THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



869 



of July, and most of these buds will produce perfect 

 flowers by the end of September, with flowers equal to 

 mid-season varieties in size. 1 like the Early Flower- 

 ing 'Alums best, though, when disbudding has not been 

 closely practised and the flowers have been cut in long 

 sprays which have been disbudded to carry six or seven 

 flowers on a spray. There is not a garden in the coun- 

 try but whose owner could be made happier b}' having 

 a few of these plants, and their value on private estates 

 is very great. 



With the fall season in so many cases the family who 

 perhaps have been at the mountains or the seashore 

 Come home, the greenhouses, while they may be look- 

 ing good, are not yet beginning to produce flowers, and 

 the hot weather, with perhaps a nip of frost, has used 

 up about all the annuals and perennials that were use- 

 ful for cutting. Right then, the last of September and 

 early October, when mostly everything else in the gar- 

 den is gone, the early flowering 'Mums just coming in- 

 to a blaze of color fill a gap that nothing else will. 

 Small wonder is it that the demand for this type of 

 'Mum is so tremendous this year. Many gardeners 

 plan their fall planting of 'Mums with the same care 

 as regards color scheme as they exercise for their tulip 

 beds in the spring or their geranium plants in the 

 height of summer, and are amply repaid for their 

 trouble. 



The following list of some thirty varieties are all ex- 

 cellent, and can be depended on to give a satisfactory 

 flowering period of from three to six weeks. While 

 there are other good varieties, these kinds at present 

 seem to be the best in their respective colors: 



Pink. White. Yellow. 



Cranford Pink Dorothy Cranford Yellow 



M. Marques La Cygne Carrie 



Petite Louis Normandie Carmelite 



Le Danube Wells' Primrose Harrie 



Aladam E. David Primevere Tapis D'Or. 



Bronze. Crimson. 



A. Barham L'Argentuillius 



October Gold Wells' Scarlet 



Mandarin Firelight 



Helena Firefl}' 



Border Beauty Champagne 



Bronze Goacher Goacher's Crimson 



A GARDENER'S THOUGHT. 



The gray drab of winter months is made more endur- 

 able by the prospect of the return of longer and cheerier 

 days, and may I venture to express the hope that our asso- 

 ciation, bound together by the ties of horticulture and 

 mutual good will, may yet be the means of bringing about 

 a better and brighter future for the sons of Adam's pro- 

 fession Meetings where experiences and opinions are 

 freely exchanged will, I trust, help to make us more 

 proficient in our craft, more skilful workmen, and yet 

 more worthy of sympathetic encouragement and help from 

 our employers, thus proving to them that the money they 

 spend on their gardens gives them more pleasure, and 

 yields a better return than that which is spent on other 

 hobbies and pursuits. Personally, I may say, no trade 

 or profession is more engrossing than gardening. Work- 

 ers in factories spend their days doing the same task 

 week in, week out, amid the noise and whirr of machinery. 

 The shop assistant has little to vary his daily routine. 

 The clerk is kept monotonously on the same stool at the 

 same desk, often under conditions trying to health and 

 temper. The gardener at least breathes pure air, with 

 httle risk to health. Each week brings some change of 



work, liach season has an added interest. (Some may 

 say, with truth too, "and change of worry.") Still, with 

 its worry, its drawbacks, and its hard work, none of us 

 need to be ashamed to say, "1 am a gardener." Let us do 

 our best to prove we are such in the truest and fullest 

 sense of the word. 



"Taking no thought for the things of the morrow" finds 

 no place in the gardener's lot. ]t is a case of everlastingly 

 taking thought for the things of the morrow ; living in the 

 future, fornnng mental pictures of that which is to be.- — 

 ./. J. C 10 ha in. 



PLANT THE TREE CAREFULLY. 



The season for tree planting will soon be here. \\ ith 

 the opening of spring land owners far and wide get "the 

 fever" to plant something. The impulse is a highly 

 commendable one, but the manner in which it is often 

 carried out makes the results far from satisfactory. 



If trees are to live and thrive they must be planted 

 right and cared for properly thereafter, otherwise it is a 

 waste of time and money to plant at all. There is a pe- 

 culiar knack about tree planting which trained planters 

 seem to have, and which accounts for the almost inva- 

 riable success that attends their work. This is aptly 

 described in one of Thomas Hardy's novels, "The Wood- 

 landers," thus : "He had marvelous power of making 

 trees grow, although he would seem to shovel in the earth 

 quite carelessly ; there was a sort of sympathy between 

 the fir oak or beech he was operating on, so that the roots 

 took hold of the soil in a few days. When, on the other 

 hand, any of the journeymen planted, although they 

 seemed to go through an identically similar process, one- 

 quarter of the trees would die during the ensuing August. 

 Winterborne's fingers were endowed with a gentle con- 

 jurer's touch in spreading the roots of each little tree, 

 resulting in a sort of caress, under which the delicate 

 fibres all laid themselves in their proper directions for 

 growth." 



If you are among the number who contemplate tree 

 planting this spring, either on a large or small scale, re- 

 solve to give the work the care and attention it deserves. 

 An observance of the following simple directions should 

 help you to succeed. 



First, l)e sure to get strong, healthy trees, with good 

 roots. Dig large holes, much larger than the actual 

 spread of the roots, and see that good soil is provided 

 for filling in. Spread out the roots carefully, each little 

 fibre in its natural direction. Work the earth in about the 

 roots by hand, as it is filled in ; when nearly filled in wet 

 down thoroughly (a pail of water to each tree is none too 

 nuich), then fill in the remainder of the soil and press 

 down firmly to prevent drying out. If the location is ex- 

 posed it is well to fasten the tree to a stout stake driven 

 firmly into the ground, but be sure to use some soft ma- 

 terial for tying about the body that will not injure the 

 bark by chafing. If protracted dry weather ensues, water 

 at frequent intervals. .\ mulch of straw or other coarse 

 material, or even a few large stones that will shade the 

 ground about the tree will prove beneficial. While plant- 

 ing, or making ready to plant, never allow exposure of 

 the roots to sun and wind. Carelessness in this respect 

 is a frequent cause of failure. 



When trees are removed from the nursery many of the 

 fine rootlets and, in .'some cases, the larger roots are muti- 

 lated or destroyed. To correspond with this loss of roots 

 or feeders, the top of the tree should be pruned and prop- 

 erly shaped before planting. It is better to be over-severe 

 in this pruning than to err in the opposite direction. Re- 

 member that a small mass of roots cannot gather sufficient 

 nourishment to feed a large top. — From tree Talk. 



