1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



with colors like the last, but with flowers of 

 different shape and of longer duration. 

 Then Colvillci and ColviUci albm or Bride, 

 the first purple and straw, the other a beau- 

 tiful white, opening with a creamy tint in 

 the center, which soon bleaches as white as 

 snow. Many varieties of O. lamosus (a 

 hybrid as is also Colvillei) were conspicuous, 

 their colors being the most vivid scarlet, 

 crimson and rose, generally with white 

 markings. My favorites, however, among 

 the hardy kinds are what are called " nanus" 

 varieties, which have been produced by 

 Dutch bulb growers by crossing many 

 dwarf species. These only attain a height 

 of 10 or 13 inches, but their flowers are most 

 delicate and beautiful. Their magnificence 

 being varied and exquisitely soft and tender 

 in tint. They deserve to be largely grown 

 for bouquets, for which their size and lovely 

 colors so well adapt them . 



Grouping: in Forest and Ornamental 

 Planting. 



There is a wide diflierence between forest 

 planting and planting for ornament. Prof. 

 B. E. Fernow, chief of the forestry division 

 of the Department of Agriculture, points 

 out how the methods employed in either 

 differ from each other. 



Grouping for ornament, he says, is an 

 art, and can be done effectively only by an 

 artist, who can appreciate the exquisite 

 effects of color and outline which a proper 

 use of the plant material is capable of pro- 

 ducing. Such groups may be composed of 

 one or more species or varieties. In either 

 case the plants should differ in size so as to 

 give a varied outline, the largest plants 

 placed in the center. But if various kinds 

 are mixed, it must never be forgotten that 

 the quicker-grovring or larger plant must 

 be one with a light foliage which will not 

 impede or even suppress the lower ones ; 

 and the lower trees or shrubs be such, as 

 can stand the partial shade of the others. 

 Lack of regard to this relation of trees to 

 light and shade will soon tell, and the most 

 beautifully-arranged group may go to ruin, 

 as it develops, instead of improving rather 

 in appearance. 



In forest planting the outline and the 

 beautiful effect is of no consequence, but 

 the economic effect is most important. 



As a rule, plants of about the same size 

 are used in forest planting, but as soon as 

 the plantation developes a difference in the 

 rate of growth, differences in size will ap- 

 pear. The quicker-growing kinds strive to 

 outstrip their slower neighbors, and it de- 

 pends upon the capacity of these to endure 

 the shade of their would-be-oppressors, 

 whether they will maintain or die. 



In selecting then for a mixture we must 

 know both the rate of height, growth of 

 the different kinds, and their requirements 

 for light. 



A good forest plantation is almost always 

 composed of mixed growth. Some trees 

 produce a dense shady foliage, while others 

 although when young beingdenselyfoliaged, 

 as they grow older thin out their foliage. 

 The former are the ones, which as a rule 

 can endure also the most shade ; the latter 

 cannot; they require full enjoyment of 

 light for their full development. Hence in 

 grouping, the latter must be such as will 

 always keep even pace with or outgrow, the 

 former, or if they fall behind, they must be 

 protected against the former, by cutting 

 these back or else they might as well be re- 

 moved themselves, before they are crowded 

 to death. 



There is one other consideration in select- 

 ing for a plantation. Favorable forest con- 

 ditions means a shaded soil. Hence the 

 larger quantity of trees should consist of 

 the densely-foliaged kinds, which preserve 

 favorable forest conditions. The Cotton- 



wood, the ^sh, the Black Walnut, the 

 Locust, the Birches and the Oaks are trees 

 which soon show a thin foliage ; they 

 should, therefore, always form the smaller 

 portion of the growth; the Beech, the Box- 

 elder, the Elm, the Black Cherry, Spruces 

 and Cedars are of the densely foliaged kinds, 

 and may therefore, form the bulk of a 

 plantation. 



The named rules for mixing and 

 grouping in forest planting have been 

 evolved from long experience and, by fol- 





Fig. 5. The Wier% Cut-leaved Maple as it ap- 

 pears on the Hayes" Ornutuis. 



lowing them, any one who knows the rela- 

 tive rate of growth of the species, he wants 

 to plant — and he must be aware that that 

 rate changes at different stages of develop- 

 ment as well as under different soil and 

 climatic conditions — and who also knows 

 which are the shady and the light-foliaged 

 kinds, will not make a mistake in selecting 

 for his grouping. 



Sclllas and Their Culture. 



CHAS. E. PARNELL, L. I., .V. Y. 



The several species or varieties of Scillas, 

 popularly termed Squills, which belong to 

 the Natural Order Liliaceas, are bulbous 

 plants of dwarf habit, having linear leaves, 

 and producing their intensely bright colored 

 flowers in conical corymbs or racemes dur- 

 ing the early spring months. When well 

 and properly grown, all are beautiful border 

 plants, and no garden or border can be con- 

 sidered complete without them, and all are 

 well worthy of pot cultivation for the dec- 

 oration of the greenhouse or window garden 

 during the winter months. 



To grow the Scillas to perfection in the 

 open air, the bulbs should be planted early 

 in October in a light rich soil. As the bulbs 

 are quite small, it is best to plant them in 

 groups of six or eight, keeping them a few 

 inches apart. Many of the plants will 

 flower without showing a leaf, and after the 

 flowers have disappeared, the leaves will be 

 produced, and these should not be injured 

 or removed until they are pretty well de- 

 cayed, in order to properly develop and ma- 

 ture the bulb for another season's bloom, 

 and to avoid injuring them. During their 

 season of rest, their situation should be 

 marked by a stout label. The bulbs should 

 be taken up, divided and replanted every 

 three or four years. 



When grown as pot plants for winter 

 blooming, the bulbsshould be planted early 

 in October in well-drained, porous or soft- 

 baked pots, filled with light turfy loam. In 



potting place from one to four bulbs in a 

 pot, according to the size and variety of pot. 

 When potted, water thoroughly, and then 

 remove to a dark cellar or other similar 

 place where they should be permitted to re 

 main until the pots are well filled with 

 roots, when they can be started into growth 

 at any time desired. When starting them 

 into growth they should be given a light, 

 sunny situation, and an average tempera- 

 ture of from 40 to .50 degrees F. After the 

 plants cease blooming and the period of 

 growth is over, which may be known by the 

 decay of the leaves, the supply of water 

 should be gradually reduced, and as soon 

 as the ground Is in a proper condition for 

 working, they can be planted outside in a 

 nicely prepared border. 



In the fall they can be taken up, and if 

 the bulbs are of a proper size, potted for 

 another season's work; but it must be re- 

 membered that the bulbs will not produce 

 the desired results unless they have been 

 properly cared for after blooming. 



The most desirable varieties are Clusi, 

 which produces its stem-shaped, bright blue 

 flowers in immense clusters; Cnmixinidata 

 (the Wood Hyacinth), a native of Spain, 

 producing its bright blue flowers in Hya- 

 cinth-like spikes: CdtnpniiuUitd <tlh(i,with 

 pure white flowers: Monophylla, a lovely 

 little species, producing its delicate light 

 blue flowers very early in the spring when 

 grown outside. Its greatest value, however, 

 is for pot culture, as by potting the bulbs 

 early in October, they will bloom in Decem- 

 ber or .January. Pcruvhnia cairulea is a 

 native of Italy and Spain, and one of the 

 best for pot culture. Its violet blue flowers 

 are produced in dense conical corymbs. It 

 is not hardy. Pcruvi'iiKt itllxt is a white 

 variety. Sihciica is a most excellent variety 

 for cultivation in either the house or garden. 

 Its flowers are of an intense blue color and 

 produced in long racemes. 



2,041. Strawberries after Strawberries. A 

 thorough system of crop rotation is usually to 

 be preferi-ed, as it avoids or lessens many of the 

 ills and dangers of the business, especially the 

 weed nuisance, insect pests and fungus diseases. 

 The first full crop is usually the best, and the 

 plantations runs down speedily afterwards. It 

 is seldom profitable to attempt taking more than 

 two crops from the same bed, and in most cases 

 it would be better to plow up the patch after the 

 first crop. An experienced Canadian fruits 

 gi'ower, D. Nicol, gives his views in Canadian 

 Horticulturist as follows : I have often tried re- 

 newal, but have never found it profitable. After 

 taking oft the second crop of fruit, I have sum- 

 mer-fallowed, manured heavily, and generally 

 the following year have obtained a satisfactory 

 crop of roots. Corn or Potatoes, which left the 

 land, as I long supposed, in the very best condi- 

 tion for growing Strawberries or any other 

 small fruit. Yet with me, the yield of the 

 second planting has never been half as large 

 as that of the first; hence I conclude that 

 s_ 

 s 



Pifl.3. Cellar Jor Protecting tender Rhododendrons. 

 there must be some peculiar element, mysteri- 

 ously essential to the growth of the Strawberry 

 extracted from the soil with the first heavy 

 croppings, and that I do not know how to replace 

 it. In European gardens Strawberries have for 

 many generations been grown asa'rotation crop, 

 and I have seen Strawberry beds fifteen yeare 

 old, but it certainly could not be said that they 

 were productive, although luxuriant in foliage ; 

 and this Is what seems to me so remarkably 

 strange— plants can be grown well enough and 

 as often as you please, but they do not produce 

 the fruit. 



