Garden Correspondence 
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A TREE ARBOR 
I want a tree arbor or something of its character, on a point of 
land that commands a fair view. I do not want a formally con¬ 
structed summer-house as I do not think it would look well there, 
but I want something that will cast a shade under which I can 
place a rustic seat. I. C. H. 
The Camperdown elm, grafted six to eight feet high would do, 
provided the situation is favorable to its growth. In a dry, hilly 
location it would not grow luxuriously enough unless it received 
unusual care and cultivation. 
The weeping ash also makes a good arbor but it does not do 
well in all sections. 
The Norway maple would in time form a broad spreading head, 
giving a dense shade. 
If you could secure from the woods a selected specimen of a 
quite common native thorn, CratcEgus punctata, you would prob¬ 
ably get just what you want. This species is easily recognized 
by its fruit, which is either a dull red or a yellow, each apple being 
minutely dotted or specked, hence its specific name, punctata. 
1 'his small tree forms a low, flat-topped head, its branches arranged 
in a stratified manner standing out at almost right angles from the 
main trunk. It makes an ideal arbor and is very effective 
standing on a point or knoll where its striated foliage may be 
silhouetted against the sky or water. It would be necessary to 
obtain a tree of considerable age, but one yet vigorous in growth 
to allow considerable thinning out among the branches. In cutting 
back of the branches of most all trees, to compensate for loss of 
roots by removal, the extremities are cut back and new growth 
soon obliterates the disfigurement, but the thorns that are of any 
age are permanently disfigured by cutting the extremities of their 
branches to any great length, especially this species. 
The proper way is first to cut out all interfering branches; 
those that cut and rub against each other—all those that run up 
straight through the head—endeavoring all the time to maintain 
a well balanced head and to preserve the striated character of 
growth. The amount to be removed depends somewhat upon 
how much the roots have been mutilated or disturbed. If you 
think more should come out, see if you can’t spare some of the 
main branches where they may be too thick, cutting them back to 
the main trunk. The tree should be moved with a frozen ball. 
I know of several treated in this way that were five to six inches 
in diameter, a foot from the ground, which did not seem to feel 
the shock of removal. 
SCALE ON PALMS 
I here seems to be a scaly insect or something on the stems and 
leaves of some palms in my window. Will they injure them ? 
How can I get rid of them ? L. B. W. 
Your plants are infected with scale, which will injure them in 
time if allowed to remain. 
The only way to eradicate them is a mechanical one. Use a 
strong soapy water and a stiff tooth brush and scrub stems and 
foliage. Also have a small pointed stick which will dislodge any 
that stick tight to the ribs of the leaves. Repeated washings will 
eventually get rid of them. Kerosene emulsion, fire-tree oil, and 
other decoctions are all right but liable to do damage. 
GROWING ROSES AGAINST THE HOUSE 
I want to grow some roses against the wooden wall at the rear 
end of my house. Heretofore I have used wooden trellises, but 
they rot in a few years. What is the best method to employ, not 
expensive, yet lasting in its structure ? W. A. M. 
If there is a brick basement causing a wooden water table to 
project at some distance above the ground, drive staples into 
water table six inches apart. Then at the top of the wall, under 
the eaves, if a single story, spike into the wall a piece of 2 x 4 
edgeways, painting it the color of the house; put staples into it, 
as below, and run galvanized wire—the grade used for clothes¬ 
lines—from staple to staple. Don’t run any cross wires unless 
one or two to stiffen them, because when taking the rose down for 
winter protection or painting the house, the long vines get caught 
in the cross wires and are hard to untangle. Tie the vine to the 
upright wires. 
LARGE BLOOMS ON CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
How do the florists get such large blooms of chrysanthemums 
that one sees in their windows ? E. O. 
It is the result of cultivation. The plants are propagated from 
cuttings in the spring, planted in rich soil and only one stem to 
each plant allowed to develop. When the bloom buds show 
themselves all but one, generally, but not always, the terminal one, 
are pinched off. Thus the whole strength of one plant is concen¬ 
trated in one bloom instead of a dozen or more if allowed to grow 
naturally. 
BLACK BLISTER-BEETLE ON CLEMATIS VINES 
Can you tell me how to destroy the long black beetle that is 
such a deadly enemy to my clematis vines ? 1 have three kinds, 
the common wild clematis, always a lovely vine, the kind 
that produces fringed seed pods that are ornamental, and the 
beautiful Clematis paniculata. Just at the time when they are 
covered with beautiful starry blooms and long sprays of buds, this 
abominable pest comes and eats every flower, bud, and leaf. I 
have a wire trellis about one hundred feet long, and they eat all but 
stems. I will indeed be obliged if you can tell me how to kill them. 
Mrs. N. A. S. 
The insect you mention is most probably the black blister-beetle, 
Epirauta Pennsylvanica (De Geer) which, with its allied form, the 
striped blister-beetle, will defoliate a clematis vine in short order. 
In some sections they are very destructive to the China aster. 
Hand picking or “dropping” is the most effective remedy. I his 
should be done when first noticed, so as to prevent, as far as possi¬ 
ble, the laying of eggs and hatching of a second crop. Early in 
the morning when they are apt to be sluggish, take a pan eight 
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