September 16, 1905 



HORTICULTURE 



295 



Melons Under Glass 



The subjects of the accompanying picture were grown 

 on the front bench in the rose house. Seeds were sown 

 March 9th, some in pots and some in pieces of sod. 

 When large enough they were planted in their perma- 

 nent position, two feet apart, a trellis being already in 

 position to tie them to as they grew. I would say that 

 the trellis is a jjermanent one; as we take a crop of 

 melons off every year, we leave the trellis in position. 

 We try to get the crop off by the first of August and 

 plant the bench with roses. This year we started cut- 

 ting on July 10th, and at this writing, early in 

 August, two-thirds of the crop is gone and the 

 bench replanted witli roses. Brides, Bridesmaid, 

 and Richmond, the remainder to be planted 

 with Liberty. The polinization of the melons 

 was more difficult this year tlian usual. The first set- 

 tings would not take, owing to the weather conditions, 

 but we kept at it until we got two, three, and four set 

 on each vine, which we call a good crop for the distance 

 they were planted apart. The varieties we grow are 

 Royal Favorite, Royal Sovereign, Scarlet Invincible. 

 Gunton Scarlet, Lyon Perfection, and Windsor Castle, 

 also a seedling which seems promising. The soil used 

 is turfy loam with a very little manure. Much manure 

 makes too rank a srowth, and then it is hard to sret the 



fruit t<: 



Ti^^^W^ ^.J'frayu:^4^,^UI. 



A Great London Park 



Battersea Park in London is on tlie banks of the 

 Thames and conveniently situated for a large population 

 of working people. It contains about 200 acres and is 

 laid out with a large expanse of turf in its centre. The 

 borders of the park are thickly planted with trees and 

 shrubbery forming an effective screen against street life. 

 A music pavilion with ample seating capacity on a tree 

 shaded concourse is located near the centre of the park. 

 The remainder of the open turf is devoted to playground 



purposes. Patlis cross the playground in various direc- 

 tions; these are bordered on either side with iron fences. 

 For these fences there appears to be no good reason as 

 they do not serve the intended purpose. Cricket is the 

 game of England, and in the pursuit of flying balls the 

 boys and men engaged in the game make light of the 

 fences, jumping them at will. Nor are pedestrians de- 

 terred from jumping them if thereby a shorter cut can 

 be made than offered by the walks. They give a con- 

 fused appearance to tiio open turf and considerably mar 

 the landscape effect. In one corner are open air gym- 

 nasia, one for children, another used by men and boys; 

 that for children being in charge of a matron. 



Bays and laurel are largely used in the shrubberies 

 along the borders, in which large quantities of annuals 

 and bedding plants are also introduced. In a slight de- 

 pression a very pretty piece of bedding is done ; a good 

 belt of trees and shrubbery surrounds the hollow which 

 serves as a background for the plants and gives the gar- 

 den a pleasing appearance of seclusion and enclosure. 

 A small sheet of water adjacent, with foliage bordered 

 edges, lends additional attraction to the spot. The con- 

 tents of a few of the beds were noted as follows : 



Hydrangea hortensia bordered with alternanthera, 

 next yellow-foliaged geranium edged with Viola cornuta. 

 Another liad a center of Nicotiana affinis edged as that 

 noted above. A bed of _fuschias edged with dwarf blue 

 ageratum and a sweet alyssum border, bed of Paulonia 

 imperialis and ailantus mixed, edged with Funkia lati- 

 folia. An irregular bed of heliotropium, Plumbago 

 capensis and Abutilon Thompsonii mixed, bordered with 

 Coleus Verschaffeldtii, yellow-foliaged geranium, Achy- 

 ranthes and yellow-foliaged geranium in the order 

 named; triangular spaces in this bed were filled with 

 ivy-leaved geraniums. 



A long oval bed had for a center a mass of Solanum 

 marginata edged with Lobelia speciosa and Mesembryan- 

 themum cordifolium variegatum. 



Oval bed of cannas and yuccas edged with ornamental 

 beet and blue lobelia. 



A long bed broken in the center l\y a circular bed was 

 treated with acacia, bedding begonias of a rose color, 

 salpiglossis, dwarf yellow-foliaged fuchsias and lobelia. 

 The center circular bed was composed of Grevillea 

 robusta with a ground of Mimulus moschatus and border 

 of begonia and lobelia. 



What might have been a pretty simple glade effect, 

 was rendered spotty and confused by placing palms and 

 other exotic plants in tubs down its center. The bank- 

 ing of such plants at other points was well done. Some 

 of the mosaic beds were too complicated a pattern to 

 attempt a description of them. Wonderful examples of 

 skill in mechanical gardening are they. 



