1 16 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 474. 



Cerics Canadensis, the Judas-tree, is better known in culti- 

 vation than many of the trees of our native forest, and it is a 

 first-rate small tree for planting among larger ones in open 

 spaces or on the borders of heavy woods. This, together with 

 Cornus florida, the Flowering Dogwood, succeeds admirably 

 in such a position where there is abundant light orair, and both 

 flower abundantly in the early season. No imported trees 

 equal them for such positions. 



Cladrastis lutea, the Yellow-wood, is also well known to 

 us in cultivation, and is really one of the best of our trees of 

 medium size. It combines symmetrical growth, fine foliage 

 and handsome flowers. It is particularly good when used as 

 a single specimen. One peculiarity should be noticed, and 

 that is, the trunk often divides near the ground, and this is a 

 source of danger, as the tree sometimes splits apart. One of 

 the stems should be removed when the tree is small, so that 

 the other one can develop symmetrically, or the two should 

 be firmly bolted together. 



The American Hawthorns are all useful at every season, 

 and Crataegus cordata, C. coccinea, C. tomentosa and C. crus- 

 galli are all good where showy fruit is desired in autumn and 

 early winter. They will make impenetrable thickets where 

 needed, and perhaps they would make better hedges than the 

 famous English Hawthorn. Without enlarging on the special 

 beauties of form and fruit and foliage in each, it is worth say- 

 ing that they are all admirable trees for parks and gardens 

 either in masses or in single specimens. Our American 

 Beech is not planted nearly as otten as the Purple Beech, a 

 variety of the European species, but its fine trunk and singu- 

 larly smooth gray bark ought to commend it to every planter. 

 Magnolia macrophylla is rarely found in northern gardens and 

 shrubberies, perhaps because it is difficult to carry through its 

 first few years. When once established, however, it seems to 

 be thoroughly hardy here in Massachusetts, and gives great 

 satisfaction. The flowers are often more than twelve inches 

 in diameter and the leaves more than two feet long. It is alto- 

 gether the showiest and most tropical in appearance of any of 

 our hardy trees. It does best in soil containing peat, and is 

 benefited by copious waterings in hot July and August 

 weather. All Magnolias thrive in peaty soil, and the best Chinese 

 Magnolias I know are growing in a well-drained and protected 

 swamp. 



The American Crab Apple is not only one of the best of the 

 flowering Apples now so justly popular, but when compared 

 with the better-known Pyrus spectabilis and Pyrus floribunda 

 and their varieties, it has two peculiarities worth mentioning. 

 The first is the lateness of its flowering time, which comes from 

 ten to fifteen days after other apple blossoms have formed ; 

 and, secondly, the exquisite perfume of its flowers. These 

 peculiarities are both desirable and ought to commend this 

 much neglected tree. 



The Sassafras is one of the most attractive trees in our forest. 

 In eastern Massachusetts large specimens are rare, because it 

 is said that the early settlers dug them up so as to export the 

 roots and bark, from which they derived a considerable in- 

 come. Here along the Connecticut valley, however, there are 

 some noble specimens. The Sassafras is not a hard tree to 

 grow and responds quickly to kind treatment and good soil, 

 and its distinct form and dark green foliage, its well-propor- 

 tioned head and general clean appearance make it highly 

 desirable. 



The Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, is a tree of striking 

 individuality. Unfortunately, it is somewhat tender in New 

 England, but if set in a sheltered place and some extra care is 

 given to it when first planted it can be grown to fair size, say 

 thirty feet in height or more, and a ripe age. The foliage is 

 most graceful and pleasing in color. 



Our common American Linden, or Basswood, and the 

 Southern Linden, Tilia heterophylla, when compared with the 

 more commonly planted European Lindens, are certainlv 

 more desirable. The native trees are better on account of 

 their larger and handsomer foliage, which does not fall as 

 early in the autumn as that of its European relatives, and its 

 flowers come later. These are clean, wholesome trees which 

 are beautiful all the season through. 



The Hickories are said to be slow-growing trees, but in the 

 Arboretum I have observed that for the first ten years or so 

 their growth compares favorably with that of our other hard- 

 wooded trees. The Shell-bark Hickory, the Big Shell-bark and 

 the Bitternut have attained a height of from twelve to sixteen 

 feet in ten or twelve years and, as yet, show no signs of stop- 

 ping. Much is due, perhaps, to the care with which they are 

 treated. The plants are grown from seeds in boxes in the 

 greenhouse, and thus they develop fibrous roots in great quan- 

 tity. They are permanently planted in carefully prepared soil 



when less than a foot high. Nurse plants of native shrubs are 

 provided to give them protection, and these are cut as soon 

 as they interfere with the growth of the trees, a treatment 

 which ought also to be given to our Oaks and the Beech. A 

 well-grown Hickory is a tree of great dignity and beauty, and 

 yet very few of them have been planted in American parks. 



American Oaks also have the reputation of being slow 

 growers, but this is not deserved, except in the case of a few 

 species. The White Oak and the Bur Oak, especially its variety 

 olivasformis, are certainly not rapid growers. The Scarlet 

 Oak is moderately slow in its early stages, but it is so attrac- 

 tive in its autumnal foliage that this fault, if it is a fault, must 

 be overlooked. The Black Oak develops rapidly, and the 

 Swamp White Oak, although not among the most rapid grow- 

 ers, is a finely shaped tree and always interesting in bark and 

 foliage. The Laurel Oak is perfectly hardy in the Arboretum, 

 and is a most interesting tree with bright, glossy leaves, long 

 and lanceolate, which give it a distinct look and distinguish it 

 from all other species. It is belter for New England planting 

 than the Willow Oak on account of the tenderness of the latter 

 tree. The Pin Oak is one of the most rapid-growing species, 

 and it is one of the most beautiful. It is distinguished by its 

 fine and symmetrical proportions and its bright glossy foliage. 

 Although it lacks the beauty of many other Oaks in autumnal 

 coloring, it is so good for every other purpose that it can hardly 

 be planted amiss. The Chestnut Oak grows well. It has 

 admirable foliage, distinct and clean, of beautiful shape and 

 color. The Red Oak, Quercus rubra, is a noble tree, and, at 

 least in its earlier stages, is a most rapid grower. Acorns 

 planted in the autumn of 1S95 made seedlings two feet high 

 in the summer of 1896. The average growth of some hundred 

 plants was over eighteen inches. Of course, this was in well- 

 prepared soil. In the open ground the safest way, undoubt- 

 edly, is to plant it in boxes and thus secure fibrous roots. The 

 Red Oak is one of our largest trees and is distinguished by 

 rare beauty of form and foliage. It is the most satisfactory, 

 perhaps, of all the Oaks for planting singly in avenues or in 

 masses. Of course, it is hard to use Oaks for street planting, 

 inasmuch as trees from ten to fifteen feet high are required, 

 but with care and frequent transplanting in the nursery this 

 can be accomplished, and for this use the Red Oak, the Pin 

 Oak, the Chestnut Oak and the Black Oak are to be recom- 

 mended in the order given. 



It will not answer to treat our trees carelessly because they 

 are native. The soil should be prepared for the commonest 

 of our native plants with the same care that we would exercise 

 if we were planting some high-priced novelties from Man- 

 churia. Much depends on having a deep, rich loam, contain- 

 ing organic matter — humus in the form of peat, leaf-mold or 

 well-rotted barnyard manure — which will tide newly set plants 

 through the first few years of their life, and especially through 

 our hot July and August weather. It is also generally desira- 

 ble to use as far as possible small or moderate-sized plants. 

 Of course, the immediate effect is not as striking as when 

 larger trees are used, but the first cost and the percentage of 

 loss is much smaller, and the result at the end of five years or 

 so is usually much more satisfactory. 



Lenox. Mass. E. J . 



Cymbidiums. 



'"PHE complaint is often heard that Orchids as a family are 

 -^ far from being ornamental when not in flower, and to the 

 ordinary observer there is nothing to be admired in a house 

 of Cattleyas when the plants are not in bloom, although to the 

 cultivator or connoisseur there is not a day in the year when 

 these plants are devoid of interest. The charge of looking 

 ugly or commonplace cannot be brought against the Cymbid- 

 iums as a genus, for even when not in flower thev are striking 

 in appearance, especially when seen as large specimens, and 

 many of the species last so long when in bloom that they are 

 among the most decorative of garden plants. There are no 

 difficult subjects in this genus. All of them are terrestrial 

 plants and require a compost that has a basis of loam with 

 enough Fern fibre and broken bricks to make it porous, and 

 they can be easily grown in a moderately cool house. A mini- 

 mum temperature of fifty degrees in cold weather will suit 

 them better than a higher one, for we have observed that to 

 make some of the species, such as C. Lowianum and C. gigan- 

 teum, flower freely it is best, after the growing period in fall, 

 to keep them somewhat drier and cooler, to prevent a ten- 

 dency to start into a second growth, which invariably prevents 

 the production of a full quota of strong flower-spikes. 



Cymbidium eburneo-Lowianum is a plant of hybrid origin, 

 as its specific name indicates, and it was originally distributed 

 by the Messrs. Veitch some eight years ago. As it is the off- 



