302 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 1C, 18911 
pure white, twisted, somewhat shorter than tie trumpet, which is pale 
sulphur passing to a snow white, exhales a delightful perfume ; W. P. 
Milner, perianth and trumpet sulphur, small neat dwarf plant, with 
beautiful distinct flowers ; and William Goldring, long snow white 
perianth, enveloping the piimrose trumpet. 
HORTICULTURE IN AMERICA. 
[A paper by Mr. JAMES H. Latxu, F.R.H.S., road at the Birmiugham Gardeners’ 
Association, March 9th, 1891.] 
( Continued from page 291. ) 
Washington is the political capital of the United States, and is 
situated on the Potomac Kiver. Its site'is an admirable one. The plan 
of the city is, I think, like Versailles. The avenues and streets are 
simply magnificent, several streets being 160 feet wide. The public 
buildings are the chief attraction of Washington, and the capitol is not 
only the finest of these, but probably the most magnificent public 
clitice in the world, as it stands on 3^ acres, and is surrounded with 
beiutifully cultivated grounds, embellishel with fountains and statuary. 
The United States Treasury, and other government offices, are also grand 
buildings. We ascend the Washington monument, the loftiest in the 
world, except the Eiffel Toiver. It is 555 feet high, A grand panorama 
of the city and its surroundings is obtained at its summit. I made 
sundry calls at Washington nurseries. Mr. John Saul’s nursery was 
crimmed with excellent stocks of fruit trees, shrubs, and Conifers in 
greet variety. A good collection of Orchids and other plants, also in 
capital health, were to be seen in the houses. Messrs. Field Brothers 
are splendid cultivators of Roses for forcing ; the entire stock planted 
in benches in the several houses deserved special commendation. I have 
here to thank Mr. Hugh Kane of Strauss & Co. for pioneering me through 
the city and places of interest. 
I did not omit to call and see that pattern of Botanical Garden 
Curator.s, Mr. Smith, a traie and kindly Scot, and inspect his fine collec- 
lions of plants and flowers. Mr. Smith is a man of repute, not only in 
Washington, but in the States generally. He is one of the Commis- 
.■tioneis of Washington City, and holds other important pos's. Mr. 
C. F. Hale has a good nursery, and growls Roses on a large sca’e. Leaving 
with regret such a charming city and such friends, I took a sleeping 
carriage for Buffalo. I there called on another friend, Mr. Wm. Scott 
(an Engl shman well known some yeais back at Chichester) at Buffalo, 
New Yoik, on the side of Lake Erie, rot/fe to Niagara. Mr. Scott 
grows general plants, but his Carnations always do well. His store in 
the city is neatly decorated and filled with floral displays. Mi’. Scott 
was good erough to go with me to the Niagara Falls. What a sight it 
Avas I It is one never to be forgotten, though it cannot be realised 
unless seen. The Rapids, Ameiican and Canadian Falls, are extraordinary 
sights. We went on board the “ Maid of Mist,” amongst the passengers 
being the Toronto photographer who safely crofsed the Falls on the wire 
rope last autumn, and then amidst the roar and splashing, we beheld 
the Horses’ace Falls and Cataracts in all iheir grandeur. Leaving the 
little steamer, we alighted on the Canadian shore, and returned over 
the new suspension bridge; the old one was carried away three years 
ago by a gale. 
I am afraid I have dwelt tor long upon some of the former subjects, 
so w'e shall leturn to New York once again, and before starting for home 
I found time permitted me to visit several filends up the lovely Hudson 
river. The Hudson has been compared to the Rhine, and what it lacks 
in crumbling ruins and castle-crowned steefs is more than supplied by 
its greater variety and superior breadth, but I have seen no river to 
equal it. Many wealohy Americans have delightful seats here, and 
carry out gardening with taste. Jay Gould, Esq., has an elegant garden 
and houses at Irvington. Jas. B. Co’gat. Esq., Yonkers, also has splen¬ 
didly kept houses and garden, the pdeasure grounds being in fine form. 
Mr. Brett is a skilled gardener, and knows how and what to do. I was 
much struck with his Grapes, as the Vines were in full bearing when I 
called. Muscat of Alexandria and Lady Downe’s (with 5 lbs. bunche.s), 
and Black Hamburgh, beautifully colourel, were equal to any seen in 
the old country. Winthrop Sargent, Esq.’s (a relative of Professor C. S. 
Sargent) place is one of the finest I saw of its size in the States for 
.specimen Conifers, many rare specimens growing luxuriantly. Mr. 
Lister is an excellent Scotch gardener who emigrated to the States a few 
years since, and Americans should be proud to have a man of his shamp 
amongst them. Mr. Dinsmore’s magnificent garden higher up the 
Hudson was in grand order when a fiiend and I by invitation visited it. 
A splendid collection of the cho’cest Orchids were well grown. Crotons 
had a separate house to themselves, and superb, well-coloured specimen 
plants they were. A general collection of stove and greenhouse plants 
were also represented in flue condition. Then, turning to the out of 
(I;or arrangements, we found ma.ssive and well-des'gned flower beds in 
the flower garden facing the splendid range of glass, and sloping down 
from the terrace. Beds of well-coloured Crotons, Coleus, Alternantheras, 
and many other bedding plants, presented a brilliant display. I noticed 
Tuberous Begonias doing splendidly. Mr. Emmerson, the courteous 
head gardener, had evidently given the.se superb flowering bedding 
plants good soil and attention, and they had repaid th's by the sitis- 
factory resul s. I think Begonias will become a fashionab’e bedding 
plant in time in America, but they require a little more study and care 
when planted out, as to the position selected, and manuring the beds. 
If Mr. Emmerion’s system is adopted they will soon secure public favour 
and find a prominent place in outdoor bedding out. Mr. Uunmore’s 
noble mansion, though a wooden construction, as many of the dwelling 
houses .are, stands on a commanding position on the banks of the 
Hudson, from which beautiful views of the river are obtained. The 
gardens are superintended by Mr. Dinsmore in an admirable rnanner. 
Mr. Pierson’s nursery at Tarrytown Heights (of Lilium Harris! fame) 
was in excellent trim. I must refer, in drawing to a close, to the very 
pleasant vi^it I bad at Glencoe, where Mr. Falconer, a true gardener, 
directs a large and beautiful estate so well for his employer, C. H. Dana, 
Esq. Several other calls were made, not forgetting a brief stay at Mr. 
W. Elliott’s notable auction rooms, by whose vivacity lucrative prices 
are realised, and then terminated the most enjoyable tour 1 have been 
fortunate enough to take. 
I will now briefly give my own opinions of our American horticul¬ 
tural friends in business capacities. The Americans are a wide-awake 
people. They do not like to be behind the world in anything. I think 
the majority of their horticultural tradesmen are smart, business-like 
men, quick of perception, not niggardly in their commercial purchases, 
though keeping a keen eye all the same after turning the dollar at as big 
a profit as possible. There seems to me to be also more fraternal inter¬ 
course, particularly noticeable in the Boston Convention. Social 
meetings, lectures, conferences, and all other things pertaining to the 
.advancement of horticulture are done to encourage and educate the 
masics. Labour is the great detriment, even an ordinary boy receiving 
about 20s. a week. This is a serious expeaditrrre, so that many things 
are adopted to reduce the labour bill. The indiarubber hose is used 
largely for watering and damping down in the stove, greenhouse. Rose, 
Carnatioir, Chrysanthemum, and even Orchid houses, doing away vvith 
the sloAV, though perhaps the more effectual method, as we English think, 
of the watering can. Floral societies seem to be flourishing in all parts. 
Florists’ shops, as a rule, are elegantly .and artificially arranged, a good 
deal on the Parisian method, though cleanliness and neatness are even 
more scrupulously carried out. Designs of kinds are used largely and 
with effect. The florists are very clever in their floral decorations of 
ballrooms, house ornamentation at reception®. New Y’’ork Uite of society 
especially spending large sums on these affairs, 
I am told there are over 10,000 florists in the United States, and their 
greenhouses cover about 1000 acre.s. Forcing Perpetual and Tea Roses 
is the Ameiican florist’s great forte, and from what I eould see (though 
too early to judge personally) and learn, the blooms produced during the 
winter months far exceed our own. The great thing in their favour, 
however, is the appearance of the sun, and though the temperature often 
falls as low as six or eight below zero, the sun’s rays expand the flowers 
freely, and produce fine colour. Roses are growm on their own roots a 
great deal, and propagated from January to April, using for cuttings 
well-matured wood from healthy plants. If tbe cuttings have bottom 
heat they will be rooted in about four w’eeks, when they can be potted 
off in 25 -inch pots. If properly grown, these will in four or five weeks 
need repotting into 4-inch pots. As soon as they are well established in 
these they can be planted into the benches where they are to remain. 
The benches should not be more than 4 to G inches in depth. Before 
turning the plants out of the pots they should be well watered, for if 
planted with dry balls they will seldom do well. Thoroughly w’ater the 
bench after planting, syringe well every clear day, and cultivate the soil 
once a week for the first month. The soil is then firmed around the 
plants by pressing it down with the hands, and do mluch better if tho 
soil is firm ; after this cultivate lightly. A heavy loamy soil is preferable. 
The number of varieties of Roses, which may be considered as staple 
since they are quoted as Avholcsale in most of the large markets in the 
country, is about twenty-five, as follows:—Bon Silene, Safrano, Isabella 
Sprunt, Niphetos, Pcrle des Jardins, Sunset, Papa Gontier, Souvenir d’un 
Ami, Madame Cusin, Souvenir do Malmaison, Marfichal Niel, Cornelia 
Cook, William Francis Bennett, Pierre Guillot, Bride, Catherine Mermet, 
American Beauty, Gbncral Jacqueminot, La France, Baroness Roth¬ 
schild, Madame Gabriel Luizet, Magna Charta, Anna de Diesbach, and 
Duke of Connaught. Other v.arietics w’hich are grown for the market, 
but less generally, are Douglas, Duchess of Edinburgh, Yellow Tea, 
Royal Tea, Lamaique, Heine Marie Henriette, Climbing Devoniensis,. 
Boule de Neige, and an assortment of Hybrid Perpetuals, which are 
forced for winter use. The most desirable points in a market Rose are 
emtinuous and abund.ant blooming, long stems bearing single buds, 
which is a most important point, 2 and 3 feet being the usual length, 
and robust foliage with fragrance, clear colour, and good keeping 
qualities in the flower. 
(To be continued.! 
INJURIOUS INSECTS AND METHODS OF PREVENTION. 
I HAVE received the interesting book, “ Manual of Injurious Insects 
and Methods of Prevention,” written by that learned and indefatigable 
lady Miss E. A. Ormerod, and the volume I shall regard as a precious 
possession. 
I have not yet had time to peruse the book entirely, but only 
examined a few articles on subjects with which I am acquainted, and 
was as onished by the correctness, the completeness and clearness with 
which these subjects are treated. The way in which the work is brought 
together is highly practical, and a skilful sub-division makes it most 
easy for consulting and most acceptable for the libraiy. My opinion is 
that it ought to be in the hands of every gardener, every farmer, and 
every amateur of gardening. This reminds me of the hard battles I 
have had to fight against several insects, and induces me to record two 
struggles in which I obtained a complete victory. The means I used 
were in accordance with the methods descrited by Miss Ormerod^ 
