1874.1 
AMERICAN AGRIC UJLT UltlST. 
143 
mended as a bedding plant. To test this mat- 
ter I planted a number of the single species and 
varieties and among the double flowered ones, 
C. Fortunu and G. Veitcftii, but the result has 
not justified the labor of preparing the soil and 
weeding the bed. The varieties of Clematis 
will bloom freely the first season they arc 
planted. In April, '73, I received a number of 
plants from England, and when the case was 
opened I found that they had made a growth 
of several inches, and had developed flower 
buds. The young wood was removed, and 
they were planted out, and before fall favored 
me willi numerous flowers. Each spring the 
owners of villa gardens spend many dollars 
in the purchase of Heliotropes, Geraniums, 
Puschias, Lantanas, etc., which produce but 
few flowers, and are destroyed by the first 
frost. If they could bo induced to cease the 
purchase of the plants referred to, and devote 
the amount expended for two or three years to 
securing one or more clumps of the Clematis, 
they would be rewarded for their venture- 
The Clematis is not the plant of a season, but 
improves in size and blooming capacity year 
by year. The branches of the Clematis are 
slender and easily broken by the wind. The 
plant has no tendrils, nor does if twine, bnt 
clings to supports by means of the leaf-stalks, 
which coil themselves around small objects. 
My favorite trellis for this class of plants is the 
top of a cedar tree, or bush, about six feet in 
length. I carefully remove the bark and 
shorten the branches so that it has a pyramidal 
form. When dry, I give it one coat of lead 
colored, and two coals of green paint. Before 
planting the Clematis, I obtain a chestnut, oak, 
or a cedar post, four by six inches, and three 
feet long. This post is firmly placed in the 
center of the bed and about six inches al- 
lowed to remain above the surface to which 
portion I firmly nail the cedar bush. To as- 
sist the young plants, I firmly place close to 
each plant a stick about one inch square, the 
top of which is beneath the surface of the 
ground. To each stick I attach a piece of 
about No. 20 copper wire and fasten the other 
end to the top of the brush. I find this brush 
and the wires to afford all the assistance the 
plant requires. 
When frost has destroyed the foliage, I 
remove all dead wood and leaves, and care- 
fully tie up what remains. To the iaexpe- 
rienced it will at first prove troublesome to 
determine what to leave and what to remove, 
but a careful examination will show where 
well developed buds exist, and the wood must 
be cut back to such buds. The wood of Jack- 
manii, rubro-violacea and allied varieties, dies 
back to within one to three feet of the ground, 
and the flowers of these are usually produced 
at the extremities of vigorous growths of 
the same season's production. The wood of 
Standishii and uzurea-grandifiora is persistent 
and the flowers are mainly produced from 
small branches which grow from the old wood, 
and in consequence care is necessary to protect 
the last season's wood from injury. It is very 
small and brittle and easily broken, and re- 
quires care in handling. Jobbing gardeners 
usually trim all plants by rule, and I would 
advise the cultivators of the Clematis to keep 
these necessary evils from applying their rule 
to this tribe of plants. 
The Clematis presents a fine field for ex- 
periment. Many of our native species arc very 
ornamental, more especially the herbaceous 
section, and are capable of great improvement 
by hybridization. Hybrids are apt to sport from 
seed, and I would advise all to sow the seed of 
the hybrid varieties, for some remarkable new 
ones may be obtained by adopting this course. 
Those at present under cultivation are allied in 
colors to the parent stock — blue, white, purple, 
and pink being the prevailing tints. What we 
require is a scarlet or crimson colored variety, 
and the raiser of seedlings may yet be re- 
warded by securing the prize. A scarlet or 
crimson colored Clematis with flowers the siee 
of Lady Bovill, would prove to be the most or- 
namental garden plant possible. By careful se- 
lection and the annual production of seedlings, 
the result, may not be far distant. In raising 
seedling Clematis, the experimenter will re- 
quire patience, for the seed requires twelve 
months to vegetate, and under favorable cir- 
cumstances the seedlings will not bloom before 
the autumn of the second year. From my ex- 
perience, I can but say that several of my seed- 
lings have rewarded me for the exercise of 
patience and perseverance, although a crim- 
son variety has not rewarded my efforts. 
Yucca or Bear Grass and its Uses. 
If there is anything we like it is to meet a man 
with a horticultural hobby. We ought to be 
doubly gratified in the case of Col. Jas. T. Worth- 
ington,of Chillicothe, O., who has two hobbies, 
which he has rode very successfully for some 
years. One of these is to show that figs can 
be grown in Ohio, in the open ground, and the 
other is to utilize the Yucca or Bear Grass. We 
some years ago called attention to Col. W.'s 
estimate of the value of this material, and now 
having another letter from him we renew the 
subject. The common Yucca filamenlosa, the 
Bear Grass or Adam's Needle, is a very common 
plant in our gardens, where it is cultivated for 
its subtropical foliage and its enormous dus- 
ters of white lily-like flowers. Tkekird grown 
by Col. Worthington has been by some bota- 
nists considered as a distinct species and called 
Yucca flaccida, but our best botanists regard it 
as a form of Y. filamentosa, with longer, more 
abundant, and less rigid leaves. The leaves of 
this, when properly cultivated, are three to four 
feet long and one to two inches wide ; the 
plants grow so vigorously that in three or four 
years they form stools covering a space about 
four feet square and furnishing a great abund- 
ance of leaves. The flowers are very similar 
to the form so common in our gardens. In 
regard to the uses of this plant Col. W. writes : 
" For supplying cheap, strong strings and 
bands it has no equal ; is excellent for tying 
up bacon, hams, corn shocks, vines, bundles of 
vegetables, mending baskets and other purposes 
when string or band is needed, and requires 
only to be known to be generally cultivated. 
The leaves of this plant will, I think, be event- 
ually used for cordage, matting, and coarse 
cloths, instead of jute and other fibrous materi- 
als which we now import." 
Experience with Tomatoes. 
[The following garden record comes to us 
from Steel Bros., Laportc Co., Ind., which is 
not only interesting as an account of the per- 
formance of the different varieties in their 
locality, but as an example which may well be 
followed by those who would make a fair com- 
parative test of tomatoes or other vegetables. 
This is, of course, a local experience, and as 
such is valuable, but we can point to cases in 
which both the Arlington and Canada Victor 
made a much better showing — in fact, were 
equal to any. — Ed.] 
April Wt, planted under the same sash of 
hot-bed seeds of Trophy, Arlington, "extra- 
selected" Canada Victor tomatoes. We only 
got eight plants of Canada Victor. — May 2d 
set out eight plants of each kind, in boxes six 
inches square filled with one half sandy soil 
and one half well-rotted manure, in a fresh 
hot-bed. — May 28th, set the plants in the open 
ground, in rich sandy soil, but without manure 
this year. — July 23d, picked the first tomatoes. 
The table below will give the result of all the 
pickings : 
July a? 
Trophy. 
Arlington. 
la. 
Aug. 
No 
77 
2 69 
2 1-3 8 
1 10,8 
1 S3 
9 9 
t 4^0 
tin 
1 6J7 
4 3,6 • 
!f 
ft 
No 
ttts.o: 
16 126 '/,o 
19 96>Vto 
1 
8 
4 
14 
6 3 
2910 
33 13 
77 
12 7 
10,7 
86 
55 
2 6 
84 
155 
2 5 
85 
6,5 
S|4 
124 
93 
"A 
2 7=r, 
3 V-o 
Total!l7174 14lG'7„ 281 S4 3U 253 /,,,,, 257 52 4!3«% 57 
Canada Victor. 
No 
Is 
Ihs.oz 
rii 
- /ss 
8 8 »/„ 
4 103 «/ii 
3 43 '/,„ 
5 12 2 '%, 
6 12»»/„ 
August 21st, we had the most severe hail- 
storm ever known in this part of the country. 
It cut the tomato-vines so badly that we had 
very few afterwards. The pickings the next 
day were very much bruised. Some parts of 
our patch partly recovered, but none of the 
specimen plants ripened a perfect tomato after 
the hail. Owing to the cool, dry season toma- 
toes ripened very slowly this year. At the last 
of the pickings the Trophy was just beginning 
to ripen up well. The Arlington was appar- 
ently just in its prime. The Canada Victor 
was almost done bearing, and would probably 
not have lasted two weeks longer under any 
circumstances. The Canada Victor is early, 
but altogether too small for market, averaging 
only a little over three ounces. Probably one 
half were too small to sell at all. The Arling- 
ton is not quite as early, but larger, averaging 
almost five ounces, and very few very small 
ones. The Trophy is quite as early as the Ar- 
lington, and very much larger, averaging almost 
seven ounces. Every one must draw his own 
conclusions from this showing. We shall try 
all three varieties again nest year, but shall not 
plant many of any except the Trophy. 
Forced Plants. — European florists force 
plants for commercial purposes much more 
than ours do, although ours are enlarging their 
operations in this respect. Last year there 
were many more thousands of the Lily of the 
Valley forced than the year before. With the 
French gardeners much attention is given to 
forcing the Lilac. Houses are built for the 
purpose without glass, as the forcing is done in 
the dark in order that the flowers may be 
white. Plants that have been forced are a long 
while in recovering. In small gardens, where 
space is valuable, it will hardly pay to try to 
resuscitate them. Hence garden plants that 
are forced into bloom for sale in the mark', t 
and by peddlers are nearly useless to the 
purchaser until (hey have grown a year. 
