1882. J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
thing, only in old gardens. If one has but 
a single clump of this, it is his own fault 
if he has not always an abundance. A 
part of a clump, divided in spring into small 
tufts of a few of the tiny bulbs each, and set 
out, will multiply, and make a large mass by 
fall. The market gardeners place the Chives 
in frames, or cover them in the bed with a 
frame and sash, and thus slightly force them 
to supply the city markets in early spring. 
A supply can easily be forced in the kitchen. 
Before the ground freezes, the later the bet¬ 
ter, take up one or more clumps and place 
them in pots or a box—an old tomato can will 
answer, in any case using soil to fill in all 
spaces. It is a plant that starts very early in 
spring, and requires very little heat to induce 
growth; hence a cool window will be better 
for it than a warm one. If there is much 
demand for Chives for flavoring salads, it 
will be well to have several clumps. 
The Russian Mulberry in Nebraska. 
G. F. Clark, Gage Co., Neb., who lives near 
a colony of the Mennonites, gives us this 
account of their Mulberry tree planting : 
The Russian Mulberry was introduced into 
their European colonies by the Russian govern¬ 
ment for the purpose of silk culture and to 
shade and improve the land. They were com¬ 
pelled to buy these trees of the government— 
each landholder being obliged to plant a cer¬ 
tain number. After cultivating them until 
they found out their value, they voluntarily 
planted the trees very extensively, and learned 
that silk culture was not the only object in 
raising them. They found the timber very 
valuable for fence-posts, outlasting any other 
Russian timber. It was also found profitable 
for cabinet work, and one of the most desira¬ 
ble trees for fuel, besides it bore edible fruit 
which was marketable in Russia. When the 
Mennonites came to this country, they brought 
the seeds of this tree with them, together 
with those of several other trees, but planted 
these more extensively than all others com¬ 
bined. The Russian Mulberry is a very rapid 
grower. Trees, the seed of which was planted 
by the Mennonites, are now 20 feet high and 
large enough for fence-posts. They grow 
very large and bear abundant crops. The 
fruit resembles the blackberry in appear¬ 
ance, a large share being black, marked with 
reddish white. They vary in flavor from 
acid to sweet. The growth of this tree is like 
that of the apple tree. Many of the leaves 
have the margin with from 5 to 12 lobes. The 
Mennonites use it as an ornamental hedge 
plant, it makes a beautiful fence, and will 
stand shearing as well as any tree. By some, 
this tree is regarded as the most hardy Mul¬ 
berry, and the best suited for silk culture in 
northern localities. The Mennonites have in¬ 
terested themselves in the silk business to 
some extent since they have been in this 
country, and raised some cocoons for sale. 
A. CJji iclotirowinVine.— Foravine 
to quickly cover a trellis or the unsightly side 
of a building, and be permanent, a grape-vine 
will often answer better than any other. One 
of the rampant growing sorts will give, be¬ 
sides the desired foliage, more or less fruit. 
In situations where fruit is undesirable and 
left out of question, we know of no grape¬ 
vine that, for its foliage only, is equal to the 
"“Taylor” or “Taylor’s Bullit.” It bears poor, 
ragged bunches of indifferent fruit, but for 
foliage we do not know its equal. Extremely 
vigorous in its growth, it bears leaves of a 
handsomely cut outline and of a very dark 
green color. We have a vine of this variety 
placed against an out-building, and its lux¬ 
uriance and the great beauty of its foliage 
quite reconciled us to its poor crops of fruit. 
Notes from the Pines. 
Many years ago I passed a couple of 
winters in the city. The house, like most 
city houses, had that most useless of all 
rooms, a parlor, 
with the two 
regulation win¬ 
dows facing the 
street. What to 
place in these 
windows to 
make the house 
appear cheerful 
from the street, 
was the ques¬ 
tion. A happy 
thought sug¬ 
gested “ Ever¬ 
greens. ” It was 
over 20 years 
ago, when some 
plants now pop¬ 
ular were but 
little known. 
The genus 
Retinispora (or 
“ Retinospora,” 
as it is incor¬ 
rectly written 
by some,) has 
been reduced to 
Thuja, the ge¬ 
nus of our well 
known Arbor- 
vitrn. Japanese 
Arbor-vitae an¬ 
swers well as a 
name for these 
trees, which are 
among the most 
manageable of 
all evergreens, and Which vary not only in 
shape of foliage, but in their color, to such an 
extent that a collection of the different forms 
will give a most pleasing variety. Fortunate¬ 
ly, I not only fixed upon evergreens for the 
window plants, but upon what were then 
known as Retinisporas. Such varieties as the 
nurseries then afforded were procured, and 
planted out in boxes of a size to fit the win¬ 
dows. They were of common pine, and 
had a galvanized iron tray to fit the interior. 
The room, like most city parlors, was suf¬ 
ficiently warmed by the furnace to prevent 
freezing, yet not too warm for the Retinis¬ 
poras, which were of bushy form, and all 
less than three feet high. They were planted 
closely in the boxes, to form a sort of hedge. 
The surface of the soil was covered with 
common sphagnum moss, to prevent drying 
out. These plants did good service all win¬ 
ter. When spring came, they were set out 
in the back yard to take their chances. They 
all did well, and the next fall were again 
placed in their boxes, and made a good 
screen for another winter. No doubt they 
could have been used in this manner for sev¬ 
eral winters, but we moved into the country 
after the second winter, and they were 
49 T 
moved with the rest of the furniture and 
planted in the open ground, where they are yet. 
These so-called Retinisporas 
are among the most manageable of all ever¬ 
greens. They can be very readily raised 
from cuttings. A bit three or four inches 
long, put into sand, or very sandy soil, will 
make roots almost as certainly as a Verbena 
cutting, though it may be longer about it. 
When rooted, the plant will stand almost 
any treatment. If needed as a pot plant, pot 
it, and clip it, and it may be kept for years 
of any fancied size. If wanted for edgings, 
strike the cuttings, plant them closely in a 
row, and they may be kept a long time at any 
desired bight. If an ornamental hedge is 
desired, let them grow to the required bight 
(and they grow quite rapidly), and keep them 
there by trimming. But to see them in their 
greatest beauty, they should be grown as 
isolated trees, with room to develop, when 
they will form beautiful specimens, furnish¬ 
ed with branches from the very base. 
While the Trees are Properly Thujas, 
they are known, and probably will long be 
recorded in the nursery catalogues as Retin¬ 
isporas, as that will answer as their trade 
name. They are now to be had in most nur¬ 
series in this country, and they appear to 
have long been favorites with the Japanese, 
who have propagated a large number of 
varieties. I have had the longest experience 
with that variety known in the catalogues as 
Retinispora plmnosa aurea, 
and a brighter, more manageable evergreen 
(only it is ever yellow at the tips,) it would 
be difficult to find. A lover of plants has 
only to get a bit of this, and he can make 
what he pleases of it—a tree of 4 inches or 6 
feet high in a short time. The catalogues 
properly keep up the names of the several 
varieties, though they are all to be traced 
to two variable species, Thuja pisifera, and 
T. obtusa. The variety known as R, lepto- 
clada (slender stemmed), is a capital plant 
for out-door or pot culture. Its foliage has 
a peculiar bluish-green color, which makes a 
pleasing contrast with those varieties that 
have yellow or ‘ ‘ golden ” tips. A number of 
conifers have their spray tipped with yellow, 
but lose it in winter. The variety known as 
plumosa aurea holds this better than most 
others, and is a capital plant to employ for 
the winter decoration of beds in the lawn 
which are to be seen from the windows. 
_Of late the writers in English journals 
have had much to say about the greater 
Richness in the Color of Autumn Flowers, 
as compared with those of spring. No doubt 
this difference is noticeable, even in the more 
equable climate of the British Isles. With 
us the contrast is most striking. While the 
majority (not all) of our early wild flowers 
have delicate shades and tints, in autumn 
the colors are positive and glowing. At 
every hand we meet with scarlet, crimson, 
and rich purples, which prevent the all- 
pervading yellow of the Golden-rods and re¬ 
lated plants from being monotonous. When 
the flowers have nearly satiated us with rich 
colors, the leaves take it up, and the* season 
usually ends in a “blaze of glory.” The bril¬ 
liant hues of our forest leaves are not due 
To Frosi, but to Ripeness. 
If one will carefully observe, he will find 
that the brightest and richest colors are as¬ 
sumed by the leaves of the maples and 
others long before there is even a slight frost. 
