292 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 226. 



is, after all, the impression one would most naturally wish a 

 burial ground to produce. This effect is left on the mind by 

 tliis beautiful condition, thougli some of the canons of art 

 have been violated, even here, Liy a lack of strictness in the 

 rules in the beginning. An air of serenity and rest for the 

 sleepers pervades the quiet spot. Here the mind naturally 

 turns to reHection, and notliing distracts it from those sweet 

 and serious thoughts wliich best betit the last home of those 

 we love. There is no consciousness of display, no showy 

 cenotaph to inspire curiosity ; all is dignified, unpretending 

 and appropriate. In this, as in the Quaker grave-yards, one 

 feels satisfied that nothing is done for show, but reverently, 

 and with a desire that, in this last home, no man shall overtop 

 his fellow with show of monument or Ijrilliant Moral adorn- 

 ment of his grave, but that here all shall be equal in the sim- 

 plicity and dignity of Death. 



Hingham, Mass. 



M. C. Robbhis. 



Weeds in Southern New Jersey. 



HOW quickly and how completely cultivation transforms 

 the face of a country and brings on an entirely different class 

 of plants or weeds from those which for ages upon ages had 

 occupied their places before man came with his implements 

 of husbandry to scarify the ground, has been strikingly shown 

 in the recent history of tins part of the country. It is only 

 about thirty years ago since clearings were first made in the 

 dense forests here, and for the past twenty-four years I have 

 lived here and watched with interest the changes wrought in 

 the flora. The native flora of southern New Jersey is most 

 beautiful and varied. Some rare and local plants are found 

 here, like Helonias buUata and our charming Pyxidanthera, 

 and it was thought for a long time that our little Fern, Schizjea 

 pusilla, was found nowhere else in the world. The Xerophyl- 

 lum, too, is partial to the damp sandy barrens, as well as many 

 beautiful Orchids, among which are Pogonia divaricata and P. 

 verticillata, with Arethusa bulbosa and the yellow-fringed Orchis, 

 and the white-fringed and the pale yellow-fringed Habenarias 

 and others. In common with New England and othersections, 

 we find the Trailing Arbutus, the Wind Anemone, and the little 

 Star-flower, the Partridge-vine and the Pitcher-plant, with 

 others, all shv and retiring in their habits, never making 

 any effort to hold the ground a single season after the plow 

 and harrow have lacerated it. 



But there are other plants which do not yield their places so 

 readily, notably members of the Pulse family, like some of the 

 Desm'odiums and Lespedezas, the Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinc- 

 toria), the Lupine (Lupinus perennis), Tephrosia Virginiana, 

 Cassia Chamsecrista and C. nictitans. Most of these are quite 

 tenacious, and disappear only after several years of fighting 

 against fate. The Composite family also contains a number of 

 handsome plants, which cling to their old haunts persistently. 

 Asters and Golden-rods, with Chrysopsis Mariana and Diplo- 

 pappus linariifolius, are still found on the road-sides, and often 

 in vineyards and orchards. Two Milk-weeds are common, 

 Asclepias tuberosa and A. obtusifolia, the roots of which seem 

 to be below the reach of an ordinary plow. For this reason 

 great clumps of A. tuberosa, with its bright orange flowers, 

 are often seen in vineyards and orchards which have been 

 tilled for years. 



But these native plants are, after all, only scattering indi- 

 viduals compared with the hordes of foreign weeds which fol- 

 low man wherever he goes and begins to interfere with the 

 native flora. Was ever a garden free from Purslane, even 

 thougli planted in virgin soil ? And the Pig-weed (Chenopo- 

 dium album) soon follows, as well as the hateful Amaranths 

 and Shepherd's-purse and the common prostrate Mallows. 

 That most miserable of all pests, Butter and Eggs (Linaria vul- 

 garis), came here among the earliest of the weeds. Some of 

 the Polygonums, too, quickly gain a foothold, like the spread- 

 ing Door-weed or Knot-grass, and the Lady's-thuml) and the 

 climbing Bind-weed. Others are later in making their ap- 

 pearance in our sandy soil. It was several years after the 

 ground was cultivated before Dandelions were common. 

 We had some dilBculty at first in making them grow at all, but 

 now they are everywhere on the road-sides, and they star 

 every lawn with their bright flowers. For several years past 

 I have made greater effort to grow Catnip than almost any 

 other plant in my collection. I have several times planted 

 seed, and have had strong roots sent from the north, but they 

 soon disappear in spite of all my pains. The cats of the neigh- 

 borhood are the cause of my failure. They are sure to break 

 through any protection I can rear and gnaw the plants even 

 below the surface of the soil. But the Ground Ivy, a near rela- 

 tive of the Catnip, has come to stay, for the cats let this alone. 



For some fifteen or twenty years I never saw a Mullein 



here, but now they are invading our ground in considerable 

 numbers. I have not yet seen the Burdock nor the Canada 

 Thistle, nor the Hound's-tongue, nor the Beggar's-lice — all 

 vile weeds so common in waste-places and pastures of the 

 north. Two species of Buttercup are just gaining a foothold. 

 Ranunculus acris and R. bulbosus. 



The common Morning-glory (Ipomcea purpurea) is a great 

 pest in some vineyards and orchards, but how handsome the 

 ilowers are in the morning in their varying shades of color, 

 from the deepest darkest purple and bright rose, with white 

 throats, and beautiful shades of pink up to pure white. But 

 the Japan Honeysuckle is worse than the Morning-glory. The 

 soil suits it, and it runs rampant everywhere. It has escaped 

 from cultivation, and is becoming at home along the country 

 roads and in the edge of woodlands. It is an evergreen with 

 us, and when kept within bounds is very desirable ; but let the 

 man who plants it buy a grubbing-hoe at the same time. 

 The night-flowering Catchfly (Silene noctiflora) is another 

 pretty weed that is becoming altogether too common in our 

 cultivated grounds. The Ox-eye Daisy and Mayweed and 

 Yarrow abound, of course, and were among the earliest of the 

 weeds to reach us. 



But one of the most remarkable of these foreign weeds is 

 Galium Mollugo. It is only some twenty-five or twenty-six years 

 since it was first observed growing spontaneously near New 

 York City. It is a graceful, pretty plant, and, unlike our na- 

 tive Galiums, the stem is perfectly smooth. The small white 

 flowers are in long panicles and quite fragrant. The leaves are 

 mostly in whorls of eight ; sometimes, wdien very thrifty, we 

 find ten and twelve in a whorl. The sandy soil seems to suit it, 

 audit grows most luxuriantly. I think, however, it will not prove 

 very troublesome except in meadows and grass-lands. It flow- 

 ers in May, when we sometimes see a meadow perfectly white 

 with it, as if it had been planted for a special crop. It is also 

 on the road-sides and along the railroad-tracks. Strangely 

 enough, I am surrounded with it as I write, for it decorates 

 my study-walls. Some designer of wall-paper has seized upon 

 its graceful form and traced a pretty running pattern of this 

 plant alone over a delicate buff ground. Unlike most de- 

 signs of the kind, this one is very true to nature. 

 vincland, N. J. Mary Treat. 



Mid-June in West Virginia. 



JUNE is as much the Honeysuckle month as the month of 

 Roses. The two bloom together in the poet's heart and 

 should not be divided in the garden. If we had no other flow- 

 ers in June this month would still be preeminent in delight- 

 someness. Throughout the rest of the summer we shall 

 have them with us, but not in their present lavish beauty. 

 After the Jime blooming both Roses and the monthly Honey- 

 suckles " bide a wee " to gather strength for a second effort. 



As the Roses fade the golden-hearted Lilies open in the 

 garden-borders and through the grass, while the Hollyhocks, 

 in sturdy groups, stand ready to keep up the succession of 

 showy bloom. This is the day of the late Deutzias. The double 

 variety of D. crenata is now in full beauty ; a graceful shrub 

 six feet in height, blooming well on the upper branches, but 

 more sparsely below. These shrubs are charming for group- 

 ing with deep red hybrid Remontant Roses, such as the Giant 

 of Battles, General Jacqueminot and the Baron de Bonstetten. 

 There is just now little bloom in the shrubberies. The Purple 

 Fringe is preparing its rosy mist or "smoke," that will remain 

 upon the trees for many weeks and form one of the most 

 beautiful ornaments of the midsummer garden. These trees, 

 or large shrubs, bloom when three feet in height, but are not 

 in full beauty until they are about ten years old. They are apt 

 to grow ill-shaped and straggling unless properly pruned when 

 small. 



Cotoneasters have now small inconspicuous flowers which 

 are white and pink, and are eagerly sought by wasps and ants 

 for the honey they secrete. The mature blossoms look like 

 very small Apple-buds. They never expand fully, but have a 

 little opening in the centre of each flower just large enough to 

 permit the rifling of the honey within. Ilea Virginica is very 

 pretty now, with its numerous short racemes of tiny white 

 flowers studding the bush and contrasting effectively with 

 its light green oblong leaves. This shrub grows rapidly and 

 spreads by many suckers, and is valuable for planting on the 

 margin of large shrubberies. The curious, vase-shaped and 

 coral-colored flowers of Clematis coccinea are now ornament- 

 ing the vine, which is, with us, of slender growth. It seems 

 quite hardy, and is a pretty companion to a white Clematis 

 which shares its trellis. Among the tall and showy Paeonies 

 there are some striking varieties which rival the Roses in 



