January 29, 1916 



HOKTIOULTURE 



137 



ter in this bench than White KiUarney? Possibly some of 

 the older sorts, like The Bride or White Ivory. I want to 

 say that the mildew is not bad nt all, but this is where it 

 always starts. I have to grow a general line of plants and 

 cannot give any one variety my entire attention, but am 

 happy to say that by following your weekly notes I have 

 been greatly helped, and shall be grateful if you can help 

 me in this difficulty. If there is a White Sunburst or White 

 Ophelia, it would just suit, Very truly yours. 



Conn. J. B. 



I would suggest that you tiy to give the Killarneys 

 more water. Water them two times for every watering 

 that the other roses get. My experience with Killarneys 

 is tliat they will get a speck of mildew here and there as 

 soon as they are allowed to be a little dry while they are 

 growing. The bench they are in would be the driest in 

 the house if your house behaves as ours of a similar type. 

 You can also use air-slacked lime to find out which way 

 the air currents run, and if you find that a cold current . 

 of air descends on this bench you could turn your heat 

 into pipes under this bench, and if necessary take it oil' 

 elsewhere in the house to change the current if possible. 

 If this does not remedy the trouble, perhaps it would 

 be well to try some other white rose. The Madison is 

 a white rose, an improvement on the Bride as near as I 

 can tell, having a bud very similar, with a stiffer stem 

 and foliage, the latter resembling holly, but of course 

 it is nowhere near as heavy. It is supposed to be mil- 

 dew proof so it may be of value to you. I would hardly 

 recommend the Ivory, as years ago we could never get 

 it to bear perfect buds. You could try White Sha\vyer ; 

 although many growers complain of mildew on this we 

 have grown tlie Pink Shawyer for quite a while without 

 any trouble. There is no white Ophelia that I know of 

 and anyone discovering one with all the good qualities 

 of the present variety, would certainly be able to make 

 a neat sum of money. The rose Madison was put out 

 by the Brant-Hentz Floral Co., Madison, N. J., and 

 the White Shawyer by Charles H. Totty, also of Madi- 

 son, N. J. I would be glad to hear if these suggestions 

 have been of any use to you. 



Buddleia 



The Buddleia is an excellent subject for the young 

 shrub border. It will transform an otherwise uninter- 

 esting border to a gorgeous mass of color and beauty. 

 It has been called "the butterfly bush" and it has been 

 justly called so, for its numerous panicles of flowers are 

 irresistible to the butterflies. 



The propagation of the Buddleia is of the easiest pos- 

 sible. All that needs be done is to rut off pieces of the 

 ripened wood in late fall and >tore them away in a cool, 

 but not cold place. They may also be propagated by 

 seeds and by greenwood cuttings. Seeds should be sown 

 in early .spring with a little bottom heat. 



They should be protected during the winter and, 

 although killed to the ground, they will send up abund- 

 ant young shoots from the roots in the spring. The 

 best varieties that will survive the winter here are B. 

 japonica, B. Davidii, B. Lindleyana, and B. intermedia. 

 The handsomest outdoor variety is B. Davidii, also 

 known as B. variabilis. This produces numerous, fra- 

 grant, lilac-purple flowers in late summer. A variety 

 of this — Veitchiana — is more commonly grown. While 

 young this variety has an erect habit of growth, hut 

 later the branches gracefully arch over. The flower 

 panicles are denser and large r than the type and of a 

 light lilac color. It begins (o bloom early in August. 



Do not plant them too close together for they are ram- 

 pant plants and need lots of space and plenty of sun. 

 The best soil is one tliat is rich and well-drained. 



B. asiatica is a greenhouse variety. The flowers are 

 white and very fragrant and appear in winter. They 

 should be propagated early in the spring and shifted on 

 or planted out during the summer. 



Amherst, Mass. 



M.S. 



Jackson Dawson's Exploits 



Editor HoETicuLTURK : 



Sir, — When your last issue arrived, and the portrayal 

 of Magnolia salicifolia appeared on the outside cover, 

 the story of its introduction came to mind at once, and 

 on opening the pages there was Jackson Dawson being 

 vouched for by Mr. Wilson. 



To fully appreciate the work of the Arboretum, one 

 has to go away — the farther the better — for it 

 had become a by-word in the past, that the Institution 

 was far more appreciated abroad than at home, and the 

 pity of it is, that it was true. The not being in touch 

 with the work through distance, makes at least an 

 annual pilgrimage all the more necessary, for tlie wealth 

 of new woody plants now to be seen there will revolu- 

 tionize our gardens for generations to come. 



Reverting to the Magnolia salicifolia. Professor C. S. 

 Sargent when in Japan, met Mr. Veitch, and they 

 travelled together and gathered seeds. Among these 

 was this Magnolia, none of which germinated from 

 those sent to England, and so all the plants in cultiva- 

 tion today are from seedlings raised by Jackson Dawson. 

 These men mentioned are making horticultural history, 

 and should the annals ever be written, it will be the 

 most interesting of our day and generation. 



There is one phrase which Mr. Wilson uses, that Daw- 

 son has "some occult understanding," that might be 

 taken exception to. There is no wizardry or necromancy 

 such as we have heard so much of in other directions, 

 mixed in; it is all pure sj-mpathy and a love of the 

 plants themselves that has brought about the successes 

 of Jackson Dawson. One might tell of the Acacia 

 pubescens grafted by him just to prove it could be done 

 when it was supposed to be impossible, of his success 

 with all the new Chinese Rhododendron seeds, that had 

 travelled half way around the world before coming to 

 his hands, and under the best of conditions ever prone 

 to damp off in the seedling stage, and of his propaga- 

 tion of Epigaea repens from cuttings when most of us 

 were wasting time trying to establish the "Mayflower" 

 by collecting plants, "but most of all Dawson will live 

 on because of his modesty, and willingness to impart to 

 others from his fund of accumulated knowledge if they 

 were willing to learn. "Life is short," and when over 

 twenty years ago Dawson advised the writer to sow 

 seeds of certain trees and shrubs to get the same, there 

 being no other way at that time, it seemed a long way 

 to results, and yet under really adverse conditions these 

 are still being obtained by the evergreen Jackson 

 Thornton Dawson. 



Lale Forest, HI. 



