April 25, 1888.] 



Garden and Forest. 



107 



very little about those from Colorado — much less than we 

 did about the Norway Spruce, when it was thought to be 

 the best Conifer that could be planted in America. The 

 time may come when we shall learn that they are all un- 

 reliable. It takes a long time to test the adaptability of a 

 tree to a peculiar climate, and such e.xperiments should be 

 carried on in public establishments, where time and the 

 chances of failure are not important elements, or by indi- 

 viduals who are willing to devote their time and money to 

 such experiments for the sake of the experiments them- 

 selves. It is to such planters that we owe in this country 

 most of our knowledge of foreign trees. Those persons 

 who cannot afford to make experiments or run risks vidth 

 their plantations should plant only such trees as have been 

 thoroughly tested and are known to flourish in this 

 country. — Ed.] 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : -. 



Sir. — hi the inhospitable climate of New England, the first sight 

 of the fragile flowers of the Hepatica with its delicate hues, 

 opening m some sheltered spot, before the Winter has fairly 

 gone, always brings a thrill of delight. 



Bigelow, in his " Florula Bostoniensis," thus gracefully speaks 

 of the Hepatica : " Tliis tlelicate little plant is one of the ear- 

 liest visitors in spring, flowering in sunny spots before the 

 snow has left tlie ground. The flowers appear on hairy scapes 

 before the leaves. I'etals olilong obtuse, purple, sometimes 

 white." It is, however, more especially as an indication of the 

 comparative earlincssof differentsprings that I wished to sijcak 

 of this flower, having recorded its first appearance in the same 

 locality and mostly on the same plants, for the past twenty-six 

 springs. 



The following are the dates in the several years ; 



April 26th, 1863. 

 " 24th, 1864. 

 2d, 1865. 

 " 15th, 1866. 

 7th, 1867. 

 " igdi, 1868. 

 " nth, 1869. 

 loth, 1870. 

 Marcli igth, 1871. 

 April i2th, 1872. 

 8th, 1873. 

 May 3d, 1874. 

 April nth, 1875. 



Chestnut Hill, Mass. 



Marc 



h 30th 



1876. 



" 



ntli 



1877. 



" 



lodi 



, 1878. 



April 



Sth, I 



879. 



March 2d, 



8S0. 



Api-i 



3d, 1881. 



Marc 



h 5th, 



1882. 



Apri 



1st, I 



383. 



" 



13th, 



1884. 



" 



15th, 



1885. 



Marc 



h 1 8th 



, 1886. 



" 



2ISt 



1887. 



" 



23d, 



1888. 





L 



. D. Sladc 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir.— Will some reader of Garden and F(jrest tell me if a 

 Savin would grow under the shade of a Horse-Chestnut whose 

 lowest branches are ten feet from the ground. Tlie grass is 

 poisoned by the drip. Blue Laurel or Periwinkle does well under 

 similar circumstances. If Savin is unsuitable what can be 

 planted ? Could Honeysuckle or Jackman Clematis ? 



Providence, March 2C)th. Jiiy _ 



[Undoubtedly the best plant to grow under the dense 

 shade of a Horse-Chestnut tree is the Periwinkle, which 

 thrives in such situations and makes an attractive appear- 

 ance throughout the year. If this plant is used the space 

 under the tree to be cox'ered should be carefully forked 

 over and enriched with well rotted stable-manure, and if a 

 dressing of fresh soil can be added it will greatly improve 

 the bed. Strong, well rooted plants only should be set 

 twelve to eighteen inches apart. They should be freely 

 watered during the first season, as the roots of the Horse- 

 Chestnut will absorb a great deal of moisture and so make 

 the surface soil dry. Dwarf Junipers or "Savins" would 

 suffer from drought and shade and give little satisfaction 

 in such a situation, and so would Honeysuckle or Clematis. 

 The Rose of Sharon, or Aaron's Beard {Hy pericum calyci- 

 iitivi), a dwarf and very beautiful, almost evergreen shrub 

 from south-eastern Europe, is very generally used in En- 

 gland to clothe the ground under the shade of trees. It is 

 admirably suited for this purpose, but in New England, 

 except, perhaps, in the extreme southern part, it would 

 require a slight protection in winter. We shall be glad to 



hear of the experience of our readers with this plant, which 

 is not sufficiently known or appreciated in this country. — 

 Ed.] 



To the Editor Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — It is well known that the old Azalea Indica alba is per- 

 fectly hardy as far north as New York City, and also that Azalea 

 aiiuvna and its relatives are hardy. But who knows that other 

 varieties of the showy Indian Azaleas are not hardy ? These 

 plants have always been high priced, and growers have not ex- 

 perimented witli them much in the open air. There is here an 

 opportunity for some of the new experiment stations to do a 

 good turn for landscape gardeners l)y makinj,' tests of tlie hardi- 

 ness of all these showy plants. I am inclined to think that there 

 are many hard-wood green-house shrubs that can be grown in 

 the open air further north than we now imagine. Trees of 

 Citrus irifoliata, which I planted in northern Maryland eight 

 years ago, bore fruit last year, as stated by a correspondent of 

 the Americaji Farmer. These trees the flrst year they were 

 planted went through a cold wave, in which the mercury fell to 

 18° below zero, without the loss of a twig. The fruit of tliis 

 Citrus is about the size of a green Walnut with the hull on, with 

 thick skinandisbitterto the taste. It is good, however, for mar- 

 malade. The trees, with their golden fruit, are highly orna- 

 mental, and when leafless they are still attractive from the 

 l>riglit green color of the bark. This Orange is a valuable plant 

 for hedges on accoiuit of its dwarf and dense growth and ter- 

 rible thorns. When the seed becomes more plentiful it will no 

 doulit take the place of all other hedge plants where it is hardy. 

 Here also is work for experiment stations in raising hybrids of 

 a more or less hardy nature liy crossing this hardy Japanese 

 species with the varieties that bear luscious fruit in Florida. It 

 is not impossible that in this way the Orange belt might be 

 moved much north of its present limit. 



Miikr School, Va. /'. F. Massey. 



[Experiments in testing the hardiness of trees and shrubs 

 are made continuously in this country in both public and 

 private establishments, and one of the duties of Garden 

 AND Forest is to record and make known the results of such 

 experiments as soon as they appear conclusive. The 

 trouble with the Indian Azalea as an out-door plant, even 

 very much further south than this latitude, is, that while it 

 may be sufficiently hardy to withstand the cold of ordinary 

 winters, it has not the reserve strength of constitution to 

 enable it to survive the exceptionally cold waves which 

 pass over this country every few years. South of Virginia 

 the Indian Azalea is one of the most beautiful shrubs which 

 can be grown, as March and April visitors to Wr. Drayton's 

 charming gardens near Charleston can testify ; and it is 

 surprising that this plant is not more often seen in our 

 Southern cities. North of 'Virginia the Indian Azalea 

 should only be planted as an experiment, and with the 

 expectation that unusually cold weather will kill it outright, 

 or at least cut it down to the ground. Citrus irifoliata is 

 hardy here ; at least a plant has grown and flowered freely 

 in a sheltered spot in the Central Park for many years. 

 This little Orange, however, must be grown more exten- 

 sively before its perfect hardiness at the North is demon- 

 strated. — Ed.] 



Flower and Fruit Pictures at the Academy of 

 Design. 



nPHE flower and fruit paintings which may now be seen at 

 A the Academy of Design cannot, as a whole, be included 

 among the pictures which give the exhibition its character as 

 the best that has yet been held. They are not very numerous, 

 and a diligent search reveals scarcely half-a-dozen which 

 can be called even toleralily good. The best American 

 painters of flowers are not represented — neither Mr. LaFarge 

 nor Mr. Alden Weir, both of whom paint flowers beauti- 

 ftdly in the most poetic way, and neither Miss Greatorex nor 

 Mr. Carlsen, both of whom are singularly successful in treat- 

 ing them from the decorative point of view. Several ambitious 

 attempts at a decorative treatment of showy flowers may be 

 found. But Mrs. Dillon is not up to her usual level in either 

 her " Roses " or her " Chrysanthemums " — both being painted 

 in a soft, cottony fashion. Mr. C. C. Coleman, too, is hardly up 

 to his average in his picture of purple Magnolias in a purple 



