October 5, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



477 



after snow left, and had the work been done then many losses 

 and a poor display would have been the result. It is a safe rule, 

 therefore, not to put off until spring what may be done in fall. 



Where alterations are contemplated in existing- arrange- 

 ments this is the best time to make a survey while the plants 

 are in character. Strong-growing plants will be aggressive and' 

 exclude weaker ones, and attention to such matters should 

 be given every year. Some plants, too, will die out from 

 various causes. Seasons differ. A wet year suits some plants 

 to the injury of others, and vice versa, and if this should chance 

 to be an unfavorable time to make changes and supply losses, 

 take notes of the situation so that the necessary changes can 

 be made before growth commences next year. Up to this 

 time we have had no frost, but as soon as the garden has been 

 seared by it the plants that are herbaceous will be cut down, 

 divided it necessary and replanted and the whole borders 

 treated to a liberal top-dressing of well-decayed compost, 

 which will remain on in spring and not be dug in. The annual 

 digging and cleaning of hardy flower-beds requires skilled 

 labor of the best kind to avoid injury to the dormant plants. 

 Therefore the borders are left alone after the top-dressing in 

 fall, and they look, to the well-informed, snug and comfortable. 



The operation of planting means more than making a hole 

 in the ground and thrusting the roots into it. Plants hold out 

 in dry weather by means of their deep roots, and the proper 

 way to plant is to take a spade and loosen the soil thoroughly 

 over as large a space as the foliage should cover when fully 

 developed. We should remember that the parts of a plant 

 above and below the soil are beautifully balanced by nature, 

 and if the one cannot develop the other will not. 



There are always in the border plants that are more or less 

 tender and which require lifting to protect them in winter. 

 These should now be taken up and the roots placed in soil in 

 a cool cellar. Plants keep better in such a place than in a 

 frame outdoors. Tritonias (Kniphofias), Montbretias, Arundo 

 donax. Pampas Grass, Eulalias, Helianthus multiflorus, Meli- 

 anthus major, Conoclinium ccelestinum. Hibiscus coccineus, 

 and possibly the Japan Anemones, which are sometimes winter- 

 killed with us, are better for this treatment. This lifting of 

 plants is not altogether an unmixed evil, for it gives an oppor- 

 tunity to have fresh combinations each season, and in this way 

 monotony is avoided. Pennisetum longistylum, a most elegant 

 Grass, is now at its best. A recent writer in Garden and For- 

 est spoke of it as an annual ; it is as much a perennial as the 

 Eulalias or Arundo, but requires lifting in fall. Our clumps 

 were stored in the cellar last winter and are much larger than 

 seedlings would be. 



It remains now to note what not to plant at this season. For 

 the most part all prostrate plants should be set out in spring, 

 such as Gypsophilarepens, Veronica repens, Arenarias, Arabis, 

 Sedums, varieties of Phlox subulata, Myosotis, dwarf Silenes, 

 Lychnis and Campanulas, all ornamental grasses, Hollyhocks, 

 Anemone Japonica and Hellebores of all kinds. Prostrate 

 plants do not take hold so readily in fall as deeper-rooting 

 kinds, and they cannot be mulched so safely to prevent heav- 

 ing by frost when they are planted late and not protected. All 

 plants of doubtful hardiness should be set out in spring; all of 

 the above-named list belong to one of these sections. By fall 

 planting I do not mean November planting, but planting as 

 early as possible now, before the natural warmth of the soil 

 is exhausted. It takes some weeks to cool the soil, and plants 

 take hold at this season and start away next year as though 

 there had been no check. Hardy Lilies should in all cases be 

 planted in fall, but the new bulbs from Japan do not arrive 

 until the ground is frozen up, and they have to be kept over 

 till spring in a cool place, but where transplanting has to be 

 done in one's own garden, the time to do it is as soon as the 

 stalks turn yellow, as root-growth at the base of the bulbs 

 commences with the end of the flowering season, to fortify 

 the bulb as it were in its effort to produce a flower-shoot. 

 This flower-stalk, when once started, is self-supporting by 

 means of the stem-roots. -c- n n j. 4 



South Lancaster, Mass. E- O. Orpet. 



Water-lilies. 



SOME specimens of Nymphseas sent by Mr. J. Brydon 

 from the gardens of Miss Simpkins, of Yarmouthport, 

 Massachusetts, are marvelous examples of the best cultivation 

 and most vigorous growth. A flower of N. Zanzibarensis 

 fully a foot across, highly colored, and on a stem about an 

 inch in diameter, probably represents this variety in its very 

 best form. There was also a tine specimen of the very dark 

 purple variety, which is somewhat rare, as it seldom repro- 

 duces this rich coloring from seeds. The odor of N. Zanzi- 

 barensis is one of its special charms, being very distinct, deli- 



cate and pleasing. Only second in size to the N. Zanzibarensis 

 was a flower of the N. gigantea, the rare Australian species, 

 with which few cultivators have succeeded in the open. This 

 is a Nymphffia with petals less blunt than those of the Stellata 

 type, and of less firm texture. The flowers are blue, shading 

 to white toward the centre, which is crowded with a mass of 

 thread-like golden stamens. This species is very disdnct from 

 the other tender Water-lilies, not only in its coloring and sta- 

 mens, but also in its less formal character. When well estab- 

 lished it is one of the most prolific of bloomers. The stems 

 of these Nymphseas were about one foot and a half to two feet 

 long, and as straight as canes. In a note with the flowers, Mr. 

 Brydon says : " I claim that the finest Lilies are those grown 

 in deep water ; by deep water meaning two feet or two feet 

 and three inches. Perhaps where it is not possible to artificially 

 heat the pond, shallow water would be preferable, but it will 

 be at the expense of the flowers every time. I contend that 

 the buds of the tropicals should not show above the water more 

 than two or three days before they open. In shallow water 

 they are above water long before they are half-developed. I 

 like to see them come straight up from the bottom and flower 

 shortly after they appear above the surface. The finest flowers 

 of N. odorata I ever saw were grown in four feet of water, and 

 it seems that if this variety will do so well under such a depth 

 of water the tropical kinds should stand much more than is 

 commonly given them, as they are mostly strong-growing." 



I have been a consistent advocate of shallow planting, but it 

 gives me pleasure to call attention to the apparently contradic- 

 tory views of so able a cultivator as Mr. Brydon, who is, no 

 doubt, correct under the conditions given. One can scarcely 

 cultivate plants very long before making the discovery that 

 when grov\ring in the open, exposed to all the contingencies of 

 such exposure, success is at the best rather uncertain. Hence 

 it is customary, when crops are important or especially well- 

 grown flowers are desired, to resort to shelters or aids of some 

 kinds. In this view, no doubt, heated tanks are very servicea- 

 ble and important aids to the cultivation of Nymphseas. And 

 in them, with the temperature of the water, which is such a 

 vital matter, under control, no doubt, in an average season, 

 the best results can be secured, and deep plantings can be made 

 as seems necessary for the best results. But heated tanks are 

 not always available, and my notes of my practice of shallow 

 planting have been made in the hope of interesting the owners 

 of small gardens in aquatics. Some of us are quite satisfied 

 with modest results, being debarred often by expense, and 

 sometimes by other considerations, from securing the very 

 best results attainable. In such cases, in this latitude, with its 

 changeable weather, not always with reliable warmth, shallow 

 planting of Nymphseas is safe and satisfactory practice, as the 

 plants are in a position to respond promptly to the quickening 

 power of the sun. 



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



Decay of Quince Fruit. 



''P HERE is a destructive form of Quince decay about which 

 -•- the growers of Quinces are much exercised. The fruit 

 is the object of attack, and in nearly all cases the rot begins at 

 the blossom end. It is a dry decay and the affected portion 

 turns a light brown, followed soon by multitudes of small 

 pimples slightly darker than the surrounding brown. The decay 

 penetrates to the core and ultimately involves the whole fruit. 



In one orchard of a hundred trees recently visited, nearly 

 half of the fruit, otherwise large and fine, was found with a 

 rot-spot ranging from a mere speck at the blossom end to en- 

 tire decay. It may be that some substance applied to the 

 blossom end will assist in preserving the fruit from attack. It 

 is possible that the tender parts of the flower may be the ones 

 most susceptible, and by removing these when the quince is 

 small, the enemy may be successfully resisted. Thus the 

 calyx lobes might be removed, as they generally become 

 brown and, lying upon the surface of the fruit, probably assist 

 in giving the rot-fungus a foothold. It would be practicable 

 to remove the useless parts of the blossom end of the fruit, as 

 quinces are within easy reach of the ground, and usually only 

 a few trees are grown. This treatment would be in addition 

 to the spraying of Quince-trees to ward off common leaf-blight, 

 an entirely different fungus. The enemy of the fruit is 

 Sphseropsis Cydoniag. It also preys upon the foliage and was, 

 in fact, described from specimens from leaves. It has not, this 

 season, been found upon the foliage of the trees. 



The decaying fruit is worthless and should be picked off and 

 burned. If left upon the trees or ground, the* fungus will 

 mature a vast number of its oval brown spores and menace 

 the quince crop next year. 

 Rutgers College. Byroit D. Halsted. 



