MOOSE’S RUSAL $EW-¥OSKEE, 
I'D 
^toricultoral. 
| EVERGREENS, NOVELTIES AND DWARFS. 
I REPOST OF T. C. MAXWELL OF GENEVA, TO WESTERN 
NEW YORK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Probably never before was there a time 
when so many intelligent men were so deep¬ 
ly interested in the cultivation and develop¬ 
ment of ornamental trees and plants—when 
this interest was so wide spread—when so 
many men were looking for “ Sports of Na¬ 
ture,’’ and striving by the best modes of 
culture, to produce such novelties as will 
interest the great army of nurserymen and 
the immensely greater number of amateurs, 
and it is the opinion of the writer that all 
who have, or will give this subject unpre¬ 
judiced thought, will concede t hat these ef¬ 
forts are not without reasonable and en¬ 
couraging results—the horticultural world 
moves. 
It is true that some of these new tilings at 
first appear to some as deformities, unsightly 
and unworthy of a place in good collections, 
and so are hastily condemned, yet when we 
become acquainted with their peculiarities 
and see them used by men cf skill and taste, 
we can but see that they will add greatly to 
the interest and beauty of the picture we 
make about our dwellings and in our parks 
and cemeteries. 
On Mt. Hounes, Fishbill-on-the-Hudson, Is 
found a sport from our well-known Hem¬ 
lock. The species we all know is remarkably 
graceful and beautiful, lofty and grand, but 
this sport grows down as persistently as the 
Kilmarnock Willow—a real deformity, and 
yet on Mr. Sargent's lawn it is one of the 
most interesting and ornamental plants in 
his entire collection—“a thing of beauty,” 
with which scarcely another tree or plant on 
these most beautiful grounds or in all the 
land can compare. 
In England, a nurseryman is sending out 
a Juniper, “hardy as an oak," of a beautiful 
golden yellow through and through. Ha 
says “ we may a few years hence see our 
lawns and pleasure grounds adorned with 
pyramids of gold,” and we are told that in 
France is found a Birch with leaves ns purple 
as the purple Beech, and we hear in one di¬ 
rection of a dwarf weeping Spruce, and in 
another of an upright Larch, and in another 
of a variegated Spruce, and a golden Arbor 
Vitee, and of various other sports, some of 
which we can but hope will prove valuable 
acquisitions. The numerous variations in 
form of growth, shape and color of leaf, are 
adding largely to our list of choice valuable 
trees and plants, for ornament. 
We are getting variegations of leaf, yellow 
and white, in nearly all our ornamental 
trees and shrubs, both evergreen and de¬ 
ciduous, and a few cases of tri-colors. Some 
of these sports are very beautiful, and yet 
they appear to many persons who only give 
them a passing glance, as sickly specimens, 
only fit to be throwu away, and in this care¬ 
less way, no doubt, many valuable things 
have been lost, but the time has come when 
anything remarkable in shape of tree, shape 
or color of foliage, should have a careful 
trial, and if found worthy, propagated and 
disseminated. 
The word “ evergreen ” in many minds is 
so associated with the green of our old 
Balsam Fir and Norway Spruce, that they 
will scarcely accept as an evergreen any 
var iation from the color of these well-known 
trees, but if they will examine the best 
catalogues of this count ry as well as Europe, 
or what is worth a hundred times more, ex¬ 
amine a good collection of trees and plants, 
they will be interested to notice the many 
beautiful hues of green evergreens—the 
white evergreens, some spotted with white 
foliage ail through the plant, and others 
white only on the ends of the branches—the 
blue or glaucous evergreens, some of which 
are exceedingly beautiful—the yellow ever¬ 
greens, some yellow all through the tree, 
and others only on the ends of the branch- 
lets of the current year's growth, and in 
3ome varieties this yellow and white foliage 
is sound and hardy—the white will probably 
prove more liable to burn in the summer 
than the yellow. Perhaps it will not be out 
of place right here to say, that I think the 
best way to bring out the greatest beauty in 
these variegated evergreens is to give them 
a good place where they will make a reason¬ 
able growth every year, and then clip them 
in regularly, so as to get a full supply of new 
branchlets all over the plant, just where we 
want them. 
Iu this country where we see so many 
small-sized yards and lawns—so many con¬ 
taining less than an acre of ground, I think 
our best dwarf evergreens are worthy of a 
thousand times more attention than they 
have heretofore received. It seems but a 
very few days since I planted near my front 
door a beautiful Austrian Pine—it was very 
beautiful, and though some distance from 
the street, many times we have seen people 
stop and look at it, and come into the yard 
and walk around it. but now it is so large it 
obstructs the view, detracts from the np- 
penrunco of my house, looks out of place and 
must be cut down. If I had planted a hand¬ 
some Dwarf instead, and placed the Pine 
some distance from the house, I might have 
saved the tree, and added largely to the 
beauty of my place. 
Wo do not want our houses overgrown 
with trees—we must have the sunshine about 
them. Neither do we want large trees 
standing about us as so many stiff sentinels. 
The beauty of many a nice little homo is 
spoiled by large trees. It is the opinion of 
the writer that we should pjant, our larger 
trees some distance from the house, if possi¬ 
ble—on small places near the outskirts of the 
lot, and then how beautiful and effective the 
dwarfs inside, and then the open, clean lawn, 
in the whole plan using care to produce va¬ 
riety without regularity. For groups near 
walks and drives and near the edge of the 
lawn, nothing can be more interesting or 
effective than these fancy and dwarf ever¬ 
greens. It is an encouraging fact that, in 
different parts of our country may be found 
men of wealth and taste, who are collecting 
on their own private grounds all the varie¬ 
ties of evergreens that can be found, and so 
well are they pleased with their efforts and 
specimens, that Others are following the 
example. 
The list of fancy and dwarf evergreens is 
a very interesting one, and contains a good 
variety of form and color, and gives the 
planter a wide range for selection In forming 
his combinations and contrasts. 
I will name a few of the choice hardy 
sorts, beginning with the old, neglected, but 
best of all the Spruces, the 
Abies Alba. — Tho White Spruce makes a 
medium size tree, is moderate iu its annual 
growth, and has the most beautiful silvery 
gray foliage and a compact oonical form. It 
is a tree that will inspire new love, and ad¬ 
miration every year. The Black Spruce, 
sometimes sold for the White, is unworthy 
of cultivation as an ornamental tree. 
Abies alba gtauen. —This variety of onr 
White Spruce has very' marked silvery glau¬ 
cous foliage—makes a small tree und is ex¬ 
ceedingly beautiful—a perfect gem. 
Abies excels a conic a. —A very handsome 
dwarf—erect, compact and regular in form 
—a very neat, cheerful little Spruce. 
Abies erccf.su pyramidalia. —As its name 
indicates, this is a beautiful dwarf pyramid. 
Abies exeelsn parvi/ormis. —This Spruce 
is quite dwarf in its habit aud has its branch¬ 
es more horizontal than conical—is exceed¬ 
ingly slow in growtli and is one of the most, 
interesting of its class. 
Abies excelsa pumtla, —A very dwarf va- 
i ioty, seldom growing above two feet high, 
with dark foliage and with distinct bushes 
and close habit. 
Abies excelsa pigmeu. —This is a very small 
dwarf, only growing one foot high—quite 
curious. 
A hies excelsa pendula .— The branches of 
this variety are as pendant as those of the 
Kilmarnock Willow—with a little care in 
training it, makes an interesting, elegant 
tree, 
Abies canadensis nana, —This is a very 
dwarf variety of our common Hemlock, and 
is compact and beautiful. 
Picea pichta. —This Siberian Silver Fir is 
a medium-sized tree, thick with rich dark 
foliage, which it does nob lose like our Bal¬ 
sam Fir, and is “ hardy as an Oak.” One of 
the best. 
Picea Rudsantca.— The Hudson Bay Sil¬ 
ver Fir is a veiy dwarf and interesting vari¬ 
ety, growing only about three feet high—one 
of the best dwarfs. 
Picea pectinata pendula.—A weeping va¬ 
riety of the European Silver Fir—with a 
little care in training, it is very ornamental. 
Pi mis cembra. — This pine is of slow 
growth; makes a handsome conical small 
tree ; erect and regularly branched, and has 
three ribbed leaves, green and white, giving 
it a beautiful plume-like appearanoe ; it is 
worthy of a place in the best collections. 
Plnus Mugho .—A small shrub, with nu¬ 
merous branches and short leaves, forming a 
dense mass of wood aud foliage aud perfectly 
hardy. These two Pines are not new, of 
course, but I think worthy of more at¬ 
tention. 
Juniperus Sinensis. —The Chinese Juniper 
is but little known in this country, many 
nurserymen even being unacquainted with 
it ; it is perfectly hardy. If it stands in a 
rich place and is inclined to grow too fast 
and loose, it should bo pinched, when it will 
make a compact, conical shruh, bright and 
beautiful—one of the most ornamental in 
attraction. 
Juniperus Sinensis variegata. —This is like 
t he preceding, except its beautiful green is 
interspersed with branchlets of white. 
Juniperus Juponica auicn .—This is n 
close-growing, tine-leaved variety, with the 
top of theplant, beautifully golden ; very at¬ 
tractive iu the summer, but browns some¬ 
what, with the frpsts of autumn and winter. 
Juniperus Sabiph, variegata. —This variety 
of the Savin Juniper has foliage spotted with 
white and yellow, ancl is distinct and hardy. 
Juniperus Virgininna glauca. —The light 
glaucous color of this tree is very pleasing 
anrl ornamental. If you wish for a dense 
dwarf specimen, clip in tho tops of the 
branches. 
Juniperus Virgininna, variegata. —This is 
another variety of the Red Cedar, with the 
foliage distinctly marked with yellow—per¬ 
fectly hardy. 
Juniperus Virgininna pendula. — The 
Weeping Red Cedar lias gracefid, drooping, 
slender branchlets, and is a desirable addition 
to our Weeping Evergreens. 
In the long list of Arbor Vi ties, we have 
some few very handsome dwarfs. They 
brown some in the winter, it is true, but is 
it not pleasant to see them brighten up in the 
spring ? You sometimes get on a long, sad 
face, but before your true friends condemn 
you, cheerfulness comes again. 
Thuja duinnsa .— A real dwarf Arbor Vi tin, 
growing only about three feet high, with 
short, flat branchlets, of a peculiarly beauti¬ 
ful green in the summer j brown in winter. 
Thuja cristnta ,—A dwarf, compact, curi¬ 
ous novelty—a really Interesting addition to 
this class of Dwarf Arbor Vitaes. 
Thuja nana ( Hooper's Dwarf.)—' This beau¬ 
tiful dwarf originated with the distinguished 
nurseryman whose name it bears. It is very 
compact and bright—one of the best. 
Thuja Vermnneana.—A very pretty and 
distinct, variety, with slender branches and a 
beautiful golden color, 
Thuja pendula. — The Weeping Arbor 
Vitee, like all the Weeping Evergreens, needs 
a little care and skill in its management, 
when it makes a very satisfactory ap¬ 
pearance. 
Thuja pyramid,alis.— This variety is re¬ 
markably upright and compact,, forming a 
slender pillar of green ; it is quite desirable 
aud attractive. 
Taxus adpressa stricta.— This is another 
erect, compact evergreen ; has dark, glossy, 
green leaves, and is without doubt, one of 
the most hardy of its species. 
Tax is Canadensis variegata.— This is a 
variety of our American Yew, with foliage 
handsomely striped with yellow. With a 
little annual clipping, it will form a very 
compact bush, and present a very cheerful 
appearance. 
Taxus Washlngtonii. —Of this plant, 
Messrs, HOopea Brothers & Thomas say, “A 
rare novelty, of quite vigorous growth, very 
beautifully variegated, with deep golden 
yellow spots and stripes.” I am very much 
pleased with the small plants we received 
about a year ago. 
Some of the Biotas and ReUnospnrats are. 
wonderfully beautiful, but the fear that they 
are not sufficiently hardy, deters me from 
any definite description. 
Those who are Interested in Evergreens, 
and can afford it, should give the best of 
them a trial, protecting with evergreen 
boughs during winter. Some of the sorts 
may prove valuable. 
-»»♦ 
FLOWERING RASPBERRY. 
You will find Inclosed a flower and buds 
and a leaf of a shrub I find growing here and 
seems unknown and uncommon. Will you 
be kind enough to tell me through the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker what it is 2 The bush 
grows some two to four feet high, with a 
smooth, loose barked stem, something like a 
grape vine, though more like Swamp Privy. 
—G. W, Barnett, Big Spring, Va. 
The shrub with large lobed leaves resem¬ 
bling those of the grape, flower an Inch or 
more in diameter and of a rich rose color and 
slightly odorous, is the Ruhus odoratus or 
purple flowering Raspberry. The fruit is 
broad, flattish ; seeds, small; pulp, sweetish 
and rather insipid. Native of high rocky 
situations, from Labrador to the Rocky 
Mountains. A closely allied species (7f. nuf- 
kanus) lias white flowers and grows wild 
from Northern Michigan to the Pacific, 
abundant on the Northwest Coast. Of little 
value except as a curiosity or as an orna¬ 
mental plant. 
Jiulitstrial 
SWINDLING BY MAIL. 
The mail trade of seedsmen, florists, and 
the like is now very large, and though from 
the nature of the case there is more or less 
delay and loss, yet it is on the whole a great 
convenience to dealers, and a great saving to 
purchasers. Among its disadvantages to tho 
dealers is the fact that it allows of a con¬ 
siderable amount of small swindling, ancl 
there has grown up a set of knaves who 
systematically swindle them. Their mode 
of operation is generally to send an order, 
stating that, the money is inclosed. The deal¬ 
er finds no money, but the writer claims 
that he sent it, aud it must have been lost, 
that he can ill alTord to lose the sum, and ap¬ 
peals to the sympathy of the dealer, who, 
rather than have his customer suffer, usually 
sends the goods. These cases have happened 
so frequently, that the dealers have compared 
notes, and discover that the same parties 
play the same trick upon the prominent seed 
and plant dealers all over tho country. The 
following, from a highly respectable seed 
firm in Rochester, gives an account of the 
operations of one of these correspondents, 
which will Rerve as a sample of the rest: 
“Our first experience with this class of 
‘unfortunates’ was with a party who 1ms 
bemoaned his misfortunes (nlossei of money 
by mail for several years, with tho greate-t 
steadiness and persistence, and is not yet 
disheartened ; he has repeatedly been re¬ 
warded for his style, “which is ‘ childlike and 
bland,’ by confiding seedsmen and is not yet 
satisfied—Mr. Russ A. Bagley of Rig Creek, 
Forsyth Co., Ga, Ilis first letters to us 
claimed a loss of $10.SO, which, being a man 
far removed from money-order offices, and 
unused to mercantile pursuits, lie had sent 
us in all confidence; this also contained a 
proposition that we share his loss, as he was 
not able to bear it. Wo supplied promptly 
the full amount we authorize to be sent by 
mail at our risk, without registration, sug¬ 
gesting that his letter might have been regis¬ 
tered at the post-office, and wo could do no 
more. Again he pleaded, and again was re¬ 
fused; he closed the correspoodencc'with an 
appeal, from which wo quote : ‘ Send the. 
chromo anyway, if you sympathize with a 
poor man, who wished and tried hard to he a 
Customer, I should have remailed you the 
money at the staid., if T could have done so, 
but it is my misfortune to possess but few of 
this world’s goods, therefore I could not 
possibly afford it. It Is not my inten¬ 
tion to ask for more than is right. I do not 
think the fault lies with you, ancl if you can¬ 
not Rend the ehromos willingly, wo will drop 
the subject.’ Our suspicion was increased 
by the studied air of modesty and confidence 
expressed in this note, and a gentleman con¬ 
nected with our house remembered the name 
as one that figured in a t ransaction where a 
neighbor of ours in the same trade had 
suffered considerably from an attack of Bag- 
leyism. We found Mr. Jus. Vick possessing 
a file of papers in the familiar ohirograpliy of 
Bagley, and that he hud an experience simi¬ 
lar to our own, Seeking further to know 
tho probable extent of the business as done 
by this particular Individual, we requested 
information from other houses in the same 
line, and the responses came promptly, and 
of similar tenor, 1 Mr. Ross A, Bagley,’ say 
Messrs. B. K. Bliss & Sons, ‘has favored us 
with his patronage,’ and proceed to give in 
detail a repetition of tho familiar story of a 
loss by mail and a request for remuneration. 
Peter Henderson & Co. say that. ‘ in 1S73 that 
accomplished rural rascal, Bagley, of Big 
Creek,’ had found them out, and bitten them, 
but not deeply, for which they are duly 
thankful. Jas. J. H. Gregory has a matter 
of a few dollars, for furnishing Bagley with 
seeds the last fall and the present month. 
We also learn from Reisig & Hexamer that 
he attempted to victimize them. It seemed 
to us that such frequency of misfortune 
should not be permitted to remain in obscu¬ 
rity, or a success achieved by such effrontery 
and low cunning be allowed to continue, and 
we present bhi3 case as ono flb for exposure 
to which other specimens of this new pest 
may be added by ourselves and other deal¬ 
ers. We do this as a protection to the trade, 
by giving timely notice to those who might 
otherwise suffer, and also warn any who 
might hope to escape detection iu f tie ‘ ways 
that are dark and tricks that are mean,’ by 
the pitiful littleness of the act.” 
Chase Brothers & Woodward. 
Rochester, N. Y. 
It would be wise for seedsmen to expose 
such swindlers more frequently than they do. 
