i8g6. 



• GARDENING. 



375 



A BED OF EULALIAS. 



they have proved hardy and reliable. We 

 are indebted to Japan lor this graceful 

 genus, where it is found wild on what is 

 known there as the "Hara." This name 

 is applied to the numerous grassy moun- 

 tain slopes ot that country which is the 

 habitat of many of the choice plants 

 found in our gardens to-day. Azaleas, 

 cydonias, deutzias and the handsome 

 Rosa multiffora are its companions. The 

 Eulalia is also found in uncultivated 

 swampy low lands, thus indicating a 

 constitution capable of growing on either 

 swampy or well drained soils. The 

 pheasant and the snipe love to hide in the 

 thicket made by its dead leaves in autumn 

 and winter. Botanists want to call it 

 Miscanthus, and the natives know it as 

 "Susuki," but to me there seems a poeti- 

 cal unison in its graceful manner of grow th 

 and the rhythm of the name Eulalia. The 

 species E.Japonica has three forms under 

 cultivation, namely, the type which the 

 leaves are green, the variety E.J. striata 

 in which there is a creamy band running 

 longitudinally through the center of the 

 leave, and E.J. zebrina, whose leaves are 

 crossed by yellow bars, a peculiar ireak 

 of nature'. The latter is a stronger grower 

 than the others and the handsomest of 

 the trio If well grown it will attain a 

 height of nine or more feet, and the former 

 four to seven. The leaves are long, nar- 

 row, and graceful, and the flower plumes 

 maturing early in October are carried 

 well above the curving tips of the leaves. 

 These plumes are creamy white in color, 

 and where the rays of "light can be seen 

 shining through them, (hey have a 



peculiar lustre that materially adds to 

 their beauty. If cut before they open they 

 are admirable subjects for house decora- 

 tion, as they retain their beauty a year 

 or more and do not drop their downy 

 seeds. The most effective way to use 

 them is to cut them with long stems and 

 place them in large wide mouthed vases 

 to be set in some roomy corner where 

 their grace and beautj' will add dignity 

 to the surroundings. In the Botanical 

 Gardens at Washington, D. C, there is a 

 large bed of these grasses, and in the 

 summer it is considered one of the features 

 of the place. Where a large bed can be 

 used, say eight or more feet in diameter, 

 it is well to use in the center some strong' 

 plants of Arunclo Doriax, the giant reed 

 of Southern Europe, which will grow up 

 above the eulalias and relieve any 

 tendaney to flatness at the top. The two 

 variegated forms are the ones generally 

 used. In winter I cut down the tops to 

 within six inches of the ground, manure 

 heavily between the plants with short 

 rich manure that I intend to remain all 

 next summer, and then cover the cut tops 

 with loose strawy manure. It is well not 

 to cut the grasses until spring. The 

 Ariiiido Donax receives the same treat- 

 ment, but in addition I place an empty 

 box over the crowns in order to exclude 

 moisture. I sink my eulalia beds some four 

 inches below the turf, as they are thus 

 more easily watered, and once a week 

 during the' spring and summer months 

 they receive a copious dose of undiluted 

 soap suds, riiey seem to like it and I 

 sometimes imagine they know when wash 



day comes, and are prepared for it, they 

 take it up so quickly. The group illus- 

 trated was over nine feet high. 



KUI.ALIA CKACILI-IMA UNIVITTTATA. 



Very graceful in form but not as tall as 

 the other members of the family. It is the 

 latest introduction of the genus and a very 

 valuable one. Its leaves are narrow anil 

 wiry, enabling it to withstand strong 

 winds, a feature lacking in the others. 

 They are green in color with a faint light 

 colored stripe through the center. With 

 me they grow nearly six feet high. This 

 plant should stand alone or in individual 

 groups of three or more as its symmetri- 

 cal and graceful outlines is its character- 

 istic beauty. W. C. Koan. 



Ugandale, III. 



Mignonette, asters and geraniums a 

 lAiLiiRE.— .A. reader writes: "My mignon- 

 ette was a failure this year, my asters 

 have been disappointing, and geraniums 

 poor, as you say yours were, but a neigh- 

 bor who had his set out in a bed rising 

 pretty sharply from the circumference to 

 the centre has a splendid show. Mine 

 were set flat." Ans.— It is like this: In 

 cold winter weather you can wear thick 

 clothes and make up a good fire and keep 

 warm, but in very hot weather in sum- 

 mer, dress or lodge as you may you can- 

 not keep cool. In like manner in dry 

 weather you can use water freely and 

 keep your plants in good health and 

 bloom, but in protracted wet weather 

 flat clay ground becomes so sodden that 

 plants must sicken and many die in it. 

 In a wet summer like this your flat beds 

 are wrong. They keep mucky and soak- 

 ing and your plants rot; but your neigh- 

 bor's mounded beds are right, the mound- 

 ing drains them and the plants flourish 

 in them. Be it wet or dry next year all 

 of our beds will be well raised above the 

 surface of the ground. 



Wintering Hydrangeas and Hibiscus. 

 — E. P. A., Hammond, Ind., asks: "How 

 to winter hibiscus and hydrangeas? We 

 have fine, healthy plants, but neither 

 have bloomed." Ans. We presume you 

 mean the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. The hi- 

 biscus isn't any thing near being hard v so it 

 should be completely protected from'frost. 

 it will live over winter very well in a 

 frost proof but otherwise cool, dry cellar, 

 and the soil its roots are in should be 

 kept i-lightly moist. Hydrangea roots if 

 mulched will live out in the garden, but 

 such plants are likely to flower poorlv 

 the following summer. Before sharp 

 frost comes bring the plants into a cellar 

 as for the hibiscus or into a cool pit, and 

 keep the roots moderately moist. Keej) 

 them free from damp overhead. 



Iresine and "Tree Moss."— C. W. R.. 

 Mich., sends sprays of "some alternan- 

 thera, I suppose, also of a so-called 'tree 

 moss,' the way the latter spreads is won- 

 derful, I want to know how to get rid 

 of it eflfcctually." Ans. The red-leaved 

 plants are not alternantheras at all, but 

 iresines, or as they are generally called 

 achyranthes; the point'.-d leaved one i.s 

 Iresine acuminata. The "tree moss" is 

 the cypress spurge [Euphorbia Crpar- 

 issias) an introduced weed from Europe. 

 Nothing but persistent rooting out will 

 get rid of it. 



The Chickens Picked the Cupid 

 Sweet Peas.— The Cupid sweet peas d«i 

 not fulfill the expectations I had of them, 

 they have only a few blooms, and then 

 they are so handy low that the chickens 

 pick them off and nothing is left. 



Hartford, Conn. W. S. 



