THE 



GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN 



Volume XXV. 



APRIL, 1883. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



A RETROSPECT OF SUMMER. 

 BY JAMES MORTON, TORRINGTON, CONN. 



In pursuing this terrestrial journey of existence, 

 amid the many turns and vicissitudes that too fre- 

 quently befall the uncertain destiny of man, it is at 

 all times cheering to learn of the progress of each 

 other on the winding pathway that we tread. If 

 good and fortunate, that we might endeavor to 

 turn our wavering thoughts and guide our energies 

 in a similar course ; and, if otherwise, to be warned 

 against treading in such footsteps. And among 

 gardeners in particular, much might be learned, 

 and many evils surmounted, that thwart the way, 

 and clog the wheels of their onward progress, by a 

 clear and frank acknowledgment within these 

 pages of some of tl^eir successes and failures alike. 

 It is all very well to write of one's success, but why 

 not have a line or two on failures as well ? And 

 now from a small standpoint I will proceed to 

 make a few remarks on some things that have 

 done well here, and some that have not, which, 

 from the limited scope of my observation, and the 

 limited resources at command, must not be taken 

 as a criterion of things in general throughout the 

 bright spots of this land, where the starry banner 

 of horticulture has been unfurled. 



The soil in this district is light and sandy, on a 

 subsoil of calcareous loam, hence its moisture- 

 retaining properties are small, and a dry time has 

 a ruinous effect, and never in the memory of the 

 oldest inhabitant have they experienced so long a 

 drought as last summer. About July 4th, we had 

 a copious downpour for a couple of days of that 

 refreshing liquid, and since then (save but a few 

 showers at intervals, hardly sufficient to lay the 

 dust), until September nth, we never had the 

 ground wet enough for vegetation to rush with 

 any stimulus. Consequently many things suc- 

 cumbed outright to the scorching rays of an almost 

 tropical sun, and most of what struggled through 

 was weak and puny, and got prematurely ripe. 

 The spring was late and cold, nothing starting 

 until late in the season. Colens, for weeks after 

 being planted in their summer quarters, dwindled 

 in the chilly atmosphere, and promised poorly for 

 a good display, but with the revival of — to them — a 

 more congenial temperature, although far into the 

 season, they assumed a new life, and went ahead, 

 making a good show. The best, I find, for mass- 

 ing, is the old Verschafeltii. A large bed of this, 

 with a wide margin of Stevia var., the latter kept 

 pegged, had a pleasing effect. Hiawatha looked 

 good for a time soon after it began to grow, but as 

 the season advanced it showed a tendency to 

 flower, and the leaves it produced were smaller 



