498 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



the roots. The first sign of deterioration is in the re- 

 duced size of the fruit also in growth. A mulch of 

 rich barnyard manure applied even once in two years 

 will greatly assist the trees to maintain their vigor. 



Wood ashes are an excellent fertilizer for fruit trees, 

 as are lime and chemical manures containing potash 

 which is an essential plant food for trees of this de- 

 scription. Before applying a mulch the top six inches 

 of soil should be removed and replaced by a mi.xture 

 of rich loam, wood ashes and lime rubble. 



Except on wet soils the manure may be put on 

 now. and a little soil [ilaced nver it to prevent 

 birds scratching it around. On wet lands we would 

 prefer to do the mulching in spring, giving instead a 

 dressing of superphosphate of lime and Kanit at the 

 rate of two to iour pounds to each tree, according to 

 its size. 



All kinds of fruit trees will benefit by this mulching 

 treatment, even those grown in orchards that are 

 sown down with grass. Rain and snow will wash 

 down the food elements and buth tree and grass will 

 benefit by it. 



CRKF.XHOfSES. 



Allamandas, Botigainvilleas, Clerodendron, Balfouri 

 and similar deciduous stove climbers require a season 

 of rest. Pruning is also necessar}- to keep the plants 

 within bounds. If not already done, water should be 

 withheld for a few weeks, then the current year's 

 growth should be cut back to within a few inches 

 of its base. Climbers that are planted out are diffi- 

 cult to dry off, as the roots wander away and usually 

 find sufficient moisture to keep the foliage green for 

 some time later than plants whose roots are under 

 control. The usual custom is to defer pruning until 

 the foliage drops, but with planted-out specimens it 

 is quite safe to prune when the foliage turns yellow. 

 Little or no water shouUl be given until new growth 

 commences in spring. In the case of Bougainvilleas 

 the growth is often so dense that considerable thinning 

 of the main shoots becomes necessary. They cannot 

 flower satisfactorily if they are overcrowded. 



FOLI.VGE PI..\XTS. 



Pandanus Veitchii, Crotons, Dracaenas and other 

 decorative foliage plants always look better after be- 

 ing sponged with soap and water or some good in- 

 secticide. 



During inclement weather when outdoor operations 

 are stispended o])portunity should be taken to go over 

 the plants and thoroughly clean the leaves and at the 

 same time the outsides of the pots. The warm moist 

 atmosphere of the stove causes the pots to become 

 green and when they are in this condition they not 

 only look badly but the plants suffer, because the pots 

 are not porous. 



GROWING DARWIN TULIPS. 



It is very hard for one who has never grown Darwin 

 Tulips to realize the almost unlimited possibilities of 

 the varied uses to which they readily adapt them- 

 selves. Their tall, stiff stems raise the beautiful flow- 

 ers ftxUy twenty to twenty-four inches and withstand 

 the wind so successfully that they may be used for 

 bedding out in the most exposed situation. In fact, 

 they are better adapted for bedding than the earlier 

 sorts as they bloom at a time when the heavy rain 

 and wind storms are past. How many times have the 

 early varieties flowered out only to be beaten down 

 and destroyed by the cold driving rains of early 

 spring? Then, too, the Darwins bloom at a time, in 



this latitude, when all flowers are scarce and valuable 

 — Decoration Day. 



Some of the brighter sorts make a most beautiful 

 subject for planting amongst shrubbery or the ever- 

 green borders. They are so tall they may be used 

 pretty well back from the edge and so make all the 

 more show, while the earlier sorts being dwarf, can 

 only be jjlanted along the front and edges. 



For all bedding I have always advised the use of 

 named varieties rather than the mixtures because by 

 this means only can a striking mass effect be obtained. 

 And at the same time if one does not wish solid col- 

 ors in one bed it is easy enough to take several va- 

 rieties whose colors blend and whose style of growth 

 are known and fill the bed so as to get a harmonious 

 color and shape to the finished product. 



Last year I went to the trouble and expense of get- 

 ting one hundred and fifty different varieties of Dar- 

 wins to plant out so that I could compare the actual 

 relative growth and color of the entire lot. The re- 

 sults more than repaid me, as in no other way could 

 I so familiarize myself with the characteristics of so 

 many sorts. And out of the entire lot there was not 

 one but what was beautiful and would be very valuable 

 in some particular l)it of work. — Rayiiwiid Jl'. Swett in 

 Modern Gladiolus Grower. 



THE NEW t I1RYS.\NTIIEMI"M "TIGER," 



In connection with its campaign of publicity, the 

 management of the Cleveland Flower Show for- 

 warded a number of blooms of a new seedling. Chrys- 

 anthemum to President Wilson, at the White House, 

 with a request that he supply a name for it. The 

 President named this new flower, which is a yellow 

 seedling of E. D. Smith & Company, from Chrysolara, 

 "Tiger." Curiosity was immediately aroused as to 

 what relation there may be between a yellow Chrysan- 

 themum and a tiger. Undoubtedly ^Ir. Wilson had 

 Princeton, the college over which he was president 

 before he entered public life, in mind, when he made 

 his selection of the name, for the tiger is the mascot 

 of that college. 



