248 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 330. 



will last until midsummer. I have propagated Bougainvilleas 

 from soft shoots rubbed off with a heel and half-ripened 

 wood. A good bottom-heat is necessary, and the soft shoots 

 will damp off if not carefully watered. The finest specimen 

 of B. glabra I remember to have seen is in one of the green- 

 houses of Miss M. S. Walker, at Waltham, Massachusetts. 

 The plant covers a large space and has shoots six to nine feet 

 long, which are covered more than half their length with 

 bright pink flowers. The plant is on a bench, and the treat- 

 ment given to it by the gardener, Mr. P. Cairns, is similar to 

 that already described. 



Taunton, Mass. W. N. Craig.. 



The Water-garden.— Hardy Nymphseas have been in bloom 

 here for several weeks, but the tender kinds lately planted 

 have made no progress in the low temperature. The Swedish 

 Water-lily, Nymphiea alba rubra, has flowered in the tank, 

 giving me my first opportunity to observe it closely. It does 

 not appear to me to be a. handsome variety. On first opening 

 the outer petals are nearly white, the second row slightly 

 shaded, and inner row deeply stained with pink'. In this 

 phase it is fairly pretty. Later it deepens with a dull bluish 

 tinge, and could not be considered handsome by any stretch 

 of the imagination. This Nymphasa, with me, is a thrifty 

 grower, and I have not, after three years, discovered the con- 

 ditions required for its successful culture. It has been shifted 

 from very fertile soil to a less stimulating one and back 

 again, and in deep water and again in shallow,, without appar- 

 ent indication of its preference. It sulked in the bottom of 

 the tank nearly all last season, but lately has taken a new 

 start, after the complete winter's rest. All the hardy Nym- 

 phseas seem to gather strength enough during the winter 

 and, perhaps, late fall to carry them well forward another year 

 without stimulants. Perhaps, also, the tanks accumulate cer- 

 tain elements from rains, snows and decaying vegetation, 

 which are helpful in the early growing season. With my 

 limited space it pleases me to grow more of a variety of Nym- 

 phaeas than can be properly accommodated. Hence I pre- 

 fer small plants and to use only enough fertilizer to keep 

 them in good heart. They will mostly grow well enough in 

 ordinary soil till the middle of summer, at which time they are 

 apt to show the need of stimulants. At preserit a spare piece 

 of N. alba candidissima is flowering in the tank, its roots hav- 

 ing been in an eight-inch pot with very little soil for two sea- 

 sons. Its leaves, however, are imperfect. Of course, where 

 space is available, Nympha?a-tubers should be planted in very 

 rich soil. The hardy Nymphaeas are really hardier than usually 

 supposed ; the tubers will survive if frozen up solidly, as will 

 sometimes happen. 



The Noble Grasses. — These plants grow in effectiveness from 

 year to year, and this season the Bamboos give indication of 

 becoming taller and more satisfactory. They lose all their 

 leaves here in winter, but soon put forth others from the old 

 shoots ; the succeeding new shoots, however, gradually rise 

 higher, and in the course of time, perhaps, the plants will be 

 more imposing than at present. Panicum spectabile gigantea, 

 noted last year as a very tall quick-growing Grass, was winter- 

 killed at the roots under a heavy mulch, but is coming swiftly 

 from self-sown seed. It grows so rapidly that its hardiness is 

 of little importance. The Eulalias are so handsome and hardy 

 that they really fill most of the requirements for tall Grasses. 

 Of the smaller kinds, I like'Elymus glaucus, with its steel-blue 

 effectiveness. Pennisetum longistylum is a popular Grass, 

 but its heads have rather a caterpillar-like effect which may 

 not always please. 



Elizabeth, N.J. J. N. G. 



Correspondence. 



Notes from West Virginia. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The Xanthoceras, which blooms here early in May, 

 is a shrub which one likes to have close at hand, and fortu- 

 nately it is an admirable plant while young to mask the founda- 

 tions of the house, where it shows its full beauty. It has an 

 upright tendency, and even the white bell-shaped flowers 

 are held stiffly erect. The individual flowers have a centre of 

 pale luminous yellow when they first open, which gradually 

 deepens to red, and they come in long racemes and have a 

 faint fragrance. Even when out of bloom the plant is at- 

 tractive on account of its seed-vessels, and its neat foliage 

 somewhat resembles that of the Mountain Ash. 



Among many experiments in arranging shrubs which bloom 

 at the same time, I may note a group of Exochordas and a 



variety of Japan Quince sold by nurserymen as Moerlosii. 

 The Quince begins to bloom before the Exochorda, but its 

 blossoms last longer, and when both are at their best the effect 

 of the pure white flowers and light green foliage of the Exo- 

 chordas, when contrasted with the dark glossy leaves and rich 

 carmine flowers of the Quince, is strikingly beautiful. I may 

 add that the Exochorda does not take kindly to our soil, and 

 although plants sometimes reach a height of ten feet in six 

 years after planting, this period is about the limit of their life 

 with us. Another attractive group is composed of Virginia 

 Fringe-trees and Laburnums. The flowers of the first, which 

 resemble a veil of white mist, arewell setoff by the long, droop- 

 ing, yellow racemes of the Laburnums, and, taken together, 

 the two produce an admirable effect. 



Neviusia Alabamensis suckers abundantly, so the one 

 specimen of this beautiful shrub which we originally possessed 

 has become a little thicket, which, when in flower, has such 

 a delicate and feathery look that the Spiraea Van Houttei 

 planted next to it and flowering at the same time seems coarse 

 in comparison. 



Our earliest Roses to bloom this year were the Scotch Rose, 

 which flowered on the 3d of May and was quickly followed by 

 Rosa cinnamomea and the yellow Austrian Brier. R. mul- 

 tiilora, which Garden and Forest has so often commended, 

 has proved exceedingly valuable here, and is a beautiful 

 object in flower, covering a large mass of rock with its tangled 

 branches. Of the hybrid perpetual Roses, Ulrich Brunner is 

 one of the most satisfactory. Its large, double, dark velvety 

 flowers are borne in profusion, and its buds rarely come blind. 



I cannot understand why everybody doesn't have a gener- 

 ous supply of Hemerocallis flava with its bright yellow lily-like 

 and fragrant flowers. They are perfectly hardy, of easy 

 culture and most useful for cutting, while they increase with 

 great rapidity and endure much unkind treatment. 

 Shepherdstown, w. Va. Dciiiske Dandridge. 



The Development of Fungi. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — That an intimate relation exists between certain fungous 

 diseases and conditions of weather is a well-established fact. 

 A most striking illustration is afforded by rust of wheat, and 

 all observers agree that this disease is worse during rainy and 

 sultry weather than when the opposite conditions prevail. 



The genera Exoascus and Taphrina are certainly much 

 worse in some years than in others. During 1892 and 1893 

 the following species were abundant at Ames, Iowa : the 

 so-called Exoascus pruni, causing Plum pockets and an enlarge- 

 ment of the young stems of Prunus Americana and P. 

 Chicasa ; Exoascus deformans on Peach-trees ; Taphrina 

 aurea on Populus nigra. The years 1892 and 1893 may be 

 compared with 1894. There has, this year, been little indica- 

 tion of the Exoascus on Plum-branches, though the Chippe- 

 wa and Cheney Plums have some pockets. The Exoascus 

 has not been seen on Peach-trees, though very common in 

 1892 ; nor has the Taphrina aurea been observed this year, 

 though very common on some of the Russian Poplars in 1893. 

 In 1893 rains were frequent during the month of May, fol- 

 lowed by cold, raw and moist, alternated with hot days. It has 

 been cold and raw at times this year, but there have been few 

 rains here. 



While the mycelium in Exoascus is perennial, the spread 

 and rapid distribution of these diseases at certain times must 

 be attributed in part to the rains, which carry the spores down 

 over the leaves, stems and flowers. We may mention in this 

 connection that the Exoascus deformans has been so severe 

 on gome of the Peach-trees that they were materially injured 

 from the effects of the fungus in 1892 and 1893. We may add, 

 however, that this locality is out of the range of such hardy 

 Peaches as the Bokhara and Sargent and the fungus have 

 done these trees more injury than if the varieties were per- 

 fectly hardy. 



As another illustration showing how climatic conditions 

 favor the development of certain fungus diseases, I may men- 

 tion the Plum and Cherry rot, Monilia fructigena. This dis- 

 ease, though most evident when it attacks the nearly ripened 

 fruit, is really most injurious to flowers. The season of 1892 

 is in strong contrast with this one. In 1892 the flowering 

 period was accompanied by almost continuous rain. This 

 year we had only slight showers, as in 1S93. The failure of 

 the plum crop may be accounted for on two grounds. The 

 cold raw winds and rain prevented insects from flying, and 

 thus the flowers were not pollinated ; and the Monilia spreads 

 with great rapidity during rainy moist weather. Many trees 

 contained mummied plums, and from them the infection 



