324 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[November, 



ary to raise plants from seeds, as they can be pro- 

 pagated more cheaply than by layers. But many 

 of such plants are male and have but little or no 

 beard. This paragraph is suggested by the sight 

 of a very beautiful specimen near Horticultural 

 Hall, in Fairmount Park. The whole of the very 

 large plant was a mass of mist, of a pretty purple 

 tint. Such plants should be selected for propa- 

 gation by layers. 



Grounds of the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment AT Washington. — Mr. W. F. Massey 

 contributes an interesting sketch of these grounds, 

 under the charge of Mr. Wm. Saunders, to the 

 American Farmer, from which we learn that the 

 glass structures were in their usual clean and 

 thrifty state. He noticed that the floor of the 

 grapery, now that the grapes are coloring, "is kept 

 mulched with tobacco stems, as a check to the 

 thrips, a first rate idea, which I propose to adopt. 

 In course of construction we noticed an enormous 

 rose house, the dimensions of which I do not re- 

 member, but which I suppose is not less than 150 

 to 200 feet. The roses are to be planted iii beds, 

 with air chambers beneath, heated by steam pipes. 

 The whole building is to be heated by a steam 

 boiler, and will be of great interest to horticultur- 

 ists in deciding the vexed question of the relative 

 merits of steam and hot water for heating green- 

 houses. The admirably planted Arboretum at the 

 Agricultural Department is rapidly becoming an 

 object of interest as the trees develop." 



A Large American Arbor Vit^.— On the 

 grounds of Mr. Rex Hinkle, at Mount Airy, Phila- 

 delphia, is a tree of Arbor Vitse which has a trunk 

 eight feet in circumference, and which rises nine 

 feet to the first branch. 



NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 



is particularly beautiful in the fall season of the 

 year. The writer has the trunks of trees along an 

 avenue covered by them, and though scores of 

 people brush by them daily, he has never known 

 one case of injury in twelve years since they have 

 been there. 



Acer Volxemi. — If there were only enough of 

 it what a grand tree for avenue planting or for 

 town streets would be this maple. It is of robust 

 habit and rapid growth. The foliage is like that 

 of the Plane, but larger and more umbrageous, 

 and moreover it is hardier. The leaves are some- 

 what silvery on the under surface. Our exper- 

 ience of it is, in truth, very limited ; but its hardi- 

 hood, rapid growth, and stately appearance in- 

 duce us very strongly to recommend it for trial in 

 all cases for which the Plane is now used. The 

 tree was introduced by M. Van Volxem, and de- 

 scribed and figured in our columns in 1877, vol. 

 vii., p. 73, and later on by Mr. Nicholson.— Car- 

 deners' Chrofticie. 



Japanese or Polyantha Roses — deserve spe- 

 cial notice ; the latter are charming for small 

 beds or edgings, and may be had in the following 

 four varieties, of which we prefer the pure white 

 form, Paquerette, which is almost a continuous 

 bloomer. The others are Anna Maria de Montra- 

 vel, white, very fragrant and double, blooming in 

 miniature clusters ; Mdme. C. Brenner, a blush- 

 colored form of the above ; Mignonette, rosy pink, 

 one of the finest of these miniature or fairy roses. 

 — Garden. 



Gladiolus, Stuart Wortley. — This was re- 

 garded as the best gladiolus at the September 

 meeting of the New York Horticultural Society, 

 to which the certificate of merit was awarded — a 

 noble spike of grand, bold flowers, brilliant cherry 

 with pure white throat and white band in center of 

 petals. It would seem as if perfection in hybri- 

 dizing the gladiolus had been reached. 



Acer Schweidleri — The Broad -leaved 

 Norway Maple.— Prof. Budd says the original 

 tree is still growing near Proskau, in Northern 

 Silesia. 



The Creeping Hydrangea. — This proves to 

 be a very desirable addition of creeping plants — 

 the number of which that will adhere to walls by 

 creeping rootlets is not large. We have but the 

 English ivy, Ampelopsis, Trumpet vine, and Creep- 

 ing Burning Bush for the whole list — unless we may 

 include the poison vine, which seems harmless to 

 many persons when growing in the full sun ; and 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Dahlia Queries. — WilHam F. Bassett, Ham- 

 monton, N. J., says: " If any of the readers of the 

 Monthly^ have Dahlias Little Prince or Frank 

 Smith, I would like to be informed of it. Little 

 Prince is described as 'currant red, tipped white,' 

 and some of the flowers are so, but a large portion 

 of them are variously spotted, and mixed with a 

 much darker shade. Frank Smith is a very dark 



