372 



GARDENING. 



Sept. /, 



PRUNUS FISSflRDl. 



Is Prunus Pissardi short lived? This 

 is a question recently called to my atten- 

 tion and while my experience leads me to 

 answer the interrogation in the affirma- 

 tive, I sincerely hope that I am mistaken. 

 However, I have become quite skeptical as 

 to the value of this much admired tree 

 or shrub, but I hope that these remarks 

 may elicit some facts from other parts of 

 the country which may be of value to us 

 here. 



The trees with which I gained this expe- 

 rience were planted somewhat over ten 

 years ago, and out of a group of a halt 

 dozen or more only one sickly specimen 

 survives. The others died in the past two 

 years. I do not think that the soil or 

 situation can have anything to do with 

 it for in that respect I should consider 

 them rather favorably located in com- 

 parison to the surrounding country. The 

 trees are to be found in Mt. Olive Ceme- 

 tery, situated on the eastern slope of a 

 ridge which once constituted the beach of 

 the lake. 



The tree which has survived is bleeding 

 considerably and cracks badly along the 

 main trunk, the effect of which is notice- 

 able in the dead top. From its appearance 

 this specimen must have once enjoyed 

 splendid health. 



Is it our erratic western climate which 

 is unfriendly? Prunus Pissardi is proba- 

 bly a variety of Prunus cerasil'era and is 

 also known under the name Prunus 

 cerasifera var. atro-purpurea. It was, I 

 believe, introduced by Mr. Pissard, head 

 gardener to the Shah of Persia; its home 

 is Ispahan, Persia. J. Jensen. 



Chicago. 



CBRCIS CANADENSIS. 



I heartily agree with John Craig that 

 our native shrubs are deserving of more 

 attention than they receive. As he truly 

 says, Cercis Canadensis is most lovely in 

 early spring. I would ask him. however, 

 if the particular specimen he mentions 

 may not be the Japanese species, C.Japon- 

 ica? The description fits it exactly. At 

 any rate the Japanese is superior in color 

 to the native one; it is of dwarf, sturdy 

 growth and has thick, lustrous green 

 leaves. In addition to the charm of the 

 flowers, the foliage itself is beautiful, 

 making the shrub an attraction the sea- 

 son through. 



The Judas tree, as the cercis is called, 

 possesses the peculiarity of flowering year 

 after year from the old wood. It is a sin- 

 gular" sight to see a cluster of flowers 

 coming out on branches many years old. 

 The native Judas, C. Canadensis, is wild 

 over a large portion of our country, 

 attaining the proportions of a small tree. 

 The Japanese is rarely seen above a large 

 shrub size. Joseph Meehan. 



Philadelphia. 



but never had hefoundthe worm at work. 

 His astonishment was profound when 

 informed that the "remains" were living 

 worms, house and all, the bags being 

 carried about with them. 



In the sandy soil of southern New Jersey 

 the American arbor vita makes an ideal 

 hedge. The soil suits it admirably. The 

 growth is sturdy and healthy. At Ham- 

 monton, Woodbury, Vineland and neigh- 

 boring towns, there are some pretty and 

 perfect hedges of it. As Mr. Douglas 

 says, it should not be planted in heavy 

 soil, and this applies as well to all fibrous, 

 rooted evergreens. Joseph Meehan. 



Philadelphia. 



The Greenhouse. 



REX BEGONIAS. 



These begonias are propagated either 

 from stem cuttings or leaves. When the 

 latter are employed, those that are 

 mature should be selected, removing the 

 petiole (leaf stalk) and trimming away 

 a portion of the margin at the base. 

 Insert in sand, giving them an upright 

 position to economize in space, and keep 

 them well shaded until rooted. A cutting 

 bed such as is used for roses will suit 

 these begonias very well. I prefer to 

 propagate early in spring, as the cuttings 

 can then have the benefit of bottom 

 heat with ample time to make nice plants 

 for winter. 



As soon as the cuttings are thoroughly 

 rooted they should be potted, using a 

 light, sandy soil which has been run 

 through a fine sieve. They are then 



ARBOR VITRE FOR HEDGES. 

 The remarks of Mr. Douglas and Mr. 

 Egan on arbor vitae hedges, page 323, 

 lead me to say that in New Jersey and 

 Pennsylvania I have not noticed the 

 dying out of this evergreen in the way 

 they describe. The only thing that kills 

 them here is the bag worm, which, I 

 regret to say, is often permitted to do its 

 work through the ignorance of both gar- 

 dener and employer. It is by no means 

 uncommon to see yards of a hedge almost 

 defoliated, the worms still at work, and 

 those in charge apparently entirely una- 

 ware of what is going on. A party who 

 owned a hedge once wrote me that the 

 remains of the enemy were on the bushes, 



placed on the benches of a low house in 

 which they can be kept close and shaded 

 for a time. Air is given more freely when 

 they have taken a firm hold, but the 

 atmosphere of the house must still be kept 

 moist. The plants must be kept growing, 

 potting them on as that operation 

 becomes necessary. The soil may be made 

 gradually coarser with each potting until 

 in the final shift an unsifted compost of 

 loam, leaf mold, well rotted cow manure 

 and sand is used, adding a sprinkling of 

 lime. 



When the plants are thoroughly estab- 

 lished and the pots well filled with roots, 

 weak liquid manure may be given occa- . 

 sionally. In summer they need plentiful 

 supplies of water at the roots, but a much 

 smaller quantity will suffice in winter. 

 Some growers recommend syringing the 

 plants, but my experience does not sanc- 

 tion it. Sometimes it can not be avoided 

 entirely, as for example, when they are 

 used with palms and other decorative 

 plants in the conservatory during the 

 summer season. Even then I avoid wet- 

 ting the leaves as far as possible, and 

 keep the house shaded, with plenty of 

 ventilation day and night. But the 

 result will be different if the plants are 

 regularly syringed and kept close at night; 

 the leaves will then be damaged and 

 numerous small holes will render them 

 imperfect. 



For decorative purposes I consider good 

 specimens in pots of medium size the most 

 desirable. The leaves of such plants hide 

 the pots and they are certainly more 

 attractive than older ones destitute of 

 foliage at the base. The old plants, how- 

 ever, are useful for propagation. Bego- 

 nias, I find, are subject to mematodes at 



BEGONIA MARQUISE DE PBRLATO. 



