15* 



GARDENING. 



Feb. /, 



remaining ones with about a half wagon 

 load of rich mellow loam, sodding around 

 the circle, and expecting to plant in flow- 

 ers and vines. What do you think of 

 effect and result? 



The chances are that the soil you placed 

 around the trees does not extend out far 

 enough from the trunk to reach the feed- 

 ing roots. Better level back to lawn 

 propernext spring, sodding upto thetree, 

 and next fall put heavy coating of manure 

 as far out as the branches extend. If the 

 grass under the dirt was not disturbed 

 you can spread the soil out enough, so 

 sodding is unnecessary. Flowers seldom 

 do well in such situations. The tree roots 

 naturally take what moisture there is, 

 and again bands or circles of flowers in 

 such situations do not look well. If you 

 want to plant vines, select a place where 

 two main roots diverge from the trunk, 

 so you can dig a hole three feet deep, fill 

 with good soil and plant our common 

 Virginia creeper. 



HARDY LILIES. 



Can hardy lily bulbs be planted satis- 

 factorily in the spring and will they bloom 

 the same summer? 



Lilium auratum will bloom the first 

 season, but vou can't depend upon them 

 afterwards." The following varieties will 

 generally bloom the first year and ought 

 to be hardv with you, if protected. L. 

 Batemani, L. umbellatum, L. canadense 

 in variety, L. elegans, L. speciosum, and 

 the single and double tiger lilies. All 

 of these can be used among the shrubs 

 except L. speciosum and L. auratum, 

 which would do better in the bed at the 

 house. 



VINES, ETC. 



Name the different clematis that will 

 succeed here. Can they be successfully 

 raised from seed sown in the open? Also 

 Atnpelopsis Veitehii. Would you advise 

 trying to raise the hardy flowers, plants 

 and vines from seed or is it advisable to 

 send to some nursery lor the plants? 



Try Clematis Jackmanni, C. Hearyi, C. 

 flammula, C. virginiana, and treat same 

 as C. paniculata. It would not pay you 

 to attempt to raise them from seed, nor 

 any of the perennials. 



NATURALIZING PLANTS. 



Explain the meaningof the above term. 



Naturalizing is the planting or sowing 

 the seed, of strong growing plants in 

 some section of one's grounds where they 

 will take care of themselves, forming 

 natural colonies as if placed there by the 

 hand of nature. 



PLANTS HARDY IN MINNESOTA. 



Will the following prove hardy here: 

 Roses Crimson Rambler, Yellow Ram- 

 bler, Princess Bonnie and Empress of 

 China, any of the chrysanthemums or 

 asters, the polyantha roses, Akebia 

 twinata? What" ate California roses 

 (annuals)? 



The Crimson Rambler and Empress of 

 China ought to be hardy with you, if un- 

 loosened from the trellis and wrapped 

 with straw in winter. The hardiness of 

 the Yellow Rambler is yet to be proved. 

 Princess Bonnie is a tea and not hardy, 

 nor do I think the polyanthas would be. 



The annual rose known under several 

 names, is the Rosa multiflora nana, which 

 will produce flowering plants the first 

 year from seed, if sown in heat under 

 glass. Akebia quinata might be hardy if 

 in a sheltered situation; it is well worth 

 trying. Most of the perennial asters 

 should be hardy with you. Would not 

 recommend planting any chrysanthe- 

 mums. W. C. E. 



EREMURUS ROBUSTUS. 



This noble bulbous plant is little seen in 

 our gardens but it ought to be, as it is 

 one of the choicest early summer-flower- 

 ing plants there is. It is quite hardy with 

 a light protection, and flowered with us 

 last spring. The flower-spike grows 6 to 

 10 feet high, bearing on its summit a 

 dense raceme of peach-shaded lilac flow- 

 ers an inch in diameter, and when in 

 flower it has a noble and striking appear- 

 ance, well repaying an)' extra care that 

 may be given it. 



They should be planted in an open ex- 

 posed place where they will get all the 

 sunshine possible; this will help to ripen 

 them previous to time of going to rest 

 which is in September. They start to 

 grow very early in spring, just as soon 

 as they can push through the frozen 

 ground, but they are very tender at this 

 stage of their growth and should be cov- 

 ered at night to protect against late 

 frosts (a barrel is good for the purpose). 



A place should be prepared for them in 

 a well-drained situation, the hole to be 

 dug three feet deep and filled in with good 

 soil and old rotted cow manure adding 

 some sharp sand to it. They like plenty 

 of water in their growingseason and this 

 should be seen to. If fine spikes of flow- 

 ers are wanted a good mulching should 

 be given, as this will keep them from dry- 

 ing out, but it should be taken off when 

 the plants show signs of ripening. 



This is not a new plant, but strange to 

 say it is not catalogued by many Ameri- 

 can nurserymen. The only one I know 

 of who has it for sale is F. H. Horsford, 

 of Charlotte, Yermont. What a pity it 

 is that our American firms don't carry 

 such stock. Not long ago a New York 

 firm asked me were we got all our bulbs. 

 I told him from Europe, for the reason 

 we could not get the stock we wanted 

 here, and why should this be? Let the 

 American firms catalogue all that is good 

 and new and we will all be willing to buy 

 our stock on this side of the pond. 



Mahwah, N. J. David Fraser. 



COTTAGE GARDENING. 



In England what is termed cottage 

 gardening is encouraged by the nobilitv. 

 On some large estates yearly prizes are 

 offered by the owners to their cottage 

 tenants for the best display in their little 

 gardens. This is done to foster and main- 

 tain that feature for which England is 

 noted, and which seems confined to that 

 country alone. The possession and care 

 of these small home plots isagreat factor 

 in brightening up the surroundings, and 

 cannot fail to have a refining influence on 

 all concerned. 



In these gardens some plants, notably 

 the Madonna lily, seem to thrive as they 

 will nowhere else, as if endeavoring to 

 repay the love and tenderness with which 

 they are cared for. The cultivation of 

 these home gardens lor several genera- 

 tions has instilled into the hearts of the 

 English people a love for them that seems 

 a second nature. 



Alfred Austin, the poet laureate, well 

 illustrates the English artisan's admira- 

 tion for his cottage garden where he 



describes a tidy little spot, only fifteen 

 feet square, and in complimenting the 

 owner who was in the midst of it, added 

 that he must be fond of it. 



Then came the emphatic 

 Answer. I could live in it. 



Why cannot we in this country have 

 these same gardens? It appears to be 

 fashionable in certain quarters to imitate 

 English life. In so doing why not imitate 

 those features that will bring the most 

 happiness to the greater number ol peo- 

 ple? It is true that we do not have large 

 private estates occupied by numerous 

 tenants, but there are many corporations 

 — Pullman's for instance — w here these gar- 

 dens could be encouraged. Now that the 

 eight hour law is in force and generally 

 observed, working men have plenty of 

 day-light leisure during the growing sea- 

 son to attend to small plots of ground 

 around the houses they occupy. 



Corporations could obtain the seeds 

 necessary in quantities at a small outlay 

 and distribute them free of cost, and offer 

 a small yearly premium for the best dis- 

 play. It is an experiment well worth try- 

 ing, and if successful, would have a ten- 

 dency not only to keep men away from 

 the saloons, but would also have a bene- 

 ficial influence upon their home life. 



W. C. Egan. 



Orchids. 



THE DOVE ORGfllD. 



(Peristeria elata.) 



A glance at the illustration will at once 

 explain the origin of the name. It is also 

 known as the "Holy Ghost Flower" 

 being so named by the Spaniards who 

 discovered it in South America and who 

 were deeply impressed by its remarkable 

 form. The flowers are nearly white, 

 sweet scented, and about 1% inches 

 across, borne on erect spikes three feet or 

 more in height. 



This orchid is not uncommon in cultiva- 

 tion and is generally included in all col- 

 lections of any size, its peculiar form 

 making it always of interest to the visitor. 



Tropical Vegetation. 



THE TRAVELER'S TREE. 



(Ravenala Madagascariensis). 



The name by which this magnificent 

 tree is known to botanists is that given 

 to it by the natives in Madagascar where 

 it forms according to J. G. Baker, F. R. S., 

 one of the most prominent characteristics 

 of the vegetation on the east coast of the 

 island. Extensive plains are covered with 

 the ravenala alone. The stem is some- 

 times short, with the leaves nearly 

 radical, at other times it forms a woody 

 stem thirty feet high and marked with 

 leaf rings. The same diversity of habit 

 exists in the other species nativein north- 

 ern Brazil and Guiana. 



Structurally the ravenala belongs to 

 the natual order musacew and is allied to 

 the banana and heliconia. It has a tall 

 simple woody trunk and great two- 

 ranked leaves, as may be seen from the 

 illustration. 



The beautiful oblong banna-like leaves 

 are of immense size, being among the 

 largest undivided leaves known, second 

 only perhaps to Victoria regia in its 

 greatest development. 



The long concave leaf stalks are com- 

 posed of a tissue partitioned into box-like 



