I 



SPROCTS AND CIONS. 



North Carolina Notes.— Mr. Little (May, p. 286), 

 must use very small offsets in growing his tuberoses, 

 and live very far north, if they will not make blooming 

 bulbs the first season. Here the trouble is that the 

 large offsets will bloom and have to be culled out in 

 growing the bulbs for sale and next year's planting. 

 Amateurs in this latitude leave their tuberoses, amaryllis, 

 dahlias and cannas all in the open ground all winter un- 

 til they get in such large clumps that they have to be 

 taken out and divided. I saw to-day (May 14), an old 

 clump of Amaryllis Jolinsoni in a Raleigh yard, with 

 some stalks bearing over forty flowers. In the same 

 yard Catiiia Elicmaiini , out all winter, is now over four 

 feet high, and making buds. Dahlias are also nearly as 

 tall. My madeira vines have reached the top of the 

 piazza. They were three feet high last of February, 

 but the March freeze cut them down, and destroyed the 



439 



bloom of an immense Banksia rose near by. I have 

 a Marechal Neil rose on my front piazza, well worth 

 noting ; it has now at a moderate estimate 1,000 flow- 

 ers on it. It measures around the main stem 12 inches, 

 and has four main branches measuring 6 — — 4 — 3^2 

 inches in circumference. It covers over 25 feet of the 

 length of the piazza, and is trained on wires from the 

 ea\ es to the top of the second story windows. It is on its 

 own roots. Just now Raleigh riots in tea roses, and to 

 one accustomed to the little plants, often frozen to the 

 ground in Maryland, the size even of the dwarf ones is 

 immense. I daily pass a bush of Sunset, in a front 

 yard, which is about eight feet high and ten feet through 

 the head. Few hybrid perpetuals are planted here. 

 Raleigh people want roses all the time — and the climate 

 is so balmy that they get them. — W. F. Massey, N. C. 

 l:.\pcrimiiit Station. 



SPROUTS AND CIONS. 



President McA an of the Ontario Fruit Grower's 

 Association, finds sulphur, applied freely twice during 

 the season to the soil beneath his grape vines, a perfect 

 protection against mildew and thrips. 



The necessity for the deep planting of grape vines is 

 forcing itself more and more upon growers. About all 

 the old ideas in regard to grape growing are proving them- 

 selves fallacious, and here is a striking case in point. 



It seems, as a result of experiments northward, that 

 where fruit will ripen and mature fully, in a cold climate, 

 it is superior in quality to the same fruit grown further 

 south. The grapes of Minnesota are especially noted as 

 illustrating this fact. 



As a good, hardy substitute for the European box, 

 {Bu.xus sciiipervirens, ) James Fletcher, F.L. S.,of Canada, 

 recommends /'rt("/'i'<'///«(; iiiyrsiiiites, a small box-like shrub, 

 found in the mountains of British Columbia, with slen- 

 der twigs, and a profusion of shining leaves. 



Clematis verticillaris, a species frequently found 

 wild in northeastern New England and Canada, with its 

 large mauve flowers, is a species worthy of more atten- 

 tion than it has yet received among our hardy climbers. 

 It hangs out its delicate bells in the month of May. 



It is not, perhaps, very generally known by those w-ho 

 are interested in new species of lawn shrubs, that while 

 the black cherry of the west [Pruinis dL-iiiissa), closely 

 resembles in .fruit our eastern P. serotina, in habit of 

 growth it is more like our choke-cherry (P. Virgiiiiand), 

 which makes it of peculiar value as a lawn shrub. 



It is difficult to understand why any one should con- 

 tinue to grow so poor a fruit as the Hartford Prolific 

 grape. That it is yet considerably planted is evident 

 from the fact that it is on the list of all dealers ; yet it 

 has net a single good quality to recommend it. It is 

 early, but many later grapes are more eatable at the 

 same season. 



The Superiority of the true Worden grape over the 



Concord is far from being yet as well understood as it 

 ought to be. One reason is, the Concord is often dis- 

 honestly put in, by growers and dealers, for the Worden. 

 There is really no sense in planting the Concord any 

 more. But it is very hard to get old prepossessions out 

 of the pulilic mind. 



There have recently begun extensive importations of 

 Russian and .\siatic barberries, some of them quite re- 

 markable in growth and foliage. But these should not 

 lead us to neglect the interesting Pacific coast species, 

 especially yl/<7//(<«/r7 aqiiifolia and yl/. uci'vosa ("Oregon 

 grapes '). which are easily cultivated, and striking in fol- 

 iage, flowers and fruit. 



A magnificent spirea, according to Mr. Fletcher, is 

 the British Columbian i". discolor, var. aria,-folia, called 

 in Vancouver island " ironwood." In the woods of that 

 island bushes fifteen feet high may be found, while 

 among the rocks small plants occur not a foot in height, 

 but covered with the large feathery masses of blossoms 

 which last from May to July. 



Closely allied to the cherries is the British Columbian 

 shrub, Xuttallia cerasiforiiiis, with light green aromatic 

 foliage, and bearing berries of great beauty. The pen- 

 dent racemes of greenish white flowers are followed by 

 bunches of large cherry-like berries, which, when half 

 ripe, are of a pretty waxy white with pink cheeks, but 

 fully ripe are a deep purplish black. 



Perhaps, while we have so many excellent late fall 

 and early winter apples, it may seem that any additions 

 to the list would be superfluous. Yet, having the author- 

 ity of the late Charles Downing, and my own experience 

 of the apple to back me, I will not refrain from saying 

 a word in favor of the Belle de Boskoop — a good grower, 

 early and productive bearer, of good size, color and 

 form, and very superior quality. If it proves, as I think, 

 a longer keeper than Gravenstein, it will make an admir- 

 able succession to that apple. Trees can now be had 

 of many nurser3 men. 



I'cnnout. T. H. HoSKlNS. 



