3S< , 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
beries. Arundo Donax. the Giant Reed, is another of 
these fine ornamental grasses that deserves a place, even 
if it has to be protected against severe frost in Winter. 
I f any one wants to see bold clumps of these subtropical 
looking grasses let him visit the Widener estate at 
i Igontz, Pa. 
* * * 
Who would not have a little lied or planting of the 
Physalis or Winter Cherry? This is quite undeservedly 
neglected, and one is led to believe that it is far less well 
known than ought to be> the case. In favorable localities 
and situations around New York, on Long Island and 
down through New Jersey it is perennial, and once estab- 
lished scarcely needs any care. A little top-dressing to 
enrich the soil is a help. It produces clusters of orange 
red "Chinese Lanterns," each the size of a medium apple. 
It is easily raised from seed which can be sown early in 
the Spring. 
$ $ Up 
Those who are in a position to gather hardy fern 
fronds can do so soon and place them in cold storage ( if 
they are also lucky in having a cold storage cellar) for 
the winter. They come in very useful for the table or 
for the display of fruit, and materially help out when the 
finer indoor ferns are none too plentiful. Cut also Beech 
and Mahonia and dry them. 
■k * * 
Before the next issue of The Gardeners' Chronicle 
comes out, the greater part of the Holland bulbs will 
have been planted. There is likely to be an excellent 
opportunity to buy in quantity at exceedingly moderate 
lates this year, and it may be timely to call attention to 
some of the smaller and finer Narcissi, the Snowdrops, 
Puschkinia libanotica, the Grape Hyacinths, Squills, -etc.. 
which are not of so much account out of doors in our 
rigorous Winter and Spring but which, if potted up in 
November and carried through in cold frames, can be 
flowered in a moderately heated greenhouse or conserva- 
tory as early as the month of. February. Others- can be 
brought on in succession through March and. April. 
Hardy plants of a dwarf neat growing habit can also be 
used in this cool house. The minimum of heat is re- 
quired ; the chief thing is to shelter the little plants from 
the snows and the frosts and so give them a chance to 
come along and display their marvelous loveliness when 
nothing is to be seen in the great outdoors. 
Why not take occasion this autumn to get a real good 
supply of the finer- Darwin Tulips ? The early flowering 
Tulips are desirable too, but for sheer grace and supreme 
beauty there is nothing in the whole floral world more 
desirable than the long stemmed Darwin and Cottage 
Tulips. Clara Butt. Pride of Haarlem, Europa, Bouton 
d'< >r, Harry J. Veitch, Rev. Ewbank, Psyche, Ingles- 
combe Pink, are among the finest that occur to mind as 
examples, but any of the large bulb merchants can make 
out a list of the most desirable two dozen. The bulbs 
will do well in the same position and in the same soil for 
two years in succession, but should be lifted after that 
and be thinned out, the offsets being taken away and 
grown on to be planted for flowering the second year 
after, unless they are of large size, when they will flower 
the next Spring after the autumn in which they are set 
out. 
i[c $~ ^e 
Every garden, large or small, must have, and ought to 
have, some evergreens. We don't plant anything like 
sufficient. True, it costs money to do much planting of 
evergreens, or of deciduous stock, either, and then there is 
the danger of their being attacked by red spiders and 
other pests in our drv summer. Yet every section has 
one or more good evergreens that do well. For New 
Jersey southward there is the Red Cedar (Juniperus Yir- 
giniana) ; for northern New York, the Hemlock and 
spruce ; for New England, the Balsam Fir. Spruce, Scotch 
and Austrian Pine, while for garden uses in all these sec- 
tions where special attention can be given the list of deco- 
rative evergreens is large and comprises Retinospora 
pisifera, R. filifera, R. squarrosa, Colorado Blue Spruce, 
Hemlock Spruce, Japanese and Canadian Yew, Thuya 
gigantea, Biota orientalis, Japanese Box, Libocedrus de- 
currens, Japanese Larch, also Taxodium distichum, 
Juniperus Sabina and Juniperus chinensis, Cedrus 
atlantica. 
% % % 
Make inquiries of your nurseryman — some for fall and 
some for spring planting. He may have difficulty in get- 
ting one or the other of the plants, but keep at him. It 
is his duty to supplv you with what you want, and if he 
is not awake to the need of the time, rouse him ! 
Some inquiries: Do you grow Black Currants? I 
have had a marvelous crop this year. A very healthy, 
excellent fruit is this. Have you thought about your b'llb 
order for this fall? Don't forget that the Darwin Ti'lips 
can be successfullv forced. They are among the stablest 
and grandest of all flowers. The Loganberry is an Amer- 
ican raised ( Californian ) fruit like a Raspberry, but 
darker, yet is but little grown in gardens here. W'hv is 
this? The fruit is slightly acid. Swiss Chard, also called 
Seakale Beet, is one of the finest vegetables for a small 
garden. It is the leaves that are used. A short row will 
keep a family supplied all summer. Are your Astur- 
tians flowering? Aline are just a mass of leaves. These 
I have kept cut over several times to let light into the 
flower buds, but still no luck. Look up Oxalis lasian- 
dra ; it is a splendid red flowered summer blooming specie. 
Plant Forsythia suspenda where its branches can fall over 
a bank or rocks or the side of a wall or bridge. 
THE EDIBLE ASPARAGUS. 
*Tp O have really good asparagus a thorough preparation 
■*■ of the soil is necessary. While this popular vege- 
table can be grown in almost any soil, it prefers a sandy 
or gravelly loam that has been deeply plowed, or spaded, 
and heavily manured. If the bed is for a home garden 
1 would advise hand-trenching a couple of feet deep, 
working in plenty of barnyard manure. - Do not be 
afraid to use manure liberally; I never knew asparagu> 
to have too much of it. The bed should be prepared in 
the fall and the planting done in spring. For a small 
garden the rows may be three and one-half to four feet 
apart, and the plants two feet apart in the rows. For 
field culture the rows are better five feet apart, to permit 
cultivation by horse. 
Use one-year-old seedlings, if you can get them. They 
are equal in size to what the seed stores sell as two-year- 
olds. Dig or plow r out furrows eight inches deep, spread 
out the roots of each plant and merely cover them with 
soil. Fill them in from time to time as they grow, until 
the ground is level. If the roots are covered eight or 
nine inches deep when planted, a large proportion of 
them will never grow. Keep the plants well cultivated 
during the entire summer. Give them a winter mulch of 
stable manure. In spring a top-dressing of salt and a 
good commercial fertilizer may be applied. It is better 
not to cut any stalks until the third season. The plants 
then will be strong, and a well prepared bed should last 
twentv or twentv-five vears. — Rc: i ic7\.'. 
