572 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



from the original A. majus of England, although occa- 

 sionally a plant is produced that would seem to show 

 traces of siculum or orontium. The four varieties of 

 majus described by Loudon were white, scarlet, bi- 

 color and a double-white. Yellow is such a common 

 color in Antirrhinum at the present time, it seems a 

 little singular that it was apparently unknown forty- 

 seven years ago. It is probable that Loudon's scarlet 

 was a crimson. When we compare this list with the 

 bewildering array of shades and tints we now have 

 we must admit that much progress has been made b}' 

 the plant breeders of the past forty years. 



A plant or a flower is seldom taken in hand for such 

 improvement unless it possesses intrinsic qualities 

 making it worthy of such work and improvement. 

 That our favorite does possess these qualities goes 

 without argument. Stateh' and beautiful, of easy cul- 

 ture under glass, it gives us a wealth of bloom at a 

 time when other large decorative flowers are out of 

 season. It is no less valuable as a subject for out-of- 

 door planting. In our hot, dry summers it seldom 

 grows more than one-third the height observed under 

 greenhouse culture, but in Great Britain, I am told, it 

 throws spikes of bloom nearly as high as in our green- 

 houses. It is a plant for the florist and the amateur, for 

 the small bed at the side of the cottage, and for big 

 masses of color in our parks and cemeteries. Every 

 improvement in types and \arieties hastens the time 

 of its more universal use in this country. All that re- 

 mains to be done is the elimination of the weedy, trashy 

 kinds, now altogether too common, and the Antirrhinum 

 will come into its own. 



The existing strains of Antirrhinum usually sold by 

 seedsmen are, A. majus, majus grandiflorum, nanum 

 grandifiorum and the very dwarf Tom Thumb varie- 

 ties. This year another strain has been introduced by 

 a German seedsman — A. maximum. With us this 

 maximum produces no larger flowers than many of 

 our own cross-bred seedlings. Perhaps it will improve 

 on acquaintance. None of the above strains will come 

 true from seed, although they show a larger percentage 

 true to type than to the advertised colors. 



They are all useful to the hybridizer, and possibly 

 to the amateur, but as a source of supply for the plants 

 required for benching in the greenhouse, seeds are a 

 delusion and a snare. Of course, it is very easy to get 

 plants this way, but really, it is hardh' wortli while. 

 There are so many other ways of being unhappy. 

 You can't afford to fill your benches with weeds, and 

 many of the seedlings will prove but little better. 

 Propagate your stock from cuttings, buying the best 

 obtainable varieties for that purpose, as you would 

 your carnations or roses. 



Contrary to the usual idea, I am convinced that 

 the Antirrhinum requires but little in the way of 

 animal manures, and also that it needs comparatively 

 little water. This does not mean that I advocate 

 starvation, but that if your soil be in a fairly fertile 

 condition it will give you better flowers than if charged 

 with the manures necessary for some other crops. 

 Water with pure water, and with discretion. There 

 are more failures from over-watering than from any 

 other one cause. 



Our method is to take cuttings in March or April, 

 or even early in May, selecting only the best from the 

 best and strongest plants. When rooted, we pot in 

 2-in., later shifting to 4-in. pots, when the}- are ready 

 for plunging out of doors. Plunge deep enough so 

 that the wheel hoe will not strike the pots in culti- 

 vating. A\'ater only when the plants show signs of 

 wilting, which will be seldnni, in an ordinary season. 



The beds in the houses they are to occupy are prepared 

 for a summer crop — sometimes tomatoes — using 

 enough manure to carry that crop through in good 

 shape. ^Vhen the snaps are brought in, any time from 

 August 1 to October 1, the only things added to the 

 soil are a good sprinkling of lime and a smaller applica- 

 tion of sulphur. This should suffice them until about 

 April, when a moderate stimulant may be given. We 

 prefer chemicals for this purpose. Always cut the 

 spikes to within three or four inches of the ground. 

 If a variety will not break from the ground, it is not 

 profitable. Better throw it out. There is no money 

 in growing brush. 



There seem to l)e but three diseases to bother the 

 grower of snaps. This is the cutting-bed fungus, 

 which, I presume, is the same that afflicts the carna- 

 tion. Any little bruise on the cutting will result in 

 its loss, if this fungus be present in the sand or potting 

 soil. Another and more serious trouble is usually 

 called the "wilt" disease. The whole plant is slowly 

 afl^ected, usually a branch at a time, until it is all gone. 

 An examination of the stem of the plant, just above the 

 ground, shows that it has become so hard as to appear 

 petrified. Evidently it becomes so rock-like that the 

 sap cannot circulate, and the plant dies. As to the 

 cause, I have never seen a really satisfactory explana- 

 tion. Possibly it, also, is caused by a fungus. But 

 this I do know, that since adopting our present method 

 of preparing the soil, we have had but ver^' little 

 trouble from it. The third disease is not really a dis- 

 ease at all unless we call an attack of .indigestion a 

 disease. You may notice a plant or two, or perhaps a 

 whole bed, change its whole appearance, including the 

 color of the blooms. The stem is weaker, the foliage 

 smaller, the flowers sport towards yellow, usually 

 showing a yellow center. The whole plant looks sick, 

 and it is. The cause, I believe to be an excess of nitro- 

 genous manure in the soil. The cheapest remedy is to 

 pull out the plants. Never take a cutting from such 

 plants. 



Occasionally the Antirrhinum is troubled by the 

 green aphis, but under good culture this is seldom. 

 Spra\- with nicotine liquids. Don't fumigate. The 

 worst pests are the cut worms and leaf rollers. These 

 must be fought the same as in the carnation and rose 

 houses, always remembering that it is very riskv to 

 use the cyanide gas in a house containing .Antirrhinums. 



THE BLIGHT KILLED CHESTNUT. 



The inroads of the chestnut bark disease, or chestnut 

 blight, on the chestnut trees of New England and the 

 Middle Atlantic States is resulting in the death of a 

 great deal of chestnut timber. Officials of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture recommend, to prevent the 

 spread of the disease, that shipments of chestnut timber 

 should include onl\- material from which the bark has 

 been removed and from which the diseased spots have 

 been cut out. 



In the region affected there is a good market for all 

 chestnut products except cordwood. The demand for 

 poles and ties absorbs all that are offered, and lumber 

 finds ready sale in local markets. Cordwood, however, 

 is often a drug except within shipping distance of tan- 

 ning extract plants, brass foundries, lime kilns, brick 

 yards, and charcoal plants. 



The question has arisen as to whether the disease- 

 killed timber is less valuable than that from green trees. 

 Strength tests made by the Forest Service indicate that 

 sound wood from chestnut killed liv the bark disease is 

 as strong as that from green timber. 



