400 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



bordered with plantations, is brought into view. This is 

 followed by an extensive view of a five-acre lake, arti- 

 ficialy made, but, through irregular outlines and planta- 

 tions, appearing like a natin"al sheet of water. Xow as 

 the driveway curves we have a series of waterviews in 

 rapid succession on the one side, with steep wooded hills 

 on the other. 



As we follow the road we get a glimpse of the resi- 

 dence, in the distance, followed by a long, beautiful vista 

 through a valley, in which is located a series of lagocjiis. 



The roadway is now bordered with large trees and 

 shrubs on both sides, with occasional glimpses of the lake, 

 below ns. to the right, and in a few momenta the entrance 

 front of the residence is reached. 



This roadway continues to the service liuildings and 

 utility grounds, which are located about 1,000 feet from 

 the residence, but hidden from there by woods and plan- 

 tations, and from there leads through the woods to the 

 service entrance of the farm. 



To see some of the more interesting features of the 

 farm, we will follow one of the walks, mentioned above, 

 entering from the entrance front of the residence : we 

 are at once in the midst of nature. Following this walk 

 we come down a series of steps to the boat-house at the 

 lake, then, along a little further, we have on one side 

 wooded hills and on the other a series of water vistas 

 along a stream, with occasional long vistas into the dis- 

 tance. After crossing several bridges, the walk leads, 

 first, through dense woods, then on to a hillside meadow, 

 with a series of splendid long distance vistas of hills 

 and valleys. We are now approaching the nursery, 

 orchard, vegetable garden, cut-llower garden and poultry 

 yards, in succession, then to the "I'lauernhof" group of 

 service buildings. 



This is one of the most unicjue groups of buildings of 

 its kind in this country, in the form of a square, 125 x 

 210 feet, enclosing a yard with a fountain in its center. 

 This group contains the following departments : Apart- 

 n^ents for the farm manager, engineer, houseman, dairy- 

 men and hostlers. A beautifully arranged clubroom, 

 garage, dairy, stables for cows and horses, harness rooms 

 and coach room. 



Leaving the "Lauernhof" we enter the main lawns, 

 where we get several excellent glimpses of the residence. 



Some distance from the residence we cross a long rustic 

 bridge over a wooded ravine, which leads into the her- 

 baceous garden with wooded hills on one side and a 

 series of small lakes on the other. From this walk we 

 get one of the best views of the residence. 



After crossing a small bridge, we enter into a ravine, 

 through which flows a small stream, originating from a 

 spring, located at the end of this small valley. A narrow 

 walk leads through this valley, and along this walk and 

 on the sides of the hills are to be found, growing under 

 natural conditions, some 30 species of native ferns. 

 Among the ferns are planted : native orchids, trilliums, 

 hepaticas and other interesting plants of the dense woods. 



The above description liut faintly pictures the place, 

 which must be seen to be appreciated. It is unconven- 

 tional in design : it is a paradise for our native birds, 

 which are protected and encouraged, and interesting to 

 the student of our native flora as well as to those inter- 

 ested in hardy exotic ])lants. I't is not as yet fully devel- 

 oped, and it will take years of time until recent develop- 

 ments reach mature effect. 



L. P. Jensen, already well known among the Gardex- 

 ERs' Chroniclk readers as an interesting contributor to 

 its columns and an enthusiast on evervthing that denotes 

 progress in ornamental hurticulture. has the su])ervision 



of this beautiful estate, together with the other proper- 

 ties of the FUisch famiU- in and near St. Louis. 



THE PERENNIAL GARDEN. 



{Continued from page 397) 

 the fall as soon as ripe. This is true also of a few other 

 hard seeds, as many will not keep, such as acjuilegia, 

 m\osotis and ]irimula. These must be sown as soon as 

 possible. This method applies only to stocks which 

 ccime true from seed or with which there is no regard 

 for mixture. Any choice varieties, such as phlox, 

 delphinium, guillardia, etc.. are better raised from 

 cuttings or divisions. 



Cuttings are made early in the spring. A frame or 

 greenhouse is a necessary- adjunct for the purpose. 

 By wintering such stocks inside a cold house, they can 

 be raised wholesale, and indeed many will bloom the 

 first season. These cuttings sh-ould be taken as short 

 as possible on the side growths or when first starting 

 to grow. Others can be multiplied from the roots, as 

 having running fleshy roots they can be cut up in 

 small pieces, for example, gaillardia, dicentra. lythrum. 

 paeony, etc. 



Many perennials can be increased by a system of 

 layers without much trouble, including the dwarfer 

 cushion plants, such as arabis. cam])anulla, carpathica, 

 dianthus and others. All that it is necessary to do is 

 to cover the plants with clean sand or sandy soil so as 

 to form a mound, but not so thick as to bury the plant. 

 Merely fill up the intervals between the leaves and 

 stems. Some plants are better propagated by earthing 

 up the stems in a similar way ; for example, tree 

 paeonies, and some others of a semi-shrubh}- nature. 



The majority of herbaceous perennials are easily in- 

 creased in smaller quantities by simple division of the 

 roots. Those which have a heavy mass of fibrous roots 

 can be increased in the fall. Indeed, this method of 

 dividing the roots should be carried out every few- 

 years, as the quality is better. If this is neglected, the 

 chun])s get hollow and woody in many cases, and are 

 liable to run out. These include pyrethrums, deljihin- 

 iunis, phlox, pentstemon, platycodon, aquilegia. aster 

 and a host of others. A constant keeping up of the ut- 

 most vigor of your plants is essential both for quality 

 and because they are then less liable to suffer from 

 insect attacks. 



It is not the intensity of our cold winters that ruins 

 many plants, but the dry. strong winds in early spring, 

 as well as the fact that water remains on the crowns 

 and forms ice, thus suffocating them. To avoid much 

 of this trouble, see that your border is well drained and 

 encourage as much of nature's covering — snow- — as 

 possible. To this end do not clean the border oiif too 

 clean and bare in the fall : in fact, no more than is 

 necessary. The more material that is left on in the 

 way of a rough coating of leaves, etc., the more snow- 

 is liable to find a lodgment. In the case of evergreen 

 plants, I find that pieces of hemlock or spruce branches 

 placed around them helps wonderfully. Do not cover 

 these evergreen plants with a heavy mulch, as it will 

 do more harm than good. Thev need air at all times. 



AMERICAN SWEET PEA SOCIETY. 



A ccjuimittee appointed liy President Gray, to pass 

 upon the Sweet Peas grown in Newport on account of 

 C. C. Morse & Co., California, have awarded certifi- 

 cates to the following varieties: Jessie Cuthbertson, 

 New ^leriam Beaver, Duplex W. T. Hutchins. 

 James Robertson 1 



( Signed ) \\^ii.li-\m Mackay \ Committee. 



Christi.w M. Bogholt] 



