1881 .] 
WEEPING- BIRCHES.-SUBURBAN GARDENING. 
61 
WEEPING BIRCHES. 
GpjON this group are found the most charm- 
m ing examples of ornamental trees. Grace- 
ful in outline, elegant and novel in their 
mode of growth, impressive and attractive in 
appearance, they possess all those character¬ 
istics of growth and foliage which render 
them especially desirable and valuable for the 
embellishment of landscapes, and the ornamenta¬ 
tion of grounds. 
The beautiful Cut-leaved Weeping Birch , 
sometimes called the Lady Birch, with its 
bright bark glistening in the summer’s sun, 
and its graceful, drooping branches swaying in 
the lightest breeze, is a worthy subject for the 
artist’s pencil and the poet’s pen. In winter, 
too, covered with ice and illumined with the 
brilliant rays of the setting sun, its trembling 
branches apparently studded with innumerable 
brilliants, it presents a charming picture, 
attracting the attention and winning the admi¬ 
ration of even the most careless and indif¬ 
ferent observer. H. W. Sargent, Esq., writing 
to the Horticulturist from Germany in 1848, 
and describing Booth’s nursery at Holstein, 
stated that “ among trees and shrubs new to 
me, I noticed a Weeping Birch peculiar to 
Germany. It had descending shoots 32 ft. 
long. The branches hung as perpendicular 
downward as those of the Sophora pendula, or 
the common Weeping Willow, and are quite 
as pensile as the latter.” The Cut-leaved 
Birch is one of those trees which is complete 
in itself. It has no defect in habit which 
requires to be concealed, and should always be 
planted by itself in the most prominent and 
conspicuous position on the lawn. Although 
it is a rapid grower, and attains to considerable 
size, it is equally well adapted for large and 
small grounds, and wherever planted always 
contributes towards rendering a landscape 
charming and effective. For avenue planting 
it surpasses all other trees. Were we limited 
to a single ornamental tree, we should have 
no hesitation in selecting this in preference to 
any other. It is the most graceful of all 
trees, and deserves to be better known and 
more widely disseminated. 
Belula alia pendula Young ii (Young’s Weep¬ 
ing Birch) is a new and interesting variety, 
which is admirably adapted for the lawn. It 
was discovered about twenty years ago by Mr. 
W. Young, of Milford. Owing to the slender¬ 
ness of the branches, which in the original 
plant were so weak as to creep along the sur¬ 
face, great difficulty was experienced in pro¬ 
pagating it. To the graceful elegance peculiar 
to the Birch family it adds the odd singular 
erratic habit of the Weeping Beech. It has long, 
slender, thread-like branclilets, which fall from 
the main branches like spray. Grafted upon 
stems G to 7 feet high, it can be grown into a 
rounded, regular head, like the Kilmarnock 
Willow, or, left to itself, it will send up a lead¬ 
ing shoot, with side branches like the cut¬ 
leaved, only more spreading. In this distinct 
type we have gracefulness and picturesqueness 
combined. It is one of the very best of new 
trees, and worthy of being introduced into 
every garden. [See plate of this fine character¬ 
istic tree in our volume for 1873.] 
Betula alba pendula elegans is another 
charming variety, of quite recent introduction, 
and, as yet, but little known. It originated 
with the Messrs. Bonamy Bros., at Toulouse, 
France, in the year 186G, and was first ex¬ 
hibited by them at the Paris Universal Exhibi¬ 
tion in 1867, where it received a Gold Medal, 
the highest award for new trees. Its habit of 
growth is unique and beautiful. Grafted on 
stems 6 ft. to 8 ft. high, the branches grow 
directly downwards, parallel with the stem. 
Its decided pendulous habit, rich handsome 
foliage, delicate branches, render it particularly 
showy and attractive on the lawn. Among 
ornamental trees of recent introduction, this 
and Young’s Weeping Birch maybe considered 
the most valuable acquisitions of many years.— 
W, C. Barry, Rochester , N. Y. 
SUBURBAN GARDENING. 
PRIL.—As we write, the open, mild, 
drying March weather is all that can 
be desired, and gardeners are antici¬ 
pating that it will last, and that the gardening 
operations, so long suspended by the rain, will 
be proceeded with. The traditional March 
dust can be gathered up in the streets, and 
there is a lull in the cold, harsh winds that 
make March proverbially unpleasant. 
Kitchen Garden. —This is now the busiest 
department of the garden. The latest crops 
of Longpod and Windsor Beans and main crop 
Peas should be sown without delay. In the 
case of small gardens, space has to be con¬ 
sidered, and it is economical to grow dwarf 
varieties of Peas, such as Premier and VeitclCs 
Perfection. The Earlg Horn Carrot , dwarf 
