July 5, 1893,] 



Garden and Forest. 



289 



protection. My friend, Mr. C. A. Putnam, has raised Hyacinths 

 from seed to the flowering state, and has obtained good results. 

 Yet I do not believe that Massachusetts or North Carolina or 

 Texas will ever give the Dutch growers a moment of uneasi- 

 ness. We can grow bulbs, but we cannot grow them cheaply 

 enough to compete with the Dutch. After three years' culti- 

 vation I can turn out a Hyacinth-bulb which will give a per- 

 fectly satisfactory flower-spike, and I can import the same 

 variety for the sum of six or eight cents ; manifestly my profit 

 will be small. Narcissus poeticus is offered by some reputa- 

 ble firms at less than two shillings a hundred, Crocuses at one 

 shilling a hundred for named kinds, and half a shilling for 

 mixed varieties. Moreover, if a margin of profit existed, it is 

 not likely that southern-grown bulbs would be satisfactory. 

 The Bermudan Easter Lilies appear to be going out of favor. 

 Lilium candidum, grown in Italy, gives flowers sadly lacking in 

 substance, and one of the most careful dealers I know tells me 

 that he declines to handle Tuberose-bulbs from the south. I 

 believe that failure and loss await those who shall go into the 

 Dutch bulb business in this country. 

 Canton, Mass. *^' -C. htldtcott. 



The Columbian Exposition. 

 Plants in Bloom. 



THE last week in June saw a great variety of plants in bloom 

 at the World's Fair, although there were no masses which 

 could compare in boldness of effect with the Azaleas and Rho- 

 dodendrons of a month ago. In the Horticultural Building 

 the chief bloom is still in the Orchid collection of Pitcher & 

 Manda, although many of the species are now passing out of 

 season. Cattleyas, Cypripediums, Oncidiums and a few others 

 are yet in condition, and Anthuriums are conspicuous. The 

 great tub specimens of Marguerites, which have been used 

 with excellent effect to fill vacant places in the plant exhibits in 

 the building, are still making a show, although far past their 

 prime. The bold masses of these plants in the early days of 

 the Exposition produced most striking and happy effects. A 

 few Cannas and Hydrangeas are in flower in the building, but 

 the variety of bloom inside is not great. The only prominent 

 bloom alongside the Horticultural Building is the Pansy col- 

 lection, which is now in good condition. The Pansies seem 

 to have fallen short of expectations in size and brilliancy, but 

 they are, nevertheless, attractive, because of the enormous 

 number of plants. The thin partitions of grass which separate 

 the exhibits in the largest beds have grown tall and loose, and 

 give the beds a weedy and unkempt appearance. A mixed 

 collection of small plants is coming forward in the borders in 

 front of the propagating-houses in the rear of the Horticultural 

 Building. Upon two sides of the Woman's Building the neat 

 yellow and brown Pea-like flowers of Cytisus (or Genista) An- 

 dreana were conspicuous until the middle of June. These 

 plants were exhibited by Croux, of Sceaux, and Moser, of Ver- 

 sailles, France. The former shows only low plants, but Moser 

 has an interesting group of standards worked four or five feet 

 high on Laburnum stocks. This plant deserves greater promi- 

 nence in America. Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., of Paris, show 

 beds of various annuals about the little White Star Line Build- 

 ing, just north of the Horticultural Building. The plants in 

 bloom in these beds at the close of June are Pinks, Coreopsis 

 of two or three kinds. Calendulas, Marigolds, a Gaillardia 

 called Pictamixta, Snapdragons, Eschscholtzias, Helichrysum 

 and Chrysanthemum carinatum. 



The most interesting and conspicuous floral displays are 

 upon the island. The Roses are now coming forward in great 

 quantity and variety, but an account of them must be delayed 

 for a separate letter. The island ornamentation divides itself 

 into two general classes — the exhibition plots and the land- 

 scape features about the shores. The exhibition plots contain 

 a general line of bulbs and perennials, with a few annuals, 

 from various American and foreign dealers. Many of the ex- 

 hibits have no signs or labels to designate the exhibitor, and 

 very many of the plants are not labeled. This neglect detracts 

 greatly from the exhibits to one who desires to take more than 

 a cursory glance at them. The beds are arranged without 

 reference to landscape-effect, a circumstance which finds ex- 

 cuse in the large number of exhibits to be placed in a small 

 area and the lateness with which some of the exhibits ap- 

 peared ; yet it would seem that more might have been done to 

 give a continuous artistic expression to the island. The beds 

 appear to have been cut from the sod in any shape which 

 pleased the fancy of the exhibitor, and exhibits which might 

 have been placed close together with good effect are widely 

 separated. But the displays are so instructive, and interest so 

 many visitors, that one is tempted to withhold criticism. 



The greatest show, since the Rhododendrons, has been 

 made by Paeonies, which have been shown in large assortment 

 by Cannel, of England, and also by B. A. Elliott, Ellwanger & 

 Barry, Pitcher & Manda, and in the Japanese Garden. These 

 collections are so widely scattered that it is difficult to make 

 comparisons between them. As a whole, the Paeonies have 

 done fully as well as could have been expected in the hasty 

 preparation of land which was necessary to the construction 

 of the island. The black soil with which the island has been 

 covered is still soft and loose and it dries out quickly. At the 

 close of June, the Canterbury Bells, which afford a temporary 

 filling about shrubs and unoccupied borders, are making a 

 great show. A variety of Stocks has been used for similar pur- 

 poses, especially in the German section ; and Aquilegias are 

 pressed into like service. 



The most conspicuous herb, aside from the Paeonies and 

 Canterbury Bells, is CEnothera Youngi, which is used for a dense 

 borderabout two large beds of Rhea Brothers, Norwood, Massa- 

 chusetts, and also by B. A. Elliott, of Pittsburg. This is a strong 

 plant, with firm, shiny foliage, growing to a height of two feetand 

 bearing a profusion of bright lemon-yellow flowers, which 

 remain open throughout the day. The largest exhibit of her- 

 baceous plants is made by Pitcher & Manda, and it has the dis- 

 tinct merit of being labeled, as a whole, with separate large 

 labels for nearly every species. Among the prominent flowers 

 in this exhibit, at the present time, are Pyrethrums in variety, 

 Gaillardia grandiflora, Coreopsis lanceolata, Papavernudicaule] 

 Dianthus barbatus, Astilbe Japonica, Tradescantia Virginica,' 

 Tunica Saxifraga and Forget-me-nots. Perennial Phloxes are 

 coming into bloom in a number of exhibits, the chief ones at 

 present being Colonel Flaterer and Beauty of Mirande, in El- 

 liott's beds. Rhea Brothers show a variety of Aquilegias, 

 Lychnises, Geranium Ibiricum, Geum miniatum and Pentste- 

 mons and Delphiniums. Kalmia latifolia, from European 

 growers, has bloomed profusely upon the island, and also 

 about the Women's Building, and it must have been a revela- 

 tion to thousands of people who have never seen our Moun- 

 tain Laurel in its natural haunts. 



The second part of the floricultural display upon the island 

 is that which is used to accentuate the wooded margin of the 

 lagoons. As seen from the outside, the island is intended to 

 have a wholly wild and natural appearance, but from the in- 

 side the borders are designed to look somewhat more trim 

 and gardenesque. This margin, about sixty feet wide, is in 

 the hands of the landscape department. It requires the nicest 

 taste to introduce flowering herbs into a wooded border with- 

 out overdoing it. The faintest suggestion of color here and 

 there gives a truer effect than bold and protruding masses, for 

 it is then properly subordinated to the spirit of the composi- 

 tion, while it is enough to give a feeling of completeness and 

 finish. These flowering plants have been introduced into the 

 borders, against the shrubbery, with most dainty effect, and 

 one is surprised to see what interest such frugal plantings may 

 add to a landscape. J. C. Vaughan has contributed a running 

 exhibit to these borders. Among the plants which give very 

 pleasing effects are the following familiar species : Pinks, Can- 

 dytuft, Wallflower (Hespens), Pyrethrums, Bachelor's Buttons, 

 Foxgloves, Sweet Williams, Da'isies (Bellis), Bleeding Hearts, 

 Dusty Miller (Lychnis Coronaria), Wild Thalictrums, Sapo- 

 naria ocymoides, Geum atrosanguineum. Forget-me-nots, 

 Corn Poppies, Papaver nudicaule. Pink Yarrow, Anemone 

 Pennsylvanica, Canterbury-bells, Irises, Perennial Phlox, Ly- 

 thrum Salicaria, Potentilla fruticosa. Columbines and Lark- 

 spurs. 



Other bloom will follow in succession throughout the sea- 

 son. Hydrangeas, Lilies and Dahlias will be particularly prom- 

 inent. Considering the short time in which the exhibits have 

 been secured and the difficulties attending the work, the col- 

 lection of flowering plants is very pleasing. 

 Chicago, 111. L. H. Bailey. 



Notes. 



The Bordeaux mixture has been used with success in exper- 

 iments by the Department of Agriculture to rid fruit-trees of 

 lichens which adhere to the bark of the trunk and limbs. The 

 mixture was applied with a whitewash brush and the lichens 

 at once turned yellow, and within three weeks were all dead. 

 Later experiments showed that equally effective results could 

 be had with the ordinary spraying machine. 



Mr. George Nicholson, the curator of the Royal Gardens at 

 Kew, well known to horticulturists in this country as the au- 

 thor of the useful Dictionary of Gardening, and the authority 

 in England on hardy trees and shrubs, arrived in this city last 

 week. Mr. Nicholson will spend a couple of months in this 



