374 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 500. 



that part is. It is at home in the forest or beside the 

 roadway ; the smallest and plainest farm-house is digni- 

 fied when sheltered by its overspread boughs, and the 

 most beautiful lawn receives its crowning touch when 

 the autumn sunshine slants through the green and gold of its 

 leaves. The Chestnut disappears soon after one crosses the 

 Alleghanies, and there is nothing the exile on some weary 

 western farm longs for more than the Chestnuts on the 

 hillside at home. An old mountaineer of central Pennsyl- 

 vania, who has always been to me the embodiment of tree 

 lore, in his recollection of the journey of his parents 

 when returning from the then far west in Ohio, says that 

 near Pittsburg the wind at night had an unusual sound, 

 and on asking his mother what it was, she said, " It's the 

 wind among the Chestnuts : we're nigh home, my boy." 



It is this happiness of association that brings them so 

 close to all who know them ; no old-time myths of fatal 

 arrows or sacrificial rites are connected with them, they 

 are simply trees always known to us, and dear alike to 

 the careless happiness of childhood, or quiet autumn 

 rambles of later life. , 



Harrisburg, Pa. M- -if- JJOCK. 



Cultural Department. 



The Flower Garden in September. 



F\4LLING leaves and chilly nights now indicate the ending of 

 the summer season, and although many warm days may 

 still be looked for, frost may come almost any night. Every- 

 thing susceptible of injury trom slight frost should be placed 

 under cover soon. Generally the first frost in this part of 

 Massachusetts occurs about September 25th, but killing frosts 

 do not come until the second week in October. Cuttings of 

 tender plants, such as Strobilanthus Dyerianus, Coleus, Alter- 

 nanthera, Acalypha, etc., should be got in without delay. We 

 prefer to pot up a few old plants of Coleus and box off Alter- 

 nantheras and place them on a shelf in a warm house. 

 Geraniums we do not insert until early in October, when they 

 are placed in well-drained boxes of sharp sand and stood on a 

 light shelf in a cool house. Abutilons are useful as bedding 

 plants; the flowering kinds are suitable for dotting in mixed 

 borders, while those having ornamental leaves are effective in 

 large beds. Souvenir de Bonn is one of the best. The new A. 

 Savitzii is more heavily variegated, but with us proves a much 

 more delicate grower. Cuttings of these varieties root readily 

 at this season. 



Cannas are now probably the most popular, as the most 

 showy, of all flowering plants for ornamental gardening. Some 

 ot the older sorts, sucli as F. Vaughan, Madame Crozy, 

 Alphonse Bouvier and Queen Charlotte, are still among the 

 best for bedding purposes, but some ot the newer sorts are 

 promising. Italia, Austria and Burbank grow vigorously and 

 are six to seven feet high and of proportionate spread. The 

 flowers, however, lack the substance necessary to stand our 

 hot midsummer suns and bleach out badly. At present, with 

 cooler weather, they are superb, and more attractive than any 

 other sorts. Probably under glass they would do well. Cap- 

 tain Drujon is a good yellow in the way of Florence Vaughan, 

 the spots on the petals being lighter in color. Souvenir 

 d'Antoine Crozy is good. Papa Canna, while not a specially 

 attractive color, is a free bloomer. Beauts Poitevine is one of 

 the best reds we have grown. Eldorado still holds its own as 

 a yellow. Madame de Montefiore is also good. Charles Hen- 

 derson, F. R. Pierson, Columbia, General de Miribel and 

 Gloire de Montet are all superior, and should be in every col- 

 lection. Cannas are excellent winter-blooming plants, and we 

 pot up at least one of each variety. These are kept quite dry 

 for about two months after watering, and when the Chrysan- 

 themum season is past they are placed on a side bench in a 

 house with a minimum temperature of fifty degrees. 



The past summer has been specially favorable for tuberous 

 Begonias, which have done better than ever before, the moist 

 season suiting them. A border shaded from the afternoon 

 sun, filled with fibrous-rooted Begonias in varietyand Fuchsias 

 and bordered with Rex Begonias, made one of the most pleas- 

 ing displays we have had this season. More of these Begonias 

 should be used ; among flowering varieties, Haageana, several 

 of the Semperflorens type, Nitida alba and rosea, Bismarck, 

 etc., and among foliage sorts Thurstoni, Metallica, Alba picta 

 and Manicata variegata. We plant out all the stock we have 

 used for winter blooming and propagate young stock for 



another season's supply in pots. Fuchsias do not succeed in 

 beds exposed to full sunlight all day, but when partially shaded 

 and grown as short standards they are pleasing. In Great 

 Britain enormous numbers of Fuchsias are used for bedding 

 purposes, particularly in the London and other parks. Beds 

 of Standards are charming there in a groundwork of some 

 dwarf close-growing plant. 



Perennial borders are now beginning to look somewhat dis- 

 hevelled, but a variety of Helianthus and Asters, with a num- 

 ber of Phloxes and an assortment of annuals keep them from 

 looking cheerless. Anemone Japonica and its white forms, 

 Honorine Joubert and Whirlwind, are now in season ; these 

 are only hardy here if well protected by leaves. We grow a 

 few in pots for use in the conservatory, where they fill in a 

 blank until Cosmos and early Chrysantheums come into flower. 

 Seedlings of various perennials sown during July are now in 

 some cases of good size in nursery rows ; more slowly germi- 

 nating ones of smaller size will be pricked out in a cold frame 

 and kept there over winter. Biennials such as Sweet Williams, 

 Canterbury Bells, etc., need the ground stirred about them to 

 keep growing well. The more tender sorts are planted in cold 

 frames during October, while the hardier ones are set out in 

 their places in the perennial borders. Dutch bulbs are now 

 arriving, and as soon as frost cuts down plants now in the 

 llower-beds these will be planted out, as they lose their vitality 

 in paper bags. 



Late Asters, which may not open out before they are caught 

 bv an early frost, if lifted with a good ball and planted in a cold 

 frame will give some useful flowers for cutting. Summer- 

 blooming Carnations are now at their best. It is a good plan 

 to treat some of these in the same way as the Asters. The 

 flowers will come cleaner and last better under glass, and the 

 heavy night dews spot the flowers badly, particularly the white 

 and crimson ones. Violets have appreciated the moist sum- 

 mer and look exceptionally well. The plants have recently 

 been transferred to their winter quarters, as the heavy Sep- 

 tember dews, followed by hot days, seem to be specially 

 favorable for the spread ot the dreaded "spot." 



Taunton, Mass. W. N. Craig. 



Some Showy Annuals and Perennials. 



A LARGE bed of Cleome spinosa is much admired for its 

 large, upright racemes of showy rose-colored flowers. 

 This exceptionally good annual plant can be recommended for 

 large beds in open sunny positions, where the flower-clusters 

 will keep on elongating and blossoming for two or three 

 months. Our plants are raised from seeds sown in pots in the 

 greenhouse early in April. When the seedlings are large 

 enough they are potted off singly into small pots. About ttie 

 end of May the plants are set out in beds in the garden, where 

 they begin to blossom in the early part of July and continue in 

 flower until frost destroys the plants. This showy plant is a 

 native of the West Indies and tropical America. It has 

 escaped from cultivation in some of the western states, and is 

 also found on waste grounds southward. It is slightly more 

 than three feet high and has prickly stems. The leaves, 

 which are covered with clammy hairs, are of good size and are 

 digitale, made up of five or seven leaflets. Seeds are pro- 

 duced plentifully, and young plants are easily obtained from 

 them. There is a white-flowered form of this plant which is 

 also desirable. 



A near relative to Cleome spinosa is the native annual, 

 Polanisia trachysperma. The plant grows about two feet in 

 height, and is terminated with clusters of white flowers pro- 

 duced in leafy racemes. It has a long blossoming season and 

 produces its flowers most plentifully during the hottest part of 

 summer. It requires the same cultural treatment as Cleome. 



Verbena venosa is a perennial plant of free-flowering habit, 

 but as it is not quite hardy here it is grown annually from seed. 

 It is more vigorous and not so liable to be destroyed by mil- 

 dew as the hybrid kinds. Massed in an open, sunny position 

 it is showy when in flower, with bright lilac or bluish blossoms. 

 The branching plants are from one foot to eighteen inches 

 high. Seeds are produced freely. This native of Brazil was 

 introduced from there in 1830. V. Aubletia is a native plant 

 not quite hardy here, but we find it well worth the trouble of 

 raising from seed annually. Its showy, abundant reddish pur- 

 ple flowers make a good display during late summer and 

 early fall. 



The desirable native annual, Centaurea Americana, is seldom 

 seen in gardens in this vicinity, although some of our seeds- 

 men offer it in their lists. It is easily grown from seeds, and 

 if sown in April the plants will blossom in July and August. 

 The erect-growing plants have stout, well-clothed stems which 



