316 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 494. 



is now in flower, and is, I suppose, a production of Herr 

 Leichtlin ; at least, it was distributed from the Baden-Baden 

 garden, where it is said to have proven hardy for several 

 winters. It is an attractive plant, flowering here at a 

 height of about two feet. It has many of the character- 

 istics of the Antholyza in its ribbed leaf and many-flowered 

 stems with opposite flowers. These flowers are a bright 

 orange-red, with yellow markings about an inch and a half 

 broad with three inner and three outer segments and a 

 bent tube. While not as richly colored as C. aurea, it is 

 an attractive gain if it proves hardy. 



Nymph.ea lilacina — This hybrid Water-lily of Marliac, 

 for which we are indebted to Mr. Brydon, who imported it 

 a year or two ago, does not seem to have received the 

 attention to which it is entitled, perhaps because it is still 

 rarely seen in cultivation. Cut flowers, especially if a trifle 

 old, as seen at exhibitions, give one a rather poor idea of 

 the beauties of Water-lilies, which are seen at their best 

 only in some quiet pool with a foil of crystal water. 

 Unlike the well-known Nymphaea Laydekeri, which it re- 

 sembles in color, N. lilacina may be increased by division. 

 Its leaves are similar to the former variety, but the petals 

 are wider and more numerous, and it has a larger array of 

 golden stamens. It is difficult to convey an idea of the 

 exact differences between the two hybrids without an illus- 

 tration which would show them clearly. As the flower of 

 N. lilacina is also larger and as bright in color and ap- 

 parently as free-flowering, it seems to me that, on the 

 whole, it is an improvement on the older variety. N. 

 Laydekeri, however, is a good reliable variety, even if after 

 five years the old plant is no larger than at first planting 

 and has never shown a sign of increase. 

 Elizabeth, N.J. J . N. Gerard. 



Cultural Department. 



The Fall Planting of Fruit-trees. 



E3T week we gave a brief review of Professor Bailey's 

 Principles 0/ 'Fruit-growing, a book which we recom- 

 mended to the favorable notice of all persons engaged in 

 growing the orchard fruits especially. As a matter of 

 timely interest we reproduce here some of the reasons why, 

 in Professor Bailey's opinion, the autumn is generally a 

 better time to plant fruit-trees than spring. 



My opinion is that fall planting- is generally preferable to 

 spring planting upon thoroughly drained soils, particularly for 

 the hardy-tree fruits, like Apples, Pears and Plums ; and if 

 the ground is in good condition and the stock well matured, 

 Peaches can sometimes be set in October, even in the north- 

 ern states, with success. The advantages of fall planting are 

 several. The trees become established during the open 

 weather of fall, and they usually make a start in spring before 

 the ground is hard enough to allow of spring planting. This 

 early start not only means a better growth the first season, 

 but, what is more important, trees which get a very early hold 

 upon the soil endure the droughts of midsummer much better 

 than trees planted in the spring. Planting is nearly always 

 better done in the settled weather and workable soil of fall 

 than in the capricious days and in the hurry of spring-time ; 

 and the orchardist is free to begin cultivation at a time when 

 he would otherwise be planting his trees. Again, it is gener- 

 ally better to buy trees in the fall, when the stock of varieties 

 is full and when the best trees are yet unsold ; these trees 

 must be kept until planting-time, and it is fully as cheap and 

 about as safe to plant them directly in the field as to heel them 

 in until spring. 



In fall planting, however, it is important to insist that trees 

 shall be thoroughly well matured. In order to move stock 

 quickly, it is the practice of some nurserymen to "strip" the 

 trees before the growth is completed ; that is, the leaves are 

 stripped off, the growth stopped, and the trees are put upon 

 the market for September deliveries. This process weakens 

 the trees, and many failures in young plantations are probably 

 attributable to this cause. Such trees may die outright, espe- 

 cially if set in the fall and a hard winter follows; or they may 

 live to make a dwindling growth the first few years. Like early 

 weaned calves, they lack vitality and push. If one were set- 

 ting an orchard in the fall he should place his order for trees 



in August or September, if possible, with the express stipula- 

 tion that the trees should stand in the nursery rows until the 

 leaves begin to die and fall. In the mean time the land should 

 befitted and the holes dug, so that when the trees arrive they 

 can go directly into their places without delay or without the 

 expense of heeling them in. Trees are mature enough to dig 

 late in September or early in October in the northern states, 

 depending upon the season, soil and variety. When the tree is 

 fully matured, some of the leaves will still hold upon the vig- 

 orous shoots, and these are stripped off; but this stripping 

 does no harm, for the young growth is then mature, and it 

 has a thick, strong, brown appearance which is very different 

 from the slender, soft and green branches of early stripped 

 trees. 



Plants in Flower. 



\ 7ERY beautiful at this season is Ipomcea rubro-ccerulea, a 

 * Morning Glory which has been in cultivation for several 

 years, and it is of that pure blue tint which almost justifies the 

 California name of " heavenly blue." In that state it will cover 

 a long trellis in a single season, and its Mowers are more than 

 three inches across. It is entirely different from the common 

 Morning Glory, but if started in pots here and set out when the 

 weather becomes warm it will bloom freely for two or three 

 months. The seed ought not to be planted earlier than March, 

 for plants resent any check in their growth. It is a Mexican 

 plant. 



In the hardy border Thennopsis Caroliniana has just passed 

 out of bloom, and it is an excellent plant where bright yellow 

 flowers are wanted. It is tall, and, like other leguminous 

 plants, does better the longer its roots remain undisturbed. 

 For this reason it is better to start it from seed or with a very 

 small plant, for the check the large roots receive will keep it 

 from blooming and the plant may never get to be well estab- 

 lished. The flowers are something like those of the Lupin in 

 form, but the foliage of the two plants is not at all alike. 



An interesting little plant is Meconopsis Cambrica, often 

 called the Welsh Poppy, with orange-colored flowers, two 

 inches across, and borne something like a foot above the 

 ground. It seems quite hardy here, but it can be grown as an 

 annual in places where it will not endure the winter. Where 

 a low-growing plant is needed, this Poppy can be commended. 

 Another plant of low growth, and which when massed in a bed 

 makes a very handsome display at this season, is Brachycome 

 iberidifolia, or the Swan River Daisy. The flowers are about 

 an inch across, but they are borne in great profusion, and are 

 blue in color, resembling the Cineraria in shape. When sev- 

 eral of these plants are grouped together in an open place they 

 produce an admirable effect, especially when in light soil, and 

 they keep blooming for weeks together. 



A good plant to associate with our native Lilies at this season 

 is Pardanthus Sinensis, often called the Blackberry Lily. Its 

 flowers are borne at the extremity of long stems, and their 

 bright orange color, with dark spots, makes them interesting, 

 although they are not showy. They also harmonize admirably 

 with the pendent white flowers of Galtonia candicans, and the 

 combination is a good one to remember when providing for 

 this particular season. Pardanthus Sinensis will grow from 

 seed, and it is even said to be naturalized along some wood- 

 land walks, for it has the adaptable habit of growing well 

 in shade. 



New Haven, Cunn. A. A.. 



Some Good Shrubs. 



THE Cornelian Cherry is a very old plant and is used to a 

 considerable extent in park planting for its bright yellow 

 flowers, which appear very early in the spring before the 

 leaves ; but it is good all the year dirough and wherever a 

 shrub with clean foliage is needed, and already it is beginning 

 to show its bright-colored fruits. Its botanical name, Cornus 

 Mas, shows that it is connected with our native Dogwoods, 

 which are all of them good shrubs or small trees, but, taken 

 altogether, this Cornelian Cherry is the very best of the exotic 

 Cornels for American planting. 



Fortunately, it has become something of the fashion lately 

 to plant the Sweet Pepper-bush of our swamps, but it is only 

 within a few years that nurserymen have kept it on sale. It 

 is really one of the best of our native shrubs, and if it is once 

 set in good soil it is almost sure to live. There is a southern 

 species, Cornus acuminata, and there is a variety with leaves 

 covered with a snowy tomentum and larger flowers ; but the 

 ordinary Clethra alnifolia is an admirable shrub with good 

 foliasre, and at this late season when shrubs in flower are 



