a stock can easily 

 be procured and rapidly. 



Permit a reader to add that the January num- 

 ber of the Monthly is perhaps the best ever 

 issued. Go on, and perfection will be attained. 



THE NEW FASTICIATE POPLAR. 



BY PROF. C. S. SARGENT, BROOKLINE, MASS. 



I translate from a letter lately received from 

 Dr. Charles Bolle of Berlin, the following infor- 

 mation concerning the fastigiate Silver Poplar, 

 which has been called P. alba Bolleana, and 

 which thanks to my correspondent will soon be 

 tested in tliis country. Dr. Bolle's information 

 is derived from a correspondent living at Teflis 

 in Southern Russia. This gentleman sa5's : "sev- 

 eral very finely grown specimens of the pyrami- 

 dal Silver Poplar may be seen in the public gar- 

 den of Teflis. As the garden was laid out and 

 planted by a fugitive Persian Prince, whose 

 name it still 1)ears, it is probable that this tree 

 was origiiially brought from Persia. The fasti- 

 giate Poplar is perfectly hardy in this climate 

 where the thermometer falls to 4° Fahrenheit. 

 It grows rapidly in any slightly moist soil, and 

 is particularly noticeable for its habit and great 

 size, completely dwarfing the Italian Poplar 

 with which it is associated. The bark, even in 

 old specimens is smoothed out as if it were pol- 



