278 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 490. 



flowers. All are in perfect health, and having crowded out 

 the weeds that originally fought with them for mastery they 

 are now in full possession of the soil. Hollyhocks are ideal 

 plants for waste places such as this. 



Here at Rose Brake we like to use a good deal of discrimi- 

 nation in the arrangement of flowers so as to make them 

 blend harmoniously, and we are fond of scattering herbaceous 

 and even some annual plants among our shrubberies. Thus, 

 a group of spring-blooming shrubs in a prominent position is 

 now carpeted with yellow and orange Nasturtiums, while tall 

 orange-colored Milkweed is blooming here and there among 

 them. These bright flowers, shining amid the healthy green 

 of the shrubbery, form a charming picture which would be 

 quite spoiled, it seems to us, by the admixture of any other 

 color. 



In another place the deep red Monarda didyma grows luxu- 

 riantly among some Oak-leaved Hydrangeas, now in full flower, 

 and here the large creamy trusses of Hydrangea bloom con- 

 trast well with the rich carmine of the Monarda flowers. 

 These simple effects are much more sjtisfyingto the eye than 

 the bewildering.jumble of discordant colors seen in so many 

 gardens, which want of space and a desire for great variety 

 combine to spoil. 



Spigelia Marylandica is a pretty companion for Monarda 

 didyma, and is now in full bloom. It should be planted in 

 partial shade as it does not thrive in full sun, and it needs a 

 deep, rich, moist soil. The latter condition we have to supply 

 by frequent watering and mulching, as none of the soil on our 

 dry hillside can be called moist. The Spigelia belongs to the 

 small family of Loganiaceas, of which Gelsemium semper- 

 virens, the so-called Yellow Jessamine of the south, is, per- 

 haps, the most conspicuous member. The Spigelia is about 

 a foot in height and bears numerous beautiful tubular blos- 

 soms of bright red lined with yellow. 



Foxgloves have been very fine this year, and are now pass- 

 ing. These are best away from scarlet flowers, as their tall 

 spikes of purplish pink blossoms do not harmonize with red. 

 But the tall pure white Foxgloves are effective almost any- 

 where, and especially when seen in bold groups with a back- 

 ground of dark foliage they have a stately effect and remain a 

 long time in flower. AH Foxgloves are easily raised from 

 seed and bloom the second year after planting. We plant ours 

 in the open in April, where they take care of themselves ; all 

 the attention they receive is an occasional stirring of the soil 

 around their roots and thinning where they are too thickly 

 planted. , . , 



Rose Brake, W. Va. Danske Vandridge. 



Dodder in Clover. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Two letters within the last twenty-four hours have been 

 received at this station, with samples accompanying each, in 

 regard to Dodder upon Clover. There is a mingled feeling of 

 wonder and fear expressed in both of the communications, 

 and as Clover Dodder is not a widespread and common enemy 

 in this country a note on the subject may be useful. Last year 

 I sent a brief ariicle to Garden and Forest concerning 

 Dodder upon the Onion and Eggplant on some large truck 

 farms. And now one correspondent writes that while cutting 

 his clover " the machine would suddenly enter a thread-like 

 mass which clogged it completely. After cutting, the mass soon 

 wilted and formed a sort of blanket which could be rolled up. 

 . . . There were about fifteen of these beds, averaging six feet 

 in diameter to the acre. Since cutting (some ten days ago) the 

 Clover has made a good start over the entire field, except where 

 this growth occurred. In these beds everything is as dead as if 

 burned over with fire. Around the edges of these bare patches 

 a new growth of this fibre has started vigorously, and if not 

 checked may overrun the whole field." The second complaint 

 speaks of the growth as found in spots all over the field, 

 "forminga dense mat, almost obscuring the Clover-stems when 

 cut off. ... In some places the Clover is killed." 



These extracts show how active the Dodder may become 

 when once it gains a foothold in the Clover-field. Of course, 

 both writers ask how the growth got into the field and what is 

 the best method of eradicating it. In the one case the land 

 bearing the Dodder has " been under cultivation for fifty 

 years." The other was pasture for twenty years, and then 

 plowed for Corn, followed by Wheat and Clover. 



The seed of the Clover Dodder, Cuscuta epithymum, is 

 nearly the same shape as that of the clover, but not more than 

 one-fourth as broad or long. It could be easily separated from 

 the clover by an ordinary tanning-mill with properly adjusted 

 sieves. It is not unlikely that it came in with manure. Under 



the circumstances it is impossible to be certain as to the way 

 the entrance was made. 



The fact that it is a seed-bearing parasitic pest should put 

 all who have the Dodder in their fields upon their guard 

 against permitting the seeds to get into the manure. All patches 

 of the plant should be raked up and burned along with any 

 clover to which it may be attached. It is worse than a weed 

 because it grows upon the plant and demands specially thor- 

 ough treatment. 



Experiment Station, New Brunswick, N.J. By r Oil D. Hals ted. 



Pear Blight. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — I send you some twigs of a Pear-tree on which the 

 leaves and young fruit seem to be affected with some disease. 

 Will you please tell me specifically what it is and how it should 

 be treated ? 

 Jenkintown, Pa. 67. r. 



[This is the well-known fire-blight which is now sup- 

 posed to be due to a bacterium which enters the plant 

 through the tender parts of the tissue, like the flower-buds 

 or young leaf-buds as they unfold, and spreads down 

 through the branches. When it appears on the main 

 branches it is often called " body blight," and its presence 

 is marked by brown and lifeless patches which become 

 sunken. Wherever the blight appears the limbs should be 

 cut off at once below the point where the infection has 

 reached, and as a precaution against the spread of the dis- 

 ease the primings should be burned. — Ed.] 



Two Insect Pests. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Upon a fine young Butternut, planted two years ago in 

 a natural grove of Oak and Hickory, I lately discovered signs 

 of the destructive work of some insect. The leaves were yel- 

 lowing and worm-eaten and many of them falling. Closer 

 examination showed that the mischief was due to worms 

 about an eighth of an inch in length, their backs tufted 

 with a snowy white filamentous growth resembling cotton or 

 wool. Professor John B. Smith, the Entomologist of the New 

 Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, to whom samples 

 were submitted for identification, writes that the insects are 

 ordinarily rather rare, and that this is the first time he has met 

 with them in this state. The species is known as the Butternut 

 woolly worm. It is the larva of one of the sawflies, and will 

 succumb readily to an arsenical spray. Even a weak mixture 

 like one pound of Paris green in two hundred gallons of water 

 will be sufficient to kill off the insects if they are really abun- 

 dant enough to be troublesome. The tree in question is the 

 only Butternut known to exist in the neighborhood, and it 

 would be interesting to learn how its natural enemy has dis- 

 covered it so quickly. 



Phytomiza Aquilegia?, after resting from its labors last 

 season, has now begun active work upon my large collection 

 of Columbine-plants. There was not a sign of it until about 

 ten days ago, but now the leaves are badly mined, showing in 

 curious tracery the meanderings of the grub. It is an. aggra- 

 vation that no insecticides avail against this insidious footless 

 pest. The Columbines blossomed in all their glory, however, 

 before the attack began, 

 inwood. New Brunswick, n.j. o. de L. van Rensselaer Strong. 



Gardens for Public Schools. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — In your issues for May 5th and April 21st are articles 

 on school gardens, based on some work done at the Cornell 

 Experiment Station, and they give the impression that this is 

 the first experience of the kind in America. You say, " a cor- 

 respondent writes to inquire why the obvious plan of having 

 a garden attached to every school has not been suggested." 

 Your correspondent evidently is not aware that the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society has been suggesting this for six years 

 past and has sent out thousands of reports on gardens con- 

 nected with schools near Boston. I send you a prize list as an 

 evidence of the work done by the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society since 1891. 



Roxbury, Mass. Henry L. Llapp. 



[The list contains a schedule of prizes for school herba- 

 riums, and the society also offers one prize of $15.00, one 



