276 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 490. 



around it, the descending sap is obstructed and more wood 

 will be formed on the upper side of the band than is formed 

 below, and this increases year after year until the discrep- 

 ancy may be very great. If the girdling is complete the 

 part of the plant above the girdle is almost certain to die 

 prematurely. 



The accompanying illustration (see page 275) shows 

 the effect of placing an iron band around two large limbs. 

 Many years ago the band was tightened against the outer 

 sides of the opposite branches, and now a considerable 

 difference in diameter is seen in the portions above and 

 below the girdle which encircles both limbs. The wood 

 above has begun to grow down over the band of iron. 

 Besides checking the proper growth and development of 

 the plant, the trunk is structurally weakest at the girdled 

 point. 



Above the band and constricted portion appears in the 

 illustration a simple iron rod running through the two 

 limbs and treated as an ordinary bolt. In nearly all cases 

 this is the simplest and by far the best system of supporting 

 broken or weak limbs when they are opposite or nearly so. 

 A rod of good iron from an inch to an inch and a half in diame- 

 ter will bear an enormous strain, and is only necessary 

 in the case of very large and heavy limbs, as of shade-trees. 

 Of course, the strain is less, and a smaller bolt is required 

 the higher up or farther away it is placed above the weak 

 or broken fork or crotch of the limbs. 



In a case as shown in the photograph, it is simply neces- 

 sary to bore a hole straight through both limbs and bolt 

 them together by inserting an iron rod of the proper 

 length, having a large head at one end and a correspondingly 

 large nut at the other, which should be screwed up tight. 

 The rod should fit the hole as nearly as practicable, and a 

 little wax, tar or paint may be applied around the iron 

 where it enters the bark, so as to keep out moisture. After 

 one season of growth any further care of this kind will be 

 unnecessary, as the new tissue formed will have completely 

 closed any opening around the iron. The hole bored does 

 very little injury to the limb and soon heals permanently. 



When the trees or branches are not too large or heavy, 

 or when the rods are well up from the weak forks or 

 crotches of the limbs, iron half an inch in diameter is amply 

 strong enough. Where the rods are long and connect 

 widely spread branches it is well to have them made in 

 three separate pieces ; two short bolts passing through the 

 branches and a third connecting them, the inner ends of the 

 bolts and the ends of the connecting third piece being pro- 

 vided with eyes or hooks. Made in this way there is no 

 danger of the iron breaking by twisting caused by sway- 

 ing of the upper branches, and such long rods are more 

 easily fitted in place when in sections. 



It is often worth while to preserve rare or valuable fruit 

 or other trees which have split apart and fallen to the 

 ground, but are still connected with the stump and are 

 alive. By raising the limbs and connecting those opposite 

 by several rods at various angles such trees may be pre- 

 served for many years. 



Limbs of small trees and large shrubs which have be- 

 come split apart may often be securely held together by 

 simply screwing strong hooks into the opposing branches 

 and connecting by strong wire. 



The tree represented in the photograph is an American 

 Linden, or Basswood, growing in a small front yard in the 

 city of Boston. 



Arnold Arboretum. J ■ Cr. JaCR. 



Plant Notes. 



Calochortus Plummer/e. — This plant, otherwise known 

 as Calochortus Weedii purpurascens, is, as Mr. Gerard has 

 recently noted in these columns, a late-flowering species 

 of the Butterfly Tulips. Its distinctness and quaint 

 beauty deserve a special mention among July flowers. 

 It grows vigorously although it has sparse foliage. Its 

 large flowers are bowl-shaped, not reflexing on the margins, 



as is common with most of the species. The coloring 

 varies somewhat, but usually the upper halves of the 

 petals are light lilac in color, and the lower parts greenish 

 white. At the base also is a lilac marking like the arm of 

 a Greek cross. The petals are of a satiny texture and 

 lined nearly to the tips with profuse but short hair-like 

 growths, which are sometimes purple and sometimes 

 yellow. The sepals, which are wider than in most species, 

 are lined with lilac and in some forms have dark blotches 

 with hair-like growths. Some of the flowers sent to this 

 office by Mr. Gerard are gracefully carried on long stems. 

 They last well when cut and call forth the admiration of 

 all who see them. 



Cultural Department. 



Transplanting Paeonies. 



GARDENERS are well aware that the tops of Lilium 

 candidum die down to the ground soon after the 

 plants flower, when the bulbs take their rest, and in a few 

 weeks begin to throw out roots and radical leaves which 

 remain green all winter. The Oriental Poppy is another 

 plant with large fleshy roots which behaves in the same 

 manner, and, of course, the- proper time to remove these 

 plants is as soon as the tops have died and before the new 

 roots have started for autumn growth. There are, how- 

 ever, many other herbaceous plants with fleshy roots the 

 tops of which do not die down after flowering, while they 

 send out a set of new roots in early autumn, which are 

 probably useful in aiding to store up material in the root 

 for the production of early flowers and seeds the ensuing 

 year. Among plants of this class Paeonies may be men- 

 tioned, which are most successfully moved in this country 

 in August. Owing to climate and exposure the most suc- 

 cessful practice in English gardens differs much from that 

 which prevails in this country, but the following advice 

 from a late number of The London Garden is well worth 

 considering in America : 



An all-important item in the matter of Peeony culture is 

 planting at the right time, and for this work no better time 

 exists than the early autumn or late summer, by which I mean 

 the end of August or during September. At this season of the 

 year the plants will still be iurnished with leaf and stem, and, 

 preserving these intact, it is possible to lift and transplant a 

 very large-sized clump of one of these Paeonies with the assur- 

 ance that a good proportion of flowers will be forthcoming the 

 year after. There are many who believe that planting or trans- 

 planting may be done at any time while the growth remains 

 comparatively dormant, but let any such transplant a fair-sized 

 specimen in September with all its foliage intact and another in 

 January with no foliage and note the results. The one planted 

 at the latter time will have many of its flowers blind in the 

 ensuing year as a direct result of late planting. Nor is this all, 

 since the same cause which has contributed to the blind buds 

 will in all probability have produced a debilitated condition 

 generally of the plant, though more particularly of its roots, 

 that will not readily be overcome. A weakened root-action in 

 a Paeony means a relatively weak growth, and from this an 

 obviously weak bud at its base as the result. It may be thought 

 that I have restricted the planting season to very narrow 

 limits, yet I regard a certain season quite as important for 

 these as I would for certain classes ot bulbs to be planted 

 before root-action commenced. 



The whole subject of planting Paeonies turns on a question of 

 roots, or rather the time and the manner these are produced, 

 and when these facts are more generally realized the easier 

 will it be to insure the planting of these within reasonable as 

 well as seasonable limits. In Paeonies two sets of roots are 

 produced in the year, the chief being in early autumn, and it 

 is, therefore, to secure these intact that the planting should be 

 done before they push forth. Planting done at a much later 

 date either sacrifices these roots entirely or so mutilates them 

 that they are of little value, and then the cry goes forth that 

 Paeonies are difficult to establish. In point of fact, few things 

 are more readily established when the work is done at the 

 right time, but this is rarely the case. Lifted and planted when 

 growth has well begun, and the plant has to exist all summer 

 long on its own resources, it is little wonder the plants decline 

 for a year or two or are slow to make a start at all. At Kew, 



