208 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
Hn fhuset\> IRcws. 
Chestnuts Missing— Samuel Miller, Bluffton, Mo., writes as follows 
to Colman’s Rural World : A subscriber writes to me that the Paragon 
chestnuts he got of me last fall and planted are not where he planted 
them. I can whistle to the same tune. Last fall a half bushel was 
planted in nursery rows, six inches apart and two inches deep. On 
reading of his loss it occurred to me to examine mine. Not ten per 
cent are to be found. Whether mice or squirrels, or both, got them I 
cannot tell, but gone they are. Hereafter, if any are put in, they will 
be put in boxes in sand and protected. 
New Apple— A Charlevoix, Mich., correspondent of the Rural New 
Yorker says: “I am the ardent champion of fine-flavored fruits. 
Nurserymen often fail to grow deserving varieties because they do not 
make straight young trees, so they do not deliver well. The Mann 
apple is a well known instance of a very poor apple sent all over the land 
for the reason, as I happen to know, that the young trees grew straight 
and “delivered well.” Good quality is the only criterion of merit. 
Last autumn, while gathering a collection of 100 varieties of Winter 
apples for an exhibit of northwestern Michigan fruits at the Pan-Amer¬ 
ican Exposition, I found a Kalkaska County apple I named Wolverine, 
which is the greatest hustler and barrel-filler of any apple I know. It 
was first spoken of in public and exhibited at Michigan State Fair in 
1900. It bloomed at four years from seed, and has been heavily loaded 
every year for sixteen years without fail, and with its cloud of big 
leaves and large white blossoms, it gets there in spite of cold weather, 
having passed through 40 degrees below zero unharmed. This and 
another new variety will probably be exhibited at Buffalo. 
Cross breeding Apples. —For fifty years or more tbe best and most 
attractive Newtown Pippins grown in America came from Croton 
Point on the Hudson and brought almost fabulous prices in England, 
one shipment clearing as high as $18 per barrel, says American Agri¬ 
culturist. Some twelve or fifteen years ago S. W. Underhill, of Croton 
Point, noticed that the constitutional vigor of his trees was waning and 
he concluded that the only way to perpetuate the excellencies of the 
Newtown was by reproduction from seed. Out of hundreds of barrels 
he selected a peck of the most perfect specimens, and from the seeds 
of these he raised a considerable number of seedlings. In addition to 
this he grafted in the tops of some Newtown trees, Northern Spy, R. I' 
Greening, Russet and other varieties. These different kinds were 
allowed to grow together and cross fertilize naturally; in other cases 
artificial cross pollination was practiced. Contrary to the theory held 
by many that cross-pollination has no direct influence on the fruit, but 
only on its seed, Mr. Underhill soon noticed that some of the Newtowns 
had clearly marked characteristics of Northern Spy, others of Rhode 
Island Greening, and still others of Russet. The seeds of these 
characteristic specimens were planted in nursery rows, where they 
were left to grow without any special care. Finally they were planted 
out in poor, sandy land and left to themselves. Two years ago several 
of them produced their first fruit. At the Eastern Horticultural Society 
meeting in New Y’ork city, specimens of these cross-bred apples were 
highly praised. 
Hedges. —C. L. Zimmerman, Buffalo, N. Y., discussing hedges, in 
American Gardening says : “ For a farm hedge that will turn cattle I 
know of no better than the Honey Locust. It is of rank growth and 
requires much trimming to keep it in bounds. The plow should not 
be allowed to cut its roots or it may sucker. Osage Orange comes next, 
but is not quite hardy. Our common wild thorn can be tamed into 
quite a fair hedge and the grafted varieties are beautiful when in bloom. 
Japan quince does finely as a garden fence, and like the thorn is very fine 
in bloom. Both lose their leaves early. For tall hedges the Norway 
Spruce is unsurpassed. A vertical wall twelve feet high can be grown 
in six years, planted four feet apart and not cut back until the desired 
height is obtained. Many gardeners are reluctant to trim the spruce, but 
it stands trimming as well as any hardy plant does, and forms a very 
dense hedge. Our common Hemlock is by far the most beautiful and 
graceful of all evergreen hedge plants It should be allowed to grow 
very wide at the base so as to provide shade for its own roots. Height 
can be grown later. It stands shearing like sheep. The Arbor Yitses 
are very useful hedge plants, requiring less shearing than the preced¬ 
ing to make them thick and bushy. Red spider often makes them 
lo< k rusty in dry seasons, but this can be overcome if there is plenty 
of water available for sprinkling the foliage. The list of evergreens 
suitable for hedges is quite long and the gardener may avail himself of 
the many different shades to bring out color effects. Of the deciduous 
plants the Privet comes next to being an evergreen, usually remain¬ 
ing green till Christmas, often later. The California Privet is of won¬ 
derful growth, not perfectly hardy, but nearly so, and for an all-around 
hedge plant has many points in its favor. It is becoming very popular 
in cities, and deservedly so, as there are few bad things to be said 
against it. Planted in single or double rows, six to nine inches apart, 
and not allowed to grow upwards until a good broad bushy base has 
been obtained, a perfect bedge may be hoped for. And this is the vital 
point in growing this and most other hedges. A bushy base can never 
after be obtained if the natural tendency of the plant to shoot upwards 
is not severely checked in the first years. Such hedges as can be seen 
at Newport, It. I., and at a few of the fashionable resorts in New 
Jersey, with foliage from the ground to the top, so dense that a sparrow 
can with difficulty enter, can only be grown in this way after years of 
patient labor. A low hedge is preferable to any other fence for divid¬ 
ing the rear of city lots used as gardens or lawns, but is in bad taste for 
the front yard.” 
SUMMER PLANTING. 
An attractive booklet upon an attractive subject is that en¬ 
titled “Successful Summer Planting,” issued by Thomas Mee¬ 
han & Sons, Germantown, Pa. The booklet says : 
It is more than likely, since spring planting is over, you will find a 
bare spot or a wall that needs a Japanese Ivy ; a fence, trellis, or pillar 
that would be beautified by being covered by a Clematis paniculata, a 
Crimson Rambler Rose, or a Honeysuckle; an old dead tree or stump 
which could be made attractive by having Virginian Creeper, English 
Ivy, or Trumpet Creeper clambering over it; or a barren rock or bank 
over which a Wichuraiana Rose would create a picturesque effect. 
The disappointment is no doubt great that these places have been 
overlooked during the usual planting season, and you are regretting 
die loss of a year’s time. Or perhaps you have been so busy with other 
planting the rapid advance of summer has overtaken you, and you are 
only ready now to set out your vines. 
Potted vines, as usually sold, are small, insignificant plants in small 
pots, roughly staked. They are unsatisfactory in appearance. 
Our vines, on the contrary, are selected from our best plants; the 
root-system being a strong and highly important point. They were 
potted last fall in good, rich soil, in large pots, and carried in a cool 
house till late winter, when they were brought into the greenhouse and 
kept at a moderate, easy temperature. They came gradually into leaf, 
and have made a vigorous, hard growth. 
©bituaiT. 
T. G. Yeomans, Walworth, N. Y., who years ago made a specialty 
of hedge plants, is dead. 
B. M. Belong, secretary of the State Board of Horticulture of Cali¬ 
fornia, committed suicide on May 3d, by shooting at Sacramento. 
Peter Kane died at his home in Rochester, N. Y., April 25. He was 
born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and had been employed in the nurseries of 
Ellwanger & Barry for the last 40 years. 
J. D. Mosby, Richmond, Va., formerly of the firm of J. D. Mosby & 
Bro., and who was prominently identified with the nursery business in 
Pennsylvania and Virginia for over 80 years, died on May 19th. 
Harriet Heustis Barry, widow of Patrick Barry who until his death 
in 1890 was a member of the firm of Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester 
N. Y., died at her home, in Rochester, May 13th, aged 80 years. Three 
sons, William Crawford Barry, Charles Patrick Barry, of Rochester, 
and Dr. John Heustis Barry, of New York city, and a daughter, Mrs. 
Bernhard Liesching, of Rochester, survive. Mrs. Barry took an active 
interest in horticulture. 
