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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
attracteti to the trees b\- the honey ami jjollen of the 
blossoms, it is practically useless to try to destroy them 
by spraying. Excepting aphis, it is doubtful if any ap- 
preciable spread of blight is caused by any insect which 
feeds upon the tree, so that the only way in which spray- 
ing of any sort can be expected to have an influence upon 
the spread of blight is b}' the destruction of the aphis. 
It is also foolish to expect any injection of a liquid 
or the insertion of any drug or chemical into the body of 
a tree to cure blight by its solution in the sap, for any- 
thing strong enough to kill the bacteria would most cer- 
tainly kill tlie tree, also. The same holds true of any- 
thing applied to the earth about the tree, to be taken 
up by the roots. So many claims are made for different 
"blight cures" and "blight preventives," that at least a 
little knowledge of the disease is necessary in order to 
judge of their uselessness, if not actual harmftilness. 
Arsenate of lead is almost the only poison now used 
to destroy chewing insects. Paris green is seldom used 
on trees, although it was once the principal dependence. 
As a means of destroying fungi which cause apple scab 
and peach scab, dilTerent forms and combinations of lime 
and sulphur are used. Bordeau.x mixture, composed of 
lime and cojjper sulphate, commonly known as bluestone 
and blue vitriol, is also used for the same purpose on 
apples, but on account of lime-sul])hur being cheaper and 
more convenient, as well as efficient in most cases, it has 
largely taken the place of bordeaux. 
Either lime-surphur or bordeaux will combine with ar- 
senate of lead so that the two may be used together. In 
this way a single application will destroy both insects 
and disease, saving much expense and time. Both lime- 
sulphur and bordeaux are known as fungicides, because 
they destrox' the spores or germs of various fungi. 
Lime-sulphur is more efficient in this work when com- 
bined with arsenate of lead than when used alone. Bor- 
deaux appears to have the same efficiency, whether used 
alone or in combination with the poison. — The Fruit 
Grower. 
PLANTING OF ORNAMENTALS. 
■pOUXDATKJX or base planting of houses and build- 
ings is very essential to a finished appearance. It mat- 
ters not how artistic and skillful the architect has been or 
how well the builder did his work, unless there is a little 
base planting there is always an unfinished look. Occa- 
sionally, with houses of Spanish design, with large over- 
hanging eaves, there is created a position where it is next 
to impossible to get anything to grow and look well close 
to the wall, due to the eaves keeping ofif the rain and the 
ever present dryness along the foundation. Such a con- 
dition calls forth the planter's skill in selection of ma- 
terial and arrangement to "tie the house down" as it 
were, and relieve the bareness. The planting has to be 
located some distance away and more consideration given 
to the individual plant. The average building, however, 
does not present such problems but lends itself very nicely 
to the arrangement of pleasing groups of plants, although 
it is wise at all times to keep the planting as far away 
from the walls as is consistent with a good appearance. 
.Ks a rule the plants selected for the front of the house 
should be of those that look well twelve months in the 
year. Such plants as peonies, hollyhocks, or other 
herbaceous plants that die down to the ground, are pleas- 
ing enough when in flower, but their season is brief and 
they should be relegated to other parts of the ground. 
Shrubbery is very effective and suitable, and when 
proper kinds are used it looks well for the greater part 
of the _\ ear, but the foliage or general effect should be the 
prime consideration rather than the bloom and fruit. 
i'-vergreens, however, are the most fitting, but here 
again so much de]:)ends upon the selection of kinds. Too 
often one sees the stiff firs and sjiruces used in these 
groupings. Such jjlants are out of place from the gar- 
dener's point of view, because there is no future for them ; 
they soon become one-sided, overgrown and diseased. 
Some people are apt to say that evergreens are mon- 
otonous and stiff. ( )nly too many plantings give just 
cause for this criticism, but if the selection is skillfully 
made there is constant change in the color as well as har- 
mony in the growth that is pleasing at all times. A 
jjretty spring effect may be added by planting small 
groujjs of Darwin Tulips among the dwarfer growing 
exergreens, daff(idils may also be used to good eft'ect. 
Rank growing summer bedding ])lants, such as ger- 
aniums and Scarlet Sage, which are sometimes used to 
give a touch of color, are likely to damage the evergreens 
unless carefully kept in bounds. There is much more 
dignity to the grouping if proper plant harmonies are 
observed. 
-Many such plantings are a failure largely due to the 
.\merican imi)atience for immediate results : too large 
plants being used to give this effect from the start. 
Such positions are invariably dry, due to the founda- 
tions of the house and the walls and eaves keeping off the 
rains, so that extra care should be taken in the prepara- 
tion of the bed, which should be so made as to conserve 
as much moisture as possible. A common practice, es- 
pecially with amateurs, is to raise the bed too high : about 
two inches above the turf is amjile elevation. 
Evergreens cannot be pruned and kept within boui:ds 
to the same degree as shrubbery. A better way to keep 
the group in harmony is to dig them up and rearrange 
them about every third year. Pruning may be judiciously 
dime every Jime. but never with the shears. Prune back 
the straggling shoots with a knife, but not beyond the 
previous year's growth, as an evergreen is slow to break 
from old wood : keep the dead twigs and leaves cleaned 
out from the centers of the plants so as to allow for tho 
circulation of air and prevent red spider. 
Sheared evergreens in groups is wrong in every phase 
of this very common practice. It may be permissible to 
shear certain kinds such as box when planted in a very 
formal manner along terraces, walks and such like but in 
groupings near the walls of a building aim to allow each 
plant to show its individualit\- yet select them so they will 
iiarmonize with each other and fit the position. — The 
National Xurserxinan. 
FRAGRANT PATH"WAYS. 
A GARDEN feature that is becoming increasingly 
■'*• ])opular is the use of low-growing fragrant plants 
like the species of thymus, etc., among the stones set to 
form a dry pathway. In rock garden pathways this 
has long been a matter of common usage, but in recent 
years such plantings have been extended to flagged 
pathways on terraces, or leading to pergolas, or in paths 
in formal gardens. The stones are not set closely to- 
gether, but just enough space is allowed for the planting 
and growth of lowly subjects of moss-like growth, and 
mostly with foliage that gives off a pleasing fragrance 
when walked upon. 
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