VEMBER 23, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



555 



•e to be satisfied. A great many hybrids have been raised 

 m these, some of them very beautiful. In the latter part of 

 ptember hybrids of Rhododendron Javanicum and others 

 re showing good bloom. It is a characteristic of this class 

 it they will bloom all the year round. They require con- 

 erable heat in winter, but otherwise they are very easily 

 )wn and require no unusual treatment. There are almost 

 colors and shades and combinations of colors in the flow- 

 ., while there are a number of good double forms. Tliese 

 ododendrons are generally considered more beautiful and 

 ■active than the Camellias, which are not neglected here, 

 ^at stocks of the most useful decorative plants are kept, and 

 ■se must be seen to be appreciated. 



The visitor especially interested in hardy trees and shrubs 

 )uld go to Coombe Wood, where there is a rich collection ; 

 3n the ordinary sightseer or lover of things beautiful must 

 rive a great pleasure in going about this beautiful country 

 |l in visiting a nursery so trimly kept and so filled with fine 

 |:cimens of plant-growth. The nursery is largely situated in 

 jroad, sheltered hollow, and to look down upon this in June, 

 jen the Rhododendrons and many other shrubs are in bloom, 

 iist be a sight well worth going a long way to see. 

 I'onifers are a specialty here, many of them having been 

 t introduced into cultivation through this establishment, 

 iiong these are the beautiful Abies Veitchii, A. Sachalinen- 

 I A. brachyphylla, the curious and interesting A. bracteata, 

 |iea polita and many others. Japanese Maples have been 

 j'oduced in great variety, and there are some of the orig- 

 Jlly imported specimens, which have attained handsome 

 jjportions. [A. Veitchii, and perhaps others of the trees 

 Ined above, had been sent to America by Thomas Hogg or 

 J Hall before they were introduced in Europe. — Ed.] 

 ji such a climate as this, with winters so much milder than 

 tare accustomed to in southern New England, it is possible 

 {rrow a greater variety of shrubs out-of-doors, and plants 

 \n New Zealand and Chili and other temperate parts of 

 th America thrive well. One of the most interesting and 

 utiful of these is Eucryphia pinnatifolia, a native of south- 

 Chili. It has proved quite hardy at Coombe Wood, its 

 jJiness being attested by fine bushes eight or nine feet 

 1, just out of the bloom borne during July and August. 

 s shrub has deep shining green pinnate leaves of fine leaf- 

 ;, and its flowers, which expand from two to three inches 

 5SS, are composed of four broad white petals, numerous 

 J silvery white stamens and reddish brown anthers. They 

 ngly suggest large Hypericum or Stuartia blossoms. This 

 jiuld be a most desirable acquisition among shrubs for 

 'iting south of Washington. The species is, as yet, a great 

 jty in cultivation, and it is for their enterprise in making 

 ]|.i plants better known that the fame of the Veitch estab- 

 Jment is largely due. Although the climate here is so 

 :;h milder in the winter than in any part of New England, 

 ■je are some disadvantages to offset the moderation. This 

 Jjerhaps particularly the case with Firs and other plants 

 ,1.1 northern regions, which do not tlourish well in this part 

 ngland, because the warm winters and early springs in- 

 5 starting into growth too soon and with consequent in- 

 by frosts, occasionally as late as June, 

 jhe raising of shrubs for forcing purposes has grown to be 

 Tge business here. Lilacs, Viburnums and Azaleas are 

 vn in quantities and are superior to those imported from 

 Continent. A large number of small plants of the hand- 

 e Japanese Tecoma grandiflora, in pots, were coming 

 bloom in mid-Septennber. Our Fringe-Tree (Chionanthus 

 ■inica)is grafted on the European Flowering Ash (Fraxinus 

 as) and is used as a pot-plant for forcing ; thus treated it 

 |ers beautifully in winter. 



Sants of the true Actinidia polygama are growing here, 

 only ones of which I know besides those recently noticed 

 ARDEN AND FOREST (vol. V., p. 320), on the grounds of the 

 icultural College at Amherst, Massachusetts, and which 

 : brought from Japan by Professor W. P. Brooks. The 

 litiful silvery lustre which covers a portion of the leaves is 

 jfficient means of identifying the species, and if further 

 'f is necessary, it is to be found in the fact that at Coombe 

 id much trouble is experienced from cats, which destroy 

 le foliage within reach. The attraction which this plant 

 jor cats is remarkable. A Japanese gentleman informed me 

 in order to capture all the cats of a neighborhood, which 

 . wild or Bohemian life, it was simply necessary to burn 

 Jle of the Actinidia, when all within range of the odor 

 „d be so effectually attracted as to be caught with the 

 (test ease. 



i.e Messrs. Veitch do not confine their work to any one 

 cular line of horticulture, but deal extensively in fruit, 

 1! . 



vegetable, flower and other seeds, plants and bulbs, among 

 which they carry on numerous experiments. Thus equipped 

 with the best of material in all branches of the business, they 

 are enabled to furnish an estate completely from their own 

 stores, and as they also undertake all kinds of planting and 

 landscape-designing, there are not a few English estates 

 which are conducted entirely under their management. 



Arnold Arboretum. /. G. Jack, 



Color for the Lawn in November. 



ONE of the sorrows of winter is the absence of color in the 

 landscape. It was this fact that led to the planting on 

 the lawn, in a conspicuous view from our living-room win- 

 dows, a Hemlock-tree as a background for the Witch-Hazel and 

 Waahoo, which give lale blossoms and bright berries. To- 

 gether they make the prettiest imaginable group. The frost 

 may come, the snow may fall, but all the cold white days we 

 look into the heart of a little summer. The yellow stars of 

 the Witch-Hazel twinkle and shine well into November, and 

 the Waahoo berries hang on the boughs through the winter. 

 They are both native shrubs, and thus are perfectly acquainted 

 with our climate. They give great pleasure to the children of 

 the household, who become quickly interested in what seems 

 their untimely blossoms and fruit. In choosing plants and 

 trees for the home lawn the children's interests deserve con- 

 sideration. 



The Witch-Hazel is a true witch among shrubs. It has a 

 wild way of growth, several crooked branching trunks grow- 

 ing from the root, smooth leaves, four very long, linear petals, 

 yellow and twisted or curled. So far it is not unlike other 

 shrubs. The name Hamamelis indicates its most striking 

 peculiarity, " flowers and fruit together on the tree." It 

 blossoms in Orcober and November, and the flowers of this 

 fall will be tl j iruit of next fall, which hangs on the bare 

 boughs when u next blossoms. The flowers, though small, are 

 made noticeable by the manner of blossoming in clusters on 

 the stem. The fruit is a woody capsule, nut-like, two-celled, 

 and the seeds, almost black and shining, are the prettiest 

 seeds in the world. Another peculiarity of this curious shrub 

 is its explosive seed-scattering. Many years ago, wishing to 

 secure a quantity of these seeds to make a necklace like one 

 I had seen, it became a question how to get them. Before the 

 nut was ripe enough to open, it was almost impossible to get 

 at the seeds, and when the capsule opened they were shot out 

 suddenly, scattered far and near and lost. A quantity of the 

 almost ripe seed-pods were gathered, put in paper bags and 

 hung up to wait and see, or rather to wait and hear, what 

 would happen. For days those pods, as they dried, kept 

 popping in the bags, and the seeds, small and polished, very 

 like rice in shape, were secured. The explosive opening of 

 the wild Witch-Hazel fruit may be known to all, but it is not 

 very long ago W. H. Gibson, in " A Witch-Hazel Copse," tells 

 of making this discovery after he was sure he knew every- 

 thing about the Witch-Hazel. 



But when the seeds were gathered there was another prob- 

 lem to be solved — how to thread them. The finest, sharpest 

 needle would split them every time. The friend who had 

 threaded them told me how it could be done. The seed was 

 to be cut off at each end with a very fine file. This was a labor 

 of love, and the necklace was pretty enough to pay the trouble. 

 Like the flower, the leaves when ripe are yellow. To those 

 who enjoy the autumn woods it is a very bewitching shrub, 

 but never seems more witch-like than when seen against a bit 

 of blue sky. The leafless branches, lifting up clusters of 

 twinkling lights, have a fascination for eye and heart. 



The Waahoo, Burning Bush, Spindle-tree, Prickwood or 

 Strawberry Bush belongs to the Staff-trees. Perhaps it was 

 early found out that a branch of the shrub made a good stout 

 staff. Some of the numerous names have come from the uses 

 to which the wood has been applied. The common name, 

 Spindle-tree, came from the fact that in the days of spinning- 

 wheels the wood of the European species was used to make 

 spindles, and the name remains. Possibly the shrub is called 

 Prickwood because the wood was used in making skewer-like 

 pins, used to hold the dress together as late as the reign of 

 Henry VIII., when metal pins became more general. The flne 

 hard-grained wood is used for the finer articles of turnery, and 

 was formerly used in making musical instruments. The Euro- 

 pean Spindle-tree is often grown in shrubberies, but it is in 

 no way superior in beauty to our native Waahoo, with its inter- 

 esting Indian name. 



The Waahoo blossoms in June ; the flowers are small and 

 not particularly attractive. It is common enough all sum- 

 mer, but when the world is bereft of color, then the Waahoo is 



