1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST 



133 



months. If they are allowed to grow straight up 

 at first the base does not get properly furnished. 

 As the plants increase with age tie or peg some of 

 the old wood at pruning time close to the ground, 

 and regulate the other up the trellis as required, 

 when, if properly trained, at flowering time they 

 are one mass of bloom from the ground to the top 

 of ihe trellis. — A Young, in Jour, of Hvrticultiu-e. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Roses in Autumn. — A "Philadelphia Lady" 

 writes : " It has been written that gardeners name 

 their flowers for what they would like to have them, 

 rather than for what they are. We may some day 

 look for a rose named 'amethyst,' not that it will 

 have violet flowers, but as a desire of some enthusi- 

 ast. So in like manner I have regarded the ' hardy 

 ever-blooming roses,' the so-called hybrid perpet- 

 uals, which have seldom flowered for me more 

 than once. But this year I read in your ' Season- 

 able Hints' that if the flower buds are cut off as 

 soon or before the petals fade, they would bloom 

 again. Well, I did this last summer, and I cannot 

 tell you how delighted I am with the results. I 

 had almost as good a bloom through October as I 

 had in the regular season, Jacqueminot being par- 

 ticularly full of flowers. Even old Baron Prevost, 

 which I never had bloom a second time, had some 

 flowers. I am now satisfied that your plan is just 

 the one needed. Let every lady cut off the June 

 blossoms, even before they fade, and she will have 

 plenty of buds in autumn." 



Chrysanthemum Mrs. Dr. Vertres. — Mr. L. 

 C. Lischy sent buds of this variety on the 20th of 

 October, which were then as large as peas. 



Poplar Trees. — A correspondent writing from 

 Long Island says that the borers trouble the differ- 

 ent kinds of poplar so much that is scarcely worth 

 planting them any more. 



Lawns and Evergreens. — "J. B.," Fayette- 

 ville. Ark., says : " Knowing your kindness in giv- 

 ing the troubles and perplexities of other people 

 considerate attention at your editorial table, it oc- 

 curred to me that possibly you might be willing to 

 give me and others the benefit of a little instruc- 

 tion. I have been examining not only the Gar- 

 deners' Monthly, but several other similar pub- 

 lications for authoritative information as to the 

 best way, not only to make a lawn, but its proper 

 care afterwards. I find such a wide difference 

 between the opinions of different writers upon this 

 subject that my search after light has not, so far, 



enabled me to see clearly. Some say ' cut close ' 

 and often ; others, ' cut high,' and not so often. I 

 have even found many writers who advise 

 raking off the grass after cutting. That course 

 might be practicable in a small door \ ard, but I 

 have seven acres to look after, with only one as- 

 sistant for a part of the time only. We usually 

 commence cutting early in April, and as a rule, 

 run the lawn mowers over every part of the 

 ground at least once a week. The blue grass 

 grows well until about the middle of June, when 

 crab and foxtail grasses put in an appearance, and 

 from then until frost it is one continued fight be- 

 tween the lawn mowers and scythe and these two 

 enemies of an even temper. Frequently it is ne- 

 cessary to follow the mowers with a scythe to cut 

 off the foxtails that are too high for the machines 

 to cut. I have been told that blue grass is the nat- 

 ural enemy of these wild grasses, and that they 

 will in time crowd them out. If this statement 

 was tcue, the large dead, brown-looking places all 

 over the grounds ought to grow smaller each year 

 as the other grass grows in strength, but it is not 

 so. I believe the wild grasses are slowly but 

 surely gaining on the blue grass every season, 

 though we sow new seed nearly every fall or 

 spring. How can I change this state of things so 

 as to give the ascendency to the tame grass ? Here- 

 tofore we have used stable manure, put in in the 

 fall, but this year bone meal and guano mixed, at 

 the rate of four parts of the former to one of the 

 latter, have been substituted, the mixture broad- 

 casted at the rate of three hundred and sixty 

 pounds to the acre. So much for the grass ques- 

 tion, except that I will add Bermuda grass grows 

 well in this section, and would, of course, soon kill 

 out everything else ; but it has so many objection- 

 able features that it would be adopted only as a 

 last resort. The next subject about which your 

 kind assistance will be greatly appreciated is the 

 care — cultivating, trimming, &c., of evergreens. If 

 possible, there is more diversity of teaching about 

 this matter than that of lawn making. I was taught 

 to keep a space, say three feet each way, from the 

 tree, cultivated for some years before sodding up 

 to the tree. My own very limited experience leads 

 me to think this practice altogether wrong. This 

 class of trees make such an abundance of small 

 roots so near the surface that it is impossible to cul- 

 tivate the soil without cutting a great many of the 

 roots. But, as I said, my experience is very lim- 

 ited, and so I desire the guidance of a master 

 hand such as yours. I have been very cautious in 

 using the knife about the evergreens, being afraid 



