236 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 221. 



than any other. It is exceptionally healthy and vigorous and 

 extremely productive, and the berries are large, of fine 

 quality, witli a glossy surface and rich color. It is, however, 

 a pistillate kind. Cloud has only one recommendation, and that 

 is productiveness. It is small, dull-looking- and very poor in 

 qualitv, and makes an immense number of small plants. 



Pistillate varieties sometimes produce good crops when 

 planted alone, and thev are probably more likely to do so on 

 rich land ; but when such a result happens, it must, of course, 

 depend on one of two things — either there must be some 

 perfect flowering variety sufficiently near for insects to carry 

 the pollen, or there must be enough development of stamens 

 to effect fertilization. The last tendency varies considerably 

 with difterent pistiUates, and neither is fully safe to rely upon. 

 It is much better not to allow the runners to grow than to 

 thin out the plants, because it exhausts the plants largely to 

 produce them. With such free-running plants as Crescent, I 

 liave found it a good plan to plant three feet apart each way, 

 and then allow the first runners to grow, placing the young 

 plants, as tliey form, in the row, in such manner as to have 

 them about six inches apart, leaving a space of fully three 

 feet between rows for cultivation, and, after this, remove all 

 runners as fast as they show tliemselves. If the land is 

 thoroughly enriched, they will produce big berries, and plenty 

 of them. Of course, to secure the finest fruit, some clean 

 mulch must be applied between the rows. The ideal mulch 

 would be something, which, while it shaded and kept the soil 

 cool and also protected the berries from the scorching sun, 

 would still allow the rains to soak down freely and also a 

 free aeration of the ground. Growing grass, not too thick, 

 accomplishes this, but it draws both fertility and moisture, 

 which makes it objectionable. Perhaps, where obtainable. 

 Pine-needles, with a rank growth of foliage to shade the 

 berries, come as near to meeting all these demands as any- 

 thing we can use. 



Hammonlon, N.J. I'Vm. F. Bassett. 



Notes from the Harvard Botanic Garden. 



FEW plants which flower in early spring are so much ad- 

 mired as Adonis vernalis. It belongs to the Ranunculus 

 family, a native of southern Europe, and was introduced into 

 English gardens 250 years ago. It grows from ten to twelve 

 inches high, and the finely cut leaves are produced in whorls 

 on the stem. The large yellow Anemone-like flowers, which 

 are from two to three inches across, aie produced one on each 

 stem. It will grow in almost any soil, but to have this beauti- 

 ful plant in perfection it ought to be grown where it can get 

 plenty of sun, in good, rich, moist, sandy soil, and not often 

 disturbed. It is propagated by careful division in the fall or 

 by seeds. 



The beautiful alpine Primrose (Primula rosea) has proved 

 hardy here with a slight covering of leaves. It was sent to 

 England in 1879 from the Himalaya mountains, where it was 

 found growing trom 10,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea, and 

 also from Afghanistan, where it was collected on snowy ra- 

 vines at 11,000 feet above the sea. It has a very neat habit, 

 the leaves, which are pale green, being about four inches long, 

 and forming compact tufts. The flowers are produced in 

 heads like the Polyanthus, and when first expanded are car- 

 mine-pink, but gradually grow pale with a shade of purple. 

 The flower-stem is from four to six inches high, and the single 

 flower is nearly one inch across. In its native country it flow- 

 ers from June to August, but here it flowers during April and 

 May. It IS planted here in a rather shady position in good rich 

 loam. This beautiful little gem should be in every collection, 

 and can be easily raised from seed. 



The pretty little Anemone ranunculoides is growing in a 

 rather sheltered spot here, where it has a covering of leaves 

 thrown over it every winter. This is taken off in the middle of 

 March if the weather is favorable, and in a few days after the 

 plant is covered with its beautiful yellow flowers. It is a tu- 

 berous-rooted European species, very like our common Wood 

 Anemone, but has rather coarser foliage, and the flowers are 

 bright yellow instead of white or rose-colored. It grows from 

 four to six inches high, and the flowers ar.e produced either 

 singly or in pairs. It is frequently cultivated in English gar- 

 dens, and is also naturalized in some English woods, but is 

 seldom seen in cultivation here. It grows well in a shady po- 

 sition with a well-drained sandy soil, and is propagated by 

 division. 



Alyssum saxatile has been in cultivation for over one hun- 

 dred and fifty years, and it remains one of our most valuable 

 early spring-flowering plants. It is somewhat shrubby at the 

 base, and grows about one foot high. The golden yellow 



flowers are freely produced in loose panicles, and if the 

 weather is good they last in perfection for two or three weeks. 

 It will grow in any sunny position with light sandy soil, yet it 

 is seen to best advantage when it is planted in a sunny situa- 

 tion on the rock-work, where its prostrate stems can hangover 

 the stones. It is easily and readily propagated from cuttings 

 or seed. 



Cambridge, Mass. R- Cameron. 



The Spring Garden. 



'X'HE Irises are now represented in thegarden by the dwarfer 

 ■•• forms of the rhizomatous kinds. The first of these to 

 flower is I. Chamseiris, a dwarf plant six to nine inches high, 

 leaves broad, flowers a primrose-yellow, with light brown 

 linings, orange beard, standards broad and well incurved. 

 This is followed by I. lutescens, a slightly lighter yellow-veined 

 brown, with yellow beard, standards not so broad as those of 

 I. Chamagiris, and leaves narrower. I. Olbiensis is also dwarf, 

 six to nine inches high, with broad short leaves ; flowers 

 purple, with a metallic lustre, and falls avery deep rich purple ; 

 a very attractive variety, and much like I. nudicaulis, of a 

 similar, though not so rich a color, but with a more graceful 

 habit of flowering and a trifle taller. I. pumila is one of the 

 first of the group to flower. This well-known kind niay be had 

 in various colors, the type being a rather dull purple. The va- 

 riety Alba is far from being a satisfactory white, the color being 

 a dirty cream, dull and indistinct. I. Sibirica is one of the most 

 attractive of those now flowering. It has narrow, erect standards, 

 oblong falls veined with violet on a light ground. The leaves 

 are narrow and rush-like, and in the variety, Hsematophylla, 

 they are stained a deep blood-like tint. The plant is from 

 twelve to eighteen inches or more high, and very ornamental. 



Rather handsome flowers are those of I. oxypelala, a beard- 

 less Iris with erect standards and narrow falls, of a beautiful 

 soft light, violet or lilac shade, centres of which have a yellow 

 ground reticulated with brown. The leaves are narrow and 

 rush-like, and ij^ feet long. I. Missouriensis is of similar 

 color and form, but without yellow, and rather more distinctly 

 reticulated. Both of these are very desirable Irises, as is the 

 lovely little Crested Iris of North Carolina, which is just open- 

 ing. Nothing- could be prettier in the season than a very 

 dwarf border of this gem, with its bright flawers. 



The first of the Germanica section are now showing color, 

 and very soon the garden will be gay with a wealth of their 

 showy tiowers. Tulips are still in force, and whether they are 

 interesting or not will depend very much on the varieties 

 grown. A bed of Van Thol Tulips, such as ornament our 

 parks in the spring, seems to me neither a work of nature or 

 art. It certainly is not for lack of material that we are favored 

 with plantings of yellow, red and whitedwarf Tulips in hideous 

 regularity. Nothing is more formal than a bed of the same 

 class of Tulips, but this is formality and crude color combined. 

 When we can arrange our own plantings we can arrange them 

 with more unstudied art and use the various sections and spe- 

 cies to give a less drastic effect, and by the successive flower- 

 ing enjoy their brilliant colors for a long season. Why plant a 

 Tulip-bed which shall be at the mercy of one shower? Among 

 the kinds of Tulips which should always be planted are 

 the Byblooms, Bizarres and Roses, the flowers of which 

 are richly colored and late. Breeders, too, should be in all gar- 

 dens. Good forms of breeders are not only beautiful, but 

 interesting. These, of course, are richly colored selfs which 

 have not yet rectified or taken on their true coloring. Seed- 

 lings I do not fancy so much, the " dropper" habit being more 

 curious than satisfactory. Some seedlings of T. Greggi, which 

 have been in my border four or five years, still keep up this 

 habit, and so far do no more than show their prettily spotted 

 leaves. Of other species, T. Gesneriana is one of the hand- 

 somest common kinds, but there are numerous smaller spe- 

 cies which are full of interest. The florists' Tulips seem far 

 enough away from some undetermined ones from Asia Minor, 

 which form' a very pleasing, graceful group in the border. 

 These have narrow, very slightly glaucous leaves, and the 

 small flowers are borne on flexible scapes. The colors are 

 very peculiar shades of reds and yellows quite beyond me to 

 describe. Other forms from t'he same section are dwarfer, 

 with rigid scapes, glaucous foliage and vivid crimson flowers. 

 All have the sharp-pointed petals abhorred of the florist. In 

 another respect this red variety differs widely from the hybrid 

 Tulip in having a very thick felt-like tunic instead of the thin 

 skin of the latter — from which I am inclined to think they will 

 do better in a somewhat drier place than the full exposure of 

 the garden, though they seem hardy enough. 



Elizabeth, N. J. ' J- ^'- Gerard. 



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