• ' ' GARDENING. 



Sept. /$, 



and only the sound wheat that is lefc. is 

 being passed on for the amateur to try in 

 his turn. S. A. H. 



Richmond, Indiana. 



THE NEWER SWEET PEAS. 



About the newer sweet peas as com- 

 pared to older varieties of merit. Mr. 

 Eckford's introductions for 1893 and 

 1894 were almost without exception a 

 great advance on his previous work, and 

 from a personal visit to his floral work- 

 shop I can say that he has in store for us 

 yet grander results of his splendid work 

 on this flower. But the sets of novelties 

 which he has sent out for 1895 and 1896 

 have not ranked well with his best pre- 

 vious introductions. 



Take the seven that were offered to our 

 trade in 1895. Blanche Burpee has 

 shown up much better thisyearthanlast, 

 and while being a rather weak germina- 

 tor like the other white seeded sorts, it is 

 the largest white to date. A California 

 strain of this called The Bride will prob- 

 ably show better germinating quality, 

 but is almost identical in other respects. 

 While Emily Henderson does not seem to 

 improve in germinating quality, I think 

 Blanche Burpee will steadily gain in this 

 respect. Duke of York is a very disap- 

 pointing, mongrel sort of flower, not at 

 all up to Eckford's intention. Duchess of 

 York is of only second rate quality, with 

 delicate pinkish purple stripes on a satiny 

 white ground. Eliza Eekford i a rather 

 prettv white and rose, and bouquets with 

 dainty effect. Meteor is a decidedly 

 richer orange salmon than Orange Prince. 

 We shall soon have this color in grandi- 

 flora size under the name of Refulgens. 

 Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain is the largest 

 sweet pea to date, and is a very bright rose 

 striped. Novelty is only second rate in 

 size, but it is a bright rose with an infu- 

 sion of light scarlet. Katherine Tracy 

 made a good debut last year, but has 

 gained greatly in favor this year. It is a 

 boldlv expanded, soft, blush pink, having 

 but one fault, that of bearing only two 

 blossoms on the stem. It is decidedly 

 distinct, although it has the same color 

 as Princess Beatriceand Royal Robe, and 

 will be given the preference by florists 

 over the two latter. The Eckfords (or 

 1S96 have shown in California pretty 

 nearly their true type, and still the Eek- 

 ford sealed packets were all made up of 

 drouth-stricken stock, and it will take 

 two vears of California culture to bring 

 them up fully to type. Crown Jewel is 

 the only first-class variety in the set. It 

 is a violet rose tint on cream ground. 

 Countess of Aberdeen was very high 

 grade as I saw it in England, but the 

 type does not hold, the stock breaking 

 into two sorts, one almost white, the 

 other a soft pink. The deeper color 

 should form an edge on the other to be 

 true to type. Captivationis a color that 

 does not captivate. It isof fine form, and 

 a light purple magenta. Little Dorrit 

 has disappointed us, but as I saw it at 

 Eckford's I was greatly pleased. We 

 need a pink and white in which the color 

 will not run into the v. ings. Little Dorrit 

 as I saw it was a bold expanded flower, 

 the contrast of standard and wings being 

 sharply lined, and the pink of the wings 

 being less of that scarlet tinge which we 

 have in Blanche Ferry. 1 shall watch 

 with interest to see Little Dorrit come 

 into true form after a year or two, 

 and give us something decidedly in ad- 

 vance of Blanche Ferry. Mikado has 

 also behaved badly. Most of the stock 

 has produced what I would call a large 

 sized Ovid. What Mr. Eekford calls a 



c erise ground means I suppose a cherry 

 color. Mikado will not hold any place 

 among striped sorts, for there are so 

 many that are prettier. Alice Eekford 

 h rdly holds to the description. Although 

 of ordinary size the'ereamy white with a 

 sort of apricot tint bouquets daintily and 

 s- trikes one as a new effect. 



But now the American novelties for 

 1896 have shown up to fine advantage. 

 They have been strong, free blooming, 

 and have at once shown at their best. 

 We must not forget that the best of them 

 have Eekford blood in them. Ramona is 

 superb and grand. It is a large creamy 

 white with splashes and flakes of soft 

 pink. Gray Friar has attracted much 

 attention, the color agreeing well with 

 the name, and the large blossoms making 

 lusty bouquets. Juanita (Wahneeta) is 

 a good sized white touched with splashes 

 of light blue. Oddity, so called for its 

 curled look, has bloomed profusely, and 

 its pale carmine color is not bad. Day- 

 break has won many friends. It is not 

 large but pretty, with watered scarlet on 

 white ground, and it came true with me 

 for seven years before I let it go. Amer- 

 ica is an intense cardinal stripe and takes 

 well. Bride of Niagara when bunched 

 would pass for Painted Lady, but you 

 see on examination that about thirty per 

 cent of the stems have one or two so- 

 called "double" blossoms. Celestial came 

 from Germany. It is practically the 

 original Countess of Radnor. Radnor is 

 hard to hold, and deteriorates rapidly by 

 running into a reddish mauve. All our 

 trade stock is poor, Celestial has given 

 us back the beautiful soft lavender. I do 

 not expect it t > hold any better than 

 Radnor. A special strain of Radnor has 

 been grown ior Burpee which gave me 

 trial stock this year of the true original 

 variety. Only the severest rogueing can 

 hold it up to the type. Three-fourths of 

 it need to be pulled up every year to keep 

 the stock graded up to true type. Extra 

 early Blanche Ferry has won universal 

 commendation this year for being just 

 what is claimed for it. Its earliness is de- 

 cidedly in its favor. 



Now I have had Mr. Eckford's set for 

 1897. Others hive had them, but I am 

 not responsible for the way thev get 

 them. Mr. Eekford offers them in his 

 retail catalogue in England, and I seenoth- 

 ing to prevent anvone who has Iritnds in 

 England from sending through them for 

 them. The trade cannot get them so as 

 to list them till Mr. Eekford has had 

 tbem in his retail catalogue for one year. 

 This advance set shows some of the qual- 

 ity of Eckford's best and latest work 

 Coquette is a large, rich primrose cream, 

 with slight tint of violet rose. Countess 

 of Shrewsbury has a delicate purplish 

 pink standard and white wings. Lovely 

 is a large shell pink, Mars is agrandiflora 

 crimson, the largest of the blood reds. 

 Prima Donna is of grand size, a medium 

 shade of rose pink. Royal Rose is a great 

 improvement on Apple Blossom. Mr. 

 Eekford has shown in England a new 

 very soft lavender called Lady Grisel 

 Hamilton, and a grand, rich primrose 

 cream called Oueen Victoria, also Prince 

 Edward of York, which is in the line of 

 his old Princess Yictoria. 



What about Cupid? A pink and white 

 Cupid will also soon be offered. M3' inter- 

 in these is, to study them as historical 

 links in the development of the flower. 

 Too much was expected of them at first. 

 But I look for a new hybrid race of sweet 

 peas, and Cupid has had a timely advent 

 as giving us a dwarf parent stock for 

 crossing with the tall kinds. I am hope- 

 ful that from it we shall get the sweet 



pea of the future, with less tendency to 

 vine. My own vines this year, ten feet 

 high, certify to a great need of a half 

 dwarf race. 



"I have on trial a curious seed variation 

 from California, Red Riding Hood. It is 

 a decidedly new departure. The stand- 

 ard is abortive, and is drawn like a night 

 cap over the wings, so that the latter 

 project forward like a little bonnet. The 

 color is bright rose. It has a snapdragon 

 look. The public will deliver their judg- 

 ment on it in 1897. Among the new 

 things also will be a grand salmon pink 

 stripe that the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society gave me a first-class certifi- 

 cate on. I consider it an extraordinary 

 thing. Burpee will introduce it. I want 

 it called Clara Barton, but that is not 

 decided yet. I have had on trial several 

 new things under the names Bridesmaid, 

 Emily Lynch, Kilauea, Flambeau, Chin- 

 ook and others. I look forward to next 

 year with great interest, for all the new 

 things will show up much better than 

 this year. Sweet peas will never be less 

 popular and the rapid increase of sweet 

 pea shows will develop an intelligent in- 

 terest in the finest sorts. 



W. T. Hutchins. 

 Indian Orchard, Mass., August 27, '96. 



HARDY PHLOXES. 



I like the phlox becauseneither cold nor 

 drouth, bugs nor worms, nor anything 

 else that I know of has ever been able 

 to kill any variety that I have planted, 

 but there are many poor varieties among 

 them and many that are alike. For 15 

 years I have been buying and importing 

 them from Germany and England, buying 

 any and everywhere it I thought I could 

 get something new or distinct, and now 

 after all 013- pains I have only three varie- 

 ties that I should care to recommend to 

 my friends. The best one to bed out in 

 large quantities is a French variety called 

 Boule de Feu, or ballot fire, if you get the 

 true variety; the catalogues call the color 

 fiery scarlet. I had a bed of 300 plants 

 of this variety that was almost dazzling 

 in the sun, and its flowers when open can 

 be seen at a longer distance than can 

 those of any flower I know of. 



Another variety that I have lost the 

 name of has white flowers with a bright 

 crimson eye, but instead of being a dis- 

 tinct round eye it shoots out in a ray in 

 the flower and makes a beautiful com- 

 bination; it is of French origin. The 

 third variety is a seedling of ray own, and 

 which my good friend, the editor of 

 Gardening, has named Springfield 

 Beauty; it is of a beautiful pink color 

 and fine for bouquets, and the plant is a 

 strong grower. I grow these three varie- 

 ties in large quantities for this purpose, 

 but the demand for them, especially for 

 the two last, is such that I do not make 

 much headway in their increase. Last 

 winter was so severe that it killed a great 

 many of our hardy flowers, but none of our 

 phloxes suffered in the least. In July and 

 August, when hardy flowers are scarce, 

 we fully appreciate our hardy phloxes. 



Springfield, Mass. CharlesL Birr. 



CRAB GRASS. 



Is there any means of eliminating crab 

 grass in lawns? I have seven acres, and 

 notwithstanding re-seeding each vear 

 with two or three bushels per acre of the 

 best lawn seed obtainableeach season and 

 liberal fertilizing with best ferti izers, the 

 villainous pest has virtually crowded out 

 all other grasses. Duringthehot weather 

 I water copiously from three-inch water 



