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| WAYSIDE RAMBLINGS [ 
E 1 IVrilltn exprruly for Thr Flower Grower. ] = 
GLADIOLUS— “LE MARECHAL FOCH.” 
It is told that this name (entirely or with a 
slight alteration) is being given to several dif- 
ferent new Gladioli and in order to avoid con- 
fusion, I would thank you, Mr. Editor, if you 
would allow me some space in The Flower 
Grower for the following: 
The name of General Foch was given by 
the Commission for Nomenclature on July 
27th, 1918, the day on which this variety was 
awarded Certificate of Merit. On August 4th, 
1919, First Class Certificate was awarded and 
since by that time the French hero had gained 
the title of Marshal it was only reasonable 
for the Commission to change the name of 
the variety in compliance with the title of the 
great soldier after whom it was named. It 
was in Spring, 1918, that the glory of the great 
warrior became world-famous and consider- 
ing the fact that this name was already regis- 
tered by the Commission of the General Board 
of Bulb Culture at Haarlem on July 27, 1918, 
we think that it will be rather difficult for 
any party to prove that they had adopted 
and registered this name at an earlier date. 
Moreover there is reason to believe that judg- 
ing by the superior qualities of this novelty 
it will be difficult to find a new seedling that 
is more worthy to bear this great name. 
J. Heemskerk, 
Holland. 
HARDY PERENNIALS. 
The article on hardy Perennials, was greatly 
enjoyed, I have been preaching the religion 
of the hardy garden, lo, these many years, as 
against annuals, and the formal beds in colors 
of bulbs, or tender Coleus or other greenhouse 
plants for the mother or busy housekeeper, 
and all who love nature in any or all her 
varied displays of mixed colors. Have never 
seen a combination in nature that did not har- 
monize. 
By selecting the earliest Phlox, with some 
of the most beautiful later kinds, including 
white, I soon have them in every shade and 
marking, from the earliest bloom until frost, 
the bees and insects being nature’s hybrid- 
izers. Since when the black bugs destroyed 
their bloom I could only foil them by break- 
ing out the entire head, when it would soon 
be renewed by one, larger, flatter and more 
floriferous than had been at first. By keep- 
ing this up, the season of bugs has passed, 
and I thus keep my Phloxes full of bloom until 
frost. This treatment is as satisfactorily 
practiced on Hollyhocks and perennial Lark- 
spurs, and some other perennials and shrubs. 
Sarah A. Pleas. 
HARDY CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Groschner, of Ohio, says hardy Chrysanthe- 
mums are delayed by cool autumn weather. 
Down here they refuse to advance until the 
weather gets cool. As the hot weather lasts 
very late, frosts follow too quickly to permit 
blooms except when protection is given most 
religiously on frosty nights. 
B. C. Auten, (Mo.) 
Shrubs That Flower Early. 
In its current bulletin the Arnold Arbor- 
etum says : 
Pr insepia sinensis is again covered with 
clusters of bright yellow flowers which spring 
from the axils of the half-grown leaves. This 
Prinsepia is a tall broad shrub with long 
spreading and arching branches, and stems 
armed with many spines. It is perfectly 
hardy and the handsomest shrub Manchuria 
has contributed to western gardens. There 
Obe Slower (Brower 
are only two specimens in the Arboretum and 
these came here from Petrograd in 1903 and 
1906, and it has been found difficult to prop- 
agate them by cuttings. Fortunately last 
year one of the plants produced for the first 
time a few seeds and these have germinated, 
so there is reason to hope if the Arboretum 
plants become more fruitful that this species 
will be a common ornament in northern 
gardens. It has much to recommend it as a 
hedge plant. The species from northern 
China, P. uniflora, is a spiny shrub with small 
white flowers, and although it has little 
beauty its value for forming impenetrable 
hedges may prove considerable. 
Primus dasycarpa, which is sometimes 
called the Black Apricot from the dark color 
of its slightly downy fruit, is the first of May 
one of the handsome flowering trees in the 
Arboretum. It grows here both as a great 
round headed shrub with several stems or as 
a tree with a single trunk, and every year is 
completely covered with its flowers composed 
of pure white petals and a bright red calyx. 
This tree, although it has been known in Euro- 
pean gardens for at least a century, is appar- 
ently extremely rare in the United States. 
Its origin is doubtful; it has been considered 
a native of Siberia, but it is now generally 
acknowledged that it is a hybrid between a 
plum and an apricot. Although this tree has 
been growing in the Arboretum for twenty 
years, there is no record that it has produced 
fruit here on more than two occasions. 
Two plants useful for covering the margins 
of drives and the borders of shrubberies, Rhus 
canadensis ( aromatica ) and the Yellow Root 
( Xanthorrhiza apiifolia ) are covered with 
flowers. Those of the former are small, pale 
yellow, arranged in compact heads, and ap- 
pear before or with the unfolding of the 
leaves composed of three leaflets ; those of 
the Yellow Root are purple in long drooping, 
terminal racemes. The flowers of these two 
eastern American plants are attractive, but 
their great horticultural value is in their 
habit of growth. The height of the Rhus is 
from two to four feet, with spreading 
branches, the lowest flat on the ground, and 
with an irregular top. In the autumn the 
leaves turn bright scarlet. For road borders 
and to plant when it is desirable to make a 
connection between larger shrubs and the 
ground no other plant which has been tried 
here has proved so successful. The Yellow 
Root is a dwarf shrub which soon spreads 
over a wide border and forms with its erect 
stems and divided leaves an excellent ground 
cover. Unfortunately it has failed to grow 
well in those parts of the country where the 
soil is strongly impregnated with lime. 
Shad Bushes, as Amelanchiers are often 
called because they are supposed to flower 
when shad begin to ascend the rivers from 
the sea, add much to the beauty in early 
May of the Arnold Arboretum where they 
have been planted in considerable numbers. 
Amelanchier is almost entirely confined to 
North America where many species are 
found from Saskatchewan to Louisiana and 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, one extra 
American species occurring in central Europe 
and another in central China. All Amelan- 
chiers produce abundant pure white flowers 
in short drooping racemes, and blue-black 
sweet and edible berry-like fruits. The 
American species vary from shrubs hardly 
more than a foot or two high up to trees ex- 
ceptionally sixty or seventy feet tall. The 
first species to flower, A. canadensis, is the 
larger of the two trees, and although it 
grows in western New York to a large size it 
is more common in the south where it is often 
t he only species. The more common northern 
tree, A. laevis, is a native of the Arboretum 
and is readily distinguished in early spring 
by the purple color of its young leaves. A. 
oblongifolia, which is a large arborescent 
shrub, is also a native of the Arboretum. It 
is this species which is gray in early spring 
from the thick felt of pale hairs on the 
August, 1920 
young leaves and flower clusters, and which 
has been largely planted by the Arboretum 
drives and is in bloom this week. 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
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Neither indolence nor overwork is 
good for mankind. Indeed, both are 
decidedly harmful. An unused tool 
rusts ; overused, it breaks or wears 
out rapidly. 
Vigor of mind and body can only be 
kept up by exercising both brain and 
muscle, with regular periods of rest. 
Some people work haphazard, — with- 
out a plan, and their results show it. 
Others are ever planning but never 
carry out the plans, and these have no 
results to show. It is well to plan your 
work, and then work your plan. 
The logical time for resting is after 
the work is done. The first chapter of 
Genesis records a vast amount of work 
completed before any provision was 
made for taking a rest. The indolent 
and shiftless do their resting before 
beginning the task instead of after 
finishing it. 
What a lot of good, hard-earned 
money is wasted every year through 
carelessness, ignorance and indiffer- 
ence. One of my acquaintances al- 
ways manages to lose his stock of 
Gladiolus bulbs each season, and so has 
to buy a new lot every spring. One 
fall he put off digging them until it 
was too late ; one winter they were 
frozen because he failed to close the 
cellar windows during a spell of zero 
weather ; again, they became affected 
with lice and he threw them away. 
Always lost through some form of 
neglect or by a condition that could 
easily have been obviated. 
The helpless man. Don’t you pity him? 
From the time someone has to waken 
him in the morning until someone has 
to turn down the covers of his bed at 
retiring time he has to be continually 
waited upon. He cannot be counted 
on for help to perform any of the many 
little tasks that come up in the house- 
hold because he never did the thing 
before, and consequently doesn’t know 
how. He cannot work in the garden 
because he doesn’t know the weeds 
from the flowers and fears he might 
destroy something of value. When he 
wishes to mail a package, he asks 
someone to wrap it up for him because 
he does not know how to do it prop- 
erly ; then he wants it addressed by 
someone because he doesn’t write 
plainly, after which he wants some- 
body to tell him how much postage it 
is going to need, for he doesn’t know 
what zone the destination is in, nor 
what the rates are. Finally, will some- 
one please take it to the post-office for 
him ? Of course, we always help the 
poor fellow out, but we do wish he had 
a little more initiative and self-reliance. 
The Glad Philosopher. 
