A Descent into Particulars 79 



deep crimson. The rose-bug infests the sumach and some- 

 times strips the bloom to the naked stems. Care should be 

 taken lest it spread from the root. 



The tall cosmos makes a beautiful background for colored 

 flowers and, though it is so tardy in coming into bloom that it 

 seldom flowers in the North before the frosts come, its fluffy 

 green fur is lovely to look upon if one can spare the room to 

 grow it. A single plant often grows six to eight feet high and 

 three feet in diameter. I have seen the tall cosmos lifted, 

 when in full bloom, just before frost, and planted in tubs for 

 house use. If transplanted carefully, it continues to bloom 

 until Christmas, a truly wonderful sight. 



I find the maidenhair tree (Salisburia adiantifolia, also 

 sold as Ginkgo biloba) to be entirely hardy. It is from China 

 and has interesting foliage that resembles the leaves of maid- 

 enhair fern, triangular and notched at the outer margin. The 

 fruit is a drupe, and both the fleshy part and the nut are eaten 

 in China. As the male and female flowers grow on separate 

 trees, the Chinese plant the two close together so that they are 

 practically one tree, producing male and female flowers. My 

 specimen remains a low shrub, though in some portions of the 

 United States it grows to the size of a large tree. 



Brilliant autumn effects, that brighten a garden after a 

 sharp frost has killed the flowers, are secured through the use 

 of certain perennials and shrubs. Among the former I note 

 that the foliage of meadow-rue turns a deep yellow; that of the 

 Aster Novi-Belgii, which bears a heavy terminal cluster of 

 rosy lilac flowers with bronze yellow centers, turns a rich pur- 

 plish rose. Spirea tomentosa becomes orange, orange red and 

 bronze; Kochia scoparia, a brilliant red; sundrops (CEnothera 

 fruiticosa, var. splendens) also become a velvety red, as does 

 Lythrum salicaria. 



Among shrubs that turn a fine color are Spirea prunifolia, 



