i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



1 1 



The Home grouiuls are an educator, as is 

 every well kept park or grouufl in the 

 country. Effects that are seen are more 

 eloquent than any description of them. One 

 readily notices that the Ilomehasinfluenced 

 the planting of dwelling grounds, both in 

 city and country. 



Country Lawns and Trees. 



E. r. POWELL, ONEIDA CO., N. Y. 



Lawns are best made by folio wing nature's 

 suggestions. If she lias made a swnle so be 

 it. If she has ndlcil up a ninundlet it alone. 

 We have only to remove roughness and 

 inequalities. On the contrary, many people 

 have no idea of a lawn except a graded and 

 leveled city yard, which is only an apology 

 for a lawn. 



I am compelled daily to drive by two hill- 

 side " lawns." In each case by great expense 

 a plot of ground was leveled and smoothed. 

 This necessitated terracing, .so nature's fine 

 rolls were cut and sliced. The flat plot 

 was seeded and rolled, .and then a lawn mow- 

 er Wius set to work with a fellow behind it— 

 and the people had their "lawns." The 

 result is that the rest of a four acre lot is 

 left neglected, while all tlie shearing and 

 fussing is done on the half acre "lawn." 

 Nature's plan is to make the whole four acres 

 neat, tidy, and free from gullies and ridges 

 a7\d rovighness. Run a drive about it; .at all 

 natural pi>ints let the drive come upon a 

 grotip of shrubbery, a berry garden, an 

 arbor or a shaded scat. Now the lawn would 

 cover the whole lot, and it all "a pleasure 

 would be." City yards are wholly out of 

 place in the country. 



Among my hundreds of trees and shrubs, 

 not one variety equals the Norway Maple 

 for fine color, and none surpass it in shade. 

 It is no longer a costly tree, an<l you can 

 plant nursery trees seven or eight feet high; 

 protect them, and in Ave years have as large 

 trees as you get of Sugar Maple in ten. 



Our Oaks are neglected as .street trees. 

 Though they are among the very best, es- 

 pecially the scarlet and red Oak. They 

 grow rapidly, are entirely healthy and hardy, 

 and give excellent shade. The Sugar Maple 

 is not our best street tree, as you will not find 

 one perfectly round, healthy tree in ten. 

 The Elm is far preferable. But why will 

 Americans neglect the magnificent Linden. 

 Probably because it has the popular nick- 

 name of Basswood, and is despised as such. 

 It is our royal tree, a noble, beautiful affair 

 in foliage and in growth. 



For lawn planting we can afford to be 

 Anglomaniacs in the love of the Beech. The 

 English appreciate this delicious tree, we do 

 not. Buffalo is theonlycity Iknowof where 

 it is in such use as it deserves as a park tree. 

 The trouble is, an idiot cannot be trusted 

 near it lest he trim it up. It must be let 

 alone to grow low branched. A grove of 

 Beech is the thing if you have room for it. 

 Another superb lawn tree is the Royal Oak; 

 the Magnolia acuminata is another. 



If you have occasion to plant an avenue 

 you will find nothing better than the Buf- 

 fum Pear. It grows erect like a Lombardy 

 Poplar. In autumn it is the most glorious 

 in coloring of all trees. The fruit is also 

 fine. When lawns are very large, I prefer 

 by all means to plant fruit trees with the 

 rest, especially a tew wide-spreading Apples. 

 There is no tree so home-like and welcom- 

 ing as the Apple. I like a few that grow 

 on a slant, so that the boys and girls can 

 climb up into the limbs and make .seats. 



The erect Arbor Vita; is a scarce tree 

 everywhere, but it is invaluable as an erect 

 growing sort among spreading and round 

 headed trees. This multiplicity of form on 

 the lawn is very desirable. The Erecta 

 Arbor Vit.-e is far better than the erect .lun- 

 iper, because hardier. It can be obtained 



of nurserymen at reasonable rates. The 

 charming effect produced by it is seen near 

 New York in the lower ba.sin of the Hudson, 

 where it is a native. 



The Cut-Icaved Weeping Birch is good for 

 all locations. It is not a mere abnormal 

 sprawler like some of the weepers, but a 

 genuine tree with pendent limbs. If you 

 give it room it will grow to be sixty feet 

 high, and in every way a glorious sight; 

 or if crowded it will adapt itself to a small 

 lawn, and yet be exquisitely graceful. But 

 what can be more unpleasant than to see 

 two fancy lawn trees set near together in a 

 small yard. Pray use the good sense to 

 plant a variety and one of a kind. Small 

 lawns are almost invariably overcrowded. 



-^»' 



A CURIOUSLY TRAINED ASH TREE. 



One well-grown tree in a grass plot is far 

 better than a half dozen crowded. The 

 same is true of too much shrubbery. 



A Curiously Trained Ash Tree. 



The illustration of a remarkable Ash tree 

 of the common species, Fiaxitms excelsior 

 shown annexed, is not presented so much to 

 encourage similar work as it is to give an 

 idea of the tractablenessof treesin the hands 

 of skillful gardeners. This tree is at present 

 in the Garden of Acclimation in Paris, 

 France, and represents a degree of skill in 

 bringing about the striking form shown, 

 perhaps never before excelled. Our engrav- 

 ing is a faithful delineation taken directly 

 from a photograph of the tree. 



We speak of the subject of our sketch as 

 a tree, when in reality it is the outcome of 

 five trees. By examining the part nearest 

 the groimd, it may be observed that itorigin- 

 ally consisted of five separate trunks grafted 

 together, which were successfully divided 

 and grown together again, producing the 

 curious loops and forms illustrated. 



This and other styles of extreme training 

 have in the past been quite extensively fol- 

 lowed in nearly all the countries of Europe. 

 At Haddon Hall, England, there are two 

 quite celebrated Boxwood trees, one rej)re- 

 senting a ship, and the other a peacock of 

 heroic size. At Chatsworth, near by, f here 

 are many curious shapes to be found. At 

 Versailles, at Fontainebleau, atthe Imperial 

 Gardens in Austria and in Germany, this 

 same style is to be found. 



Such products are in the main to be looked 

 upon as relics of the gardener's art in former 



ages, as similar work is seldom carried out 

 at the present time. For this we may well 

 rejoice, especially as we contemplate that 

 the present school of gardening courts 

 nature and natural modes of growth rather 

 than artificial ones, and with results the 

 more satisfactory for that. 



Preparingr Mareohal Niel Roses for 

 Pot Culture. 



C. E. 0.iINES, MUNROE, CO., S. Y. 



Whatever may be the defects in the con- 

 stitution of this popular variety, it is one of 

 the most valuable that can be grown for 

 supplying flowers early in tbe summer. For 

 this purpose the plants must be well and 

 strongly grown, and thoroughly ripened 

 early in autumn. Immature wood will not 

 produce good blooms early in the year, as the 

 eyes from which they should issue very 

 frequently result in nothing but growth. 



For propagation, shoots that are half 

 ripened are the best, and these may be had 

 in quantity, near the extremity of shoots 

 that have scarcely yet ceased to grow. The 

 cuttings only need two joints, one to be 

 placed in the soil, and the other to be left 

 just above it. They may be inserted in T or 

 S-inch pots, well draine<l, moderately thick 

 together, in sand, which I think is better than 

 a mixture of soil and sand. After in.sertion 

 they should be well watered and covered 

 with a bellglass, then placed in a tempera- 

 ture of I!.') . If the pots can be jihinged in a 

 warm bed so much the better. In three 

 weeks the young plants will be ready for 

 potting singly into .3,'.j-inch or4-inch pots. 

 This must be done carefully in equal parts, 

 loam and leaf mould with a little sand. 



When the Roses are about one foot high it 

 will be necessary to shift them into fi-inch 

 pots, and supply each plant with an upright 

 stake. One-third instead of one-half leaf 

 mold only, should be used this time, and 

 one-seventh of manure may be added. By 

 the time they have filled these pots with 

 roots, they will be about three feet in length. 

 From these they should be transferred into 

 10-inch, using the same .soil as before, except 

 in adding one 6-inch potfuU of soot, and the 

 same quantity of bone meal to each barrow- 

 ful of the soil needed. 



When established in these pots, they must 

 be carefully and gradually hardened to cool 

 treatment, for any check will be injurious. 

 Freiiuently, at this stage, strong shoots will 

 issiie from the base, which should be en- 

 couraged, for shoots of this nature will soon 

 outrival the others, and often travel a length 

 of 'M to 3.i feet before the end of the season. 

 These are the shoots that result in excellent 

 plants for forcing, and will mature suflS- 

 ciently to flower satisfactorily, if trained 

 close under the roof of a light and airy house. 

 During the time these shoots are in rapid 

 growth, weak stimulants may be given, or 

 better and safer still, a little artificial 

 manure applied to the surface at intervals 

 of about three weeks. 



To insure their starting well and freely, 

 when forced they should be taken outside in 

 October, and tied to a wall or fence to pre- 

 vent their being broken. If practicable, 

 plunge the pots, for while it is beneficial to 

 subject the shoots to a few good early frosts, 

 there is no advantage gained in allowing the 

 soil in the pots to become frozen. This is 

 an easy and certain method of inducing the 

 plants to rest completely for a time. 



Those who have not practised this method 

 of bringing a rest upon the plants, will be 

 surprised at how much easier forcing opera- 

 tions are rendered afterwards. 



84!). Manuring Raspberries. There is essen- 

 tiitll.v no ffreat (iirterence Ix'twecn spring iiiui 

 full ^iDinuriii^. It depends (ni how you tniin 

 and cultivate thcra. Apply the miinure when it 

 is most convenient for you. I prefer the full.— 1*. 



