BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



561 



cow-manure. In midsummer the ground was alive with 

 little white-grub laivas, so I had every bit of that mulch 

 removed at once. Since then I have never used cov - 

 manure as a mulch for outdoor roses before June 15. — 

 W. Falconer. 



The Umbrella China-tree.— (Page 366.) — .1/^- //a 

 Azedarach is the China-tree, and the dense-headed form 

 known as umbraculifera is the umbrella China-tree. They 

 will stand 12° or 15° of frost if it does not come on too 

 suddenly or last too long, but they are not hardy in the 

 northern states. There is a variety called floribunda 

 which makes a delightful pot-plant. It is easily raised 

 from seed, blooms when a foot high, and its flowers are 

 sweetly scented. I have found it less hardy than either 

 of the others. — W. F. 



Lilium Auratum. — (Page 357.) — "The flower has 

 been greatly improved since its first introduction, both in 

 size and coloring," you say. I don't know about that. 

 Certainly we haven't improved it any ; but we now im- 

 port a larger number of varieties of it. These are only 

 varieties in color, and not exaggerations in size. Curi- 

 ously enough, these imported forms have put an end to 

 all our former notions about having raised hybrids be- 

 tween auratum and speciosum. — W. F. 



Gladiolus-Bulbs "planted later than June 15, north 

 of Washington, would hardly bloom before frost " (page 

 357). Here in Long Island I plant as late as June 25, 

 and they always bloom before frost hurts them ; but away 

 from the sea-coast your advice is proper. Speaking of 

 the improvement made in these flowers in France, prompts 

 me to remind you that Queens, L. I., is the place to see 

 improvements in the gladiolus. — W. F. 



Begonia Evansiana. — (Page 22.) — I did not know 

 that this was a tuberous begonia until I read Mr. Fal- 

 coner's notes concerning it. Well may he praise it, for 

 the whole plant — stem, leaf and bloom — is exceedmgly 

 beautiful. No rubra I ever saw can compare with it. It 

 seems to be perfectly hardy here, coming up in the spring 

 all over the yard in unexpected places, but always to the 

 south of the first plant. I have had this begonia two or 

 three years, but did not know the name ; I could not find 

 it in any of the catalogues. This winter I found it in 

 Gray's Manual. He says it is rare. Mine was given me 

 from an old garden — a most enchanting spot, and the 

 only place where I ever saw it. — Mrs. W. V. L. 



The China Fringe-Tree. — (Page 374.) We have had 

 it for years, and it blooms beautifully every summer. It 

 comes into bloom a fortnight ahead of our white fringe- 

 tree {Chionanthus Virginica] and lasts quite a while in 

 beauty. Its flowers much resemble those of our Ameri- 

 can species, but the plant is more like a small shrub than 

 a tree, and is not likely ever to become as popular as our 

 native white fringe-tree. — W. Falconer. 



Hyacinthus Candicans. — (Page 376,) This is one 

 of the easiest grown of all bulbs, and is perfectly hardy 

 with us. I find very little difference between //. Prin- 

 ceps and //. Candicans. If you want to get up a big 

 stock of the bulbs get some seed and sow it in rows as 

 you would onions. Leave the bulbs in the ground in the 



seed-rows for a year, then lift and plant them elsewhere 

 in the garden. — W. F. 



Adjustable Marker. — (Pages 348 and 434.) — I think 

 I have a marker better than either of those described by 

 you, and it is easily made. The marks are made by run- 

 ners about 30 inches in length, 8 inches wide and 2 

 inches thick. The center runner is but six inches wide, 

 and is spiked to a board 8 feet long and 8 inches wide. 

 The end runners are mortised an inch from the top, so 

 that they slip readily on this frame-board. They are 

 held in place by wire spikes, slipped into holes bored 



Adjustable Marker. 



through the runner and also through the frame-board. 

 The distance can be readily varied to suit different needs. 

 The marker may be drawn or pushed, as you suggest. 

 The number of runners, weight, etc., may also be varied 

 to suit the work the runner is designed for. — J. H. Van. 



Henderson Bush Lima. — (Page 366.) It has come 

 to stay, and is a splendid addition to summer vegetables ; 

 to me it is indispensable. After July 15 we cannot expect 

 good peas — the mildew ruins them. But about July 20, 

 from a warm, sandy piece of land, I begin to pick Hen- 

 derson Bush Lima beans. We sow them in rows as we 

 do ordinary snap-beans, using only one-fourth as much 

 seed. They grow well without any trouble, never run, 

 and bear enormous crops. After large white pole Limas 

 come, about August 10 or 15, we stop picking the dwarf 

 ones. Again, in fall, Henderson Bush Limas are very 

 useful. We have them sown close, in rows, so as to cover 

 them with frames and sashes from September to Novem- 

 ber, and in this way get fresh green Limas long after the 

 frost has killed the pole-beans. — W. F. 



One Crop at a Time. — (Page 377.) — That may do on 

 the farm, but it won't in the garden, where we need to 

 condense our system of cultivation. Don't bother your 

 head about the fertility in the soil : all practical garden- 

 ers know well enough that they cannot get good crops 

 without plenty of fertilizer. We believe in heavy ma- 

 nuring and heavy crops, and the more crops we can get 

 off of a piece of land in a year the better we are pleased, 

 for this is economy in manuring and a saving of labor. 

 Think now and then of the market-gardens on the flats 

 alongside of the Thames at London. They have been cul- 

 tivated and manured for a thousand years, but they still 

 yield enormous rents and crops. I spent two years among 

 them, and I know that " one crop at a time," would drive 

 the gardeners there into the poorhouse. — W. F. 



