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The Garden Magazine, July, 1922 



urged by the representatives of the State Boards of Florida 

 and California and in the latter state, as was demonstrated by 

 Mr. Beattie of the Federal Horticultural Board through a series 

 of comprehensive charts, important operations are being de- 

 veloped based upon the present protective features of Quaran- 

 tine 37. 



While there were no new arguments adduced, full advantage 

 was afforded by Secretary Wallace to make him cognizant of 

 the details. The decision of the Secretary and the Department 

 of Agriculture has not yet been announced, although there is 

 every reason to feel that some modification of the heretofore 

 ironclad exclusions, especially with regard to bulbs, may be 

 looked for — little enough in all goodness! The legality of the 

 entire Quarantine and other actions of the Federal Horticul- 

 tural Board was called into question, and that phase of the 

 subject is being carefully looked into. 



Concluding a brisk correspondence with The Garden Mag- 

 azine in which the improper (if not illegal) use of a quaran- 

 tine power has been persistently protested, comes a letter 

 (under date of June 7) from the Secretary of Agriculture. It 

 is a frank acknowledgment that there have been friction, in- 

 convenience, and loss, much of which can be reduced without 

 serious risk to the country's health. So far, so good! The 

 letter follows: 



"I have your letter of May 29, with further reference to Plant Quarantine 37. 

 These and similar criticisms of the Department's action are being considered 

 and weighed against the supporting arguments of that group of the public who 

 desire the continuance of the present quarantine. Such changes in the quaran- 

 tine regulations as will reduce friction, inconvenience, and loss, without seri- 

 ously increasing risk from plant pests, will be announced in the near future." 



THE OPE^( COLUMN 



Readers' Interchange of Experience and Comment 



Saving the Corn for Ourselves 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



TO PREVENT birds from eating Corn, wind strips of cloth around 

 the ears just before they are ready to pull, or wrap the long blades 

 around and fasten well. 1 have used this method successfully now 

 several years as the birds do not bother until the Corn is about ready 

 for the table. — Amelia B. Applegate, Washington, D. C. 



On the Trail of "Sweet Mary" 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



AMONG the earliest recollections of my boyhood home in Michigan 

 was a deliciously fragrant-leaved plant which had escaped to the 

 roadside from pioneer gardens, and which went by the common name 

 of Sweet Mary in our locality. We children plucked the fragrant 

 leaves on the way to Sunday School and used them in nosegays and for 

 book-marks in our testaments. 



After coming West I searched catalogues and botanies for twenty 

 years in a vain endeavor to locate Sweet Mary. I thought of Rose- 

 mary (Rosemarinus officinalis) but found it to be a rather tender 

 perennial in the north, especially for an "escape" as Sweet Mary 

 was. Sweet Marjorum (Origanum Majorana) proved equally disap- 

 pointing. I saw in Dreer's catalogue a plant listed as Costmary or 

 Bible Leaf but the botanical name was given as Tanacetum Balsamita 

 and as all the Tansies I knew had finely cut leaves and my old friend 

 Sweet Mary had oval entire leaves with serrated edges, 1 dismissed 

 Costmary and thereby missed the clue. 



Finally, through an accidental correspondence with Mrs. Fannie S. 

 Heath, who has probably the largest collection of hardy plants in North 

 Dakota, I found the long-sought-for Sweet Mary and she sent me a 

 specimen from her garden, under the botanical name of Chrysan- 

 themum tanacetoides. I searched Bailey's Cyclopedia of Horticul- 

 ture and could find no C. tanacetoides but did find C. Balsamita var. 

 tanacetoides, commonly called Costmary which answered identically 

 to my specimen and the end of the trail of Sweet Mary was found 

 at last! 



The confusion was caused by Dreer's use of the old Linnean nomen- 

 clature which classified the plant with the Tansy because its com- 



posite blossoms have, like the Tansy, no rays. Later botanists, using 

 a more rational system, classified it with the Chrysanthemums, gave 

 it the Linnean specific name Balsamita, alluding to the odor of the 

 leaves, and the varietal name tanacetoides because of its bearing 

 Tansy-like blossoms without rays. No wonder a struggling amateur 

 like myself lost his way ! Here are some of the common names by which 

 this enticing old plant is known according to the locality: Rosemary 

 (sic) Costmary, Sweet Mary, Alecost, Sweet William (sic), Bible Leaf, 

 Lemon Leaf (sic). I favor Sweet Mary, and what could be more en- 

 chanting than a Sweet William and a Sweet Mary side by side in a 

 cottage garden? — A. L. Truax, N. D. 



— Why stop here when beginning to enumerate duplications of popular 

 names of plants, of which there seems hardly any limit? According to 

 Lyon's "Plant Names Scientific and Popular," Melissa officinalis has 

 Sweet Mary for one of its score of English names and yet again it is 

 applied with ten other English names to Monarda didyma. — Ed. 



Roses for the Hedgerow? 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



F^OES Clematis paniculata climbing over shrubs interfere with their 

 *-* growth? Could it be combined with Hybrid Perpetual Roses to 

 make a good hedge? Does Ferdinand Conrad Meyer Rose make a good 

 hedge, and is it everblooming? I have been in the habit of pruning my 

 climbing Roses by cutting off the flowering shoots at the ground as 

 soon as they were through blooming. Is this the accepted practice? 

 I get good bloom in June, but climbing Lady Ashdown and Flower of 

 Fairfield which are advertised as everblooming give only a few flowers 

 in the late summer, in addition to the June crop. Should they be 

 pruned differently? What about Rosa Hugonis? 



How can I tell Hydrangea arborescens from H. paniculata and how 

 should each be pruned? 



What is the best cover crop to be dug in heavy clay soil in a young 

 orchard? — Arthur Prier, Glen Rock, N. J. 



— The method you have adopted for pruning climbing Roses is the ap- 

 proved one when extra large trusses of bloom are desired. A greater 

 wealth of bloom but not such large individual trusses can be had by 

 letting the canes remain and using the extension growth from them for 

 subsequent growth the next year. Lady Ashdown and Flower of Fair- 

 field would not be expected to yield more than a scattering few blooms 

 in the late part of the season. They are not naturally constant bloomers 

 in the same way as some of the Hybrid Teas. If looking for a second 

 crop, defer pruning until the winter. Rosa Hugonis is best left to 

 grow naturally unpruned. 



Hydrangea arborescens and Hydrangea paniculata belong to two 

 totally different groups. Paniculata is a shrub or small tree with 

 pyramidal inflorescence, stamens ten, petals expanding; arborescens 

 belongs to a group with corymbose or somewhat flat inflorescence and 

 grows four to ten feet, the leaves are pubescent and somewhat glaucous 

 beneath and it has practically no sterile flowers. It blooms in June and 

 July, whereas paniculata flowers during August and September. To 

 prune, both can be cut back during the dormant season as they flower 

 on the new growth. 



As an orchard cover crop where it can be grown, nothing is better than 

 Crimson Clover, sowing about August or September and turning in 

 the following spring. As an annual cover crop use Soy Bean or Cow 

 Pea, turning under and then planting with Crimson Clover as suggested. 

 That is better than Rye for a young orchard; Rye does not increase the 

 nitrogen content in the soil appreciably. You might try sowing Hairy 

 Vetch in the spring. The great need of a clay soil is vegetable matter 

 and anything that you can grow on it and turn under will be good. If 

 you have a bare spot at any time, sow Turnips and dig them under. 



All clambering plants that haul themselves up by gripping for sup- 

 port must eventually cause some injury to the shrubs over which they 

 climb. Moreover, they effectually cut out light and air. We do not 

 approve of the combination of Clematis and Roses unless grown sepa- 

 rately. Ferdinand Conrad Meyer is an ideal hedge Rose but is not 

 ever-blooming; very good for a blooming hedge Rose is Gruss an Teplitz. 

 Of course, it does not make a very dense hedge. — Ed. 



True Stars and False 



To the Editors o/The Garden Magazine: 



THE Open Column is to me one of the most useful as well as one of 

 the most interesting features of your paper. I have learned many 

 valuable things from the various writers and so am glad to be of service 

 to someone else now. 



