i886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



59 



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outiGjfepPL4^ 



Treeclimber's Talks. 



EVERIiREEN LEAVES. 



My remarks ou leaves in the December issue, 

 have brought out a request from a young reaii- 

 er iu Western Peuusvlvania, that I say some- 

 thing about the leavesof Evergreens. I suppose 

 the beauty of some Pines or other Evei'greens, 

 neai" my correspontlent's home, leads him to 

 think that this class, which have such attractive 

 coats of green in the winter, are more entitled 

 to attention now, than such kinds as 

 ai'e not. If so, I think him quite right. 



The most striking difference between 

 the leaves of Evergi'eeus and of decid- 

 uous trees (the kinds that shed their 

 leaves annually) is found in their 



TIME OF DURATION. 



Those of the latter, we know, fall at 

 some time not long after the end of 

 each season's growth, a new crop ap- 

 pearing the following season. The 

 leaves of evergi'cens, on the other hand, 

 not only keep their color and live 

 through the winter, but in some in- 

 stances reach considerable age. Those 

 of numerous sorts get to l)e three or 

 four yeai's old before falling; while 

 kinds like Spruce and Fir hold theirs 

 six or seven years, and the Yew, of which 

 an engraving is shown, even longer. 



My young friend, no doubt, has 

 noticed the leaves of evergreens closely 

 enough to see, that in structure they 

 are well fitted to endure for a long 

 time. Take the leaves of other trees, 

 and it is a common thing to see them 



MARRED BT BREAKS 



and cracks before the end of their 

 season, because of being somewhat 

 fragile in stiiictui'e. Not so with the 

 needles of Pines and other evergreens, 

 whioh usually possess a tough texture, 

 that prevents this very effectually. 



Then when an early fall of .snow 

 arrives, our Maples, Horse-chestnuts, 

 and so ou, have their leaves often 

 much broken by the snow, that ad- 

 heres to them. But evergreens are 

 rarely s^eu to suffer from snow-falls, 

 however heavy they may be, for their 

 leaves, being glossy, tend to cast off the snow, 

 Indeetl, young evergreens may be completely 

 drifted under, and yet owing to the nature of 

 their leaves, they will suffer little, or none, 

 when the banks settle and melt away. 



And did you ever see 



CATTLE BROWSE OFF THE LEAVES 



of evergreens? I think not, although they will 

 freely devoui" the young leaves of deciduous 

 trees, when they can reach them. Here, nature 

 has again provided for their protection, but in 

 different ways for different kinds. In most of 

 the resinous evergreens the leaves have either 

 an astringent or aromatic taste which render 

 them dista-steful. You can easily test the dif- 

 ference between evergreen and other leaves, in 

 this respect, yourself. 



Then there are a number of otlier kinds of 

 evergi'eens. the leaves of which are 



PROTECTED BY THORXS AND SPINES. 



SO that uo browsers care to nip them. Of this 

 class, the Holly, with needles set firmly along 

 the edge of the leaves, is a familiar example. 

 The branches of this bush, which are nmch 

 used for room and chui'ch decoration at the 

 holida)' season, can only be handled with im- 

 punity to delicate hands, by wearing gloves. 

 The Junipers, in numerous sorts, afford another 

 example of this, the sharp points to the leaves 



pricking almost like thistles. The Hemlock, 

 and in fact, most kinds of evergreens possess, 

 to some extent, this armed feature for defense. 

 I am glad my young correspondent has in- 

 vited notice to this subject of evergreen leaves, 

 for those of no other class are more interesting 

 or beautiful. Indeed, as we consider that they 

 are present both along with the leaves of de- 

 ciduous kinds, and also in their absence, lend- 

 ing a peculiar cliarm to the snowy scenes of 

 winter, we nmst count upon them as among 

 the most desirable of all the herbaceous embel- 

 lishments of the Temperate Zone. 



Timothy Treeclimber. 



ping from the Ciiirininili Eiiijiu'rcr, sliows in 

 a striking light the great rise of some of our 

 leading men since their youth: 



111 ISS'3, a (liniier party was given in New York 

 ("it.v- Senator Henry (t. Davis sat at one end oi the 

 tahlp. Kx-Secretary Simon Cameron of Pennsylva- 

 nia sat at the otlier. and (ieii. W. T. Sherman at 

 the head. The (ieneral be^aii a rcniiniscenee of 

 his life by saying: 



" Wheii I was a Lieuteuant " 



"Come. now. Sherman," interrupted Mr. Iiavis. 

 " were yon ever a Lieutenaiity " 



" Ves'. Davis." he replied. "I was a Lieutenant 

 about the time you were a brakenian on a freight 

 train." 



" Well, boys," observed Cameron. " I don't sup- 

 pose either of you ever cut eordwood fur a living, as 

 Irtid. • 



A Lost Ring Found by a Vegetable, i "Is this my train?" asked a traveler of a 

 A curious instance of this kind transpired dejiot lounger, " I don't know," was the reply ; 

 some time ago in Sweden, A lady at garden- ' "I see its got the name of some railroad com- 

 pany on the side, and expect it belongs 

 • to them. Have you lost a train any- 



where?" 



A child who is taught to observe and 

 to think is educated. The child who 

 is taught to remembei', only, is merely 

 loaded as a pack-horse. He carries a 

 great deal, but it does little good. 



EVERGREEN LEAVES OF THE YEW TREE. 



making time, neglected to remove a gold ring 

 that she had on her finger, when she went out 

 to sow some seeds. During the work, the ring- 

 unconsciously sli])ped from her finger, and 

 when missed, could nowhere be found. As 

 the sequel goes to show, she must have dropjjed 

 it into one of the holes made when setting out 

 some ('eleriac. The ring was given up for lost, 

 and with the exception of an occasional regret 

 at this, attention to the matter passed awaj'. 

 But when winter came around, some C'eleriac 

 was being prepared one day for soup, when, 

 imagine the surprise of the woman, to find her 

 lost ring on one of the finger-like roots of the 

 vegetable. This root somehow found its way 

 through the ring, aud here continueil to gi-ow 

 until filled out, aft«"rwards holding it securely. 



They Began at the Foot- 



Ixeneral Garfield once said that he always 

 felt like doffing his hat to the ordinary Amer- 

 ican boy, because of the possibilities that 

 were wrapped up in him. He said that he 

 might be saluting a future president or senator 

 in the hoy. Boys, and especially those of poor 

 pai-ents. are not so apt to take such a view of 

 the case, and yet they should remember that 

 a large proportion of the great men of our 

 country started life as poor Ixiys, in very 

 humble circumstances. The following olii)- 



PET BIRDS, ANIMALS, ETC- 



Mocking Birds must be kept warm. 



Canaries set two weeks, or a day less. 



Avoid draughts on cages if you would 

 avoid colds. 



Young Cuban Parrots, warranted to 

 make talkers, can be bought for $6 each. 



A queer, whisper-like cough in a bird, 

 should be looked upon as alarming; it may 

 lead to asthma and death. The best 

 remedy is a little Cayenne pepper sprinkled 

 over the food. 



The tenacity of pussy's life is prover- 

 bial; she has, "niue lives." as the saying 

 goes. A western editor whose office cat 

 was accidentally killed by a pi-inting press, 

 announced the circumstance with a strik- 

 ing head-Hue, as follows: " dreadful acci- 

 dent 1 NINE I.IVES lost! '' 



Breeding Canaries, Hatching reciuiies 

 care, for not all birds will mate. An old 

 cock and a .young hen or vice versa should 

 go together; so too, those with well-con- 

 trasted colors, — for instance, a Jonque 

 cock should have a mealy heu, and a green 

 bird a yellow mate, or a clear yellow cock 

 be mated with a variegated greeu aud 

 white hen; two crested birds must never 

 be put together, or the progeu.y will be 

 baldheaded. Keep the birds to be mated 

 in separate cages until they attract each 

 other and show a loving mood, when they 

 should, after a da,v or so, be put into a 

 perfectly clean breeding-cage. For the nest, provide 

 a nest-bag and sc^me moss, cow hair and cotton 

 wool— not too much uf the latter, lest the birds get 

 their claws entangled in it. After this, no more 

 needs to be done besides the ordinary care in fee<l- 

 ing, keeping clean aud so on, but to wait for results. 



Monkeys, It is hard to account for the pre.iudice 

 against monkeys as pets, fvv they are amusing, in- 

 telligent and not hard t.o care for in cages. The,v 

 learn to eat and driuk almost everything that is 

 used by man. aud show a great fondness for sweet 

 things, and, it must be added, for alcoholic liquors. 

 As to kiuds, (rntden Ihiys lately had the following 

 to Sii.v: There are about four kinds of ])et monkeys 

 kept for sale. The ring-tail, from .\frica, is so 

 called because it s\\iiigs and heljts itself to climb 

 with its tail. AU others i-Iimb with their hands 

 only. The pig-tail monkey comes from the Isthmus 

 of Panama aud is about the same size as tlie ring- 

 tail. His tail is stubby aud short, like that of a pig. 

 If not considered a handsome monkey, he is ver.v 

 popular. The .Java monkey has along tail, but it 

 seems to be more for ornament than use. All of 

 these monkeys are worth from twenty to thii-Iy dol- 

 lars each, according to size. The little maniioset. a 

 native of Brazil, is the most diminutive of known 

 monkeys. In fact, he is too small to he very healthy- 

 in our harsh climate. They can he readily pnr 

 chased for ten dollars each. Placed in company 

 with a larger monkey, they seem to tlii-ive better. 

 The bigger one takes gi'eat care of the smaller 

 one. shielding him, as far as practicable, from the 

 cold, and exerting himself to keep him clean. Some 

 times, indeed, he kills him with kindness. 



