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THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[January, 



BY JOHN G. WHTTTTER. 



Written for the American Penological Society, and 

 sung at tlie grand banquet in Music Hall, 

 Boston, September 16, 1881. 



O Painter of the fruits and flowers, 



We own thy wise design, 

 Whereby these human hands of ours 



May share the work of thine! 



Apart from thee we plant in vain 



The "root and sow the seed ; 

 Thy early and thy later rain, 



Thy sun and dew, we need. 



Our toil is sweet with thankfulness, 



Our burden is our boon ; 

 The curse of earth's gray morning is 



The blessing of its noon. 



Why search the wild world everywhere 



For Eden's unknown ground ? 

 That garden of the primal pair 



May never more be found. 



But, blest by thee, our patient toil 



May right the ancient wrong, 

 And give to every clime and soil 



The beauty lost so long. 



Our homestead Hewers and fruited trees 



May Eden's orchard shame ; 

 We taste the tempting sweets of these 



Like Eve, without her blame. 



And, North and South and East and West, 



The pride of every zone, 

 The fairest, rarest, and the best, 

 May all be made our own. 



Its earliest shrines the young world sought 



In hill-groves and in bowers ; 

 The fittest offerings thither brought 



Were thy own fruits and flowers. 



And still with reverent hands we cull 



The gifts each year renewed ; 

 The good is always beautiful — 



The beautiful is good. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



At the time of this writing — the middle of 

 December — the autumn and early winter 

 rains have not yet penetrated the ground 

 sufficiently to affect the streams and wells 

 materially. The soil was so thoroughly and 

 deeply dried out that the water which fell 

 did not reach the lower roots of trees and 

 shrubs even, and if the ground should freeze 

 up before the occurrence of more and copi- 

 ous rains, the conditions of the present win- 

 ter will be most unfavorable to young shrubs 

 and trees, and perennial plants of all kinds. 

 The roots of many plants which have re- 

 mained almost dormant during the dry sum- 

 mer have, at the advent of the fall rains, 

 started into a second growth, and, favored 

 by the unusually mild weather, have continued 

 to grow much beyond their usual season. 

 These roots are naturally immature and soft, 

 and illy prepared to withstand the casualties 

 of such a winter. 



Mulching is the only safeguard we can 

 apply in this case, and we would advise the 

 mulching of all tender and half-hardy plants, 

 and even such as are considered hardy in 

 ordinary seasons may be benefited by a light 

 protection. But judicious care is necessary 

 not to apply the mulch too early in winter, 

 nor to remove it too early in spring. It should 

 in no case be put on before the ground is 

 frozen solid. 



Dutch Bulbs, especially, are often covered 

 too early, so that the bulbs are stimulated 

 into precocious growth and the flowers suf- 

 fer considerably from spring frosts. 



THE WILD GARDEN. 



Wild Garden Seeds, as offered among our 

 premiums, are not, as has been supposed by 

 many, seeds of wild or indigenous flowers, 

 but a mixture of a great many species and 

 varieties of the best and most attractive 

 annual and perennial garden flowers in culti- 

 vation. 



With a packet of Wild Garden Seeds, which 

 every subscriber of The American Garden 

 may have for the asking, no one need be 

 without an abundance of flowers. Gerani- 

 ums, Coleus, Heliotropes, Salvias, Cannas, 

 and the long list of pretty bedding plants, are 

 all well enough, but cost more than many 

 can afford, and to keep them trim and in 

 good order during summer requires a great 

 deal more time than many a busy housewife 

 ■ — with a house full of company in the bar- 

 gain, perhaps — can spare. But the Wild 

 Garden takes care of itself, delights in being 

 left alone, and rewards our inattention with 

 a profusion of flowers. Hear what some of 

 our subscribers say. 



Mrs. M. L. P., Brooklyn, N. Y., writes: 

 " I have sowed the Wild Garden Seeds for 

 four years in my garden, and every year with 

 renewed pleasure from the variety and beauty 

 of the plants produced from them, and many 

 other ladies whom I have induced to try them 

 have had the same favorable results. My 

 garden is half -filled with bulbs and perennial 

 plants, so as to have a fine show of flowers in 

 early spring. In May I loosen the earth be- 

 tween the plants, sow sparsely the Wild 

 Garden Seeds, and gently rake them under. 

 All summer, till late in the fall, I have a 

 wonderful profusion of flowers that could not 

 be procured for ten times the money, giving 

 me any amount of bouquets for myself and 

 friends. Thanks to the mild weather during 

 late autumn, I have had masses of Sweet 

 Alyssums, Indian Pinks, Snap-dragons, Mig- 

 nonette, Thunbergias, and many others in 

 full bloom. I heartily recommend these seeds 

 to every lover of flowers." 



Miss M. E. G., Eohrersville, Md., writes: 

 " I, for one, am perfectly delighted with the 

 package of Wild Garden Seeds received as 

 premium. I prepared the ground and sowed 

 the seed according to the directions which 

 accompanied the package ; and as there was 

 not much rain about that time, I kept the 

 ground damp by watering, and was rewarded 

 by a nice lot of plants, which, when in bloom, 

 were the pride and admiration of our whole 

 family and the envy of our less fortunate 

 neighbors. I had expected something nice, 

 but my expectations were more than realized. 

 I cannot tell the many pleasant moments I 

 spent admiring the grand floral display my 

 Wild Garden bed presented, until its beauty 

 ,was marred by five weeks of intense heat 

 and no rain. I felt like putting up the in- 

 scription ' Ichabod' over the dried leaves and 

 withered branches of my highly esteemed 

 pets, but a few refreshing rains have revived 

 the Sweet Alyssum and Mignonette to such 

 an extent that exclamations of delight are 

 again heard falling from the lips of those 

 who behold them, and I feel perfectly happy 

 in the possession of such sweet little floral 

 gems." 



Mrs. A. M. L., Hempstead, Texas, writes : 

 "Your premium Wild Garden Seeds have 

 furnished me with lovely flowers the whole 

 summer. Such a blaze of color and abun- 

 dance of floral beauty I never saw before. 

 I think every seed came up." 



TRAILING ARBUTUS. 



Most failures in the cultivation of this ex- 

 quisitely beautiful spring flower result from 

 the careless way in which the plants are 

 taken up. Autumn is the most favorable 

 season for transplanting, yet when sufficient 

 care is taken not to disturb the roots, and 

 to move them when the ground is wet, with 

 as much soil as can be made to adhere, they 

 may be transplanted at any time. 



In its natural condition we find the plant 

 shaded by Pines and Oaks, growing iii a 

 light sandy soil intermixed with a good por- 

 tion of vegetable matter. Similar conditions 

 must be provided under cultivation if we 

 expect to meet with success. A mixture of 

 common garden soil, sand, and leaf-mold 

 makes a suitable border, and where no spot 

 can be found that offers sufficient natural 

 shade during the summer months, some 

 leafy shrubs, or a shelter of evergreen 

 boughs, may be made to serve as a substi- 

 tute. During winter the plants should have 

 a light covering of leaves. 



VIOLET BLIGHT. 



Blight in some form or other has proba- 

 bly existed from the commencement of crea- 

 tion ; of blighted hopes, at least, the garden 

 of Eden had already its full share. Blight 

 in Potatoes, Pears, Grapes, and many other 

 vegetables and fruits, has been known since 

 many years, and now even the modest Violet 

 has fallen under its ban. 



The disease appears while the plant is in 

 blossom; small round spots show them- 

 selves on the petals of the flowers, as if 

 scalded with boiling water or burned by 

 some acid. In a short time the tissue 

 beneath is destroyed, and the disease or 

 parasite spreads through the entire plant ; 

 the leaves wilt, the stem droops, and the 

 roots perish, all within a few. hours. In the 

 vicinity of this city, where Violets are a mar- 

 ket article of considerable importance, and 

 where some florists make an almost exclusive 

 specialty of raising them, so rapid and com- 

 plete a destruction of their stock becomes a 

 mjst serious affliction. 



So far as we are aware, the cause and 

 nature of this plague has not yet been in- 

 vestigated nor a remedy for it discovered. 



PYRETHRUMS (FEVERFEW). 



Only a few years ago these interesting 

 plants were scarcely known except to botan- 

 ists and compounders of herbs. But the 

 enterprise of our modern horticulturists has 

 brought them to such perfection as to make 

 them take their position among the most valu- 

 able plants in garden decoration ; and being 

 perfectly hardy, easily multiplied, and par- 

 ticularly free from insect pests and disease, 

 they must soon become much sought for. 



They remain in bloom for a long time, 

 from the middle of June to the end of Septem- 

 ber, and even as late as the end of October a 

 few flowers may be gathered. Many of the 

 varieties are very double and really beauti- 

 ful^nd may easily be taken for fine Chrysan- 



themums or Asters, having similarly i 

 incurved, and quilled or anemone-formed 

 flowers. The flowers vary from almost all 

 shades of red and purple to pure yellow and 

 white. When cut they will last from one to 

 two weeks, and are very useful in making up 

 vases or baskets of cut-flowers. 



