56 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Departments of Foreign Exchange and Book Reviews 



THE AIR OF THE GARDEN 



OXE of the most interesting features of gardening is the fact 

 that it appeals to every faculty — most obviously to the sight, 

 since form and color are generally the chief considerations in the 

 selection and arrangement of plants, but none the less effectively 

 to the others. It appeals to the ear in many ways, from the hum 

 of the bees in the orchard to the call of the robin on a Winter's 

 day. Even when the air is too calm to awake the rustle, the 

 silence which falls is a positive influence rather tlian a mere 

 absence of sound — the living silence of sleep, not the empty silence 

 of lifeless surroundings. Its appeal to the taste is demonstrated 

 fortnightly by the powers on whose lips the fate of new varieties 

 of fruit depends. Its harsher effects may be experienced by any- 

 one who will attempt to prune a Bcrbcris with unprotected hands. 

 Its most powerful influence, however, is exerted through the 

 medium of the sense which, in the ordinary way, is regarded as 

 of least importance — the sense of smell. 



In everyday life the loss of this faculty would not be of serious 

 consequence, but in gardening this is not so. A person who had 

 the misfortune to lose both sight and hearing, but whose sense of 

 smell remained keen, would not be entirely cut off from the pleas- 

 ures of a garden provided he had previously acquired a store of 

 memories which could be aroused by the ever-varying odors 

 borne on the air during the course of a year. 



The range of these is wonderful, and any strict classification of 

 their varieties is at present impossible. Some are light, others 

 are heavy; some are soothing, others refreshing; sotne, though 

 not sweet, are vaguely pleasant, and others are frankly displeas- 

 ing. The conditions controlling their production and effects — on 

 insects as well as man — afford, like the question of autumn colors, 

 a fascinating field for study, but, of the two, the subject of scents 

 is the wider, since not only leaves but also flowers, fruit and even 

 roots may be concerned in their production. 



The strong influence of scent sometimes causes a conflict of 

 ideas when the merits of a plant are being considered. Lack of 

 scent may not tell heavily against a flower which, like many Roses, 

 has beauty of fonn to atone for it, but it takes a great deal of 

 outward attraction to outweigh an unpleasant odor. One cannot, 

 however, establish a principle that no offender in this way should 

 be permitted a place. The question of whether the odor is freely 

 radiated or only given off at close quarters or when part of the 

 plant is crushed must be taken into account. One can forgive 

 Lilium scovil::nanum, but a blow froin the Crown Imperial stirs 

 thoughts of banishment and the writer would give no quarter to 

 Phuopsis (syn. Crucianclla) slylosa. 



Some perfumes are better at a distance than at close quarters, 

 and of these the Giant Lily provides a good example. In the 

 evening, when twilight deepens in the wood and all the air is still, 

 a large group of these fine flowers makes its existence pleasant 

 felt a considerable waj' off, but close to thcin, the scent is almost 

 overpowering. 



A scent should not be condemned solely on the evidence of its 

 name. The fragrance of May-scented hedges in Spring need lose 

 none of its pleasant associations because the chemist declares it 

 to be due to the same substance as that which resides in "good 

 red herring." 



With the great number of sweetly scented plants which have 

 long been known, it is natural that scented gardens should have 

 heen thought of and written about often enough. In many cases, 

 however, they either represent a compromise between ornament 

 and odor or else they give pride of place to herbs — those interest- 

 ing aromatic plants around which hang so much history and 

 romance. There is still room for the application of this purpose 

 of the principle which guides the purely ornamental disi)osal of 

 flowers. 



The arrangement of color schemes which shall afford harmoni- 

 ous combinations over as long a period as possible requires taste, 

 judgment and a knowledge of the plants employed. Still greater 

 scope for originality and individual expression lies in the arrange- 

 ment of plants to produce pleasantly blended scents through as 

 much of the year as possible and changing with each turn of the 

 weather-vane. "Awake. O north wind and come, thou south; 

 blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow forth." 

 That, even in this country, .something could be done toward the 

 realization of such an ideal is shown by the number of plants 

 there arc to draw upon if scent is the only requirement. Shrubs 



and herb.s, annual and perennial flowers, would all be included so 

 long as their odor was radiated. 



_ The subject is a big one, but its complexity is one of its attrac- 

 tions. Among the points to consider would be not only the nature 

 and amount of ground available, but also the relative strengths 

 of the scents of different plants, the time of day or year at which 

 they were given off arid the effect of mingling two or more. It 

 is a blend, not a mere mixture, that is desirable, for, if we accept 

 the theory that scents are conveyed to our perception by vibration, 

 it is easy to understand that, like color or sound, they are liable 

 to discord. It is not the odor within the sun-baked tents at Chel- 

 sea that attracts the crowds. 



Among the host of applicants which spring up before the mind's 

 eye at the call for examples, it is pleasing to see many with the 

 record of generations of worthy service behind them. Far be it 

 from modern gardening to scorn the flowers of the past and 

 lavish all its favors on foreign immigrants, however distinguished 

 these may be in certain directions. We accept, therefore, such 

 names as those of the Wallflower, Mcccrcon, Rose and Sweet 

 Briar, Lily of the X'alley, Mock Orange, Mignonette, Lavender 

 and Thyme — to mention only a few. Lest, however, it be thought 

 that none of the newer introductions can hold their own with 

 these, w'e would include that sweetest of shrubs, Viburnum 

 Carlcsii. 



One of the best scent-diffusers in Spring is the evergreen shrub, 

 Azara microfhylla, the inconspicuous flowers of which emit a 

 strong odor of vanilla. In September a strong and pleasant scent 

 IS given off Iiy the handsome yellow fruits of Cydonia Sargcnti, 

 a dwarf shrub of great merit, also for its flowers in Spring. 



The names mentioned form but a small proportion of the pos- 

 sible total, but indicate that provision for scent would not entail 

 sacrifice of sight. Evergreen foliage and beautiful flowers would 

 come in by the way and add charm to the fount of natural per- 

 fume. The emphasis is laid on the word "natural" lest some 

 enterprising manufacturer should be encouraged to try to popu- 

 larize spraying by adding synthetic perfuines to his proprietary 

 mixtures. If that occurred one would feel disposed to exclaim: 

 "O what a fall was there, my countrymen!" — The Garden. 



PROTECTING BUSH FRUIT FROM BIRDS 



I .\ST Winter my Gooseberry and Currant bushes (not black) 

 ^— ' suffered badly from the depredations of birds, which stripped 

 the buds off w-liolesale, and not content with attacking these, did 

 a lot of damage also to the buds of Plums and Damsons. It was 

 late before 1 noticed wliat they had been up to, and I intend 

 being Ijcfore them this Winter. Any necessary pruning will be 

 done inunediately the leaves are off, and then the bushes will be 

 protected with black cotton, wliich as far as my experience goes 

 is the most effective agent for keeping the birds at bay. I put 

 four or five sticks around each bush, and thread tlic cotton from 

 stick to stick round and across, and the operation is very simple 

 and soon done. It needs to be taken quite near to the soil, as the 

 birds often hop along the ground to the bush, if it be a Goose- 

 berry. In the case of larger bushes and Plums, the cotton can 

 be fastened from twig to twig, and if the bush be too high to 

 reach, the reel of cotton can be thrown across from side to side, 

 so that a number of threads criss-crossing over the Inish arc soon 

 in position, with a little trouble, and it is astonishing how effective 

 a few such threads are. It is most di.sappointing when the bushes 

 had a good show of fruit buds for the next season, to go down 

 one day and find the branches stripped bare, every bud picked 

 out, as is often the case where the bushes arc iniproteclcd. 



When pruning Gooseberries I like to cut out all drooping 

 branches, as well as all those which cross, and leave the bush 

 well open, instead of the thicket into which old bushes are .so 

 often allowed to develop. Not only does one get larger fruit from 

 a well-pruned bush, but it has a nnich better flavor from having 

 lieen exposed to the beneficial influence of the sun — to say noth- 

 ing of the added comfort in gathering. Sawfly larv.T having been 

 numerous this past year, it will lie a wise precaution to remove 

 the top two or three inches of soil from under (iooseberry and 

 Currant bushes (taking care not to injure the root), and biirv it 

 deeply, rei)lacing it with good soil from another part. Not only 

 will this do much to keep off the pest, but the bushes will benefit 

 from the new soil. — Cardcn'wji llhistraled. 



