228 



Garden and Forest. 



[May 7, 1890. 



line pale green or glaucous foliage, four to six inches high, 

 and often more than a foot wide. At this time of spring, half 

 hidden among its foliage, may be seen its pretty golden yellow 

 Mowers. These, continue to appear until past midsummer. 

 There are tew of our native plants which, when brought to 

 their highest state of development, are more attractive. A 

 well drained loamy soil and open sunlight are what it needs. 



Trollius laxus (Spreading Globe-flower) is an inhabitant of 

 dark, shaded swamps. Its pale yellow flowers are about an 

 inch wide, and come in early spring before many plants ap- 

 pear above ground. This earliness makes it interesting, for at 

 this season a plant might attract us that would not do so a 

 month later. It needs a moist, shaded situation. 



Shortia galicifolia, now in flower, is a plant that would in- 

 terest any one even if its history were unknown. The foliage 

 is as fresh now as at any time, and the flowers, which are 

 nearly white, or of a slightly creamy shade, are delicate and 

 pretty, half an inch wide. The plant seems to prefer shade, or 

 to be partly shaded. A fine, loamy soil suits it, and it is not 

 difficult to grow. 

 Southwick, Mass. F. H. Horsford. 



Hardy Plants for Cut Flowers. — III. 



TV/TOST gardens possess a sheltered corner that is well 

 ■*■*■*■ drained and warm in winter, and such a position should 

 be utilized to plant a bed of Alstrcemerias. These beautiful 

 plants are natives of South America, and belong to the 

 Amaryllidacecs, but do not receive the share of popular atten- 

 tion which they deserve. They flower without intermission for 

 several months when well established and left undisturbed. 

 We have tried three kinds — namely, A. aurantiaca, with bright 

 orange flowers ; A. Chilcnsis, with flowers of various shades 

 of white, pink and yellow ; A. Peruviana, with crimson and 

 green-tipped flowers. Alstrcemerias have thick, fleshy, 

 tuberous roots, which are produced from a creeping rhi- 

 zome, and these penetrate deep into the soil in search of nutri- 

 ment and are usually secure from frost in mild winters, but in 

 severe seasons it is best to place some dry non-conducting 

 material over the plants after they have died down. The 

 flowers of Alstrcemerias are very showy, and are produced in 

 terminal umbels, and last long when cut or on the plants. 



Of Anthericnm Liliastrum there has recently been intro- 

 duced a variety Major, which is the best of all Anthericums. 

 It is an early summer plant, and dies down after flowering as 

 the Oriental Poppy does, to reappear early in spring. The 

 flowers are pure white, more than an inch across, borne on 

 stout, erect stems, and in every way adapted for house decora- 

 tion. The plant is often known as St. Bruno's Lily, and is per- 

 fectly hardy. 



The graceful habit of Aquilegias, the length of time they last 

 in bloom and their hardiness are all strong points in their 

 favor; it is a pity they are not more durable when cut; but their 

 profusion compensates for this in a measure, and certainly a 

 garden of hardy flowers is not complete without the Colum- 

 bines. It is well known how prone Aquilegias are to mix, but 

 we have long kept three of the best native species true by 

 gathering the first seed to ripen and cutting off the last flowers 

 of A. Canadensis, A. ccerulea and A. chrysantha, which flower 

 in the order named. We shall have to adopt some other plan 

 in the future, owing to the introduction of some twenty aliens. 

 A word should be said for the Munstead Giant, a fine, pure 

 white strain of the old A. vulgaris, the best white variety for 

 cutting, owing to the stout, erect stems, which are two to three 

 feet high. 



The Spiraeas deserve notice, for all are useful, though some 

 more so than others; S. astilboides is one of the best, and is of 

 recent introduction. It has dense spikes of white flowers 

 similar to those of Astilbe Japonica,h\xt it is quite distinct and 

 taller in habit. It is pleasant to record that what was once 

 almost a craze for Spiraa palmata is dying a natural death in 

 favor of 6". lobata, a native plant, known as Queen of the 

 Prairies, which is quite as beautiful as the Japan plant, with 

 fragrant flowers, and with a constitution that will ensure its 

 thriftiness in any position. The double flowered form of S. 

 filipendula is useful also, and is much more durable than the 

 single variety. 



It is rather surprising that people plant year after year seeds 

 of the annual Candytuft when they could plant a perennial spe- 

 cies and always have something green to rest their eyes upon, 

 for all perennial Candytufts are evergreen. Iberis sempervi- 

 retis is now a mass of snowy blossoms ; I. Garrexiana comes 

 next, and then /. corrcefolia, the largest flowered kind, after 

 which I. sempervirens commences to flower again, which it 

 will do sparingly until fall. /. Gibraltarica has handsome 

 foliage and flowers, but, unfortunately, it is not hardy here, 



though it is valuable for cutting when protected in winter. 

 These hardy kinds of Iberis succeed best under the let-alone 

 system, for when once planted they do not care to be dis- 

 turbed, and soon form dense masses of foliage. 



Passaic, N.J. E. 0. Orpet. 



Orchard Experiences. — IV. 



H 1 



OW to set out Apple-trees has been a subject of discus- 

 sion for a great many years, and yet many who have 

 Avritten upon it have failed to lay down definite principles of 

 work, or to go into details in a practically instructive way. It 

 has been shrewdly said that a physician "is worth more to his 

 patients for what he forbids than for what he prescribes. 

 Very much the same might be said of our horticultural 

 teachers. There are many superstitions about tree-planting 

 that are hurtful in themselves, or because they divert atten- 

 tion from things essential. Some planters are very particular 

 that the young tree should be set exactly as it stood in the 

 nursery, as regards the points of the compass. Others have 

 a notion that the roots must be kept near the surface, and they 

 try to insure this by placing a flat stone in the bottom of the 

 hole. Many beliefs of this kind might be quoted, all of little 

 or no importance, and usually founded upon tradition or on 

 the practice of men really expert but full of " notions." 



The first essential is to have healthy trees, with a good supply 

 of healthy and unmangled roots. The next is a proper place, 

 properly prepared, in which to set them out. Hard-pan land,. 

 or land underlaid with ledge within six feet of the surface, is- 

 fatal to success. One of the finest young orchards I ever saw 

 was set out over rock not more than five feet from the sur- 

 face. It grew thriftily, but had hardly come into full bearing 

 when a summer of unusual drought almost entirely de- 

 stroyed it. 



Not only are healthy trees, properly taken up, essential, but 

 the selection of varieties is no less so. For a family orchard 

 of small size fancy may be allowed to guide, but a commer- 

 cial orchard must be selected with a single eye to the market- 

 ableness of its crop. Standard market sorts are what the 

 commercial grower must have. The soil has to be con- 

 sidered, because some valuable sorts are grown to perfection 

 only on certain soils. The Yellow Bellflower is worthless 

 almost everywhere except near the banks of rivers, like the 

 Kennebec, the Connecticut and the Hudson. The Roxbury 

 Russet requires, for its full perfection, a soil charged strongly 

 with iron. When this variety is set in rows running out from 

 a ferruginous soil to one of different quality, its fruit imme- 

 diately shows the change, being there far inferior in size, and 

 defective in the chief merit of this profitable variety, its keep- 

 ing quality. 



The holes in which trees are to be set must be large enough 

 to take in the full length of the roots, and they need not be 

 larger on any land desirable for an orchard, which should 

 be naturally or artificially well drained. On a well grown tree 

 the foots are commonly more or less in whorls, one above 

 another; and these should be spread out separately, beginningat 

 the bottom. Every root must slant downward to its tip, which 

 should be smoothed with an undercut where bruised by the 

 spade in digging. The hole ought to be gauged as to depth, 

 so as to leave the tree, when set, not more than an inch deeper 

 than it was in the nursery; and the earth should be carefully and 

 firmly compacted about every root to its end. Trees thus 

 carefully and firmly set require no watering, and the use of 

 water in setting is objectionable, as interfering with the proper 

 compacting of the soil by the hands. The feet should be used 

 for this purpose only after all the roots have been placed and 

 covered ; and in treading remember to keep the toes pointed 

 directly toward the stem of the tree — otherwise roots will be 

 broken, and sometimes torn off. 



Staking is necessary only when the trees are tall, with thick 

 heads; and these trees are not so good as smaller and younger 

 ones, which need no stakes. Mulching, however, is of great 

 service. A good mulch will double the rate of growth in a 

 young orchard ; and I have found it profitable to grow Beans 

 in my young orchards in order to have the straw for mulch- 

 ing. Bean-straw will not be blown off by the wind, it decays 

 slowly, and when decayed is a powerful fertilizer. If one be- 

 gins with mulching, however, it must be continued as long as 

 the orchard is kept under tillage, for it keeps the feeding roots 

 of the trees quite near the surface. Another incidental advan- 

 tage of a Bean-straw mulch is that it is not nearly as easily fired 

 by accident, and if fired it burns slowly, and is easily extin- 

 guished by throwing earth upon it. 



It is well known that many otherwise valuable varieties of 

 the Apple have a tendency to suffer in the bark on the side 



