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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1915 



mon Blue Spruce (P. pungens) there is a dwarf 

 variety which makes a round-headed bush. 



The greatest variety in dwarf or low-growing 

 Conifers is found among the Junipers and the Arbor- 

 vitaes. Among Junipers which make an excellent 

 ground cover are /. chinensis var. prostrata from 

 Japan, /. squamata from China, and /. sabma var. 

 procumbens, common near the sea-coast in parts of 

 Maine and elsewhere and perhaps the most beautiful 

 of all with its blue green foliage and charming 

 habit. As bushes, distinct and attractive in habit, 

 /. chinensis var. Pfitzeriana with bluish-green foliage 

 and /. virginiana var. tripartita have much to re- 

 commend them. 



Among the dwarf forms of the Japanese Arbor- 

 vitae (commonly called Retinispora) the best are 

 Chamaecy parts pisifera var. filifera, with thread-like 

 pendant branchlets, and its golden form aurea; 

 Chamaecyparis obtusa var. gracilis; the var. nana, 

 one of the handsomest of all, and its form aurea. 

 The variety leptoclada of the native Chamaecyparis 

 thyoides is a pleasing shrub but the majority of our 

 dwarf Arborvitae are forms of the native Thuja 

 occidentalis. Among the best of these are %im- 

 braculifera, recurva nana, Tom Thumb, Wood- 

 wardii, Reedii and Little Gem, the last named perhaps 

 the finest of them all. 



The Junipers 



The Junipers are usually regarded as shrubs of 

 low growth but some are trees of some magnitude, 

 though only two or three of these are hardy here. 

 The common Red Cedar [Juniperus virgin- 

 iana), so characteristic of open landscapes 

 in eastern North America, needs no intro- 

 duction. When young it is usually col- 

 umnar in outline; the leaves vary from 

 green to glaucous and there are numerous 

 varieties, some of them variegated. 



The Chinese Juniper (/. chinensis) is a 

 tree 50 to 60 feet tall at maturity, when it 

 is broadly pyramidal in outline and very 

 densely branched. When young it varies 

 from columnar to conical. It is perfectly 

 hardy and may be recognized by the 

 branchlets bearing two forms of leaves. 

 Another valuable Juniper is /. rigida from 

 Mandschuria, Korea and Japan. This has 

 long, needle-shaped, pungent leaves, spread- 

 ing or pendant branchlets, and is columnar 

 or narrow conical in outline. Very similar 

 to the last named is the tree form of the 

 Common Juniper (/. communis) and its 

 variety oblonga, with rather pendulous 

 branchlets. Junipers often suffer from 

 attacks of red spider and should be sprayed 

 occasionally with some antidote. 



The Yews 



The English Yew (Taxus baccata) and its 

 varieties browns badly during our winters 

 and is not really hardy with us; and the 

 native Yew (T. canadensis) of woodland 

 swamps also suffers in the same way when 

 planted in open situations. The Japanese 

 Yew {T. cuspidata), on the contrary, keeps 

 its color unimpaired and is the Yew par 

 excellence for New England gardens. An 

 eminent authority maintains that this is 

 the most valuable plant that Japan has 

 contributed to New England gardens and 

 few, if any, will attempt to gainsay this. 

 The foliage is blackish green and the 

 plant is handsome on lawns and makes an 

 excellent hedge. Most of the plants in 

 cultivation have been raised from cutt- 

 ings and only occasional examples show 

 signs of developing into trees. When The 

 raised from seeds, however, a distinct leader 

 is usually developed from the beginning. 



In Japan this Yew has a very wide distribution 

 and grows in moist forests in the extreme north of 

 Hokkaido. At its best it is a shapely tree 50 feet 

 tall with a thick trunk and wide spreading branches, 

 but on exposed mountain slopes it is reduced to a 

 low shrub. In cultivation there is a dwarf compact 

 variety (brevifolia) which possesses all the good 

 qualities of the type and is most suitable for plant- 

 ing when low evergreen shrubs are desired. 



The Larches 



The Larches are valuable timber trees and all 

 have deciduous leaves, which as they unfold in the 

 spring, are a peculiarly vivid green. The native 

 Tamarack or Hackmatack (L. americana) , although 

 a denizen of swamps, also grows well on dry hill- 

 sides. The European L. decidua and the Japanese 

 L. Kaempferi have also proved adaptable to this 

 climate. 



A tree deserving of wider recognition in this 

 country is the Chinese Golden Larch (Pseudolarix 

 Kaempferi). It is perfectly hardy and very orna- 

 mental and in every way a most suitable subject 

 for lawns and parks. The branches are long and 

 spread horizontally; the relatively long, pea-green 

 leaves are deciduous and assume in the fall clear 

 yellow tints. In the Hunnewell Pinetum at 

 Wellesley, Mass., there is growing a particularly 

 fine specimen which has ripened perfect seeds. 

 This tree is native of eastern China south of the 

 Yangtsze River but very little is known concerning 

 its appearance in a wild state, notwithstanding the 

 fact that it has been known since 1804. 



The Maidenhair Tree 



Although properly speaking not Conifers, the 

 Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba), the Yews (Taxus) 

 and their allies are usually associated with that 

 family in the popular mind and for horticultural 

 purposes may be so considered. In some respects 

 the Ginkgo is the most interesting of living trees 



Giant Arborvitae (Thuya plicata) often grows 200 feet tall in the 

 Columbia River Valley 



since it is a relic of an ancient flora which flourished 

 during the Mesozoic age. Fossil remains, appar- 

 ently identical with the living tree, have been found 

 in western North America, in Greenland, in the 

 London clays of England and elsewhere. At one 

 time it was probably common to north temperate 

 lands of both Hemispheres, but to-day it no longer 

 exists in a wild state and we owe its preservation to 

 the religious sanctuaries of China and Japan. 



It is_ a very hardy, quick-growing, long-lived tree, 

 attaining a height of 100 feet with a trunk 20 feet 

 in girth and thrives equally well in city or country- 

 side. Its outline is rather variable but usually it 

 has rather long, spreading branches slightly in- 

 clined upwards and each, when laden with foliage, 

 rather plumose in appearance. The leaves are 

 deciduous and resemble closely the leaflets of the 

 Maidenhair Fern and in the autumn change to pure 

 yellow before they fall. This noble tree is unlike 

 any other and none exceeds it in beauty or dignity. 

 JEditor's Note — Next month's article will tell 

 of new Chinese trees and shrubs for the Pacific 

 Slope.] 



How to Prevent Damping Off 



THE damping off fungus is one of the worst 

 things with which those who raise plants from 

 cuttings or seeds have to contend. In a few hours 

 a whole bench of plants may be killed, before the 

 grower realizes that anything is wrong. 



This condition is caused by fungi in the soil 

 which live on decaying material therein. It is 

 more prevalent in soils containing a high per- 

 centage of undecayed organic matter than in those 

 which contain little or none of such material. 



Soils which are not badly infected can sometimes 



be used by not sowing the seed closely, as too thick 



a stand of seedlings promotes a humid condition 



among the plants which, taken in conjunction with a 



high temperature, makes ideal environment 



for the rapid development of the fungus. 



To be sure, however, that soil in which 

 seed is to be sown, or the sand in which 

 cuttings are to be struck, is free from this 

 fungus it should be sterilized. There are 

 two ways to sterilize the soil — soaking 

 with an antiseptic solution and heating. 

 Of all the solutions tried, formalin (40 per 

 cent, formaldehyde) used 1 to 50, or four 

 quarts to a fifty gallon barrel of water, 

 alone has proven efficient. All the other 

 substances tried have failed because when 

 used strong enough to kill the fungus it 

 has been injurious to the plants. Two 

 quarts of the solution to the square foot, 

 or about a barrel to a rod of seed bed six 

 feet wide, will insure freedom from the 

 damping off fungus, particularly if the 

 bed is covered for a few days to hold the 

 fumes in. The only disadvantage of this 

 method is that it is somewhat expensive. 

 On the other hand, it kills many of the 

 weed seeds. 



Sterilization of the soil by heat is more 

 effective and, where greenhouses are 

 heated by steam, cheaper than the form- 

 alin treatment. A pan made from gal- 

 vanized iron or other material, 6 x 10 ft. 

 and 6 to 10 inches deep, is inverted on the 

 soil and pressed down so that the edges 

 extend into the soil far enough to make 

 a tight joint. Into this pan or cover 

 steam at a pressure of from 80 to 150 

 pounds is turned for an hour or so de- 

 pending upon the soil. Loose, sandy, 

 moist soils are more easily sterilized than 

 heavy, wet ones. 



By this steaming method all the fungi 

 will be killed and also all the weed 

 seeds. The latter item may seem small, 

 but in tobacco beds in Wisconsin where the 

 experiment has been worked out, they 

 found that the labor of weeding had 

 been lessened to such an extent as to pay 

 for the steaming. 



Roasting the soil has also been found 

 effective but is more expensive because of 

 the labor involved. A piece of sheet iron 

 is set up in a convenient place and the soil of the 

 seed bed to a depth of six inches is removed and 

 put upon the iron and roasted for an hour, care 

 being taken not to let it become too dry so that 

 the organic matter in it is burned. 



As a result of these sterilizing methods it has 

 been found that the plants' growth is much acceler- 

 ated. 

 Pennsylvania. P. Nolte. 



