126 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



A piul, 1918 



Can't Grow Brussels Sprouts? Though I 

 am an experienced backyard gardener and 

 have had very successful products for years, 

 among them (in another state), brussels 

 sprouts, yet here in Missouri, for two years, 

 nsiilts are as follows: Last spring I planted 

 a few stalks (for early use) in the same rows 

 as cabbage. Cabbage Salzer's Lightning 

 did splendidly, as it always does. The 

 sprouts grew and in due time began setting 

 the buds. As in former years, I trimmed off 

 tin stem kaves from some and left them on 

 on others. The long stems were covered 

 with "roses" but not one would stay shut 

 and grow solid. All were like full blown 



is aggravating. What think you of the 

 thing ; J. I. aillman, Kansas City, Mo. 

 — Even under the best , of conditions 

 brussels sprouts are not easy to grow; that is, 

 if you want real sprouts. And in dry sections 

 of the interior it is practically impossible to 

 get them up to standard. We are sorry for 

 you, but feel that your remedy is not chang- 

 ing seedsmen or varieties, but changing your 

 climate, if that could be done! — Ed. 



The Yellow Wood Tree. — An unusually hand- 

 some tree that but few gardens possess is the 

 Yellow Wood (Cladrastis tinctoria or Virgilia 

 lutea). Why it is not seen more in choice col- 



The Yellow Wood Tree is indeed a handsome native and when laden with its white flowers in racemes seems like a white 



Laburnum 



Roses and hence not good to eat. In July I 

 planted some more plants for fall use. These 

 were in rows with Volga cabbage which did 

 exceptionally well, and I have some heads 

 of it now. The sprouts grew as usual but 

 again nothing except very loose bunches of 

 small leaves and no edible product. I have 

 used four varieties of seeds, from Wisconsin, 

 Pennsylvania, and New York, hoping to 

 secure good results. Last fall, I tried seed 

 from a local house in the city, but the same 

 disappointment. They simply will not grow 

 into the little heads they should but remain 

 fully open, even from the time they are 

 tiny growths. I like the sprouts and wonder 

 if you can suggest the remedy. This behavior 



lections I do not understand for it is easily 

 transplanted, and reasonably hardy. The one 

 illustrated — some thirty feet high — has stood, 

 to my knowledge, for more than twenty years 

 on the brink of a high knoll where the bleak 

 winter winds have full sway. It flowers in 

 drooping panicles ten to twenty inches long, 

 bearing white, pea-shaped, very fragrant 

 blossoms, which not only lend themselves 

 splendidly to artistic decorations, but, when 

 cut retain their freshness for a long time. 

 The secret for its hardiness in the position 

 just mentioned lies in its being planted on a 

 high, gravelly soil, where the drainage is 

 perfect, and it has plenty of sun, inducing its 

 wood to ripen well before the winter sets in. 



I tried it at Egandale but the position was 

 too shaded and it failed. Mr. William 

 Falconer (in Gardening) mentioned one at 

 Dosoris, Long Island, as doing well and 

 states that "it stands on somewhat dry 

 ground and no tree in the garden has grown 

 more satisfactorily." The Yellow Wood, which 

 is native to Kentucky and Tennessee, where it 

 is sparingly found, has the reputation of hav- 

 ing extremely brittle branches, but the tree 

 illustrated does not show such a defect. It 

 was, however, kept well cut back when young, 

 in order to induce the growth of many slender 

 branches instead of fewer large ones. When 

 old enough it commences to flower every other 

 year, and annually at seventy-five years. 

 From it is extracted a clear yellow dye. — 

 W . C. Egan. Illinois. 



Score Card for Garden Plants. — I submit 

 a garden score card that may prove of interest 

 to other readers. I can never resist the lure 

 of new introductions and with my small 

 garden I have found that elimination of many 

 varieties is most necessary. The score card 

 is but an attempt at a systematic basis for 

 throwing out the poorer things. It is, or 

 rather was originally, used solely for judging 

 Bearded Iris, but slowly I am finding it a safe 

 guide for selecting any of the garden oc- 

 cupants. I trust it may prove of some help, and 

 I do wish that it might arouse some of the 

 recrimination that makes the correspondence 

 in the English papers so illuminating. The 

 growing plant, in flower, and its value to the 

 garden picture is the point in question, but it 

 must be remembered that, as yet, Iris of all col- 

 ors are not equal in height or size. Alcazar, 

 pallida dalmatica, and Iris King, . for in- 

 stance, are equally fine but quite different in 

 these qualities. Each should be compared 

 with others that we know of similar coloring 

 or what not, and credit should be given only 

 for superior development. Full credit, partial 

 credit, or even a deduction is reasonable and 

 20% for Unusual Qualities permits you to 

 favor your favorites. 



Plant: 20%. 



Growth, exceedingly strong and vigorous .... 10% 



Mass effect, if good in the garden 10% 



Stalk: 



Well balanced . . ..... . . 15% 



The flowers pleasantly proportioned in size and 

 shape to the height and habit of branching. 

 This is necessary for the best effect of a well- 

 established plant. 



Height . 10% 



Pallida, plicata, etc., 3 ft. or over. 

 Variegata, amoena, interregna, or germanica, 27 

 in. or over. 

 Flower: 35 %. 



Color . 15% 



Clear, or evenly flushed or blended. Venation 

 and reticulation, if noticeable, cleanly defined. 



Shape 5% 



Well defined: pallida dalmatica, Mrs. Alan 

 Gray, Caterina, Monsignor, or Isoline are all 

 distinctive in shape. 



Size - 10% 



Substance 5% 



Unusual Qualities 20% 



General all round excellence, full 20%. 



Unique form of coloring, 10%. 



Pleasing scent, 5%. 



Foliage good throughout the season, 5%. 



Markedly fine development in any of the above 



points, an additional 5%. 

 Value for exhibition, or as a cut flower, 10%. 

 Total 100% 



I append my judgment of a few of the 

 named varieties and wish that ail varieties 

 not 70% worthwhile might be discarded. 

 Would that catalogues used a standardized 

 score card and we might avoid many garden 

 disappointments. Iris King, Alcazar, pallida 

 dalmatica (true) 95%; Juniata, Ivorine, 80%; 

 Isoline, 75%; Windham 70%; Caterina, 65%; 

 Gracchus, 50%; Trantlieb, Wyomissing, 40%; 

 and the much vaunted Black Knight, 

 30%. — R. S. Sturtevant, Mass. 



