68 



• GARDENING. 



Nov. 75, 



hue suffuses the foliage, firiving it a tricolor 

 appearance. 



The positive superiority of this tree's 

 variegation over that of all others in 

 cultivation consists in its pronounced 

 whiteness, and the fact that neither the 

 leaves nor variegation gets scorched by 

 the summer's warm sunshine. 



Common in gardens are three or four 

 variegatedjleaved cornuses, notably the 

 variegated Cornelian cherrj- (C Mas) 

 whose leaves burn badly in summer; 

 elegantissima, of broad bushy form and 

 free white variegation, but it too bums; 

 and Spastbii, of the same style, and hav- 

 ing yellow variegated leaves, which too 

 though less susceptible than the others 

 are apt to get burned in late summer. 

 This new Japanese beauty surj^asses them 

 a'l in boldness andvigor,and intheshow- 

 iness, health and persistence of its varie- 

 gation. But to have it in perfection plant 

 it in rich moist ground, and in a place 

 sheltered from cold winds. Our illustra- 

 tion is engraved from a photograph of a 

 leafy twig taken at Dosoris the middle of 

 October. 



PLflMINO fl BARE HILL TOP. 



A subscriber in Central Massachusetts 

 asks: What and how to plant to quickly 

 provide shade and shelter about buildings 

 on the top of a bare, dry, clay hill of 

 thirteen hundred f.ct elevation, with an 

 exposure to all the winds that blow? 



The-usual method of planting trees and 

 shrubs singly in small holes in the grass 

 will not suffice. If such a field was kept 

 free of the plow, scythe and grazing ani- 

 mals it would probably be covered with 

 trees in time. Nature would bring this 

 about in the following manner: 



In the grass clumps of St. John's wort, 

 asters, golden rods, thistles and others 

 that are possessed of winged seeds or 

 other means of read}' distribution, would 

 spring up in clumps and thickets. In or 

 on the edge of these thickets would appear 

 cornels, viburnums, bay berries, huckle- 

 berries and other plants, the seeds of 

 which are usually distributed by birds. 

 With these shrubs and after they are 

 established would appear young birches, 

 oaks, chestnuts, hickories, pines, cedars, 

 spruces, or other forest trees, the parents 

 of which were near at hand to furnish 

 seed for the squirrels to plant or the 

 winds to sow. These trees would event- 

 ually make a forest. Each series of plants 

 is protected by those preceding it, and 

 without this protection but a small pro- 

 portion would becomeestabhshed. Nature 

 does not hurry, her processes are slow 

 but sure; too slow, however, to serve this 

 enquirer's purpose, but by taking the cue 

 she gives we may accomplish the desired 

 result in a shorter time. We must secure 

 a shelter, a wind break to curb the furj' 

 of the wind, for it is this wind ratherthan 

 the elevation that does the damage. For 

 this a continuous strip of planting, or 

 series of overlapping groups, having a 

 width of from thirty to one hundred feet 

 should be provided. The surface of these 

 areas should be prepared in such a thor- 

 ough manner that the average fanner 

 would think your money was being 

 wasted or the ground worn out. The 

 "stiff clay' soil should be heavily man- 

 ured, then plowed, sub-soiled, cross- 

 plowed and harrowed until it is thor- 

 oughly pulverized as far below the surface 

 as it well can be by these processes. Now 

 plant on the windward side a strip about 

 six feet wide of such plants as the wild 

 Manetti or dog roses, Spirxa salicifolia, 

 bayberry, one and one-half feet apart, 

 then a strip ten feet wide to be planted 

 three feet apart with such shrubs as 



Spirssa opulifolia, California privet, com- 

 mon elder, staghorn sumach, tamarix, 

 panicled and silkj' dogwood and Vibur- 

 num dcntatuw. The remainder of the 

 space to be planted with young and vig- 

 orous rapid growing trees like the canoe 

 and white birch, cottouwood, European 

 sycamore, basswood, white ash, ailan- 

 thus' and black cherry. Inside of this 

 may be a strip of more garden-like plants 

 if such are desired. 



Small plants suitable for such planta- 

 tions can be secured in quantity at a low 

 rate so that the cost of such plantations 

 will not be excessive. They will attain a 

 height of ten feet or more in three years 

 after planting and will then sei-ve as an 

 effective shelter, back of which may be 

 grown a large varietv of plants success- 

 fully. 



The selection of plants most likely to 

 succeed (that are obtainable at a low 

 price ) will depend upon the character of 

 the ground. Very likely special require- 

 ments as to cultivation, "location of plan- 

 tations with reference to the arrangement 

 of the grounds, access to buildings, direc- 

 tion of views, etc., would also determine 

 the selection and arrangement of plants. 

 However this may be, the result desired 

 is more likely to be secured by the method 

 of planting and kinds of plants indicated 

 than by any other. 



W.\RREX H. M.\NN1NG 

 Brookline, Mass. 



TREES AND SflRUBS. 



Go around among your trees and 

 shrubs and mark all that you wish to cut 

 downorrootout. You candothis rooting 

 out better now than later on becau-e so 

 far there is very little frost in the ground, 

 hence you can do the work more expedi- 

 tiously than you can in midwinter, don't 

 leave anything of this sort till spring for 

 then between planting, grading, and fix- 

 ing up things generally we are apt to be 

 very busj'. Use a little discretion in thin- 

 ning however. In the case of evergreen 

 trees that you wish to get rid oi but 

 which serve a good purpose as a shelter 

 for other plants in winter, if practicable 

 leave them standing till the winter is 

 over and get the good of their shelter. At 

 Dosoris, as we use a good man^' evergieen 

 branches for covering somewhat tender 

 or little plants in winter, and also for 

 temporary windbreaks, we strain a point 

 in thinning the belts of pines, spruces and 

 firs. Instead of clearing away every un- 

 necessary tree in one season, we keep 

 thinning out these supernumeraries, a few 

 every fall, to use them for protecting pur- 

 poses. In this way those that are left 

 are alwa3's pretty specimens. If we did 

 not have this evergreen brush at home we 

 would have to buy it; some years ago we 

 could go out into the waste fields here- 

 about and cut all we wanted, but now all 

 that idle property is bought up and we 

 can get nothing without going some 

 miles away for it. 



In removing dtjplicate, overcrowding 

 and unnecessary trees don't cut them 

 down; but root them out. While it is a 

 difficult matter to dig out large tree 

 stumps it isn't at all difficult to dig out 

 big trees by the root for in addition to 

 the shovel and the axe we have the great 

 aid of the tree itself to pry the root out 

 of the hole. 



Staking Young Trees.— To all newly 

 planted deciduous trees give a stout, neat 

 stake, and drive it deep and firm into the 

 ground, and fasten the trees securely but 

 not very tightly to the stakes with soft, 

 stout cord, sa3' marlin or lath cord; and 

 where needed use a pad of burlap or bit 



of old rubber hose between the tier and 

 the tree orhetween the tree and stake to 

 keep the tree from chafing. 



TopHEAVY TREES such as ground cherry, 

 wistaria, Japanese sophora, rosmary- 

 leaved and Kilmarnock willows. Teas' 

 mulberry, and others that are worked 

 standard high and which are unable to 

 support their own heads in case of a 

 storm should be very securely staked, the 

 stakes being stout, very strong and dura- 

 ble, and deepin the groundtostiffen them. 

 We use locust for this work. 



Tiers.— Both in the case of stakes and 

 labels the strings or wires used in fasten- 

 ing them to the trees or shrubs should be 

 examined for two reasons, first to renew 

 them if necessary, secondly, to see that 

 the tiers are not cutting into the bark or 

 wood. If they are cutting into the bark 

 remove them at once, and replace them 

 with new and more roomy ones. 



Magnolias, Yellow wood, Kcelreu- 

 TERiA.— V. G., Belleville. III., writes: 

 "Kindly tell me which of the following 

 magnolias are hardiest: Waisoni, hypo- 

 leuca, parviffora, and conspicua, also if 

 koelreuteria and j-ellow wood trees are 

 hardy in Belleville, III., which is as far 

 north as St. Louis, Mo." 



The three first named magnolias have 

 not been tested sufficiently to enable usto 

 say how hard}' they realh' are, but we 

 have every reason to believe that the four 

 you name are hard}' at Belleville. Hypo- 

 leuca we believe may prove to be the 

 hardiest, conspicua next; the other tv»o 

 should have protection from cold winds. 

 The yellow wood (Cladrastis lutea or as 

 it is often called Virgilia lutea) is perfectly 

 hardy with you, so too we believe, is the 

 koelreuteria. 



Shrubs for Name.— M. L. G., New 

 York, sends two "specimens for identifi- 

 cation and name," but they are not num- 

 bered and there is no letter accompanying 

 them. One is the Indian currant or coral 

 berry (Symphoricarpus ru/^ar/s), a native 

 bushy, spreading shrub, three to five feet 

 high, and much cultivated in gardens. 

 Its branches are now loaded and arched 

 with bunches of small dark red berries 

 stuck close at the axils of the leaves The 

 other is the spindle tree (Euonymus 

 Europseus). It is a common and very 

 beautiful small tree in gardens and wild 

 where it has escaped from gardens; its 

 red and orange fruit is very c^nspicuotis 

 now. 



Chrysanthemums. 



SOME OF THE NEWER CHRYSflNTflEMUMS. 



We who grow flowers for market are 

 very particular about the varieties that 

 we cultivate; we must have the most 

 faultless sorts in strength, cleanness and 

 leafiness of stem, and size, fullness, beauty 

 and finish of flower, and purity and at- 

 tractiveness of color. With this aim con- 

 stantly in view, for our bread and butter 

 depend upon it, we are always striving 

 after something that is better than we 

 already have, and we have got to dis- 

 criminate severely. We can not afford to 

 cultivate fancies nor risk any varieties 

 that are capricious, weak, subject to dis- 

 ease or difficult to grow. And just as 

 surely as these varieties are the best for 

 us to grow so too as certainly are they 

 the best for amateurs to have. 



The following are among the best new 

 kinds that I have now (October 31) in 

 bloom and every one of them is a fine 



