258 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 435. 



called Rosa grandiflora, the only apparent difference being 

 the larger size of the flowers borne by the latter. 



After these early Roses, the better-known Japanese Rosa 

 rugosa appears, the white form of which is excellent. It has 

 the advantage of being a constant bloomer, and, near the sea, 

 it is covered in autumn with large, showy hips. Also from 

 Japan is the large-growing Rosa multiflora, its innumerable 

 tiny white flowers greatly resembling the bloom of the Black- 

 berry. It is equally valuable grown as a large bush or as a 

 climber. Another pretty plant that can be treated in the same 

 way is the Field Rose, Rosa repens, with its modest white 

 flowers and delicate foliage. 



Among the more striking Roses the Copper Austrian Brier, 

 Rosa lutea punicea, easily heads the list, with petals scarlet 

 above and yellow beneath, while Rosa rubrifolia is conspicu- 

 ous on account of the deep purple color of its foliage. If a 

 suitable place can be found for Rosa Wichuraiana to grow in 

 it will certainly be of great value, with its fine glossy foliage 

 and small white flowers. At Dosoris it has been grown suc- 

 cessfully as a climber, but treated in this way here its long 

 shoots were killed during the past winter, although other 

 plants allowed to creep on the ground were uninjured. We 

 have but one native climbing Rose hardy in the north, Rosa 

 setigera, but it is one of great beauty, blooming when most 

 other Roses are past. Grown on a trellis, or allowed to hang 

 over a steep bank, it forms a handsome object with its large 

 pink flowers. Rosa lucida and Rosa Carolina, our native 

 upland and lowland Roses, are both well worth growing, 

 especially the former, which makes a large, strong bush, with 

 fine glossy foliage. Last, but not least, is the well-known 

 Sweetbrier, Rosa rubiginosa, which has made itself so much 

 at home in our fields and pastures as to be almost a native, 

 and whose delightful odor permeates the whole garden. Last 

 year a set of hybrids from this Rose was sent from England 

 that promise to be of great value. Although a large bush of 

 the common Sweetbrier was badly injured by the unusually 

 severe winter, these small plants are all in good condition and 

 are now coming into bloom. They fully equal the description 

 accompanying them. They have all retained the delightful 

 Brier odor and are of a great variety of color. The best one I 

 have is the variety called Lord Penzance, resembling some- 

 what the Copper Austrian Brier, in paler tones, with the same 

 combination of yellow and deep red. Lady Penzance is a very 

 light pink, delicately shaded with yellow. Meg Merrilles is a 

 deep crimson, while Lucy Ashton is almost white. If these 

 Roses prove to be as vigorous in growth and as free bloomers 

 as the common type they will be a most welcome and valuable 

 addition to our gardens. 



Of course, a list of this character could be almost indefi- 

 nitely extended, but those I have mentioned will make a col- 

 lection of considerable variety, and include, I believe, the 

 most distinctive forms. All of these are hardy at Boston, 

 and are not particular about soil or treatment, and, with me at 

 least, have few enemies of any importance. If it is not con- 

 sidered desirable to grow them by themselves, they make 

 excellent subjects for the general shrubbery. A little farther 

 south the list could be greatly extended, especially by the addi- 

 tion of Rosa moschata nivea. This beautiful Rose, after pass- 

 ing through two winters with but slight injury, was killed to 

 the ground this year. It is strong-growing, throwing out arch- 

 ing stems from six to eight feet long, covered with white 

 flowers of great beauty. 



There have been many hybrids formed lately from these 

 Roses, one well-known one, the Dawson Rose, having small 

 semidouble pink flowers and retaining the habit and hardi- 

 ness of its parent, Rosa multiflora. A pink form of R. 

 Wichuraiana has, I believe, been created, and undoubtedly 

 many more will follow. 



As an edging for the larger-growing Roses, the small Fairy 

 Roses, Rosa polyantha, can be used. Unfortunately, these 

 Roses are not very hardy, but they are so easily grown from 

 cuttings that they should be more generally planted. 



Wellesley, Mass. H. S. H. 



Climbers and other Plants in Northampton. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — A Wistaria Chinensis sixty-five feet high and covering 

 a width of thirty-five feet, is not often met with in this coun- 

 try, but a plant of the above dimensions is now growing on a 

 southern exposure against the main building of the State Luna- 

 tic Asylum, located at Northampton, Massachusetts. The 

 stem at eighteen inches from the ground is three feet in cir- 

 cumference, and Mr. J. Thornley, the head gardener, informed 

 me that the vine was planted there twenty-seven years ago, 



and that a year ago more than one-half was cut away to make 

 room for needed improvements to the building. It is very 

 vigorous and looks as though it would, if allowed, soon cover 

 the whole building. It is a magnificent sight when in full 

 bloom, but this year, owing to the unusual winter, it has not 

 produced half the usual number of blossoms. 



On an eastern aspect of the same building is a fine specimen 

 of the climbing Hydrangea, Schizophragma hydrangeoides, 

 which occupies a space forty-five feet high by about thirty wide. 

 It is now in full bloom, and a magnificent sight with its large 

 corymbs of Hydrangea-like blossoms against the dark, shin- 

 ing green leaves. For a large building of brick or stone this 

 climber, in my opinion, is without a peer. It requires no 

 attention in the matter of pruning or training, as it clings to 

 the walls by its aerial roots, and is perfectly hardy. It is a 

 native of Japan, and is easily propagated by cuttings orseeds. 

 This vine was planted about thirteen years ago, but must soon 

 be cut away for an extension to be made to the building. 



The late Dr. Pliny Earle, who presided over this institution 

 for many years, was a great lover of trees, shrubs and natural 

 scenery, and many fine specimens of trees may be seen in the 

 grounds. Among some I noticed particularly was a good 

 specimen of the English Oak, Ouercus Robur, also a fine Eng- 

 lish Ash. Near one corner of the building was a Magnolia 

 acuminata thirty-five feet in height and a perfect specimen. 

 Some fine groups of Exochorda grandiflora, Cercis Canadensis, 

 Amelanchiers and many other spring-blooming shrubs are to 

 be found here. Farther away from the building are tracts of 

 woods which have received intelligent care. The greenhouses 

 belonging to the institution contain a useful collection of 

 foliage and flowering plants, the Begonias being exceptionally 

 well grown and the Roses remarkably vigorous. 



Botanic Garden, Northampton, Mass. Edward J. Canning. 



Pyrus coronaria. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The native Crab Apple has rarely appeared so beauti- 

 ful at the time of flowering as in the spring just past. As was 

 remarked in Garden and Forest, May 27th, the flowers do 

 not appear till the leaves are partly grown, so that they are 

 somewhat hidden by the young foliage. This is less noticeable 

 here than in the east, for the interval between the opening of 

 the leaf-buds and flower-buds is shorter. But this year the 

 season was peculiar ; their development was practically syn- 

 chronous, and the leaves were so small when the flowers were 

 fully expanded as to be obscured or almost hidden, enough of 

 the green color coming into sight to set off the pink and white 

 of the buds and flowers and make a beautiful combination. 

 The flowers were uncommonly plentiful. It is doubtful if 

 a finer display could be made by any native floral tree than 

 the wild Crab showed under these conditions, especially when 

 the trees stood alone, or partially in the open ground border- 

 ing the Oak woods, or lined the banks of a stream. They 

 were so bright as to be visible a long way off, masses of pink 

 dotting the meadows and pastures, or appearing in relief 

 against the groves of Oak, around whose expanding leaves of 

 yellow and red and hanging tufts of flowers a misty light was 

 playing. All combined to make a fairy scene of the woods 

 and fields in those summer days in spring, a picture long to 

 be remembered. They were a month in advance of their 

 usual flowering season, which in ordinary years is from the 

 20th of May to the end of the month. This year they began 

 to open by the 25th of April, and I saw them at their best on 

 the 29th — a month earlier than I found them in flower last year, 

 when in the higher parts of the finger-lake region of western 

 New York. 



Another feature of the blossoms this year struck me as 

 unusual. They are generally so fragrant as to perfume the air 

 for some distance away, and the first reminder of their pres- 

 ence in the denser parts of the woods may be a sniff of the air 

 laden with their delicious aroma. The fragrance in the season 

 just past was so subdued as to be barely perceptible when 

 standing close by the trees. I have wondered whether this 

 loss of fragrance was made at the cost of their rapid develop- 

 ment, because more time was needed for its perfection. I have 

 since remarked the same condition in the case of our wild 

 Grapes. Seasons peculiar as this has been are rare, when the 

 cold of the early part retarded vegetation, and a continuous 

 summer heat suddenly setting in hastened growth with 

 remarkable rapidity. It is difficult to correlate observations of 

 this kind, but the facts were evident and may well be kept in 

 mind. 



Chicago, III. £■■ /• rllll. 



