THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[January, 



mcnts, arrangomonts, and work to be done during 

 the next active season. In gardening there are 

 two styles of flower-growing, — one which looks 

 to the enjoyment of beautiful flowers indivi'dually ; 

 the other for the effect which color gives to the 

 beauty of one's ground. In the first place, hardy 

 herbaceous plants, annuals, bulbs and such like 

 plants, are to be employed, and the flower-beds for 

 them must be arranged with this view, so as to 

 afford opportunities for individual examination. 

 There is nothing better for this than long, narrow 

 borders ; such, for instance, as the narrow belts 

 along the walks of a vegetable garden. 



In thinking of what might be done to render the 

 garden more interesting, one might resolve to pay 

 some attention to the improvement of some com- 

 mon garden flower. .All we have to do is to take 

 note of some possible improvement we desire, and 

 select the seed of sucli as come the nearest to the 

 ideal. This is the way florists get their new races. 

 Take for instance the petunia. As a rule it grows 

 in a very straggling manner. We want a more 

 bushy and dense grower. Among our plants we 

 note one which is less rampant than the rest. We 

 save seed from this, and again the next season 

 select the least straggling, and so on, from year to 

 year, till the desired result has been gained. This 

 has really been done with this petunia. Herewith 



Pruning should l)e completed as soon as possi- 

 ble. Some judgment is required in pruning flower- 

 ing shrubs, roses, &c., although it is usual to act as 

 if it were one of the mQ3t common-place oper- 

 ations. One of the most clumsy of the hands is 

 commonly set with a shears, and lie "goes 

 through " the whole place, clipping off every thing 

 indiscriminately. Distinction should be made be- 

 tween those flowering shrubs that make a vigorous 

 growth, and those which grow weakly ; and be- 

 tween those which flower on the old wood of last 

 year, and those which flower on the new growth of 

 next season, as the effect of pruning is to force a 

 strong and vigorous growth. Those specimens 

 that already grow too strong to flower well, should 

 be only lightly pruned ; and, in the same individ- 

 ual, the weakest shoots should be cut-in more 

 severely tlian the stronger ones. Some things, like 

 the Mock Oranges, Lilacs and others, flower on 

 the wood of last year. To prune these much now, 

 therefore, destroys the flowering ; while such as 

 Altheas, which flower on the young wood, cannot 

 be too severely cut-in, looking to that operation 

 alone. 



In pruning roses, the fall-blooming kinds, which 

 flower on the new growth, ma\' be pruned as se- 

 verely as we wish ; in fact, the " harder" they are 

 cut-in the better. In this class are the Noisette, 

 Bourbon, Tea, China and Hyb.id Perpetual and 

 Perpetual Moss. Without considerable experience, 

 it is difficult for the amateur to distinguish these 

 classes. The best way to get over the difficulty is 

 to obtain the catalogues of the principal rose- 

 growers, in which each kind is usually classified. 

 Amateurs should pay more attention to the scien- 

 tific — if we may so term it — study of the rose, and 

 its classification and general management. No 

 class of flowers is more easily understood, and no 

 one affords so rich a fund of perpetual interest. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



Petunia nana cuinpacia. 



is an illustration of what we suggest with the 

 petunia in the hands of Haage & Schmidt, of 

 Erfurt, who, in common with other Prussian flor- 

 ists, bestow great care on improving everything. 

 They call it Petunia nana compacta ; but anyone 

 may get " nanas" or " compactas" with other gar- 

 den flowers, as this firm has witli petunias. 



NOTES FROM TORRINGTON. 



BY JAMES MORTON, GARDENER TO HON. L. W. 

 COE, TORRINGTON, CONN. 



To most readers of the Gardeners' Monthly, 

 the name Torrington will in no way be associated 

 with horticultural pursuits. The rugged hills and 

 frowning rocks of western Connecticut imply but 

 little in the way of gardening progress. The in- 

 cessant humming of machinery and the noise of 

 the builder's hammer would be more impressive 



