1883-] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



325 



maroon, tipped white. I would also like to get hold 

 of a first-class scarlet Dahlia. Almost every florist 

 offers scarlets, but some are coarse, some have 

 open centers, and some are not scarlet." 



Queries About Tree Management. — "S. N.," 

 New Jersey, wants to know ; " What time is best for 

 trimming large hmbs from white pines and fir 

 trees to avoid bleeding them and injuring them ? 



" Can pines and first thirty feet high be fore- 

 shortened without damage, and so be made to 

 grow thicker, if they have never before been 

 trimmed ? 



" When is the best time to trim deciduous trees 

 with the least damage ? 



" How do you raise from the seed oak and 

 hickory trees on the spot where they are to 

 remain ? " 



[No serious damage will be received by pines 

 trimmed at any time, though it may be best to trim 

 them towards spring. Good tree managers regard 

 " as soon as cold winds are over " as the best time 

 for pruning all kinds of evergreens. 



Pruning of deciduous trees is usually done be- 

 tween the fall of the leaves and the pushing of new 

 growth in spring. Large wounds should be paint- 

 ed over. Some like to prune large branches towards 

 midsummer, for the reason that the tree has had 

 the advantage of the leaves to be cut away, and 

 has a large amount of growth material stored 

 away in the branches, and, as a consequence, a 

 very rapid growth of new wood is made, which 

 will half cover in a single season, with a layer of 

 new wood, and make painting unnecessary. 



A large pine tree can be headed back as 

 low as there are any green limbs, and the side 

 branches may be shortened, making a very beauti- 

 ful bush; but it would not, probably, make another 

 leader. In pruning back young white pines in 

 nurseries, a side branch is tied up, and this be- 

 comes a leader. 



To raise oak and hickories on the spot where 

 they are to remain, it is best to sow three or more 

 nuts, two to four inches deep, according to the 

 nature of the soil — the lighter the soil, the deeper 

 the seed — and if they all grow, pull out all but 

 one. The seed may be sown any time after it is 

 ripe. The spring is as good as any, provided seed 

 has not been kept too dry. If comparatively dry, 

 the seeds of many trees lie in the ground a year 

 before sprouting. — Ed. G. M.] 



Daubentonia Tripetiana. — Mr. Berckmans 

 says: "By this mail I send you a branch and 

 flowers of Daubentonia Tripetiana, a hardy shrub 



which blooms here as early as June, from seed 

 sown in March ; and continues to give a profu- 

 sion of flowers until October. It is not new with 

 me, but might be with you. At all events it is a 

 valuable shrub for the Cotton States. I also send 

 twig and flowers of Chilopsis linearis, a hardy 

 shrub from Southern Texas; which is here also a 

 valuable plant." 



[This was a very beautiful flower. The tree 

 belongs to the Leguminose family, and might be 

 popularly described as a yellow locust with crim- 

 son flowers. We suppose the name given is of 

 nursery origin, for the species appears to be Dau- 

 bentonia punicea. The chilopsis goes by the 

 name of flowering willow in Utah, from the wil- 

 low-like leaves and habit of the plant. Notwith- 

 standing its very different appearance from the 

 Catalpa, it is closely related to it. It may be 

 Called a blue Catalpa. — Ed. G. M.] 



Improving the Coleus. — With a box of leaves 

 of striking and very varied beauty, Mr. Berkmans 

 writes : " I have within the past three years worked 

 upon improving a few strains of Coleus, and select 

 a few leaves from this year's seedlings. I believe 

 some are quite good ; at any rate, I have nothing 

 in the new or old kinds that are as desirable for 

 our hot climate." 



Improving Lawns. — "W. H. W.," Maiden, 

 Mass., writes : " Can you tell me how to eradicate 

 from my lawn the coarse grasses ? Last spring I had 

 the lawn dug up, and eighteen inches of good soil 

 put on it. It was then plentifully sown with choice 

 lawn grass seed ; but the soil seems to have been 

 full of coarse grass seed, which has sprung up 

 most vigorously, and ruined the lawn. How can 

 I get rid of it, and get a good, velvety lawn ? If 

 you can tell me I shall be very much obliged." 



[Very often much trouble can be avoided by 

 weeding a newly-sown lawn : taking out all but 

 that which is desirable before it goes to seed. 

 After that nothing but the selection of those grasses 

 which are best suited to the soil will do. These in 

 time will crowd out all others. In Pennsylvania 

 very few grasses can hold their own against "blue 

 grass" — Poa pratensis — in an average soil. If the 

 soil be damp, however, some of the Bent grasses 

 — agrostis — are best ; or over dry, the Fesqua 

 grasses — Festuca. Crowding out, however, is a 

 slow process. Those who desire the very best 

 success with grass lawns, and who have the time 

 or money to spare to have just what they want, 

 must depend on hand weeding the first year for the 

 best success. — Ed. G. M.] 



