THE MODERN CEMETERY. 
91 
Ornamental Grasses. 
The more extensive use of the different orna- 
mental grasses should be encouraged by cemetery 
managers. Pleasant effects can be had by growing 
them, and their quiet beauty makes them very de- 
sirable for cemetery ornamentation. F. N. Gerard, 
in Garden and Forest, says: 
For a tall, strong-growing, reliably hard and graceful grass, 
the variety zebrina of Eulalia Japonica will usually be most satis- 
factory. Under ordinary culture it makes a large clump some 
seven or eight feet tall, with strong stems and gracefully reflex- 
ing leaves barred with lighter green. In the fall they flower 
with handsome plumes, very much curled, and are useful for 
house decoration. The green leaves and stems are also very 
useful during the season for bold effects in decoration. 
A well-grown clump of Pampas grass is very handsome as a 
detached group, making a fountain of foliage capped with hand- 
some plumes, but it is not always hardy. The Ravenna grass, 
Erianthus Ravennae, sometimes does duty with the florists as 
Pampas grass. It is a green-leaved, tall-growing sort, not so 
graceful as the Gynerium, but it is more hardy. For a bold 
effect there is nothing better than Arundo donax, though it is a 
coarse plant, and needs the gloss of distance. This is easily 
grown to a height of ten or twelve feet. The leaves are glaucous 
and clasp thick stems. The casual observer generally asks as to 
the variety of corn which is being grown. The variegated vari- 
ety of Arundodonax is a much dwarfer plant, only three or four 
feet high, and much less coarse in effect. These plants require 
here a slight protection, a small mound of coal ashes over the 
roots being satisfactory in preserving them from destructive 
moisture. I have under trial a large form of Panicum specta- 
bile, sent to me as the variety Gigantea. From seeds sown in 
the early year there are strong plants ffowering in loose panicle, 
at about seven feet. This is said to be a ten or twelve foot grass, 
and I should judge that it might reach that height from strong 
roots. This is said to be hardy and sometimes vanegatedi 
though none of my plants have shown more than a white channel 
on the mid-rib. The leaves midway are about two inches wide, 
wider than those of the Eulalia, and the plants are distinct from 
the other large grasses . There is also the typical form of P. 
spectabile about three feet tall. This is also the height of the 
beautiful Eulalia gracillima univitatta, which, as many of your 
correspondents have remarked in your columns, no garden should 
be without. Eulalia Japonica variegated is of the same height, 
and the brightest of variegated grasses; it is taller than the 
Ribbon grass, Phalaris arundinacea, and much less spreading at 
the roots. Of the still shorter grasses, I fancy most Elymus 
glaucus, which has a rich glaucous sheen extremely effective. 
Elymus hystrix was sent me as one of the handsomest grasses in 
cultivation, but I fail to see any beauty in its foliage or heads of 
coarse flowers. Pennisetum longistylum is a well-established 
favorite for its effective heads of bloom. There is a grass in the 
swamp of the lower part of this state. New Jersey, which has a 
fur-like ball of bloom, which it has always seemed to me would 
be effective in cultivation — Pussy grass, in the vernacular — 
Apera arundinacea. The Pheasant grass is a handsome species, 
very odd and distinct, the leaves being marked in bright reds 
and browns. This did not grow vei-y well for me, probably from 
neglect, for I do not think it a delicate plant, though it had at 
first glance a look of a plant suffering from some blight or 
disease. 
There are numerous aquatic and sub-aquatic grasses and 
sedges — of these latter, the exotics Cyperus Papyrus, C. pungens 
and C. alternifolius being the most satisfactory, though tender. 
Hydropyrum latifolium (Co-ba of the Chinese) is a perfectly 
hardy aquatic grass, with a jointed stem from which spring 
several tall leaves. It is something in the way of “Wild Rice,” 
but a handsomer plant. It has not flowered in the two years it 
has been cultivated here. In planting edges of ornamental 
water, it will be found most satisfactory to search neighboring 
swamps and use the most effective native plant. This course, 
pursued by Mr. Olmsted, at Chicago, has produced one of the 
most effective and satisfactory bits of planting in the grounds of 
the Exposition. 
In selecting'decorative grasses preference should be given 
to those which have a long season of growth, as those which 
flower and mature early are apt to prove unsightly. Scarcely 
enough use is made of the noble grasses in arrangements of dec- 
orative plants. Masses of these, as often seen, have a rather 
heavy effect, which a well-considered addition of grasses would 
often relieve. 
Plant Early. 
Be it in fall or spring, that is our theory and our 
practice too. In order to have success and pleasure 
in ornamental trees and shrubs we must be prepared 
to give them good ground, a good position and good 
care. If your ground is naturally good dig holes 
deep and wide, even if you fill them in again before 
planting to a size just big enough for the roots, this 
gives the roots good foraging ground for some years. 
If your soil is poor dig out the holes deep and wide, 
removing the poor dirt and filling up with good 
earth; this will give the trees a good start in life. If 
your garden is bleak and exposed you had better 
choose trees that will thrive in such a place, as Aus- 
trian pines, white spruce, Colorado blue spruce and 
Douglas fir in the way of evergreen trees; and 
American elms, rock maples, birches and the like in 
the way of deciduous trees But it your grounds 
are fairly well sheltered by neighboring swells of 
country or woods, or buildings, then you can grat- 
ify your taste as much as you wish in the way of 
fine varieties. In the way of shrubbery you want 
something nice, and something in bloom all summer, 
from the mezereon in early spring till altheas wind 
up in fall. Fine shrubs want shelter too, but this 
you can afford anyway; if you have not got it nat- 
urally, close board fences, spruce and other hedges 
and contiguous buildings should be made to supply 
it. Deeply worked land and good earth make 
showy, thrifty shrubs. Before planting cut off the 
tips of the broken roots with a sharp knife or shears, 
also head in the roots proportionately, and plant 
firmly. Don’t mix fresh manure with your soil in 
planting, and never put manure about the roots, 
whenever manure is given it should be applied as a 
m u 1 ch i n g . — Garden ing . 
Evergreens planted in early fall do just as well 
as when set out in spring. Select a period immedi- 
ately following heavy rains when the ground is 
moist and warm. It will induce young roots to 
push out before severe weather sets in, giving the 
plants additional strength during the winter. — 
Meehan's Nurseries.. 
