652 
THE a ARDEN I NO WORLD. 
August. 13, 1904. 
Mr. J. A. Pettigrew, Superintendent of the Boston Parks, 
thinks that. a. happy location for herbaceous plants is bordering 
a shrubbery belt with a, foreground of turf. The line of planting 
ought to be sinuous, bold in places and retreating in others. 
He thinks that far more pleasure is. derived by wandering about 
these nooks, looking for floral treasures, than, to have the 
whole of them spread out in a regular border where the eye 
can take them in at a glance. He also thinks that many of 
the parks contain such spots where the introduction of her¬ 
baceous plants would add much to their beauty, as well as 
attraction for plant lovers. 
He is agreed on the point, that the ground should be 
thoroughly prepared and manured for the reception of this 
class of plants. In relation to planting, he 'thinks that care 
should be taken that no bare and unsightly patches should 
occur after certain speciesi have bloomed. These need not be 
replaced, as some of them continue to be more or less interest¬ 
ing after they have finished flowering, and pass into the fruit¬ 
ing stage, but liis idea is to so arrange the plants at the start 
that no bare places would be left after bulbs and similar 
plants have bloomed and died down for the season. The 
plants should be divided at least every three years., and the 
dio-o-ino- trenching, and manuring then carried out to the 
fullest extent necessary, 
Mr. Cameron says that the first step before the 
making of a. herbaceous border is t.o select a. suit¬ 
able situation,, many of which are to be found in parks. He 
cautions them against making borders near large trees, where 
the roots of the 'same will soon find out. the manure and other 
materials placed there for the benefit. o>f the perennials. He 
would not confine his border to any particular outline, but 
adapt it to the situation. The soil is the next important con¬ 
stituent, and, if of moderate depth, any kind of soil, if pro¬ 
perly 'trenched and manured, will grow perennial plants 
satisfactorily. If deeply trenched and well manured before 
the planting is done, the border can then be left undisturbed 
for three or four years. 
In the matter of arrangements he speaks of it as a question 
of individual taste, but he prefers the grouping style, which 
consists of planting a number of specimens in a mass, the 
object being to obtain colour in such quantity as to* be 
effective when viewed from a distance. The taller kinds 
should be planted more or less along the back of the border, 
and the dwarf ones confined to the front, but he is of opinion 
that uniformity of height should be scrupulously avoided. He 
also gives attention to colours, so as to avoid violent or jar¬ 
ring contrasts. The season for flowering of the different 
kinds is also an important matter in, his estimation, so that 
the blooming of different types should be well dispersed oyer 
the border, in order to maintain an equality of flowering 
plants, leaving noi part of the border bare or flowerlesis, nor 
crowding too. many plants that bloom contemporaneously in 
another. 
We have frequently found lack of variety in colour during 
Auo-ust., when so many yellow composites are in bloom, and 
it seems that Mr. Cameron also finds a scarcity from different 
circumstance®, namely, that during July and August, the 
spring and early flowering subjects have so far ripened a.s 
to leave their places practically bare. In order to contend 
against this he fills such spaces with choice annuals', such a® 
Zinnias, Tagetes, Stocks, China Asters, Phlox Drummondii, 
and others, which give a profusion of bloom; a,t that period. 
Such a. method of filling up the blanks- with common subjects 
is often adopted in this country, as well, as in America. He 
mention® the larger Stitchwort (Stellaria Holostea), a veiy 
common British plant, which adorns many a wayside and hedge 
bank in May, but we do not remember to have seen it in any 
garden outside botanical gardens. It is another instance of 
how native plants may be neglected in their own country, not- 
withstanding their beauty. 
Mr. J. F. Foster takes a. different view with regard to the 
planting of herbaceous plants, and thinks that they should 
have no place in park plantation outside formal gardens. He 
thinks that these subjects ought to be confined to formal 
gardens and pools or ornamental sheets of water, whose edges 
might very properly be finished off with herbaceous plants. 
He thinks that to look for a, place where the soil, sunlight, 
and other conditions! will be favourable to herbaceous plants 
Would detract from the beauty of the parks themselves'. 
He thinks, however, that herbaceous plants might he used 
sparingly and with careful consideration on the margin of 
the plantation®. He would plant such things on the margins 
of the shrubbery, where the herbaceous plants would not stand 
out in any markedly conspicuous manner, otherwise he thinks 
it would greatly detract from the serenity and restful enjoy¬ 
ment of the entire scene. It seems to us that he has under 
Anew the massing of bright colours of one subject., which in 
our opinion would take the character of a flower-bed; but, 
apart from that, we think it is quite possible to. beautify por¬ 
tions of parks by means of herbaceous plants without detract¬ 
ing from the restful appearance of the same. 
The Chinese Crab Apple. 
{See Supplement?) 
Pyrus spectabilis. 
The above Crab' Apple was cultivated in 1780 by Dr. 
Fothergill, but in more recent years it seems to have been dis¬ 
placed to some extent by P. floribunda. The reason for this 
may be that the latter makes a dwaiter bush, with more, slender 
and graceful branches. The species under notice makes a tree 
varying from 15 ft. to 30 ft. in height, according to its age, 
the time it lias been, planted, and the favourable character of 
the district in which it. has 'been planted. It- is perfectly 
hardy, however, having been well tested in various parts of 
Britain from the time it was introduced. Various tree® are 
recorded from. France, Ireland, Scotland, and different parts of 
England which had attained good height® in a. varying number 
of yearn 
ft- naturally forms a. round-headed tree, with a moderately 
dense arrangement, of branches 1 , so that, when in bloom, it bears 
a very close resemblance to the Apple tree. It. isi a. native of 
China, and although it succeeds in various parts' of Britain, 
it seietm® that the higher temperature of the south is more 
conducive to full-sized trees:, which seem in. their* best and most 
natural form when treated as a. standard. In. the north, how¬ 
ever, it. form® a smaller tree, or even, a spreading bush, but in 
every case flower® very freely, and, in our opinion, is one of 
the most handsome Crab® ini cultivation!. 
The flowers are of large size, semi-double, and, in the bud 
state, are of a, deep' red, hut as they expand they gradually 
fade to rose, much in. the same way as the Apple tree. Tire 
petals are broad, and possibly the beauty of the individual 
flower® i® best seen when, the plant is grown as a, bush dr 
short-stemmed tree, so that the flowers are brought- thereby 
more directly under 'the eye. 
A botanical peculiarity of this tree is that the flowers hold 
the same relation to- those of the Apple tree as the larger- 
flowering specie® of Himalayan Rhododendron do to R. ponti- 
cum. The petals are more numerous and very broad; the 
■stamens number about forty or more', while the pistils, which 
are usually five in the Apple, here number about twenty, as if 
four flower® had grown together. The fruit is about the size 
of a Cherry, more or less angular and yellow when ripe. The 
flavour of the fruit is very poor when the fruits' are just mature, 
but if kept until they are Wetted, or ini a state of incipient 
decay, they then resemble the Medlar or the Service tree, the 
fruits of which are eaten when they reach the same stage. In 
all favourable situations we consider this tree assumes its best 
form and is seen to best advantage when planted on the grass, 
as it is grown at Kew. Our illustration was taken from a. fine 
tree there on the gras® close to the T range. It blooms about, 
the end of April and the beginning of May. 
