324 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



me; indeed the annuals have mostly proved a 

 failure. One place in my garden has, however, 

 been brilliant for several weeks with the blooms 

 of the new Godetia, "Princess of Wales," which 

 surpasses my favorite "Lady Albemarle." The 

 color is very vivid, ruby crimson, with the outer 

 edges bordered with pale rose. I regret that the 

 new Eschscholtzia crocea flore pleno has not yet 

 bloomed. So desirous am I of seeing its flowers 

 I think I shall pot a few of the plants. It is thus 

 described: "One of the grandest novelties that 

 has come under notice for many years. A 

 beautiful bright orange scarlet, shading off to 

 salmon red color. The flowers are of great sub 

 stance, the appearance of the plant in growth 

 being particularly' distinct and charming. It is 

 quite as hardy as E. crocea, and the flowers are 

 produced in the greatest profusion." Mr. Saul 

 gives this in quotation as not being responsible. 

 Perhaps he has not tested it personally. Will 

 some successful one give a brief report? 



Since I began this essay the blessed rain has 

 been falling for eight hours, and its steady pour 

 makes sweet music to the ear. 



HYDRANGEA PANICULATA. 



BY MR. W. F. MASSEY, TOWSONTOWN, MD. 



Mr. Abbott, in your June number, speaks of 

 propagating Hydrangea paniculata from ripe 

 wood with ease. I have tried, years ago, to 

 grow it from ripe wood cuttings and from root 

 cuttings, but without any success. This Hy- 

 drangea is propagated with the greatest ease in 

 spring and early summer from cuttings of the 

 green wood. I can propagate it in this way as 

 easily as a verbena. My practice is to lift as 

 many old plants as I need for stock in the fall 

 after the leaves have fallen. These are potted 

 and placed in a cold greenhouse or grapery, 

 until the last of February, when they are put in 

 a warm house and encouraged to grow. The 

 young shoots are cut after they have made two 

 or three joints, being taken off just above the 

 first eye from the old wood. This eye pushes at 

 once and gives cuttings later. The cuttings are 

 put in the sand of the cutting bench and given 

 a fair bottom heat ; though late in spring I find 

 they root well without bottom heat, but not 

 quite so quickly. The cuttings must be left in 

 the sand until they have made quite a mass of 

 roots, as I have found that if potted as soon as 

 a few roots are formed, the greater part damp 

 off in the pots; but if carefully lifted with a 



mass of roots, not one in a thousand will damp. 

 By this method I will guarantee to produce one 

 hundred young plants from every good, bushy 

 stock plant fifteen to twenty inches high. These 

 young plants turned out in the open ground in 

 May, will make nice plants by fall. 



Speaking of Hydrangeas, we have here, along 

 the north front of the old mansion, close to the 

 walls, some immense clumps of Hydrangea hor- 

 tensia, probably fifty years old or more. The 

 soil in which these grow is full of small lumps 

 of iron ore. The flowers on these clumps are 

 always an intense blue. Twenty five feet away 

 are several other clumps, the flowers of which 

 are always pink. The soil and the lumps of 

 iron ore are apparently identical in both places. 

 Now if, as some assert, the iron in the soil is the 

 cause of the blue color in Hydrangeas, why are 

 not all of them blue? The pink clumps are 

 younger than the others, and have in all proba- 

 bility been propagated from cuttings of those 

 which bear blue flowers. 



We have, on this old place, many noble speci- 

 mens of arboreal beauty, as might be expected 

 in a place which, unlike most American country 

 seats, has been for a hundred years continuously 

 in charge of professional gardeners. Prominent 

 among those is a copper-leaf Beech, or, as some 

 call it, blood leaf Beech. This is probably unex- 

 celled by any other in the United States. Its 

 branches sweep the turf in a circle fifty feet in 

 diameter, while its rounded head rises as high 

 in the air. In addition to this, the majestic 

 oaks, elms and walnuts, and the unusually large 

 specimens of magnolias, weeping sophoras, as 

 well as the immense evergreens of various sorts, 

 give to " Hampton" the look of repose and 

 "green old age,"' which most American places 

 lack. 



BERMUDA CRASS. 



BY C. DENMAN, MEMPHIS, TENN. 



With regard to your correspondent's inquiry 

 as to the richness of soil required to insure the 

 free growth of the above named grass, our 

 experience here is to the effect that it will grow 

 in any soil no matter how poor. 



As a summer grass in a hot and dry climate 

 it is superior to any; but there are several ob- 

 jections to its use for lawns. It is almost impos- 

 sible to use it near flower beds, as it will run 

 through them in spite of all efforts to avoid 

 it. Once in possession, it is worse to eradi- 



