The Garden Magazine, July, 1922 



325 



Your correspondent, A. Dwight, of New York City, asks for the 

 identification of a plant given him under the name of Star-of-Bethlehem. 

 From his description the plant is undoubtedly Campanula isophylla 

 alba; there is also a blue variety, but I have never heard of a pink. The 

 true Star-of-Bethlehem is Ornithogalum umbellatum, a bulbous plant. 

 — Murray Horne, Yorba Linde, Cal. 



— On page 204 of the May number, a correspondent, A. Dwight, of New 

 York City, asks the name of a little white Campanula given her last 

 summer up in Maine. It is Campanula isophylla, apparently a favorite 

 thereabouts — I recently saw a beautiful plant in the window of a shop at 

 Gorham, N. H. Further information about it can be found in Bailey. 

 An occasional catalog offers it. — Annie Lorenz, Hartford, Conn. 



— In the May number I note that A. Dwight of New York City asks 

 about Star-of-Bethlehem. I do not remember ever having heard of it 

 myself until my mother brought some plants up from Baltimore from a 

 neighbor's garden to plant upon my father's grave one Memorial Day, 

 but it has been familiar to her for a good many years. Perhaps this 

 particular use of it has something to do with its popular name. Botani- 

 cally it is Ornithogalum umbellatum, the only common garden represen- 

 tative in this country of something over a hundred kinds common in the 

 Old World and in Africa. It has not quite disappeared from the Ameri- 

 can catalogues — Childs still lists it, and also A. arabicum, a tender pot 

 bulb sometimes incorrectly called Sea Onion. Star-of-Bethlehem is, 

 as Mr. Dwight says, a charming little plant, its chief bad habit being 

 that of crowding its neighbors in mixed plantings which, of course, 

 indicates its utter hardiness. — Albert Benjamin Cone, Chicago, III. 



— I think the plant asked about as Star-of-Bethlehem in the May 

 magazine is the same that puzzled me for a long time. In the course of 

 my reading I came upon a description that I think fits it. So I now 

 call it by this name Campanula isophylla, Falling Star, but would of 

 course like to be positive as to its accuracy. — Anna B. Lewis, Water- 

 town, N. Y. 



Studying Larkspur Disease 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



IT MIGHT interest your readers to know that we are working on 

 Delphinium leaf-spot, and would be glad to receive material of it 

 from any part of the country. 



Fresh specimens, addressed to this laboratory, should be sent dry, 

 wrapped in newspaper. — Edwin F. Smith, Pathologist in Charge, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, 

 D. C. 



What's Wrong With the Dahlia? 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



WITH a feeling something between distress and exasperation I 

 have read the article in the May number on Dahlia culture, 

 which shows how easy it is and why everyone should be rioting in these 

 flowers in their season. 



Cannot the writer somehow be induced to move into this territory 

 and find out why we can no longer do these desirable things? We cer- 

 tainly do not know. Time was when we were able to vie with other 

 favored parts of the country, but that time is long gone by. 



What is the matter? Sometimes we say it is the tarnished plant 

 bug, sometimes we fear the climate has changed. It is plainly some- 

 thing and yet the experts break our hearts by serenely telling us how 

 easy it all is, when we sometimes see long rows of apparently thrifty 

 and well-grown plants with only here and there a bloom. I think it 

 is too bad that articles are published with no effort on the part of 

 anyone to relieve us of our distress and even without admitting that 

 anything is or can be wrong. A good many raisers of the Dahlia gave 

 it up years ago, but I never have and I hope to live to see the old 

 favorite in its glory again. Cannot someone be found who will at least 

 sympathize with us? 



To be more cheerful: I think our household has found a way to get 

 seeds to germinate. We have a small plant room with some roof light. 

 Seeds sown in strawberry baskets or other convenient boxes are kept 

 moist and set up pretty close to the glass. In an incredibly short time 

 the plants appear, after which there is nothing to do but see that they 

 do not get scorched or too wet or dry. Put the boxes outside as soon 

 as they will not suffer and a supply of bedding plants is assured. We 

 try to keep a continuous succession of plants in flower, but sometimes 

 find it difficult for awhile after the spring bulbs are gone. Pansies and 

 the Bellis Daisies come in well then. During this period the Apple 



blossoms go out just as the Lilacs come in; at least, so it is in my yard 

 this year. — John W. Chamberlin, Buffalo, N. Y. 



Lilies for the Cold Northwest 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



ANSWERING the inquiry of George Higgins of Saskatchewan, Can- 

 ada as to the probable hardiness of Lilium candidum in his region, 

 I will say that this Lily is not reliably hardy in North Dakota. The 

 same is true of the speciosum and auratum varieties. 



Lilium tigrinum is the hardiest of the family and will grow and bloom 

 anywhere. Lilium dauricum and the Lilium elegans varieties appear 

 to rank next in hardiness. We are hoping that L. regale will give us a 

 white Lily hardy enough for the cold northwest. I have the following 

 in my garden which have survived at least one season when protected 

 by six inches of strawy manure, and which 1 would consider worthy of 

 trial in North Dakota and Saskatchewan: L. regale, L. croceum, L. 

 Hansoni, L. Henryi, and L. superbum. — A. L. Truax, Crosby, N. D. 



Artificial Rain When Rain's Wanted 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



IN a recent issue, a gentleman told of the nice vegetables that he 

 raised in a dry summer, simply by keeping the cultivator going. 

 Now, I have only a small garden, about 40 by 60, but my enthusiasm 

 for working a hand cultivator, or the good old hoe, disappeared some 

 years ago. 



You may call me lazy; but the fact remains that my garden is now 

 more of a thing of beauty and joy forever than it was before I put in an 

 overhead irrigation system. Being of average intelligence, I realized 

 that watering will not take the place of cultivation, but the kind of 

 watering I do certainly makes me push the cultivator less. Any one 

 who has depended upon hose for watering the garden is not to be blamed 

 for questioning the value of artificial rain. By that method the water 

 is applied entirely too fast, in too large drops, and generally in too small 

 quantity. 



I turn on the water and the tiny drops fall gently, watering without 

 driving the soil particles together, without bruising or chilling the 

 plants. The irrigation line isn't called upon until I am convinced that 

 water is really needed, and then it gives the ground a thorough soaking, 

 often running for nine or ten hours. After planting, a crust sometimes 

 forms and keeps the little seedlings from breaking through easily. A few 

 minutes of "artificial rain" and the crust is softened and the plantlets 

 simply hop along. At transplanting time, 1 get the ground in that 

 desirable "just right" condition — I don't need to wait for rain, or lug 

 around a messy bucket of water. You'd be surprised how small the 

 mortality is among my transplants. Often lack of rain makes some 

 pretty tough summer spading, but that's no bugaboo any more — my 

 irrigation system softens the ground just right. — L. T., New Jersey. 



Appreciation from the Grower of a Century-old Garden 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



THE March number of The Garden Magazine is being read this 

 sunny Sunday and there are so many things in it that I want to 

 talk about! I enjoyed the walk in the Breeze Hill garden with Mr. Mc- 

 Farland and his rheumatic knees (I have two of that variety of my own, 

 also an elbow); it is nice when others have noticed something you have 

 always looked out for, as for instance the Rhododendron "weather 

 bureau." Every Breeze Hill article is a pleasure to us, the proprietor 

 and his remarks remind us of a favorite garden lover of this state who 

 lives in our Twin City. 



In the "Shrubbery Border" (March, 1922) I wondered if the Ever- 

 green Thorn was a shrub we used to have and called Hawthorn. It had 

 white blooms in spring followed by bunches of tiny berries which turned 

 orange-red and hung on all winter; also small, neat foliage, but the ber- 

 ries were apt to get coated with a black deposit which kept them from 

 showing very effectively. Our native Red Haw, which grows quite 

 large, has fruit which makes nice jelly or sauce to be used like cran- 

 berries. 



We have some Christmas Roses which were given us from an old 

 garden and are named "Phoebe Shull" for the donor; Madonna Lilies 

 from the same source are called "Margaret Spainhour" — we are fond 

 of so naming our flowers. 



Several years ago I read an article in The Garden Magazine by the 

 possessor of a garden who spoke of the York-and-Lancaster Roses which 

 he had, and many other old flowers I have always been familiar with. 



