PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Pansy Plants. 
Pansy plants, which were planted out- 
of-doors several weeks aj^o will in some 
sections, be showins^ flower where the 
weather has remained mild as in many 
sections. As each plant has from 6 to 12 
shoots spriiys^inj^ from the root the pre.sent 
is a j^ood o])portunity to take cuttinsrs of 
the finest flowered kinds. Pan.sies flower 
better from plants raised from cuttings 
than from .seed, and this method should 
be given a trial for raising seeding plants. 
The cuttings should be taken with a 
])iece of the small solid stem, as they will 
then root in a few days, the larger suc- 
culent green stem taking a much longer 
time to root. The cuttings will do best 
in a frame, in a mixture of sand and leaf 
soil. — G. IV. O. in Florists Exc/iam^e. 
-X * -s- 
Uses of Evergreen Branches. 
The number of uses to which the ever- 
green bough or smaller branches can be 
put is never wholly appreciated. For 
winter protection of Rhododendrons and 
other broad-leaved evergreens, they are 
un.surpas.sed. In place of the umsightly 
board structure or corn-stalks frequently 
arranged around the plants, drive four or 
five .stakes, or as many more as deemed 
necessary, around the bed or group, as 
close to the plant as practicable; .string 
wires to each, and stack and fasten the 
cut branches around and partlj' over them. 
After completion, from a di.stant point, 
the group .simply represents a ma,ss of 
evergreens quite appreciable in winter. 
Hemlock branches are most adajjtable, 
being neat and graceful, and will la.st well 
through the winter. They may be used 
to great advantage in the cemetery for 
covering fre.shly made graves, w'here it is 
impossible to .sod or cover with vines be- 
fore spring or earl}’ summer. Neatly 
arranged, the effect is very grateful. The 
custom of “lining” graves with ever- 
greens, fastened in a wide-me.shed wire 
cloth, is getting quite common, and is, 
indeed, a pleasing thing. Besides Hem- 
lock Spruce, the arbor-vitm is found 
desirable, and particularly adapted be- 
cause of the flatness of the twigs. Larger 
boughs are used to weigh down leaves, 
where used as a mulch, preventing their 
displacement by the winds. — Meehans' 
Monthly for fanuary. 
XXX 
Pruning Evergreens Too Close. 
It is well known to the landscape gar- 
dener that in the planting of deciduous 
trees late in Spring, after they have push- 
ed into leaf, while proper to .shorten in 
the young .shoots considerably and to 
partly defoliate them, it is almost sure 
death to the trees to strip off every leaf. 
It is nece.ssary ’that a few be left on to 
have success. The same law governs both 
deciduous and evergreen trees though but 
few persons ever give it a thought. 
Evergreens shed an annual crop of leaves 
in the .A.utunin just as other trees do. 
The difference in other respects is that 
there is always a crop on an evergreen, a 
later one than that which falls off. There 
are two or three crops of leaves on the 
tree at one time. It is because of there 
being .so many on at one time that .so 
many errors are made in the pruning of 
them in transplanting. The knife or 
.shears is used freely, the branches are 
clipped in quite close, and, as there ap- 
pears plenty of leaves below’ the cut, 
everything is thought to be all right. 
But pretty soon this closely sheared tree 
dies, and then, perhaps, on inquiry, it is 
learned by the operator, that he has cut 
off every living leaf and that those he left 
are the old ones, w’hich are just about to 
drop off. The crop w’hich drops in 
October is practically u.sele.ss for months 
before that, so that a tree sheared of all 
but these is in ju.st the .same plight as a 
deciduous one stripped of its leaves in . 
late Spring, and it dies. It is as effect- 
ually killed as if it w’as sawed off to its 
bare trunk. This, no doubt, is news to a 
great many, and may account for the 
death of many a choice evergreen. \Ve 
have known of whole hedges of evergreen 
which have lost every plant in them 
because of too close clipping at tran.splant- 
ing, the fact being demon.strated by the 
living of some of the same plants set 
near them w’ithout being clipped. It w’ill 
be news to many pensons that a trans-. 
planted tree can be killed by too close 
pruning, ’especially an evergreen, but 
such is assuredly the fact. — Joseph Mee- 
han in the Practical Farmer. 
XXX 
A Strong Plea for the Sparrow. 
Mr. James Jensen, Supt. of Humboldt 
Park, Chicago, in a recent article in "Am- 
erican Gardening" gives his reasons for 
changing from enemity to friendliness 
for the Sparrow. After touching upon 
such recorded facts as have been given 
in the despised little bird’s favor, Mr. 
Jensen continues; “But these very facts 
made me still skeptical on this question, 
until this summer, when the fall army 
W’orm, Laphygina frugiperda, infested 
our lawns by the millions. Sininltan- 
eou.sly w’ith the detection of the worm 
appeared the .Sparrow in hundreds, de- 
vouring the worm as fast as he reached 
the surface. The Sparrow gained one 
point in my estimation and a big one at 
that. But it W’as just the other day that I 
became completely converted, when, from 
my office window’, worrying over a new 
crop of dandelion which, through the de- 
struction of the grasses by the army worm, 
had been encouraged, I noticed a colony 
of sparrow’s busy picking the seeds from 
the featherv heads of this so mnch de- 
.spised weed. I had previously noticed 
swarms of sparrows feeding on lawns in- 
fe.sted by the dreadful English crab grass, 
ahso in such places where the common 
plantain had made its home; but I never 
asked the question w’h}’? But I have 
learned something, and adding all these 
lawn pests to the food list of our supposed 
enemy, I most sincerely proclaim peace 
and goodw’ill to that poor friendless 
w’retch, the Sparrow. “ 
XXX 
Seashore Plants. 
Three kinds of hedge plants are com- 
monly u.sed in towns along the sea-coast, 
euonymus, tamarisk and California privet. 
The fir.st and la.st are w’ell-known by .sight 
and name, but the tamarisk is not. Its 
leaves and general character are, however, 
so very different from others, it will be 
readily recognized from a .slight descrip- 
tion. The wood is slender and willowy, 
of a reddish-brown color; while the foliage 
resembles that of some evergreens, giving 
the whole a feathery appearance both odd 
and pretty. I recently saw used for the 
first time along the coast a hedge of osage 
orange, and its clean, thrifty appearance 
pleased me mnch. At intervals of about 
ten or twelve feet plants w’ere permitted 
to grow’ up, and had been neatl}’ trimmed 
up to tree fonn w’ith a clean trunk of 
about eight feet. They made excellent 
specimen trees, and suggested a more 
general use for that purpose where they 
could be properly .started and kept in 
tree form. Willows thrive w’ell along 
the coast, but people need to be educated 
to the fact that there are w’illows and 
willows. Salix pentandra, w’itli its broad, 
shining leaf is superior, in a sense. Of 
course, it does not make as much of a tree 
as others, but for a bushy specimen it is 
excellent. Sassafras, ahso, does w'ell. 
The assortment of available plants is 
larger than usually supposed, and it is 
strange more effort to test them is not 
made. It seems evident that those with 
thick, heavy leaves will do best, and it 
W’ill pay to work along this line. — S. Men- 
delson Meehan in Florists Exchange. 
