THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
3X5 
it follows that the weight of a uniform coating of one 
inch of rain over one acre of surface would be 3,630 X 
62.4 — 226,512 pounds, or, as stated, 113' 4 short tons." 
What is there in rain that there is not in ordinary supply 
water? We all know how very little effect watering has. 
that is, artificial watering, compared with rain. Does the 
rain bring down nitrogen, carbonic acid, oxygen, or what 
does it bring? Is it the warming it gets that softens and 
adds to its value to the plants? In the irrigation systems 
we see the nearest approach to rain that man has devised, 
and this form of watering is very good. What the land 
certainly does not want is a beetling deluge of water 
either from a hose or by a thunderstorm. 
* * * 
Among the plants in the garden of old-fashioned 
flowers in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N. Y., are the fol- 
lowing : Phlox, Larkspur, Coreopsis, Rudbeckia Golden 
Glow. China Asters, Dahlias, Polygonum cuspidatum, 
Four o'Clocks, Balsams, Petunias, Verbenas, Sage, Rose 
Geraniums, African Marigolds, Zonal Geraniums, Sweet 
Alyssum, Nasturtiums, Evening Primrose, Lilium can- 
didum, Cerastium, Sedum spectabile, Red Hot Poker, 
Bergamot, Snow on the Mountain (Euphorbia inargi- 
iiala). Boltonias, hardy herbaceous Asters, Physostigias, 
Phytolacca or Portwine plant, Joe Page Weed and 
Meadow Rue. This is not a complete list, but comprises 
the chief subjects. The plants are in great masses of a 
kind in riotous profusion, with winding paths in and out 
and round about. This collection is also called the ( Grand- 
mothers' Garden. 
* * * 
A horticultural writer the other day was recommend- 
ing his readers to try to get new or young potatoes from 
old ones by simply placing the old tubers on a shelf and 
keeping them moderately moist. By doing this and keep- 
ing them also in the dark in an average temperature of 
about 60 deg., the new tubers in a few weeks grow from 
the old ones. It is true that at least one man that I know 
succeeds in getting nice fresh potatoes in the late autumn 
by this method, but he is positively the only one 1 ever 
heard of who did succeed. I tried the game twice and 
got nothing but sprouts. When a man recommends a 
thing he ought to say what amount of likelihood there is 
of the crop appearing, but there is too much striving to 
be, or appear to be, original with some of our writers. 
These same have the knack of beating out a grain of gold 
to cover a square yard. 
* * ^= 
Having all but failed with the Sweet Pea crop in the 
open air this Summer, we are just as full of zest as ever 
to have a good stand under glass in the coming winter. 
October is an excellent month in which to sow, whether 
it be right into the soil of the floor of the house or in 
raised benches. The former is the more natural, and, 
for the tall growing modern varieties, it is the only suit- 
able way. Many sow now, however, in small pots and 
grow on the plants in cold frames until after the Chrys- 
anthemums are over, when they are either planted out in 
the solid beds or are at that time potted into their final 
pots, which may be 12 in. in size. This latter is a fairly 
good method and in the hands of a careful man, gives 
excellent results. Everybody is sowing Yarrawa. It is 
such a free-growing variety and so persistent in its 
blooming. Let us hope that the others of those Aus- 
tralian varieties that Stumpp &• Walter Co., Arthur T. 
Boddington Co.. Burpee and others are advertising will 
be as good. But there are also Mrs. Joseph Manda, a 
beautiful soft rose pink ; Bridal Veil, white, Sensation, 
an improved Christmas Pink ; and Anita Wehrman, lav- 
ender. There are abundance of varieties now to choose 
from, but no one can go far wrong in selecting these. 
The Fordhook Pink and Fonlhook Rose are each strong 
and throw long-stemmed flowers. 
Among the annuals that can be sown at once for 
Spring flowering, the Schizanthuses and the Clarkias are 
my prime favorites. Do we always make the most of the 
annuals ? There are quite a number that fill a useful 
place. Take the humble Pot Marigold that has come to 
the front in the last year or two as an example. There 
are other things equally meritorious that have yet to be 
tried. At Kew Gardens, London, they used to make a 
regular practice of growing little known things, many 
of them old plants that had passed out of sight, although 
well deserving recognition. New introductions were 
similarly treated, and in this way the public and the trade 
had many a subject brought to notice that otherwise 
would have blushed unseen and spread its beauty on the 
desert air. It may not be known how fine a plant the 
annual Gypsophila is for Winter, yet if sown in January, 
in shallow boxes, and grown on fairly well up to the 
light, it comes rapidly onto flower and affords fine mate- 
rial for cutting. In the same way the Sweet Alyssum is 
desirable and easily handled. The blue Swan River 
Daisy (Brachycombe iberidifolia) is a third dwarf an- 
nual we can recommend, while of course there are 
Godetias, Linarias, Pansies, Mignonette, Oxalis rosea, 
Impatiens Holstii, Tracheleum caeruleum and Primroses 
of sorts as Malacoides, Forbesii, Bulleyana varieties, and 
the scarlet Cockburniana. Some of these are not strictly 
and truly annuals, but can be treated as annuals. The 
fact is we don't experiment enough ; in experimentation 
lies half the pleasure of gardening. 
We have been gathering the berried branchlets of the 
Candleberry or Wax Myrtle, also called Bayberry 
{Myrica cerif.era), which grows freely on the low 
gravelly hills near us. This dwarf shrub much resembles 
a Ghent Azalea and produces tufted clusters of light 
grey berries about the size of small peas close upon the 
stems. In days gone by the folks in Connecticut, where 
the Candleberry also is abundant, used to boil the berries 
and skim off the saponaceous element for making candles. 
In the last two or three years this shrub has been sent 
into the markets at Christmas where it has found a ready 
sale among retail florists. We have had some sprays in 
a vase for over a year and they are just the same as when 
first brought in. There is a quiet decorative beauty and 
unique character about them that make them highly 
desirable. At the present time when the fragrant leaves 
are still on the branches, they have an added charm. 
Wherever the Winterberry {Ilex verticillata) grows 
this too, should be cut for household decoration. It is 
abundant in Michigan and around the shores of the 
Great Lakes. This is much more largely employed by 
florists than the Candleberry is. Snowberry, Haws, 
Berberis, and Spindle tree are among other berried 
shrubs that are used temporarily in decorations. We 
can likewise soon gather in our store of Everlasting- 
flowers like the Helipterums, Gomphrenas, Helichrysunis, 
Ammobiums, Gnaphaliums and such flowers, as well as 
some of the fancy grasses. Indeed, the latter should have 
been got ere now in most instances — those like Hare's 
Tail, Quaking Grass, Feather Grass, Cloud Grass, as 
well as the larger kinds, including Pampas Grass and the 
w'i graceful Miscanthus gracillima. The mention of 
these latter brings to mind the magnificance of the Mis- 
canthuses (or Eulalias, as they are often called) for 
planting in beds, borders, and in the front part of shrub- 
