October, 1913 



THE HARDEN AND FIELD. 



203 



Shrubs and Ornamental 

 Trees. 



Ill plaiunii}; a lioim- and j^ardoii 

 wi- should renicmbtir that lirst 

 iini)rcssions are lasting and that 

 thov should be plciisant ones. 

 There is here a j^reat opportujutv 

 for individuality to assert itseU. 

 Xo two individuals would equallv 

 ajjiiroive ol the same design. While 

 tastes vary and different designs 

 jwssess equal merit, there are 

 some designs which would be bad, 

 just as there are some pictures 

 which are bad, as colours and ef- 

 fects mav be made tO' literallv 

 swear at one another. 



— Designs. — 



Whether one wishes a design to 

 be formal or natural is the first 

 question to be considered. Nature 

 has suggested many things and 

 ways in which the planting may be 

 made to appear natural, yet na- 

 ture is ca'reless, prodigal, and even 

 wasteful in her resources, so that 

 even she may be improved upon 

 bv judicious pruning here and 

 there. 



When you plant a tree or shrub, 

 'remember that it is planted with 

 the expectatioi^ that it will re- 

 main for years and perhaps for 

 generations, so the right place 

 should be decided upon at the be- 

 ginning, or transplanting will be 

 necessary, making it expensive, 

 perhaps even causing a loss of the 

 plant itself. The modern spirit of 

 landscape planting is to have )it ap- 

 proach as nearly as possible, na- 

 tural effects. Years ago, land- 

 scape designs were conducted upon 

 a different principle. Then every- 

 thing was formal. Even the hedge 

 was sheared in fantastic shapes. 

 Now, the desire is to make shrubs 

 appear graceful, not over-crowd- 

 ing, not yet too , scanty in the 

 plantation. 



In designing a garden the pic- 

 ture must be taken as a whole. 

 Piece work cannot be made a'rtis- 

 tic. The pepper and salt arrange- 

 ment of shrubs has had its day. 

 The effective massing of shrubs 

 and plants has come to stay. 



♦ '■ • 



Seeds. 



In general literatiire and com- 

 mon speech a seed is that part of a 

 plant which is the outcome of 

 flowering and which is used for 

 propagating the species. In the 

 technical or the botanical sense, 

 however, the seed is the ripened 

 ovule. The seed contains an em- 



bryo which is a miniature plant. 

 The embr\ () has one or more 

 leaves (cotyledons), a bud or grow- 

 ing i)oint (i)lumule) and a short 

 descending axis (caulicle). From the 

 caulicle or stenikt the radical or 

 root develops. This embrvo is a 

 miniature dormant plant. ICach 

 embrvo is the result of a di.stinct 

 process of fertili/.ation in which the 

 pollen of the same or another 

 llower has taken part. 



The ovule is contained in the 

 ovary. The ovary is the seed 

 case or ' pericarp. The pericarp 

 with' the parts that are amalgam- 

 ated with it is known technically 

 as the fruit. In many instances 

 there is only one seed in the fruit 

 and the .seed and its case may ad- 

 here and form practically one body. 



Germination is the unfolding and 

 the growing! of the dormant or 'em- 

 bryo plant. The first visible stage 

 in germination is the swelling of 

 the seed. The seed case will burst 

 h\- the pressure of a tiny white 

 shoot from beneath. We say that 

 the seeds have sprouted or have 

 commenced to germinate, and, have 

 taken the first visible step toward 

 developing into a plantlet. At a 

 suitable temperature the living 

 cells of a certain part of the seed 

 beino- to increase in size and to; di- 

 vide, causing the tiny shoot to 

 burst through the seed case. Ger- 

 mination is completed when the 

 voung plantlet is sufhciently de- 

 veloped to live without further aid 

 from the seed. 



— Conditions Requisite for Ger- 

 mination. — 



In order that seed shall germin- 

 ate thev must be supplied with 

 moisture and be given a definite 

 temperature. The reqi'visite tem- 

 perature and moisture vary with 

 the different kinds of seed. 



The seeds may be planted in 

 any medium which supplies the 

 requisite conditions. Although seeds 

 are ordinarily planted in soil such 

 ptactice is not necessary to ger- 

 mination. However, the ground 

 mav supply the necessaries fori ger- 

 mination and it also supplies plant 

 food for the young plantlet when 

 it begins to shift for itself, and fur- 

 thermore the plants are in! the po- 

 sitions which they are desired- to 

 grow. 



As a rule the sooner a seed ger- 

 minates after it is planted the 

 betteT for it is generally in danger 

 of being destroyed by insects or 

 fungi and the plantlet probably 

 loses vigor by too slow develop- 

 ment. Weeds may also be gaining 

 a start if germination is delayed. 



We .should, therefore, treat both 

 the seed and Ihcj soil in a way 

 that favors prompt germination. 



Compacting the soil about the 

 jjlanted seeds hastens germination. 

 When the soil is becoming drier 

 day by day, as it often is in 

 spring, compacting the soil about 

 planted seeds naturally hastens 

 their germination and often secures 

 germination that without the com- 

 pacting might be indefinitely post- 

 poned. The hoe, the foot, a 

 board or the hand may be used to 

 compact the soil over planted seed. 



Planting should be, deferred imtil 

 the soil becomes warm. Seeds can- 

 not germinate proinptly until the 

 temperature of the soil in which 

 they are planted approaches the 

 optimum for their germination. 



Excess of water in the soil re- 

 tards germination by exhausting 

 the supply of oxygen and some- 

 times keeping the soil cold. Seeds 

 should not be planted in soil wet 

 eno|ugh to puddle about them, nor 

 should the so 1 in which seeds are 

 planted be so freely watered that 

 the seeds remain surrounded with 

 liquid water, thus shutting out the 

 normal supply of oxygen. 



Germination may be hastened by 

 soaking seeds before planting. 

 Soaking is most important with 

 seeds having seed cases that do 

 not readily transmit water at 

 growing temperatures, s|uch as the 

 Canna. Germination may also be 

 hastened by cracking or cutting 

 away part of the seed case. 



Seeds may fail to germinate 

 from a variety of causes even 

 when exposed to the proper degree 

 of warmth, moisture and oxygen. 

 They may be too old, they may 

 not have been sufficiently matured 

 when gathered, they may have 

 been too dry or they may have 

 been stored while damp and thus 

 subject to undue heating, or maj' 

 have beien destroyed by insect or 

 fungi, either! before or after ma- 

 turity. Defects of these kinds are 

 not always visible. 



♦ 



Sweet Peas are one of the 

 flowers that are best alone, to 

 associate them with others usually 

 detracts from the beauty of both. 



Nasturtiums have a beautifully 

 cool and light effect for table de- 

 coration and no green suits them 

 as well as their owns foliage. If the 

 leaves are cut three or four days 

 before wanted and kept in a dark 

 place they will usually show some 

 charming variation of yellowing 

 shades. 



