382 



The Garden Magazine, August, 1922 



original slip having come from the Isle of Wight; and waited for nature 

 to do the rest. By fall the Ivy completely hid the pipe from view and 

 clustered around the plinth, making a charming and appropriate effect 

 at a total cost of something less than twelve dollars. The dial is ac- 

 curate, though of course it cannot keep pace with daylight saving! 

 During one very severe winter the Ivy was killed down to the ground; 

 now I guard against that by protecting it with bottomless baskets 

 placed around the pedestal and filled with dry leaves. After my dial 

 was completed I remember reading Mr. J. Horace McFarland's "My 

 Growing Garden" and learned that he, too, had an Ivy-covered dial, 

 but I do not recall that his Ivy concealed a terra-cotta pipe! — Gertrude 

 H. Smith, Hadd.onfi.eld, N. J. 



If You Want the Christmas Rose 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



THOSE of your subscribers who are interested in the Christmas 

 Rose (Helleborus niger) can procure it from the Muller-Sealey Co., 

 143 West 45th St., New York City, whose advertisement I originally 

 saw in your magazine. — Adele N. Chase, Gary, Ind. 



The Grateful Grafter Speaks 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



I WANT to thank you for the article in your April issue by E. L. D. 

 Seymour "Now Anyone Can Graft at Any Time." I tried grafting 

 with parafine as suggested, and it worked. Previous attempts by 

 the old method usually resulted in failure, but with this method the 

 grafts are all growing despite the fact this has been an unfavorable 

 year for such work That article alone is worth my year's subscrip- 

 tion! — Marie I. DeGraff. 



How Hardy is the Hardy Eucalyptus? 



To the Editors o/The Garden Magazine: 



IN REGARD to the Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus carynocalyx) over which 

 there seems to be some dispute as to whether or not it is really frost- 

 resistant, I can only give the result of the work carried on by the Santa 

 Monica station, demonstrating that this particular species cannot be 

 successfully grown in the interior of the state, where in every reported 

 case specimens were killed by the frost. The nomenclature of the 

 Eucalyptus is very indefinite anyway, and it is possible that a closely 

 allied species is meant. It is also possible, too, to develop a strain or 

 sport from the species that is resistant. Take for instance the Scarlet- 

 flowered Eucalyptus. There are any number of single specimens ex- 

 hibiting slight variations from type, either in the coloration of the 

 flowers, in the shape of the leaves, or in the habit of the tree. The 

 Eucalyptus is like the Acacia in that several distinct ancestral char- 

 acters may be brought out on the same tree. 



The lowest recorded temperature that any Eucalyptus can stand 

 — and there are very few species — is 18 F.; they show different 

 degrees of resistance to frost. Some of the species considered most 

 frost-resistant include: E. rostrata; E. globulus; E. viminalis; E. tere- 

 ticornis; E. sideroxylon; E. cebra; E. rudis; E. robusta; E. resinifera; 

 E. Stuartiana. 



Eucalyptus will grow under a variety of soil conditions, but favor 

 a medium heavy soil for their best development. They make a 

 very rapid growth in sandy soils. They are prodigious surface feeders 

 and absorb considerable moisture. Not much else can be grown in 

 close proximity to a Eucalyptus. Sometimes Eucalyptus have been 

 grown on land considered unfit for other types of plants, but they re- 

 spond best to rich soil. 



Information regarding the adaptability of the Eucalyptus to parts of 

 Texas might possibly be obtained by writing to Mr. E. O. Siecke, 

 Chief of the Division of Forestry, Texas Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, College Station, Texas. 



My attention has been called to a recent note on the introduction of 

 the Eucalyptus into California, appearing in the last seed catalogue of 

 the wholesale house of C. C. Morse Co. It is interesting enough to 

 quote: "Eucalyptus globulus. A little history of this wonderful tree in 

 commemoration of the late William Taylor, Bishop of Africa and 'a 

 forty-niner'. The Eucalyptus is a native of Australia. It is the tallest- 

 growing tree on earth, in that country reaching a height of nearly 500 

 feet. On mission tour in Australia, in 1869, Bishop Taylor was so im- 

 pressed with the giant Eucalyptus that he secured quantities of seed and 

 sent it to California. The seeds were planted by Mrs. Taylor, and thou- 

 sands of seedlings were distributed by her and others, especially by 



James T. Stratton, late Surveyor General of California. This was the 

 first distribution of Eucalyptus in the Golden State, and well should 

 every tree remind us of this great man, Bishop Taylor!" 



I found your Pacific Coast Annual very interesting, and the different 

 articles full of valuable hints on gardening in California. I am sure 

 that such a number serves to stimulate a great interest in gardening 

 among Californians. — A. M. Woodman, University of California. 



Finding the Medlar 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



DEPLYING to Mr. Rost's query regarding the true European 

 I *- Medlar in The Open Column for January, I may say that in 1919 

 I purchased a Nottingham Medlar from the Armstrong Nurseries, 

 Ontario, California. A Medlar advertised under the name Large 

 Dutch also used to be obtainable from the Pioneer Nursery, Mon- 

 rovia, California. I am not aware whether either firm can supply 

 these trees at the present time, but it would do no harm to address a 

 note of inquiry to them. — S. S. Berry, Redlands, California. 



A Tower of Strength for the Dahlia 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



THOUGH I am quite a crank about the Dahlia, here in this Western 

 country we have so much wind that it has heretofore been quite 

 impossible to raise respectable looking plants; and beautiful flowers on 

 crooked and twisted plants have spoiled half my fun. I have tried 

 wooden stakes galore, but they are so crudely obtrusive it gives me a 

 pain to contemplate them. 



I believe I have at last solved the problem. Go to any merchant 

 who has coiled wire for sale and buy as much as you think you will 

 need; either No. 8 or No. 9 being my preference. Cut into 4 ft. lengths, 

 lay one wire at a time on an anvil or some solid substance and with a 

 hammer or wooden mallet proceed to straighten it out. This is the 

 tedious portion of the job though not so much so as you might think. 

 When straightened, thrust each wire about half an inch into the jaws 

 of a vise and bend it at right angles. This end goes into the ground and 

 serves to anchor it in place. 



Next get a discarded broom handle, and drive this in four different 

 places around the plant at a distance of 6-8 in., making the holes 8 or 10 

 inches deep, and as near equally distant as possible — it is a good idea 

 to mark the handle in some way to readily indicate the required depth 

 of the hole. In driving the broom handle into the earth, it should al- 

 ways be slanted so the handle may come directly over the plant. 



When the four holes are made around a plant, place a wire in each, 

 slanting toward the centre until directly over the plant, then cross 

 the tips and tie together about an inch below the top. Fill the holes 

 solidly with dirt, pounding down with mallet or hammer. Now you 

 have a firmly grounded, four legged tripod of surprising staunchness, 

 in fact, a regular tower. As the plant grows up inside the wires, it 

 soon conceals them, filling the spaces between and offering resistance to 

 wind which is quite remarkable. 



Thus we are rid of the ugly nuisance of wooden posts and of possible 

 injury to the plants when tied to them. If the shoots of the plant seem 

 inclined to crowd out through the openings between the legs of the 

 tower too soon or too much, a string tied tightly to one of the wires and 

 carried clear around, will keep these enterprising shoots in order. 



The "tenderfoot" may think this is too much trouble but, as a 

 Dahlia lover living in a windy country, it seems to me well worth while. 

 For ten cents I build my plant a tower that only a real cyclone can blow 

 down. — Dr. A. W. Foreman, White Hall, Illinois. 



Some More Dahlia History 



IN THE hope that some further light might be shed on certain obscur- 

 ities in the Dahlia's history, as told by Prof. Norton in the December 

 Garden Magazine, attention of Messrs. Dreer was called to the refer- 

 ence to Mr Schmitz's introductions and the following letter has been 

 received : 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



I HAVE a faint recollection that when I first took hold of revising the 

 plant pages of our catalogue (it was in 1880) that Mr. William F. Dreer 

 told me that Mr. Schmitz had been a specialist in Dahlias located at 

 Roxborough, Philadelphia, but this is a great many years ago and my 

 memory may not be absolutely reliable on this point. However, I 

 have catalogues on file back as far as 1870. In the 1870 and 1871 



