230 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
damp soil by the water and even thrive on fairly dry 
ground. 
^ * ^ 
Looking over the hardy borders one sees with regret 
the toll that the Winter has taken. There are some of 
one's select Montbretias that have gone the way of all 
tender things, while nice colonies of Kniphofia Pfitzeri 
have disappeared, as well as a number of smaller things, 
all good and cherished. Little by little one discovers 
what are best, and also just how much care is required 
to carry through the more tender things in any hard 
Winter.' 
^ ^ ^ 
It is somewhat amusing also to notice, after the cool 
damp Spring, how the plants have spread out ; the space 
has filled up so wonderfully. \Mien we planted a new 
border in the middle of April it seemed as though we 
had left abundance of room for every subject; now, how- 
ever, they are crowding each other. This, in a measure, 
is a good thing, as it keeps the roots cool during the hot 
Summer days. But opportunity should be taken after a 
heavy rain to loosen the top soil, and if possible to apply 
a mulch of leaf mould, mown grass, or well decayed man- 
ure. Some of the plants will require staking, and brush- 
wood or branchlets are recommended rather than the 
straight formal stakes. 
^ ^ ^ 
I have been favored with a list of Roses that obtained 
commendations at the Arlington (\'a.) Test Garden of 
the Department of Agriculture and the American Rose 
Society on June 4. The list is aa follows : Teas and 
hybrid teas ; Laurent Carle, Gruss an Teplitz, Lieutenant 
Chaure, Mary Countess of Ilchester, ^Ime. Paul Euler, 
Dorothy Page Roberts, Alme. Jules Gravereaux, Lady 
Ursula, La Tosca, Mrs. Wakefield Christie-Miller, Lady 
Ashtown, Gustave Grunerwald, Countess of Gosford, 
Konigen Carola. 
Dwarf Polyantha : Katherine Zeimet, Baby Tausend- 
schoen, Ellen Poulsen, ]\Irs. Wm. H. Cutbush, Baby 
Dorothy, Triomphe Orleanise. 
Climbers : Countess M. H. Choteck and Bess Lovett. 
^ ^ % 
What a very graceful fern, and how desirable is 
Osmunda regalis, the Royal Fern. A big colony in a 
damp situation is a thing of real beauty, just as an in- 
dividual specimen plant is, and there are few situations 
where it is out of place. It is one of the tall growing 
ferns with pinnatafid fronds. 
^ H^ ^ 
The Eulalias, also called Miscanthus, are difficult 
thins to transplant ; they make such a slow start. Their 
beauty, however, when established makes up for it all. 
Many hardy plants do little or nothing the first year after 
planting and this is particularly true if they have been 
late planted. Perhaps it would be better to have strong 
plants from pots, but even then little can be expected than 
that they become well rooted and established. Some of 
the Veronicas, Betonica grandiflora, Shasta Daisies, Sun- 
flowers and vigorous growing things of that character, 
make headway and flower brilliantly within a very short 
while after being planted ; others merely "get ac- 
quainted." 
The Red Cedar should be highly prized by us all. It 
is a native tree, will grow on poor soil, and has several 
qualities as a decorative and economic tree. Only when 
one examines a large number of trees growing together 
is it evident how considerably the Red Cedar varies as 
to character and type. But the same can be said of prob- 
al)ly most trees, especially of the Hemlock Spruce, as 
another of the better known evergreens. These are both 
among the finest of our ornamental trees. 
:|c ^ :J; 
The Snowball bush or. Guelder-Rose, \'iburnum 
Opulus, is an instance of a plant that does not produce 
seeds — the flowers are neuter, having no "essential"' or 
seed bearing parts. The genus has as many as 100 
species, but only a few are cultivated, the best being V. 
L)pulus, V. plicatum, \'. Carlesii, \'. Lantana and lastly, 
the large, corrugated leaved species rhiditophyllum. 
This and Carlesii are comparitively new ; the latter is 
certain to become a plant of all gardens, even down to 
the suburbanite's yard where only Privet, as a rule, might 
be found. Have you noticed how twisted the shorts of 
the Snowball are ? This feature gave rise to the name of 
the genus, from zieo, to tie. The shoots almost tie them- 
selves up. 
^ ^ ^ 
The earthworm may be a noble or ignoble animal, in- 
scv't or mere reptile, and the great Darwin wrote a book 
about him and his tribe and their many kinds, but he 
certainly is a nuisance when he is too numerous in our 
lawns or borders. In the borders he tunnels so inter- 
minably as to loosen the top spit of soil, much to detri- 
ment, I am convinced, of seedlings and young trans- 
planted things. Get at him with a hoe as he lies on the 
surface ; or keep his holes broken up by scarifying. Ni- 
trate he dislikes, but this isn't good for seedlings either. 
Lime in powdered form is against the worm and in favor 
of the soil. These things are used also against slugs and 
snails. The bran mash, mentioned elsewhere, is also 
available. Or cabbage leaves can be laid about on the 
soil of the bed or border and the slugs will congregate 
under these. They can be examined first thing in the 
morning. 
Moles are worse pests than either worms or slugs when 
they are anything like plentiful. And the richer the gar- 
den and better watered it is the more moles, by reason of 
the fact that the going is better no doubt, as also the 
fact of the presence of more and tastier worms. The 
only satisfactory way of ridding your place of moles is 
by the skilful use of traps. Mole-trapping is a business 
in some European countries. Much information on 
moles and how to combat them occurs in U. S. Dept. of 
Agric. bull. 583, 1914. 
» * * 
An "'old man'' had been mixing concrete on a road on 
my property. The patch was 10 feet to 12 feet across, 
in a circle. That circle remained hard and unbroken on 
the surface all the following summer and I thought, \Miy 
couldn't a wash be made to go all over the path and 
roadway? This would prevent weeds from growing and 
to a large measure stop wash-outs. It would be better, 
however, if a cement path is wanted, to take out six inches 
of soil, put in 4 inches to 4yi inches of rough, clean 
cinders, surfaced with finer ones, and then put on a finish- 
ing layer of 2 inches of sand and cement mixed. This 
will wear quite well for an ordinary footpath that has 
no heavy loads over it. For a drive or wagon road a 
half-foot or 9 inches of gravel, sand and cement is the 
least one could use. Two barrowloads of gravel to 
two of coarse, clean sand to 134 bags of cement of 
the size usually sold, well mixed with water so that it 
will run readily when poured out, will set within one 
day and make a first class sound road. If a top-sur- 
facing of chipped granite, marble, pebbles or other 
material is desired this should be scattered on before the 
cement finally sets and be rolled in smoothly. Asphalt 
.<;urfaces are apt to become soft in the very warm weather. 
