114 



• GARDENING. 



two feet, and wide, say five or more feet, 

 removing the poor earth and filling up 

 with good loam. Give the trees a good 

 start to begin with and in after years 

 they will hold their branches better than 

 they would had they been planted in 

 gravelly or sandy land. 



Among the best kinds to plant are 

 Nordman's, Cilician, Cephalonian, and 

 white fir. 



Nordman's Fir {Abies Nordmanniana), 

 a native of the Crimea and Caucasus, is 

 the most generally planted of all firs, and 

 deservedly, for it is a noble, handsome 

 tree, hardy and easy to grow, and its 

 leaves are of a deep, rich green color. It 

 is one of the latest to, start into growth 

 in spring. 



The Cilician Silver Fir (A Cilkica) 

 from the mountains of Asia Minor is also 

 a beautiful object in the garden, and quite 

 hardy with us, but not so in the rigorous 

 west. It starts to arrow in spring about 

 three weeks ahead of the Nordman's fir. 

 Our front page illustration engraved from 

 a photograph of one of these Cilician 

 silver firs taken at Dosoris last June will 

 give one some idea of what a fine ever- 

 green tree it makes. This specimen is 

 growing on an open lawn among other 

 trees, and is of perfect form from the 

 ground up, it is 21 feet in height and 65 

 feet around its spread of branches. It is 

 about nineteen years planted and perhaps 

 twenty-five years old. Now, there is a 

 practical lesson in this tree we wish you 

 to note. When a fir tree gets to be about 

 twenty j-ears old it begins to lose its 

 lower branches, but this tree doesn't 

 show any tendency in that direction; on 

 the contrary its branches lie flat upon the 

 earth} spreading out on the ground, and 

 from the top to the bottom there is not 

 a gap anywhere. Another thing: An 

 ordinarj' tree has whorls of branches 

 with visible intemodes between them, 

 this specimen doesn't show that, and yet 

 its trunk is straight and its leader perfect. 

 How is this done? By holding the leader 

 in check, that is, every year we cut off the 

 tip of it in summer and in spring cut it 

 back to the bud from which we wish it to 

 start again. And don't we trim in the 

 body of the tree to get it so symmetrical? 

 Never. No knife or shears is used on the 

 bodies of these trees. But in early May 

 when they are breaking into growth, if 

 a branch shows a tendency to strike out 

 beyond the others we simplj- nip out one 

 or more of its young terminal buds. How 

 do we get up there to prune the leader? 

 you may ask. We have a long double or 

 folding ladder, and an extra long handled 

 Waters' tree pruner. This Cilician fir isn't 

 the only tree like this at Dosoris, there 

 are dozens just as fine, though most of 

 them not so high. 



The Cephalonian Silver Fir (Abies 

 Cephalonica) from the mountains of 

 Greece is one of the handsomest of all 

 our evergreen trees and seems hardy and 

 perfectly at home with us. And the form 

 of it called Appolinis is just as fine. 



The Colorado White Fir (Abies 

 concolor) from the mountains of Colorado 

 is the most trustworthy of all firs for 

 planting in rigorous climates, asit is both 

 extra hardy and handsome. The Califor- 

 nian forms of the same species are not 

 hardy enough for general cultivation even 

 in the east. 



The Spanish Silver Fir ( Abies Pinsapo) 

 from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 

 Spain is a very beautiful tree (see illustra- 

 tion on front page. Gardening, March 

 15, 1894, of a specimen at Dosoris). but 

 it isn't reliably hardy much north of New 

 York. 



The Algerian Silver Pir (Abies 



Numidica) is one of our gem conifers. But 

 although it thrives here in a sheltered 

 spot, and without the least injury in sum- 

 mer or winter, it is a treeforwhosehardi- 

 ness north of New York, we will not 

 vouch. 



The Balsam Fir (Abies balsamia) so 

 common in our mountains isn't worth 

 planting in the garden, as it has a pre- 

 disposition to soon become bare stemmed 

 at the bottom. 



The Southern Balsam (Abies Fraseri) 

 of the southern Alleghanies is pretty 

 while young, but it too will lose its lower 

 branches after awhile. 



The Japanese Momi Fir (Abies firms), 

 is the largest and finest fir tree in Japan, 

 but its behavior here is imsatisfactory; it 

 needs good soil and plenty moisture to 

 grow it well, and even then, after twenty 

 years it will likely be a misshapen plant 

 thin at the bottom. 



The Common Silver Fir of Japan 

 (Abies homolepis or A. bracbrphylla as 

 we used to call it) is a very beautiful 

 plant while young, and well worth plant- 

 ing, but all the specimens of it here show 

 a tendency to become thin-branched at 

 the base as they get old. 



Veitch's Silver Fir (Abies Veitcbii) is 

 a beautiful and desirable species, deep 

 green above, silvery white underneath. 

 To grow it well it needs good ground and 

 plenty moisture. But we fear as years 

 roll by it will act like A homelepis as 

 regards thinness. 



The European Silver Fir (Abiespecti- 

 nata) does not make the fine tree here 

 that it does in Europe. But in a shelter 

 belt on this place there are some trees of 

 it eighteen year old kept headed down to 

 about five feet high, so as not to obstruct 

 a view, and they make a most refreshing 

 dense mass of deep green branches. 



The Saghalien Silver Fir (.-IWes 

 Sacbalinensis) and the Siberian silver fir 

 (A. Sibirica), both with bright deep green 

 leaves are handsome species and hardy 

 and well worth cultivating. 



There are several other species at 

 Dosoris, for instance nobilis, grandis, 

 magnifica, subalpina, but among the 

 above the most desirable are enumerated. 

 The Himalayan Webbiana lived for three 

 years with us, but it is much too tender 

 for planting here. 



While silver firs are quite desirable for 

 garden decoration, e?st and south, the 

 Colorado concolor is the onlj' one we 

 would suggest for planting north and 

 northwest of Chicago But bear in mind 

 never to plant silver firs in a city garden, 

 the noxious gases destroy them.' 



TREES.SHRUBS AND VINES TRIED AT EOflN- 

 DflLB, HIOfllflND PARK, NEAR CHICAGO. 

 In presenting this list and in endeavor- 

 ing to classify the subjects as regards 

 their relative hardiness, the fact must be 

 taken into consideration that it gives the 

 experience of only one person in one place, 

 environment and condition of soil, and 

 perhaps a different treatment might pro- 

 duce other results. However that may 

 be, I trust that the list given will be a 

 guide to those in a similar climate who 

 have neither the time nor money to in- 

 dulge in experimental planting. The list 

 of hardy material includes enough orna- 

 mental plants to embellish any grounds, 

 however large. I have on trial several 

 species of the handsome Japanese retinos- 

 poras, while it is too early to report on 

 them, I am inclined to think that some 

 of the varieties of this ornamental ever- 

 green can be successfully handled here if 

 planted in sheltered positions. In order 

 to make the list complete I have included 

 man3' things which "we all know are 



hardy" and some plants have been omit- 

 ted because they have not yet had a fair 

 trial. 



Acer platanoides, Norway maple. Europe. 

 Acer platanoides var. Schwedleri, Schwedler's 



A. platanoides var. Eeitenbachii. Reitenbueh's 



A. platanoides var. Lorbergii. Lorberg's maple. 

 A. platanoides corapacta globosa, compact 

 ^-headed maple. 



mp maple, N. A. 

 nala. Ginnala maple 



Briot's horse ciiesi 

 Ailantus glandu 

 Alnus incana. h. 



■reules- club, X. A. 



■ birch. Europe, 

 laciniatu, weepin;; cut-leavt 



laciniata Youngii,' Young 



■ pe. 



■ •ns pc ii.liila. weeping Siberia 



Cratxgui,, English and .Vmerican varieties, 

 thorns. 



Fagus sylvatica var. heterophvlla, fern-leavi'd 

 beech, Europe. 



F. sylvatica var. purpurea Riversi, Rivers' pur- 

 ple beeeli. Europe. 



F. sylvatica pendula, weeping European beech. 

 Europe. 



F. sylvatica tricolor, three colored-leaved beech. 



Fraxinus excelsior variegata, variegated leaved 

 ash, Europe. 

 Gymnocladus Canadensis, Kentucky coffee tree. 



Halesia tetraptera. silver bell, N. A. 

 Kcelreuteria paniculata. China. 

 Liriodendron Tulipifera, tulip tree, N. .\. 

 Morus alba pendula. Teas' weeping inulbe;-r\. 



!■ I i; Hi, BoUes'silver-leaved 



Parkraannii, Parkman': 

 lea. red flowering crab 



scarlet oak, N. A. 

 lak, N. A. 

 ar. Osbcckii.Osbec 



