98 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



{April, 



roots are rather dry, after filling a portion of 

 soil, pour in water freely. After all has settled 

 away, fill in lightly the balance of the soil, and 

 let it rest for a few days. This is as a remedy, 

 not as a rule ; for watering this way cools the 

 soil, ultimately hardens it, and in other respects, 

 works to the injury of the transplanted tree. 



Unless inside of a round ring, or circular walk, 

 don't plant trees or slirubs in formal clumps. 

 They are abominations in the eyes of persons of 

 ta«te. Meaningless irregularities, form the op- 

 posite extreme. Remember, "Art is nature 

 better understood." 



In your flower-beds, if the plants sickened last 

 year, change the soil. Renovated earth is re- 

 newed health to consumptive flowers. Sow an- 

 nuals as soon as the ground is warm. Too early 

 sowing and deep covering rots seeds very often, 

 this is frequently the cause of one's seeds 

 being "bad." Prepare flowers in their winter 

 quarters for the summer campaign, by gradually 

 inuring them to the air before setting out finally. 

 Set out when all danger of frost is over. Don't 

 set out a plant with a dry ball ; but water well 

 while in the pot an hour or so before. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



SCRAPS. 



BY REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER. 



It is perilous to carry grading about a house 

 into Autumn, inasmuch as late rains and early 

 Spring rains will be likely to cut and furrow the 

 surface, and when on a side' hill, to wash away 

 no inconsiderable part of your work. Yet it 

 sometimes happens that you must run the risk. 

 Grass seed after the middle of October will 

 hardly get a good hold in the latitude of Kew 

 York, and in some seasons, when cold comes 

 early, it will not fasten itself at all. Under cir- 

 cumstances like these I sowed rye liberally with 

 grass seed. It came well ; formed a good cover- 

 ing ; and even when ruts were made by rain 

 the long blades of rN'e laj' down in the channels 

 and prevented further deepening. In the Spring 

 two or three cuttings, as soon as the rye is six 

 inches high, ends its career and leaves the grass 

 to itself. 



There is a prevalent notion that much skill is 

 required to raise carnations. Any man who can 

 raise lettuce or peas can succeed with carnations. 

 I obtain the best seed possible ; sow it thickly 



in rows, in June, as I would salad. It comes 

 speedly. When about one or two inches high 

 prick it out upon a prepared bed, about eight 

 inches apart and let it grow till frost comes, 

 then very slightly draw earth enough to it to 

 cover the collar, and let it alone for the Winter. 

 When I used to cover it with straw or brush I 

 lost half my plants. But by leaving them open 

 and unprotected they come through the Winter 

 without bleaching, and go to work early. 



The great difliculty in blooming carnations is 

 the want of good seed. In some seasons, buy- 

 ing the best seed in market, I have not raised a 

 single double. It does look as though foreign 

 seedsmen sometimes adulterate th^ir carnation 

 seeds ; for that it should be done in New York 

 is not to be thought of. 



There ! I have done my duty for the nonce. 

 I mean to send you some notice about building 

 on a side-hill. 



ANEMONES. 



BY "W. C. L. DREW, EL DORADO, CAL. 



Anemones which are among the oldest of gar- 

 den favorites and which are highly prized in 

 Europe, are very seldom met with in America 

 even in large collections, yet all who see them 

 when in bloom admit them to be far superior to 

 many plants now cultivated by American ama- 

 teurs and florists; one reason for this is that 

 nearly all American catalogues speak of them of 

 being difficult to cultivate, which fact my exper- 

 ience indicates to be a charge wholly unfounded, 

 and one which has deprived our flower loving 

 people of one of the grandest flowers in cultiva- 

 tion. 



As a general rule, what few growers there are 

 of the Anemone in America and many of those 

 in Europe, only grow the common form of garden 

 anemones. A. hortensis, varieties, known also 

 as A. stellata. They grow these varieties to the 

 almost total exclusion of the brilliant original 

 species, such as A. coronaria, and while I would 

 not have any one give up the beautiful A. hor- 

 tensis varieties, I would ask of them a fair share 

 of patronage for the other varieties which are 

 equally beautiful and far more brilliant. 



A. coronaria is now to be had bearing double 

 and single flowers of the most brilliant hues, 

 running through many shades of scarlet, red, pur- 

 ple, white and variegated, and as there are some 

 three hundred varieties of coronaria, the most 

 difticult to please, can make a selection of them 



