i3g6. 



GARDENING. 



35 



BODVIER CANNAS, CALADIUMS. ZINNIAS AND MR SHUFELDT S 3 YEAR OLD GRANDSON. 



my experiments in wintering half hardy 

 shrubs I have found nothing equal to the 

 sawdust mound. By the by, my Nerine 

 Sarniense are now in splendid bloom, and 

 the pretty foliage will soon come to re- 

 main all winter. It would be interesting 

 to know how far north these bulbs are 

 hardy. I formerly grew them in pots al- 

 together in Maryland, and keep some so 

 here, but their season for bloom, and their 

 entire hardiness, make the effort useless, 

 and I shall turn all of mine out. 

 Raleigh, N. C. W. F. Massey. 



Trees and Shrubs. 



HflMflMBLIS VIRGlNlGfl. 

 (Witch-hazel.) 

 This well-known American shrub, first 

 described in 1736, almost becomes a 

 small tree in this section. Here its hab- 

 itat is chiefly along the upper slopes oi 

 the ravines where it grows as an under 

 shrub. Herein lies an important feature 

 in connection with it. The situation it 

 occupies is a trying one to most plants, 

 being in a dry, steep bank and subject to 

 the dripfrom theoverhangingtree foliage. 

 Furthermore, the spreading palm-like 

 manner in which its foliage is arranged 

 makes it a pleasant object to look down 

 upon, particularly so at this seasonof the 

 year, when it is in the full glory of its 

 autumn color, and it is tassellated with 

 clusters of thread-like yellow flowers, 

 often having for companions the ripening 

 seed pods of last fall's blooms. The color 

 of the leafage all summer long is a pleas- 

 ing shade of green, which as the winter 

 approached commences to turn yellow at 

 the edges, and for some time some speci- 

 mens rival Cornus Spiethii in their varie- 

 gations. Often the centre of the leaf 



retains its rich green up to the well 

 defined band of yellow— often a quarter 

 of an inch broad and extending all around 

 the leaf. Others seem to choose a solid 

 yellow for their color and contrast well 

 with the vivid reds of the dogwoods in 

 more open spaces. Later on the leaves 

 drop, but the yellow tassel-like flowers 

 remain nearly all winter, and again pre- 

 sent a pleasing picture to look down 

 upon. [But don't stop at our common 

 native witch-hazel, please remember that 

 Japan has given us two others, one with 

 yellow flowers, more showy a good deal 

 than ours and later in blooming; and a 

 wine colored one. Both are hardy at 

 New York, and desirable shrubs. — En ] 

 W. C. Egan. 

 Highland Park, 111., October 6. 



RELIABLE NURSERY STOCK. 



I intend buying some more fruit trees 

 this fall but do not know where to place 

 the order to get the most reliable sorts. 

 As I have tried several nurseries but do 

 not believe the trees received from them 

 are the same as they sell them for, and I 

 thought of asking you if you would 

 kindly advise me of where you think 1 

 could buv a good reliable stock. 0. H, 



Mt. Jewett, Pa. 



In addressing this inquiry to us your 

 head was level, you have done the best 

 thing you could do. You have made a big 

 mistake, however, in not mentioning the 

 names of the "several nurseries" that you 

 have tried. Please take up an issue of 

 Gardening and look at the nurseries 

 advertising in it. You surely don't mean 

 to say that one of them would supply 

 you with stock that is not true to name; 

 we don't believe it would. Now we know 

 something practically about the nursery 

 business, and we also are large buyers of 

 nursery stock, and we have aprettygood 



idea of who aie and who are not the 

 reliable nurserymen of the country, and 

 we must tell you candidly that better or 

 more reliable nurseries than those you 

 find in our advertising columns you can- 

 not find on this side of' the Happy Hunt- 

 ing Grounds." 



fl TREE-flRGriOVER GATEWAY. 



I want a tree to plant on either side of 

 the entrance to a cemetery lot that can 

 be trained to twine or meet overhead, 

 making a natural gateway. What would 

 you recommend for such purpose? The 

 lot is enclosed by a hedge of arbor vita; 

 globosa. A. W. C. 



Joplin, Mo. 



The idea is not a pretty one, in fact it 

 is puerile, and we don't believe you would 

 ever be satisfied with the result. Our ad- 

 vice is, don't do it. If you want some- 

 thing of the kind, set out a good plant of 

 deciduous cypress at either side of the 

 gate, and with a light iron rod form 

 your arch to suit yourself; now plant a 

 vine beside each tree and run them up 

 over the arch so as to meet and cross at 

 the apex or centre. Wistaria, celastrus, 

 periploca and actinidia are good vines for 

 this purpose. 



DEUTZIfl GRENATfl VflR. PRIDE OF ROCH- 

 ESTER. 



When Thunberg found this genus in 

 japan and named it after his patron, the 

 Dutch naturalist Johann Deutz, he intro- 

 duced to the floral world a charming 

 plant. From the type have been pro- 

 duced several varieties. By far the best 

 with me is the Pride of Rochester, it 

 blooms about the middle of June. I grow 

 several varieties of this genus, and al- 

 though all are protected in winter, this 

 one alone seems satisfied with its condi- 



