©h« Gardiner's ^ontMg. 



209 



Communications for this department must reach, the Editor 

 on or before the 10th of the month. 



InJ^The Editor cannot answer letters for this department pri- 

 vately. 



"Pruning," before the Horticultural 

 Society. — Dr. Stayman, of Leavenworth^ says: — 



" I was much interested in the comments made by 

 the Society, I think they would not differ so much 

 on pruning or shortening-in, in transplanting, if 

 they fully understood my views, although I endeav- 

 ored to make the subject plain, but would not fully 

 discuss it in a short article. I do not advocate the 

 mutilation of the roots, and then expect to overcome 

 the difficulty by shortening-in. The question is sim- 

 ply this, does a tree require shortening-m that has 

 been taken up and transplanted with care ? Not to 

 what extent a tree may be mutilated and then saved 

 by another similar process ; all such trees I discard 

 as unworthy transplanting unless simply to save 

 the variety. 



I feel thankful for the compliments passed upon 

 the article from so worthy a Society, and all I regret 

 is that I was noi able to present the n atter in a bet- 

 ter and more definite form. " 



[There are many points suggested by Dr. Staj^- 

 nian's notes, worthy of a much fuller discussion 

 than has yet been accorded them.] 



Bees on Wisterias. — Apis.— In past years I 

 have noticed hundreds of the large Bumble Bee dead 

 under the flowers of the W. sinensis, and have taken it 

 for granted thac the flowers poisoned the Bees. 

 But this year, though the bees have been as numer- 

 ous as ever, I have not found a single dead bee. 

 How is this to be accounted for ? " 



[We do not know. We have often seen dead 

 bees by the hundred under Wisterias, but do not 

 suppose the flowers billed them. We have read 

 that the honey of some parts of the world, Trebi- 

 zond for instance, is poisonous; which, although 

 given on " good authority " we do not believe ; but 

 if poisonous, it does not seem to poison the bees 

 that collect it, and we do not know why honey which 

 is not poison should kill our bees.] 



Betinospora ericoides. — A correspondent at 

 West Fayette, Seneca Co.,N. Z, asks: "I would 

 like to enquire through ihe if Retinospora 



ericoides and J uniperus ericoides are one and the 

 same thing. I have seen the same plants under 

 the above names, at different times and all were 



genuine Retinosporas, and wish to know whether 

 the other names are synonyms, falsely or not, or 

 whether there are distinct plants for each. While 

 young at any rate, it is not hardy here, although it 

 barely lives through the winter." 

 [They are all the same thing.] 



Blighted Seckels.— (9. S. C, West Fayette, 

 says : "In the April No. of the Monthly, 

 C. asks, Did any b dy ever know ot a blighted Seck- 

 el. I have an experimental orchard of pear trees 

 numbering some 150 varieties, and the pear blight 

 has made considerable ravages for the past two 

 years, the Seckel not escaping, but being attacked 

 and fatally too, as bad as any ot er. My location 

 is on the east bank of Seneca Lake, about 8 miles 

 from Greneva. " 



Rhododendron jeed.— i^^ L. P., Canandaigua, 

 N. Y. — Please let me know if it is necessary to soak 

 Rhododendron seed in order to have it come up. I 

 planted some one month ago and it dont make its 

 appearance yet. 



[Sow in a box of sandy soil, on the surface, cover 

 thinly with moss, and set in the shade. It takes 

 six weeks to germinate. | 



English Sparrows in New York.— J/r. Isaac 

 Buchanan, says :—" English Sparrows are quite 

 domesticated and perfectly able to bear our win- 

 ters in New York, Hoboken, Jersey City— I cannot 

 say for Lewellyn Park, but think most likely. I 

 have tried to locate them in Astoria, but have not 

 yet succeeded. ' ' 



Covering Roses in Winter with Sods.— :7l 

 Madison, Wisconsin, asks : " Is it a good plan to 

 cover Roses in winter with sods? I read in some 

 periodical that Mr. Peter Henderson recommended 

 this, and have by following the plan lost mo;e roses 

 than ever before. " 



[One of the best ways we know, is to cut away 

 late in the season any immature shoots, and after 

 the ground has been a Httle frozen, cover with fine 

 brush wood or leaves, and on this brush wood or 

 leaves, put a few spades full of earth banked, so as 

 to throw ofi" the water. We have seen roses keep 

 very well buried entirely in earth or sods, but the 

 shoots must he ripe. If green they rot and this 

 communicates to the whole plant.] 



Iona and Delaware Grapes.— .4 correspon- 

 dent from North Bridgewater, J/a.^s., writes : "With 

 me, the Iona grape is 2. perfect failure. The Dela- 



