196 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 429. 



and consequent crowding. If the dwarf sorts are planted in 

 drills a plant once in four to eight inches, or two once in 

 about sixteen inches, are enough, and more than three to five 

 plants should never be left in a hill. It is well to sow somewhat 

 thicker than this and thin out as needed when the plants have 

 formed the first true leaves. 



The tall-growing varieties need some support, and we 

 have found that they "take to" an inclined much better than 

 to a vertical pole, hence our plan is as follows : We plant the 

 seed in hills twenty to thirty inches apart in rows running 

 north and south, and drive a six to eight foot pole slanting at 

 an angle of about twenty-three degrees to the north ; on the 

 south side of each hill we saw off the tops to a line and con- 

 nect them with cords. The plants will climb these poles much 

 better than if vertical, and the pods hanging free are more 

 easily gathered, while the vines festooned over the cords at 

 the top are very beautiful. As soon as the plants are well up 

 all necessary thinning, and in case of the tall varieties poling, 

 should be done, and the ground be deeply and thoroughly 

 cultivated ; after which care should be taken not to compact 

 it by tramping any more than absolutely necessary. In clean 

 ground most of the weeds will have been started and killed by 

 the early cultivation, but if any appear they should be destroyed 

 while small by raking or hoeing. ,„.„ ,„ „, 



Detroit, Mich. ' K S Will W. Tracy. 



Flowers of the Season. 



IT might be added to the recent note on Tulipa sylvestris 

 that this is an excellent species to naturalize in the grass or 

 wild places, owing not only to its vigor, but also to its peculiar 

 root-action, which conducts the young bulbs away from the 

 flowering place of the parent. Owing to this habit this Tulip 

 spreads satisfactorily and continues in vigorous condition 

 since it occupies new ground. Of course, it is necessary to 

 plant in good open soil. Good forms of T. sylvestris are of a 

 rich deep yellow, very fragrant and of a charming habit, the 

 stems being slightly pendulous at first and only carrying the 

 flower perfectly upright as it matures. T. sylvestris seems to 

 be widely distributed, and it varies very much in size, though 

 the smaller varieties may enlarge under good treatment. The 

 best form in my garden is an Italian one from Dammann. 

 The flowers are not much pointed and have green markings 

 on the outer petals ; they are of large size, quite in contrast 

 with some recently collected ones which are not much larger 

 than a Snowdrop. 



Thanks to Holland, one can buy a beautiful display of color 

 for very little money now, and the mixed Tulips ot the cata- 

 logues should satisfy any owner of a garden not given to fads. 

 However, a nice clump of some special variety or species is 

 always satisfactory. If only one were to be chosen I would pre- 

 fer Tulipa Greigi, which is the most brilliantincoloring.of fine 

 form, and has handsomely variegated leaves. These are now 

 becoming reasonable in price. Gesner Tulips pale before 

 these, but are very satisfactory. I planted over my Tulips last 

 tall some young plants of Arabis alpina, which covered up the 

 bare earth, and the combination of the small white flowers 

 under the Tulips was rather effective. 



The Poppies have commenced to flower this week, led by 

 Papaver alpinum, which seems less generally grown than P. 

 nudicaule (the Iceland Poppy), one of its near relatives. The 

 type has finely divided glaucous leaves, but does not differ in 

 form of flower. There are yellow, white and red varieties, and 

 some specially dainty ones which show just a suffusion of 

 coloring in the white. These plants are perfectly hardy if 

 their crowns are kept above the wet ground. It is better to 

 sow seeds each spring. Seeds sown now will produce good 

 flowering plants in late summer, and a majority of them will 

 winter over safely the first year, at least, and be a delight at 

 this time. The seedlings are not at all difficult to transplant if 

 their long roots are borne in mind. 



This is also the time of the Primroses, of which one never 

 has too many. The modern strains of hybrid Primroses, of 

 which Dean's is the best, are perfectly hardy and endure our 

 warm summers, yet such is the uncertainty of the climate that 

 last winter left me scarcely a plant alive. However, this may 

 not happen again in another decade, and a new stock is easily 

 grown from seed. This is a good time to start them, when 

 their beauty is most persuasive. Primula cortusoides has win- 

 tered perfectly, the creeping rhizomes being frost-proof and 

 the plants deciduous. They are graceful in flowering habit, 

 but their reddish purple color is not pleasing. 



Every one knows the big Crown Imperials, but I fear few 

 know the beauty of the dwarf Fntillaries, many of which are 

 now in flower. There is an endless variety of these plants, 

 but one should commence with F. Meleagris, or Snake's-head 



Fritillary, which has large pendulous flowers, white or brown 

 or reddish, the latter curiously checkered. The Dog-tooth 

 Violet, too, is generally known, though its beauty is not fully 

 appreciated. The California forms are, perhaps, not more 

 beautiful than those of the east, but they differ in effect and 

 are well worth attention. They do well with me in a moist 

 border in a very stiff soil. There has been a small procession 

 of rhizomatous Irises in flower, and their numbers are daily 

 increasing. They seem to come in about the following order : 

 I. rubro-marginata, very dwarf ; I. Chama?iris, yellow ; I.Olbi- 

 ensis, dark purple; I. lutescens, light lemon; I. Statellae, 

 creamy white ; I. pumila, purple, and variety alba. 



These flowers are all now in bloom, and they are not rare, 

 expensive or difficult to secure. 

 Elizabeth, N.J. J. N - Gerard. 



Notes from Baden-Baden. 



T^RITILLARIA LATIFOL1A, var. nobilis, is a dwarf plant 

 *- only three to five inches high, but the deep vinous-red 

 bells are as big as a small hen's egg, and these enlarge under 

 cultivation. A very pretty species is F. alpina ; its small widen- 

 ing bells are of a chocolate color, having a bright deep yellow 

 ring, making it very handsome. 



Muscari azureum Freynianumisthelargestform of azureum. 

 It is very early and flowers here early in March, when its tur- 

 quoise-blue spikelets make it very showy. M. elegans, newly 

 introduced, has comparatively narrow and rather long spikes 

 in shades ot bright blue, with a tinge of violet. M. Szovitsi- 

 anum subcceruleum is very striking, the pale sky-blue spikes 

 giving it particular beauty. M. polyanthum, which I have 

 introduced from Asia Minor, is somewhat late, but is, perhaps, 

 the most showy of all. From four to six spikes come from one 

 bulb, and these are very large, of a bright, deep and pure blue 

 which at once attracts attention. 



Iris Assyriaca is new and a showy species. It is a Juno of 

 the Caucasica stamp, with ample foliage, and the flowers, of a 

 milky white, or sometimes with a shade of blue, are produced 

 in numbers all along the stem. From five to seven are open 

 at once, and they last for three weeks. 



Baden-Baden. Max Lcichtllll. 



Canna Notes. 

 '"TO thoroughly prove the capabilities of a Canna the neces- 

 -'- sary conditions must be provided. These are good soil, 

 with cow-manure added, an abundance of water and plenty of 

 space. Two wheelbarrow-loads of cow-manure are often 

 allowed for a single bulb. One load should be spread on the 

 top of the bed and the soil forked out, and another dumped in 

 the excavation. The well-mixed soil should then be thrown 

 back and the bed neatly finished for low-growing marginal 

 plants. A pail of water in the morning and liberal spraying 

 with the hose at night is advisable. 



The season of 1895 added two more Cannas to our tested 

 list. Antoine Chantin (Farquhar) proved highly satisfactory. 

 Its habit is graceful, with abundant foliage of a light but vivid 

 shade of green, which contrasts charmingly with the flowers. 

 I know of no other Canna which produces so many blossoms 

 to a flower-stalk. I have counted from six to ten lateral clus- 

 ters on a single stalk, seven or eight of them in bloom at one 

 time. The color is pleasing and true to tiie description given — 

 cherry-salmon. 



Geoffrey St. Hilaire was less satisfactory. It is a good strong 

 grower, but stiif in outline, and the leaves are not so purple or 

 chocolate-colored as we are led to suppose. The flowers are 

 said to be deep orange or capucine-red. The shade of red is 

 far from agreeable and out of all harmony with the foliage. 

 Dark-leaved Cannas should never be planted near a highway 

 if the hose is to be used, as dust from every passing vehicle 

 settles and sticks remorselessly upon the wet leaves. 



Pittsford Mills, Vt. G. A. Woolson. 



The Lily Garden. 



THE Lily borders on my ground are now offering the best 

 evidence that the failures so often noted are caused by 

 carelessness or by want of knowledge of the requirements of 

 these plants. For many years I have advocated the practice 

 of mulching Lilies deep enough to keep the frost entirely 

 away from their bulbs, since careful experiments have made 

 it evident to me that their hardiness is generally overesti- 

 mated. It is frost, as I believe, which causes entire failure 

 of many of the more beautiful sorts and seriously injures the 

 most hardy ones. 



In my experiments I have found it almost impossible to 

 decide as to the method of planting which affords the greatest 



