258 



GARDENING. 



May 15, 



Prunus angustitolia, trees a cloud of 

 little whi e flowers, only striking because 

 of their quantity. 



Prunus puniila, from the Black Hills, 

 very full ot white flowers. 



Prunus Pissardii was very full and 

 beautiful, but now all past 



Prunus pseudo-ccrasus H. pi. large 

 double white and pink flowers, which 

 had been superb, but are now past their 

 best. 

 Prunus nana in good flower. 

 Prunus .1/vro/)a/ana, while, going past. 

 Prunus Pennsylvanica,\n white .-pira;a- 

 like umbels, in perfection and most plen- 

 tiful. 

 Prunus tomentosus, pink, past. 

 Garden plum trees are past th ir best 

 bloom; so are cherry trees; peach, nec- 

 tarine and apricot trees are past; pear 

 blossoms are at their best; and apple 

 blossoms beginning to open. 



Pyrusjaponica (Japan quince) in all its 

 floral glory everywhere and in every vari- 

 ety. 



Pyrus arhutifoJia, not quite out yet. 



Pyrus Parkwannii at best, splendid. 



Pyrus Boribunda in many varieties 



most lovelv; in fact the crimson tips of 



the flower' buds are prettier than the 



open blossoms. 



Pyrus Mains ff. pi., double-flowered ap- 

 ples, opening but not quite out yet. 

 Aren't they lovelv. 



Halesia tetraptera and H. Meehani 

 showing many buds, but none of thini 

 have changed to wh te yet. 



Berheris "Hakodata," very fret; pale 

 yellow floweis, not quite out yet. B. 

 stenophylla, opening, not quite hardy. 

 B. Tbunbergii in full flower an<l leaf, and 

 some^of last year's berries still hanging 

 on to the bushes. 



Kbodora Canadensis in good flovi-er, so 

 also is Andromeda polifolia. Rhododen- 

 dron Vaseri is in fine bloom, and some 

 days ahead of any other of the azalea sec- 

 tion. 

 Ribes sanguineum. a little past its best. 

 Elxagnus longipes full of little scurfy 

 yellow silvery blossoms which because of 

 their great multitude make the plant really 

 good looking when it is in bloom. 



Ho se chestnut trees leafing out, but 

 none in bloom yet. 



The Norway maples full ol umbels of 

 greenish flower are quite conspicuous; 

 leaf-buds are bursting, too. 



Lilacs, many of them are shoeing color 

 but none of them are open. 



The fraerrant bush honeysuckles, alt^o 

 Sta/;As&Tare past, tut Lonicera ccerulea, 

 not pretty, is in full flower. 



'Kerrias, single and double, plain and 

 variegated leaved, are in good flower. 

 Flowering currant, ye low, at best. 



Redbud, Japanese, at best; the Ameri- 

 can species is barely out ye . 



Flowering dogwood, turning to white, 

 but blossoms not fully devi loped. 



Deutzia parviffora and D. gracilis are 

 in about the same stage of advaMccnunt 

 but wont be open for some days to come 

 Fothergilla alnifolia, every litt le branch- 

 let is tippef* with a white furry ball of 

 blossoms 



Rhodotvpes kerrioides, good, but not 

 at best. 



Daphne Genkwa, the blue daphne from 

 Japan, at best; its leafless stems covered 

 up close with bluish pretty flowers are 

 verv striking. 



Xanthorrbiza apiifolia (shrub yellow 

 root) quite full of clustereii bunches of 

 chocolate blossoms. Although not a 

 showy plant, because of its many flowers 

 and their long-lasting nature this is a 

 verv desirable little shrub. 

 The mahonia or evergreen barberry in 



shady places still has a few flowers, but 

 as a rule its golden blossoms have fallen. 



Xantboceras sorbi folia is laden with 

 prominent racemes, but the blossoms are 

 barely open. 



Rubus deliciosus in fine bloom but not 

 at best. 



lapan maples are leafing out, more 

 striking in their foliage colors than most 

 shrubs in their blossoms. 



The staphyleas are opening, so are the 

 Chinese wistarias in warm sunny expos- 

 ures and the double flowering almonds 

 are verv beautilul. 



Coro'nilla Ewerus is laden with little 

 crimson-tipped yellow pea flowers. 



Calycanthuses are in bloom, so are the 

 green Ce/a.stns Ori.va, and several spir.-eas 

 as Tbunbergii and the double prunifolia. 



Among the early viburnums in bloom 

 are Lantana and its variety rugosa. 



To help us remember the season we 

 may also mention a few of the common- 

 est hardy perennials makinga showthen. 

 They contained moss pinks, Orobus ver- 

 nus,' Iceland poppy, white cucullata vio- 

 lets, golden alTssura, evergreen candytuft, 

 Veronica ^entianoides. Anemone sylves- 

 tris, Stellaria Holostea, Siberian large- 

 leaved saxiirages, Canada and Siberian 

 columbines, pansies, etc. 



VITIS COIONETIHE. 



Apropos of your note about this Japan- 

 ese vine, page'2-1-5. I would say regarding 

 the color of its leaves in the fall, that 

 some plants have been here for three or 

 four vears, and the foliage of none ot 

 them has so far changed color at all any- 

 more than if it had been of ordinary 

 grape vines. Why these plants fail to take 

 on bright color 1 am unable to say. The 

 stock came from Prof. Sargent 



Philadelphia. J. Meeha.n. 



Prof. Sargent in his Forest Flora of 

 Japan speaks of it as "the noble Japanese 



Head it in well, and fasten the main trunk 

 to a stout stake to hold it firm. Place 

 four posts, eight feet high above ground, 

 and five feetapart.in the form of a square, 

 the tree being in the center. Run four 

 strips across the tops of the posts, thus 

 connecting all by a square band. Then 

 nail narrow strips of wood across from 

 one of the sides to the opposite one, on 

 top, and one foot apart. These strips 

 should be about twelve inches above the 

 top of the tree. Cultivate the soil around 

 the tree often and thoroughly and mulch 

 in the fall with good manures, thus en- 

 couraging vigorous growth. As the new 

 growth extends hold it out at right 

 angles to the trunk and parallel to the 

 frame above by fastening it up loosely 

 with thick soft string, dividing and spac- 

 ing the branches so as to form a disk. 

 When they have reached out ar enough 

 to please you, let them droop and extend 

 downwards. The main branches, being 

 kept ouf straight, will after the ripening 

 of wood for one season, remain perma- 

 nently extended and form the stationary 

 ribs of your arboreal umbrella. 



In a few years the tree will be ready for 

 removal to its permanent home. Choose 

 early spring for its removal, give it a hole 

 at feast five feet in diameter and three 

 deep. If you want a good structure you 

 must build a good foundation. Move 

 carefully, ani when in place, if an ash, 

 cut all growth back to the extreme end of 

 the horizontal arms, and afterwards, if 

 necessary, cut an opening into the arbor. 

 The Weeping mulberry is more easily 

 moved, and all the leccssan,' trimming 

 will be to cut a door in the drooping 

 branches. W. E. Eg.\.n. 



grape vine," and in his magazu 



TROriCflL CONIFERS. 



I write to you for some information 

 that I have tried to obtain from every 

 source at my command. I I ave (juite a 

 collection of conifera? on my place here 

 and I have recently determined to add, if 

 obtainable, a number of the tropical and 

 half hardy conifers to be grown in tubs 

 and "plunged out" in summer. Can you 

 advise me of any source to which I can 

 apply for specimens of the various 

 arau'carias, cryptomerias, agathis, 

 Pinus patula, etc.? Is it possible to 

 obtain such specimens from any nursery, 

 or do they to be picked up singly here 

 and there? A B. B. 



Stratford, Conn. 



Ans. Write to James Veitch & Sons, 

 King's Road, Chelsea, London. England, 

 telling them exactly what you want and 

 how much money you are willing to 

 spend for these things, and let them get 

 the trees for you. Only a few kinds of 

 these trees are carried in stock by nursery- 

 men, they have got <o hunt UD and get 

 the others wherever they can find them, 

 but it is far better to let Veitch's jieople 

 do this than bother with the thing your- 

 self. No firm in the nursery or any other 

 business stands higher than the above. 

 You should get Veitch's book, "A Maniial 

 of Conifera;," it will give vou all the in- 

 formation you want as regards the 

 various tropical and extra-tropical coni- 

 ferous trees of the world. 



iarden 

 and Forest writes: "No climbing plant, 

 except, perhaps, the Ampelopsis tncuspi- 

 data or Veitchii of the same country', 

 compares at this time (November) in 

 brilliancy of the foliage with the grape 

 vine of northern Japan, Vitis Coignetia:. 

 * * In the forests of Yezo, I'. Coignetia: 

 climbs into the tops of the tallest trees, 

 filUng them with its enormous leaves, 



which in autumn assume the most bril- 

 liant hues of scarlet. In this country it 



appears to be perfectly hardy, and 



promises to present in autumn as brilliant 



a spectacle as it doesinits native country. 



It is both in the size of its foliage and 



autumn coloring, a much more desirable 



ornamental plant than any ot our 



American grape vines; and it can be 



planted to advantage wherever sufficient 



space can be given it to climb among tall 



trees or to cover large arbors or other 



edifices." 



flow TO MAKE ft NftTURflL ARBOR. 



There are several fast-growing weeping 

 trees, that can easilv be trained into suit- 

 able forms for natural arb rs.the Knglish 

 weeping ash and Teas' weeping mulbero' 

 being among them. A great deal d pends 

 upon starting them right, but the chief 

 difiiculty is to obtain specimens grafted 

 high enough. They should be worked at 

 least seven feet high— most of those on 

 the market are seldom over five, conse- 

 quently worthless for arbor spec mens. 



First get your tree. When you accom- 

 plish this, you are extremely lucky, and 

 well on the road to success. Plant it in 

 g'jod soil in some out-of-the-way place- 

 not in its permanent home, for it is to be have a southern and western exposure 

 in an ungainly looking harness for a time. with plenty of room to grow— but so far 



The Wistarias Won't Bloom — R. P., 

 Dayton, Ohio, writes: "Why do not our 

 Chinese wistarias blossom? I have 10 or 

 12 vines consisung of the best varieties-- 

 white and purple— bought from most reli- 

 able dealers, and all are strong and vig- 

 orous, and from 5 to 8 years old; they 



