338 



HORTICULTURE 



April 24, 1920 



RAMBLING OBSERVATIONS OF 

 A ROVING GARDENER 



I am interested to see tliat Harlan 

 P. Kelsey. of Salem, is putting out the 

 beautiful Fraser fir, Abies Fraseri. 

 This is a remarkably handsome tree 

 from the highest peak of the Carolina 

 mountains, and one which has shown 

 itself well adapted for lawn specimens 

 or for screens. Its leaves are dark 

 green on the upper surface and blue 

 underneath. The foliage is thick set 

 and as the tree has a compact pyra- 

 midal habit, Its general appearance is 

 unusually trim and symmetrical. The 

 fact is not always realized that the 

 tir balsam, Abies balsamea, while a 

 good looking tree as it grows in its 

 aative wilds in the central part of 

 Maine, is almost worthless as a speci. 

 men tree in other parts of the country. 

 It is certain to become leggy in a very 

 short time, and seldom lives long. 

 For that reason it is not worth the 

 attention of nurserymen or planters. 



Yet a good fir is a tree to be wel- 

 comed, and Abies Fraseri seems to 

 meet the general requirements o£ gar- 

 den work surprisingly well. More- 

 .over, it seems perfectly at home in 

 the south, thriving there in sections 

 where few similar evergreens are at 

 all successful. I know of only one 

 other fir which can be recommended 

 as highly for use in the eastern part 

 .of the United States, and that is the 

 Japanese flr called Abies homolepis or 

 njrachyphylla. This Japanese, purple- 

 coned tree is a gem, and its behavior 

 in the Arnold Arboretum warrants its 

 planting with perfect confidence any- 

 where in Xew England. It is pleasant 

 to find that we are gradually getting 

 together even a small collection of 

 evergreens which are really worth 

 giving a place on our larger estates. 



Mr. Kelsey is also featuring the 

 Carolina hemlock, Tsuga carolini- 

 aiium, another naUve American ever- 

 green of undoubted hardiness and 

 many merits. It is a tree of which 

 Professor Sargent says in a bulletin 

 of the Arnold Arboretum: "The 

 "handsomest of the hemlocks which 

 can be grown in Massachusetts and 

 now one of the most beautiful trees 

 in the Arboretum is a native of the 

 South Appalachian mountains, Tsuga 

 carolinianum." Mr. Kelsey calls it the 

 queen of American evergreens, and I 

 think perhaps he is justified in giving 

 It that appellation, for its dense, dark 

 foliage, semi-pendulous branches and 

 general form give it unusual charm. 



Mr. Kelsey gives it one specially good 

 recommendation, which I presiune is 

 justified, when he says that it is much 

 more adaptable to city atmospheres 

 than its plainer sister, the Canadian 

 hemlock, and that it will thrive in 

 southern latitudes where the latter 

 becomes thin, yellow and unsightly. 



be said, do not do well planted near 

 the ocean. Inland, nothing finer can 

 be seen. A tew miles is sufficient to 

 make the difference between success 

 and failure." Mr. MacLellan recom- 

 mends the Norway maple for street 

 planting in Newport, and says it is 

 much to be preferred to the silver 

 maple, which is good in its way only 

 for immediate effects. The sycamore 

 maple he calls good for temporary 

 work, but says that they grow coarse 

 with age. 



A recent number of the National 

 Nurseryman contains a letter from 

 Mr. Alexander MacLiellan, of Newport, 

 R. I., in which that well known gar- 

 dener makes several statements which 

 are worth passing along. Mr. Mac- 

 Lellan refers to a published article in 

 regard to the Oriental Planetree and 

 says: "It may surprise you as it did 

 me that the Oriental Planetree has 

 proved a failure in this section, both 

 as a street tree and for any other pur- 

 pose when submitted to a weather test 

 such as was experienced in the winter 

 of 1917-18. Whole rows of them were 

 split open — the result being a dying 

 back of the tops in the summer of 

 1918. In fact, some of the trees were 

 killed back to the ground." Mr. Mac- 

 Lellan then goes on to say that ma- 

 ples in variety showed no ill effects 

 under the same conditions, but then 

 continues: "Sugar maples, it should 



I wonder if nursery men as a rule 

 give as much attention as they should 

 to the question of scent in flowers. 

 The question has been taken up by an 

 English trade paper, which thinks that 

 nurserymen and seedsmen miss what 

 would be a strong pull with many buy- 

 ers because they neglect to dwell upon 

 garden plants which appeal to the 

 olfactory organs. The writer goes on 

 to say: "Our carnation men might 

 give more prominence to the matter 

 of perfume than they do. The same 

 remark applies to other things. The 

 delicious scent of the Prince of Aus- 

 tria tulip and a few other sorts is 

 often passed over, and in peonies 

 some are highly favored with perfume 

 while others are almost nasty." Tu- 

 lips as a rule are not thought of as 

 flowers of fragrance. Indeed a certain 

 unpleasant odor has sometimes been 

 quoted as detrimental to them. Years 

 ago, for example, when the tulip craze 

 was on in England and threatened the 



Good Specimen nt Atiie'^ I' raseri 



