38 



GARDENING. 



Oct. is, 



removal of the apex of the shoot removes 

 the tissues which attract the greatest 

 amount of water, and the removal of the 

 leaves allow the shoots to receive more 

 light, which is one of the chief factors in 

 ripening wood." 



Aquatics. 



VICTORIA REGIA. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 a plant of Victoria regia in bloom in the 

 aquatic house of the Phipps Conserva- 

 tories, Schenley Park, Pittsburg. 



The two plants show sixteen leaves, the 

 largest of them measuring 6 feet 10 inches 

 in diameter, and the photograph shows 

 one with a little girl sitting on it. The 

 plants commenced blooming in the early 

 part of June and have delighted a very 

 large number of visitors continually since, 

 having from three to six flowers out 

 most of the time. 



The excellent engraving of a flower of 

 this noble aquatic is from a photograph 

 taken by Prof. S. W. Burnham, the noted 

 Chicago astronomer, who loves flowers 

 almost as well as new double stars. The 

 spiny stem is well shown against the 

 white envelope. 



Trees and Shrubs. 



BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN FOLIAGE. 



Everyone knows how beautiful our 

 forests are at this season of the year 

 when the autumn tints are on them. 

 Travelers from Europe who are here at 

 this season usually express great admira- 

 tion at the sight. It is an unusual one to 

 them, as their native tiees do not takeon 

 the brilliant colors ours do. It is some- 

 what different in Japan, many trees and 

 shrubs of that country displaying con- 

 siderable beauty of fall foliage. I have 

 found that most persons very much over 

 estimate the number of varieties of beau- 

 tiful fall foliaged trees and shrubs exist- 

 ing in our woods. They see a large forest, 

 presenting a splendid picture, and are im- 

 pressed with the idea that there are very 

 many kinds of trees in resplendent attire. 

 But I think that in any one woods there 

 would not be over a half dozen of golden 

 or brilliant hue at any one time. It is 

 often the vast background of green and 

 brown foliage that helps so much to 

 make the picture. 



The following is a nearly perfect list of 

 native trees and shrubs worthy of being 

 planted for their autumn color; sugar 

 maple, red maple, Andromeda arborea, 

 dogwood, both white and red flowering, 

 sassafras, sweet gum, sour gum, tulip 

 tree, scarlet oak, red oak and pin oak. 

 Of shrubs there are the several sumachs, 

 Itea virginica, Vaccinium corymbosum, 

 and the Virginia creeper vine. Add to 

 these the following foreign sorts, Japanese 

 blood-leaved maple, Berberis Thunbergii, 

 Viburnum rotundifoiium and Ampelopsis 

 Veitchii and the end is nearly reached. 



As those of native origin are not found 

 in like localities except in a few instances 

 it is not often that more than two or 

 three sorts are displayed to the view at 

 once in any one woods. I think the sour 

 gum, Nyssa multiflora, lovely as it is has 

 been unduly placed above the sweet gum, 

 Iiquidamber. In the woods hereabouts 

 the sour gum takes on its red hue but a 



A BLOOM OF THE VICTORIA REGIA. 



very short time before its leaves fall. 

 The sweet gum. on the other hand, is 

 lovely now, October 4. and it will 

 continue so for a month longer. There 

 is red, green and yellow blended together 

 throughout, and then the star-shaped 

 leaves are beautiful in themselves. Re- 

 cently in Virginia, I saw several of these 

 trees standing somewhat alone in an old 

 meadow. The foliage was showing lovely 

 scarlet and yellow. In the lower part of 

 the meadow it was quite wet, and there 

 the foliage had changed earlier and the 

 autumn tints were much more intense 

 than was the case with those on dryer 

 ground. 



Whenever any of the trees mentioned 

 are in any may injured the color comes 

 earlier and is more intense than occurs 

 when it is in full health. The sweet gums 

 in the swampy ground is an instance of 

 it, and I have seen sugar and red maple 

 standing in ground holding too much 

 water turn color a good while before 

 others on higher ground did, and the 

 color was brighter and better. 



Of the three oaks, scarlet, red and pin, 

 thev are of value in the order named. 

 The scarlet is of special merit, as it holds 

 its leaves very late. It is often the last 



tree of all to lose its leaves in our forests, 

 and it is often yet green and unchanged 

 when other trees about it have lost their 

 leaves. When the change comes the scar- 

 let hue is vivid. 



The sassafras is not often classed as 

 one to be thought of for its autumn foli- 

 age, but to me its soft yellow hue is 

 almost as pretty as that of the sugar 

 maple. And the same may be said of the 

 tulip tree. 



The value of the sumachs for autumn 

 display is well known. It it unfortunate 

 that one of the prettiest of all, the poison 

 vine, can be handled by but few. The 

 other poisonous one, venenata, a small 

 tree found in swamps, does not become 

 as handsome in the fall as others do. 



The dogwood, Cornus florida, is always 

 handsome. It usually fringes a woods, 

 and shows there to great advantage. Its 

 variety, the pink flowered one, has leaves 

 of a darker hue throughout the season, 

 and this helps it when its time to change 

 color comes. 



Itea virginica, Andromeda racemosa 

 and Vaccinium corymbosum, change to 

 scarlet. Viburnum plicatum rotundUo- 

 lium takes on a bronze color. I don't 

 know but what the Forsvthia viridissima 



