164 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[June, 



in other places, but in this town, till last summer, 

 I knew of but a single plant of the species in the 

 neighborhood. The bright, glossy foliage of the 

 new growth, contrasts admirably with the darker 

 green of the leaves upon the older wood, the 

 whole spreading fan like upon the wall, shading 

 from dark to light and tapering gradually from 

 the larger leaves to the minutest tendrils, all bright, 

 fresh and shining. Then as autumn advances it 

 changes to a magnificent crimson and purple. So 

 conspicuous and attractive is it that almost daily 

 some passer by inquires its name and remarks its 

 beauty. A horticultural writer says of it : "As a 

 rapid growing plant it is much prized in England 

 and on the continent of Europe, and employed as 

 it is in this country to cover walls or to climb old 

 trees, festooning itself with elegant freedom from 

 branch to branch." It needs but ordinary care 

 and though in severe winters the ends of the 

 shoots may die, the succeeding summer's growth 

 quickly recovers lost ground and rapidly extends 

 far beyond. I speak of this well known species, 

 because it is reliable, easily obtained, costs but a 

 trifle and will afford genuine pleasure to all lovers 

 of the beautiful. It is known as the American 

 Ivy, occupying in American woods and gardens a 

 similar position to the Ivy of England in that 

 country. It is sometimes called the five leaved 

 woodbine, erroneously, however, as the woodbine 

 properly belongs to the Honeysuckle family. 



The tendency at present seems to be to cultivate 

 foreign plants at the expense of our own native 

 species. Many of these are so tender that they 

 can with difficulty be made to live through our 

 winters, and even then it is questionable whether 

 they are more beautiful. A finer creeper than the 

 Ampelopsis, one combining so many excellencies, 

 can nowhere be found. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Double Tuberoses. — These often degenerate. 

 Just why they do so has not been clearly demon- 

 strated. The single ones, however, have this ad- 

 vantage, they flower nearly two weeks earlier than 

 the double ones. 



City Squares for Philadelphia. — The city 

 of Philadelphia, with its 130 square miles, has one 

 large park of 3,000 acres on its west boundary, of 

 which it is justly proud. In small squares for the 

 poor and for children who cannot take a day's 

 journey to the Park, or if at all but a few times 

 a year, it is singularly bare. It has but Franklin, 



Logan, Rittenhouse, Independence, Washington, 

 Jefferson, Passyunk and Norris, and these pro- 

 vided by the wisdom of the more immediate suc- 

 cessors of William Penn. Since that time miles 

 and miles of streets have been built, with the only 

 public ground being the public highways. 



At the meeting of the City Councils on April 

 19th, Councilman Meehan offered an ordinance 

 providing for small parks and squares for the 

 future growth of the city. It directs the Depart- 

 ment of Surveys to so revise the plans of the city 

 as to block off plots of ground not less than ten 

 nor more than twenty acres, three or four miles 

 apart. The city is to set apart a marginal strip 

 around each plot for building purposes and apply 

 the proceeds for building new parks. The prcp- 

 erty to be taken is to be assessed as road dam- 

 ages are. The bill was referred to the Survey 

 Committee, and by them referred to the City 

 Solicitor, to decide whether the city had authority 

 to take land for this purpose. 



Cercis Japonica. — This proves to be one of the 

 most desirable of very hardy shrubs. It will prob- 

 ably become common as the " Japan Judas tree." 



Azalea Mollis, introduced from Japan, might 

 have been called new here half a dozen years ago. 

 At the Arnold Arboretum it endures the winter 

 quite as well as the Ghent azaleas, and flowers 

 superbly and promises to supersede them, the 

 flowers being finer in size and form. At the 

 arboretum a large number of seedlings have 

 been raised, from which we may expect plants 

 every way suited to our climate. — Mr. Falconer in 

 Country Gentleman. 



A Grafted Rose. — At a recent meeting of the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society, WiUiam H. 

 Spooner, chairman of the flower committee, called 

 attention to a plant of General Jacqueminot rose, 

 exhibited by Jackson Dawson of the Arnold 

 Arboretum. It was grafted a year ago upon a 

 Japan rose, and now has twenty-five blossoms and 

 buds. 



Roses Grafted on the Manetti Stock. — 

 Over a quarter of a century ago, no nurseryman 

 in America could get enough Manetti stock to 

 supply the demand, but they have long been 

 wholly abandoned. The American florist of to- 

 day hardly knows what the Manetti stock is. It 

 was not that is was not a good stock for the rose, 

 but the tendency to sucker was so strong, and the 

 leaves and growth so much like "tame roses," 

 that the majority of amateurs, and many florists 

 did not find out that they had only the "wild 



