262 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 278. 



and other fruits of excellent quality. The extent of his 

 work only shows how much must be done before one good 

 variety can be brought forth, and how ardent must be the 

 zeal which sustains any individual through long years of 

 labor, expense and uncertainty. It can hardly be ex- 

 pected that many other persons will enter this field with so 

 much enthusiasm and determination and ability, and there- 

 fore it is that we venture to hope that the experiment 

 stations will take up this work. They have the continuous 

 life needed for investigations which must be carried on 

 through many years. They ought to command the trained 

 skill. They are unbiased by any commercial considera- 

 tions and can afford to be absolutely sincere. They have 

 the Government of the United States and the people of the 

 United States as supporters and patrons. 



We have already alluded to the passage of an act by the . 

 Legislature of Pennsylvania creating a Forest Commission, 

 whose first duty will be to make a thorough survey of that 

 state. Inasmuch as the commission is to frame a forestry 

 bill based on the data secured by the survey, the success 

 or failure of the act will depend largely on the quality of 

 the men who are named as members of this commission. 

 We are glad to know that Governor Pattison has appointed 

 as botanist of the commission Professor J. T. Rothrock, late of 

 the University of Pennsylvania, a man whose acquirements 

 are universally recognized, and Colonel A. Harvey Tyson, 

 of Reading, as the engineer. The task of framing a bill 

 which will deal firmly with existing abuses, and yet be 

 temperate enough to enlist the support of all the various 

 classes of people who have some interest in the forests, so 

 that the Legislature can be assured that they are represent- 

 ing the popular will when they make it a law, is a delicate 

 one, and it is, therefore, gratifying to know that the move- 

 ment has been committed to capable hands at the outset. 



On several occasions we have published articles to show 

 that the soil and climate of North Carolina were adapted to 

 the cultivation of Dutch bulbs for market. In the present 

 number will be found some notes on the behavior of 

 these bulbs in Texas, from an esteemed correspondent and 

 a most careful observer. The fact that Hyacinths, which 

 were cross-bred seedlings from the primitive type, Hya- 

 cinthus orientalis, became naturalized and showed a 

 marked improvement over the original plants, is certainly 

 interesting. The superstition that these bulbs can only 

 be raised in Holland was long ago exploded, and it now 

 seems probable that the time is not far distant vi'hen Amer- 

 ican gardens can be supplied with home-grown bulbs of 

 good quality and at reasonable prices. 



Hardy Azaleas at Knap Hill. 



NO class of hardy shrubs gives the same variety of color as 

 the hardy Azalea, and no one has done more to bring the 

 race to its present perfection than Mr. Waterer, whose nursery 

 at Knap Hill is fragrant with the spicy odor of the masses of 

 flowers. The race originated by intercrossing the North 

 American species, as A. calendulacea and A. nudiflora with 

 A. Pontica, and since Mr. Waterer first interested himself in 

 the shrubs great progress has been made, as may be seen by 

 the large collection in his nursery. One may get some idea of 

 their beauty from quite small plants, but there are many noble 

 specimens, spreading bushes smothered in bloom and just 

 displaying the tender green leafage for contrast. 



One may ask, What is the special charm of the newer acquisi- 

 tions ? It is difficult to answer the question, except by recom- 

 mending personal observation, comparing the later varieties 

 with those of even not many years ago. All hardy Azaleas are 

 beautiful, capable of imparting delightful color to the garden, 

 but all are not of the same high quahty as regards the indi- 

 vidual flowers. A visit to Knap Hill in Azalea time is well 

 repaid, as such shrubs do not appear to full advantage in pots 

 at the exhibition. The newer varieties are distinguished by 

 flowers of great breadth, the upper segments well thrown 

 back, thus displaying the color, and they compose large, finely 

 formed trusses, quite different from the Honeysuckle-like 



effect of the older kinds. Each year we see distinct and splen- 

 did advances, and the variety Mrs. Anthony Waterer, certifi- 

 cated at the Temple show of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 last year, possesses the good qualities of the finest types. We 

 noticed it in bloom this season, and it is a lovely flower, broad, 

 robust in expression, of the purest white, except for a suffu- 

 sion of yellow on the upper petals, and held well up, while the 

 truss is bold. When in full beauty the shrub is a mass of 

 white, exhaling a sweet fragrance. The newer seedlings are 

 of the same light character, and the resplendent tints that tell 

 well in the landscape each year get more diversified. 



These results are attained by hybridizing the best kinds, but 

 it is slow work, and about four years elapse before the seed- 

 lings flower, then, perhaps, to be destroyed, as falling short of 

 the high ideal in the mind's eye of the raiser. The best varie- 

 ties are marked, and in time layered for the production of 

 stock. The color most largely represented is yellow, and 

 Nancy Waterer is a superb flower, broad and richly colored ; 

 but one may enumerate many shades of orange, primrose and 

 yellow that create a gay show of color. In a special place 

 there are many choice seedlings, and it is these that augur 

 well for the future of the hardy Azalea. They are a veritable 

 surprise, the flowers distinct in color, well shaped, and the 

 truss of bold size. Those varieties that bear flowers with 

 blotches on the upper part are very striking, standing well out 

 from the other less decided types. The Knap Hill collection 

 is getting rich in scarlets, and some of the more recent acqui- 

 sitions are superb flowers — glowing crimson of quite a self- 

 shade, orange-red, and many allied tints. We picked out sev- 

 eral that, if in the woodland, would appear as a flame of fire 

 against the tender green leafage — a brilliant mass of color. 

 Although a name is given to some especially choice acquisi- 

 tion, as Mrs. Anthony Waterer, a wholesale system of giving 

 names is wisely not followed. The reason is obvious, as it 

 would mean a mere string of titles, every variety almost being 

 worth some distinctive mark. The Azaleas are classed simply 

 as " Knap Hill," a sufficient guarantee of their beauty. 



The visitor to Knap Hill in the late days of May or early 

 June will note the great strides that are being made with the 

 double Azaleas, not semi-double, but true double flowers. 

 There are many shades of color, but the double rose and pink 

 are delightful. The flowers are borne in a handsome head, 

 and individually of exquisite shape, perfectly double, and ten- 

 der in color. Such flowers should be in demand for cutting, 

 and nothing in its way is more enjoyable than the more deli- 

 cately tinted varieties, white, pink, and so forth, which last well 

 in water, while they have a sweet, yet not too powerful, fra- 

 grance. Mr. Waterer is also raising a race of later-flowering 

 hybrids, and we may in time get Azaleas over a much longer 

 season than early summer. Many woodland and wild spots 

 would be made more beautiful by a judicious selection of va- 

 rieties that provide a splendid series of colors from carmine to 

 the purest white, orange-scarlet in particular, as brilliant as 

 anything one can get among hardy shrubs. Where the Rho- 

 dodendron is at home there also is the Azalea, and the bold 

 group of plants in the wilderness at Kew shows that they are 

 not only perfectly hardy, but the flowers remain untouched 

 by late frosts when they receive reasonable shelter. Protec- 

 tion from keen winds and some amount of shade are desira- 

 ble, while if the soil is not peat, that composed of fibry loam 

 mixed with leaf-mold, or loam alone, will prove sufficient. 



The Knap Hill Azaleas are a perfect blaze of color at this 

 season of the year, and there is also a feast of color in the au- 

 tumn season, when the foliage turns to many shades of color — 

 bright red, brown, chocolate and allied shades, sometimes 

 mixed and sometimes self, but always a pleasure to see. The 

 dying leaves are as beautiful as the flowers, lighting up the 

 garden with color in the late days of September and early Oc- 

 tober. — The Londo7i Garden. 



Dutch Bulbs in Texas. 



IN the cultivation of imported Hyacinths in this state the 

 general experience of horticulturists is that they give satis- 

 faction the first year after they are planted, but then dwindle 

 into smaller bulbs, and finally disappear. Tulips often do no 

 better than Hyacinths when the bulbs are planted in sand or 

 in the heavy, black, waxy soil of the prairies. I have never 

 tried to grow any bulbs in such soils, the soil on my place 

 being a rich prairie loam of chocolate color from one to 

 three feet deep, on a foundation of limestone. The descend- 

 ants of a fine collecfion of Hyacinths received direct from Bel- 

 gium thirty years ago can be seen here to-day. These are 

 doing splendidly, and produce flowers at least as good as those 

 of their Dutch ancestors. My experience has been that im- 



