?68 



Garden and Torcst. 



[September 26, 18 



ing them in a mixture of peat, loam and leaf-mould, with a 

 little sphag'num moss, ;uid potted in either pots or pans. They 

 should have strong- heat and abundance of water during 

 growth, and should be kept very dry during the winter. They 

 can be very easily propagated. The stem, which is made very 

 quickly, may be cut into lengths of about an inch, potted into 

 small pots, and put into a close frame. Every piece will lireak 

 and make a nice plant in one season. F. Gohiring. 



Kenwood, N. V. 



Ranunculus. — Representatives of this genus are found in all 

 temperate regions of the globe. The majority are natives of 

 the northern hemisphere. R. Lyalli comes from New Zea- 

 land ; R. cortusixfolius from the moimtains of Teneriffe ; R. 

 bulbosus, R. acris-Avn\ R. aqua /ill's ;ire found in every temperate 

 part of the globe, though probalily, in many cases, naturalized. 

 All enjoy a moist soil. General neatness of habit and the free 

 production of blooms characterize all the species ; and although 

 the flowers, which are nearly always white or yellow in color, 

 are often small, yet the neatness of their arrangement and sym- 

 metry of form always make them attractive. The majority are 

 adapted for culture in the rock-garden. 



The Persian and Turban forms of R. Asiaticiis were once 

 largely used for spring bedding. It used to be the pride of the 

 old-time g-ardeners to " do them well." The art of doing them 

 well now seems to be lost. It is a long time ago since I saw 

 an unbroken, compact bed of Ihem. Success is best at- 

 tained by spring planting, especially in tliis country. As soon 

 as the foliage begins to turn yellow they should be taken 

 up and carefully matured in moderately moist sand. We 

 must e.\pect failure as long as we keep cutting them over as 

 soon as past blooming, and otherwise disturbing them in order 

 to plant Geraniums, Coleus and other summer bedding plants. 

 It is further necessary to have the soil previously enriched — 

 say, with a surface dressing of manure in the fall: Manure 

 freshly put on in spring encourages the millepeds, which prev 

 on bulbous plants when at rest, if left in the ground. It would 

 be better if all bulbous plants were taken up after ripening. 



A selection of the best kinds for the rock-garden include R. 

 acfis, fl. pL, otherwise known as R. speciosiis, pL, a good 

 douliie yellow; R. amplexicaulis, with large, pure white flow- 

 ers and glaucous foliage ; R. aiieinonoides, of dwarf habit, 

 flowers white, pink-tinted, almost stemless, with elegant, 

 glaucous, much-divided foliage. R. Ficaria is the common 

 Pilewort. In some parts of England it is a common weed, 

 growing under trees where grass refuses to grow. Under cul- 

 tivation it is quite a pretty plant, its flowers coming double. 

 R. fuinariafoUus has elegant Fern-like foliage, and small, 

 double yellow flowers. R. spicatiis is a very rare tuberous- 

 rooted species from northern Africa, adapted only for culture 

 in the green-house. If only for its being a distinct and pecu- 

 liar Buttercup, it is worth growing ; but it has handsome pal- 

 mate foliage, and large yellow flowers, appearing and flower- 

 ing onlv in the fall and winter, and dvingdown towards spring. 

 '_ T. D. Hatfield^ 



Roses. — Pot-grown Hybrid Perpetuals for early forcing should 

 now be ripening their growth, as only solid, well-ripened 

 wood may be depended on for this purpose. And in this 

 ripening process some care is necessary, as they should not 

 be allowed to become so dry that the wood shrivels, as such 

 a condition works injury rather than benefit to the plants, 

 and usually results in a weak growth and few flowers when 

 forced. Hybrids grown in the open ground daring the sum- 

 mer, and lifted in preparation for winter forcing, are fre- 

 cpiently better if held back so as to come in as a second crop; 

 the pot-grown plants being used for the first, as the roots of 

 the latter are likely to be in a better condition to stand the 

 e.xtra e.xertion of early forcing. If regular Hvbrid houses are 

 used, in which the Roses are planted out in solid beds or en 

 benches, the growth will be more readily matured by stripping 

 off the sashes during the simimer months and leaving them 

 off until cold weather, provided the season is not too damp, 

 as in the latter case the shoots remain too soft and sappy for 

 early work. And in the planting of such houses it is well to 

 group the varieties used, so that the earliest sorts may be 

 planted in one house, or section of a house, and those more 

 obstinate in regard to forcing may be placed by themselves in 

 another section, to fie used ifor a later crop, thereby insuring 

 a succession of bloom. For instance, such Roses as Anna 

 de Diesbach, Magna Charta and possibly Mrs. John Laing 

 may Ije used for early flowers, to be followed by Paid Neyron, 

 Baroness Rothschild, Mabel Morrison, Captain Christy and 

 Alfred de Rougemont, and a number of others equally good 

 for this purpose, if it is thought desirable to use a more 

 extended list. One variety in particular, the ever-popular 



General Jacqueminot, should certainly be added to either or 

 biith catalogues, for, when properly managed, this old favorite 

 may be flowered as early as any of its class " W." 



l^laiatlelpliia, Pa. 



Quinces on Apple Stocks. — A correspondent wishes to know 

 wliether he can grow Quinces on Apijle stocks by tlie root- 

 grafting process, and whether the quality of the fruit would^ 

 probably be affected ? 



- Yes, he can grow the Quince in this way. The so-called 

 i\leech ( hiince has been propagated by tens of thousands in 

 this wa\ . Whatever effect this mingling of blood might e.\ert 

 upon stock or graft can hardly be known, but the effect on 

 the fruit would probalily be slight. The Quince is generally 

 and readily grown from cuttings in moist soils. Its tendency 

 is to make a mass of fine filjrous roots. The Apple makes no 

 such mass, and if its roots were the sole dependence of graft 

 and stock the growth would prolialily be affected. But as 

 liotli stock and graft are planted below the surface of the 

 ground, the Quince would eventually root, the Apple stock 

 acting as a support or starter till the Quince roots were pro- 

 duced. This is the result in the case of Dwarf Pears on 

 Quince stock. When the Pear stocks root above the Quince, 

 the trees become standard Pear trees, and the Quince stock 

 finally dies or becomes so enfeebled as to be of no further 

 use, because, perhaps, their natural rooting place is near the 

 surface. Wliether this would be the final result of the Apple 

 and Quince union I do not know, and I hardly think the prac- 

 tice has been tried long enough to determine. My experience 

 with Pears on Apple stocks is that they make a feeble growth 

 for a few years, and finally die. The incompatibility is fatal. 



Time and experience with the uncongeniid affinities of Pear 

 and Apple has tended to materially modify the Dwarf Pear 

 craze, so popular twenty-five years ago, so that its most zeal- 

 ous advocates are seldom heard from now, and some have so 

 far revised their opinions as to declare they would not plant 

 them as a gift. In conclusion, I think it safe to say that the 

 practice of root-grafting the Quince on Apple is only admissible 

 is case of rare or scarce varieties. F. W. 



The Peach Yellows. — A case is cited m Orchard and Garden 

 where a Peach tree standingih rich ground showed this spring 

 every symptom of the vellows. Early in July a quart of mu- 

 riate of potash was forked into the soil about it with magical 

 effect. New and healthv foliage began to appear, and within 

 a fortnight after the application the tree appeared in good 

 health. This corroborates the experience of many peach- 

 growers in New Jersey, who have foiuid. potash, as recom- 

 mended by Dr. Goessmann, a sovereign remedy for many trees 

 apparently afflicted with the yellows. Indeed, so often has this 

 cure been repeated, tliat many peach-growers in that state do 

 not believe that there is any such disease. The only disease 

 they fear is starvation. On the other hand, peach-growers 

 in Michigan are thoroughly convinced that such a disease 

 exists, and that it is incuralile. Indeed, laws have been 

 enacted to enforce the destruction of affected trees, and 

 thus prevent the spread of what is considered a most dan- 

 gerous contagion. 



Perhaps, under the circumstances, it would be well to refrain 

 from enforcing the law to exterminate diseased trees until the 

 potash cure had lieen tried. Admitting the existence of a 

 genuine disease, it is not impossilile that a lack of some con- 

 stituent in the soil may enfeeble Peach trees, and give them 

 the same appearance as that of trees affected by the disease. 

 If an aiiplication of kainit or other form of potash will save the 

 trees antl renew their vigor when in this condition, it would be 

 well to try the jiotash remedy before the more lieroic one is 

 resorted to. S. 



Plant Notes. 

 Nymphcea tuberosa. 



THE figure of this handsome Water Lily which appe.irs 

 in the present issue is the first which has been pub- 

 lished, unless the doubtful N. rcniforiiiis of De CandoUe, 

 figured by Delessert in his " Icoiies Se/ec/ce" (ii, 3, /. 5), is 

 really the same plant. N. tuberosa was first made known 

 by Paine in his "Catalogue of the Plants of Oneida 

 County, New York," published in 1865. It may be dis- 

 tinguished from the common species of eastern North 

 America {N. odora/a), with which, doubtlessl}^ it is often 

 confounded, by the thicker root-stock (see Fig. 58), bear- 

 ing spontaneouslv-detaching and often compound tubers, 

 by the inuch larger and more ]irominently veined leaves, 

 green on both laces, and which, when fully grown, are 



