3i6 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 283. 



part of prudence and good culture to propogate and replant at 

 frequent intervals. 



Larkspurs are, of course, among the showy flowers of the 

 season, none of these being more useful, apparently, than 

 Delphinium Sinense, which is a dwarf-flowering form with 

 either light blue, pink or white flowers. Of this species I have 

 had no personal experience, but at Pitcher & Manda's nursery 

 it seems to be one of the plants always in flower till early 

 frosts. From the ordinary hybrid Delphinium we only get 

 two crops of flowers, and the second only when the plants 

 are cut down after first flowering. 



Heuchera sanguinea is still putting out a few spikes of its 

 bright flowers. There is little question as to the hardiness of 

 this plant or that it is one of the choicest of hardy things. Un- 

 fortunately, it does not seem in every location very reliable as 

 to flowerinof. I have at length got one of my clumps shifted 

 into a position where it flowers freely, but I can see no special 

 reason why it should do so rather than in other borders where 



drying winds in the spring. Seedlings of any good strain 

 usually flower in June and July of the second year, and give 

 abundance of desirable flowers for cutting, though few even 

 of the double ones are up to florists' standard, and there is 

 usually a fair proportion of single ones which, however, are 

 not without attractions. It is always somewhat of a problem 

 to secure good Carnation-flowers in summer, the available 

 free-flowering kinds not being hardy, while strong plants are 

 woody. I know of no more satisfactory treatment than the se- 

 curing in the fall good strong plants such as the florists have 

 grown as field-plants from cuttings, and keeping them as dor- 

 mant as possible during the winter. These if planted out in 

 the spring will give good crops of flowers during the summer. 

 The Clove or Border Carnations, so popular in England, pro- 

 duce very handsome flowers in one crop, but are not very sat- 

 isfactory here from the fact that they are destroyed by hard 

 frosts when they have made strong and woody plants. To be 

 at all successful with them they should be propagated each 



Fig. 47.— A plant ot (he Hybrid Multiflora Rose, Dawson. — See page 314. 



it seemed equally at home. A little change, I suppose, will 

 often put new life into a plant as well as into the rest of us. 



The Cyclops Carnations, introduced last year, prove to be 

 simply those old crosses between Dianthus plumarius and the 

 Carnations originally introduced about five or six years ago 

 from Lyons. The plants are extremely hardy, about their only 

 valuable feature. We have already enough dull magentas 

 among hardy flowers, and it seems scarcely worth while to 

 introduce such rank examples of that color the second time as 

 a novelty. The Redondo Carnations, introduced last year by 

 Duer, I have found the best of the free-blooming garden Car- 

 nations of recent introduction, being quite superior to the Mar- 

 garet strains in substance, color and fragrance. Some of the 

 plants wintered safely in the open. There was a great range of 

 color among them, from whites through the pinks and reds, 

 and I had a very handsome apricot variety. Seed of these 

 planted now should give nice plants to winter over outside 

 and flower next year. That is an experiment which is safe with 

 even the Remontant Carnations, which are perfectly safe in a 

 young state if not drowned out and if protected from harsh 



season. This, while not difficult, is somewhat troublesome. 

 Carnadons of the Malmaison type produce grand flowers, but 

 these are quickly destroyed by dampness, and the plants are 

 more successfully flowered under protection. Individually the 

 flowers are the largest and handsomest of Carnations, and they 

 are well worth space in the choicest collection of plants. 

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



Midsummer in the Garden. 



LARKSPURS are just now very much in evidence, and 

 given a wide border with a rich soil that does not dry out, 

 there are few plants so satisfactory. Our Delphiniums were 

 all raised from seed and many of them are fine double and 

 semi-double varieties, equal to the named sorts. These double 

 kinds last longer on the plants, and when cut, than the others, 

 and are, therefore, more desirable and just as easy to obtain 

 from seeds as the more common single Larkspurs. Another 

 fine object just now is the Japan Groundsel, Senecio Japon- 

 icus. This plant is sub-aquatic, but will thrive in any situa- 



