136 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



September, 



About the Bell-flowers or Cam- 

 panulas. 



Scattered over a large area of the earth's 

 surface, but chiefly throughout Europe and 

 Asia, are to be found the great number of some 

 'JHO distinct species of the Bell-flowers. These 

 vary in size from the small and delicate Amer- 

 ican and Alpine kinds not over five inches high 

 to the tall-growing three to six-footers, that in- 

 clude at least one of our own species and a num- 

 l)er of foreigners. Among the latter is the fine 

 subject of our engraving, known as the Climb- 

 ing Bell-flower, ('tiinpanvhi niiitHK-tiliiidcs. 



Included hi the many luiown Bell-worts 

 are enough species possessing real merit as 

 ornamental flowering plants to render the 

 family a very important one to the gar- 

 dener. For variety of forms and fine shades 

 of color, especially blues, it woidd be hard 

 to find their e(]ual in any other genus. As 

 a class they are in the main so hardy and 

 easily grown as to permit of their culture 

 by almost every one, even by those ama- 

 teurs who claim to have " ncjt much luck 

 at fine gardening." Take the well-known 

 Cant<>rbury-l)ell, ''. iiinli((, and the Peach- 

 leaved Harebell, ('. persicifuliii, they are so 

 easily raised, hence so common that the 

 person must be ignorant indeed of garden 

 plants who is not familiar with them. 



The Canterbury-bell referred to is one of 

 the few species to be met that is biennial 

 in nature— not enduring beyond the second 

 year. The plants when in bloom ai-e very 

 ornamental. They are raised by sowing the 

 seed in the spring or in midsunnner. Plants 

 from the early sowings usually bloom 'the 

 same year ; the others not until the second 

 year. Sometimes these plants increase by 

 .self-sowing, being quite free-seeders. 



There are also some annual Campanulas, 

 described in the seed catalogues, but the great 

 bulk as to numlwrs of this family have the good 

 quality of being hardy perennials. It is on 

 this account in part that we take particular 

 pleasure in referring to the family here, for 

 we know that with being permanent and beauti- 

 ful plants, when once set out, they are in every 

 case and under merely coiumon culture quite 

 certain of giving satisfaction. 



Some of the best Campanulas of the perennial 

 class, and of which plants can be obtained from 

 American nurserymen, are the following: 

 Peach-leaved Campanula, C. pemicifdliii, in 

 several varieties, including blue and whit« 

 flowers, both single and double; Nettle-leaved 

 Campanula, C. urlicifolid, a handsome mid- 

 sunnner bloomer in two colors of flowers, blue 

 and white; Carpathian Harebell, C. Carpaticn, 

 of dwarf growth, in several colors; Common 

 Harebell, C. nitutiilifiili(i,a native species with 

 deep blue flowers iu summer [The botanical 

 name would indicate that the leaves are round- 

 such is rarely if ever the case]; Bearded Hare- 

 Ijell, C. hiii-hnUi, lovely sky-blue flowers, fine for 

 rock-work; C. (jninilis, a distinct and beauti- 

 ful sort with blue salver-shaped flowers ; Broad- 

 leaved Bell-flower, r.latifnUit, purplish blue, 

 large leaves; Large Bell-flower, C. marranthii. 

 Noble Bell-flower, C. nuhilix, with very large 

 flowers in two colors, creamy- white and punJe ; 

 Steeple Bell-flower, C. pijramMitlis; Climbing 

 Bell-flower (See engi-aving), C. rapunculoides; 

 Turban Bell-flower, C. Inrhiiidtn, and yet quite 

 a mmiber of others. 



Of the last uamed, the Turl>an Bell-flower, 

 one of the latest with which we have gained 

 an acquaintance, is a compact growing sjjecies, 

 having most lovely flowers fully 1 1-2 inches 

 across, of a magnificent shade of blue. This 

 siJecies propagates quite readily from seed, and 

 the same may also be said of many other kinds. 



To those of our readers who may desire to 

 buy established plants the catalogues of the 

 B. A. Eliott Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Woolson & 

 Co. , Passaic, N. J. ; EUwanger & Barry, of 

 Rochester, N. Y. , and some others, would afford 

 good selections. The prices are moderate. 

 Plants might be set out early in October. 



A Pacific Coast Letter- 



Fi'om way-off Washington Territory (Clarke 

 Co.) our subsci-iber, Mrs. Fannie E. Briggs, 

 sends to this paper the following welcome note : 



Our climate, much like that of England, is 

 moist, and temperate both in heat and cold. 

 Some winters the mercury falls to zero, but 

 last winter the coldest' was 10° above. The 

 highest 1 have noted in summer is 10.5°, and 

 that very rare. 



Daisies bloom here nearly all the year. Plants 

 set three inches apart in spring by fall form a 

 solid mat. Lilies do exceptionably well. A 



specimen o f 

 mine set 

 three years 

 ago has 11 

 strong bloom 

 stems. An 

 Umbellife- 

 um now has 

 7.5 buds. Our 

 native Lily, 

 L. Colunihi- 

 (t n n tn has 

 smal 1 but 

 very showy 

 flowers. I n 

 cultivation it 

 grows 5 or 

 feet high, and 

 has 20 o !■ 

 more flowers. 



As flower- 

 lovers are 

 opening their 

 eyes to the 

 beauty of 

 native plants 

 I want to 

 urge the 

 claims of the 

 Clustered 

 Solomon's 

 Seal, Conrul- 

 laria nu-onnsn. Of fine habit,and with feathery 

 racemes of creamy white, it unites beauty, 

 delicacy and fragrance. 



By the way, is it generally known that the 

 name " Solomon's Seal" refers to the scars or 

 seals left upon the creeping roots of that plant 

 by successive years' growth. One of these plants 

 which I have protected from passing feet had 

 ten strong stems of bloom. 



CLIMBING BELL-FLOWER— CamjM- 

 nula rapunculoides. 



mainly, although it also comes from seed; 

 the latter from seed, and in rare cases by divis- 

 ion. The shrubby class are the most robust, 

 hence the most useful for those persons who do 

 not have a greenhouse ; but where one of these 

 is possessed, the herbaceous class would be 

 found the most desirable. 



It is about a shrubby Calceolaria that Mi's 

 W. Tuttle, of CaiToU Co., N. H., a subscriber 

 to the Frvil Iiivi>nh'r, wrote to Mr. Purdy. 

 Her letter having been tui'ned over to us, we 

 print it with the greatest of pleasure, as we 

 always shall be glad to do all such commu- 

 nications from our newly acquired readers: 

 " I have had good success with this flower. 

 The blooms are maroon and yellow in color 

 and as large as a nickel. My plant is 33 

 inches high, it being from a sUp taken last 

 September. It had eleven large bunches 

 of bloom on It at one time, and altogether 

 a season of ten weeks up to time of writing, 

 and has two pretty bunches now. 



" The dirt used was garden loam and fine 

 bai'u-yard manure, sifted through a coal 

 sieve, with a little leaf mold and sand 

 mixed with it. The plant does not require 

 much sun, and wants to be kept cool. Good 

 drainage is essential to beautiful plants. 



" As I have saved some seeds, will some 

 one that has raised them let me know if 

 they wiU come true ? " [Raised from a 

 single plant with no chance for cross fertili- 

 zation they should come true. We would 

 not sow before about February next. — 

 Eds, Popular Gardening.] 



The Moccasin or Carpet-bag 

 Flowers. 



These are also widely known by the botanical 

 name Calceolaria. There are two species in 

 ordinary cultivation, the shrubby and the 

 herbaceous. The former is propagated by slips 



High Quality Costs Something. 



If people who raise fruits, vegetables, or 

 even flowers, could onlj' secure good ci'ops 

 of the finest and comparatively delicate 

 kinds under the neglect that poor weedy 

 sorts can stand, and even bear crops of 

 their kind under, matters might be differ- 

 ent. But such things do not happen as 

 . a rule. To have of the best kinds and 

 qualities implies the bestowing of the best 

 culture and the best methods of treatment 

 to the choice trees or plants that beai- such. 

 Mr. Josiah Hoopes, a very careful culti- 

 vator and observer, makes in the New York 

 Tribune some practical points in this re- 

 spect concerning certain favorite Pears, 

 which we ai'e glad to present here : 



The finest Pear known, whether for ex- 

 treme richness, delicious flavor, buttery 

 texture, or an abundance of .iuice, is un- 

 doubtedly the old White Doj'eune, or Butter 

 Peai'. But we too rarely find a good speci- 

 men of this grand old fruit in the present 

 day. We can hazai'd a pretty sure guess as 

 to the cause, namely, Fungi, and although 

 few cultivators have overcome the malady, 

 one enthusiastic Pear-grower, by digging in 

 a heavy coat of unleached wood ashes, coin- 

 l)letely renovated an old tree of this variety, 

 and swept the prizes wherever he exhibited 

 his fruit taken from the subject. 



Specimens of the old White Doyenne yet 



grown in such localities e.xhibit the same 



wax-like skin of a bright golden hue, with 



the brilliant carmine cheek, so famihar of 



old. This fine Pear has not; "run out; " no 



variety of fi-uit will. 



The Peai' disease known as "cracking " in the 

 fruit, although beyond a doubt attributable to 

 the same common enemy as the "spot'' on the 

 skin of certain pears, is of a more serious char- 

 acter. In regard to this spotting it is on the 

 increase in some sections, destroyingthe useful- 

 ness of many of our best varieties. For in- 

 stance, Beurre Clairgeau is now discai'ded in 

 some places on this account alone. 



It is unquestionable, however, that unleached 

 wood ashes have a remarkably beneficial effect 

 on the complaint referred to. The health and 

 consequent gi'owth of the tree is greatly bene- 

 fited by the application, and it must exert a 

 partial influence on the fruit. 



