rSQ6. 



GARDENING. 



THE BURBANK CANNA 



the old spiders and continue till the eggs 

 hatch out and we get off all the young 

 ones too. While this hosing may not 

 completely eradicate the pest it will keep 

 it in such subjection that its presence will 

 be little felt. What about insecticides? 

 We have many and some are effectual, 

 but in inexperienced hands all may be 

 dangerous, and preparing and applying 

 them is neither a clean nor a nice job for 

 a lady. 



Cramhe CORDIKOLIA.— Since our illus- 

 tration ol this plant in the June 15 issue, 

 page 291, a good deal of interest has 

 been taken in it, and deservedly, for it is 

 a noble plant. But it isn't one anybody 

 wants in asmallgarden; it requires room 

 to grow and lots of room to show itself 

 when it is grown, it isn't a plant for the 

 flower border at all; there you would 

 call it coarse; its proper place is isolated 

 near the edge of the lawn in such a situa- 

 tion as one would set out a bunch of 

 yuccas, or single hollyhocks, or a speci- 

 men shrub. Mr. Egan writes that the 

 splendid growth shown in our picture 

 was from the second year old crown, but 

 since then that crown has decayed and 

 lots of minoroneshave formed all around 

 it, and asks the cause. This is perfectly 

 natural, to preserve the same crown year 

 after year would be unnatural. The 

 flowcr'stem is simply the continuation of 



the crown, and when it dies the crown is 

 dead, but the root being perennial a host 

 of other buds or minor crowns form 

 around the base of the old crown lor next 

 yea 's blooms. The more of these buds 

 or crowns that are allowed to remain 

 and develop the smaller the growt"S are 

 likely to be; for effect better have one big 

 crown bearing a "foot high head of 

 bloom than many crowns in a mass and 

 reaching only a + foot development. All 

 of this is pertinently and practically 

 shown in the cultivation of seakale 

 (Crawhe maritima), a lesser species than 

 C. cordifolia, and a much esteemed vege- 

 table largely grown in Europe, and in a 

 limited degree as a forced vegetable in 

 this country. Ingrowing seakale we aim 

 to use single crowns <inly and seldom a 

 multiple crown, as one big head from a 

 single crown is much more desirable than 

 many sprouts from a "spent" or multiple 

 old one. We raise the plants from seed, 

 growing them till the second year, when 

 we dig them for forcing and get fine, big, 

 single crowns; should they attempt to 

 bloom in summer, the flower stem is 

 pinched out and the extra crowns rubbed 

 off, everything practicable is done to 

 throw the full strength of the plant into 

 the development of the single crown. We 

 also grow them, and it is the commonest 

 method too, from stout root cuttings, as 



331 



we do horseradish. Old crowns of 

 seakale after they have bloomed rot out 

 in the midr'le in thesameway as do those 

 of Cramhe cordifolia, so that this decay 

 of the hearts of old crowns is the natural 

 course and no disease at all. Hollyhocks, 

 foxgloves, and many other plants do 

 much the same thing. 



UNHtflRD OF WISTflRlfl BL0S80IHS. 



Please read the following letter from 

 one of our readers in Japan. In speaking 

 or writing about the famous Alultijugii 

 wistarias of Japan we say "with racemes 

 of flowers between two and three feet 

 long;" if we spoke of them as being five 

 feet long you would think we were ro- 

 mancing. But you know how climatic 

 and cultural conditions have a great deal 

 to do with the floral perfection of plants, 

 and racemes that may be .34 inches long 

 in this country (Mrs. L. Chrisman, of 

 Chi isman, Virginia, sent us racemes 34 

 inches long, that were grown in her own 

 garden) may iri the genial moist climate 

 of Japan attain to almost double that 

 glory. Anywav we are proud to know 

 that Scheniey Park will soon be enriched 

 with living plants of this wonderful vine. 

 I was largely in this way, a rarity from 

 this friend and a unique plant from that 

 one, that the famous Dosoris collection 

 was buil up, and we rejoice to realize 

 that Scheniey is advancing in the same 

 road, for we already have received a good 

 many varieties you may year of later. 



Kobe, Japax, June 17, '96. 

 \ our issue of May 15 is before me and 

 It IS like every number of Gardening in 

 fact, full of interest to me,and must be to 

 all its readers. About wistarias: I saw 

 on a tree (about a hundred old I am told) 

 racemes of flowers that measures 57 to 



00 inches in length. I do not mention 

 this as unusual with old trees but because 



1 have never read in the home papers that 

 they reach anything like that length. In 

 order to ensure early flowering old trees 

 are dug up in the mountains and after a 

 year or so in the nursery they are grafted. 

 1 shall have a good number next year 

 grafted with scions of the above men- 

 tioned old tree and if you wish will send 

 you a couple with pleasure. [Thank you. 

 we shall be delighted to get them.— Ed.] 



H. E. Amoore. 



TflE BURBflNK YELLOW CflNNfl. 



Enclosed you will find a pressed flower 

 from Mr.Vaughan's new California canna. 

 I saw it growinginoneof the greenhouses 

 out at Western Springs. It struck me as 

 an unusually strong grower— the plant 

 set out in a bench having sent up a big 

 bunch of such thick stalks with h\e leaves 

 of a more leathery texture than anv I 

 have before seen I have never seen any- 

 thing approaching the flowers (among 

 cannas) either in size or the peculiar 

 frilled appearance of two of the petals. 

 It has an orchid-like aspect. Each petal 

 of a number tried measured fully two 

 inches in width— some 2Vti inches, 'it is a 

 handsome clear yellow color with touches 

 of scarlet low in the throat. [The flow- 

 ers sent are very full and the petals meas- 

 ure what you say; the color is a good 

 clear yellow, and the frilling is quite no- 

 ticeable.— Ed.] F. C. Seavev. 



Chicago, July 2, '96. 



Wild vs. NiRseRv-GRow.N Shrubs.- O. 

 0. B., Frankfort Springs, Pa., writes: 

 "Since I have been gardening for pleasure 

 I have discovered a number of handsome 

 native shrubs, however nearly all are so 

 difficult to transplant from their native 



