July 27, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



353 



almost an impossible task to carry out my instructions that the 

 plants be removed with earth about them and with unbroken 

 roots. Of five clumps jilanted a fortnight ago only one is in a 

 flourishing condition at this time. 



Much better fortune has attended a large bed of late-bloom- 

 ing perennials planted a few days ago. These came from Mr. 

 John Saul, of Washmgton, a careful grower of everything a 

 garden ought to possess. 



Our summer hammock swings from two large Oak-trees on 

 a little eminence which commands a wide view of field and 

 wood and mountain-range on one side, the grove, with its 

 winding roads and shady glimpses, on the other, and a smooth 

 expanse of shrubbery-bordered lawn just in front. At the ex- 

 tremity of this little lawn is the new bed, already interesting 

 with many blooming plants. These were carefully packed and 

 sent with balls of earth around the roots, and cool damp moss 

 to refresh them during the journey. They were at once trans- 

 ferred on a cloudy afternoon to their permanent resting-place. 



This morning the tall-blooming Phlo.xes are as fresh as 

 Phloxes can be, and seem to be gazing with wide-eyed approval 

 at their new surromidings. Unfortunately there are many un- 

 desirable colors among the flowers of Phloxes, and it is very 

 difficult to group them elTectively. Among our scarlet Gerani- 

 ums at the back of the house, the magenta andsolferinoof some 

 ancient Phloxes that will not die are very incongruous, and I 

 frequently take myself to task because I lack spirit to exter- 

 minate them. But they are relics of the past, and were 

 familiar to my childhood, and so, from year to year, they are 

 allowed to injure the color-effect of our Geranium-bed. The 

 new Phloxes just received are in softer shades ; some are pearly 

 white and otliers a faint pink with darker eyes. All these are 

 grouped together, apart from other plants, and are best so, 

 belonging as they do to such a very exclusive family. 



sorts may retain their handsome foliage, but as a rule the 

 leaves become blotched and brown. While there is no doubt 

 that variegated plants are abnormal, in so far as their chloro- 

 phyll or "leaf-green" is reduced, and, therefore, less able to 



Rlighted Leaves ot Pelargoniums. 



The Blackberry Lily, Pardanthus Sinensis, which was in bud 

 when it came, has opened a few handsome blossoms, and 

 the Campanulas and Platycodons are beginning to flower 

 afresh. A very few of the new plants are drooping. We 

 water them in the twilight and shade a little during the day. 

 The weather is warm and unfavorably dry, yet we have every 

 reason to rejoice in the success of our experiment. 



The new Yarrow, or Achillea, called the Pearl, is blooming 

 profusely, and does not seem to recognize any dilference be- 

 tween the nursery in Washington and the garden at Rose 

 Brake. 



Rudbeckias are charmingly bright and saucy, and a Seduni 

 labeled Sedum Silskanum, which is new to me, is showing a 

 few yellow star-shaped blossoms. 



This bed is very conspicuous from the hammock, and will, 

 no doubt, be a constant source of pleasure as the plants in- 

 crease in beautv dav bv dav. ,^ , _, ... 

 Rose Brake, w. Va. ' ' ' Danske Daiidridge. 



Cultural Department. 



Blights of Variegated Pelargoniums. 



GARDENERS are getting shy of some of the variegated 

 plants. Last evening, while talking with a large grower 

 of foliage plants, it was learned that he iiad discarded some of 

 the plantain Lilies, and particularly the Funkia undulata, var. 

 variegata, because they blight so badly. Such plants will do 

 well for a part of the season, and as- soon as the more trying 

 days of midsummer come, they become unsightly and worth- 

 less. 



Attention at this time is called to a similar behavior of the 

 variegated Pelargoniums. Some of these are very showy 

 border-plants, so long as they remain in good health. Under 

 the most favorable circumstances, plants of these variegated 



Hlij^lited Leaves ul PelaiXDniuitis. 



compete with ordinary plants in the making of food out of 

 the crude materials of the soil and air, it is likewise an ob- 

 served fact that such plants fall more easily a prey to the 

 attacks of parasitic fungi. In short, a variegated plant is in- 

 herently weak, and, therefore, less able to resist the enemies 

 that are constantly lurking without. 



It is regretted that the photographic art does not show all 

 shades of color in the pictures of variegated leaves. If the 

 engraving could fully present the colors, the reader would 

 not need to be told that the blighted portions of the several 

 leaves shown are invariably upon the white or etiolated parts 

 of the foliage. L/pon these light areas the fungi, of which 

 there are two, usually vieing with each other for the blanched 

 territory, establish themselves and then spread to other and 

 green parts of the leaf. These two fungi are indistinguishable 

 except with a microscope. One of them is a member of the 

 genus Ascochyta, and may be termed a genuine leaf-blight; 

 the other is an anthracnose, and belongs to the genus CoUito- 

 trichum. It is difficult to convey an adequate idea of the 

 structure and habits of these fungi without engravings to 

 accompany the text. This is not the purpose of this article, 

 but, instead, to account for the blighting of the Pelargonium 

 leaves, which is due to these low forms of parasites being 

 favored in their development by the blanched or non-green 

 condition of parts of the leaves. Spraying with fungicides 

 would doubtless assist in checking the growth of the fungous 

 enemies. 

 Rutgers College. Byron D. Halsted. 



Notes on Shrubs. 



T T is never safe to draw conclusions from or pass judgment 

 ■*■ upon one or two specimens of any species or variety of 

 tree or shrub, or, indeed, of any other plant. This is especially 

 true in testing hardiness, longevity, habit, productiveness or 

 free-flowering character. When plants are received from nur- 

 series it often happens that all the individuals of a kind are the 

 progeny of one particular plant, and this may have peculiari- 

 ties which are not common or typical to the species or varietv 

 as a whole. The variability shown in a large series of seed- 

 lings is often very interesting, and the extremes are frequently 

 so different as to suggest the need of separate names. Indeed, 

 such extremes have often been described as distinct species. 



A look over a lot of seedling plants of our pretty and fra- 

 grant-flowered Rhododendron arborescens, or smooth Azalea 

 of the Alleghany Mountain-region, exhibits marked variability 



Blighted Leaves "i Pelargoniums. 



in certain directions, and shows how a purchaser of a seed- 

 ling plant might get one which did not fulfill the expectations 

 raised by a description of it. The flowers vary in color on dif- 

 ferent plants from a pure white to a very appreciable rosy 

 tinge. There is a good deal of variability in the size of the 



