168 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



THE NEW HYDRANGEA. 



The new Hydrangea, I have headed this 

 article. Perhaps the adjective is not appro- 

 priate, as I believe we have later acquisitions 

 from the Hydrangea family than the one I 

 refer to; but when its absence from most 

 gardens or lawns is taken into consideration, 

 it is proper to call it new, for it is of such 

 recent introduction that but few specimens 

 of it are to be found, at least here at the 

 West. When its merits become more fully 

 known, it will be one of the most popular of 

 all our shrubs. It deserves to be. 



My specimen of the Hydrangea paniculate, 

 grandiflora — a long name for a very charm- 

 ing plant — was a small one when I obtained 

 it, five years ago. I set it in ordinary garden 

 soil, and the first summer it made quite a 

 growth, but did not bloom. It sent up three 

 or four strong shoots, and the leaves had 

 such a coarse look that I was disappointed in 

 it, thinking it was likely to prove a weedy 

 sort of a plant. I supposed it to be tender 

 enough to need protection during the winter, 

 and intended to lay it down and cover it, but 

 something prevented my doing so; and as 

 that winter was one of great severity, I felt 

 sure my Hydrangea would be dead when the 

 time of "green things growing" came again. 

 But not a bud was killed on it, and I have no 

 hardier shrub in my garden than this has 

 proved to be. It -will stand anything the 

 Lilac will, and that every one has long con- 

 sidered to be an "ironclad" among garden 

 shrubs. 



The second summer, my Hydrangea had 

 three heads of flowers, and, for a wonder, I 

 found that they came fully up to the descrip- 

 tion given of them in the catalogues, in size 

 and beauty. We have come to read florists' 

 descriptions of new flowers with several 

 grains of allowance, attributing the differ- 

 ence between the flower as it is described 

 and the flower as we see it to a very vivid 

 imagination on the part of the florist, and a 

 lack of imagination on our part. But in this 

 case, the new plant brought no disappoint- 

 ment. We were delighted with it, and we 

 saw that there were great possibilities in the 

 small shrub which bore such great clusters 

 of snow-white flowers. We saw that a pro- 

 fusion of bloom depended largely on a luxu- 

 riant growth, so we dug about the plant, and 

 enriched the earth it grew in, and encouraged 

 it to do its best the next spring. We cut out 

 all the small, scraggly branches, leaving 

 only the more robust ones. This being a 

 fall bloomer, and the flowers being borne on 

 a new growth of wood, whatever pruning is 

 done should be done in spring before growth 

 begins, or in the fall after the period of 

 blooming is over. 



The third season, nearly a dozen shoots 

 were sent up from the roots, and as the soil 

 was rich, they grew rankly, and had reached 

 a height of three or four feet by the time 

 they began to show signs of buds. They 

 were stiff and erect as any grenadier of the 

 Old Guard, and hadn't a very graceful ap- 

 pearance ; but as the buds grew and the 

 flowers began to open, the weight of the 

 clusters bent the branches into graceful 

 curves, and there was no shrub in the gar- 

 den that had less primness in it, The heads 



of pure white flowers, containing hundreds 

 clustered closely together, were like tossing 

 plumes as the wind dallied with them ; and 

 many a man and woman stopped, as they 

 drove by, to ask what that beautiful flower 

 was. I could have given away a hundred 

 '■ slips," if I had seen fit to spoil my plant by 

 cutting it up to gratify its admirers. 



For a conspicuous place on the lawn, I 

 know of nothing better; and it blooms in the 

 fall when we have few other flowers from 

 shrubs. The last summer, I encircled my 

 plant with scarlet geraniums, and the con- 

 trast and effect was remarkably fine. Its 

 culture is of the easiest. Give it rich soil, 

 keep up a vigorous growth from spring to 

 blossoming time, and that is all you need to 

 do. 



Eben E. Rexford. 



WHITE GRUBS IN LAWNS. 



A subscriber writes from Southern Cali- 

 fornia : My lawn has been looking elegantly 

 until within two or three weeks when I 

 noticed the grass suddenly dying in spots. 

 On examination I found the ground actually 

 alive with grubs from one to two inches long, 

 with brown heads and white flabby bodies 

 about half an inch in diameter, the same as 

 I have seen in the East in Strawberry beds. 

 In making the lawn considerable quantities 

 of stable manure were spaded in the ground, 

 and not long afterwards I noticed brown 

 beetles about the size of May beetles coming 

 from the ground. 



Now, is the ground liable to be stocked 

 with these grubs forever, or will they be 

 likely to disappear after the present brood 

 dies? Is there any remedy which will not 

 interfere with the new growth of grass, as 

 the old roots are all eaten off and conse- 

 quently beyond redemption ? 



Answer by A. S. Fuller. 



The grubs injuring your grass are the 

 larvae of the May beetle, Laclmosterna, a very 

 common insect, but only occasionally suffi- 

 ciently abundant to do much harm to lawns 

 and meadows. The female beetle deposits 

 her eggs usually in meadows, pastures, and 

 lawns where they are most likely to be un- 

 disturbed, and the young grubs find abundant 

 food. For this reason newly turned sod land 

 is to be avoided for Strawberry plantations, 

 as the plowing does not kill the grubs, but it 

 does kill the grass roots, leaving little for the 

 grubs to eat, except the Strawberry roots, 

 which they soon destroy. The grubs remain 

 in the ground three years and then come out 

 in the beetle state as seen flying about and 

 into our rooms during the months of May 

 and June. 



It is very difficult to destroy the grubs in 

 the ground, for any application like salt, 

 lime, or poisons, if put in sufficient quanti- 

 ties to reach the grubs would certainly 

 destroy the grass. A heavy, iron roller 

 passed over the ground every two or three 

 days or often er will help to keep the pest in 

 check, as well as crush many of the grubs. 

 It might also be well to take up the dead sod 

 and gather and kill the grubs by hand and 

 then put down fresh sod from some other 

 locality, but we are inclined to think that 

 the grubs will not be exterminated until they 

 have passed through their various stages and 

 come forth as beetles, which should be de- 

 stroyed by all available means. 



PROPAGATING HALL'S HONEYSUCKLE. 



It may be interesting to many readers of 

 The American Garden to learn with what 

 ease the beautiful Lonicera Hallcana can be 

 propagated. Last fall I made cuttings, from 

 that season's growth, and planted them in 

 boxes of sand, where they soon made root, 

 and were transplanted to small pots. Hav- 

 ing no other accomodations for these plants, 

 they were kept in the cellar until spring 

 when they were planted out and now are 

 strong thrifty vines. 



I had often tried to raise seedlings by 

 planting the seed in autumn, and also in the 

 spring ; but until this season I did not meet 

 with success. Last fall I gathered berries 

 from the old vine and planted them wliole in 

 a box of loose soil and kept it in the cellar 

 until spring. I then removed it to a shady 

 place in the garden, and have transplanted 

 from this box one hundred and eighty plants. 



When we consider these facts, is there any 

 reason why all those who are so fortunate 

 to have homes, should not have their ve- 

 randas covered with this charming vine. 

 Sometimes winter kills the tops in northern 

 climates, but as it readily sprouts from the 

 roots and blossoms from new wood, this 

 single weakness counts but little against its 

 deliciously fragrant and beautiful white and 

 yellow flowers, its dark green, almost ever- 

 green leaves, and its many other desirable 

 qualities. H. C. F. 



THE BEST LAWN GRASS. 



Which is the best grass for lawns? is a 

 question frequently asked. For a single 

 kind nothing is better than Kentucky Blue 

 Grass, Poa pratensis ; but a mixture of equal 

 parts of this and Bed Top, Agrostis vulgaris, 

 is to be preferred. These make an even, 

 uniform growth, while, if coarser grasses 

 are added to the mixture, a smooth, velvety 

 greensward cannot be maintained. A small 

 addition of Sweet Vernal Grass, Anthoxan- 

 thum odor at um, although not adding mate- 

 rially to the luxuriance of the lawn, is 

 desirable on account of its delightful " new- 

 mown hay" fragrance. 



A LARGE AMELANCHIER. 



G. P. Davis reports to the Torrey Botani- 

 cal Club the discovery of a Shad-tree, Ame- 

 lancliier Canadensis, of extraordinary size. 

 The tree stands in a meadow in the town 

 of Glastonbury, Conn., and is of the size, 

 proportions, and general appearance of an 

 uncommonly fine old Sugar-maple ; its cir- 

 cumference measures eight feet eight inches, 

 at three feet six inches from the ground, and 

 the spread of its branches is forty-eight feet 

 in diameter. The tree was in full bloom on 

 the 19th of May, and must have been a sight 

 worth going a good distance to see. 



TRANSPLANTING MAGNOLIAS, 



A subscriber asks : "I wish to transplant 

 a Magnolia ; shall I take it now, or wait till 

 spring?" By all means wait till spring. 

 Magnolias should never be moved in autumn. 

 As early in spring as it can be dug, lift it 

 carefully, so that all the small, fibrous roots 

 are preserved ; protect them against sun 

 and wind, and move to the new location with 

 as little delay as possible. Magnolias thrive 

 best in dry, warm, and rich soil. 



