October 27, 1897.] 



Garden and Forest. 



425 



according to the variety. The lemon-scented Grass, Andro- 

 pogon citratum, soon makes a dense growth several feet in 

 diameter and two feet high. All of these tender plants, with 

 the exception of the Cyperus Papyrus, are kept over winter in 

 a half-dormant condition. The Cyperus should be kept 

 moving, but only one or two plants need be taken indoors 

 when there is sufficient accommodation for propagating it. 

 The best method is to put some growths with the roots short- 

 ened back into the damp sand of a warm propagating-house ; 

 they will put out strong working roots in a few days. If potted 

 and kept growing in soil which contains a good quantity of 

 chopped sphagnum-moss, the plants will form grassy growths 

 which should be torn apart and treated in the same way as the 

 parent pieces. From one plant at the start several hundred 

 may thus be had by planting-out time. 



It flowering-plants are desired for use with the Grasses the 

 large-flowered Cannas are pleasing. These are becoming so 

 abundant in variety that several of the old kinds are almost 

 lost sight of. The old C. Ehmannii is unsurpassed for rich 

 leaves and flowers; the large flowers are in nodding spikes, 

 with little or none of the seedy appearance common to most 

 of the newer varieties. This variety grows from four to six 

 feet high. While the common kinds keep well over winter 

 when dried off, C. Ehmannii is best wintered when kept 

 slightly moving. Hibiscus coccineus, a noble herbaceous 

 species from the southern states, thoroughly hardy here, and 

 probably so in most places if a little protection be given to the 

 roots, should head the list of the most desirable tall-growing 

 herbaceous plants. Specimens with single stems will grow to 

 a height of about eight feet ; by stopping the growths early in 

 the season low and bushy plants may be had. The flowers 

 are bright scarlet, larger than those of the forms of the shrubby 

 H. rosa-sinensis. The leaves are five-parted on long stalks. 

 Altogether this is one of the best plants to use with the Grasses. 

 In places where it is not hardy, the roots being thick and of a 

 succulent nature, they may be treated similarly to those of the 

 Dahlia. For dark foliage plants we have Black Beauty Canna 

 from two to four feet in height, and Strobilanthes Dyerianus, 

 from one to two feet high. 



Botanic Garden, Washington^ D. C. Cr. IV. Oliver. 



[It is usually a mistake to grow the various Grass spe- 

 cies closely together either in masses or lines, as is too 

 often the practice. The charm of these plants consists 

 mostly in the beauty of form found in the graceful lines of 

 their leaves and stems. While many individual species 

 of Grasses are handsome, hardly any two compose well in 

 garden borders, unless, possibly, when it is desired to clothe 

 the ground with a low-growing Grass or with a Carex, 

 under some of the nobler species. But otherwise each 

 species should stand in isolation, for, aside from prevent- 

 ing confusion of form, there are no plants whose lower 

 parts require less masking than the Grasses, Sedges and 

 Bamboos. Even the tall Cyperus pungens, which has 

 smooth round stems six or seven feet high, and only a 

 crown of leaves at the top, is much more effective un- 

 masked, and one certainly would not give Papyrus Anti- 

 quorum a near neighbor to hide its sturdy stems. In fact, 

 the same may be said of all the nobler or smaller Grasses, 

 tender or hardy, and no plants will better repay thoughtful 

 care in the selection of their location in the garden. — £d.] 



Grafted Stock for Roses. 

 [ ATELY I have had frequent opportunity for noting the 

 -1— ' advantages of using grafted stock for Tea and other Roses. 

 The favorable conditions under which Roses have been grown 

 in this country, and the facility and cheapness with which they 

 can Lie propagated from cutiings have placed grafted plants at 

 a disadvantage. The grafted plants must be bought in most 

 cases, owing to lack of skill and facilities for preparing the 

 stock. Shrewd growers, with the Old World instinct, have 

 never lost sight of the advantages of grafted stock, and the 

 superior quality of the flowers grown by them has led to an 

 increase in the number of grafted plants. Clear practical 

 instructions for working the plants have been given in The 

 American Florist by Mr. Robert Simpson. Grafted plants of 

 American Beauty show by their increased vigor just how much 

 of the bed is planted with them, and this is true of Tea Roses. 

 The stock exercises an invigorating influence. Perhaps the 

 most notable success has been with grafted plants of Mrs. 

 Pierpont Morgan. Mr. Montgomery, of the Waban Rose Con- 

 servatories, thinks they owe their comparative freedom from 

 the dreaded eel-worm to the continuous use of grafted stock, 



and cuttings from these plants are less liable to this pest. Only 

 the Manetti is recommended tor stock for Tea Roses. It is 

 itself much of a perpetual, and on this account is preferred to 

 all others. The Banksian has been tried ; this is too rank, the 

 plants become soft, and produce poorly-colored flowers, 

 although it is an excellent stock for climbing Roses. The 

 Brier Rose follows its natural bent, going to rest in winter. 



Grafted plants differ in appearance from Roses grown on 

 their own roots ; the dark velvety leaves are more plentiful, 

 and the long stems, which usually come only from the base 

 on plants on their own roots, break from any part of the 

 grafted plant. Where solid benches are used, grafted plants 

 are of further advantage, as with a little trimming the plants 

 can be carried over two or three seasons, a practice rarely 

 possible with plants on their own roots. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



[The points in favor of grafted Rose stock have been 

 strongly stated recently in horticultural journals in this 

 country, but it has yet to be satisfactorily demonstrated 

 that grafted stock produces any better results in the long 

 run in America. — Ed.] 



Correspondence. 



Garden Annuals from the Plant-breeder's 

 Standpoint. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — Early in 1897, Professor L. H. Bailey sent to the seed 

 firm which he thought catalogued the greatest number of 

 annuals an order for a packet of seeds of every kind of garden 

 annual, hardy and tender. About six hundred different sorts 

 have been growing at Cornell this year, and I have been look- 

 ing over the whole field from the plant-breeder's point of view. 

 I dare say no one ever goes to a botanic garden and looks for 

 a business opportunity in plant-breeding, as one might inves- 

 tigate any other commercial opening. Doubtless a man gets 

 a reputation for pedigree Pansy seed because he loves Pansies 

 and must grow them for his own pleasure and profit. Cross 

 fertilizing is essentially an enthusiast's work and no one can 

 be hired to be enthusiastic. Then, too, there is greater success 

 to be won in working with popular favorites than in trying to 

 introduce new plants, just as more kinds of Grapes are needed, 

 rather than new kinds of Juneberries. Nevertheless, there 

 are certain results which can be obtained only from compara- 

 tive study of collections that are as complete as it is possible 

 to make them. 



I have made a list of the twenty-four most popular kinds of 

 garden annuals. Half of these I have listed as old-fashioned, 

 and the other half as the popular favorites at this time. Bal- 

 sams (Impatiens), African Marigolds (Tagetes), Moss Roses 

 (Portulaca), Stocks (Mathiola), Candytuft (Iberis) and Godetias 

 are all old-fashioned flowers and are likely to be always cher- 

 ished, though their greatest popularity is probably past. Their 

 horticultural evolution seems to be finished. We have 

 found out their limitations, and they have been so well 

 developed that one may purchase just what is desired in 

 the way of color, form and habit much as one would pur- 

 chase manufactured commodities. The next six kinds of 

 flowers were perhaps equally popular once, but are now 

 neglected in the reaction against formality and artificial color- 

 ing. These are Datura, Prince's Feather Amaranthus), Cocks- 

 comb (Celosia), Ageratum, Clarkia, and the summer Chrysan- 

 themums. They also seem less versatile than the six first 

 named. Their limitations are naturally closer and the named 

 horticultural varieties are not so numerous. Prince's Feather 

 had a general use in gardens, but the species of Amaranthus, 

 which are cultivated for their foliage, are, nowadays, with the 

 Ageratums, chiefly employed for the special purpose of mak- 

 ing beds and borders. Even if the natural school were not in 

 the ascendant, with its restricted and isolated use of flower- 

 beds, I should feel compelled to exclude bedding plants from 

 the present discussion. Their value is determined by a set of 

 characters (behavior under the shears) which is unimportant 

 in the case of the home garden. 



Of the twelve kinds on this list of present favorites all, I 

 think, are by nature entitled to permanent prosperity, and six 

 at least are versatile to the point of bewilderment. Pansies, 

 Poppies, Sweet Peas, China Asters, Phlox and the various spe- 

 cies of Dianthus represent six entirely independent and non- 

 competing types of beauty. Like and dislike, however, are 

 matters of personal liberty, and from the present standpoint 

 I shall try to leave out the element of beauty. Aside, then, 

 from individual preference tor one type of beauty, certain 

 ideals of garden cultivation seem to be most nearly realized 



