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• • • 



GARDENING. 



Feb. /j 



female, and still others perfect ones. 

 Those who plant seedlings run the risk ot 

 getting non-fruiting kinds. If a grafted 

 plant cannot be obtained, it is better to 

 plant one that has already borne berries. 

 English works refer to budding as being 

 successful aswellas grafting. Holliescan 

 be propagated by cuttings made in early 

 winter, and placed in a warm greenhouse. 

 The cuttings should be placed in boxes or 

 pots, where they may remain for a twelve- 

 month without being disturbed. They 

 root in time, but not quickly. 



Hollies are best transplanted in spring. 

 They need at the time the closest kind of 

 pruiiing. A bush with stem an inch 

 thick should be pruned back almost to 

 the main stem. If it has been trans- 

 planted often previously, or if but a small 

 bush, less pruning is required. Little or 

 big, however all the leaves should be cut 

 off in moving. Treated in this way, hol- 

 lies rarelv fail to grow. 



Philadelphia. Joseph Meehan. 



THE NORTHERN ASH TREES. 



The five species of the ash indigenous to 

 the northern states are all found in this 

 immediate vicinity, and I doubt if this 

 can be said of any other part of the 

 United States. The white, black and 

 green are the most abundant. The west- 

 ern green ash (Fraxinus riridis), com- 

 monlv called the white ash, being found 

 with 'its eastern relative the true white 

 ash (F Americana). The former thrives 

 better on high land than the latter and is 

 a more rapid grower, but does not attain 

 the size of the white ash. The black ash 

 (F. sambucifolia) is the largest of all, and 

 is found only in swamps and along 

 streams. 



The red ash (F. pubescens) is found at 

 the bottom of ravines alone. Although 

 a very slow grower it makes a fairly 

 large "tree, but the branches are more 

 brittle than in anv of the others. The 

 blue ash (F. quadrangulata) is a very 

 desirable tree. There are very few exam- 

 ples of this species to be found here, but 

 it appears to be as fast a grower as the 

 white ash. The green ash grows on a 

 greater varietv of soils than the others, 

 and is the best'tree for the west. In fact, 

 the white ash has been a total failure in 

 most places west of Indiana, and I doubt 

 if there is a good specimen on any of our 

 prairies. It is mostly found in ravines or 

 on low lands. I have seen some fairly 

 good specimens on ravine banks, but 

 none on high ground. 



In a favorable locality the white ash 

 makes a better street tree than the green, 

 having a head of greater spread, and the 

 leaves have a much brighter color in the 

 autumn than those of the green. The 

 black ash is suitable for low and wet 

 ground only. The red ash will grow on 

 drier ground, but is a rather unsatisfac- 

 tory tree on account of its very slow 

 growth. As the white ash does not do 

 well in the west, we are left with only two 

 species suitable for general planting. The 

 blue ash is little known and very seldom 

 planted. I am not thoroughly conver- 

 sant with this tree, but Bryant and 

 others of the earlv pioneers spoke very 

 highly of it, both for timber and orna- 

 ment Take it all in all then, the green 

 ash is the only one suitable for the middle 

 west. It grows rapidly when young, 

 makes a fine ornamental or shade tree 

 and affords excellent timber. 



Waukegan, 111. Thos. H. Douglas. 



The next issue of Gardening will con- 

 tain several important articles on sweet 

 peas. 



PRIZE-WINNER IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING CONTEST. 



A LAUDABLE EFFORT. 



There was some comment in a recent 

 issue on the good work carried on by the 

 Xational Cash Register Co , of Dayton, 

 Ohio, in the interest of horticulture, and 

 now we are pleased to be able to present 

 further details of the scheme together 

 with pictures showing some of the results. 

 This company started by employing an 

 eminent landscape gardener to ornament 

 the factory grounds, and this proved so 

 satisfactory that in the summer of 1895 

 preliminary steps were taken toward the 

 improvement of the surroundings of the 

 workmen's homes in the immediate neigh- 

 borhood. The company sent out an 

 expert photographer and had every ugly 

 and unsightly spot or feature in that por- 

 tion of the city photographed. It also 

 took pictures of many of the beautiful 

 and neatly kept homes and cottages. 

 From these collections steropticon slides 

 were made, and the president of the com- 

 pany then gave a series of free lectures on 

 home improvement and municipal reform, 

 illustrating his remarks by means of the 

 slides already prepared. This movement 

 resulted in the formation of an improve- 

 ment association. 



The aims of this association are so 

 well set forth in the preamble to its con- 

 stitution that we cannot do better than 

 quote the document in full: "The objects 

 of this association are the beautifying of 

 all streets, unimproved property, parks, 

 etc., by planting trees and flowers and a 

 general promotion of landscape garden- 

 ing; abating nuisances; promoting the 

 sale of property to desirable people; con- 

 trolling, so far as possible, the location 

 of houses; construction of sidewalks; 

 securing proper sewerage, surface drain- 

 age, etc.; improvement of the schools, and 

 promoting the general welfare of the ter- 

 ritory embraced by the association." 

 This it seems to us covers the ground 

 very thoroughly, and should serve as a 

 useful guide to thenumerous communities 

 in all sections of the country that need an 

 Institution of similar character. It is not 

 to be assumed that to make any real 

 progress in a reformation based on these 

 outlines is an easy task. ' There are 

 indeed many obstacles to be overcome, 



but it may safely be stated that the diffi- 

 culty hirtherto experienced in their 

 removal has been due more to a deficiency 

 of example than to any lack of applica- 

 tion on the part of those who have taken 

 similar work in hand. It would seem, 

 therefore, as if a few models of varied 

 character in the immediate vicinity 

 would aid local organizations in bring- 

 ing about the desired improvement of 

 home and factory grounds, leading in this 

 way to the formation and extension of 

 public parks. 



But the work of this improvement 

 association did not end with the publica- 

 tion of the preamble to its constitution, 

 as it does too often end, unfortunately, in 

 like cases. In the spring of 1896, the 

 president of the company announced at 

 one of the meetings of the association 

 that he would give $50 in gold, to be 

 divided into four prizes, to the four per- 

 sons having the most tastefully arranged 

 home grounds. This created a lively 

 rivalry and many entered their names for 

 the contest. Late in summer the associa- 

 tion appointed an awarding committee 

 the members of which viewed the premises 

 of the competitors, and theeompany sent 

 its photographer around and photo- 

 graphed the homes and premises of all 

 competitors and then had lantern slides 

 made of them. The winners of the prizes 

 were announced at a meeting of the as- 

 sociation by the president of the company, 

 and the points of contrast and the find- 

 ings of the committee were explained by 

 the chairman of the awarding committee 

 and illustrated by the aid of steropticon 

 with the views taken. This, of course, 

 created immense interestand enthusiasm. 

 Lectures on landscape gardening and 

 ornamental planting were given from 

 time to time in one of the churches and in 

 the club hall of the factory, and these 

 also were always illustrated by stereopti- 

 con views. So great was theinterest that 

 the rooms were crowded to their utmost 

 capacity, and hundreds had to be turned 

 away unable even to get inside the doors. 



The results attained in the improved 

 home surroundings and the abatement of 

 nuisances such as unsightly bill boards, 

 high board fences and other things were 



