June 8, 1S07 



HORTICULTURE 



747 



iiii;- tile plants in (Iw shade and in tlie coolest part of the 

 lionse, and then j-emoving thcni into the greater heat 

 and sunliglit when the flowers are required. Another 

 diftieidtv is that the seeds arc so small as to require 

 great tare in the handling, and will only germinate 

 when suhjected to a certain degree oi; moisture and 

 moderately cool temperature ; sown close to the surface 

 and shaded from the hot sun, very finely pulverized [leat 

 soil heing used on which to sow the seed. 



SOME IXTEKKSTlXd l-.Xl'EROIEXTS 



Some experiments were also made in crossing the 

 ponticum, a much more I'l-ee growing species from Asia, 

 which is hardy in England and used there very exten- 

 sively for under-cover in phtvisant preserves, but not 

 much progress was made with the ponticums, the flow- 

 ers being loose and small, and the hj'brids not perfectly 

 hardy. Several varieties were produced, namely, one 

 called Victoria, a deep claret color, p. roseum, deep rose, 

 and some others. Another parent was B. maximum, thi^ 

 species indigen- 

 ons to New Eng- 

 land, and by mix- 

 ing this with 

 L' a t a w b i e n s e 

 some fine, light- 

 colored sorts were 

 produced such as 

 album elegans. 

 album grandiflo- 

 rum and others, 

 and these being 

 again recrcssed, 

 some fine light- 

 colored sorts have 

 resulted. E. .Ta- 

 vanicum, a species 

 with glossy foli- 

 age and golden 

 yellow flowers was 

 used to try to in- 

 fuse their tint- 

 into the hardy 

 varieties, but does 

 not appear to have 

 l)een successful. 



Once the efforts to aci|nire new and improved varieties 

 were successful it was much easier to add to their num- 

 ber by crossing them with each other, therefore many 

 fine ones are annually announced, but nevertheless some 

 of the original seedlings hold their own and have scarce- 

 ly been surpassed. 



When some of the choice C'atawbiense seedlings were 

 imported to this country the first specimens were killed 

 the first winter; this may be accounted for by the fact 

 that they were grafted upon ponticum stocks, which, al- 

 though it survives the cold of the old world succumbs to 

 it in the new, especially when they are not worked so 

 low as to permit of the stock being buried in the soil. 



TREATMENT REQUIRED BY THE RHODODENDRON 



It is gratifying to remark that the rhododendron is 

 growing in popularity, and new and superior hardy 

 varieties are increasing in number, while the older ones 

 are not to he des])ised. This cpieen of evergreen flowering 

 shrubs accommodates herself to a variety of soils but 

 thrives best in peat earth or any decayed vegetable mat- 

 ter. Potash and carbonic acid she delights in. but nitro- 

 gen, in too undiluted a state, or in too large a ])ropor- 

 tion, is very injurious. I once had a batch of seedlings 

 I was particularly anxious to push along, so I gave the 



soil a dressing of stable manure, without due considera- 

 tion, and killed every one. 



Do not add animal manure to the soil nor mulch the 

 beds with stable litter; a mulching, before the bushes 

 are large enough to cover the ground, is desirable but it 

 should be of leaves, straw or grass, cut before it has gone 

 to seed; such a mulch will keep the temperature of the 

 earth equal, and will ]irevent a too sudden thawing of 

 the roots in the spring. 



Rhododendron should never be pruned but planted in 

 such order as that each specimen may grow into a per- 

 fectly symmetrical shape. Neither should large branches 

 be cut for table or house decoration, because if the nat- 

 ural contour of the bush is destroyed it can never be re- 

 paired. 



AN EXHIBITION SUGGESTION 



The shrubs can be removed at any season except when 

 the ground is frozen hard, or when the new growth, 

 which imuiediatelv succeeds the flowers, is very tender, 



and even then 

 the y m a y b e 

 transplanted if 

 carefully handled 

 and the roots 

 well soaked with 

 water. This pe- 

 culiarity has en- 

 abled extensive 

 growers in the old 

 countrv, such as 

 the Messrs. Wat- 

 erer, to hold an- 

 nual exhibitions 

 of their choice 

 varieties under 

 large canvas tents. 

 These exhibitions 

 are among the 

 great horticultur- 

 al sights of the 

 British metrop- 

 olis. 



If I should not 

 lie too presumptu- 

 (uis I nught ven- 

 ture to suggest that the great Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society would do weU to hold such a show annually 

 in Boston; not one of cut flowers only, in their hall, 

 which after all gives b'at a'poor idea of the beauty of the 

 various species, or of their capabilities to make a most 

 mao-nificent dis^ilay when under a canvas tent; for it is 

 there, where the bright sunlight is subdued, that their 

 delightful and delicate shades of color are brought out 

 to the best advantage ; besides which they are protected 

 from storms of wind and rain and last very much longer 

 in bloom than under the open sky. The exhibition 

 might be kept open two weeks at least, and the public 

 would have a treat of which thousands would avail 

 themselves. 



The grouping and arrangements should be in charge 

 of a most skilful floral decorative artist. Prizes for 

 growing plants, either single specimens or in collections, 

 should be liberal enough to induce competition and to 

 reimburse exhibitors for their trouble and expense in 

 trans]iorting their specimens to and fro, and there is lit- 

 tle doul>t tliat tlic enterprise would be a grand success. 



Waterei- 



Sons. 



