4o 



GARDENING. 



Oct. is, 



hardy in Pennsylvania. One species of 

 zirziphus, the Spina-christi, is supposed 

 by some to have furnished the crown of 

 thorns which was placed upon our 

 Saviour's head. The twigs of vulgaris 

 are very suggestive in the same way. A 

 beautiful specimen of the post oak, 

 Quercus obtusiloba, proves what I have 

 before observed, that it is a splendid 

 lawn tree, where a round beaded, spread- 

 ing oak is required. The branches push 

 out horizontally to a great distance and 

 its foliage is ample. 



Magnolia stellata, 9 to 10 feet high, 

 must be a great attraction in April when 

 in flower. And I would like to see the 

 English holly and its variety laurifolia, 

 now full of berries, when the fruit is ripe in 

 the autumn. These trees are 9 to 10 feet 

 high and very pretty now, the foliage be- 

 ing of a much darker green hue than it is 

 on our native one. Laurifolia is almost 

 spineless, only a leaf here and there hav- 

 ing any spines at all, and this variety is 

 thought to be rather hardier than the 

 common one. 



While taking notes of the trees and 

 shrubs mentioned above, a guard informed 

 me — in a perfectly proper and respectful 

 way, I am pleased to add — that I must 

 "Keepoff the grass." But I succeeded in 

 running on now and again, to get a bet- 

 ter view of some tree, without objection 

 from him, after telling him my object. 

 But 1 would say to anyone not ac- 

 quainted with trees that it would be time 

 wasted to go on the grass to look for 

 their names for rarely is one named. I 

 think the lack of names to the trees and 

 shrubs mars the pleasure of thousands 

 who visit our public grounds and parks. 

 A prominent superintendent once told me 

 that the public did not care a "continen- 

 tal" for names, but he never made a 

 greater mistake than this. 



Philadelphia. Toseph Meehan. 



PLANTING FOR FALL COLOR EFFECTS. 



Now that the woods are decked in all 

 the glories of their autumn colorings, they 

 should remind us that we do not pay 

 enough attention to that feature in our 

 home plantings. Many own places of 

 fair size, places where distant views are 

 available. Perhaps in the rear ol our 

 homes we possess a pasture field, a por- 

 tion of which may be in a direct line of a 

 vista from our windows or from our 

 porch, or a broad meadow may be before 

 us. Why not make a special planting 

 there for fall effect? Why not bring the 

 autumn glories of the woods to our own 

 doors? We plant the golden elder, the 

 golden hop and the purple plum in our 

 shrubberies, that we may enjoy the high 

 tones that nature sometimes assumes as 

 a summer garb in her garden forms. She 

 seldom departs from her chosen shades of 

 green in her indigenous growths, but 

 reserves her energies in that line for the 

 closing scene in the leafy panorama she 

 yearly unrolls before us. We are apt to 

 tire of her garden colorings of leafage, as 

 it remains with us all the season, but that 

 of the fall emulates the fleeting rainbow 

 and disappears while still the object of 

 our admiration. 



Why should those having places of am- 

 ple size take a ride into the country in 

 order to enjoy the autumn foliage? Make 

 your own picture. Your own woods will 

 tell you what to plant, or, if you do not 

 wish to consult them, peruse the cata- 

 logues of the leading nurserymen, and 

 choose the tulip tree, sugar and red ma- 

 ples, American white, red and scarlet 

 oaks, American ash, sour gum (Nyssa 

 multiflora) , the sweet gum (Liquid- 

 amber stvracilolia) and the sassafras; 



and for shrubs, Cornus paniculata, 

 choke berry, sumach, Ribes aureum, Itea 

 rirginica, Cornus florida (a small tree), 

 and several forms of the wild rose, Rosa 

 nitida, R. bumilis, and R. lucida, Spirsea 

 prvnifolia, Berberis Thunbergii, and Euon- 

 ymus alata. A group of witch hazel 

 (Hamamelis virginiana) will give the 

 yellow, either in its dying foliage or its 

 November blooms. The crimson colored 

 leaves of the Virginia creeper, up among 

 the yellow foliage of the tulip tree or 

 amid the multi-colored maples, produces 

 a charming effect. The poison ivy is 

 extremely brilliant but must be avoided, 

 although one regrets it when noticing 

 its deep crimson wreaths encircling tall 

 trunks, and flaunting its vivid colors 

 high among the branches. 



If you have a roadway leading up to 

 this color picture, line it with berry-bear- 

 ing bushes, as an attractive approach in 

 keeping with the scene beyond. In it 

 plant the snowberry, sweetbriars, high- 

 bush-cranberry, Ribes alpinum, the scar- 

 let-berried elder, and here again may be 

 placed the dwarf roses above mentioned, 

 which are as showy in their fruit as in 

 the coloring of their leaves. 



While on the subject of fall coloring it 

 may be well to remark that some maples 

 seem to color well while those of similar 

 species growing along side under the 

 same conditions as far as can be observed, 

 do not. Sometimes one branch or set of 

 branches color while the balance of the 

 tree remains normal. There is a tree 

 here that for the six years I've watched 

 it, colors only on one main branch. Why 

 don't our nurserymen, who are as pro- 

 gressive as any class of business men, note 

 such trees and graft or bud from them 

 and thus in time be able to offer to the 

 trade trees true to color. 



In climates more congenial than this 

 the Japanese maples, andromedas and 

 others mav be added to the list. 



W. C.Egan. 



country. Mr. Saul was known for his 

 love for rare trees, and many of those 

 now common were first introduced by 

 him. 



While on the subject of firs I may add 

 that the Crimean fir, Nordmanniana, is 

 the best of all for general planting. It 

 thrives splendidly everywhere excepting 

 in the far southern states, and in stately 

 growth and the rich green of its foliage 

 far surpasses any other species. And bet- 

 ter yet it transplants better than most all 

 others No matter how severe the winter 

 may be the foliage comes through it 

 showing the same rich foliage it had in 

 the fall. When ordering a tree of it pur- 

 chasers should stipulate that it has a 

 good leader, otherwise it will be two or 

 three years perhaps before a good one is 

 formed, the growth going to the side 

 shoots in the meantime. 



Philadelphia. Joseph Meehan. 



ABIES (F1CEA) PINSAPO. 



Some time ago when a friend and I 

 were 1 loking at a not over nice looking 

 specimen of the Pinsapo fir, he told me 

 that if ever I had the opportunity I would 

 be repaid by looking at those at Mt. Ver- 

 non. Being in Washington towards the 

 close of September I took the electric cars 

 for Mt. Vernon, and I found what I had 

 been told was quite correct. There are 

 several of these beautiful trees there, and 

 they are thriving fully as well as they do 

 in England, which is saying a good deal, 

 and much better than they do about Phil- 

 adelphia. Several that I saw at Mt. 

 Vernon were about 25 feet in height, and 

 as perfect as could be. The growth left 

 to itself, as had evidently been the case 

 with these, is somewhat conical, much as 

 it is in a Norway or Oriental spruce of 

 natural growth." In England this ever- 

 green is a great favorite. 



In some local nurseries the Pinsapo 

 seems to be the stock one to offer custom- 

 ers, as the Norway spruce is in many of 

 our own. It is known there as the Span- 

 ish fir, its home being in Southern Spain. 

 About Philadelphia this fir does not seem 

 reliably hardy, and I cannot now recall 

 to mind a single thriving specimen, 

 though there are many trees of it to be 

 seen. 



It was something of a surprise to me 

 to see this tree at Mt. Vernon, as there 

 are but few trees or shrubs there not 

 indigenous to it, and bnt very few ever- 

 greens of any kind. Probably the late 

 John Saul, of Washington, may have had 

 the furnishing of them. When they were 

 planted thev must have been rare in this 



PREMATURE FALLING OF THE LEAVES. 



Will you please tell me what is the mat- 

 ter and what I can do for my chestnut 

 tree. For two years about the second 

 week in July the leaves turn yellow and 

 commence to drop off through the middle 

 ofthetree, around the trunk, and thereare 

 also a good many small branches that are 

 dead up through the middle of the tree, 

 while the outside leaves are green and 

 remain on the tree. Our other chestnuts 

 are strong and healthy. The bark seems 

 to be sound and free from borers. 



Michigan. W. B. M. 



It is not possible to do more than sug- 

 gest a cause in this case. It appears to 

 be a case of early maturity of the foliage, 

 but just what may bring it about may 

 occur to you perhaps, being on the spot. 

 It is not at all uncommon for pot plants 

 to act in the same way when suffering for 

 water. The leaves hastily and prema- 

 turely finish their work (or the season. 

 Should the plants receive supplies of 

 water afterwards, the lower leaves fall 

 quickly, the upper ones remaining green, 

 acting much in the way you describe 

 your chestnuts as doing. Is the tree 

 likely to suffer from dryness at the root 

 in midsummer? 



Landscape Gardening. 



PLAN FOR GROUNDS OF EIGHT ACRES. 



The accompanying plan, made for the 

 grounds of Mr. Leonard J. Busbj', at Glen 

 Cove, Long Island, shows a practical but 

 very effective arrangement for a place of 

 this size. With the exception of pastur- 

 age, which is furnished elsewhere, all the 

 needs of a suburban home are provided 

 for. Ample space is reserved for vegeta- 

 bles, small fruits and an apple orchard. 

 Study of the plan will show how the 

 vegetable garden, usually an unsightly 

 field of vegetables fully exposed to view 

 from all parts of the ground and house, 

 is here made a well ordered arrangement 

 of fruit, flowers and vegetables and com- 

 pletely screened by plantings of shrubs 

 and trees so arranged as to increase the 

 beauty and apparent size of the lawn. 

 Such a garden can be made most delight- 

 ful and interesting and besides furnishing 

 good things for the table will also give 

 an abundant supply of cut flowers for the 

 house, for the church and for friends. 



The walks in such a garden can be 

 made with gravel, cinders or any conven- 

 ient material but the most effective walks 

 are grass ones, that is walks made and 

 kept as a lawn would be. Many ohjec- 



