September 2i, 1892. 



Garden and Forest. 



453 



it is safest to procure them in the fall, as they start to grow 

 early in the spring, and one locality varies much from another, 

 hoth in the time when plants are in active growth and the time 

 when it is possible to plant them elsewliere. Both to those 

 who have already a collection of Japan Irises, and to liiose who 

 have none, the question of what sorts to plant is of great in- 

 terest, for when they were introduced to the United States and 

 Europe, varieties were, of course, named in each country, ac- 

 cording to the fancy of the possessor, so that we can buy sets 

 from different dealers and stand a good chance of getting 

 duplicates though a different name be attached. In order to 

 avoid this it is best to make a selection at flowering-time, as 

 growers of hardy plants are usually glad to send cut flowers of 

 different varieties for selection. In making a collection it is 

 best to avoid the plants which produce flowers of large 

 iliameter, as the petals of such flowers lack substance. Prefer- 

 ence should be given to plants producing flowersof good sub- 

 stance or the do\ible-Howered varieties, the blossoms of which 

 last are beautiful and durable when cut. When buying from 

 a catalogue the mi.xeil varieties must be avoided. It is better 

 far to pay the price and get good ones to start with, and then 

 by careful selection and seed-saving to raise seedlings at home, 

 which will flower when two years old if the seed be sown in 

 bo.\es when ripe, brought on in the greenhouse in spring, 

 transplanted when large enough indoors, and later in the open 

 ground. Plants thus treated will all flower, and the poorest of 

 them will be better than low-priced kinds. Indeed, I have 

 raised as good double varieties from seed as could be found 

 among forty sorts imported from Japan. 



As with many other plants, the more highly developed the 

 flowers the less of seed we get, and the double varieties of 

 Iris produce seed sparingly. The seed should be gathered 

 when ripe and taken out of the capsule and cleaned, as there 

 is a small worm that finds these seeds a comfortable place for 

 winter quarters, feeding upon their substance as the days 

 shorten. 



The poor varieties weeded out from a lot of seedlings should 

 not be thrown away, as they are admirably adapted for natural- 

 izing in waste places where the soil is moist. In such posi- 

 tions the Japan Iris will hold its own against all other plants or 

 weeds, and will flower year after year and reproduce itself 

 from seed. Another point worthy of remark is, that when 

 transplanting in the fall we should resist the temptation to 

 cut off the foliage. The mature grass-like leaves are a great 

 protection to the dormant buds below, and where appearances 

 are not studied too closely the fohage should remain on the 

 plants all winter, more especially if they have been moved, and 

 the same remark applies to many other plants, such as Eula- 

 lias, Arundo'donax and all Lilies. -c- n r, j. 4 



South Lancaster, Mass. -t^- U- Orpet. 



as I write, and though they have been cut four days they are 

 as bright now as when first cut. This plant should be more 

 widely cultivated and more generally found in home gardens. 



()n,iu>, Maine. W'. M. MuHSOIl. 



Correspondence. 



Eschschollzia Californica. 



AMONG the most satisfactory annual plants, either for out- 

 door cultivation or for forcing, are Eschscholtzia Cali- 

 fornica and its variety crocea. The plants are very easily 

 grown and are most profuse bloomers, the bright orange or 

 yellow flowers forming one of the most conspicuous spots in 

 the garden. Tlie seed may be sown out-of-doors in May, but 

 plants started under glass early in April are more satisfactory, 

 as they mature so much earlier and will often begin to bloom 

 before the hot weather of August sets in. The blossoms ap- 

 pear most freely in cool weather, and in this locality are usu- 

 ally at their best when cut by frost in September. If the seed- 

 pods are removed as soon as formed, the period of blooming 

 may be prolonged almost indefinitely, provided the plants are 

 protected. I have had plants to give a profusion of blossoms 

 for more than two months. If the pods are not removed, 

 however, the vitality of the plant is taxed to develop seed and 

 the later blossoms are small and inferior. 



Two or three plants which I had in the greenhouse last win- 

 ter attracted much attention. In October, after frost had de- 

 stroyed most of the plants, some young seedlings were re- 

 moved to the house. They were shifted as needed, and finally, 

 in four and a half-inch pots, were plunged in earth in a cool 

 house, with a night temperature fifty degrees. From the first of 

 March until June, when the house was cleared, the plants 

 bloomed freely and continuously. Two of the plants, when at 

 tlieir best, had more than one hundred open blossoms at once, 

 and the effect was most pleasing. 



Tlie chief objection to the Eschscholtzia for cutting is its 

 habit of closing the petals at night. The blossoms last several 

 days, however, and I havefound them more satisfactory, and less 

 inclined to close at night, the second or third day after cuffing 

 than the first. I have a vase filled with the flowers before me 



Autumn Flowers at Passaic, New Jersey. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — A good example of the Olcott system of making lawn 

 was seen at Woolsons & Co.'s nursery a few days since. Pedi- 

 gree grass-growing, as it is called, consists in sowing the 

 purest available grass-seed in a sheltered place, as in a frame, 

 where it is carefully cultivated and weeded from all rogues or 

 foreign varieties. The true plats thus produced are cut up 

 into small pieces, from one-quarter to one-half inch in diam- 

 eter, and planted at some distance apart — in this case nine 

 inches — in carefully prepared ground, to tiller out and fill out 

 the lawn. The lawn here seen was a variety of Agrostis, 

 planted about the middle of May, and now showing a nearly 

 perfect mat of a uniform green. Apparently, the lawn only 

 needed a rolling and the filling of a few vacancies, and was 

 absolutely free from all but the one grass originally planted 

 in small tufts. It will readily be believed that the initial weed- 

 ing in the seed-bed is labor applied exactly in the right place, 

 and the system seems as economical of labor as successful in 

 producing a lawn of the species of grass desired. 



Clematis paniculata, covering a wire trellis several hundred 

 feet long, cannot be passed without note, though the plant 

 has had its share of notice. It may be said, however, that 

 among the numerous plants some were showing flowers 

 larger than the type, but with all the elegance of the 

 species. C. Davidiana, introduced a few years ago with some 

 flourish, does not seem a plant likely to become popular, in 

 spite of its " blue hyacinth-like flowers." Where space is not 

 valuable it may have a certain value in the shrubbery, but its 

 flowers are not very frequent or showy, and they are pro- 

 duced in the axils of the leaves and are practically stemless. 

 The plant also has a certain interest as not being a climber as 

 are most other members of the family. Other species in 

 flower at the same time were C. crispa, C. coccinea, C. fiam- 

 mula, C. stans, C. Viorna, C. tubulosa and C.Pierotti. 



Perennial Asters are interesting plants not nearly enough 

 appreciated in our gardens. Unfortunately the names are 

 very much mixed, and at present it is only by observing the 

 plants in flower in nurseries that one can secure a collection 

 without duplicates. The species here, suchas A.Novas-Anglias 

 and var. rosea, Ptarmicoides, Isvis, longifolius, bessarabicus, 

 Herveyi, etc., are said to have been identified by Asa Gray. The 

 dwarf-growing Alpine Aster, which flowers in May, is one of 

 the most satisfactory of the hardy Asters and should not be 

 omitted from the choicest collection of hardy plants. Stokes' 

 Aster (Stokesia cyanosa) was also in flower. This is an attrac- 

 tive composite with light purple flowers of beauty and dis- 

 tinctness, some three or four inches in diameter. A mass of 

 Plumbago Larpentje, with its neat foliage just beginning to take 

 on bright tints, and covered with its rich blue flowers, reminds 

 me tliat this is a plant which apparently revels in sunshine. 

 In England, where it is inuch grown, there are frequent com- 

 plaints of its doing badly and not flowering. 



I noted many other beautiful flowers. Anemone Japonica, 

 Daphne Cneorum (second bloom), Veronicas, Tritomas, Se- 

 dums, Rudbeckias, Platycodons and Lobelias, which add so 

 much color to our gardens at this season, but whose glories 

 will be eclipsed by the wonderful coloring which will soon 

 surround us as ripening vegetation is suffused with autumnal 

 tints. 



Elizabeth, N.J. J-N. Gerard. 



Russian Fruits. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — In your issue of August 3d, I notice in one of the always 

 readable articles of your correspondent. Dr. Hoskins, a recom- 

 mendation to the fruit-growers of New York to test the Russian 

 fruits, especially the Apples, with a view to escape the troubles 

 of apple-scab, etc. 



This is commendable, because experiments are advisable in 

 every business, especially if indulged in judiciously. The ex- 

 perience of others is an aid to individual judgment. The 

 people of Iowa have tested the Russians zealously for about 

 ten years ; they have been urged and led along that path both 

 by precept and example. In 1S82 the new Russian fruits came, 

 "a very great multitude," and in 1883-4 a series of disasters 



