April 12, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



167 



localities may account for the conflicting opinions of growers 

 of any one variety. 



Among tlie recent varieties of rose-pink, wliicli it was 

 tliouglit would supersede the old Grace Wilder, none have 

 filled the necessary requirements. Many produced fine large 

 flowers of exquisite tints and fine form, but they are either too 

 coarse in growth, not floriferous enough, weak in the stems or 

 lack lasting qualities. Fred. Craighton gives fine large flowers, 

 but is late. The flowers of Aurora are of fine form, but are 

 thin. Nicholson, a handsome rose-pink, is not yet in cultiva- 

 tion ; it comes nearest to John Thorpe's ideal of any I have yet 



lings which showed the perpetual type and crossed them with 

 some of the poor French yellows ; he managed at last to get 

 the vigor of the Ijorder variety incorporated with perpetual 

 characters. He has also an excellent striped-yellow, the bright- 

 est and best I have seen, free and perfect in form and bright 

 in color. The constitution is all that can be wished. This has 

 been named Belle Hunnewell. Golden Triumph has been do- 

 ing duty for a yellow up to this time, and where it has done 

 well has proved very profitable. It is not a pure yellow, being 

 flaked slightly with red; it is, however, a very pleasing shade 

 and is a favorite in the market. It is, moreover, a very free 

 bloomer, an important consideration where 

 flowers are grown for market. 



The fact that especial care in selecting 

 stock helps to improve varieties is every- 

 where evident, from the fact that it takes two 

 years to give new varieties a proper test. In 

 propagation for distribution, every available 

 cutting is taken ; the consequence is, a very 

 small percentage of plants are in a thrifty 

 condition during the first year. Side-shoots 

 from flowering stems make the best cuttings 

 and grow into the best plants ; by care in 

 this direction the stock of old varieties may 

 be improved and held up to a good standard. 

 The summer-blooming Marguerite Carna- 

 tions are pleasing and strongly resemble 

 tlie florists' Carnations; but by comparison 

 they lack enduring qualities, as well as re- 

 finement. Growers in this locality are look- 

 ing for varieties which will bloom out-of- 

 doors in summer. Mrs. Fisher, white, and 

 Hector, scarlet, gave satisfaction last year, 

 and several additional kinds are to be tried 

 this summer. The plan is to strike cuttings 

 in January, pot two in a pot and grow along 

 until May, when they are planted outdoors, 

 given one pinching and then allowed to 

 bloom, which they will do in July. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Fig. 28. — Clematis indivisa. — See page j66. 



seen. The flower is often quite three inches across, and, 

 although very double, the calyx never bursts. In shade it is 

 similar to Tidal Wave, bright rose-pink, with a touch of red 

 in it. 



Fancy bizarres have a select set of buyers and are fast in- 

 creasing in favor. The best are American Flag, scarlet, on 

 white ground ; Paxton, pink, on white ground, and Mary 

 Fisher, violet, on yellow ground. Joseph Tailby, the veteran 

 grower and pioneer raiser of the true American type of Car- 

 nation, has at last succeeded in raising a pure yellow perpet- 

 ual in Henrietta Sargent. Since 1882, when Mr. Tailby had a 

 very fine border yellow in bloom, he has selected the seed- 



The Best Beans. 



FEW vegetables have been hybridized or 

 selected with greater care than the Bean, 

 and varieties suitable for several purposes 

 have been developed, until little improve- 

 ment now seems possible. Among Snap- 

 beans, the new yellow-podded wax varieties, 

 which are almost cylindrical in shape, solid 

 yet tender, and of the finest fibre and flavor, 

 are quite superior to the old-time flat, green- 

 podded and stringy varieties. Among the 

 liest varieties are Wardwell's Kidney Wax, 

 Yosemite Mammoth Wax, Golden Wax and 

 Perfection. Of Shell Beans, the best are 

 Dwarf Horticultural; Golden Cluster, which 

 is very productive and bears flat beans about 

 two-thirds as large as Henderson's Bush 

 Sieva, meaty and well-flavored ; Hemisphere, 

 a bean almost round, but solid and of extra 

 quality, half of it being light brown in color, 

 splashed with red. This color would detract 

 from its value as a market variety, but in the 

 process of cooking the color to a great ex- 

 tent disappears, so that it is one of the very 

 best for the kitchen-garden. On the station 

 grounds, as the main experiment crop for 

 the past four years, a pure white bean has 

 been grown which has proved of extra quality 

 and productiveness. It is very hardy and is 

 proof, thus far, against the anthracnose, so 

 prevalent throughout this section. It has been called the Hatt 

 Bean, after its originator, but I am not aware that it has been 

 offered for sale under any name, although it should be more 

 generally known. 



The search and selection necessary for a true Dwarf Lima 

 Bean has been successful, and it would now seem hardly ne- 

 cessary to grow the pole Lima Bean. The latter come to ma- 

 turity a trifle earlier than the bush type when both are planted 

 together, it is true, but the dwarf varieties may be started 

 earlier, either in common beds, or in inverted sods, or in pots 

 in the kitchen or greenhouse. When planted out they can be 

 protected from early or late frosts with ease so that the season 



