420 



Garden and Forest. 



[August 27, 1890. 



cultivation necessary to destroy weeds. They need only shal- 

 low plowing and working, so that the roots of the trees are not 

 much injured ; and finally, the straw makes the best of all 

 mulch for the trees, inasmuch as there is nothing in it to at- 

 tract mice, it is not easily scratched about by fowls, it decays 

 slowly, and when decayed makes a very rich dressing, as 

 shown by the free growth of trees thus treated. 



As to the amount of growth desirable in a young orchard, I 

 think it should not be less than one foot annually, and that 

 this must be maintained, where necessary, by a sufficient ma- 

 nuring. This may be either with stable-manure or any com- 

 plete commercial fertilizer. Manuring sufficient to give a 

 vigorous growth of Beans — yielding a crop of twenty bushels 

 or more to the acre — will keep the trees growing just enough. 

 An occasional dressing of ground bone and wood-ashes, at 

 the rate of 1,000 pounds to the acre, always shows itself in 

 giving vigor to the growth of the trees and a deep, healthy 

 color to their foliage. 



Newport, vt. T. H. Hoskins. 



Notes on American Plants. 



Hydrastis Canadensis (Orange-root or Yellow Puccoon) 

 flowers early in May, but the flowers are not showy, and they 

 come at a season when there are plenty of others. But the 

 foliage is fine, and it is a pretty plant when in fruit. Its height 

 is only about a foot, and the three large cordate leaves are 

 from five to eight inches wide, deeply several-lobed, and they 

 remain fresh and green nearly the entire season. It is valuable 

 for shady situations, especially when a low foliage plant is 

 needed. It needs a light soil. It is perennial, and when once 

 established forms a thick and permanent bed. 



Silphium terebinthinaceum (Prairie Dock), which blooms 

 about the middle of August, is a showy and stately plant, from 

 four to eight feet high, with numerous bright yellow flowers, 

 two or more inches wide, and large radical leaves, often 

 eighteen inches long by a foot wide, besides the long petioles. 

 It is a member of the Composite family, common on prairies 

 from Michigan and Iowa south to Georgia and Louisiana. It 

 does well in any ordinary garden soil in the sun or a thin 

 shade. It is a near relative of the Compass-plant (S. lacinia- 

 tum), which has once or twice divided root-leaves and similar 

 yellow flowers, and which in favorable situations sometimes 

 attains a height of twelve feet, and comes into flower a little 

 before the former. Both are desirable, but need more time to 

 become established and attain their full size than most plants. 



The Climbing Hempweed or Boneset (Mikania scandens), 

 which is not rare in moist places along the margins of streams 

 and borders of ponds from New England to Texas, climbing 

 over shrubs or anything else by which it can hold itself up, 

 flowers about the middle of August, and is a pretty climber 

 for such moist places. It is a herbaceous perennial belong- 

 ing to the Composite family. Both the foliage and small heads 

 of purplish flowers are handsome. It comes readily from the 

 seed or may be transplanted. 



Another member of this same order, but not a climber, and 

 which blooms a little later, is the Artemisia Canadensis (Sage- 

 bush or Mugwort). The flowers are not conspicuous or showy, 

 but its fine and abundant silvery foliage is very handsome. 

 When stimulated by cultivation the plant spreads out over a 

 large space. The stems are weak and half trailing, and so 

 numerous that a single plant will cover a space of three or 

 four feet in diameter if given room enough and a light, rich 

 soil in the sun. rT TT , 



Southwick, Mass. F. H. Horsford. 



Rose Notes. 



Rosa rugosa seems to be attracting much attention among 

 the hybridizers of late years, and it seems reasonable to sup- 

 pose that some advantages may thus be gained. The tough, 

 strong foliage of this plant, and also its free growth, are points 

 in its favor for hybridizing purposes, and it would therefore 

 not be surprising if a numerous race of Rugosa hybrids should 

 appear in the near future. 



In this class is Madame Charles Frederic Worth (Schwartz), 

 one of the recent introductions, and described as being very 

 vigorous and perpetual flowering, flowers large, full, and well 

 formed, and color carmine-red. If this new-comer justifies the 

 above description it will doubtless prove a valuable addition. 



Clothilde Soupert (Soupert and Notting) is a charming little 

 Rose of the Polyantha type, flowering in corymbs which are 

 very freely produced, and the flowers varying in color from 

 deep rose in the centre to almost white on the outer petals. 

 This has been largely propagated as a bedding Rose, and it is 

 now proposed that it be grown for winter cut flowers, as its 



small flowers would prove very useful for " rilling" in design 

 work. 



A serviceable old Rose that has been somewhat neglected 

 of late years is Duchesse de Brabant, possibly on account of 

 the greatly increased list of pink Roses, many of which are 

 larger and of more perfect form than this one. Still it is a 

 plant of good constitution and a vigorous grower, useful 

 either for summer bedding or for winter forcing. The flowers 

 are of medium size, nearly double, and of a very pleasing shade 

 of pink. When the plants are making strong growth the 

 flowers are frequently produced in clusters, though this last 

 characteristic is not always considered an advantage. 



Among the dark colored Hybrid Perpetuals, Alfred de 

 Rougemont takes a prominent place when well grown, its 

 large, fragrant, dark crimson flowers being admirable, and 

 although in commerce for over a quarter of a century, it will 

 still compare well with many of the newer sorts. This variety 

 is also useful for forcing if not forced too early in the season, 

 at which time it is very shy in flowering. This variety 

 should not be confounded with Madame Alfred de Rouge- 

 mont, which is a Hybrid Noisette of comparatively inferior 

 quality. 



Another of the older hybrids which should have a place in 

 every collection of Roses is Marie Baumann, a variety of 

 charming color and delightful fragrance. Its color may be 

 described as carmine-crimson, or rather crimson shaded with 

 carmine. The flowers are full and of fair size, the foliage and 

 growth are strong and free, and altogether it possesses a com- 

 bination of good qualities which it is hard to excel. Marie 

 Baumann is also a good forcing variety, though the flowers 

 sometimes have a finer color when grown in the open air than 

 when under glass. 



As a pillar Rose or for training along the roof of a cool con- 

 servatory, the old Noisette, Lamarque, is a first-rate variety, 

 and when properly treated it produces immense crops of its 

 large white flowers, while its bold foliage and strong growth 

 are additional points in its favor. It is also an excellent stock 

 upon which to graft Niphetos, the latter producing particularly 

 fine flowers when thus treated; and while the grafting process 

 may not be absolutely essential to the welfare of Niphetos, yet 

 it certainly does appear to increase its vitality to the extent of 

 making it produce heavy winter crops of flowers for a long 

 series of years, at least when the stock used is Lamarque. 



Very favorable reports have been given of the "Climbing 

 Perle des Jardins," it being stated that the flowers are equal to 

 and as freely produced as those of the type, while the growth 

 is strong and vigorous and the foliage handsome, the distinc- 

 tive feature being its scandent habit. It would therefore ap- 

 pear that a valuable addition had been made to the list of 

 climbing Roses for in-door use at least, as in all probability it 

 is no more hardy than the parent variety. Perle des Jardins 

 sometimes endures full exposure to the winter in the vicinity 

 of Philadelphia, but such treatment is not usually justified. 

 Holmesburg, Pa. , W. H. Taplin. 



The Narcissi and their Culture. 



THE question is often asked whether it is necessary, or 

 even desirable, to lift the bulbs of Narcissi annually and 

 replant them ? My reply has invariably been in the negative. 

 Last fall circumstances necessitated the lifting of a large col- 

 lection of these plants, including all the common and well 

 known kinds, besides a quantity of choicer varieties of garden 

 origin. Some of these were planted immediately, before the 

 bulbs were the least dried from exposure, while others were 

 kept in barrels and planted later. In their old quarters the 

 bulbs had been planted three years, and we found on lifting 

 them that those sorts which increased rapidly from offsets 

 were really in need of lifting, as the bulbs were so crowded as 

 to render it next to impossible for them to develop properly. 

 This was the case with all of the Poeticus section, and others 

 of strong constitution, such as Sir Watkin, Horsfield's and 

 Princeps. Others, again, had not multiplied to any great ex- 

 tent, and, to all appearances, would have done well another 

 three years without being disturbed. The bulbs were planted 

 nine inches deep and covered with earth enough to bury them, 

 and then good, well decayed manure was placed on the soil to 

 a depth of one to two inches, and the remainder of the soil 

 filled in. The loss from removal was small, and could be 

 traced in most cases to a subsequent disturbance of the soil 

 for the purpose of lifting bulbs, which brought the manure in 

 direct contact with those left in the soil. Taken altogether, the 

 growth this spring was not so strong as in past years, though 

 the flowers were quite as numerous, these, of course, being 

 formed in the bulbs previously. It may be taken for granted 



