488 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 30, 1892. 
severely injured or even destroyed by the attacks of animals will 
be glad of this simple hint. A clergyman and tree lover had short 
stakes 18 inches long or so, pointed at both ends, the top end 
bluntly, and a shoulder notched near it for facilitating driving them 
into the ground. A number of these affixed under recently planted 
trees in his field protected them from cattle, but if rough stones 
answer equally well, the trouble and expense are lessened. 
The care of old trees deservedly engaged attention. There 
was no life, Mr. Dyer pointed out, in the greater part of the 
bark. It was corky rather than woody matter, filled with air, and 
no organism could penetrate it. This investiture was a vital 
necessity to the tree. If wounded, access to the interior was 
opened and the spores of injurious fungi found their way in. 
The corky armour should be kept intact, but trees were often 
injured accidentally, and the broken integument should then be 
patched up. He advised the removal of all loose bark, the cutting 
away of decayed matter, the trimming of the edges, and the 
coating of the whole wound with coal tar. He had been told 
that this would destroy every tree to which it was applied, but 
had disproved the assertion at Kew, and remarked that as the 
tar does not set hard it does not prevent healing taking place, 
and as it contains hydrocarbon from the coal it is a good antiseptic. 
In cutting away broken or other branches the lecturer recom¬ 
mended that they should be severed close to the trunk and pared 
smooth, thus preventing the decay that frequently sets in when a 
shoulder is left. He described several fungi injurious to trees, and 
stated that in the case of some Evergreen Oaks he had had the myce¬ 
lium cut away with a chisel and burnt, the whole seat of the fungus 
being excised, the wounds dressed with strong carbolic acid to 
destroy all unhealthy tissues, and then coated when dry with coal 
tar. By this means a fungoid attack had been completely 
neutralised. The remedy is a drastic one, but having been found 
effectual is worth the attention of those having trees under their 
charge, yet the question is suggested as to whether Stockholm tar 
would not answer equally well and be safer. 
The brevity that Mr. Dyer was compelled to observe in order 
not to exceed the time at his disposal caused many points to be 
touched upon lightly, and others, no doubt, to be held in reserve 
altogether ; but it will be gathered that the good management of 
trees has in him a practical supporter, and his remarks, it may be 
hoped, will not be forgotten. With this question is intimately 
associated the beauty of our parks, gardens, and woodlands, and 
it would be difficult to find a subject more worthy of thoughtful 
attention and practical interest. Salient points were elucidated by 
similar diagramatic illustrations to those employed by some of the 
teachers in gardening under the technical education scheme that 
is being carried out in various districts by the agency of County 
Councils, and that useful information can be imparted in lectures 
of this nature was most ably demonstrated by the accomplished 
Director of Kew. Mr. Dyer did a service to the nation by his 
valuable discourse, which, it is hoped, will be published i>i extenso 
in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society.—W. 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
Whex, as Charlotte Smith says, we see 
“ Hedgerows engarlanded with many a wreath, 
Where the wild Eoses hang their blushing treasures,” 
or look with delight upon the opening Roses of the garden, ’we 
feel so touched by their loveliness that, wedded as we are to our 
herbaceous plants and alpine flowers, we are tempted for a brief 
space to be unfaithful to the flowers of our choice, and to linger 
awhile victims to the blandishments of the reigning monarch of the 
month. Could we imagine the leafy month endowed with speech 
she might well say, in the words of Andrein’s “ Adam : ”— 
“ Thou flower supremely blest. 
And queen of all the flowers. 
Thou form’st around my locks 
A garland of such fragrance. 
That up to Heaven itself 
Thy balmy sweets ascend.” 
But the full enjoyment of the Rose is only to be found by those 
who woo her long and faithfully, and not by those who know 
her only in her ceremonial days, and thus we must turn to less 
regal flowers with which we are more familiar. 
However great the number of those who agree with Spenser, 
that May is the “ fairest maid on ground,” there are many of the 
admirers of hardy flowers who claim that her sister June brings to 
them an equal or even greater wealth of beauty. She may, they 
say, have a beauty of a different nature, but her type of loveliness 
is, though less retiring, of a fuller and riper kind, and the blossoms 
she brings are, so to speak, akin to the bearer, who scatters from 
her casket flowers which are m perfect keeping with the deeper 
green of the foliage, the brighter skies, the stronger sunshine, and 
the more genial breezes of the month. 
Irises. 
Among these brilliant hardy flowers the Irises of June do 
honour to her who endows us with their wondrous brightness. 
The Flag Irises with their stout sword-like leaves and massive, yet 
exquisitely graceful flowers ; the grass-like foliage and smaller 
flowers of the forms of I. siberica ; the large and beautiful 
blossoms of the English Irises and the marvellously, delicately 
beautiful flowers of the Spanish Irises, which have been aptly 
likened to a piece of Gothic carving, are all delightful ornaments of 
the garden, and are withal floweis which well repay the closest 
observation. Like some of our race there are flowers which seem 
only to reveal their beauty to those who love them and study their 
forms and hues as we love to think of the qualities of our dearest 
friends, and are every now and again delighted with some fresh proof 
of their virtues and qualities. The Iris is such a flower. Stand 
beside it for a time, study it intently, leave it for a time and return, 
and some new beauty renews and increases our pleasure. It has 
been called the “Poor Man’s Orchid,” and in very truth with these 
flowers the smallest garden stands in no need of the Orchid house 
with all its expense and care. No ! to quote Alfred Austin : — 
“ No rare exotics nor forced are these. 
They budded in darkness and throve in storm ; 
They learned their colour from rain and breeze, 
And from sun and season they took their form.” 
To make a selection is no easy task, indeed as regards the Spanish 
and English Irises it is a needless one, as most dealers seem to 
have names of their own for the named varieties they sell, but 
assuredly the named sorts should be purchased in preference to the 
mixed varieties. The same difficulty arises with the named Flag or 
German Irises, although not to the same extent ; and those who 
desire to grow these flowers and have no opportunity of seeing a 
good collection should procure a catalogue from some of the firms 
who make a speciality of them, and make a selection representative 
of the various sections into which the bearded varieties are divided, 
and should also add some of the many species also offered. I was 
for long somewhat doubtful of growing many of the Flag Irises on 
account of the light sandy nature of the soil of my garden. I 
have, however, found that, with the addition of a plentiful supply 
of manure, they mostly grow and flower well. The Iris family is 
now somewhat largely represented in my garden, and few flowers 
give me greater pleasure. I have, up till now, had but poor success 
with the few species of the onocyclus sections I have grown, but I 
hope in time to manage them more successfully. 
Saxifrages. 
Very beautiful are many of the Saxifrages still lingering with 
us. It is difficult to single out one or two for notice, and some it 
is difficult to name with certainty, as few plants are so badly 
named in our gardens as these. Among the neatest and prettiest at 
present is S. crustata, one of the encrusted section, forming a dense 
flatfish mound of narrow green and grey leaves surmounted by 
plumes of pretty white flowers. I believe I have this true to name, 
and it is one of the neatest of the many good varieties of this 
section. Very pretty also is one I received as S. Foster!, but which 
I have not the slightest doubt should be named S. Forsteriana. 
This is a hybrid between S. csesia and S. mutata, with flatfish light 
green rosettes, slightly marked with grey and with pretty plumes of 
flowers, the first bloom of which appears and opens close to the 
rosette and then the flower stem arises. Another Saxifrage with 
which I am much pleased is one I received this spring as 
S Mooreana, and which is closely related to the London Pride or 
“ None so Pretty ” of olden times. The rosette is large and fine, 
and the flower scape is dwarfer than that of S. umbrosa, the London 
Piide or “ St. Anne’s Needlework” as it is called in some districts. 
It is unfortunate that we have no standard authority for the 
nomenclature of the Saxifrages (at least, in English), as Professor 
Engler’s book, being in Latin, is not in the bands of many of those 
who grow this most interesting genus.—S. Arxott. 
