THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
2o$ 
THE KEW GARDENS. 
Nurserymen continually read and hear of the famous Kew 
Gardens in England. These gardens were described enter¬ 
tainingly by Benjamin P. YVare in a paper read recently before 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Mr. Ware said : 
Kew Garden was originally a private fruit and vegetable garden of 
seventeen acres, belonging to the Prince of Wale9, the father of 
George III., who began to improve it as a botanical garden and 
pleasure ground iu 1730. It has received additions from time to time, 
so that at present it contains 270 acres. It became public iu 1840, and 
was placed under the control of Her Majesty’s Oflce of Public Works, 
with an annual appropriation for its maintenance of £32,650, or $163,- 
250. It is said to be the finest and most complete botanical collection 
and arboretum in the world. As for tree planting it can hardly be 
excelled. 
Kew Garden is accessible by steamboat, omnibus or steam railroad. 
It is seven miles from the center of London; the surface is undulating, 
with carriage drives around and through the grounds ; with broad 
gravelled walks in various directions, opening long vistas through 
well-grown trees—some in rows, but generally irregularly planted with 
plenty of room for the full development of each tree. Every variety 
of tree, shrub and herbaceous plant is plainly labeled. It was intended 
that every variety that will grow in that climate should be represented 
in its very best possible condition, and as the winters in England are 
much milder than ours in New England, many more varieties may be 
grown there than here. 
It is very delightful, When traveling in a strange land, to meet any¬ 
one from your own country, even though an entire stranger at home, 
and I found it even so to see in this collection of specimens our beauti¬ 
ful white pine, hemlock, spruce, elm, mountain ash, white ash and 
oaks, and among the herbaceous plants, our fall asters and goldenrod 
in variety and many other familiar friends, not excelled in beauty by 
those of any other country. 
As tree planting there began more than one hundred and fifty years 
ago, some of the trees are very large ; among these are a dozen or more 
cedars of Lebanon of immense size, four or four and one-half feet in 
diameter. As they stand well apart and were allowed to branch near 
the ground, they grew in a form peculiar to that species ; with their 
deep green, compact foliage and majestic forms, they readily command 
the attention and respect given to this tree by early scripture writers, 
who frequently used the cedars of Lebanon as symbols of stiength, 
beauty and grandeur. 
Near the group of cedars in the garden is an immense Scotch pine, 
towering above all others, with a clean trunk, about one hundred feet 
to' its first branches. 
The shrubs are in such great variety, so well grown and plainly 
labeled that they afford a superior opportunity for study. Rhododen¬ 
drons are especially fine here, and a collection of over 6,000 flowering 
hardy herbaceous plants, embracing more than a thousand varieties, 
may be seen—among them the original wild chrysanthemum brought 
from China 105 years ago. It was first introduced into Europe, making 
our magnificent chrysanthemum shows possible, as well as the one held 
last November at the Royal Aquarium in London, when its small 
yellow flower was shown iu contrast with the latest triumph of the 
fl or j g t_a flower fifteen inches in diameter. 
A very noticeable structure in the garden is the Chinese pagoda, 
built in 1761, the grounds around it so laid out that it may be seen 
directly in front from several points, through long irregular lines of 
trees. Another very prominent object is the flagstaff, a single spai of 
Douglas pine brought from Colorado, supposed to have been 250 years 
old. It is 163 feet high, with twelve feet under ground, enclosed in 
solid brickwork, to insure its security from wind and decay. 
The Palm House is probably unequaled in beauty and grandeur the 
world over. It is 362 feet long, with an ell on each side, and is filled 
with a great variety of palms and other plants requiring the same con¬ 
ditions, many grown as high as the top of the building, an a in 
perfect condition. The Horticultural Museum is a large three-story 
brick building containing an herbarium library and many horticultura 
curiosities of interest. Between these two buildings is a veiy eau 
artificial pond which makes a frontage for each building. Around this 
pond are beds of flowers of the most brilliant and showy kinds. 
There^is a Wood Museum containing specimens of wood from all of 
the British colonies and other countries ; also seventeen or more green¬ 
houses adapted to the needs of different families of plants, one of them 
devoted to exotic water lilies, among which the Victoria regia is 
prominent. Another is devoted to the citrus family of fruits and 
another to the cactus in great variety. 
A portion of the grounds is set apart as a wild garden, with a perfect 
tangle of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, without order or design. 
The collection of Marianne North’s paintings of flowers, containing 833 
pictures, is arranged in a brick building provided especially for it, 
adding very much to the interest of the garden. 
Where there are no flower beds the surface is a beautiful English lawn, 
such as we have often read of—so closely shorn, so green, so soft is it, 
that one is reminded of a velvet carpet. The signs are not “ Keep off 
the grass,” but “Please do not tread upon the edge of the grass.’* 
When any portion of these lawns shows signs of exhaustion the sod is 
carefully removed, a heavy coating of old stable manure forked in ; 
then the sod is replaced so carefully that no sign of its removal is 
noticed. 
Kew Garden is so accessible, so beautiful and so instructive that it 
is not surprising that from 60,000 to 80,000 people visit it during the 
season annually. 
FUMIGATING BUDS AND SCIONS. 
A correspondent of the American Agriculturist writes: 
As a nurseryman I am interested in the system of fumigating buds 
of new varieties for propagation. As I understand, buds cut from 
trees in July, August or September, cannot be fumigated with safety 
for tear of injuring them. I ask you, therefore, for advice and would 
like you to suggest methods for the fumigation of scions, buds, etc., 
such as nurserymen are obliged to procure. Since it is assumed that 
there is a possible danger of San Jose scale from almost any nursery¬ 
man, this question is of vital importance to us. 
The answer by W. G. J. as follows : 
Buds, cuttings, scions, etc., can be fumigated in a satisfactory man¬ 
ner during the season indicated above, if the proper precautions are 
taken in the preparation of the gas. Under no circumstances should it 
be used on nursery stock of this character stronger than 0.16 to 0.18 
gramme cyanide per cu. ft. of space inclosed and exposed from twenty 
to thirty minutes. If the buds are properly handled and fumigated 
with gas at this strength there need not be any fear of injury to even 
the most delicate varieties. Many nurserymen throughout the country 
practice regularly the fumigation of all buds before putting them in 
the nursery. Small boxes, containing from 25 to 50 cubic feet can be 
used to good advantage for handling nursery stock used for propagat¬ 
ing purposes. The chemicals should be handled with great care, as the 
amount used is exceedingly small and the slightest disturbance would 
interefere with the results. As a rule, chemicals are placed in a small 
earthen vessel, such as a teacup or small bowl, the cyanide being 
weighed carefully by a druggist and placed in small capsules ready for 
use. The acid and water can be measured by the nurseryman. 
STOCK ON THE JUMP IN MISSOURI. 
F. A. Weber, Nursery P. O., St. Louis Co., Mo., writes : 
“ We have had a splendid season here, and are well satisfied with 
the returns. We are now enjoying the finest kind of weather, 
which is making stock ‘fairly jump,’ in fact, you can almost 
see stock grow. We have peach and pear buds io and 12 
inches high, where 14 days ago there was hardly a sign of a 
sprout.” _ 
Luke Brothers Company, Montreal, May 10, 1901 : We have 
yours of the 9th inst., reminding 11 s that our subscription to the 
National Nurseryman expires with the May issue, and we enclose 
you herewith our renewal order, accompanied by $1 cash. The journal 
is all right, and fully merits our aid and support.” 
