596 



Garden and Forest. 



[December ii, 1889. 



Cratcegus pyracantha, the Evergreen Thorn of soiitliern 

 Europe, which is not very hardy in this latitude, still retains all 

 of its shining green leaves, and the birds have not yet de- 

 voured the bright scarlet fruit, which is quite pleasant to the 

 taste. The Washington Thorn (C cordatd) is almost the only 

 other species whose fruit retains its brightness and is 

 persistent through most of the winter. The fruit of the 

 European Spindle tree {IZuonymus Eiiropaus) ripens late, and 

 just now the orange colored arils are very showy, although 

 the pods have dried and lost much color. This species is 

 more showy at this time than the native Burning-Bush 

 i^E. atropiirpiireiis). No list of bright fruiting plants is com- 

 plete without tlie Waxwork or climbing Bitter-sweet {Cel- 

 astriis scandens), with its hunches of bright scarlet fruit, whicli 

 often take a conspicuous part in Mew England Thanksgiving 

 and Christmas decorations. It should be propagated from 

 plants which are known to fruit abundantly. Celastriis pimc- 

 iaiits, a Japanese species, is also very ornamental, although 

 the fruit is small and is borne in small, loose, scattered cymes, 

 a character which gives it quite a different aspect from the 

 close, raceme-like bunches of our native species. 



The Rose family also contains riiany plants well known for 

 their showy fruit of late autumn and early winter. Perhaps 

 the most valued of these is the large-fruited Rowan-tree 

 {Fyrus auciiparia) of Europe and our o-wn Mountain Ash {P. 

 Aviericatia). A dwarf species of the same genus, P. arbuti- 

 folia, var. erythrocarpa, still holds its very dark red fruit in a 

 firm and fresh state. Some of the native and foreign wild Roses 

 still retain their fruit in an attractive condition, varying in color 

 from red to brown or black. Several species of Cotoneaster 

 are deserving of more general cultivation, either for thdr 

 showy fruit or evergreen habit. The Snowberry [Symphori- 

 carpos racemosiis), so common in all old-fashioned gardens, is 

 interesting for its large, white fruit, which is unique at this 

 season. The Indian Currant {Symphoricarpos vulgaris) has 

 considerable ornamental value, and its long, slender branches, 

 covered with small, fresh, dark red and magenta colored ber- 

 ries, are in their best condition at this date. 



The evergreen Bearberry {Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi), with its 

 deep red fruit, and the Aromatic Wintergreen or Checkerberry 

 {Gaultheria procunibens), have not yet become thoroughly 

 domesticated, although tlie Bearberry grows and thrives very 

 well in some situations under cultivation. The bright scarlet, 

 spicy berries of the Checkerberry are commonly found in the 

 market at this season. 



Shrubs which have bright colored stems and branches also 

 contribute greatly toward lighting up the landscape at this sea- 

 son, but mention of them has been omitted from this list 

 because the colors of most of them become more intense after 

 the snow falls and as the winter advances. 



Arnold Arboretum. J • G, jUCk. 



The Roses of the Year. 



n^HE list of new Roses for 1888 and spring of 1889 was 

 -*- an unusually large one, about equally divided between the 

 Hybrid Perpetuals and those known as Ever-bloomers in this 

 country, including Teas, Polyanthas, Hybrid Teas, Noisettes, 

 Bourbons and Chinas. It is impossible to determine the value 

 or quality of a Hybrid Perpetual with a single summer's trial, 

 but my notes made in England and on the Continent during 

 August last may indicate varieties that will probably prove 

 useful in this country. Oscar II., King of Sweden, was intro- 

 duced by Soupert et Notting, of Luxembourg. Color is the 

 remarkable feature about this Rose, it being a maroon-brown; 

 or, to put it another way, a brown-crimson. A strong, vigor- 

 ous grower, with large leathery foliage, it produces flowers 

 quite double and of fair form. It has a rival in Sir Rowland 

 Hill, an English introduction of the previous year. This is a 

 fine, erect grower, and, if vigorous enough when grown on its 

 roots, will be much sought after when known in America. It, 

 too, is a maroon-crimson, with just enough livstre to light the 

 flower up nicely. It is similar to Duke of Edinburgh in habit 

 and form. Both the above Roses are decided departures in 

 color, and from what I saw of them they appeared very free in 

 the production of flowers. Caroline D'Arden, raised by Dixon, 

 of Langport, Ireland, is a Rose of much promise from its sturdy 

 habit and fine, open-faced flowers, which are produced in 

 abundance when the size of the flowers is taken into account. 

 It is of a bright cherry-rose, one of those appealing tints that 

 one cannot help liking. Countess d'Eu (Verdier) is a fine 

 globular flower of a bright cerise-rose color, flushed with ver- 

 milion. It is a Rose of excellent shape and a fascinating color. 

 Marquis of Salisbury, raised by Lev^que, is of a bright rose- 

 crimson, shaded with silver. Its attractive color, with its fine 

 shape and great masses of flowers, impressed me greatly. 



Duchess of Albany and Duchess of Leeds, both English- 

 raised Roses, are classed as Hybrid Perpetuals in Europe, but 

 they are both bred like the well known La France. The 

 first is a Rose of decided value. As seen growing with the 

 originators, Messrs. William Paul & Son, it was all that could 

 be wished for, being larger in size, deeper in color and stronger 

 in growth than its parent. La France. Duchess of Leeds, at 

 certain stages of its development, is finely colored, and has a 

 bright, crisp appearance. Its weak point is its slaty or dead 

 pink color when fully expanded. The outer or reverse side of 

 the petals is always of good color. To my notion it is a good, 

 useful Rose, but would not please the fastidious on account of 

 its short petals and ashen color when fully open. The two 

 sports from Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, White Lady (Paul) and Maid 

 of the Mist (H. Bennett),are very fine as seen growing and flow- 

 ering in the genial climate of England, but are of no use here 

 on account of their inability to withstand the fungoid disease 

 commonly termed Black Spot. One of the finest Roses in Eng- 

 land is the parent of these two white sports, but it is valueless 

 here on account of the disease mentioned. Cheshunt Scarlet 

 (George Paul) is a brilliant crimson-scarlet, and the nearest ap- 

 proach to a pure scarlet of any Rose we know. It is from that 

 splendid race of Roses beginning with Duke of Edinburgh and 

 running through most of the seedlings raised at the Cheshunt 

 Nurseries. It is semi-double, with broad petals, and will make 

 up in color for deficiencies in other directions. Marchioness of 

 Lome, as grown at Waltham, is very nearly an ideal Rose; 

 splendid in form, bright crimson-rose in color, sweet-scented, 

 producing its buds and bloom with a lavishness unknown to 

 most Roses of its class. Unfortunately, it does not maintain 

 its perpetual flowering character when transplanted to Ameri- 

 can soil, as plants introduced last spring behave like all other 

 Remontants. The Roses mentioned above are likely to prove 

 valuable, and are distinct enough from existing kinds to war- 

 rant a trial on this side the water. 



Count Henri Rignon is a fine, distinct Hybrid Tea, raised by 

 Pernet, of Lyons — a grand Rose, as seen in the gardens in the 

 south of France,and it gives much promise on this side of the 

 Atlantic. It is equal to American Beauty in size, but of a light, 

 silvery flesh tint, which is decidedly pleasing. Our growers 

 might try forcing this variety in the way that American Beauty 

 is grown. It would sell if well done. Ernest Metz, a large 

 silvery pink" flower, tinged with flesh color, of extra large size, 

 and Madame Pierre Guillot, a rose of the Watteville type, are 

 the two most promising Teas of the year; and for bedding pur- 

 poses in the open ground they will please the fancy of critical 

 rosarians. They are the product of that cautious and consci- 

 entious man, M. Pierre Guillot, of Lyons, who has done more, 

 perhaps, than any other one man to enrich our gardens with 

 good varieties. 



We are testing other varieties of Tea Roses, but the propa- 

 gator's knife has despoiled them to such an extent that they 

 must wait until we can judge them properly. I might men- 

 tion The Queen, raised in this country, a sport from that old 

 favorite. Souvenir d'Un Ami, and a fine Rose for bedding in 

 the open ground ; Clotilde Soupert, said to be a hybrid 

 Polyantha,is, perhaps, the Rose of most value on this side, out 

 of the many introductions of 1889. It is nearly the size of the 

 fine Hybrid Noisette, Boule de Neige, but differs from that 

 variety in being short-jointed and truly perpetual, as much so- 

 as any of the common Chinas. It also promises to be hardy 

 in our northern climate, and if so it will be of great value> 

 Whether it is a Polyantha or a Hybrid Noisette, matters little 

 if it continues to do as it has done the past summer. It was 

 raised by Soupert et Notting, Luxembourg, who declare it a 

 true descendant of the Japanese Fairy or Polyantha Roses. 



Richmond, Ind. E- G. Hill. 



'Chrysanthemums in 1889. 



T^HE record of the year, so far as the introduction of new 

 -^ varieties of great promise goes, has not been an encourag- 

 ing one. 



A larger number of new kinds than has ever before been 

 offered appeared in the spring catalogues of growers in Amer- 

 ica and Europe ; and, with very few exceptions, the experience 

 of this season will probably strike from the list niae-tenths of 

 them as not having sufficiently distinct qualities to justify their 

 propagation. Some allowance should be made for the un- 

 favorable influences of an exceptionally bad season for plants 

 grown in the open ground. But the new flowers are not, in 

 themselves, either in form, color or substance, marked im- 

 provements on those already in existence. 



Mrs. A. Hardy, the principal novelty of the year, notwith- 

 standing its apparently great vigor of growth, has not done 



