July 12, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



93 



RAMBLING OBSERVATIONS OF 

 A ROVING GARDENER 



I have been somewhat surprised that 

 more general use is not made in this 

 country of weed killers, especially in 

 times like these when labor is exceed- 

 ingly scarce and high priced. A gal- 

 lon of weed killer will save a vast 

 amount of work in keeping walks, 

 drives, courts, laundry yards and the 

 like free from growth of any kind. 

 Moreover, one application will last for 

 a year. Only a few days ago I saw a 

 young gardener laboriously digging a 

 growth of weeds out of a driveway 

 with a hoe. It was very hard, monot- 

 onous work, and seemed to me like a 

 useless and unecessary waste of time 

 and strength. The fact that weed kill- 

 ers are used much more generally 

 across the water is attested by the nu- 

 merous advertisements which appear 

 in the English papers. Just now con- 

 siderable discussion has been brought 

 about by the introduction of a weed 

 killer which is entirely harmless to 

 livestock of all kinds. Apparently there 

 have been some losses in the past, 

 as a result of poultry drinking from 

 pools which have been poisoned by the 

 material used, but the danger from 

 this sort of thing, as conditions are in 

 this country, is very slight. It would 

 seem as though the use of a good weed 

 killer should be taken as much as a 

 matter of course as that of fertilizer 

 or insecticide. 



This has teen a wonderful spring 

 for climbing roses, and it is evident 

 that the interest in them is growing 

 rapidly among all classes. There was 

 a good attendance at the recent rose 

 show in Boston, and the show was one 

 of the best held this season, although 

 it was by no means as large as it 

 ought to have been. The fact that it 

 is possible to have a long season by 

 choosing different varieties of climb- 

 ing roses is commonly overlooked. 

 The very earliest climber to bloom in 

 my collection was the new rose Aunt 

 Harriet, which was put out originally 

 I believe by Conard & Jones, a large 

 part of the stock then being sold to the 

 Farm Journal, the publishers of which 

 gave it its name. It is a very good 

 red rose, and a strong grower, but its 

 early blooming habit seems to be the 

 greatest point in its favor. 



The Climbing American Beauty has 

 bloomed quite early, and so has Dr. 



Van Fleet, a rose which is not easily 

 surpassed. American Pillar has been 

 in flower for a week, and excites more 

 admiration than anything else I grow. 

 In fact, it is the only rose which some 

 visitors seem able to see. As this is 

 written, Excelsa is just coming into 

 bloom. I know of no climber which 

 flowers more profusely, and I am sure 

 there is no other rose in its class 

 which is better adapted for training on 

 a post, pillar or dead tree. It has short 

 lateral branches arranged one above 

 another to the very top. Growing on 

 a cedar post it looks almost like a live 

 tree; and the contrast in its habit of 

 growth as compared with Purity close 

 by is most marked. 



Purity is a fine white rose, about 

 equal to Silver Moon, but grows in a 

 somewhat straggling fashion which in- 

 terferes with the full expression of its 

 beauty. Among the latest of the newer 

 climbers to flower is Elizabeth Ziegler, 

 put out by A. N. Pierson, I believe, and 

 considered as an improvement over 

 Dorothy Perkins. Some day, no doubt, 

 we shall have a class of climbing roses 

 flowering all through the summer. 

 Then the climbing rose will certainly 

 be among the most popular of all out- 

 door flowering plants. 



What has be«n written in Horticui> 

 tuke about the spoliation of the coun- 

 tryside by children is of course worthy 

 of attention, but after all there are few 

 children who show more downright 

 lawlessness than many of the motor- 

 ists who drive into the country from 

 the towns. Some of these people seem 

 to think that the owner of a country 

 estate has no rights which a city man 

 needs to respect. Several instances of 

 pure bolshevism have recently come to 

 my attention. A few days ago the own- 

 er of a large estate in a suburb of one 

 of our cities told me that a party of 

 men and women in automobiles had 

 stopped in front of her house when her 

 cherry trees were in full bloom and 

 had deliberately pulled off armfuls of 

 branches. When she finally left. the 

 house and remonstrated with them 

 they told her that it was really none 

 of her business, because very likely 

 either she or her ancesters had come 

 by their property in some underhand 

 way, and that anybody had a right to 

 help himself. There was nothing to 

 do but watch these well dressed an- 

 archist* drive off with their booty. 



This, however, was an even less un- 

 pleasant experience than that of an- 

 other woman owning a large suburban 

 estate. It happens that at one side of 

 the grounds a flight of steps leads to 

 the street. The owner of the place 

 came out of the house and started to 

 leave the grounds in this way, but 

 found that the steps were occupied by 

 a crowd of young men and young 

 women who absolutely refused to rise 

 in order that she might pass. In other 

 words they would not allow her to 

 leave her own grounds, and she finally 

 went back. 



This same woman had a number of 

 waterfowls in a pond near the house 

 and the dogs of passersby killed prac- 

 tically all of them, going into the 

 water and striking them down with 

 their paws. 



I also heard of a case where an au- 

 tomobile party was found last fall raid- 

 ing an apple orchard. They had a 

 basket filled with apples, and although 

 when they were discovered they finally 

 went away, they refused as requested 

 to leave the apples, which they had 

 picked, but carried them off with them. 



It would be an easy matter to multi- 

 ply instances of this kind. In fact 

 there is just one other of which I will 

 speak, because it seemed particularly 

 wanton. The owner of an attractive 

 country home had planted a large 

 number of somewhat rare ferns along 

 a shady embarkment. One day some 

 people were found digging up these 

 ferns and putting them into baskets. 

 They were asked to desist and to leave 

 the ferns which they had dug up, but 

 they only laughed at the request and 

 finally carried the ferns away, so that 

 now only a few plants remain of what 

 had been the owner's pride and joy. 



Unfortunately many of the depreda- 

 tions are committed by men and 

 women who seem to be educated 

 Americans. In some sections, though, 

 foreigners go out into the country in 

 large numbers and are difficult to deal 

 with. It isn't every gardener who has 

 the initiative of one in New Hamp- 

 shire. A party of Greeks came into 

 the garden and began helping them- 

 selves to the products of the trees. 

 When ordered to go away, they re- 

 fused, and exclaimed in broken Eng- 

 lish: "Free country, free country. 

 Free you, free me." Thereupon the 

 gardener uncoupled the hose and 

 turned a powerful stream upon the un- 

 welcome visitors, who concluded that 

 that particular garden was not so free 

 as they had expected, and beat a hur- 

 ried retreat. 



