October 29, 1910 



nOKTICULTURE 



597 



G^rnus^'canadensis 



Coruus canadensiSj the dwarf cor- 

 nel, or bunchberry, is a native plant, 

 abounding in woody sections and 

 low lands of our northern frontier 

 and in Canada. Although mentioned 

 in various works on herbaceous 

 plants, I have not so far seen it to 

 any extent in cultivation, but I am 

 an ever-growing admirer of its mod- 

 est charms. Its vivid white and 

 green in beautiful contrast and 

 furthermore the wonderful sim- 

 plicity in form of the flower and 

 outline of the veiny foliage are a 

 real delight to the beholder. In 

 August this dark green becomes a 

 fitful background for the bright 

 coral red bunches of berries which 

 adorn our dwarf cornel until late in 

 the fall. Like the cornus succica of 

 Scandinavia this cornel does not be- 

 long on the perennial flower border. 

 It would be still more out of place in the formal garden, 

 but it has proven a very desirable and under proper 

 condition effective plant for low and moist sections of 

 rock gardens, and many now bare and uninteresting 

 spaces in shady situations afford opportunities for its 

 use to good advantage. The question of effective ground 

 surface covering under given conditions is ever present. 

 Cornus canadensis may in various localities be helpful 

 in solving such problems. The growing desire to enliven 

 the vernal aspect of natural park landscapes by cheerful 

 colors has now and then led us to naturalizing masses 

 of crocus, narcissus and other bulbous plants. Bright 

 and gay as are such plantations, we feel and know their 

 temporary character. The modest display of the thin 

 sheet of white of our herbaceous cornus canadensis and 

 tlie bright red glimmer of its berries are, as part of our 



NEW YORK 



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native vegetation, permanent. We should treasure them 

 in no lesser degree than the European does the beauty 

 of, for instance, his native Anemone sylvestris, Hepatica 

 triloba and tlie wild convallaria. 



I find Cornus canadensis thinly scattered, in the deep 

 shade of our spruce and pine woods and more frequently, 

 as shown by our illustration, in thick masses along the 

 outskirts and on the sunny glades and clearings. Here 

 its thin wiry roots ramble in the peaty topsoil, running 

 vatlier close to the ground surface. A light layer of 

 birch leaves and pine needles affords protection against 

 tlie hot drying sun rays during mid-summer. 



Northeast Harbor, Maine. 



Among the Phloxes 



Perhaps the impression would go out when one read 

 my last on "Tricky" Peonies" that our efforts along 

 that line were failures. But at the ISTational Association 

 at Denver we had 30 new ones, many of them of rare 

 beauty. But we propose to wait till they get over their 

 youthful pranks before we give them to the public. 



Our work among the phloxes, however, is different. 

 By saving the seeds of the very best, sowing in the fall 

 and giving the best of care, the next season we know 

 exactly what we are doing. The flowers are as fine the 

 first year as they ever will be. We had at least 25 kinds 

 of marvellous beauty with single florets as large as a 

 dollar. There was a wide range of color among them 

 also. 



Thurlow Bros, write me that most of the choice im- 

 ported ones are failures, not adapted to the climate of 

 Massachusetts. With us in the West about three-fourths 

 are failures. Many cannot endure our hot winds, and 

 others blisht in wet weather. We are after a hardy 



race and we are getting them. Arete, a cross between 

 Crepuscule and Richard Wallace, proves to be eminently 

 satisfactory. 



A plant must score tlie five points of excellence. 1. 

 It must liave a symmetrical head. 2. It must be ro- 

 bust, enduri'ng climatic changes. 3. It must be a ready 

 multiplier so as to be profitable. Many kinds will stand 

 for two years and only have a single stem. 4. It must 

 be a prolific and continuous bloomer. 5. It should 

 produce an abimdance of seed so as to help in the work 

 of improvement, for we are on the eve of splendid re- 

 sults with this glorious flower. Wliile the majority of 

 our seedlings show well by the side of the imported 

 ones, we choose about one in a thousand for further 

 testing. 



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