538 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 285. 



Bell-flowers. Bold clumps of Bocconia cordata and Cimicifuga 

 racemosa are very effective as we have them, but they are 

 weeds, and very bad weeds, too, in a choice border. Later we 

 shall have Funkia subcordata, var. grandiflora, which luckily 

 does well here. Anemone Japonica, Aster Novae Anglise, 

 Kiiiphofias and a glorious array of perennial Sunflowers will 

 usher in the autumn. In the mean time we can enjoy a vast 

 number of choice exotics and annuals. They come inoppor- 

 tunely, and many are very valuable where a quantity of cut 

 flowers is required. Among these we have Gladiolus, includ- 

 ing the elegant G. Saundersii, Dahlias, Salvia splendens, Can- 

 nas, miniature Sunflowers, Zinnias, Helichrysum, Nasturtium, 

 Coreopsis Drummondii, Delphinium consolida. Stocks, Asters, 

 Sweet Peas, Marigolds, Mourning Bride, yellow and bronze 

 Toadflax and Californian Forget-me-not. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. H. 



Grasses. 



T) AMBOOS prove to be rather disappointing in my garden, 

 -^ after three years' trial, as none of the kinds have grown as 

 vigorously as expected. Those experimented with are B. 

 aurea, Simonii, viridi giaucesens, Ragamovski, palmata and 

 QuiHoi. These are reliably hardy here without any protection ; 

 they lose their leaves late in the winter, but the canes are not 

 usually touched by frost. B. Ragamovski and B. palmata are 

 broad-leaved dwarf kinds, and show their character better than 

 the others, which should give me tall canes ; this, however, 

 they have yet failed to do. It may be possible that they have 

 not had positions to suit them, the soil being rather tenacious 

 and not moist, but the fact remains that they do not make 

 much height, and are not as satisfactory or noticeable as 

 other large Grasses. As pot-plants they require somewhat 

 generous treatment, and have a certain decorative value, . 

 though there is a constant browning of leaves and consequent 

 litter. The selection of large Grasses will depend very much 

 on the position which they are to occupy. 



For a tall, strong-growing, reliably hardy and graceful Grass, 

 the variety zebrina of Eulalia Japonica will usually be most 

 satisfactory. Under ordinary culture it makes a large clump 

 some seven or eight feet tall, with strong stems and gracefully 

 reflexing leaves barred with lighter green. In the fall they 

 flower with handsome plumes, very much curled, and are 

 useful for house-decoration. The green leaves and stems 

 are also very useful during the season for bold effects in 

 decoration. 



A well-grown clump of Pampas Grass is very handsome as 

 a detached group, making a fountain of foliage capped with 

 handsome plumes, but it is not always hardy. The Ravenna 

 Grass, Erianthus Ravennae, sometimes does duty with the 

 florists as Pampas Grass. It is a green-leaved, tall-growing 

 sort, not so graceful as the Gynerium, but it is more hardy. 

 For a bold effect there is nothing better than Arundo donax, 

 though it is a coarse plant, and needs the gloss of distance. 

 This is easily grown to a height of ten or twelve feet. The 

 leaves are glaucous, and clasp thick stems. The casual observer 

 generally asks as to the variety of Corn which is being grown. 

 The variegated variety of Arundo donax is a much dwarfer 

 plant, only three or four feet high, and much less coarse in 

 effect. These plants require here a slight protection, a small 

 mound of coal-ashes over the roots being satisfactory in 

 preserving them from destructive moisture. I have under 

 trial a large form of Panicum spectabile, sent to me as the 

 variety Gigantea. From seeds sown in the early year there 

 are strong plants flowering in loose panicles at about seven 

 feet. This is said to be a ten or twelve foot Grass, and, I should 

 judge that it might reach that height from strong roots. This 

 is said to be hardy and sometimes variegated, though none of 

 my plants have shown more than a white channel on the mid- 

 rib. The leaves midway are about two inches wide, wider 

 than those of the Eulalia, and the plants are distinct from the 

 other large Grasses. There is also the typical form of 

 P. spectabile about three feet tall. This is also the height of the 

 beaudful Eulalia gracillima univitatta, which, as many of your 

 correspondents have remarked in your columns, no garden 

 should be without. EulaHa Japonica variegata is of the same 

 height, and the brightest of variegated Grasses ; it is taller 

 than the Ribbon Grass, Phalaris arundinacea, and much 

 less spreading at the roots. Of the still shorter Grasses, I 

 fancy most Elymus glaucus, which has a rich glaucous sheen 

 extremely effective. Elymus hystrix was sent me as one of the 

 handsomest Grasses in cultivation, but I fail to see any beauty 

 initsfoliageorheadsofcoarse flowers. Pennisetum longistylum 

 is a well-established favorite for its effective heads of bloom. 

 There is a Grass in the swamp of the lower part of this state 



which has a fur-like ball of bloom, which it has always seemed 

 to me would be effective in cultivation — Pussy Grass, in the ver- 

 nacular — Apera arundinacea. The PheasantGrass is a handsome 

 species, very odd and distinct, the leaves being marked in bright 

 reds and browns. This did not grow very well for me, probably 

 from neglect, for I do not think it a delicate plant, though it 

 had at first glance a look of a plant suffering from some blight 

 or disease. 



There are numerous aquatic and sub-aquatic Grasses and 

 Sedges — of these latter, the exotics Cyperus Papyrus, C. pungens 

 and C. alternifolius being the most sadsfactory, though tender. 

 Hydropyrum latifolium (Co-ba of the Chinese) is a perfectly 

 hardy aquatic grass, with a jointed stem from which spring 

 several tall leaves. It is something in the way of " Wild Rice," 

 but a handsomer plant. It has not flowered in the two years 

 it has been cultivated here. In planting edges of ornamental 

 water, it will be found most satisfactory to search neighbor- 

 ing swamps and use the most effective native plant. This 

 course, pursued by Mr. Olmsted, at Chicago, has produced 

 one of the most effective and satisfactory bits of planting in 

 the grounds of the Exposition. 



In selecting decorative Grasses preference should be given 

 to those which have a long season of growth, as those which 

 flower and mature early are apt to prove unsightly. Scarcely 

 enough use is made of the noble Grasses in arrangements of 

 decorative plants. Masses of these, as often seen, have a 

 rather heavy effect, which a well-considered addition of 

 Grasses would often relieve. 



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



Correspondence. 



The Russian and other Apricots. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Perhaps there are few new fruits which have been more 

 indiscriminately praised, and concerning which so little is 

 known, as the Russian Apricots. Probably the chief reason 

 for this indefinite knowledge is the too common feeling that, 

 at best. Apricots are not suited for growing in the northern 

 states, and no serious attendon is given them, yet, if care in 

 selection of site is observed and some attention is given to 

 varieties, Apricot-growing is capable of affording excellent 

 commercial results even in New York state. There are now 

 considerable plantations of Apricots in western New York, 

 the most prominent being the large orchard of E. Smith & 

 Sons, on Seneca Lake. The Apricot-tree is fully as hardy as 

 the Peach. It blooms early, and is liable to be caught by late 

 spring frosts, therefore it is essendal that the site be one where 

 vegetation starts late or that the spring temperature is equal- 

 ized by the presence of a large body of water. 



The chief merit attributed to the Russian Apricot is its hardi- 

 ness, but my own experience, extending over about eight 

 years, shows that in central Michigan and in New York the 

 Russian stock is as likely to be injured by climate as the com- 

 mon and better varieties. At Lansing, Michigan, a lot of 

 about fifty strong two-year seedlings from Nebraska were 

 killed, most of them root and branch, while budded trees 

 alongside stood a year or two longer, yet these budded trees 

 finally succumbed. All these trees were upon sandy soil. 

 Here at Ithaca, in central New York, our trees are upon clay, 

 and they endure the climate perfectly, although our winters 

 are less severe than at Lansing. I do not know that the charac- 

 ter of soil makes any difference in the hardiness of these trees. 

 Breda, Early Golden and other common sorts endure our cli- 

 mate equally as well as the Russian variety. It has been said 

 that the Russian Apricot belongs to the species Prunus Si- 

 birica, but this is a mistake. It is only a race of the common 

 Apricot, Prunus Armeniaca, yet the Russian Apricots differ 

 considerably from ours in type, having a darker and rather 

 narrower leaf; and the fruits, so far as I have seen them, are 

 inferior. If the Russian Apricots are really hardier than the 

 common ones they should be widely disseminated upon the 

 northern borders of our Apricot region ; but where other 

 Apricots can be grown, these are scarcely worth the land they 

 occupy. 



We have a number of good trees of Russian Apricots, set 

 in 1888, and at this writing they are carrying bushels of fruit. 

 The handsome Httle fruits hang in clusters and ropes on many 

 of the trees, especially on Budd, Gibb and Alexander. The 

 catalogues have said that some of these Russians, especially 

 the Catherine, are almost as early as Strawberries, but none 

 of ours have ripened before the last week in July, and Alex- 

 ander and Gibb will not be fit to pick for several days yet. 



