328 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 284. 



many of them still continuing the wooden benches as prefer- 

 able, notwithstanding their temporary character. 



An excellent material for the Ijottom of benches is oak slabs 

 about one and a half inches thick, such as may be some- 

 times obtained from a sawmill from the outside cuts on 

 a log. Such lumber is, of course, in irregular sizes, but this 

 is no great objection for such a purpose, and a bench will 

 wear for several years without renewal. The soil for replant- 

 ing is usually composed of decayed sod from pasture land and 

 it is, therefore, a likely abode of the larvae of the June bug, a 

 dangerous enemy of young Roses, which must be watched 

 closely and promptly destroyed. It is a wise precaution to 

 examine all the soil carefully when putting it into the benches. 



The young plants should not in any case beset out while dry, 

 and a good watering should be given them before they are 

 turned out of the pots, and then a moderate watering should 

 be added to settle the soil after they are planted. A very slight 

 shading on the glass over the young plants will encourage 

 them to start away, but the shading should be only temporary, 

 or too soft and sappy a growth will follow. All flower-buds 

 should be removed from the plants until such time as the 

 flowers are needed in the fall, and neat staking and tying is 

 essential to the good appearance of the Roses, the galvanized 

 wire system of support being generally accepted as the best 

 method. 



Perfect cleanliness in the Rose-garden, whether indoors or 

 out, should always be insisted on, for with care in this respect 

 much trouble from both insects and fungi may be avoided ; 

 therefore all weeds, dead leaves and old flowers should be 

 promptly removed. The method once used by many large 

 trade-growers of growing certain varieties in pots for winter 

 flowering may also serve in some amateur estabhshments in 

 which lack of space prevents the use of an entire house for 

 Rose-growing. This method, formerly used by many large 

 growers in the vicinity of New York for Cornelia Cook and 

 some other varieties, consisted in potting on young plants 

 through the spring and summer until they were finally put 

 into eight or ten-inch pots, and placed outdoors in the full sun- 

 shine, though plunged in a bed of ashes to prevent drying out. 

 These plants made abundant roots and not very great top- 

 growth, so that when they were brought into the houses as 

 soon as the nights became cool in the fall, they were in fine 

 condition to start into strong flowering growth, and under 

 careful treatment produced buds of remarkable quality. 



In some houses space can be spared for one or two good 

 climbing Roses, and among these few are better than La- 

 marque and Mar^chal Niel, though both these fine old varie- 

 ties are croppers, and require a certain season of comparative 

 rest in order to produce the best results. The climbing sport 

 from Perle des Jardins is also a handsome grower, though 

 possibly gives fewer flowers in a year than Mar^chal Niel, but 

 it has the advantage of a stiff flower-stem. It is useless to try 

 to grow other Roses beneath a climber, owing to the excessive 

 shade, and it is therefore necessary to fill such space with some 

 shade-loving plants instead of the Roses. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W^ H. Taplm. 



Chrysanthemums. 



THESE will require considerable attention during the next 

 two months, and what we do during this time will go 

 far toward determining whether the plants succeed or fail. 

 It is customary to discontinue stopping specimen plants by 

 the first of August. In order, however, to have neat, shapely 

 specimens, it will be necessary to take out the tips of several 

 strong shoots in some varieties, which would be sure to out- 

 grow the rest if left. Frequent syringings, on evenings of 

 bright days, generally have a beneficial effect in keeping the 

 surroundings cool. Tobacco water, with whale-oil soap and 

 white hellebore in mixture, helps to keep down troublesome 

 insects. Straggling shoots, liable to be broken by wind, should 

 be supported by a few stakes. 



The plants should be fed as soon as we have evidence that 

 the soil is becoming exhausted, which is generally indicated by a 

 shortened harder growth. After a trial of many artificial 

 manures, I find none safer than Clay's Fertilizer. Manures, 

 such as guano, sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda, 

 should be used very cautiously, as their strength varies very 

 much, according to the different compounders. The injurious 

 effects of their indiscriminate use, even by practical gardeners, 

 so often occur, that amateurs had better rely on a less dan- 

 gerous article. Where drainings from a barnyard are not at 

 the command of the grower, well-pulverized" sheep-manure 

 can be used; it can be obtained from nearly all seedsmen. 

 It is an excellent fertilizer, and may be used mixed with equal 



bulk of loam as a top-dressing, or at the rate of half a pound 

 to a gallon of water in liquid form. The best way to do this is 

 to put the manure in a porous bag, thus keeping the liquid 

 free and clear. 



Plants for specimen blooms are nicely started and will make 

 rapid growth. What is known as the July bud, but really a 

 premature crown, is showing now and should be taken out. 

 In place of this, allow one of the best side-shoots to lead. This, 

 in time, will, in all probability, produce a second crown early 

 in August (or later, depending upon the time the first bud 

 showed), which is the best bud for Domination, Mademoiselle 

 Lacroix and Rohallion, and almost all early varieties. With the 

 exception of very early varieties, all buds appearing before 

 the tenth of August should be taken out. The great majority 

 of these so treated after the first of August will give only 

 " terminals," which are really the best and surest buds to take, 

 especially for commercial purposes. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Micromeria rupestris, now in flower, is a very attractive her- 

 baceous plant or sub-shrub. Several of the Micromerias are 

 capital plants for the rockery, but M. rupestris seems to be 

 the most satisfactory of the family. It is perfectly hardy, and 

 forms a dense low-growing plant, with numerous prostrate 

 stems, which at this season are furnished with small leaves in 

 whorls, having a Mint-like fragrance, and with a flavor identical 

 with that of Pennyroyal. The numerous small flowers are 

 white, with lavender spots on the inner side of the petals, and 

 are borne from the axils of the leaves. When in bloom the 

 plant, at a casual glance, has a Heath-like effect, as the flowers 

 are produced for several inches along the stems after they 

 have turned upward and assumed an erect position. Either 

 for the rockery or the border of the less formal part of the 

 garden, it is a distinct and pleasing plant. It is readily propa- 

 gated from cuttings and from seeds, and continues to bloom 

 until autumn. Some seeds which I had from H. Corre- 

 von, of Geneva, gave me flowering plants the first season. 



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



Pansies and Forget-me-nots. — Seed of these plants for flow- 

 ering next spring should be sown now. Choose a rather shady 

 spot ; make the soil moderately firm ; scatter the seeds on the 

 surface and rake them in. This is all the covering they need. 

 Too often they are covered too deeply. Keep well-watered 

 with a rather fine sprayer. When large enough, transplant 

 into nursery-beds, about five inches apart each way. Protect 

 during winter winter with light litter. Where Pine-needles can 

 be obtained there is nothing better. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. H. 



^ Correspondence. 



Arbor Day. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — When Arbor Day was instituted the persons who had 

 to prepare the programme or order of exercises for its observ- 

 ance in our country-towns hardly knew what material to use. 

 It was a new thing and they did the best they could, with no 

 precedents to guide them. Having once been arranged and 

 adopted, these forms are usually pretty closely followed, and 

 we have in most cases mucti music, declamation and oratory, 

 but very little of anything that can add to the popular interest 

 or knowledge regarding trees or forests, or their functions and 

 value. In many cases these subjects do not come in at all, 

 except, perhaps, by the declamation of Morris' verses, "Wood- 

 man, spare that tree," or something no more substantial. The 

 orators often vaunt our national resources, our forests with the 

 rest, in such a way as to make, distinctly, the impression that 

 these are inexhaustible, and that no care of them is necessary. 

 Last year and this, in several states, some of the Arbor Day 

 speakers have assailed those who are interested in promoting 

 rational methods of treatment for our forest-resources, de- 

 t nouncing them as " sentimental enthusiasts," and have thus 

 used the opportunities of the day to oppose the very objects 

 for which it was instituted. 



It would be a most fit and influential means of promoting 

 the better observance of the day, and of popular education re- 

 garding important public interests, if wecould have some kind 

 of plain and vital statement of the objects and purposes for 

 which the day was instituted, and which should be recognized 

 and understood by those who take part in its observance. 

 Here in New England we greatly need a kind of "liturgy" or 

 "ritual" for the day's celebration. We have far too much 

 oratory and too little practical or intelligent instruction. The 



