November 3, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



471 



of producing fine new kinds and 

 growing paeonies with symmetrical 

 roots. This plant was healthy when 

 received and remained so until my 

 garden was infected with hollow- 

 stem fnngus introduced by peeony 

 roots from a Pennsylvania grower. 

 Tourangelle might well be named 



•The Angel of Tours as it is so love- 

 ly. It is a good grower, which in 

 proper soil makes long, smooth, 

 straight roots radiating from the 

 crown like the spokes of a wheel. 



In another letter I want to tell 

 you my experience in growing sym- 

 metrical roots, in the glacial drift 

 of New England. This ought to be 

 interesting as the roots I have re- 

 ceived from Eastern dealers have 

 been generally distorted. It is rea- 

 sonable to think that a soil which 

 allows roots to be long and straight 

 should produce plants that will re- 

 main vigorous to. a greater age than 



• those grown in a soil that cramps 

 and distorts them, however ricli it 

 may be in plant food. 



I mention 'that the roots shown in 

 the photographs were all grown in 

 soil containing Thorium. Soon 

 after its radioacti\'ity was discov- 

 ered I began to use it to determine 

 whether by growing seeds and 

 plants under new conditions I 

 could increase the frequency of' 

 mutations. In a future letter I 

 will tell you more of this. 







Boston, Mass. ^^^ 



F^GtTRE 3. 



QUISQUALIS INDICA (RANGOON 

 CREEPER). 



The Quisqualis makes a very useful 

 and decorative climber for the green- 

 house OT conservatory and also as a 

 pot plant grown on the balloon form. 

 It is rather a hard subject to propa- 

 gate from. I have tried several 

 methods, and in two of them I rooted 

 a few cuttings. The first was I took oK 

 the cuttings in May. selecting the 

 furthest advanced growth and insert- 

 ing them in thumb iiots filled with 

 sand, and plunged in -a propagatiiis 

 frame, at 80 degrees to 85 degrees. Out 

 of five cuttings I rooted one. which 

 has now made a growth of ten feet in 

 its second year. By selecting cuttings 

 from the ripened growth in .lanuary. 

 and giving a bottom temperature of 

 85 degrees to 90 degrees, out of six 

 cuttings I obtained two that rooted 

 well. 



It requires a warm temperature, and 

 all the sunshine possible to make it 

 flower freely. It is a rank feeder and so 

 ren Mires a rich compost of frial)le loam 

 three parts, dry cow manure one part, 

 ■leaf mould one part, a five-inch pot of 

 .bonemeal to the barrow-load of loam, 



and enough sand and a little charcoal 

 to keep it open and sweet. 



After the plant becomes well estab- 

 lished, it requires feeding twice a week 

 with liquid sheep manure and Clay's 

 fertilizer. Throughout the summer it 

 wants an abundance of water at the 

 roots, and a moist temperature. To- 

 wards the Pall after the blooming sea- 

 son is over, retard the water supply a 

 little, until in December and January 

 it needs only enough to keep the wood 

 from shriveling. At this time it should 

 be punned back to two eyes on the 

 young wood, for if the pruning is 

 left too long undone it will bleed very 

 badily when pruned. 



At first the plants grew into busli 

 form, and then young growths start 

 at tlie base and in a very short 

 period make a growth of ten or more 

 feet practically leaving the slirubby 

 growth completely at a standstill. It 

 is practically free from insect pests 

 and fungous diseases. The flowers on 

 first opening are light rose, passing to 

 deep red just before dropping. It 

 makes a useful cut flower for flat 

 dishes, lasting well under proper care. 

 John S. Doig. 



THE IDEAL HEDGE PLANT FOR 

 THE NORTH. 



lierberis Thunbergi is one of the 

 most attractive features of the fall 

 garden scenery, in Its sunny dress of 

 gold, crimson, russet and green, with 

 the racemes of coral berries that are 

 to adorn the winter landscape, peeping 

 Ihrough. 



F'or a desirable and continuously 

 beautiful hedge in all seasons Berberis 

 Thunbergi is so far ahead of the 

 monotonous and unreliable California 

 privet it is away beyond comparison. 

 We have recently seen some twigs of 

 the new dwarf Box-Barberrj' so called, 

 advertised this season in Horticul- 

 ruBE by the Kim City Nursery Co., and 

 note that this dainty miniature edging 

 shrub retains all the beauty of autumn 

 tints which glorify the typical form. 

 With the normal form tor the regular 

 hedge and the Box-Barberry form for 

 the low bed edgings the garden lover 

 may be happily independent of both 

 privet and box and be assured of more 

 beauty and greater reliability. 



