288 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
ment of Agriculture to set two acres of the last named pines. The 
Scotch, Austrian and bull pines have been on trial in a small way | 
here for several years. The result of the new plantings on the open 
prairie may be of interest. The thanks of this station are due to 
Prof. B. E. Fernow, Prof S. B. Green and Mr. O. F. Brand, for mate- 
rial furnished. 
THE HARDY BORDER. 
The earliest shrub to bloom at the station was as usual the buffalo- 
berry, but the flowers are quite inconspicuous, The pistillate 
bushes are now bending beneath an immense load of fruit. Van 
Houtte’s spiraea soon followed and showed a dazzling mass of white 
flowers, No shrub border, however humble, ought to be without 
Van Houtte’s spiraea. Spiraea hypericifolia bloomed at about the 
same time as its more showy rival, but was wholly cast into the 
shade by it. The golden-leaved nine-bark suffered some from the 
drought, but the typical form, now called by botanists Opulaster 
opulifolius, came through in fine shape, and at the present writing 
its showy seed pods make it an object of perpetual interest. This 
shrub seems to do as well in cultivation on the prairies as it does in 
the ravines of the Mississippi bluffs in the eastern part of the state, 
where it is indigenous, 
The June-berries, Amelanchier Canadensis and A. Botriapium, 
make a very desirable additiontotheshrub border. They never suf- 
fer from drought or cold, and in early spring their airy racemes of 
graceful white flowers, setoff by the soft, silky young foliage, area 
sure tokenthatspringisreally with us. Inthe east the blooming of 
this shrub is associated with the firstrunof shad,and so itis some- 
times called shad-bush. It is now covered with attractive fruit 
much Jiked by the birds. ; 
The caraganas maintain their reputation as being a very desirable 
shrub forplanting on the prairies in the hardy border. Caragana 
arborescens seems to be quite distinct and tree-like. The others, 
which we have received under the names of Caragana frutescens, 
C. mollis glabra, C. pygmaea, C. variegata and dwarf caragana, all 
seem to be varieties of Caragana frutescens. The typical C. frutes- 
cens seems to be more upright and fastigiate in its habits of growth 
than the others. They are all given to spreading from the roots; 
the variety known as variegated caragana having the strongest 
tendency inthis direction. Caragana Redowski, as we received it, 
seems to be identical with Caragana arborescens. 
The caraganas are well adapted to parkway planting in the 
shrubberies bordering village streets. 
The Amur barberry as received at this station appears to be only 
one of the many varieties of Berberis vulgaris. The barberries are 
all extremely well adapted to prairie planting and are extremely 
attractive shrubs at all seasons of the year. 
It seems like useless repetition to refer in each of these reports to 
the great value of lilacs for prairie planting. All the varieties of 
Syringa vulgaris are doing extremely well so far as tried. Charles 
X gives larger flower clusters than the type. Syringa villosa 
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