October 21, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



501 



I 



Chrysanthemums. 



N the gardens of the amateur growers of Chrysanthemums 

 at this time one observes a great difference in the forward- 

 ness of the buds in the various collections— a difference, appar- 

 ently, in extreme cases, of a week. This is not peculiar to this 

 season, but it may be observed any year. On a comparison 

 of notes the owner of the backward blooms seems to have 

 cultivated his plants judiciously and given them every requi- 

 site attention, and it is sometimes rather difficult to account for 

 the slowness of development. It will generally be found, 

 however, that either over-nourishment of the wood, resulting 

 in gross sappy growth, which matures slowly, or else a rather 

 shady position, and, perhaps, a too close tying together of 

 branches has interfered with the ripening of the wood. Perhaps, 

 also, as the season progresses toward the middle of August, 

 the time when the buds may be expected to appear, the owner, 

 a little over-solicitous, has given them liberal supplies of 

 water and manure and kept them moving, whereas, were the 

 plants kept rather dry till the buds appear and then given the 

 proper amount of manure, the buds will quickly show the 

 benefit of the treatment. These notes refer to plants in the 

 open ground, which, in some respects, require different treat- 

 ment from those in pots. There seems to be a general im- 

 pression that these plants require great supplies of water, 

 whereas, in the open, few plants are more easily injured by 

 an over-supply. I should say that they require much less 

 water than Roses to keep them in good condition. It has 

 been often observed that vegetative vigor and sexual vigor are 

 not synonymous, and this is true of no plant more than of the 

 Chrysanthemum. A large grossly grown plant is usually a dis- 

 appointment if good flowers are expected. A judiciously 

 grown plant, with fine-grained wood, will always produce the 

 best flowers. 



Now that the October days have come, with keen frosty air, 

 one turns to the Chrysanthemums with something more than 

 cultural interest ; a few forerunners there are in bloom, but 

 these are only plain sisters of the splendid array which will 

 flaunt their beauties in early November. The Chrysanthe- 

 mum grower finds his present excitement in watching the 

 gradual development of the fat buds which, with many changes, 

 will perhaps expand into the longed-for perfect bouncing flow- 

 ers. If, at the same time, like many amateurs, he flowers his 

 plants in the open air, with temporary protection, he will find 

 plenty of other excitement in guarding his treasures from 

 hard frosts and high winds, which never seem to blow quite 

 so hard as when one has a tent, or some such contrivance, 

 which is a tempting plaything for a robust and festive gale. 



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



The Hardy Plant Garden. 



QUITE a number of perfectly. hardy bulbs succeed best 

 when planted in fall and allowed to remain in the soil all 

 winter. Although not a bulb, strictly speaking, the Lily-of-the- 

 V alley usually should be planted as soon as it is received. There 

 are many gardens that have a shady corner where this plant 

 would be perfectly happy for generations, in places where it is 

 difficult to get grass to thrive, as, for example, under trees and 

 near shrubs that have become bare at the base. All that is nec- 

 essary in planting is to cover the crowns, or " pips," about three 

 inches deep and mulch annually with well-decayed manure to in- 

 sure an abundance of these lovely flowers. Another plant, not 

 bulbous, which should be planted now is Mertensia Virginica, 

 the " Virginian Cowslip." No garden is complete without this 

 early spring flower, which is far more sought after in England 

 than here. The Mertensia has large fleshy root-stocks that 

 send up shoots in early spring, and these bear flowers of the 

 most intense blue, which last a long time in perfection even 

 when cut. It is at its best here the first week in May. The 

 Dodecatheons, also, should be planted now, as they flower 

 early too, and if they do not flower the first season mark the 

 spot where they are in June when they die down, and another 

 year, when stronger, their pretty Cyclamen-like flowers may 

 be enjoyed. There are several varieties of Dodecatheon, and 

 all are pretty, though there are some forms sold as D. Meadia, 

 that have a poor washed-out pink color, which may be im- 

 proved by the addition of burnt earth or refuse. Collectors 

 tell us that where prairie-fires pass over a locality the Dode- 

 catheon-flowers are always of a much deeper color. If this is 

 so, we have a very simple way of improving a pretty garden- 

 plant. 



If every one had courage to chronicle his failures as well as 

 the successes the world would be much wiser to-day. Certain 

 it is that the beautiful Anemones that thrive so well in Britain 



cannot be made to feel happy here, and after trying various 

 methods we have now transplanted what are left of them to a 

 cold frame, where they may flower in spring. We hope they 

 will, as they are beautiful when cut and last a long time, but it 

 is not wise to speak of them as hardy. I am inclined to think 

 that Anemone fulgens is much more hardy than the varieties 

 of A. coronaria. We planted them out once in a cold frame and 

 merely protected them with a sash, simply to keep off the rain 

 and snow, and they did better than any I have ever grown in 

 pots. It is very difficult to procure a good strain of A. ful- 

 gens now ; nearly one-half of them are apt to turn out mere 

 abortions, the Mowers being a mixture of green and scarlet shred- 

 like petals. There is a form in cultivation known as Graeca, 

 which is the best of all, with broad Tulip-like petals. In dis- 

 tricts south of Washington A. fulgens would be perfectly 

 hardy and a beautiful border-flower when planted in light rich 

 soil. 



Calochortus, again, cannot be considered hardy. We tested 

 them several ways last winter, but our only success was with 

 those in cold frames planted in pans. These flowered beauti- 

 fully in spring, and were very pretty when cut. In the garden 

 now we have Colchicum autumnale in flower, a singular plant, 

 which attracts attention always. Colchicums should be pro- 

 cured early, as the flowers often develop before their arrival 

 here from Holland. In any case much must not be expected 

 the first season, but in spring a good growth of foliage may be 

 looked for, and in fall they will flower abundantly. They are 

 often called autumn Crocuses. The winter Aconite is one of 

 the earliest heralds of spring, with yellow flowers borne on a 

 fringe of foliage just above the ground. A clump of this is 

 gladdening to the eye, as the bright flowers open as soon as 

 frost loosens its hold. Botanically the plant, is Eranthis 

 hyemalis. 



Chionodoxa scarcely needs an introduction, so much has 

 been said of it, but it has never yet been over- praised. The 

 bulbs are small, but even if planted a foot deep they will come 

 up and flower just as early. None except those who have 

 tried know how difficult a bulb this is to attempt to dig in 

 quantity ; one is sure to leave as many behind as are taken up. 

 The Chionodoxa is charming in any situation for early spring 

 display, and with it comes the deeper blue Siberian Squill. 

 These are both cheap, perfectly hardy, and should be planted 

 about six inches deep. Iris reticulata, one of the bulbous 

 Irises that flower early, is not difficult to keep, and is almost 

 as fragrant as a Violet. A little breadth of this Iris is very 

 pretty in early spring, as the flowers open with the Snowdrops. 

 The best Snowdrop is Galanthus Elwesii. This seems to do 

 better year after year than G. nivalis, the older kind, and flow- 

 ers much earlier also. But of the time of flowering for spring 

 bulbs very little can be said, as so much depends upon the 

 weather. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Anemone Japonica. — The Japanese Wind-flower, as this plant 

 is commonly termed, is perhaps the best of our hardy Anem- 

 ones, and undoubtedly the best late-flowering perennial 

 known in New England gardens. The flowering season be- 

 gins early in September, and continues in great brilliancy until 

 frost. The large, dark green, ternate leaves are borne on stout 

 petioles upward of a foot in length. The blade portion of the 

 leaf in its entirety is of cordate outline, and. the oblique lateral 

 divisions and ovate central segment have also the cordate 

 character, and are toothed and irregularly lobed. The stems, 

 ascending boldly erect from the thick foliage to a height of 

 from three to four feet, are branched toward the summit, and 

 bear a profusion of spreading rose-purple flowers three and a 

 half inches in diameter. The segments of the outer circle, 

 where sepals are scarcely distinguishable from petals, are very 

 numerous and of oblong form. The bright green, globular, 

 pistillate mass in the centre, surrounded by a broad ray of 

 showy yellow stamens, greatly enhances the beauty of the 

 flower. 



There are two quite distinct varieties of A. Japonica. The 

 first, A. Japonica, var. alba, also known as Honorine Joubert, 

 is by far the most popular, and decidedly the best of the three. 

 The flowers of this variety are a trifle smaller than those of 

 the species, and the elliptical or obovate parts of the pure 

 white perianth rarely number more than nine, or about one- 

 third of the number observed in the original form. A. Ja- 

 ponica, var. rosea, resembles the white-flowered variety in all 

 particulars save the color of its flowers, which are of a delicate 

 rose tint. These varieties are said not to be of seedling origin, 

 but to have been obtained by means of root-sports. 



A. Japonica is a native of China and Japan, and the inhab- 

 itants of those countries, where it is carefully grown, have long 



