i8g6. 



• ' ' GARDENING. 



213 



and so on. But tastes differ so much 

 that each one should make a selection for 

 himself and not be guided by others. 



PLAN FOR A POUR-ACRE PLACE. 



Blanche Burpee displaces it it is the finest 

 white flower of any. 



Splendor.— Superb, bright rose. "Fine 

 large flower somewhat like Her Majesty, 

 but mavbe deeper, good blooms." 



\'e.ms.— Salmon buff. ''Soft buff pink, 

 pale, but good." 



Of the above we will sow '1 pound of 

 each, and of the following one ounce of 

 each, which shows how our appreciation 

 runs. Everyone of them was grown here 

 last year too. 



Blanche Burpee.— White, very large, 

 wide open flower. Perhaps our finest 

 white. 



Blushing Beauty.- Soft pink. "Very 

 pretty when good; often comes spotted; 

 self." 



Butterfly.— "Whitish ground, edged 

 and laced with bluish; sometimes flushed 

 with pink; doesn't last long." 



Countess of Radnor.— "Pale lilac-pur- 

 ple self, not much difference between color 

 of standard and wings; shows veins; 

 fades fast to bluish; otherwise a finelarge 

 flower." 



Dorothy Tennant.— Large, rosy- 

 mauve. "Pale rosy -pink flushed with 

 puce on standard; very pretty but not 

 very free " 



Ionea. — Crimson-scarlet. "Bright, 



pretty, shows veining, assumes a purplish 

 tinge with age; a better grower and 

 larger flower than Invincible Carmine." 



Lady Beaconsfield.— Soft salmon 

 standard, pale primrose wmgs. "Dis- 

 tinct and pretty, but poor health." 



Lady Penzance.— Bright pink laced 

 with rose. "Pretty rose pink, darker 

 veins. Fine health, free bloomer, good." 



Lottie Eckford.— Pale mauve stand- 



ards, wings white beaded with mauve. 

 "A pretty flower but a good deal mixed 

 in coloring, this with creamy, even two 

 flowers on one spray often different." 



Monarch. — Bronzy-crimson standard, 

 blue wings. "A fine flower, but not a 

 very attractive color." 



Mrs. Gladstone. — Blush or soft bulf 

 pink. "A very beautiful flower, not so 

 free as some." 



Ovid. — Rosj'-pink with rose margins. 

 "Pretty in its way, but poor health." 



Primrose.— Pale primrose. "Maybe 

 deeper in color than Mrs. Eckford, but 

 not so good a flower." 



Princess Beatrice.— Rose pink. "Very 

 pretty self, but not large." 



Senator. — Large, shaded and striped 

 chocolate on creamy ground. 



Stanley.— "Like "but claimed to be bet- 

 ter than Boreatton. It certainly is a 

 splendid flower; fine color, fine size, often 

 four blooms on a spray; good health and 

 lasts well, but we couldn't tell it from 

 Boreatton." 



Among other popular varieties we 

 found Adonis too small; Alba Magnifica, 

 not so good a white as Mrs. Sankey; 

 American Belle wouldn't bear spot's; 

 Apple Blossom wasn't as good as Blanche 

 Ferry; Captain Clarke was out of place 

 alongside of Gaiety; Captain of the Blues 

 was excellent, but wedidn't like the color; 

 Duke of Clarence was verj- fine too, 

 healthy and free, but in the face of Bore- 

 atton we could omit it; Emily Eckford 

 was a large fine flower, but faded to an 

 unpleasant hue; Orange Prince was more 

 odd than beautiful; Princessof Wales was 

 the best of the bluish variegated flowers, 

 still not a bloom we would hanker after; 



flflRDY FERNS. 



A Massachusetts subscriber asks: 

 "What are the best half dozen hardy ferns 

 for a shady fairly moist position, at the 

 northeast of my house?" 



Ans. The following are always orna- 

 mental, easily grown, and well adapted 

 to the location described. (1) AdianLum 

 pedattim, the well known maidenhair. 

 (2) The bulbous fern, Cystopteris bulhi- 

 fera, has long delicate fronds, finer than 

 those of its sister species, C. fragilis, while 

 the bearing of bulblets is rather anomalous 

 for a hardy species. It is well suited for 

 clefts in rocks, but grows f|uickly in any 

 rich woody soil. (3) The ostrich fern 

 (Onoclea Struthiopteris) is one the 

 largest hardy species, and its long plumes 

 are very ornamental, the graceful vase- 

 forrn crowns resemblmg a cvcad or a 

 zamia. (4) The cinnamon fern Osnmnda 

 cinnawowea is another good sized species 

 worthy of a place in any fernery, while 

 its regal relative. O. regalis, is distinct 

 and valuable and it is hard to say which 

 is the better. The aspidiums give good 

 results, (5) A. spinulosum and (6) A. 

 acrostkhoides being especially nice, 

 though A. marginak is well worth grow- 

 ing; these three have evergreen fronds, 

 while the other soecies named above die 

 to the ground in autumn. Some of the 

 beech terns [Phegopteris) and aspleniums 

 are very pretty, as are other species of 

 aspidiums. If there are rocks some cliff 

 brakes, as Polypodium vulgare or Aspi- 

 dium eheneum or Trkhowanes would f.t 

 in well, and if limestone is present the 

 walking fern (Camptosorusrhizophyllus) 

 would make a very interesting addition. 

 An assortment of the kinds recommended 

 will give you a good effect througho'ut 

 the year and require very little care alter 

 the original planting. 



Wm. H. Harrison. 



Lebanon Springs, N. Y. 



THE BEST OERflNIUIWS FOR OUTDOOR 

 BEDDING. 



-\fter havingtried every variety of gera- 

 nium that has been introduced into the 

 country for many years I have no hesita- 

 tion in recommending the following as 

 being the best of their kind for planting 

 out of doors in flower beds in summer. 



SINGLE FLOWERED VARIETIES. 



Scarlet— W. A. Chalfant, Lowell. 

 Pink— Benj. Schroder, Barbizet. 

 White— Mrs. J. M. Gaar. 



doubled FLOWERED VARIETIES. 



Scariet— J. J. Harrison, Ville de Poitiers. 

 Pink— Beaute Poitevine, L. Contable. 

 White— Mme. Avme Chevralierre, Her- 

 mine. E. G. 



SNOWDROPS AND WINTER ACONITE. 



The first flowers to open with us were 

 single snowdrops on the 9th of February. 

 We gathered a nice bunch of them twice a 

 week. They are growing on the edge of 

 a well sheltered border, and they are still 

 in fine bloom. The Elwes's Giant snow- 

 drops planted last fall did not begin to 

 bloom till the 25th of last month. 

 Although planted in a sunny part of the 

 garden and in good rich soil the flowers 

 are no larger than common snowdrops; 

 we are disappointed with them [The 

 true Elwesi isa very pretty snowdropand 

 larger than the common ones.— Ed.] 



The winter aconite is in nice bloom. 

 What a lovely little gem it is with its 

 yellow blossoms nestled in a cup of green 



