446 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



soil will prove fatal to Rhododendrons and must be 

 avoided. 



Border planting is much to be preferred to individual 

 planting, and after the border has been carefully prepared 

 and the plants set out a liberal covering or mulching of 

 leaf mould or partially rotted leaves will serve as an 

 e.xcellent protection and aid. A good watering just after 

 planting and before the mulching is applied to the ground 

 is desirable. Rhododendrons and in fact nearly all of the 

 Evergreen Shrubs carry a very fine root fibre very near 

 the surface of the soil, and a good mulching is therefore 

 essential if the roots are to be protected from the sun 

 and drying winds, and the necessary moisture thus con- 

 served. For this reason also it is especially necessary to 

 avoid any digging of the soil or heavy hoeing of the 

 border after planting. Weeds should be pulled out or 

 destroyed in such a manner as will disturb the soil as little 

 as possible. The writer has personallv seen many e.xcel- 

 lent borders and Rhododendron plantations practically 

 ruined, and in one case in one of our leading park systems 

 through apparent ignorance of this fundamental rule. 



Where plantations are made under woody surround- 

 ings, or otherwise protected or shaded situations, winter 

 protection, other than the liberal covering of the soil with 

 leaves usually applied in any event, is rarely necessary. 

 Where planted in more open situations ( avoid at all times 

 a decided southern exposure) some protection is ad- 

 visable and necessary. Native Spruce, Cedar or other 

 dense evergreen trees are often cut from the woods and 

 set upright in the soil close together, forming a screen 

 right around the border and serving as an excellent wind- 

 break and shading for the plants. Plenty of leaves added 

 as a covering to the soil w'ill keep it and also the plants in 

 good shape through the most severe weather. 



To any one who has had the pleasure of seeing the 

 Hybrid Rhododendrons in bloom in Prospect Park, 

 Brooklyn, not to mention the native types and Kalmias, 

 etc., planted there, the display will afford a lasting recol- 

 lection and a splendid object lesson of what can be done 

 witli this specie-: under very many different conditions 

 and surroundings. 



A GIANT MARSHMALLOW. 



To create a flowering plant whose blossoms measure 

 one foot across, and which is more than three times 

 as large as the original common wild flower found 

 in the vicinity of New York City from which it has 

 been developed, is an achievement of the nursery firm 

 of Bobbink & Atkins. This is the result of over seven 

 years of experimental effort. 



"We began," said JMr. F. L. Atkins, "with the wild 

 flower known as the Marshmallow and which at this 

 time of the year covers the New Jersey- marshes in 

 wild profusion. We selected the best specimens that 

 could be found, took their pollen and crossed them 

 with the best examples we had of the Hibiscus Coc- 

 cinea. The next year \vt took the healthiest specimens 

 of this hybridization and fertilized them from each 

 other. Each year this process has been Cdutinued. 

 until about two years ago when we began to see the 

 remarkable results." 



On the extensive nursery of this firm there are now 

 whole fields of this giant Marshmallow whose height 

 ranges from six to nine feet, each stem, bearing a 

 multitude of hug-e blossoms. The colors range from 



NEW H\ i;kii) i;i.\xt fldwkki.xi., .\i.\rsh.m.m.low. 



pure white, through the delicate varieties of pink to 

 the deepest crimson. There are flowers of solid color. 

 There are others which are white or pink, with a 

 red centre and others whose variations of shade re- 

 semble the Iris. The leaves are of enormous size, 

 are of a rich, glossy green, and in themselves form a 

 unique decorative feature. 



The New Hybrid Giant Flowering Marshmallow is 

 the name by which it will henceforth be known. 



It is Mr. Atkins' o])inion that this flower will give 

 the necessary life and color in the garden and parks 

 from the end of July up to the time of early frost, 

 a period when there is a general dearth of bloom. P.ach 

 plant is capable of bearing from thirty to fifty 

 blossoms throughout the season, and very little care 

 is recjuired in its cultivation. As one may see from 

 the season of their blooming, very little moisture is 

 required. With the coming frost the stem dies down, 

 and, if cut ofif close to the ground, the plant being 

 absolutely hardy, needs no protection : and its roots 

 are quite undisturbed, shooting u]) with renewed 

 vigor the following year. 



STREET TREES IN NEW YORK CITY. 



Professor Laurie D. Cox, landscape engineer of the 

 College of Forestry at Syracuse, N. Y., has just com- 

 pleted a report made as a result of three months' study 

 of street tree conditions in Xew York Citv. This study 

 was made upon the invitation of Hon. Cabot Ward of 

 the park department of New York City, and was car- 

 ried out with the funds given by John D. Rockefeller, 

 Jr. New York City has made no systematic effort to 

 plant its streets with trees, and the reoort of Professor 

 Cox will outline a ]jractical system of street tree planting, 

 based not only upon the studies of the past Summer, but 

 upon careful investigation of street tree wc^k in such 

 cities as Buffalo, Rochester, Newark, New Haven and 

 Boston. 



