i8g6. 



' GARDENING. 



267 



A SMALL POND OF AQUATICS. 



leading winter pears in the New York 

 market. The other varieties are hardly 

 known but still are valuable and should 

 be included in the collection. Dorset and 

 Columbia we think are particularly valu- 

 able for market on account ol size and 

 beauty, although they are not high fla- 

 vored. We think that the Hst above 

 named includes all the desirable sorts. 

 Ellwanger & Barry. 

 Rochester, N. Y. 



Miscellaneous. 



PLOWBR GflRDBN NOTES. 



Roses promise a rich display. The 

 jilants in the rose garden at the White 

 House never looked so fine as they do at 

 present. The Crimson Rambler promises 

 to be in bloom first of all and it looks as 

 if the gorgeous pictures in the catalogues 

 were really taken from life. A'. Wichur- 

 aianais spreading over everything, the 

 beautiful green foliage is alone enough to 

 make this rose a favorite. The Indian 

 azaleas are at present ((uite a leature in 

 the shrubbery. Nearly all of the kinds 

 have been tried first and last, and lots of 

 them have proved too tender to be leit 

 out during the winter. This is especially 

 the case with the large doubled flowered 

 sorts, the best of the lot is the old A. 

 indica alba. It thrives here in Washing- 

 ton just as well out as indoors. [.\nd so 

 it does at Dosoris.— Ed.] The way these 

 azaleas are treated may be of interest to 

 those who want to try them. The ground 

 is made up of leaf mould, sand and loam 

 in equal parts, to the depth of about a 

 foot; the plants are then put out early in 

 the spring so that the}' may be well estab- 

 lished before hot weather sets in. After 

 planting the ground is never dug, instead 

 a mulch of leaves is given each fall and 

 enough sand thrown over to keep them 



from being blown away. In dry summers 

 they are watered or else the ground 

 should be covered with some material to 

 present a too rapid evaporation. 



There is a scarcity of bloom among the 

 shrubs this year, even the snowballs are 

 not so well furnished as thej' usually are. 

 On the other hand "golden chain" 

 (Cytisus Laburnum) which is usually a 

 shy bloomer here has an abundant crop 

 of flowers. 



The Moutan or tree pa;onies, although 

 lasting but a short while, are a whole 

 show in themselves for the time being. By 

 the way there are evidently a greater 

 number of names than there are of varie- 

 ties of this plant; last summer we got in 

 the neighborhood of 40 different named 

 plants but out of that number there are 

 not over 10 distinct forms. The Chinese 

 herbaceous kinds are just swelling their 

 buds; P. arietina and P. triternata are 

 getting past their best. 



Among perennials the columbines 

 occupy a prominent place. Aquilegia 

 Canadensis, our nauve columbine, is of 

 course first in bloom and one of the show- 

 iest, then there are a host of hybrids 

 scarcely any two alike, as they intermix 

 so very freely. [Get Aquilegia Sibirica, it is 

 eventarlier than >4. Canadensis. And if 

 you want true beauty get the genuine A. 

 cnsrulea, A. truncata, A. glaadulosa, A. 

 chrysantha and other species, they com- 

 pletely eclipse the mongr.l hybrids.— Ed ] 

 Pyrethrum roseum in its many colors is 

 very effective and it lasts in bloom quite 

 a while too. Saponaria ocywoides is a 

 mass of bright little pink flowers; this 

 perennial is easily raised from seed or 

 cuttings, and only needs renewing once in 

 several seasons. Heuchera sanguinea, 

 a lovely native plant with bright pink 

 flowers", is a plant which needs soil with 

 decaved leaves in it. The moss pinks are 

 over all too soon; Phlox pilosa and P. 

 reptans have taken their place. The 

 vincas are in bloom; these plants make 



the most of their growth before the leaves 

 are on the trees or at least before the 

 shade is dense and as their leaves are hard 

 and tough they are well suited for plant- 

 ing under trees where other things will 

 not thrive [preferring a somewhat shady 

 place.— Ed.] G. W. Oliver. 



Washington, 1). C. 



CflNNflS. 

 The time is close at hand when we must 

 be getting these plants into summer 

 quarters, and it may be well to remind 

 our friends with horticultural longings 

 but some misgivings as to results, 

 that the canna stands pretty near the 

 head of the list in returning a maximum 

 percentage of beaut}' and satisfaction for 

 a minimum investment of trouble and 

 money. It is emphatically "everybody's 

 plant," and while appreciating and re- 

 paying care and culture, seems more tol- 

 erant of neglect than many of its floral 

 companions, and with the bribe of an 

 occasional d 3se of soapsuds often cheers 

 and enlivens some impoverisl^ed city 

 back yard. Gc od sorts are so cheap now 

 that everyone with a bit of land ought to 

 plant a few. Last season the writer 

 having a surplus of the following sorts 

 planted two beds about S feet by 12 as 

 follows: One with Alphonse Bouvier 

 massed in the centre with an outside 

 edge of Floi'ence Vauglian, the other a 

 centre of J. D. Cabos surrounded with a 

 row of Charles Henderson and an out- 

 side border of Mme. Crozy. The ground 

 was made very rich with well-rotted ma- 

 nure, and, like all my cannas, they were 

 profusely watered. These plants are 

 water drinkers, and here is where the 

 small householder comes in well again, 

 for this is precisely the sort of manure he 

 can the most easily furnish. Almost 

 everyone in these days indulges in a hose 

 and enjoys using it. In my case I should 

 hesitate to say that I had ^ finer display 

 on my place than these two beds fur- 



