22 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



THE BEAUTIFUL COLUMBINES. 



It is strange that such attractive and hardy flowers, so 

 radiantly beautiful, should receive so little attention. 



They are easily grown, require but little eiTort. and 

 repay all care and labor needed, a hundredfold. Light 

 itself has been dissolved, and ail its prismatic rays have 

 been woven into their bloom. I think one trouble has 

 been that they have not been planted on a scale large 

 enough, and in generous masses, so that their charms 

 could be seen to advantage. 



People persist in getting a lovely flower, and giving it 

 the task of enlivening dreary surroundings, and the poor 

 thing cannot show to advantage. 



Then no single one, beautiful as it may be, can rep- 

 resent them all. 



Does one realize what a great family they are, over 

 fifty native species? No flowers hybridize more readily. 

 You secure a large variety, and then sow seeds from 

 these, and you have a marvelous permutation of beauty. 



No two flowers of this so-called crop will be entirely 

 alike. 



The bumble bees, especially, delight in their nectar. 

 They seem alinost intoxicated as they revel in it. (Jf 

 course, they carry the pollen from one flower to another, 

 and the result is something new. There is an intense 

 fascination in watching the various changes wrought, 

 and to see the bewitching loveliness of some of the new 

 arrivals. If one could sort out some of these and name 

 and describe them, he could give some rare treasures to 

 the floral world. By this process you would have the 

 pleasure of forming new acquaintances whom no one 

 else has yet met. 



Let us take a look at some of them. The Chrysantha. 

 the golden. The color is yellow, and not only that, there 

 is a good ileal of it. It is intense as though the flower 

 had secured all it could, and had packed and pressed it 

 together, in the most lovely form imaginable. What 

 long and delicate spurs it has ! We saw it growing wild 

 in the Yellowstone National Park. There, it was small 

 and comparatively insignificant ; but, transported, with 

 good cultivation, it gives grateful response to kindly at- 

 tention. A flower does not blush as well unseen, while 

 it "wastes its fragrance on the desert air," as when there 

 are admirers, to appreciate its beauty. Many a flower 

 comparatively unattractive in its wild state, will bloom in 

 a prodigality of loveliness, under the influence of cultiva- 

 tion, and where it can be seen and enjoyed. The Picea 

 Pungens, the king of beauty among the conifers, no- 

 where in all the mountains, does as well, as when trans- 

 planted in the rich soil of the prairie or eastern states, 

 and receives the attention it deserves. Then the needles 

 are longer, and the sheen is far brighter, and more radiant 

 than in its own habitat. 



There is another of attractive appearance, with long 

 and delicate spurs. The petals are snowy white and in- 

 tense blue. It seems a photograph of the sapphire of 

 the sky and the fleecy clouds. This is the Coerlia of the 

 Rockies, and the state flower of Colorado. W'e often 

 see these in masses at an altitude of eight or nine thou- 

 sand feet. In many places the>- grow to great size, as 

 some localities seem' better adapted to their development 

 than others. 



When taken down to the plains they need some shelter 

 from the burning sun and hot winds. This variety really 

 hybridizes with others, and its motherhood is seen in 

 many types in recent years, So readily does it cross, 

 that though the original plants will be all right, yet the 



progeny varies so readily, and to such an extent, that 

 pure seed must be secured from the mountains if you 

 would be sure. 



It is a large, solid flower. It has no spurs whatever. 

 It is quilled like the dahlia. Another is salmon pink, lined 

 with white, a gorgeous flower, and the blooms hang like 

 lamps in a chandelier, around the parent stem. Here is 

 one that is large, compact, snowy white. It is a full and 

 prodigal bloomer, and near it. is a single white, well 

 spurred.. In close proximity, is one of deep blue, a single 

 flower, with long, slender spurs, much like the Coerlia, 

 to wliich it probably owes its parentage. In the crossing, 

 it doubtless got enough of the blue, from one of those of 

 deep azure to eliminate the white. 



Time would fail to describe them all. The Golden is 

 less liable than others, to enter into crosses. One reason 

 is. that it is so much later, and yet there are several that 

 show its influence, and many of the golden ones have 

 been somewhat swerved from their distinct form. 



These flowers commence blooming with the tulips, and 

 continue to flower for two months, while the Chrysantha 

 will break out, now and then, all summer. 



Imagine, if you can, a blend of these charming colors, 

 in a mass of several hundred, some early, others late, 

 some single, others double, many of them tall and others 

 dwarfs. In color from purest white to deepest purple. 



HOW TO GROW THEM. 



(let a quantity of mi.xed seed, and sow early in the 

 spring. The seeds are small and, of course, must be 

 planted shallow. Rut here is the trouble, the ground 

 dries before the seed can germinate. Contrive some way 

 to keep the surface wet all the while, day and night, till 

 they come up. But yau would better trust to experts, 

 who make it their business, and buy the plants, which 

 can be had at very reasonable rates, and thus save a good 

 deal of care and ve.xation. and a year's growth, as they 

 will bloom some the first season. 



Put in rows eighteen to twenty-four inches apart, and 

 twelve to eighteen inches, in the row, and they will soon 

 stool out, and cover the ground. 



It is better to mulch well with coarse manure, after 

 the ground freezes, and in the spring rake it between the 

 rows. 



GLEN COVE VS. OYSTER BAY. 



A bowling contest was held at Ryders .\llevs. Oyster 

 Bay, Friday, May 8, 1914, between teams of five men a 

 side, from Glen Cove representing the Nassau County 

 Horticultural Society andl five from Oyster Bay repre- 

 senting the Oyster Bay Horticultural Society, best two 

 out of three games. Oyster Bav won, taking two straight 

 games. James Duthie, of the Oyster Bay team, was high 

 man in both games. A retdrn match was plaved at 

 Allchins Alleys at Sea Clift', May 18, 1914, same' teams 

 and terms, wdien C)yster Bay again wOn in two straight. 

 Ernest J. Brown, of Glen Cove, made high score in the 

 match, but later in the evening Francis .\. Gale, of Oyster 

 Bay, beat his score, making 200. However, if all the 

 Glen Cove boys had done as good bowling as Brown, thev 

 would undoulDtedly have won the match. A peculiar co- 

 incidence is that the Glen Cove team is made up of four 

 Englishmen and one Scotchman, while 0^•ster Bav has 

 four Scotchmen and one Englishman, and perhaps the 

 two Scotch pipers which the 0\ster Bay boys took to 

 Sea Cliff with them may have had a good deal to do with 

 their winning. We certainly had the bag pipes skirlin' 

 and made the rafters ring and jist for the sake o' Auld 

 Lang Syne. We filled our cups and "Hoot Man" bowled 

 to win. J.\MES Duthie. 



