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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



in bloom for over two weeks and was still in fine shape and at- 

 tracted the public probably more than any other one rose in the 

 Gardens. There were several plants of Paul's Scarlet Climber 

 and one group of four plants trained up in pyramid shape made 

 a wonderful show. This is rather an attractive way to train 

 climbers, especially where they are as free bloomers as Paul's 

 Scarlet Climber, which presented almost a solid, vivid red mass. 

 Aimilc Ncrine, one of Nonin's seedlings, much on the order^ of 

 Excelsa but light in color and comes into bloom much earlier, 

 was very attractive and looked like a promising climber. The 

 public admired it very much. 



M. Cherious, chief counsel of Paris, president of the 

 third committee of the Conseil Municipal (avenues and 

 parks),' was elected president. There are two committees 

 for the Conseil IMunicipal in Paris, which take care of the 

 competition in new roses, the third committee, under 

 whose care are the avenues and gardens and the fourth 

 committee of the Conseil Municipal that cares for the fine 

 arts. 



The Rev. Mr. Pemberton, of England, was elected 

 vice-president, representing the English, and Samuel S. 

 Pennock, vice-president, representing America. The min- 

 utes of last year's meeting- were read and approved, and 

 then the awards of the Gold Medals and Certificates were 

 made, each award being voted upon separately. 



Among the jurors were quite a number of Paris offi- 

 cials, among them M. Le Corbellier, who used to be 

 president of the Conseil Municipal of Paris ; M. Leallier, 

 president of the police court; M. Deville, president of the 

 Fourth Committee of the Conseil Municipal ; M. Autrand, 

 president of the Department Seine : M. Aucoc, syndicus 

 of the Conseil Municipal of Paris; M. Malherbe, general 

 director for the work in Paris ; M. Gamier, adininis- 

 trative director of architecture and avenues ; ]\I. Bois, pro- 

 fessor of the museum for natural history and also a prom- 

 inent botanist. 



After our counsel meeting, we adjourned to the Cha- 

 teau de Madrid, where we enjoyed a very splendid, well- 

 served luncheon amid dehghtful surroundings. M. For- 

 estier was verv much in evidence as really the one who 

 was directing everj-thing: our deliberations in the field, at 

 the counsel and also at the luncheon. He is very efficient, 

 thoroughly knows roses, is a splendid gentleman to meet 

 and it is an honor to be nutnbered as one of his friends. 



Altogether this day was a wonderful experience for 

 me, meeting a most delightful number of men. and it was 

 certainly a great honor to be numbered among them, — • 

 an experience I hope and trust I will be able to repeat 

 again at some future time. They had a few speeches, 

 not veiy many, and short. We were welcomed by the 

 president, M. Cherious, and both Mr. Peniberton and 

 myself were asked to say a few words, which we were 

 glad to do. I extended an invitation to anv one who 

 could come and join the American Rose Society on 

 their pilgrimage to the Northwest in 1922. They are 

 very anxious that the American Rose Society have a rep- 

 resentation e?ch year at the Bagatelle Gardens, two lep- 

 resentatives if possible. 



BEWARE OF THE BEAUTIFUL NATIVE 



"VY/HEN we meet with some beautiful native plant. 

 ** there is always the temptation to introduce it to 

 the .garden. One onlv finds out when it is 'too 

 late that it is not always safe to do this, for though there 

 are some desirable plants that either do not over encroach 

 or are easily repressed, such as the Water Forget-me-not, 

 there are others that respond only too readily to the more 

 generous conditions of the garden and run riot and be- 

 come actual pests. One of the first to beware of is the 

 handsome Equisetnm telmatia, the Great Horse-tail : it 



is only safe to plant it in some damp place, well away 

 from the garden, or it will become a pest that is hardly 

 possible to get rid of. In a moment of incredible folly 

 I once brought home a root of the Common Field Horse- 

 tail (£. arvense). It interested me because it is not com- 

 mon in my district and it was a long time since I had 

 seen it. It was laid in for further examination, forgotteti 

 for a time and then revenged itself for neglect by rooting; 

 and spreading over a choice corner of ground where hardy 

 plants are propagated by sowing. In this case the un- 

 wisdom was inexecusable because the plant has no par- 

 ticular beauty. It was an unlucky day when I brought 

 home the handsome great yellow Loosetrife {Lysiinachia 

 riilgaris) ; in its wild home by the river side it was only 

 in small patches and looked as if it would not spread un- 

 duly, but its introduction has proved a misfortvme that I 

 have never ceased to regret ; for not only does it run at 

 the root, but even if prevented from seeding it has mys- 

 terious ways of appearing in unexpected places and is 

 almost impossible to eradicate. The common Tansy, so 

 handsome in large masses by the water side, is another 

 garden pest, though it is easier to get rid of than the 

 Loosetrife. 



Some specially fine wild forms of Field Scabious 

 {Knaiitia anxmsis) could not be resisted ; the best for size 

 and color were marked with stumps and dug up in the 

 Autumn, giving rise to another lifelong regret. They 

 root deeply and seem to come up all the more persistently 

 for having been, as we thought, thoroughly dug up and 

 abolished. Another regrettable indiscretion was the in- 

 troduction of Enchanter's Nightshade (Circcca lutetiana) ; 

 not a showy thing, but with a modest prettiness, and per- 

 haps all the more attractive from its romantic name and 

 because it grows in quiet, shady, mysterious places, that 

 in themselves have an alluring quality. The pretty Wood 

 Sorrel should also be avoided as it covers and smothers 

 everything, but nothing is so bad as as Campanula rapun- 

 cidoidcs. with its pretty spike of purple bloom. Gout- 

 weed ( Aigopodiitm podagraria) is bad enough and baffles 

 most people, though if it were not for its bad qualities, 

 the sheet of comely green leaves would, in some cases be 

 an acceptable ground covering. But I have succeeded in 

 abolishing it here and there by persistent rooting up, and 

 it is an honest enemy for which one has some regard, for 

 the roots are white and can be seen and then it has rather 

 a pleasant smell. But there is no good word to be said 

 for Campanula rapunculoides; it is an enemy of the worst 

 tvpe — insidious, treacherous — all that is mean and odious. 

 I read in Johns" "Flowers of the Field" that it is a very 

 rare species. I wish it were rare in my garden ! — ^Ger- 

 TRUDE Jekyll in Garden. 



None of the above-named plants are native to this coun- 

 try but the Equisetnm and Circcra lutetiana. I don't think 

 anyone would consider seriously introducing either into a 

 regular garden. Campanula rapunculoides is a common 

 "escape" along roadsides and, as ]\Iiss Jekyll says, it is 

 both "mean and odious." though not without a certain 

 grace and beauty. One native, used generally in hardy 

 borders, that is a rapidly spreading pest, is Physostegia 

 z-irginica. the false dragon's head, or "obedient plant." 

 The alien purple loosestrife, Lythrum- roseum, is also fre- 

 quently planted in gardens with disastrous results. This 

 statelv importation from the old world has taken posses- 

 sion of the mar.shes along the Hudson during the past 

 twenty-five years and is now spreading over the uplands, 

 to the despair of the farmers and estate owners. Its rosy 

 magenta spikes are very striking in masses and at a dis- 

 tance, but it should be kept at a distance, or it will sup- 

 plant everything else within reach. — Editor. 



